Chapter 47
Ethan
“So we’ll go in and take a look at the paint chips,” I said after Nadia and I got out of the car.
Walking into the big box hardware store with my girl on my arm?
I looked down at her with a grin. Yeah, this was a perfect way to spend a weekend.
“You pick a colour you like, and then me and the boys will get started on your room.”
When we bought our place, the four bedrooms were seen as a good thing, purely from a resale perspective.
I now knew that fate had to have a hand in it.
We’d realised we were a pack and now we had somewhere our mate could move into.
The biggest bedroom had been cleared out in preparation for Nadia moving in and I couldn’t wait to get started on making it look beautiful for her.
“Before or after a Bunnings sausage?” Nadia asked, looking up at me with a smile.
“After, obviously. Now, do you have mustard on them like a complete heathen, or just tomato sauce?”
A couple of sausages on bread later and we walked up the paint aisle to take a look at the colour wall.
“So these colours…” I plucked a few cards from the wall and handed them over. “Were used in the rest of the house.”
“That’s a whole lot of grey.”
My mate’s nose wrinkle told me everything I needed to know, so I plucked them from her grip and placed them back in the right spots.
“Grey chose them,” I explained. “The men seems determined to live up to his name. Now these…” I grabbed a few softer grey greens. “Are very popular at the moment. I see them a lot on interior design feeds.”
“This one is quite pretty.”
Right then, it felt like I was saw everything. The way her fingers stroked a pale celadon green card. The slight crease between her brows.
“Nope, that’s not it,” I said, placing them back.
“It’s nice,” she spluttered.
“Don’t want nice.” Every time I looked at her felt like I’d won a prize I didn’t deserve.
Maybe that’s why I just stood there staring for a little too long.
“My girl deserves perfect. So… if Millennial green isn’t your thing, there’s some nice neutral blues.
They’ve got a grey undertone…” A quick glance Nadia’s way told me exactly what I needed to know.
“Or we could try something a little warmer. A greige perhaps?”
The same part of me that used to detect every subtle change in Dad’s mood activated now. I took in the way her lips pursed slightly, the shift of her weight from one foot to the other and knew I wasn’t on the right track.
“Are you a pink girl? Because we did a gynaecologist’s office in this colour.”
It was super soft almost terracotta colour, kinda like the inside of a shell.
“I…” She shook her head and smiled. “There’s just so many colours. Maybe if I just take a look at them all, something will jump out at me.”
That wasn’t it, some secret part of me knew, but I let her pull away, walking past one brand’s colour wall, then another’s, but it wasn’t the swatches she pulled out, then put back, that had my attention.
The wolf was a far more insistent presence in my life since Nadia’s first shift, and I could almost feel his cold nose pressing into my ribs, moving me forward.
“Maybe this one?” Nadia held out a swatch of a silvery green colour, but I focussed on her expression. A tiny tightening of the muscles around her eyes, the corners of her mouth turning down just a little. “Or this one?”
She picked another similar colour, but it felt like she was asking for my approval, rather than expressing a preference.
“You know you can pick any colour you like, right?” I said, then reached over and grabbed the most obnoxious shade of Barbie pink.
“Like if you had some childhood fantasy of having a pretty princess bedroom and your parents wouldn’t let you, I’d paint the room this colour and get you all the four poster bed and voile curtains you could possible want. ”
“You know what voile is?” She grinned. “Impressive.”
“Seriously.” Putting each of the swatches back, I took her hands in mine. “This is going to be your room, your space…” There, her grip tightened for just a second before she seemed to consciously release it. “The paint isn’t the issue.”
“What? No.” Pulling free, she turned back to the colour wall. “I’m just no good with colour. Though I do know I definitely don’t want that pink.”
“Nadia…” At my growl, she turned back my way. “I’m your mate. You can tell me what’s on your mind. Whatever it is, we can work through it.”
It felt like it was then that the mask dropped. Her eyes fell to the floor, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip before she forced herself to look at me.
