Chapter 51 #2
The last small package went to Kol, who had been practically vibrating with anticipation, his golden eyes fixed on the remaining bundle like a child on Christmas morning, his whole body straining toward it.
He tore into the paper with abandon, shredding it without care, revealing a pouch embroidered with bright sunflowers in shades of gold and yellow and warm amber, their petals seeming to glow even in the afternoon light.
"Sunflowers." My voice was barely a whisper now, emotion clogging my throat.
"For sunshine. For someone who makes even the darkest days brighter, who loves so openly and so completely that it's impossible not to feel it.
" I reached out to touch his cheek. "For someone who taught me how to laugh again. "
Kol made a broken sound and launched himself at me, wrapping me in a hug so tight I could barely breathe, the pouch clutched in his fist, his tears hot against my neck, his whole body shaking with sobs.
"I love you." He was saying it over and over, the words tumbling out between broken breaths, his arms crushing me against his chest, his sunshine scent blazing with joy and love and something desperate.
"I love you, I love you, I love you. You're the best thing that ever happened to us, wildflower. The best thing."
I held him while he cried, while they all pressed close around me, while the afternoon sun painted everything gold.
"There's one more." I pulled back from Kol's embrace, reaching for the larger bundle I'd set aside — the quilt I'd finally finished just days before Easton took me, the one Marley had helped me bind and back.
I unfolded it across my lap, revealing the patchwork design, and heard all four of them inhale sharply.
The quilt was made of soft fabrics in blues and greens and browns, but worked into the pattern were four distinct squares — one with antlers, one with mountains, one with pine trees, one with sunflowers. The same designs from their pouches, brought together into something whole.
"This is for all of us." I smoothed my hand across the squares, my voice thick with emotion. "For the nest. So when we're together, we're wrapped in something that has all of you in it. All of us." I traced the antlers, then the mountains, the pines, the sunflowers. "Pack. Family. Home."
The silence was heavy with emotion, all four of them staring at the quilt like it was the most precious thing they'd ever seen.
"There's one more thing." I reached into the pocket of my sundress, pulling out a small bundle of fabric — emerald green silk, the same bolt I'd been picking up from Marley's the day Easton took me.
The same fabric that had been trampled in the dirt, stained with my blood, left behind when he dragged me into his truck.
"Marley saved what she could." I unfolded the fabric to reveal four ribbon-length strips, each one carefully hemmed, each one just long enough to wrap around a wrist, the silk smooth and cool between my fingers. "She said most of it was ruined, but there was enough left for these."
I tied the first ribbon around Reid's wrist, watching the emerald green stand out against his tan skin, watching his throat work as he swallowed hard, his dark eyes fixed on my hands.
"To remember." My voice was steady now, certain, filled with a strength I hadn't known I possessed. "To remember that he tried to take everything from me, and he failed. That I chose to come back. That I chose you."
I tied ribbons around Sawyer's wrist, then Nolan's, then Kol's. Four strips of green silk, the color of hope, the color of new growth, the color of the future we were about to claim together.
"We didn't get you anything." Kol's voice was thick with tears, his fingers tracing the ribbon on his wrist, his golden eyes swimming with guilt. "We should have thought of gifts, we should have—"
"You're giving me everything." I cupped his face in my hands, making him meet my eyes, feeling the warmth of his skin against my palms. "In a few hours, I'll have four marks.
Four claims. Four promises that I'll never be alone again.
" I looked around at all of them — my pack, my family, my future. "That's the only gift I need."
The silence that followed was charged with anticipation, with want, with the knowledge of what came next.
"We should start while there's still daylight." Reid's voice was rough, his hand finding mine, his thumb stroking over my knuckles in slow circles, his dark eyes burning with barely contained need.
"How does it work?" I'd asked before, but suddenly the reality of it was pressing in on me, making my heart race with nervousness and excitement intertwined, my pulse pounding in my throat. "The order, the..."
"One at a time." Nolan's voice was calm, steady, the healer in him taking over, his hazel eyes soft with reassurance.
"A bite is intense — physically, emotionally, hormonally.
Doing all four at once would overwhelm your system.
" He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch gentle and reassuring, his pine scent steady and grounding.
"So we take turns. Give you time to adjust between each one. Make sure you're okay."
"Who goes first?" The question came out breathless, my eyes darting between them, my heart hammering against my ribs.
A look passed between the four Alphas — some silent conversation I wasn't privy to, some decision being made without words.
"Reid." Sawyer's voice was gruff but certain, his pale eyes meeting Reid's dark ones with something like respect, his scarred arms uncrossing to rest at his sides. "He's the pack Alpha. It's right that he goes first."
Reid's hand tightened on mine, his jaw working with emotion he was struggling to contain, his chest expanding with a deep breath. "Are you sure? I don't want to presume—"
"It's decided." Nolan's voice was soft but firm, leaving no room for argument, his hazel eyes warm with certainty. "You first, then me. Then Kol, then Sawyer."
