22. Finley
Finley
Lane chuckled. "Seems like we might need to keep you with us so you don't get into more trouble."
Colt looked up at him. "Then we'll never get anything done. Look how cute she is, not to mention how good she smells, totally distracting."
Never in all my life had I had someone talk about me like this.
I felt my cheeks burn with the foreign sensation of blushing at how sincere they were being about this.
"You guys, I'm very capable of handling myself.
He just surprised me. I'm still working on all these new senses and how to use them to the best advantage.
I'll be fine here with Noah and Mason. Go finish whatever I pulled you away from. "
"Does that mean you’re going to stay in the house?" Lane asked hopefully.
"Is that what needs to happen so you can relax?" I questioned, quirking a brow at him.
Lane tapped his chin as he thought. "Yes, I believe my wolf and I agree that knowing you’re safe in our home would set us at ease."
"Alright, then that’s what I'll do… for today," I offered. "Like Colt said, this is new to all of us, but I hope after meeting the rest of the pack, I won't have to be so locked down."
Lane and Colt gave each other a meaningful look, but eventually, they both agreed. Each of them gave me a searing kiss before they left, only this time Elias stayed.
"So what do you have around here to do for fun?" I asked, looking at my three babysitters.
Mason grinned at me and wagged his eyebrows. "You don't think we're really going to keep you cooped up in the house, do you?"
"We have a place we want to show you. It started off being something for the kids, but we changed our minds about that. It’s close to the house," Noah added.
I glanced at Elias out of the corner of my eye, and he didn't seem all too bothered by the idea, so I shrugged. "Alright, but if you get in trouble with the alphas, I'm not gonna cover your asses."
"That's harsh, snuggles!" Mason whined, pushing out his full bottom lip in a pout. "Guess we'll just have to make it worth you changing your mind."
Mason led the way out the back door that butted right up to the forest, and I expected him to start shedding his clothes to shift, but he kept walking.
I glanced down at my bare feet, but the soft grass felt so nice I decided not to worry about finding shoes.
Mason led us deeper into the woods that I was sure I would soon find as a second home given enough time.
My wolf was happy to be back out here in nature and particularly excited to have three of our pack members looking out for us.
She liked them very much and felt safe knowing they were guarding us.
Wanting to understand my own emotions better followed the connection I felt to them that knowledge that they belonged to me, but it wasn’t attached to my wolf it was connected to that something else.
It was almost as if that part of me was awakening but still buried deep inside me, waiting to break free.
Knowing that I was something else and might have always been was hard to wrap my head around, but it also made so much more sense.
Nothing about my first shift and how I acted as an omega, let alone a typical werewolf, seemed to be normal.
I was so lost in thought that I missed when Mason stopped walking. If Noah hadn't pulled me to a stop, I would have crashed into his broad back.
"Look up," Noah whispered.
Curious, I did as he asked, and my gasp of excitement echoed in the quiet forest. "Is that a tree house?"
"Yup," Mason said, popping the 'P' and grinning at me proudly. "Noah and I built it with our own two hands!"
Tucked away up in a massive oak tree was a small house with a wooden spiral staircase leading to the floor entrance.
Unable to stop myself, I hustled up the stairs and shoved open the trap door to reveal the inside of this charming space.
It was simple, with two woven hammocks hung up side by side under a loft area, but that only added to the magical rustic vibe it gave off.
A rope ladder hung from the loft, giving you access to the top space filled with blankets and pillows.
A soft rug covered the floor in the open space, with large windows showing off the forest and letting in natural light.
Suddenly, twinkle lights blazed into existence, making the small house light up with so much warmth and magic.
A low bookshelf was along one wall filled with books and a few games that didn't look to be used much.
More large pillows and blankets were stacked along the edge of the wall for someone to use in this common space.
I spotted a small kitchen set-up that had a camping stove, a kettle, and some mugs, because nothing said secret hideaway like having a steaming cup of hot cocoa.
"This place is like nothing I've ever seen before." I sighed, feeling at peace for the first time since I was sent to New York.
Turning back to face the three men who took up much of the small space, I had to smirk. The ceiling was definitely tall enough to accommodate them, but there was still an unavoidable sense of them being far too large for this space.
"Why didn't you give it to the kids? I would think it's a perfect place for them to play," I asked as I started to snoop around the place.
Immediately, I could tell that question touched on a sore subject for the twins as they shifted uncomfortably where they stood. Elias, on the other hand, walked over to a space close to the windows and lounged against a pile of pillows.
"My brother and I are born wolves, and the biggest difference between a born werewolf and bitten one is that we can change our status in the pack.
Mason and I could be alphas if given the chance to fight for that rank, but it just hasn't been the right time to do that.
Honestly, I like being a strong beta, but Mason doesn't feel the same way I do," Noah explained.
Mason glared at his twin then looked over at me.
"I just know that I'm meant for something more than being the support beta to a strong pack.
I can do more. Our pack isn't big enough to support three alphas, so I haven't made my move yet.
This place gives me somewhere that's away from it all.
When I get too frustrated or I butt heads with Lane or Colt, this is the place I come to cool off.
Here it's just me and Noah, but we both agreed that we wanted to share it with you so you have a place to go when things are too overwhelming. "
I couldn't help myself. I leaped at both of them, and they caught me easily, wrapping themselves around me. "Thank you for being so thoughtful."
