Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dax
I’ve been awake for hours, watching her sleep.
It should probably feel creepy, all four of us surrounding one omega in her nest, all of us awake at various points through the night, taking turns keeping watch even though there’s nothing to watch for. But it doesn’t feel creepy. It feels right in a way that settles deep in my bones.
The emergency lights cast soft shadows across Sierra’s face where she’s curled on her side between Jalen and me, one hand tucked under her cheek, the other resting against Cole’s arm that’s thrown over Jalen’s, reaching for her even while he rests.
Malik is at my back, close enough that I can sense the rise and fall of his chest matching the rhythm of her breathing.
We fit together as if we were designed for exactly this configuration.
I’ve never spent this much time in an omega’s nest before. None of us have. In past relationships, the few that got serious enough to involve heats, it was never like this. Never so comfortable. Never so…right.
But Sierra asked us to stay. When her mind was clearer and she could have sent us away, she wanted us here.
That knowledge sits warm and heavy in my chest.
I study her face in the dim light, noting the small changes from two days ago. The tension that was carved into her features during heat has smoothed away. Her lips are slightly parted, breathing deep and even. There are faint shadows under her eyes, but the desperate edge is gone.
She looks peaceful.
Safe.
My alpha rumbles with satisfaction at the thought. We did that. We kept her safe through something that could have been frightening and painful, and now she’s resting peacefully in our arms.
In her nest that smells like all of us combined.
The scent of the nest has changed over the past days. It started as just Sierra’s honeycomb and cherry syrup. Then our scents layered in, one by one. Each one weaving together until the whole nest smells like pack.
Like us.
I’ve never had that before. Never had my scent so thoroughly mixed with an omega’s that it’s created something new altogether.
It does something to me. Makes my alpha settle in a way I didn’t know was possible.
Makes me want to keep her, to make this permanent, to never let her leave this nest or this house or this pack.
Dangerous thoughts for a situation that was supposed to be temporary.
Malik shifts slightly behind me, his arm reaching over to rest against her waist. Even unconscious, he’s protective of her.
We all are. None of us has left the nest for more than a few minutes at a time.
Quick trips to the bathroom, grabbing food or water, checking that the house is still secure. But we always come back.
Because Sierra wanted us here.
And because none of us can bear to be away from her.
Cole mutters something in his sleep and rolls closer, his hand tightening on hers. She makes a small sound and shifts to accommodate him without waking.
My chest tightens watching them. Watching all of them. This tangle of limbs and blankets and pack that shouldn’t work but somehow does.
Movement catches my eye. Jalen’s awake too, I realize. He props himself up on one elbow, and when our eyes meet across her sleeping form, I see my own wonder reflected back at me.
We’re in her nest, his expression says. She let us stay in her nest.
I nod slightly. I know.
We stay like that for a moment, just looking at each other over Sierra’s sleeping form. No words needed. We both understand what this means. What it could mean, if we don’t fuck it up.
Then Jalen’s gaze drops back to Sierra, his hand moving to gently brush a strand of hair from her face. The gesture is so tender it makes my throat tight.
When did this happen? When did Sierra Smith, the omega who accused us of corporate espionage, who glared at us across networking events, who made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with us, become someone we can’t imagine being without?
Was it when she came out during her heat to check on Jalen’s cut hand? Or when she trusted us enough to rebuild her nest? When she looked at us with those big light-brown eyes and asked us to stay?
Or was it earlier? All those times I noticed things about her at industry events. The way she gestured when she was passionate about something. How her whole face lit up when talking about her work. The fierce independence that I both admired and wanted to protect.
Maybe I’ve been falling for her longer than I want to admit. Maybe we all have.
The thought should terrify me. Instead, it just feels... inevitable.
Sierra stirs against me, and I freeze. Her face scrunches up slightly, like she’s fighting against waking, and she makes this small protesting sound that’s unreasonably adorable.
Then her eyes flutter open.
For a moment, she just blinks slowly, her gaze unfocused and confused. Then awareness sharpens. Her eyes track across the nest, taking in Cole’s hand gripping hers, Jalen watching her with that gentle expression, Malik’s arm around her waist, and finally landing on me.
I hold my breath, waiting. This is it. This is where reality crashes back in. But instead, her lips curve into a smile. Soft and genuine and directed right at me.
