Chapter 32
CHAPTER 32
KAYLA
T hree whole days and I’m going stir-crazy. Wasn’t a problem before being stuck in Ryker’s mansion, but now knowing that we’re so close to getting Nexus off our asses and being free, it’s tangling me up inside. And I don’t even want to take a chance by wearing helmets and going out with Ryker on his bike. It’s too risky and even when we thought we were alone, that old man caught us.
I want to finish the romance novel I started days ago and head to the library. Finding it on the couch inside, I sit down and start to read. But something’s off, it’s not comfortable.
Grabbling the pillows, I haul them over closer to the shelves, where the scent of musty books fills me. I lean against the pillows except it’s not quite right either. Maybe it’s cause I know I’ll finish this book in less than an hour.
I stand up and search the shelves. My fingers glide over the spines of romance novels and I think about how Ryker buys these in honor of his sister and my heart squeezes in my chest.
Choosing four novels, I haul the stack of books to the pillows, leaning against them, trying to get comfortable, but it’s not working
Must be my anxiety about the registration with Charlie, the uncertainty of it all. It’s enough to drive anyone crazy.
“Damn it,” I mutter and bolt out of the room. Down the hall, in my own space, I snatch the tube of pink lipstick from the vanity—a new favorite that makes me feel like less of a mess.
How Dane bought every pink shade in the grocery store for me when they didn’t have mine.
Swiping it across my lips, I relish the smooth glide and the faint berry scent.
Back in the library, lipstick in tow, the silence is louder than ever. I survey my little construction—pillows, books, but it’s still not right. It’s missing the warmth, the presence of...them. My alphas. There’s no escaping the fact that the ache I feel isn’t just about Charlie or the damn registration. It’s deeper, primal.
“Get it together, Kayla,” I scold myself, though the tremble in my voice betrays the sternness I’m aiming for. I eye the empty spaces where more pillows should be, where their scents should mingle with mine, creating a cocoon that speaks of home and safety. And heat—my impending heat—that threatens to sweep me away like a riptide.
I shake off the thought, focusing on what I can control. One by one, I grab more pillows, hauling them back to the library with a sort of desperate determination. Each addition is another layer between me and the chaos waiting outside these walls.
Static buzzes in my hands as I head to my Alpha’s bedrooms. Dane’s room is first. I fling open the door, the familiar scent of antiseptic and him - cedar and cinnamon - washing over me. Ignoring the lump in my throat, I snatched his scratchy army blanket, the one that still held a faint campfire whiff, and yanked pillows off the bed. The scent of him clung to everything. Yum!
Liam’s space screams organized chaos and the total opposite Dane’s perfectionism. Seabreeze and sandalwood replace the antiseptic. I snag his worn leather recliner throw and a couple of those ridiculously plush pillows with faded video game characters I vaguely recognize.
Next, Ryker’s door creaks open with a groan. Smoke and leather fill me. My breath hitches as I grab his heavy leather motorcycle jacket and the black satin pillows. Each item is a piece of the puzzle that is him.
Back in the library, I collapse under my haul. I arrange the books, pillows, and such in a circle around me.
I sit back on my heels and survey the cocoon I’ve built. It’s perfect, a haven crafted from the very essence of my Alphas.
“Kayla?” A voice cuts through the stillness, and I freeze. It’s Liam, his tone laced with confusion and concern.
For a moment, he stands there gaping at me with his mouth opening and closing. Never seen Liam without a crooked smile or a comeback.
“Y-You’re nesting?”
“Looks like it.” I giggle. Funny, how I read about this and thought I’d recognize it as soon as it happened to me. But I’ve been so focused on making this reading space just right, that it hadn’t clicked until now when he asked.
“Be right back.” He spins on his heel and bolts before I can say another word.
Where the hell is he going?
Minutes tick by, the tension thickens, and then Liam’s back, arms loaded with sandwiches, chips, and bottles of water. Ryker and Dane trail behind him; their presence fills the room, eases the tightness in my chest. Dane carries in a clear, plastic container and I can see from here it looks like cookies. Yummy, cause I bet they’re homemade and my fav.
“Thought you might be hungry,” Liam says.
“Yeah. Thanks.” We gather in the nest, a tangle of limbs and quiet breaths. No words are needed, just them here with me is enough to keep my heart from racing.
After we eat, Ryker sprawls on the edge of my nest, his heavy lids fluttering shut within minutes. The rise and fall of his chest is reassuring in its steadiness. Liam, phone in hand, thumbs swiping across the screen with practiced ease, lost in whatever virtual battle he wages.
