14. Talya
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
TALYA
W e gathered around the table outside when the whole spread was done. There was lots of food, and it smelled so good I knew I was going to pig out. It had been so long since I truly ate, and I was fucking famished.
As Colby piled food on my plate, I kept my hands clasped in my lap, waiting for everyone to get some. Only after someone else took a first bite did I finally begin to eat. There was silence as we did. Part of me was conscious that I was likely being watched because I probably looked like an animal as I inhaled my food, but I’d be embarrassed later. Right now, I just wanted to fill the deep void in my stomach.
When I’d made it through most of my plate, I sat back and took a breath. Better. Now I could eat like a normal human. Chancing a look at the rest of the table, I realized no one was watching me. Instead, they quietly chatted about whatever.
A smile touched my lips, and I relaxed further. When Colby’s hand found my leg under the table, I looked at him. He smiled, beautiful and reassuring. Did he feel as comfortable here as I did? He looked it. I thought of how easily he’d leaned against the counter and talked to the other alphas and beta. The quick smile and interactions.
Dropping my gaze to my plate again, I chewed on my lip. This wasn’t my pack, though. We were only here because of… what happened. This wasn’t a choice but a pack that had had us dumped in their laps.
I blinked as something was placed on my plate. A muffin?
Looking up, I found Ronan sitting back again, his dark eyes watching me. “Sweet, spicy cornbread from the grill. Try it.” His voice was this deep rumble that I could feel in my gut.
Did I even like spice?
It was split in two, buttered on the inside. I broke off a piece of the muffin top and popped it between my lips. The gritty texture hit me first, but it was moist with that great corn flavor and actual corn inside. The sweetness of honey coated my mouth as I swallowed it, but that was it. I looked back at him with a raised brow.
“I don’t taste—” My words were cut off when I coughed. Ah, there it was. A hint of sudden heat burned my mouth like I’d just poured chili flakes on my tongue.
“Sneaky kick,” Kasen said, grinning.
It wasn’t so hot that my eyes watered, and the pleasant heat dissipated pretty rapidly. “It’s good,” I said. “Surprising but good.”
I glanced at Ronan in time to find the barest hint of a smile on his face and his eyes on me. My skin was suddenly covered in goosebumps when I drew in a sudden breath of his fresh outdoor scent. Citrus fields within freshly mown grass after a rainstorm. Though it was strong right now, it was likely because I was still wearing his shirt.
Licking my lips, I ate another bite before offering a piece to Colby. He accepted it, a smile on his pink lips as they brushed my fingers. My heart raced, and unsurprisingly, my perfume turned slightly sweet.
There was no question what we’d be doing tonight. I needed my alpha.
Colby turned back to his plate and finished what was there before he sat back, draping his arm over the back of my chair. “You have a nest, yes?” he asked.
They all nodded.
“I offered to show you last night,” Kasen said. “You were too tired.”
“All I wanted was to sleep in peace,” Colby said with a soft smile. “It had been a very long time since I had that simple luxury.”
Sleep shouldn’t be a luxury, but it was. I couldn’t remember how long the hospital said we’d been missing, stuck in that facility, but it had felt like weeks. And then there was the time in the hospital. The ridiculous flights.
Yeah, we had been tired last night. We were still tired. I wasn’t lying when I said I could likely sleep for another week.
“I know,” Kasen said, his voice quieter. “But I’d be happy to show you. Or someone else can.”
“I stole blankets and pillows from a bunch of rooms near the one we were in,” Colby said, smiling apologetically. “I think I chose spare rooms, but I apologize if I ransacked one of yours. It didn’t smell like anyone in particular, and Talya needed more.”
Lohtus waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You can have whatever you need.”
“We’ll get more, too,” Ainsley said. “The nest is mostly empty right now, so we need to get it ready—” He stopped talking, pressing his lips together as he looked at Colby, but my alpha’s smirk was amused.
“Not for a couple months,” I said, but then I frowned. “Actually, I don’t think that long.” Colby looked at me with concern. “Stress can make them come on faster,” I said, still frowning. “And now that the stress has settled, my body might decide that it’s ready to breed.”
