41. Beau
Beau
My Omega is fading.
I notice it sometime between the last round of lemonades and Nash losing his first wrestling match, insisting the other guy cheated because "there's no legal way a man that short should have that kind of leverage."
Nelly laughed until she cried.
But now, she's on her third yawn.
By the time the sun starts dipping lower over the lake, turning the water into a sheet of rippling gold, she's curled on her side beneath the girls' tent with her head in Lia's lap and one of Tansy's pillows tucked against her chest. She lets out half-hearted cheers every once in a while, trying her damnedest to still participate.
Even though her blinking is slowing.
I nudge Levi. "She's done. Let's start wrangling her."
Levi follows my gaze from where he's standing beside me. Nelly lifts her head when Lo says something, laughs a second too late, and then lets her cheek drop right back onto Lia's thigh.
Levi snorts. "Oh, yeah. Let's get this girl home."
Nash comes up behind us, freshly changed into a dry shirt after cooling off in the lake. "What're we looking at?"
I point toward our sleepy Omega and he takes one look at her before his entire face softens.
"She's exhausted," Nash murmurs.
"She's been exhausted for a couple of hours," I say. "She just refuses to admit it."
"That tracks," Levi says.
Nash crosses his arms. "Think she'll fight us?"
"Yes," Levi and I answer together.
He sighs. "Guess we're fighting our Omega to bed, then."
I look at him. "You can fight her. I'm going to cuddle her when we get inside."
Nash grins. "Coward."
I shrug. "If it gets me cuddles? Absolutely."
Levi claps both of us on the shoulders. "All right, gentlemen. Let's go ruin her fun."
We approach the tent together, which is apparently our first mistake because Nelly's head lifts.
Her eyes narrow immediately. "No."
Nash stops. "We haven't even said anything."
She shuffles around until she's upright. "You're walking like a committee ready to snuff out the fire of our party."
Tansy chokes on her lemonade. I press my lips together to try to block my chuckle, but it doesn't help.
Nelly points at the three of us from her position on the blanket. "Whatever you're about to committee at me, the answer is no."
"Sweetheart," I say.
She shakes her head.
Levi sighs as he crouches down. "You don't even know what we're going to say."
Nelly yawns. "You're going to tell me I'm tired and that it's time to leave."
Nash just tilts his head. "And I guess you're also about to tell us that isn't a yawn and you're not tired?"
Nelly stretches her arms above her head. "I'm not. Just need a bit of caffeine to perk me up."
"That's what you drink when you're tired, silly girl," Levi says with a smile.
"We're not done with our girls' day, anyway, right you guys?" Nelly asks as she looks around the tent.
Lo looks away while she cuddles Taran. Lia bites the inside of her cheek as she leans back against Walker. Tansy lasts all of two seconds before she's yawning herself, and it echoes through the girls in the tent.
"Convincing," Levi says.
"Fuck off," Nelly mutters.
I laugh as I crouch beside her. "You've been out here all day."
She sighs. "So have you, Beau, and you're not tired yet."
I offer my hand. "Well, I'm not the one rebuilding a condemned house in my spare time."
Nash crouches on her other side. "Come on, Nels. Let's call it and go get you cleaned up."
Her whine is adorable. "But I'm having so much fun."
The quiet admission softens something inside me.
I look at the people around her who have welcomed her with open arms despite her reclusive tendencies.
Hayes comes over long enough to wrangle a sleeping Taran away from Lo.
Lia leans back and plants a kiss beneath Walker's chin.
Tansy has a powdered sugar donut in her hand with a track of the white stuff down the front of her shirt.
Music surrounds us, and laughter. Children splash around in the lake as the festivities wind down and the band gears up. The scent of fried food hangs heavily in the summer air, and I get why she's not ready to leave.
She's happy.
She's got friends.
She's got us.
But she'll also have those things in the morning, after she gets a shower and sleeps.
I reach down and smooth a strand of hair away from her cheek. "You had a good day?"
Her smile is tired. "The best."
My chest tightens. "Then let's end it while it's still the best."
Levi drops down onto the blanket near her feet. "Besides, pretty girl, we've still gotta get you upstairs and showered."
Nelly's face wrinkles. "Upstairs?"