“What if…?” She nodded to herself, then smiled. “What if I’m not ready yet?”
“To pick a paint colour?” I frowned, then it struck me. “Shit, to move in.”
It’d only been a couple of weeks since her first shift.
We spent pretty much every night together, so as a pack, we broached the idea of her moving in with us.
It made good sense, because it meant no one had to schlep their crap from one house to the other.
But what was practical and what felt right was two different things.
My hand shot out, grabbing her by the shoulder and then pulling her close.
“Love.” I smoothed her hair back from her face. “We’re on your timeline. The omega sets the pace both in bed—”
“Ethan!” she hissed, looking around her to see if anyone overheard us.
“And out of it. If you’re not ready to move in yet, that’s cool.
” It would be once I had a chance to talk to the others.
It would hit Grey hard at first, but he always recovered quickly.
Tex would struggle to understand what the delay was, but I’d talk him through it.
“You’re what’s important to us. If you want to keep your own place.
” Yeah, I freaked hated that idea, but I knew that’s how some relationships worked, so I’d adjust. “Or you just want some more time, that’s totally fine. ”
“Really?” The way she softened as she stared up at me was everything I didn’t know I needed. “I feel like a complete idiot. We’re fated to be together.”
“Which means we’ve got our whole lives to work out when’s the best time to move in,” I replied. “Something I’ll remind the others of when we get home.”
“Shit.” She pressed her cheek against my chest as her arms went around my waist. “I really needed to hear that.”
“On a completely unrelated note, if you were helping me to choose a colour for our guest room that you sometimes stay in when you feel like it, do any of these appeal to you?”
That earned me a dark look, but as her lips twitched in an almost smile, she faced the colour wall.
“This one.”
It was a super soft purple with pink and grey undertones and not something I ever would’ve chosen. Clients rarely chose purples for their commercial spaces for some reason, but when she handed me the swatch, I smiled.
“It’s perfect,” I said. “Soft, delicate, and completely feminine. It’s you. So, let’s go buy some paint, maybe some overalls for you.” I looked her up and down. “Some cute little pink ones. I could see you in them and nothing else, so when I undo the strap—”
“Stop…!” she said, shoving my shoulder, but her flushed cheeks and her scent made clear she was having fun. Snatching the swatch from my hands, she stomped over to the paint counter to wait to be served.
Months later, me and the guys were standing in the room we’d renovated for Nadia.
After I broke the news that our mate wanted to take some time before moving in, Tex and Grey had struggled with the concept, but we talked it through.
We might be Nadia’s fated mates, but she’d had such negative experiences with guys before this, it made sense she’d be wary.
When she came over, we slept in one of our bedrooms, which meant Tex finally started picking up his dirty washing off the floor and doing it more often.
This room… Every afternoon we worked on it, installing a walk-in wardrobe and changing the lighting so that could be adjusted to suit our mate’s needs, it felt like we were building something together.
“So you think Nadia is gonna like it?”
I could count on one hand the amount of times I heard doubt in Tex’s voice, but it was clear that’s what he was feeling right now. The walls had been painted, a new bed installed and I’d worked with some ladies at the local soft furnishings place to find just the right curtains and bedding.
“I think so.” Scanning the room, something settled in me.
The space had transformed from an anonymous looking spare room to a warm, inviting place.
I’d found tons of blankets and throws made of different featherlight materials and stacked them all in a fancy chest at the end of the bed, ready for Nadia to use when nesting.
“If it isn’t, we’ll just keep fixing things until she’s happy. ”
“Whatever our mate needs,” Grey said with a nod.
“Whatever she needs.”
“Heyy!” The slam of the front door, then the sound of Nadia’s voice had us all turning around at the same time. “We’re back.”
Helena and Nadia insisted that they be the ones to pack their bags into her car and bring them over. We’d take our trucks and get the heavier things, but apparently the first lot of items were ‘girl stuff.’ With a nod to the other guys, we left the room and met her in the hallway.
