Chapter 21 Mona #2
“Yeah, yeah, get on with it.” With my red hair, blushing furiously isn't a great look on me.
His lips curve gently as he explains, “What you’re doing—gathering our things—that’s nesting behavior.
In pack dynamics, the omega creates a nest. Though technically any central mate might do it, only omegas feel a biological need to surround themselves with their mates’ scents.
” His eyes drift momentarily to the ceiling, considering.
“We each have our own spaces, sure, but we’re drawn to wherever you are.
Problem is,” he smirks, “your bed can’t fit us all. ”
Too small for when Ghost joins, too, Beep adds helpfully.
A sudden flash hits me—Ghost’s lean body stretched across my sheets, his bright golden amber eyes peering at me, taunting me.
My other mates, waiting beside the bed for me.
For us. I wonder if Ghost would be as serious in those moments as he is about everything else, if his careful control would slip away.
Orion continues, “The room at the end of the hall, in your bedroom, was designed to be our pack’s nest. Grayson’s been fixing it up.
Gray’s father built it, knowing Silas, Gray, and I all bonded as pack mates, that we’d have at least a fourth mate—you—and need the space.
Technically, the room belongs to all of us, but…
” he shifts his weight, voice softening.
“It’s really yours. To invite us in when you’re ready. ”
The way he says that, as if I hold some ancient power over them, as if a world existed where I might not let them in.
You’d be doing them an honor, formally inviting them, Beep suggests.
Why bother with formalities? It’s not like we’ve followed the rules so far. We were supposed to bond in ceremony, too, remember?
I don’t think it’s about rules, Mona.
She's right. I can let them handle the nest thing however they want, and take cues from them. If they want me to formally invite them in when it's finished, I will.
“I think you’ve got a little—” Silas reaches across the table and flicks Orion’s lip, like he’s clearing drool. Orion growls, rears back, and slaps his hand away.
I chuckle nervously. I mean, we already share a bed. Kind of. And I’ve had sex with them together. Kind of.
But all of them? At once? And… all of them… with Ghost?
I shake my head. One problem at a time.
I refocus. “Silas, I need to speak with Ghost. You and Kendrick seem to be the only ones who know where he’s at these days, and I’d rather not talk to that creepy fucker.”
Orion chokes on his bite of frittata, then downs the rest of his juice. “Sorry. Sorry. Umm, is Kendrick the creepy fucker?”
I shrug. “I dunno, he’s always looking at me weirdly. And I know you all say he’s super powerful or whatever, but he feels almost like Doc to me. Like a beta. Speaking of, I really need to check in and say hi to Doc and Hilde.”
Yesterday, Kellen and Cynthia hung out with me and Andrea in the gym while she made me run drills, happy to join in the hazing. Cynthia is still a little standoffish with me. I wish she’d get over it. I mean, getting kidnapped wasn’t her fault, but I can tell she still blames herself.
It was nice hanging out with Kellen. He blames himself too, but at least it feels like he wants us to go back to normal. But I’ve been so busy, I’ve barely got to spend any time at all with Doc or Hilde.
Maybe I’ll swing by after tracking down Ghost.
“He will be back late tonight. He’s actually flying into Portland now. He’ll shift when the plane lands and fly back here, so it’ll be a few hours before we see him.”
“Portland? Flew in, as in, on a plane?”
Silas nods. “Yeah, his bird isn’t that fast. You think he can make it across the country in half a day?”
“Dude, I’m still learning.”
Silas grins and shakes his head. “Anyway, he got a hit in Arizona. Based on your dreams, the landscape and cactus you saw, he’d been keeping his ear out in the Southwest. Guess he got a tip.
Didn’t find anything though, last I heard.
The clans there are a little disorganized.
We’ll know more when he gets home later. ”
Silas notices the way I flinch when he calls this place Ghost’s home.
Before he can backtrack, I tell the guys about my dream, about the woman and her two mates. One delta, one beta, one alpha. We now know she’s in the southwest, smells of strawberries, and has those designations for mates. That information should help.
Grayson stomps down the stairs a few minutes later, and since I’m no longer in a hurry, and Ghost won’t be back until tonight, I get the rare opportunity to fuss over Grayson. He looks hungover, like he’d barely slept more than an hour or two.
