Chapter 34 Claire
Claire
The first night in a new place is always difficult. This might be especially true for Omegas. That's why I asked all of them to sleep in my room tonight. Maybe I also wanted my room to soak up their scents so that it felt extra cozy.
But when I turn to my left, there’s only a sleeping Wells, Forrest is nowhere to be found, and that makes my stomach drop.
Elliot is passed out on my right, clearly having no issues sleeping in a new place. It makes me smile. I didn’t know how he would react to moving here and accepting his new reality of being in a pack, but he’s doing better than I imagined.
I wasn’t worried about Wells for a second. In fact, he literally looks like he’s smiling in his sleep. Forrest is a wild card. I haven’t known him my whole life like Elliot to know how he’s feeling. It brings an ache to my chest, because if we were bonded I’d know how he was feeling right now.
As quietly as I can, I slip out of the bed. I check Forrest’s room first. Maybe he wasn’t able to sleep, but all I’m greeted with when I open his door is a plain, exceptionally clean room. I softly pad down the stairs, going to the kitchen. He isn’t there either.
The house is large and I remember that he showed us where his workshop was but that we didn’t go in. I know it’s right by the garage, and when I walk in, there he is, goggles on his face as he drills a hole into a piece of wood.
He takes a moment to notice me; when I go to approach him he holds his palm to me to halt. He puts down his power tool and goggles, coming up to me and picking me up with one arm and sitting me down on a clean desk.
“There’s a lot of wood and debris on the floor. You don’t have shoes on. Did you have a hard time sleeping? Do you feel okay?” he asks, and I smile.
This big Alpha is always worrying about me and I wonder if he can get used to me returning the favor. I push back his hair and drag my hands down his chest.
“I woke up and you weren’t there,” I say and his face softens.
His large hands rub my thighs and he kisses the side of my face.
“I couldn’t sleep and I haven’t had a project to work on in a while,” he says and I glance over his shoulder to see what he’s working on.
“What is it?” I ask.
“The start of a bigger dining table for our pack,” he says.
I feel like I’m going to cry again and Forrest must sense it too, as he wraps his arms around me, soothingly rubbing his hands along my hair and back.
“Why couldn’t you sleep?” I ask him.
I swear there’s a slight tint of pink to his cheeks as his gaze looks down. I grab his waist and he kisses my cheek quickly, his hands gripping the table, boxing me in with his large arms.
“Elliot told me he thinks I should be pack lead.”
“He did?” I ask him with shocked, wide eyes.
That’s a big fucking deal. The hugest deal actually, but I’m trying to keep my cool right now.
“And that upset you?”
Forrest huffs out a small laugh. “No. I think it made reality set in. Made me even kind of like him.”
“It is kind of wild how fast this has all happened, isn’t it? You don’t feel overwhelmed with us moving in?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head and kissing my hairline again. “I just…You’re here, it’s our house, everyone is my responsibility and I can’t fail at this.”
My brows furrow as I stroke his chest.
“You run a successful business. This house is incredible. You’re a wonderful man. Why on earth would you ever think you would fail at being pack lead?”
Forrest clears his throat, his dark brown eyes looking at my lap and not my face.
“I haven’t had many good male role models in my life. The three of you have families, good families. I didn’t have that. I’m just running off my instincts and there’s this fear that it won’t be good enough, that I’ll never be good enough.”
“Your instincts are good. You’re good, Forrest.”
He takes a deep breath, and it feels like he holds in the air forever when he exhales.
“You haven’t asked about my parents,” he says softly, still not looking at me.
“Your parents don’t matter,” I tell him honestly. “Two of my parents came from devastating households, different in their own right, but they were amazing parents, and dedicated pack members.”
“My mom had her demons, never told my grandfather about me before she succumbed to them. I was raised by just my father and he was a hard man. To him, I was a burden he never asked for, and most of all, a disappointment. He was abusive with his hands but more often than not with his words,” he says, trailing off into his own thoughts.
I never stop touching him, needing him to know that I’m there for him and that he can’t scare me off. My heart hurts for the little boy that Forrest was without a mother, stuck with a father who wished he wasn’t around.
“He hated that I was quiet, that I didn’t seem to know how to talk to people.
I can’t even count the amount of times he said something derogatory about my intelligence.
I did well in school. I was just the quiet kid with no friends, and his abuse just made it even harder for me to want to be more outgoing or talkative. ”
My eyes are welling with tears, but I don’t interrupt him as he continues speaking.
“Thankfully, when I hit puberty, I started really packing on the muscle and I grew a head taller than him. The day he learned I could hit back was the last day he ever touched me, but it was also the last day I ever lived under his roof. I spent two years in foster care. A few weeks before my eighteenth birthday, they found my maternal grandfather. He was a decent man, but I only had a year of learning from him before he passed away,” he says, looking up at me.
“Fuck, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he says, rubbing my arms, like I’m the one who needs comfort.
