Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kara
My nest was perfect, and I hadn’t realized how much it was affecting my emotions and mood until I was safely snuggled inside.
It took up most of the main bedroom, even with all of the furniture shoved to one side and was just big enough for the five of us. The nesting pads were top-of-the-line with a microfiber texture that could easily be cleaned off. They also folded up so they could be moved with ease.
There was also a tent that had dark, heavy drapery to make the nest feel like it was in a smaller space. Not all omegas liked being in a small room when they needed comfort, and I was one of them. I preferred there to be some openness around the outside.
Inside, there were soft pillows and blankets and even a few Squishmallows. Outside one of the flaps, we put the mini fridge from the bus and filled it with drinks and quick snacks.
The corners of the tent had hooks for battery-powered lanterns to give us as much or as little light as we needed.
The best part of it was I had my four alphas with me, ready to take care of me in any way I needed. And boy were they needed later that evening when my heat hit me hard. It was like my body knew I was perfectly safe and comfortable and decided to go crazy on me.
It lasted so long that we finally passed out sometime around three in the morning, my body satisfied. I didn’t know if that would be the worst of it, but I hoped so because they had a concert I’d convinced them not to cancel.
A soft knock on the bedroom door woke me, and I yawned as I sat up. Alvaro, who was on the edge by the exit flap, rolled off the nesting bed and out of the tent.
I was feeling refreshed and there was a pleasant ache between my legs. It had been a lot of sex, but that was what my body was built for, and the amount of slick definitely helped the situation.
I heard Alvaro open the bedroom door, and Anya whispered to him. He sighed, and the door shut softly before he crawled back into the nest.
I sat up and stretched, the other three alphas still fast asleep on either side of me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. It’s noon and we need to get ready to go...” He turned on one of the lanterns in the corner, bathing us in dim light. “Unless you don’t want us to. Still time to change your mind.”
Avery grumbled in his sleep and rolled to his side, burying his face against my hip. They were all so exhausted from the whirlwind of sex. I could hardly even remember some of it. I’d gone into a sex haze.
“I don’t want you guys to cancel your show. I feel great right now.” I leaned forward and grabbed the squirrel Squishmallow I’d named Nico from the foot of the bed, hugging it to my chest. “The worst that could happen is it flares back up again, and I have to use a toy.”
Alvaro looked over at the toys on the side of the bed. Cal had purchased several sex toys for us to play with and for me when they weren’t around. We’d only used them a little the night before and they would help if the pain started again.
“I’m only going to agree to this if you promise to call us or Jonathan if it starts up bad again.” He reached over Cal and touched my cheek. “Everything inside me is screaming not to leave.”
I leaned into his hand and shut my eyes. Deep down, I didn’t want them to go, but it would only be about ten or eleven hours, and if they didn’t go, people would start to ask questions.
“We have four days of no interruptions after it.” We’d have to spend some of the time on the bus, but Anya had already found us somewhere to stay on the way there that was secluded just like this place was.
The heats I’d had so far in my life had lasted anywhere from three days to a week and a half.
Some had heats that lasted for longer than two weeks.
It depended on the environment and if the body was getting what it needed.
The whole purpose of us having heats was to become pregnant, and since I was on birth control and around alphas, I expected mine to last longer.
Tate yawned and sat up. He was on the other side of Avery and had been the one to suggest Cal and Avery be the ones next to me since they were the ones that would have the hardest time leaving me today. Tate and Alvaro would too, but they hadn’t been almost feral before meeting me.
“Time to leave?” Tate opened the flap on his side and grabbed three water bottles from the mini fridge, handing me and Alvaro one each. “It will be interesting to see how we perform tonight.”
“You guys had better put on a good show. Pretend I’m there cheering you on.” I took a long drink of cold water and my nipples pebbled.
Alvaro’s eyes went right to them. “If we pretend you’re there cheering us on, we’re going to be dancing around with hard-ons the whole time.”
“I don’t think my dick can get hard anymore.” Tate looked down at it. “Oh, never mind.”
“You two are ridiculous.” I laughed as I crawled on my knees to the opening. “Let’s shower. Cal and Avery are pretty much dead to the-”
“Shower?” Cal muttered, his eyes peeling open and finding me across the tent.
“Mm.” Avery rolled over and hugged Nico. “Soapy boobies. Me likies.”
I was pretty sure I was in love with these four men.
