Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ASTER
Days after I built my nest, Reid found me in the kitchen.
I was helping Nolan with dinner—or trying to, anyway.
Mostly I was watching him work while Kol sat on the counter eating raw vegetables meant for the salad and Sawyer leaned against the doorframe with a glass of water, his pale eyes soft as he watched the chaos unfold.
"Stop eating the carrots." Nolan swatted at Kol's hand without looking, his green eyes focused on the sauce he was stirring, his freckled face pinched with fond exasperation. "Those are for everyone."
"I'm everyone." Kol grinned around a mouthful of carrot, his amber eyes bright with mischief, his honey-blond hair flopping across his forehead as he reached for another one. "I'm at least one-fifth of everyone. Maybe more, depending on how you calculate it."
"That's not how math works." I found myself smiling, something warm unfurling in my chest at the easy banter, at the way I'd started to feel like part of it instead of just an observer.
"Math is subjective." Kol crunched loudly on the carrot, his grin widening when Nolan sighed in exasperation, orange blossoms and warmth radiating from him with every movement.
"It really isn't." Sawyer's voice was dry, rough with amusement, his pale eyes crinkling slightly at the corners as he watched the exchange from his post by the door.
"See, this is why I don't cook." Kol hopped off the counter, landing lightly on his bare feet, his cartoon-planet pajama pants swishing around his ankles. "Too many rules. Too much judgment."
"The judgment is because you set fire to the stove twice last month." Nolan's voice was fond despite the words, his freckled face soft with affection even as he shook his head.
"That was an accident." Kol pressed a hand to his chest, mock-offended, his amber eyes going wide with theatrical innocence. "Both times."
"Both times you were trying to make the same thing.
" I pointed out, surprising myself with the teasing tone in my voice, my cheeks heating slightly when everyone turned to look at me.
Kol's face lit up like the sun coming out from behind clouds, his amber eyes going bright with delight, his whole body practically vibrating with joy.
"She's sassing me." He turned to the others, gesturing at me with his half-eaten carrot, his voice climbing with excitement. "Did you hear that? Our Omega is sassing me. This is the best day of my life."
Our Omega. The words hit me somewhere deep, making my breath catch, my heart stuttering against my ribs.
Before I could respond, Reid appeared in the doorway behind Sawyer, his broad shoulders filling the frame, his dark eyes finding mine across the kitchen with an intensity that made my pulse quicken.
"Aster." His voice was low, warm, and there was something underneath it—anticipation, maybe, or nerves. His weathered face was carefully neutral, but I could see the tension in his jaw, the way his hands hung slightly stiff at his sides. "Can I show you something?"
The kitchen went quiet. Nolan's stirring slowed, Kol stopped mid-chew, and Sawyer straightened slightly from his lean against the doorframe. They all exchanged glances—quick, meaningful looks that told me they knew something I didn't.
"Okay." I wiped my hands on the towel Nolan had given me, my heart starting to beat faster, uncertainty and curiosity warring in my chest. "What is it?"
"Come with me." Reid held out his hand, his calloused palm facing up, an invitation rather than a demand. His dark eyes were soft, his scent reaching me across the space between us—whiskey and woodsmoke, warm and grounding.
I took his hand, his fingers closing around mine warm and steady, calluses rough against my skin, and let him lead me out of the kitchen.
I could feel the others falling in behind us—Kol's excited energy practically buzzing at my back, Nolan's gentle presence like a warm blanket, Sawyer's quiet steadiness bringing up the rear—but Reid didn't stop, didn't turn around.
He led me down the hallway past the living room, past the office, to a door at the end that I'd never seen open.
I'd noticed it before, of course. Had wondered what was behind it.
But it had always been closed, and I'd learned long ago not to pry into spaces that weren't offered to me.
Reid stopped in front of the door, his hand still wrapped around mine, and turned to face me.
His dark eyes searched my face, something vulnerable flickering in their depths, his jaw tight with emotion he was trying to contain.
"We've been working on this for a while.
" His voice was rough, low, like the words were costing him something.
His thumb traced absent circles on the back of my hand, betraying nervousness that didn't show on his face.
"Since before you moved into the main house.