“I’m crying because I’m sorry you ever had to go through that, but when I look at you, Forrest, I don’t see a broken boy who didn’t experience love. I see a strong, wonderful, protective man. A man I love,” I say as his rich eyes take a glassy sheen to them.
“You’re not your past, you’re not your father, and you will be the Alpha this pack needs—that I need. I love you and I’m so thankful to have you in my li—”
I don’t even get the words out as Forrest’s fingers tangle in my hair and his lips crash against my own. His kiss is all-encompassing and my heart thunders against my chest as he kisses me like I’m his last breath.
“I love you too,” he says in between kisses as I spread my legs further and make room for his large frame.
My grip is firm on his shirt as he cradles my head and kisses me with passion. He’s my pack’s lead Alpha. This is my house. I have a fucking pack.
It makes me want Forrest to bond me right here and now, but I know I need to be patient. I want the moment we solidify our pack to be perfect, something we all deserve.
“I’m gonna fuck you in every room in this house. I want every single room to smell like my sweet perfect Omega,” he tells me, and isn’t that just the most romantic thing an Alpha could ask for?
Thankfully, he only has a pair of shorts on and I’m tugging on the hem, and quickly wrapping my hand around his warm, thick length.
He’s impatient, sliding the over-sized T-shirt up my thighs and ripping my panties at the seam. I’m dripping wet on his desk and he likes it as he slides the head of his cock along my entrance before grabbing my ass and shifting my body until he’s buried deep inside me.
I wrap my legs around him, holding his shoulders as he moves his hips, fucking me deep and slow.
Forrest’s grip on my ass is tight and needy, and I feel wanted and desired. As his knot presses against my entrance with every thrust, I realize that I have everything I’ve ever wanted. Well, almost.
“Knot me. Please. I need it,” I beg.
Forrest doesn’t disappoint. With one rough thrust he pushes his knot inside me. My vision nearly blacks out and thankfully, Forrest holds me upright as I reach my orgasm and clench around his knot.
He’s panting in my hair, his pelvis grinding against mine as he fills me with his cum.
Both of our chests are rising and falling with exertion as he kisses my hair and runs his hands over my body. Exhaustion is catching up with me as I lean into his strong chest, a place I feel wholly safe.
“I’m going to do right by you. By all of you,” he whispers.
“I know you will,” I tell him, and I mean it.
The only thing that would make this moment even more perfect is if I could feel him through a bond.
Soon, I promise myself. Soon.
I don’t wake up until noon, but when I do, it’s to Elliot bringing me brunch in bed. I give him a smile as he plops himself next to me on the bed.
He reaches out and flattens my hair.
“It looks like a family of birds lives in your hair,” he jokes, and I scowl at him. His pupils dilate before he swallows thickly. “You smell like him.”
“Does it bother you? Me smelling like him?” I ask him, hoping that the answer is no.
“A little, but not as much as it used to. I want to take that tray off your lap and lick your neck and rub my head all over you so you smell like me still, but I don’t feel like killing him.”
“That’s progress,” I say, cutting a piece of French toast and popping it into my mouth. “He said that you told him he should be pack lead.”
Elliot sighs, resting further into the mass of pillows I have on the bed.
“I think I kept thinking of him as the person who was taking something away from me, but I’m slowly realizing that isn’t the case.”
I move my tray, snuggling up to him. “Elliot Smith, are you maturing?” I ask and he frowns, before quickly retaliating by tickling my sides.
I’m nearly hyperventilating by how hard I’m laughing when he finally stops, peppering kisses against my neck, and maybe subtly marking me with his scent.
“He wants the best for you and so do I. It makes more sense for him to be in charge. Doesn’t mean I won’t push back or disagree with him often, but I want what’s best for you, and him being pack lead is what’s best for all of us,” he says and I cup his face, stroking his jaw with my thumb.
“I never thought we’d have this,” I whisper and he nods in agreement. “I’m happy you came to your senses.”
He’s about to tickle me again when I grab his wrist. “I think you should bond with them more, see what it’s like to have pack brothers.”
Elliot groans, flopping on his back. “I gave him pack lead. I’m here in his house.”
“Our house,” I correct him. “Every time you guys have had to really interact, I’m there. If we’re going to be a pack, then you all need to have a friendship, too. You three go out and have a cute pack brother day and I’ll cook us a feast.”
He glares at me with his pretty emerald eyes, and I grin back.
“What exactly does a pack brother day entail?”
My grin widens as I reply. “Wells already has everything planned.”
“You’re trying to kill me before we even bond, aren’t you?” he jokes, but it sobers me up.
“Once I feel like there isn’t a rift in the pack, I’m ready for the next step.”
Those words seem to motivate him as he leans over and gives me a kiss. “Let me go ask Wells what the proper attire is for pack bonding.”
“Good Alpha.”
He lightly growls, kissing the side of my neck as he heads off. I plan my meal for the night and hope that this evening ends in them becoming closer and not hating each other even more.