“I’ll take this.” I plucked the bags from her grip to the sounds of Nadia’s protests. “Don’t worry, I won’t drop and break your tampons/diva cup/Hitachi Magic Wand or whatever the hell is in these bags you didn’t want to see.”
“Pretty sure it’s my bestie’s strap on collection.” Helena waggled her eyebrows at us. “She was worried about your reaction when you found out how much she loves pegging guys.”
“Shut up! I don’t.” Nadia looked from us to her friend in horror. “That’s not it.”
“Well, it’s not something I’ve got a lot of experience in.” I made a show of considering the idea. “But maybe I’d be into it. Guess we’ll find out.”
“We could customise some of the shelving in the wardrobe,” Tex said. “Have all the dildos lined up by colour or by size?”
“Size obviously.” Grey didn’t often run with our jokes, so his wry smile was a shock to see. “Then you can gradually work your way up.”
“OK, I’ve changed my mind,” Nadia said, making for the door. “I’m not moving in and I need a new best friend.”
“Nope.” Hooking an arm around her waist, I pulled her back against me. “If you decide you’re still not ready, we can work with that, but I think Tex is gonna lose his shit if he doesn’t get to show you the wardrobe he designed for you. Throw the guy a bone, omega.”
“Hmm…” She turned slowly, eyes narrowed. “Fine. Show me what you’ve been working on.”
“Eyes closed.” She made a sound of protest as I covered her eyes with my hands, then helped her walk down the hall. “Otherwise you’ll ruin the surprise.”
It was all good fun until we reached the door, then my heart started rattling in my chest. What if Nadia hated it?
What if she still wasn’t ready to move in?
Intellectually I knew we could work through that, but my heart didn’t get the message.
Perfection or nothing, that’s what it demanded, so I helped her walk inside once Grey opened the door.
“Wow, baby shit brown.” Helena winked at us. “That’s an interesting design choice.”
“What…?” Nadia’s yelp trailed off as I pulled my hands away. “Oh…” Shit, that wasn’t good, right? “It’s so beautiful.” Watching her rush towards the bed and clasp a cushion to her chest had an ache starting up behind my breastbone. “This bedspread. These pillows!”
“Damn.” Helena stuck her head in through the wardrobe doorway. “This is bigger than my whole apartment. You’re gonna be able to stick so many dildos in here.”
“So you like it?”
Tex sounded tentative and I was right there with him.
“Like it?” The way she beamed, cheeks flushed, felt like a core memory I’d store away in my head forever.
“I love it!” With a jump, she flopped back onto the bed, starfishing it on the quilt.
We, of course, came to sit around her. “No one…” With a blink, I saw her eyes were now suspiciously shiny had me grabbing her hand.
“No one’s ever done something like this for me before. ”
“This is nothing,” Tex said. “Wait until you see the plans we’ve got for a nursery.”
Nadia sat up abruptly.
“Nursery!?”
“For fuck’s sake, Tex.” Grey rubbed at his face. “Get some chill.”
But he wouldn’t. The man went all in on everything he did and I just had to believe that the fates knew what they were doing. That together we would make it all work out.
“So, are you ready to move in, my mate?” I asked Nadia, as I leaned in closer. “Or do you need more time to sort through your strap on collection?”
“Yes.” Her lips on mine were all I needed. “Yes to moving in, as long as Tex can promise to never ever do the cooking.”
“I’m on dish duty for the rest of my life.” He sketched her a salute. “Got it.”
“And Grey is in charge on the cleaning, because damn, he’s particular,” she said, glancing over at my other pack mate.
“Notice she didn’t say anally retentive arsehole?” Grey said, smirking at me and Tex.
“And Ethan—?”
“Is responsible for all of the bubble baths and foot massages you could possibly want,” I said. “Got it.”
“OK, stop being all perfect and shit.” Helena emerged out of the wardrobe. “And start putting those big muscles to good use, because your mate has a lot of shit to move.”
“You heard the lady,” I said, grinning at the others. “Let’s get our mate moved in.”