We wanted to wait until you were ready, until your instincts—" He stopped, cleared his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly. "Until you started nesting."
My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat, could hear it rushing in my ears.
"What is it?" My voice came out barely a whisper, cracked with confusion and something that felt dangerously like hope.
Reid didn't answer. Instead, he reached past me and pushed the door open, the hinges silent like they'd been recently oiled, then gently guided me inside with a hand on the small of my back.
I stopped breathing.
The room was... I didn't have words for what the room was.
It was large—larger than my bedroom, larger than the guest room I'd stayed in at first. The walls were painted a soft, warm cream, and the lighting was gentle, golden, coming from lamps scattered around the space rather than harsh overhead fixtures.
The floor was covered in plush carpet so thick it looked like clouds, and the air was warm, perfectly warm, scented with—
With all of them. All four of them, their scents layered and woven together until they created something new, something that smelled like pack and home and safety.
Whiskey and woodsmoke from Reid. Eucalyptus and honey from Nolan.
Sun-baked grass and wind from Sawyer. Orange blossoms and warmth from Kol.
All of it, blended into something I wanted to wrap around myself and never let go.
It was what filled the room that made my knees go weak.
In the center was a massive platform bed—no, not a bed, a nest platform.
It was lower to the ground than a normal bed, built into a corner with two walls creating natural barriers, and it was huge.
Big enough for five people, maybe more. The platform itself was covered in the softest-looking blankets I'd ever seen, piled high with pillows of every size and shape, layered with fabrics in shades of cream and sage and soft blue.
Along one wall were shelves—beautiful wooden shelves, clearly handmade, sanded smooth and stained a warm honey color.
They were filled with nesting materials: more blankets, more pillows, soft fabrics in every texture imaginable.
Velvet, flannel, fleece, cotton so soft it looked like it would dissolve at a touch.
In the corner was a small seating area—a loveseat piled with cushions, a reading lamp, a small table.
And beside the nest platform was a nightstand with a lock built into the drawer, a carafe of water, a small speaker for music.
Everything was soft. Everything was warm. Everything was designed for comfort, for safety, for an Omega to build a nest that would satisfy every instinct she had.
"Reid." My voice came out broken, cracked, barely recognizable as my own. My eyes were burning, my throat tight. "What—"
"Every Omega deserves a proper nest." Reid's voice was rough behind me, thick with emotion that made it crack slightly. His hand found my shoulder, warm and grounding, his fingers squeezing gently. "This is yours."
The tears came before I could stop them—hot and fast and overwhelming, spilling down my cheeks in rivers I couldn't control.
My legs gave out beneath me, trembling and weak, and I would have collapsed if Reid hadn't caught me, his arms wrapping around me from behind, his chest solid against my back.
"I don't—" I tried to speak, tried to form words, but everything was sobs and gasping breaths and tears I couldn't stop. My hands clutched at his forearms where they wrapped around my middle. "I don't understand. Why would you—"
"Because you're ours." Reid's voice was fierce against my ear, his arms tightening around me, his scent surrounding me completely. "And we take care of what's ours."
I turned in his arms and buried my face against his chest, sobbing so hard my whole body shook, my fingers fisting in the fabric of his shirt.
He held me through it, one hand stroking my hair with gentle, rhythmic motions, the other pressed flat against my back, his heartbeat steady under my ear—whiskey and woodsmoke and safety.
"I've never—" I tried to speak between sobs, the words coming out broken and wet, muffled against his chest. "No one has ever—"
"We know." Nolan's voice came from somewhere nearby, soft and gentle, rough with his own emotion. I felt his hand on my shoulder, his scent joining Reid's—eucalyptus and honey layering over whiskey and woodsmoke. "We know, Aster. That's why we wanted to give you this."
I pulled back from Reid's chest just enough to look around at all of them—Nolan with tears in his green eyes, his freckled face soft with emotion; Kol practically vibrating with feeling, his amber eyes bright and wet, tears streaming freely down his cheeks; Sawyer standing slightly apart with his jaw tight and his pale eyes blazing with fierce tenderness, his scarred hands clenched at his sides.
"You all did this?" My voice was wrecked, barely audible, scraped raw from crying. "Together?"