Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Belle
Knox only hesitates a moment before offering me a hand to help me up from the couch. I place my palm on his and let him tug me to him. He places a sweet kiss on my forehead.
"There's something we should show you," he says, his voice low and gentle. He glances at the other guys for confirmation before adding, "We've been waiting to show you this since the moment we caught a sniff of you."
Rhys and Percy both nod in earnest agreement.
There's something careful in their energy toward me, more cautious. The past few days have felt like something out of a dream, and even now that I know the truth, the feeling doesn't just evaporate. The dream only feels more real and more grounded than yesterday.
I meet their steady expressions with my own, secure in my decision to move forward with them. My heat is coming soon, and I'm committed to being here with them through it. And not just out of necessity, otherwise asking Mia to take me to a clinic could have sufficed.
No, I want to be here with them. With them. This feels like a choice worth leaning into.
"Okay," I tell Knox, "Lead the way."
Knox places his hand low on my back to guide me toward the stairs. When we reach the stairs, he lets go and walks up ahead of me. I mourn the loss of his touch instantly, wishing the physical contact never, ever had to stop.
Percy and Rhys follow behind us with quiet steps. I can practically feel the nervous energy radiating off of them. Whatever they want to show me seems to be a very big deal to them, and my curiosity is piqued.
We reach the top of the steps and approach a door I vaguely noticed before, across the hall from Knox's bedroom. I never thought to ask what was inside or to sneak a peek for myself.
I've been plenty distracted.
Knox stops directly in front of the door, blocking the entrance, and looks at me. His expression is gentle; I can tell he's trying to be soft for me, comforting.
"This is it," he says, "your nest."
Mine?
I blink, not sure I've heard him correctly. He means the pack's nest.
He must see the confusion on my face because he explains, "This nest was always meant to be yours, Belle. We just hadn't found you yet." He focuses his gaze up at the ceiling as his voice grows more desperate, continuing, "We can change anything. Make this room look however you want, when you're ready. The essentials are here already if you'd like to use the nest for your heat, if you're comfortable with that."
Nests are the most special of places.
You can't just offer one to an omega and then expect them to leave. I've never met any omega that wants anything more than she wants her nest.
Each omega is a little different when it comes to their needs, but for the majority, they like to use blankets and clothing that smells like their pack to fill the room with the perfect scents. They might add comfort items and special lighting. Some need a space that's clean and proper, while others might need as many soft, cuddly items as they can squeeze inside.
A nest is personal.
Sacred.
I've even seen brochures from designers who turn nests into state-of-the-art mini apartments, allowing the pack access to anything they might need without ever having to leave the nest during a heat. Those spaces are a little much for me, but I've spent practically my whole life daydreaming about what a nest of my own might be like.
Cozy. Warm. Filled with love.
My brain is still jumbled from the hurt of being lied to and the complications of remembering my full identity. I try to remember this nest might not end up being mine once we start working through their decision to lie and the fact that I have a whole life in town that I would have to abandon to be with them. But curiosity is one hell of a motivator.
"Can I see?" I ask breathlessly, my eyes peering longingly around Knox toward the door.
Knox turns to push the door open for me and then steps out of the way, allowing me to enter as they all hover in the hallway outside.
I take one step inside, vaguely taking in the neutral paint and decor where they didn't want to customize the nest too much without their omega's input. My attention is stolen quickly, though, by the sight of the giant, fluffy bed in the middle of the room.
Unable to help myself, I take off running toward the bed and belly flop onto the mattress. My body bounces as I let out a gleeful shriek of joy at how comfortable the soft bed is. Like a cloud.
This bed is so comfy that I want to die here. Right in this very spot, dead center in the middle of the ridiculously large bed.
Not right this second , of course. But maybe they can someday build my coffin around this bed. Or not. Thoughts like this have no place in this nest, I remind myself, stopping myself before I get any more dramatic or melancholy.
I don't even need to see the rest of the nest to know the space is perfect. I just need to keep my face buried against the heavenly cloud they found to call a bed.
"Hey, Belle?" Percy calls out hesitantly to me, "Are you alright?"
Grudgingly, I raise one arm up from my fluffy cloud to give him a thumbs up for reassurance. One of the guys hums a sound of amusement from deep in his throat.
I continue to lie in the same position for several minutes. I never want to move, but eventually I make myself sit up and take in the rest of the room, knowing the alphas have put as much consideration into every detail as they have into their choice of bed.