Levi's grin spreads. "You did say you were apartment-hopping."
Nelly giggles as she takes my offered hand. "I did."
Levi stands when we do. "And I called dibs."
Nash grumbles. "Still think that was underhanded."
Nelly snorts. "You were standing right there, you could've interjected."
Nash helps her steady herself on her feet. "You were emotional. Didn't want to ruin it."
I smile. "She's always emotional over something."
Nelly swats at me playfully. "Hey. I'm passionate. There's a difference."
Nash smooths some sand off her chin. "You cried when the precinct won."
She narrows her eyes. "I had lake water in my eyes."
I lean forward and kiss her temple. "You were standing on dry land."
Nelly's laughter cuts through the conversation, and I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it.
It's my favorite sound in the whole world.
But finally, she relents with a sigh. "Fine."
Nash immediately reaches for her, but she swats his hand away. "I can walk in the sand."
When she stumbles taking her first step, Nash quickly wraps his arm around her waist. "Never said you couldn't."
Nelly leans her head against his arm. "You're about to pick me up, aren't you?"
Nash scoops her into his arms. "I absolutely am."
"I have legs, you know."
"Beautiful ones."
"Nash."
He chuckles. "Just making an observation."
She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling as he carries her off. Nelly waves at the girls who are already standing to pack up their own things, and I stay behind long enough to shake the men's hands and thank them for looking after her today.
"Keep an eye on the group chat!" Tansy calls out as I jog to catch up with my pack. "We've got Tuesday night plans at Ruby's bar!"
"Send me the details ASAP!" Nelly yells back.
The trip back to the complex is quiet. Nash drives with one hand on the wheel as the last of the sunlight flashes through the trees.
We leave the lake behind, with Levi sitting in the front passenger seat because his legs are longer than mine and he complained until I told him to shut up and get in.
Nelly sits beside me in the back, alert and gazing out the window.
For the first five minutes, anyway.
Then her head starts bobbing.
I lift my arm the second time it happens. "Come here, sweetheart."
She doesn't argue as she settles against me, and that's how I know she's exhausted. She folds into my side and rests her head on my shoulder. I shift carefully, making room for her, and she tucks one hand against my stomach, wrapping her fingers into the excess of my shirt.
I commit the entire moment to memory.
Within minutes, her breathing evens out and I stare out my window as I try not to cry.
It's stupid, but I don't care because this morning my family stood in front of me and made me feel like I was sixteen years old again.
Too soft, and too weak. Too much of a Beta, and not enough like them.
And tonight, my Omega is asleep on my shoulder because she trusts me enough to close her eyes and relax.
Levi catches my gaze in the rearview mirror before Nash peers over his shoulder and smiles.
Something warm moves through the bonds connecting all of us, and I realize…
this is what family is supposed to feel like.
Full of support and understanding. Where words aren't considered weapons and I don't have to cower away from my own.
We don't pierce the silence until Nash pulls to a stop in the complex parking lot.
"She out?" Levi whispers, turning to look at her.
"Completely," I murmur.
Nash glances into the rearview mirror as he unbuckles himself. "We can carry her."
Her eyes stay closed as her tired voice appears. "I have feet, Sheriff."
I bite back a laugh as Nash's eyebrows rise. "Sorry. Thought you were asleep."
Nelly yawns. "I was."
"Then how'd you hear me?"
"Predator instinct."
Levi lets out a laugh before unbuckling himself as well.
She slowly lifts her head from my shoulder, and her hair is flattened on one side and sticking wildly away from her face on the other. She looks fucking adorable, and I'm not sure I've ever felt this content with my life.
All thanks to her.
"We home?" she asks.
The word hits all three of us at once. I feel it happen in my chest. Emotions well up inside me: shock and awe, with a bit of elation thrown in there as well. Nash's hands tighten on the steering wheel. Levi goes still. My throat closes with a knot I can't swallow down.
Nelly rubs at her chest absently. "Why're we still sitting here?"
Levi recovers first. "No reason, pretty girl. Let's get you up to my place."
We walk her to the elevator like an escort detail. Nash runs to the house next door to get her bag while Levi carries her purse. Nelly leans into me as the elevator lurches to life, dragging us up to Levi's floor.
