23. Melanie
Melanie
I ’d finished packing up the cutlery.
The last time my kitchen counters were bare was when I’d first moved in years ago. Now, all that was left that actually belonged to me were the tiles glued to the wall underneath the decorated cabinets.
I’d found the Turkish Iznik tiles in a car-boot sale and stretched my budget to buy them all. The splashes of red, purple, and blue flowers were perfect for the deep green I’d painted the cabinets.
I pressed my lips hard together as my resolve wavered again.
As soon as I pulled out my suitcase to start packing up my nest yesterday, my entire body began screaming. Everything I picked up and put into a bag, every piece of furniture I had to move, even the way I swept the floor in the empty kitchen—it was all wrong.
I was breaking up pieces of myself and throwing them away. Even if I put them back together, it would never be the same.
It didn’t matter if I found somewhere else or made a new nest. This was my home.
My hands clenched around the broom as I forced back the pain. Since Caspian and Sin arrived, I’d managed to keep myself composed. It was easier when I didn’t have space to think.
I kept thinking I knew how much I had to lose, but there was always something else they could take.
I dragged my gaze from my favourite tiles and propped the broom against the wall.
I needed to be with Sin again so my emotions couldn’t crowd me.
I’d already had a proper cry when I had to remove my favourite books in my room and bubble wrap them.
I made sure Taken by the Rogue Alphas was triple bubble wrapped so they'd never find it.
I sighed instantly at the sight of Sin standing in the centre of the room overflowing with boxes.
All their gifts had to be packed up, and the only things left now were the last of my books in the cases to his right, and the collections of pictures and frames on the wall he stood next to.
He was still in the quiet space, and nothing seemed to touch him as he intensely studied the photos. I didn’t want to interrupt him, even though we had to pack up my nest as quickly as possible.
“Are they your family?” he asked, suddenly turning to me.
I froze as purple eyes met mine. Even though we had talked about sleeping together and it felt resolved, my trust hadn’t returned. Even though my omega instincts made me relax as soon as he gave me a kind look.
“I really don’t want to take them down,” I said as I moved towards him.
I’d avoided even looking at the pictures because it hurt too much. They were the first things I’d put up when I moved in, and I wanted them to be the last I packed away.
They were mostly photos of us growing up.
Dad died too early to be part of our lives, so a lot of the faces on the walls were Rosa and Mum, before she’d had her stroke.
There were cousins, aunts, and uncles in there, too.
Photos from visits, and school, and outings.
They felt like proof I actually grew up ‘normally’.
There were photos of my sister and me laughing and playing together as kids, before things got too messed up to know where it went wrong.
Where Mum smiled at us both with so much love, it was hard to believe she spent her days sitting in a hospital room all because of a tiny blood clot.
They were memories of a time when my life didn’t completely revolve around money, and I wasn’t stuck in a place where I thought I’d never have enough.
Sin opened up his arm, and I had a choice to step towards him or not.
I didn’t know where the line lay with Kai since we were bonded, and I needed support. The scent match with both alphas was even stronger now that Kai and I had shared bites, and I wanted Sin’s comfort.
I let him feed his arm around my waist, pulling me to his side. Soft vanilla washed over me and I sighed into him.
“We’re mostly scattered now. I’ve forgotten half the people in the photos,” I said.
“But your mother and your sister—are they still in your life?”
“How did you know?” I asked.
“Because they look exactly like you,” he said with the slightest smile.
“They definitely aren’t going anywhere,” I chuckled fondly, as if my sister was just a little rascal rather than one of the reasons my life had gone to shit.
I absolutely loved the way Sin casually moved in behind me. It was so easy and natural for him to shift from clasping my side to running his hands over my waist to press his chest to my back and wrap his arms around my stomach.
It seemed to be his favourite position, especially when his chin slotted on my shoulder and his aura brushed around me.
I let myself sink into him as the deep agony of having to uproot my entire life in the space of weeks crept up on me.
I shouldn’t have stopped. I should have just carried on cleaning.
“My mum…” I bit my lip, not sure how much I should share with him.
“My mum’s terminally ill. That’s why I called you.
” I curled my hand around his, holding him as he buried himself in closer.