Kasen choked, his face turning red. He covered it as the alphas chuckled.
I looked at him with an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I suppose that was crude.”
“You know,” Kasen said when he got himself under control, “I get that’s what heats are biologically for, but I’ve never heard it referred to that way.”
I shrugged. “While I’m not interested in reproducing right now, it is what it is.”
“We can go to town tomorrow,” Ronan said. “Pick up whatever you need.”
“I don’t think we have much money left,” Colby said, tilting his head to the side. We’d been given some money at the start of our journey here, but airport food was expensive.
“Like I said, we got it covered. Necessities go on a card that was provided to us, and having an omega means we have new necessities,” Blakely said.
“I can’t wait to see what you want to do with the nest,” Kasen said, leaning forward in excitement. Lohtus pulled him back in the chair, and Kasen immediately dampened. “Not that you have to let me see it, of course. I don’t presume—and your heat—I didn’t mean to imply…”
Colby chuckled as my smile grew too wide. Poor beta, turning adorably red.
“It’s fine,” I said. “You can see it. You can even help me build it if you want to.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but excitement quickly overcame it. “Really?”
I nodded. “I think it’ll be fun.”
“Want to see it now?” he asked.
Glancing at Colby again, I found he was still watching Kasen with an expression I couldn’t quite read. It almost looked… soft.
A voice in my head said I should feel jealous, possessive, but… none of that came. I liked that look on him. I didn’t want him to feel threatened by others in my presence, either.
This entire situation, being thrust into the midst of four alphas and two betas after what we’d been through both in the torture rooms and prior to that while visiting packs, could be really fucking tense and awful. The relief that blanketed me from knowing I didn’t feel that way, and neither did Colby, put me at ease. We were lucky to have found ourselves somewhere that didn’t have a new fight or discomfort lurking around every corner.
“Yes,” I said, pushing my chair back.
Kasen grinned widely and got to his feet, too, but we paused when no one followed. I looked at Colby with confusion.
His smile was all swoony because that was the kind of hot alpha he was. “Go, love. Show me later.”
I narrowed my eyes at him but turned to follow Kasen. The beta hesitated, his unsure gaze going between us before he stuffed his hands in his pockets, his shoulders tense. In fact, as I followed him inside, everything about him was tense.
“Are you okay?” I asked when we had left the kitchen.
His laughter was filled with tension. “I don’t know what happened. Of course I don’t. But from what Colby said, it was betas who did it to you. I just didn’t think anyone would let me be alone with either of you, is all.”
“You don’t smell like them or that place,” I told him. He stopped suddenly, and I ran into him. His hands grabbed my arms to steady me as I laughed and took a step back. When I met his eyes, the intensity in them said he was trying like hell not to ask.
“Good,” he said quietly. “But I always thought all betas kind of smelled the same, you know? Boring and herbal.”
I shook my head. “Really? And omegas smell sooo good. Basically sugar in any form you can imagine. That’s the extent of it—sweet, syrupy, sticky sugar.”
He gave me a bemused smile. “You don’t smell like sugar.”
“No but my perfume is inherently sweet. Creamsicle. You say the word, and you know what the flavor is. Sweet!”
“And I smell like a damn incense store. All herbs and smoke.”
“It’s a nice smell,” I said. “Really.”
He smiled, releasing the way his shoulder bunched. “Thanks. And for the record, orange creamsicles are my favorite sweet treat.”
I smiled as he turned to lead me down the hall.
The nest was tucked away behind a small door on the first floor. The room was small. Maybe six-by-eight with low ceilings. There were windows with shutters that could let in just the right amount of light, and off to the side was a kitchenette containing a fridge and cabinets. A small bathroom was on the other side with a shower, toilet, and sink.
“Is it okay?” Kasen asked.
For some reason, my voice caught in my throat, so I nodded. Growing up, I’d had a small space as a nest, just somewhere that I could escape to and huddle away from the world in a pile of soft things. Because it was just Colby and me with a roommate, we hadn’t been able to afford a place with an actual nest once I was grown up enough to need one.