And when he unlocks the front door to his place, Nelly immediately toes off her shoes.
"You guys were right," she says with another yawn as she stretches. "It's time for bed."
"Shower first," Levi says as he closes and locks his door.
"What?" Nelly asks.
"Yep," Nash says as he sets her things down by Levi's couch. "You need a shower before you crash out."
"I showered this morning," she says with a pout.
I walk over to her and beckon for her to lift her arms. "You've spent all day sweating in this heat."
She lifts her arms for me. "I took a dip in the lake."
Levi chuckles. "I'll go get the hot water started."
Nash helps her shimmy out of her shorts. "You have sand stuck to your leg. You can't sleep in all that."
"That feels judgmental," Nelly mutters.
Nash laughs. "Come on, little one. You'll sleep better if you're clean."
We all help her in the shower, but these apartment showers aren't made for four people to stand in.
We get Nelly perched in the shower, and then the three of us take turns getting in and out to help her clean up.
Nash washes her hair and rinses it out. I hop in to get the conditioner in there and help with any tangled knots.
Levi helps her wash her body before I slip back in to rinse the conditioner out of her hair, and the entire time she leans into our touches.
Nuzzles against our palms.
Fills the shower with her delicious scent.
My cock kicks, and I have to draw in a few deep breaths to keep myself under control.
There's something intimate about what's happening between all of us right now, and I'm not going to ruin it with my desires.
Nelly is pliant and trusting while we move her around, her naked body still covered in our marks.
She isn't out of her mind with heat. She isn't helpless to her instincts.
She isn't begging for anything she can't control.
She's simply allowing us to be her pack, trusting that we won't hurt her.
It's a natural rhythm we all create until she's ready to get out of the shower. Levi kneels to dry off her legs while Nash tends to her hair. I wrap a towel around her midsection so she can cling to it if she feels too exposed.
She doesn't even hold the towel up herself.
"Come on, let's get you tucked in," Levi murmurs as he kisses her forehead.
Her feet shuffle heavily as we get her into Levi's room. His bed is massive, and we pour Nelly into it like a blob of slime. She rolls into the middle, nestling her face right into one of Levi's pillows.
Then, she reaches out her hand and wiggles her fingers.
"I'm right here, Omega," Levi says as he takes her hand.
She reaches her other hand out and wiggles those fingers, too.
"We'll stay until you fall asleep," Nash says as he perches on the edge of the bed and takes her other hand.
"No," she grumbles.
"No, you don't want us to stay?" I ask.
She turns her head, pressing her cheek into the pillow. "No, don't leave."
Nash and I look over at Levi as he crawls into bed with her.
"You want them to stay with us, too, sweet girl?" he asks.
She nods tiredly. "Please. I don't want you guys to go. I want my pack."
"Levi?" Nash asks. "You good with that?"
"Hell yeah, I'm good with that," he says as he slips his feet beneath the sheet on his bed. "Come on. Gather up. What our Omega wants, our Omega gets."
Levi covers her left while Nash gets up and offers the right side of the bed to me. I nod and slip in beside Nelly, pressing my chest to her back while she burrows into Levi. Nash settles along the length of the bed, taking one of her feet out from beneath the sheet so he can massage it.
"Ohhh, yeah," Nelly yawns. "That's the good stuff."
Levi kisses her lips softly. "Get some rest, Omega. You've earned it."
"Okay," she murmurs.
As she slides her other foot into Nash's lap, I can't help but smile as I settle back down behind her. I don't know if I've ever felt content in my life before. Not like this, anyway. Is this what family is supposed to feel like? Full of love and acceptance?
Apparently so.
I curl my arm around her waist and lay my head on the pillow she's using, just to get a little closer to her.
Levi strokes his fingers through her hair as her breathing evens out, and I hear Nash settling her feet back to the bed.
We pull a sheet up her body to cover her without making her too hot, and then the three of us work on getting comfortable for ourselves.
I'm not sure what we're going to do about permanent living arrangements for our pack. But as long as I don't have to spend another night away from Nelly, I don't care what we do. I belong at her side for as long as she'll have me. She's mine, and I'm hers, and we belong to a pack that loves us.
I'm not moving from my post unless she tells me to leave.