Chapter 19
S eeing Callie walking around in my shirt made me want to eat her right up. She’d been so fucking cute this morning when she climbed into my bed so delicately like she was too embarrassed to wake me, but couldn’t help herself.
Callie had come into my room. She’d have had no reason to think Kai was staying with me so he could be nearby, and my instincts were fucking preening over being chosen. And now she was stuffing her face with pancakes and strawberries, her cheeks as full as a chipmunk’s like she couldn’t eat fast enough.
It was fucking adorable.
Watching her go through so much pain yesterday had been utterly heartbreaking and not an experience I had any desire to repeat. If I had my way, she’d never cry another day in her life.
We’d sat down as a pack after she’d gone to bed, trying to sort out the best way to make her happy here. We had never planned for an omega, and while the guest room could easily be converted into a space for Callie, our hope was that most of her nights would be spent with at least one of us in our rooms until she settled.
Everyone at the table watched her discreetly, stealing glances at the sweetheart in our midst. Our omega.
How long would it take for her to bond me too?
I craved that connection with her. In some ways I was glad Kai was the first of us to be bonded. He was the best choice to ease her in, far better than Amir with his quiet temper or Miles with his anxiety. Callie had enough of her own stress to manage right now without having to directly feel how either of them had reacted to yesterday.
Before breakfast had finished, the order I’d put in after leaving her apartment arrived. I probably should have discussed it with Callie first, but everything in me yesterday had been screaming fix it! so I’d jumped the gun a bit. Hopefully she would like it.
I got up to answer the door and accepted the stack of boxes. She’d said her favorite color was pink during the drive when we’d worked on learning about one another, so I’d taken that knowledge and run with it.
Callie perked up, staring at the boxes as I carried them into the kitchen one by one to set them down on the free space on the island. “What are those?”
“Presents for you.”
“For me?!” she squeaked.
“I may have gone a touch overboard, but?—”
She was up and out of her seat, crashing against me, her arms locked around my waist. “Thank you.”
“You don’t even know what the presents are yet.”
“Doesn’t matter.” She pressed her face to my chest, squeezing tighter. “You thought about me.”
“Precious, I don’t think it’s possible for me to stop thinking about you.”
I fetched her a box cutter out of our utility drawer, lowering the first box so it was properly in reach for her. She stared at the contents, lifting a plastic-wrapped, vacuum-sealed pink pillow.
Callie looked at me curiously and found three more like it, the next box containing twenty different throw blankets, all shades of pink in various fabrics and textures.
“Diego…” she whispered reverently. “Are these nesting supplies?”
“All of yours got thrown away. I thought?—”
Callie burst into tears, burying her face in the first blanket on top.
Panic lanced straight up my spine that I had managed to make her cry. “I’m sorry. I should’ve talked to you first.”
“No! I love them . Everything is so beautiful.”
Kai was already on his feet, kneeling behind her to drag her onto his lap. Callie reached for me and pulled me down so she could awkwardly loop her arms around my neck, the blanket wedged between us while she continued sniffling away. It wasn’t a comfortable position, but my omega wanted me close and I wasn’t going to deny her.
“Thank you.” She hiccuped, clutching me tighter.
“You’re more than welcome, precious. I wasn’t sure what all you would like so I picked a bunch of everything in your favorite color. Anything you don’t want we can ship right back.”
“Can you open the rest for me?” she asked, looking at me with watery eyes.
“Of course.” I brought the final box down and sliced through the tape, revealing novelty pillows and plushes. She picked out the apple cider plush. It was in the shape of a paper cup with a bright red apple in the center, and a little smile above it with a plush cinnamon stick poking through a swirl of faux whipped cream. Not exactly accurate for how it was usually consumed, but the aesthetic was cute. I had chosen it for her and Kai, a combination of both of their scents since they were first bond in the pack.
“It’s so cute. Jerry never let me have stuff like this in my nest. He said it was too childish.”
I growled before I could stop myself and Callie leaned back into Kai’s embrace. “Sorry, that was not for you. I can’t believe he would dare dictate what an omega is allowed to have in their nest.”
Miles and Amir hovered nearby, observing but not interfering.
“Do you want to set up your nest, sweetheart?” Miles asked.
“I can have one here?” she asked.
“Of course you can have one here,” I insisted. “It wouldn’t feel like home if you didn’t have a nest.”
Kai helped her stand and showed her the guest room that we were fully prepared to turn into her space, but she hesitated in the doorway, her apple cider plush squeezed in her arms before she turned and trotted directly up the stairs.
Where was she going?
The four of us followed after her and I found her back in my bed, looking at me with wide, plaintive eyes when I stepped into the room. Seeing her in there smoothed down the rough edges of my worries. “Precious, would you like my bed to be your nest?”
She squeezed the plush harder. “I don’t want to steal your space.”
I joined her on the bed, threading my fingers through her hair, gratified when she closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. “You’re more than welcome to turn this into your nest. I can move downstairs if you’d be more comfortable here.”
She brought the plush up until it was covering everything but her eyes like it could shield her. “I don’t want you to move.”
“Then I’m even happier if you want to share this with me.”