Seeing one now, one that was for me , caused more emotion to rise inside me than I thought would come. I took a breath, staring into the small, empty room. It was big enough for Colby and I and a whole lot of soft things. Big enough for maybe a couple more, too, but it was small and cozy. Perfect.
“Talya?” Kasen asked when I still didn’t answer. He looked at me with worry bright in his eyes.
“No, it’s great. Really.”
“Are you sure? You don’t look like it’s okay.”
I let out a breathless laugh. “It’s been a long time since I had a nest,” I whispered. “I guess I wasn’t expecting it to hit me like it did.”
“Oh,” he said, looking back into the room. “We’ve never used it for anything, and I aired it out before you guys got here. To me, it doesn’t smell like us, but if it does, we can fix it. I know we can?—”
“It’s perfect, Kasen,” I assured him, catching a breath of grass and rain. I shivered, wrapping my arms around me while subtly stealing a sniff of Ronan’s shirt. “It’s just right.”
He smiled, but I could tell that he was still a little unsure. When he glanced back down the hall, he scowled. “Really, this is an awful pack. Letting a beta who doesn’t know shit about omegas show one to a nest.”
I laughed, taking his hand and squeezing it. When he looked at me, he was smiling again. He suddenly reminded me of Fenton, and the thought made my chest tighten painfully. I was sure he thought we were dead, and they'd never know otherwise.
We headed back to the others. They were talking about the island and town, focusing on all the festivals and how close the community was.
“There are only two other omegas on the island,” Emerald said. “Both already in packs. There’s a handful of alphas, too. Three are in a pack, and the other two are together with a few betas between them. Otherwise, we’re primarily betas.”
I tried not to frown, but I didn’t think Colby or I hid it very well.
“They’re not like on the mainland,” Blakely said. “At least, not in my experience.”
“I mean, they’re a little like that,” Emerald amended, smirking. “Alphas will always be chased by betas.”
“And how do they treat the omegas?” Colby asked.
“Less like on the mainland,” Emerald said. “I’ll be honest, though, in telling you that the omegas rarely go wandering about. I don’t see them in town often, so I’m not sure how they’d be treated on a regular basis.”
“They didn’t grow up here?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nope. Fox was brought by her three alphas. I think , though I’m not positive, she found them via Pack Listing, and Rina visited the island with her family on vacation. While she was here, she met the four alphas that became her pack.”
“You’ve met them?” Colby asked.
Emerald shrugged. “We’re a close community, so while they don’t wander the town often, they usually make an appearance at most of the festivals.”
“And the omegas’ alphas? What do they do?” Colby asked.
“Work in town or online, probably. I don’t know. I don’t keep tabs on them.” He grinned. “Like I said, I’m weird. I don’t chase alphas. Why would I pay any attention to one that doesn’t want me, anyway?”
“More people need to think like you,” Colby muttered.
The table laughed as all the alphas nodded.
“I chased alphas,” Kasen said, sniffing the air. “And I probably would have caught one, too. He was interested.”
“What happened?” I asked.
He cocked his head to the side before giving me a wan smile. “I saw something I shouldn’t have and disappeared.”
I winced. “Sorry I asked.”
Kasen laughed. “It’s fine. I have two alphas now, and I chased neither of them. Be proud of me.”
Colby chuckled and shook his head, but I was grinning. Fenton didn’t chase alphas either, which was probably why several had paid him attention over the years. They were entirely too confused when he told them all he wasn’t interested.
Secretly, I thought he was afraid of knots, but since the conversation never really came up, I didn’t ask. And now I’d never know. In fact, I’d never know what he was doing or whether he was okay. What if they'd come back to take him, too? I wouldn’t have known to look for him.
I took a breath and closed my eyes.
“Hey,” Ainsley said, and I opened my eyes. My heart stuttered in my chest when I met his gaze. He smiled all dreamy-like, then his gaze drifted to Colby for a minute before returning to me. “Want to check out the property? Dusk is the perfect atmosphere to do so.”
Glad for the distraction, I nodded. “Yeah. That’ll be nice.”