He milks my attention, telling me he needs me in his lap, and when he finishes his breakfast and I can feel the hard poke against my ass, I laugh and tell him, since he’s obviously feeling better, and that I want to go find Doc and Hilde.
Silas agrees to take me, but just as we’re leaving, Andrea arrives for bodyguard duty.
“I’m with Silas, you don’t need to come,” I tell her.
She ignores my subtle request and climbs into the back of the truck. Silas laughs and helps me into the passenger side.
We stop and visit Hilde in the kitchen. Andrea never leaves my side, but between her and Beep, they push me to work on setting boundaries. I think it’s improving. People still hug me constantly, but if I put effort into putting up a barrier, with my omega’s help, everything feels less intense.
I begrudgingly admit that Andrea’s been helpful.
When we leave Hilde in the kitchens, on the way to see Doc at the hospital, Silas says, “I want you to meet Lily.”
I haven’t met her yet. Something’s been holding me back. The thought of facing her in that hospital bed after witnessing her vivid suffering in my dreams... My throat tightens.
When Silas speaks of her, his bond lights up with love.
I know it’s platonic, but she holds a place in his heart and was there for him when I couldn’t be.
When I should have been. My chest aches with regret and shame for arriving too late, for not helping them sooner, for not insisting the very second I saw them in my dreams that what I was seeing was wrong and real.
She’s endured more than anyone should have to, and I feel partly responsible for that, too.
I think Silas can sense how I’m feeling in the bond, so when we reach the hospital, he holds my hand encouragingly and guides me inside.
Doc sits with Heather near a little desk beside rows of closets that hold supplies and spare clothes near the entrance.
“Mona!” Heather exclaims and rushes into my arms, forcing me to let go of Silas’s hand. This hug, I’m happy to receive. We squeeze each other tight, even though I’ve seen her since I’ve been back.
“I have to run to the school. The kids are going on a field trip today, but because of the lockdown, we’re staying within borders, and all parents are required to join.
” She doesn’t seem too excited about the idea of spending her day with a bunch of excitable pups with way too much energy and enthusiasm for a field trip into the woods.
Still, she manages a tired smile, kisses my cheek goodbye, and takes off.
“Mona, dear, so good to see you.” Doc takes my hand, closes his eyes, and basks. I sense it easily now, the way he draws in my scent and omega energy. I’m happy to let him. Eventually, he offers a full smile, opens his eyes and asks brightly, “And what brings you three to us today?”
“We were hoping to visit Lily,” Silas answers for me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sound so polite.
I raise one eyebrow. He nudges me with his elbow.
“Of course.” Doc tilts one ear, and from here, we can hear Lily’s voice carry from down the hall.
“It sounds like that’s a yes. She’s doing better, I think a visit would be helpful.
If she seems overtired, don’t worry. We’re still observing the effects of a new omega emergence and running tests, which is wiping her out faster than her ability to heal. ”
Silas growls. “Is that really necessary?”
“Shut up, Silas!” Lily yells from down the hall. He rolls his eyes, and we follow her voice to one of the last rooms at the end of the hall.
Silas walks in first, with Andrea at my back.
I feel no jealousy when Silas rushes forward and wraps her in a hug. I can feel his love for this woman—true, pure love—and she’s like a sister. They went through a lot together. And the more people Silas loves, the more that love him, the smaller that dark space inside him gets.
It’s still there. He thinks he hides it well, but I know him.
When we’re together, he’s with me. But sometimes I catch him staring off into space. His anxiety spiking, his anger brimming. And then it’s gone in a flash.
He’s trying.
Someday he’ll get there. And with people like Lily, it gets easier.
“Mona, come ‘ere,” he says, reaching out for me. And I approach the woman, who I only saw amid a violent, unnatural heat.
Her face has filled in, much less gaunt. There’s a warmth beneath her skin, her hair is clean. Her eyes are bright. But there’s a darkness in her, too.
My omega comes forward. I sit on the edge of the bed. And I don’t know, maybe it’s not my place, she didn’t ask… but instinct tells me to take her hand. Does she feel the same? Because she reaches for me, too.
And the second we touch, something happens.
My omega hums. So does hers.
On a cellular level, my omega feeds the darkness inside her, bathing her in light. But she does the same to me. I get flashes of my life. Good times and bad. Her omega kisses every moment, as if to say, it’s okay. It’s all okay.