“The other rooms don’t smell right. This one smells like you, me, and Kai.”
“You don’t have to explain. If you want it, it’s yours.”
That got her eyes watering again and she tipped forward, curling into a ball with her head on my lap. I didn’t take a bit of her trust for granted, knowing how vulnerable she had to be feeling right now. She felt comfortable touching me and having me close, and I recognized that for the gift it was.
“You’re all being so nice I don’t know what to do with it.”
“You have to get used to being treated well because that’s your future with us.”
Kai joined us, kneeling on the floor so he was at eye level with Callie. “We’ll still take you shopping for more nesting supplies if you want. We need to take you shopping for clothing too. Until you’re ready to go out, you can use anything in the house to build up a spot that’s perfect for you.”
“You can order online too,” said Miles. “I’ll get you my credit card and you can pick out anything you want.”
The doorbell rang again and Amir disappeared to answer it, returning a moment later with another box.
Callie lifted her head, staring at both box and carrier. “What is it?”
“You gave all of your toiletries to your neighbor. I figured you would need new options and wasn’t sure if you would like what we have here.”
Callie let out a quiet sound of distress, getting to her hands and knees to cross the distance to Amir, where she pulled him into a hug he didn’t seem to know what to do with. He did put his arms around her, but he looked at me over the top of her head like he wasn’t sure what to make of her. I knew she was just overwhelmed. Our omega had been through a lot this week. At least Amir rolled with it instead of denying her that basic comfort. He had made it clear he didn’t want a mate, but I was grateful that didn’t mean he was going to be unkind to her.
Miles looked like he was desperate to hold her too, but I could see the anxious tension in his body and I was pretty certain he wouldn’t reach out to her unless she came to him first.
“I’m sorry I’m such a fucking mess.” Callie sat back, wiping her eyes.
“You’re not,” Kai insisted, pulling her close again. “You’re in pain.”
I was so curious to know what she felt like through the bond. Maybe by the time her next heat rolled around, she would be ready to do that with me. Even if the first bond with Kai had been an accident, she would be used to it by then and maybe it wouldn’t feel so strange to consider.
“Would it be okay if I made my nest and had a nap?”
“You can do anything you want, precious. We’ll bring the boxes up.”
Kai stayed with her, while Miles, Amir, and I headed downstairs to bring up everything Callie needed.
“I should’ve gotten her something tangible,” Miles lamented as we swept down the stairs. “You two thought ahead.”
“We also ordered while you were driving. You were in charge of getting us safely there and back. The rest of us had time to worry about other things,” I pointed out. “Besides, there won’t be any shortage of time for you to get gifts for Callie.”
Miles chewed his lip as we gathered up the boxes. “I worry she won’t like me.”
“Give it time.”
Amir snorted. “Easy enough for you to say when you’re already one of her favorites.”
“She’s just more comfortable with me right now. You’ll get there. And maybe she would like you better if you would pull that stick out of your fucking ass.”
“I like my stick right where it is, thanks.”
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the stairs with the box of pillows. Callie and Kai were in the same position we’d left them in, but she perked up when we rejoined her. I unwrapped the pillows from their vacuum seal, letting them fluff back up. Amir handed her each of the numerous blankets in turn so she could make sure the texture was appropriate for her nest before he undid the packaging. She rejected four of them but kept the rest. At least I had mostly chosen correctly.
Watching her set up camp in my bed, arranging pillows and blankets, was like the fulfillment of a dream I hadn’t even known I’d had. She looked so happy as she tucked blankets this way and that until they met her satisfaction.
Callie frowned. “It’s still not quite right.” She climbed off the bed and stopped in front of me, curling her fingers in the waistband of my lounge pants, sending every nerve to attention. “I need these.”
Oh. She was full-throttle nesting then.
“I’m not wearing anything under them.”
Her cheeks flushed hot pink. “But I need them.”
“Okay, one second. Close your eyes if you don’t wanna see the full moon.” I pulled another pair of pants out of my dresser and traded them for the ones I was wearing, turning to see Callie still watching me, her lips softly parted and her pupils wide. I passed her the pants she had requested. “Anything else you need from me, precious?”
Callie bit her lip, her sweet candied apple scent in a thick cloud around her. “Get in the nest. Please,” she added.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Amir announced. “I’ll take Miles with me. Take your time.”
Callie pouted as Amir departed, but didn’t tell him to stay.
I followed her back into the nest where Kai was waiting. It was blatantly obvious that Callie wanted us, given the state of her scent and the extra sweetness of her slick tinting the air, but I could feel her heart pounding beneath my palm when I reached out, and saw the panic in her eyes.
“It’s all right, little dove,” Kai crooned. “Only as much as you want. I’ll be able to feel if you need to stop.”
Callie whimpered as she stretched out, reaching one hand to me and the other to Kai, drawing us close. I was determined to go at a pace that she was comfortable with. It didn’t matter that I had already had her every way possible, because that was under contract and during a heat. Now this was just her, asking for us despite her nerves. There was no fucking way I was going to make her regret that. I wanted her to stay forever, and maybe if we made her happy enough, she would.