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Well, it seemed we were on the same page in one aspect, but I was willing to let her rest easy tonight without knowing about the nest and what it meant.

Mine hopped up and waited for us to show her. The last door up here, in the very back corner, was the nest.

We opened it up and let her wander in first. It was a small room with no windows and lower ceilings, which barely allowed me to walk under without hitting my head. It was all wooden just like the rest of the house with a bathroom and nothing else. The bathroom, however, was nearly the size of the room with a massive shower and Jacuzzi tub along with a cabinet for any supplies we would need.

What? Mine signed.

“It’s a nest. Or is meant to be one,” Odie supplied. “You can decorate it however you want. Were you taught what a nest is and what it’s used for?”

She shook her head as she walked around the small space.

“I told you that there are signs of going into heat. One is nesting. An Omega will find a small space that they can fill with things that belong to their mates and a million soft things for comfort. We haven’t set anything up in here because, truthfully, we never expected to find our Omega, and even if we did, we wanted them to decorate it themselves. But that means you have some more shopping to do.”

Mine turned around and eyed us like we were crazy before marching past us to grab her notebook.

So that’s where the heat would take place? All the sex and other weird Primarchy whatever?

I snorted and left Odie to answer for us, but Ellie beat me to it.

“Sure is. I have some things picked out for when I need one. Do you want me to help you?” Ellie looked elated with a wide smile on her lips as she pulled out her phone. “I have it all saved, but at the very least, I can point you in the right direction. You’ll want a large mattress, then squishy mats for the rest of the floor, a million pillows, some fabric to hang from the ceiling to make it feel extra cozy—” I covered her mouth, ending her rambling.

“I think she gets the idea. Let’s save this for tomorrow so Mine can get some rest.” I should not have said that.

Mine scoffed and scribbled in her notebook. She was getting really good at writing one handed with the notebook against her leg or a wall or even one of us.

Mine wants to do this now.

I focused on the humor of her referring to herself in third person and chastised myself for talking about her as if she wasn’t here. I ignored the alarm bells that were going off in my head, telling me that was a sign of an impending heat, and told myself it was simply Mine being stubborn and wanted to have control. I’d believe that for now and watch her very closely tomorrow.

“I won’t stop you. You just seemed tired. Besides, I figured you’d want another cuddle pile.” Ellie licked my hand and shoved me away.

“What happened to you? You’re so weird now.” She grimaced and faux gagged. “Maybe I don’t want a mate if this is what I’m to expect.”

We all laughed, and in the end, Mine really did look tired. I wouldn’t go back on my word and force her to sleep, but I hoped she chose that option.

At first, I had lost the battle. She and Ellie took up residence in Ellie’s room again, going over the basics and what Ellie had picked out. It didn’t last long though. When ten p.m. came around, Mine wandered back into her room and collapsed on her bed without changing.

We had been on high alert, waiting for her to leave Ellie’s room, so we were ready with more water and to join her wherever she landed. We kept ourselves busy with chores around the house, and the list was slowly dwindling. Eventually, we needed something else to keep our minds occupied while Mine was being her own person. It was a transition I never expected, but we would figure it out eventually.

Odie and I had changed into pajamas and out of our bathing suits while we waited.

“Drink some water, and get changed before you crash, Mine.” Odie sat on the edge of the bed as I climbed up and lay next to my mate.

“Or you can sleep naked. Whichever.”

Mine raised her head enough to glare at me before rolling over and nearly off the bed, having misjudged how close to the edge she was, but Odie grabbed her side and kept her from crashing to the floor. Mine’s bed wasn’t as large as ours, but we would make it work if she wanted to be in here.

Without a word, she rolled back over and pushed herself up before getting out of bed and heading for her closet. In a few minutes, she was returning in a white tank top, sans bra, and bright pink pajama shorts in a fuzzy fabric. She was getting faster at changing, but she still took longer than we did.

Mine tried to slide back into bed, but Odie stopped her, shoving the water bottle into her hand. Mine took a few gulps to appease us, then flopped down and got under the covers.

Odie took up the edge this time, which made more sense since she would be up before dawn, and I would remain here wrapped in Mine’s arm.

As we got comfortable in a similar position to last night, it happened again. Mine was exhausted and was not ready to take a step forward in the relationship, but her Omega body betrayed those feelings. With us touching her even softly and without sexual intentions, Mine’s body reacted.

I raised her shirt a little so I could place my hand on her soft stomach. Her breath hitched, and I knew if I slid my hand down into her underwear, I’d find some slick forming there, but I kept myself still. Mine needed the rest, and we needed to bond more before we did anything further. We would get there eventually, and I longed for it, but I would wait as long as she needed.

Odie went off to dreamland first, then Mine followed shortly after with small snores leaving her full lips. I traced small circles around her stomach and eventually fell asleep as well, finding myself in a dream that started with a smiling Mine and ended with so much blood as my mind rehashed the events of the other night.