“She had a stroke a few years ago, and her healthcare was too much to afford. That’s why I agreed to your proposal.
” Leaving out the part about my sister’s involvement.
Or that I had already taken care of it with Zania’s money.
I just hoped they’d never meet my sister.
“And now?” he asked as he leaned back, and I could turn my head to look up at him. “Is money the reason you called us this time?”
My heart jumped, wondering if he knew about the cheque.
“You know that’s not why I called you,” I replied, averting my gaze.
It was better to keep it vague rather than outright saying that, despite everything they’d put me through, they were still the people I wanted to be with the most.
He went silent again, and I didn’t know if we were about to enter serious conversation territory. I didn’t think I had the strength to talk about my feelings for them when I was losing my nest.
“We won’t leave anything for the landlord to take from you. We’ll rip everything from the floor and walls if that’s what you want,” Sin said, gently swaying me in his arms, rocking me like a soft ocean wave. “We can take every piece of this place with us.”
But I couldn’t explain to him that even if they copy and pasted my entire nest, it wouldn’t be the same. Kai was the only one who understood it needed to be this specific space.
Sin suddenly flinched, his arms squeezing me, darkness crowding his gaze again.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked, the peace which had settled around us shaking as something disturbed him.
His jaw hardened as he glanced up at the ceiling. “Caspian is creating far too much work for us. But at least he’s keeping you safe.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re talking without saying anything again.”
“It means your landlord might no longer be a problem thanks to Caspian’s intervention,” he sighed as he pressed his lips to my temple.
I could feel something growing inside me as a familiar weight returned. I gasped as the pounding grew firmer, and I glanced at Sin to ask him what was happening.
“And Kai has finally arrived.”
As soon as Sin said it, Kai’s presence burst inside me, amusement and passion bubbling from him as he flooded my body.
When we had said goodbye at the party, Kai was drunk and I couldn’t properly feel him. But, as the echo of a car door slamming from the road in front of my flat reached us, my feet tingled.
I could feel Kai walking, feel his hand on the door to our block of flats, feel how his heart pumped in his chest as he raced inside and climbed the stairs towards us.
“Does it feel like this all the time?” I asked Sin. “Like everything he does is happening to you, too?”
Sin nodded. “Obviously, the more intense the experience, the more vividly you’ll feel it. Proximity helps as well. Can you sense his steps becoming heavier in your feet?”
Nerves jumped in me as I reached out for Kai through the bond. I couldn’t think about what I was doing, just that I wanted to be close to him.
And Kai answered me, joy thumping through me, brushing over me, meeting me halfway through the energy which pulsed between us.
Sin’s hand rounded my hip, clinging to me as he pushed my vest up.
“If I stroke you here, he’ll feel it,” Sin murmured as his gloved thumb traced over my hip. “And all I need to do is touch you like this”—His fingers dancing from my breastbone up to ring my tender throat—“and he’ll feel every moment of it.”
My breath shuddered as lust beat through me, and Kai responded, firing a bolt of annoyance and desire.
I gasped, jolting at how vivid it was. I could feel Kai was on the second-floor stairwell, turning to the third flight that led to my nest. We were tethered together, and the closer he grew, the more settled the world became.
But he wasn’t telling us to stop.
Sin drew me in, and my body lit up with them as they sent me their desire. Sin outside, Kai inside, supporting me with their different presences.
“Sin, you made a promise to Kai,” I whispered, my voice cracking as I tilted my head back.
I could hold myself back earlier when Caspian went for me because his aura was like sharp spikes. But Sin was so easy and calm.
Blend that with the urge pounding from Kai through the bond, and I couldn’t resist. But giving in to these feelings was exactly how we hurt Kai before.
Rich vanilla and brandy swirled as he edged nearer, my omega instincts singing with happiness that an alpha, my alpha, was about to kiss me again.
Until there was a loud cough from the open front door.
“I thought you were meant to be packing?” A growl bounced through the flat, and we dragged ourselves apart.
Kai stood there, draped in sky blue skinny jeans and a white blouse, with a wide grin on his lips.
And suddenly, everything was lost in an explosion of brandy as I perfumed at the sight of our omega.