After the pack left with Jonathan driving the bus, Anya and I did some cleaning and put together a lasagna to bake for a late-night dinner after the concert.
Growing up, my mom and dads didn’t have betas, so being around two that were in a pack was different for me. A lot of packs did not bond betas to them, but I liked the idea of having an even bigger family.
Anya and I just finished cleaning the kitchen when Gizmo nudged at the back door. She’d just taken him out a few hours ago, but when a dog’s got to go, they’ve got to go.
“You want to come outside with us? It’s nice out and you can wear my sunglasses.” Anya held them out to me and slid her feet into her shoes. “Fresh air is good for you.”
I put the glasses on the top of my head and looked down at the leggings of hers I’d borrowed and the oversized t-shirt of Avery’s I was wearing. “I want to, but...”
“No one is going to see you. We’re just going behind the cabin, not to a park.” She laughed and opened the back door, letting Gizmo outside.
She was right. I slid my feet into a spare pair of flip-flops since I’d had on heels at the concert and followed her out the back door. The sun was starting to set, and I wondered what my alphas were doing. Were they wondering what I was up to?
We’d texted throughout the afternoon when they could, but now they were preparing for their concert and doing pre-performance interviews and meet and greets. I hadn’t asked how Cal and Avery were doing, but they’d struggled to leave me.
“You’ve been pretty quiet this afternoon.” Anya looped her arm through mine as we walked into the cleared area of the backyard where Gizmo was taking care of his business.
One of the big plusses of having betas bonded to my alphas was, when they weren’t around, their friendship eased my anxiety. I had certainly been a little wary of Anya and Jonathan at first, but after all they’d done for me, I trusted them.
“I’ve just been thinking a lot. I really want for this to work out, but there’s that fear, you know?” I hated that the doubt kept creeping in, but it would until I was bonded to them. “It’s all been a bit of a blur, honestly.”
“All things considered, I think you’re handling everything well. Other omegas would have been a mess over everything, but you... you just roll with the punches.” She led me around the perimeter of the open space. It was nice to be outside and getting some non-sex-related movement in.
“Oh, I’ve been struggling. I’m just good at hiding it.” I shrugged and kicked a rock, losing my flip-flop in the process. “The nesting stuff helped a lot.”
Anya steadied me so I was standing on one leg and then jogged the short distance to it.
“I’m glad. I wasn’t so sure about Cal wanting to buy a bunch of stuff, but he clearly knows better than I do.
He probably got straight As in all of his omega relations classes they had to take.
” She snorted and dropped the shoe back in front of me.
“Thanks.” I slid my foot back in. “Where’d Gizmo go?”
She turned around and scanned the yard. “Damn dog. Probably wandered out into the front. He’s so used to patrolling the perimeter. Come on.”
I followed her, and Gizmo’s bark came from the front of the cabin.
“Stay here.” Anya glanced back at me over her shoulder. “Or go in the house.”
She jogged the rest of the way to the cabin and around the side of it. I walked as quickly as I could to the side of the cabin, staying out of sight of the front. I strained my ears to try to hear, but my heart was pounding too hard, and Gizmo had stopped barking.
I crept along the wall, plastering myself to it, and inched closer and closer to the front. There were voices, both male and female. I stopped just before the corner. I couldn’t see what was going on, but I could hear it.
“Where is she?” a female voice asked, deadly calm.
“Where’s who?” Anya’s voice trembled slightly, but not enough that strangers would have noticed.
“The omega. We know they’re keeping one here.”
My blood ran cold, and I felt a little lightheaded. How did they find out? The only other people that knew I was here were Kayla and Ella. Kayla would never do that to me, but Ella was the dean of students and we’d only just recently become good friends.
Had she called it in to Omega Protective Services?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just here enjoying the quiet.”
“You’re employed by Pack Estrada, are you not? Anya Hughes? Beta? Your credit card has a rather large Nest I could tell just from the way they stood.
“They’re my pack. I won’t leave them.” I had somehow found my voice and stood a little taller. “Anya is right. We love each other. I want them as my pack.”
“We’ll see what we can do.” She was lying. I knew she was, and everyone else knew too. She moved closer, her hands still raised in that placating way that was pissing me off.
It happened fast. One second, Gizmo had been off to the side, growling but not moving. The next, he was heading straight for the OPS agent.
The officer raised his gun.
I lunged for Gizmo, my fingers touching his fur.
Anya lunged for me, her hands shoving me.
The gun went off.