Dane... Dane sits close enough for our arms to touch, close enough that I feel the warmth radiating from his skin. He has out one of those military war books, and both of us start reading, side-by-side.
I’m cocooned between the lines of my book, sheltered by the strength of these men who’ve become my Alphas.
I lean into Dane slightly, craving the contact, the silent affirmation that we’re here together.
“Better?” Dane murmurs, not looking up from his book.
“Hell yeah,” I confirm. His presence, Ryker’s soft breathing, Liam’s occasional victorious grin—they’re my lifeline.
The scent of leather, smoke, sandalwood, and cedar weave through the air, lulling me into a sense of security that’s as intoxicating as it is dangerous because it whispers of things I’ve longed for but never dared believe I could have. Shelter. Love. Home.
I flip a page, but the words blur. My gaze drifts to the circle of blankets and pillows, each item a piece of the Alphas, now part of my makeshift sanctuary.
“Kayla?” Liam’s voice cuts through my reverie, sharp as a blade.
“Uh-huh?” I manage, tearing my eyes away from the nest.
“Everything okay?” There’s an edge of concern in his smooth tone, his green eyes meeting mine, searching.
“Sure, just... thinking.” I press my lips together, willing the worry that gnaws at my insides not to show on my face.
“About?” Dane’s deep voice joins in, his hand resting lightly on my knee, grounding me.
“Charlie,” I admit with a hesitant sigh. “We’re supposed to meet him for the registration stuff in three days.” I can’t keep the anxiety from seeping into my words.
Ryker stirs, somehow tuned into our tension despite his slumber.
I exhale, trying to push away the worry clawing at my insides. My gaze drifts to Dane’s hand still on my knee, his touch grounding. Ryker’s steady breathing syncs with the faint sound of Liam’s fingers tapping against his phone screen. The scents of cedar and cinnamon from Dane, smoke and leather from Ryker, sandalwood, and sea breeze from Liam—they all weave together, forming a cocoon of safety around me.
“Deep breaths, Kayla,” I whisper under my breath. “You can’t control everything.”
I’m not alone in this. Not anymore.
I shift slightly, feeling the soft give of the pillows beneath me. Like what a full-blown heat will feel like. And will I feel any different once we’re registered and Nexus’ approved?
“Charlie will come through,” Liam says confidently, though his eyes don’t leave the screen of his phone. “Right now, you need to focus on taking care of yourself.”
He’s right. And yet, there’s a restlessness inside me that’s clawing its way to the surface. I can’t shake the sense of urgency, the fear that everything we’re building could crumble.
“Hey.” Dane’s hand squeezes gently. “We’ve got this.”
Liam glances up from his phone, a playful glint in his eyes. “Charlie’s a shoo-in. Dude owes Dane a huge favor. Besides, who could resist this much awesome?” He gestures broadly, taking in all of us.
“Seriously, Kayla. We won’t let you down,” Ryker sits up.
The library, with its makeshift nest of blankets and pillows, feels like a fortress—a stronghold where the outside world can’t reach us. But time is ticking and I worry we’ll lose our chance with Charlie. Just cause he owes Dane a favor doesn’t mean he’ll put his job on the line for us.
“Let’s just enjoy this,” I say, pulling my book closer, the words blurring slightly as I try to focus.
“Here.” Dane hands me a homemade chocolate chip cookie, and I take it, the familiar sweetness comforting.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Dane’s grin is gentle, reassuring.
Ryker sits on the other side of me. Liam keeps one eye on his game, but I feel the weight of his gaze, vigilant and protective.
“Hey, it’ll be fine.” Liam flashes me a grin.
Will it though? I chew on the inside of my cheek. “What if it takes too long? What if we miss the window and Nexus finds out?”
“Then we deal with it,” Dane says with blunt certainty. “We adapt. That’s what we do.”
“Besides,” Liam adds, his grin returning, but strained, “you’ve got us. We won’t let bureaucracy screw this up.”
“Right.” Ryker’s gravelly voice chimes in. “Fuck the rules. You’re ours to take care of.”
“Ours,” Dane echoes, a possessive glint in his eyes.
The warmth from their words wraps around me, mingling with the heat that simmers under my skin. I want to believe them, to trust that everything will work out.
“Thanks, guys,” I murmur, my voice thick with unspoken emotion.
“Always,” Dane responds, his thumb brushing against the soft denim covering my knee.
“Forever,” Liam adds.
“Whatever it takes,” I let myself sink into the moment, surrounded by my Alphas. Safe. Loved. For now, that’s enough.
But in the back of my mind, the same thought whispers, insistent and unbidden—I hope this perfect bubble doesn’t burst too soon.