"Why am I last?" Sawyer asked, though there was no real complaint in his tone, his lips twitching with the ghost of a smile.
"Because you'll leave the biggest mark." Kol's voice was matter-of-fact, a hint of his usual humor breaking through the emotion, his golden eyes dancing with mischief. "And she'll need time to recover after your bite before she can walk again."
Sawyer's lips twitched into something that might have been a smile, his pale eyes warming with amusement. "Fair point."
I laughed, the sound shaky but real, and felt some of the nervous tension drain from my shoulders. This was my pack. These were the men who loved me, who had fought for me, who were about to claim me as their own.
"The pack room." Reid's voice was certain, his dark eyes warm with meaning, his thumb still stroking slow circles on my hand.
"The nest. Where we've all been sleeping together.
Where you feel safest." He lifted my hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to my palm that made my breath catch, his eyes never leaving mine. "Where you belong."
The pack room. Where I'd woken surrounded by their scents every morning for weeks. Where I'd felt truly safe for the first time in my life.
I nodded, my heart full to bursting, and let them lead me inside.
Someone had been busy. The pack room had been transformed — more candles than I could count lined the windowsills and dresser, their soft flames casting warm golden light across the walls.
The nest had been freshened with clean blankets and pillows in soft creams and warm browns, plush and inviting.
Fresh flowers sat in a vase on the nightstand, filling the air with sweetness that mingled with the scents of my pack.
There, spread across the center of the nest, was a space clearly meant for me.
"It's beautiful." I breathed, turning in a slow circle, taking in every detail — the way the candlelight danced across the ceiling, the softness of the blankets, the care that had gone into every inch of this space. "When did you have time to do all this?"
"We've been preparing for days." Kol was practically glowing with pride, his sunshine scent bright and happy, his golden eyes drinking in my reaction like it was the greatest gift he could receive.
"Nolan made sure we had everything we might need.
Sawyer reinforced the bed frame." He grinned at Sawyer, who rolled his eyes but couldn't quite hide his smirk.
"Reid threatened to fire anyone who interrupted us for the next three days. "
"It's perfect." Tears were pricking at my eyes again, but I blinked them back, my voice thick with emotion. "It's absolutely perfect."
I crossed to the nest and carefully spread the new quilt across the blankets, smoothing out the fabric, positioning it so the four embroidered squares were visible. Antlers. Mountains. Pine trees. Sunflowers. Pack. Family. Home.
Reid stepped forward, his large hands finding my waist, pulling me gently against him until I could feel the heat of his body through the thin cotton of my dress.
His cedar scent washed over me, familiar and grounding, and I felt my body relax into his touch like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"We don't have to rush." His voice was low, intimate, meant just for me even though the others could hear, his breath warm against my hair. "We have all night. All day tomorrow. As long as you need."
"I don't want to wait anymore." I tilted my face up to meet his eyes, letting him see everything I was feeling — the want, the need, the love that had been building since the first moment I saw him across the yard, all authority and Alpha presence and unexpected kindness.
"I've been waiting my whole life for this. For you. For all of you."
He kissed me then, slow and deep, his hands tightening on my waist as his tongue swept into my mouth, tasting me like I was something precious. I melted into him, my arms winding around his neck, my body pressing against his until I could feel every hard line of him against my softer curves.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard, and the air around us was thick with want.
"The others will wait in the hall." Reid's voice was rough, his pupils blown wide with desire, his chest heaving against mine. "Until it's their turn….that way we each get our time with you separate."
I looked past him to where Sawyer, Nolan, and Kol stood watching us with hunger in their eyes and love on their faces.
"Not too far." I said, the words surprising me, my voice breathless. "I want to know you're close. I want to smell you, even if I can't see you."
Kol made a soft sound, something between a whimper and a groan, his golden eyes going dark with want. "We'll be right outside the door, wildflower. We won't go anywhere."
"We'll hear everything." Sawyer's voice was gravel and heat, his pale eyes burning with an intensity that made my skin flush, his hands clenched at his sides like he was fighting to keep them there. "Every sound you make. Every time you call his name."
A shiver ran through me — anticipation, arousal, the strange intimacy of knowing they would be listening, waiting, wanting.
"Good." The word came out more confident than I felt, heat pooling low in my belly. "I want you to hear."
Nolan crossed to me, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead, his lips lingering against my skin, his pine scent wrapping around me like a promise.
"We'll be here when you're ready for us.
" He murmured against my hair, his voice rough with barely contained need.
"Take your time. Let Reid take care of you. "
Then they were gone, the door closing behind them with a soft click, and I was alone with Reid in the golden light of a hundred candles, the weight of forever settling over us like a blessing.
"Aster." He said my name like a prayer, his hands framing my face, his dark eyes searching mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "My Aster. My Omega."
"My Alpha." I whispered back, and watched something primal and possessive flare to life in his gaze, his pupils swallowing the dark brown of his irises.
"Mine." He growled, the word rumbling up from somewhere deep in his chest, and then his mouth was on mine again, and there was nothing gentle about it anymore.