The room is so beautiful.
Perfect, even.
The space is simple but in a way that feels intentional, as if made with me in mind long before anyone knew I would be the one here.
Midday sun streams in through a massive window, bathing everything in warm, golden tones that make the space feel so inviting. Outside, snow-dusted pines stretch into the distance, a view that could have been handpicked from a dream I didn't even know I had until this moment. Beige, thick linen curtains frame the window, ready to close the nest off from the world if I ever need to turn the space more dim and private.
Across from the bed, a huge flat-screen television hangs on the wall, perfectly positioned for future cozy movie nights.
Along another wall, there's a shelving unit made of pine wood with a few miscellaneous items and baskets decorating the otherwise sparse shelves. My eyes settle on a stack of fluffy blankets on one of the shelves, stocked for me as if the universe whispered to the guys that I would want every soft material they could get their hands on.
A warm feeling spreads through my belly as I take everything in.
"I built that myself," Rhys says from the doorway. "We didn't fill all the shelves so that there would be space for whatever our omega needed when you came along."
I smile and look over at them where they stand with matching amused expressions, all still outside the room, hanging in the hallway.
"Why are you all out there?" I ask with a slight frown. I expected them to wander in while I was face-down in the cloud bed.
Percy shrugs, his shoulders knocking Knox and Rhys on either side of him because they're pressed so close together to watch me from the doorway. "This is your space, Belle. You have all the power here, so it's your choice if we enter and whether we stay or go."
Oh .
So sweet and so unnecessary.
I'm tempted to cry into the super soft pillow I just realized I'm clutching to my chest. Of course I want them in here with me. I want to cuddle them in this cloud bed and take the best nap ever. And later, I want to wake up in their arms feeling safer than I've ever been.
How do I make sure they understand that despite everything, I trust them? I don't want things to be awkward or uncertain when my heat hits. If they need reassurance from me, I'm happy to give that to them.
"Can we spend the rest of today watching movies and cuddling in the nest?" I ask, my voice growing softer and shy.
As soon as the words are out, the energy between us seems to instantly relax, a weight lifting off of all of us. The tension doesn't vanish completely, but it noticeably softens around the edges.
The three alphas look between themselves for confirmation before nodding along as a group.
I love that their pack has so much history, reading each other's expressions and having whole conversations without speaking a word. Even better, they don't make me feel like an outsider during these moments, even though I don't quite share that same connection with them... yet.
"Anything you want," Knox assures me, speaking on behalf of the pack.
I nod, dropping my gaze shyly to the pillow in my arms. "I think... I don't want to be left alone, please."
"You never have to be alone again, if you don't want," Percy vows, his voice full of promise.
Rhys is the first to move. He kicks off his boots and pulls his hoodie over his head, dropping it on top of a basket in the corner near the door that I notice is also full of blankets. As if he's been waiting for this specific invitation his entire life, he moves at the speed of light.
"I call left side!" he announces, his playful tone making me smile. He throws himself onto the bed with nearly as much enthusiasm as I did, and I laugh as his weight sends me bouncing on the mattress.
Percy follows more calmly. He approaches the bed with slow, measured steps, his eyes watching me carefully to check in with every step closer he gets. When he reaches the bed, he sits on the edge of the mattress with his body angled toward mine. His choice feels protective. Like he'd come closer if asked, but he's not going to push his luck and crowd me.
Unsurprisingly, Knox is the last to enter.
He steps into the room and closes the door behind him. I watch in rapt fascination as he leans over and digs under Rhys's hoodie for a big, fluffy blanket. He walks over and tosses the blanket over the three of us before climbing in between Percy and me.
Percy nabs the remote for the TV off the nightstand on his side and queues up the main screen. I ignore the pang in my chest that hits when I see the full bars of wireless advertised at the top of the screen.
"What are you in the mood for?" Percy asks me. "Something funny?"
"Definitely something funny." I nod as I settle deeper into the pillow fortress at the head of the bed. "Nothing sad. I don't want to be sad."
"You got it, sweetheart." Percy flicks through the streaming options as he snuggles in closer against Knox.
Time to hit pause on serious thoughts and just enjoy this perfect moment with them.
I'm not sure what movie they eventually choose because within minutes, my eyelids grow heavy. I tuck my hands under my cheek as sleep begins to pull me under, muting the background noise of the TV.
My last thought is that the room smells divine, all of our scents weaving together in the perfect mix.