Page 47

ROWAN

Three drunk alphas wrestling a mattress out of a car, up a flight of stairs, and into a room at the early hours of the morning really was an exercise in hilarity. Good thing I didn’t have much more stuff, otherwise I would be in for quite a ride.

Halo refused to touch “another alpha’s bed that she didn’t know where it had been”, so she made coffee while Severen took one end of the mattress, I took the other while Crux played navigator and Skye put the blankets and sheets in the wash.

The coffee, fresh air, time and exercise had sobered us all up for the most part.

When it was finally in the spare room which was empty except for some still yet to be unpacked boxes, I flopped down on the naked mattress, clothes and all, ready to pass out.

A knock on the open door pulled me away from the lure of sleep.

I sat up and Skye stood in the doorway, wearing pajamas and her hair in a braid. She hugged fresh sheets to her chest.

“Extras,” she held them out. “Your sheets won’t be dry in time.”

“Oh,” I got to my feet. “Thanks.”

The heel of her right foot lifted from the hardwood floor like she meant to step forward, but she hesitated.

“You can come in,” I offered.

Elegantly, Skye stepped past the threshold and into the room. Still hugging the bedding, she looked from corner to corner.

“I haven’t really been in this room before,” she admitted. “Didn’t have a reason. It’s nice. Spacious.” She turned to me. “Will you be satisfied with it?”

Damn, the way she looked at me, like she wanted to do anything she could to please me, keep me comfortable and happy.

“It’s perfect,” I said.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought when I first stepped into this house.

” A soft smile curved her pale cherry blossom lips.

She lingered. My eyes were drawn to the very faint beat of the pulse in her neck.

The beat of her heart. It was a little quicker than it should have been.

I realized my own heart was pounding in my chest, nearly as quick as hers.

I was about to offer her to sit down when she moved past me.

“I’ll make the bed,” she announced.

I spun on my heel, following her. “I can do that.”

Skye scoffed. “Of course you could. But trust an omega if you want it to be peak comfiness.” She shook out the fitted sheet and started hooking it corner to corner, stretching it out until it hugged the mattress completely.

She smoothed out the sheet so there were no wrinkles, tucking the edges under the mattress.

Then, she shook out the comforter and lay it across the bed, folding down the end that rested over the pillows.

She did it all expertly, naturally, even instinctually. Domesticity suited her.

She fluffed up four pillows and propped two of them up using the wall as a headboard, and lay the other two side by side.

“There.” She pulled at the top and bottom corners of the left side pillow then smoothed her hand across it. “All done.”

As she carefully made sure everything was tidy and cozy, my eyes drifted to her rear.

Even in micro-fleece pj bottoms and a shapeless stretched out t-shirt, she looked good.

The houndstooth design only seemed to accentuate her peach-shaped ass.

When she bent over, the dimples on her lower back peeked just over the waistband of her pants and teased me.

Her braid fell over her shoulder, revealing the three bite marks on the back of her neck, branded into her pale, tender skin. Neat and clean and intentional. Then mine. Bright and pink and fresh. Together the four looked like some sort of hieroglyphs, but like they had always belonged there.

My mouth began to water at the fresh memory of sinking my teeth into her skin and blueberries bursting on my tongue.

“So,” Skye righted herself, gaze meeting mine. Her eyes were clear, endless summer-morning blue. “I hope you sleep well.”

“Yeah,” I said, my brain slowly coming back together. “You too. And thanks for the help.” I nodded toward the neatly made bed.

“Of course. So... Sleep well,” she said again, and left the room, crossing the hall to her nest.

I was more than ready to just pass out for a few hours, and Tracker had already claimed a corner of the bed for himself, but Skye returned with a new bundle in her arms.

“Here.” She held a plush white blanket as an offering. “I know that it can feel kind of strange spending a night somewhere new. This is my favourite blanket. It helps comfort me. I thought maybe you could have it for the night.”

My fingers sank into the super soft plushness of the blanket. Blueberries and cornflowers rose from the impressions my fingertips left.

“Thank you,” I said.

Skye lingered a moment. So did I. As the moment drew long I started to wonder… if things had been different, would Skye have been mine? Was she always meant to be mine, or did some stupid car crash shatter reality and put it together differently? Not wrong, just different.

“I’m glad you’re with us, Rowan,” Skye said, drawing her fingers across her collarbones, across her scar. “Good night.” She whispered it this time, and turned away with meaning and intent, but not closed off.

I watched her walk into her nest room and close the door silently.

Shutting off the light, I stripped down to just my boxer briefs and got under the covers. I hugged the white blanket close, like some sort of stuffed animal and closed my eyes.