They held me for a few more moments, but then the urge to make the space more comfortable kept nagging at me.
Pulling away, I climbed up the ladder and tossed down all the blankets and pillows that were in the loft, then I shooed Elias out of the space so I could get to work.
This was a good start, but it needed to be arranged right.
I loved the feeling of being able to see the forest and the goings on of the wildlife around me, but it needed the right sort of feel to experience it.
Pulling the circular carpet closer to the window so it covered the wood floor was the first step, then I used the thickest blanket for the foundation.
When I found that I'd used all the blankets and it still wasn't right, I let out a growl of frustration.
"What's wrong, love?" Noah asked, coming up behind me and setting his hands on my hips.
"It's not right! There needs to be more blankets," I muttered, stepping out of his hold and kneeling in the pile. "The pillows will help, but it just doesn't feel right. It's missing something."
I started shoving pillows under some of the blankets, punching them to get the right feel. Yet whatever driving force was behind this just wasn't satisfied with the outcome. The space was right, the window was perfect, and the late afternoon sun was warm, but it was missing something.
"Elias, head back to the house and grab blankets from all our rooms. Do we have anything at the house that might smell like Zander?" Noah asked from somewhere behind me.
Yanking out one of the pillows from the pile, I growled at it before I shoved it into another spot that worked better. The need to make this perfect was so strong I started to feel tears pricking in my eyes. Why can’t I do this right?
"Okay, snuggles, hold on. We think we know what the problem is," Mason crooned as he wrapped me up in his arms.
"It has to be right, Mason." I nuzzled into his shirt. "You made this beautiful house, and I want to make it perfect, but I can't seem to figure it out."
"Oh, my dear sweet snuggles, you're just nesting. It's perfectly normal. Didn’t you read about it in all those books?”
“Yes but reading something and experiencing it are completely different. Who gets this upset when they can’t make the perfect pillow fort?” I grumbled.
“I should have known showing you a space like this would trigger the need to nest. Elias is off to get what you need, then it will be perfect just like you, I promise," Mason assured me, pulling me away from his chest to wipe my tears away with his thumbs before kissing me on the lips.
"Who would have guessed that you would be such a stickler for details?
We can take you to Zander's house, and you can curl up in that nest if we can't get this one perfect. "
"NO!" I shouted, surprising us both with my vehemence. "This is important. I have to finish this one first. The other one is already set up; this one is special."
Mason grinned at me like a kid who just found out Christmas came early and he was getting double the presents.
"Yeah, I'm keeping you for sure after saying something like that.
You turned down a curated omega nest for our janky treehouse as your first official nest. Not gonna lie, that is a major ego boost right there. "
Noah joined Mason and me, coming up from behind so I was boxed in by them, and I hummed with pleasure at feeling them so close in this space they had built.
"I grabbed what I could," Elias stated as he returned. "I also made sure to tell the alphas where we were seeing as she won't leave until this is completed."
I perked up the moment I saw the pile of blankets.
Flashing a grin at Elias, I wiggled out of the twins' hold, and they carefully removed themselves from my nest as I started work once again.
Noah had been right; what had been missing this whole time was the sense of pack.
Now that I had something from all my men, even a pillow from Zander, I was able to make better progress.
Then it was finished, and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and curl right up into the center of my first ever nest in the setting sunlight.
It was perfect. Everything about it was, right down to the number of pillows and how far I sank into the blankets.
"How long has she been working on this?" Lane whispered, drawing my attention enough to peek over a pillow.
All huddled up together in the limited space I’d left were my mates, all six of them.
I paused a moment as I rolled that around my brain; this was the first time I had considered them all my mates.
I knew Zander, Lane, and Colt were, my wolf had made it very clear they were ours, but the other three were more bonded to my elf side.
It would seem that this nesting had been a combined draw from both parts of my nature, and it was pleased to have a space to share with them.
"Are you all just going to stand there and stare at me?" I asked, resting my chin on the pillow in front of me.
Zander's eyebrows shot to his hairline. "You want us to join you?"
"Why else would I make a nest?" I countered.
"Well, some omegas tend to keep their nests as a private place just for them to enjoy unless they are near their heat," Zander explained.
I sat up and looked at them all questioningly. "So you don't want to come cuddle with me in my nest after you’ve been gone for a whole day?"
Mason snorted and started to walk over to join me, but I spotted something and raised a hand to stop him. "No shoes or socks, please."
All the guys quickly obeyed before making their way over to my nest. I smiled at them, so excited to share this space and for us to take a much needed moment to just be.
Everything had been one thing after another, and I knew that my mates needed to take a few moments to relax and take a few deep breaths.
Zander reached me first and drew me against his chest while Mason was wrapping himself around my legs, his face nuzzling into my stomach.
The others joined in until we were a puppy pile in my new nest, and I was surrounded on all sides.
I could feel the stress and tension they each held drifting away as they took deep breaths of my scent.
My alphas started to purr, giving me a euphoric feeling as my whole body vibrated with their pleasure.
My wolf let out a croon of happiness as she curled up and let out the biggest sigh.
Once everything calmed down, their breathing became more even, telling me that some were on the verge of falling asleep.
As I relaxed into their bodies, I caught a glimmer of something glowing deep within me.
Could this be my elf magic? Was being around my mates stirring this part of me into wakefulness? It seemed that only time would tell, but some instinct told me that this was the calm before the storm.