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Deep down, that felt like a win. My heat was coming, and for the first time, I could experience it with a knot.

It should have terrified me, but I was tired of being scared. Of doing it all on my own. This time would be different. I had an entire pack ready and willing to help me. All I had to do was ask. I wanted to experience what it would be like with them. No marks, no presumptions. Whatever followed, we would deal with later. I'd had enough of hiding and misery.

Now I was going to take what I wanted.

16

Tully

Maybe it was nerves, but the closer we got to their perfect nest, the more my stomach tightened. All the sumptuous heat and longing melted away. The pack’s slumped shoulders, and the kicked puppy look on Lloyd’s face, made me stifle a hysterical laugh.

Was I really doing this?

“We’ll give you some space.” Lloyd loitered on the edge of the nest. Ajax remained outside after he escorted me, and I wondered why he hadn’t come in.

I chewed my bottom lip. “Maybe you could bring back some lunch?”

My stomach was a mess of butterflies as I crawled over the cushioned wall. Lloyd’s eyes gleamed as he nodded. And then I was alone.

I went to the cupboard and pulled out the soft blankets stacked inside. My spine straightened as I realized the baskets labeled with the Baylark Pack’s names were full. Their combined scents drifted out, and I shoved my hand into Lloyd’s one, pulling out a shirt. I pressed it to my nose and breathed until my lungs burned.

I wanted their scentseverywhere.

I dragged the baskets out and dumped them into the nest. My eyes rolled back at the delicious combination of them. But the mess made my eye twitch. The balance was wrong. I layered Pan’s silky, ruffled shirt between the blanket, making a soft noise of pleasure.

My heat thrummed under my skin, like it waited for something. I once dreamed about sharing it with Chase. The freedom to not worry about being caught. Unbidden, his voice slithered into my ear.

“I can’t wait to knot you, pretty.” He smiled down at me, white toothed. My stomach flipped with his possessive gaze. His cock slipped out of my body, and he offered some wipes.

The final prototype, one he worked so hard on.

“We got the funding we needed, by the way.” Chase wiped himself down. All traces of our mingled scent nullified. I stifled a scream and tried to hug him, but Chase put up a hand to stop me.

“Can’t have your scent on me. Yet.”

“Sorry, I’m just so excited for you. I wish I could have been the one to invest.” I shuddered as the chemical scent filled my nostrils. “Does that mean you can claim me as your omega soon?”

The sound of footsteps froze us. Fucking in the country club closet wasn’t glamorous. But Seph invited me today, and we’d taken the opportunity for a tryst. Or rather, Chase dragged me into the storage room and was inside me before he even saidhello. At the rattle of the doorknob, Chase slammed his finger over his lips.

“I don’t have a key to this.” A voice came from outside.

“Leave it. They’re about to make the announcement in five minutes. We’ll get it afterward.”

Silence bled in, and Chase cursed under his breath. He reached out, as if to grip my shoulders before remembering himself. I couldn’t wait until we could tell the truth about us.

“You love me, don’t you, pretty? My special omega. Without your help, there is no way we could have created the prototypes for these so easily.” He waved the scent wipes at me.

I flushed at his rare praise. His high-handedness about the scent wipes usually frustrated me, but I quickly brushed it off. We were going to be in a pack soon. Everything I owned would be his, eventually. What did it matter if he got it early?

“Of course I love you.” My stomach twisted as he licked his lips and nodded.

Pleased with my response, although he didn’t repeat it.

“Just remember, no matter what happens, you’re mine. My pretty toy.”

His words stung. I didn’t want to be a secret, or a toy he tossed aside. Chase slipped out the door, knowing I would follow in five minutes. We’d done this so many times, although it was risky doing it tonight. There was an event on, and people packed the grand hall. When I ducked out of the small storage room and slipped back into the room, something had happened. Everyone cheered and raised their glasses toward the stage.

“Oh, Tully, you just missed the most romantic proposal. Seph is so lucky.” One of Seph’s friends grabbed my arm, and I got my first clear view of the stage.