“Morning,” she says, her voice rough with sleep but warm.
The relief that floods through me is so intense it’s almost painful. She’s not pulling away.
“Morning,” I manage, and my voice comes out a bit rough. “How are you feeling?”
She considers the question, her brow furrowing slightly.
“Hmm...” She stretches slightly, careful not to jostle the others too much, and I hear the soft pop of joints settling. “Happy.”
Happy.
Not good. Not fine. Not recovered.
Happy.
I watch Cole’s eyes snap open at the word. See Malik’s arm tighten incrementally around her waist. Feel Jalen go very still beside her.
We’re all holding our breath, I realize. All of us caught on that one simple word and what it might mean.
“Yeah?” I manage, because someone needs to say something and the others seem temporarily incapable.
“Yeah.” Sierra’s smile widens slightly, and there’s color rising in her cheeks now. Like she’s realizing what she said, how it sounded, but she’s not taking it back. “Is that weird? That I’m happy?”
“No,” Cole says immediately, pushing himself up on one elbow. His hair is sticking up in every direction, and there’s a crease from the pillow on his cheek, but his eyes are intense. “Not weird at all.”
“Good weird,” Malik adds from behind me, his voice still rough with sleep. “The best kind of weird.”
“We’re happy too,” Jalen says softly. “Happy you’re here. Happy you’re... happy.”
The slight stumble over the word makes Sierra laugh. This breathy, genuine sound that does something dangerous to my heart.
“You’re all being weird,” she says, but she’s still smiling.
“You said you were happy while lying in a nest with four alphas after a heat,” Cole points out. “We’re allowed to be a little weird about it.”
Fair point.
I shift slightly, careful not to jostle her too much. She’s still weak. I can tell by the way she’s holding herself, the slight tremble in her arms when she moved to stretch. Post-heat fatigue that will take at least another day to fully fade.
“Do you need anything?” I ask. “Water? Food?”
“Bathroom,” she admits, and I can see her cheeks flush darker. “But I’m not... I don’t think my legs are quite ready to support me yet.”
The admission costs her something. Sierra doesn’t like showing weakness, doesn’t like needing help. I’ve learned that about her over the past few days. But she’s learning to let us help anyway.
That’s progress.
“I can carry you,” I offer.
“I can walk,” she protests automatically, then seems to catch herself. Her lips twist in a rueful smile. “Probably. Maybe.”
“Let us help,” Jalen says gently. “Please?”
Something in his tone makes Sierra’s expression soften.
“Okay,” she whispers.
I move carefully, extracting myself from the nest without disturbing it too much. My muscles protest the movement after hours of staying still, but it’s a good ache. The kind that reminds me I’m alive and healthy and here.
When I turn back to help Sierra, she’s already trying to sit up on her own. Her arms shake with the effort, and I can see frustration flash across her face.
“Easy,” I say, sliding my arms under her knees and behind her back. “Let me do the hard parts.”
She goes still as I lift her, her hands automatically coming up to grip my shoulders. Even through my shirt, I can feel how warm she is. Not fever-hot like during heat, but just naturally warm.
“This is embarrassing,” she mutters against my chest.
“Why?” Cole asks from the nest, genuine confusion in his voice.
“Because I should be able to walk to the bathroom by myself,” Sierra says. “I’m a functioning adult.”
“You’re a functioning adult who just went through an intense heat,” Malik corrects. “Give yourself some grace, Sierra.”
I carry her toward the bathroom, hyperaware of every point of contact. She’s so light in my arms, so warm, and she smells like all of us now. Our scents have soaked into her skin until she’s walking pack pheromones.
Mine, my alpha growls. Ours.
I have to actively fight the urge to pull her closer, to bury my face in her neck and breathe her in properly.
“I can take it from here,” Sierra says when we reach the bathroom door.
“You sure?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. She needs this. This small moment of independence, of doing something for herself.
“I’m sure.” But she doesn’t immediately pull away. Just looks at me with those light-brown eyes that are clearer than they’ve been in days. “Thank you, though. For... everything.”
The way she says it makes something constrict in my chest again.
“Always,” I say, and mean it more than I’ve meant anything.
I set her down carefully, keeping one hand on her waist until I’m sure she’s steady. She sways slightly but catches herself on the doorframe, and I force myself to step back. To give her space.