Page 58

The rental is a modest two-story house surrounded by trees, private and secluded. Perfect for riding out a heat without prying eyes. There's already another SUV in the driveway. Zayn and Dmitri must have beaten us here.

We pile out of the car, and immediately, I can smell it. Even as a beta, the pheromones are thick enough to make my head spin. Omega in heat, distressed, needy. My body responds instantly, arousal and the desire to nurture the man I love warring for dominance.

Holy shit. I’m falling in love with Darren.

And there's not even any time to process that revelation right now.

"Damn," Aidan mutters, adjusting himself discretely. "That's... intense."

"Control," Jax says sharply, though I notice his hands are clenched into fists. "He needs us in control."

Inside, we find Dmitri in the living room, standing guard. His face is like a stone mask, but I can see the tightness in his shoulders, the way his nostrils flare with each breath. He's just as affected by Darren's heat as the rest of the alphas.

"Where is he?" I ask immediately.

"Upstairs," Dmitri says, his accent thicker than usual. "Zayn is with him. He's..." A pause. "Distressed."

I'm moving before I consciously decide to, heading for the stairs. Darren needs me. Everything else can wait. All my fears of not belonging, of wondering how I would handle this moment if and when it came, fly out the window now that it's finally here.

I follow the scent, my body knowing where to go even though I've never been here before. The master bedroom door is cracked open, and I can hear voices inside. Zayn's low murmur, and then Darren's reply, rough and broken.

"I can't fucking believe this happened. In front of everyone. In front of her ."

My heart clenches at the shame in his voice. I knock softly, pushing the door open. "Darren?"

Both men freeze. Darren is sitting on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. He's changed out of his gear into sweatpants and a T-shirt that's already soaked with sweat. Zayn stands nearby, close enough to offer support but not touching.

"Lexie," Darren says, and the vulnerability in his voice breaks my heart. "You shouldn't... I don't want you to see me like this."

"Like what?" I ask, stepping into the room. The scent is overwhelming here, making my skin prickle with awareness. "Human? Vulnerable?"

He laughs, but it's bitter. "Weak. Out of control. Everything I swore I wouldn't be. Especially not in front of you."

"Darren..." I move closer, past Zayn. "Can I sit?"

Darren nods minutely, and I settle beside him on the bed, careful not to touch. Not yet.

"Do you think less of me?" I ask quietly. "For being a beta?"

His head snaps up, eyes wide with shock. "What? No! Of course not."

"Then why would I think less of you for being an omega?" I challenge.

"It's different," he insists. "You saw what happened out there. I lost control. Became a liability. Proved everyone right who said an omega can't?—"

"Stop," I interrupt firmly. "Just stop. You didn't lose control, your body reacted to the chemical chaos it's been put through, first with your designation suddenly coming to the surface, then with the suppressants.

That's biology, not weakness. And as for being a liability.

.." I think of Aidan's bloodied knuckles, of the fierce protectiveness in all their eyes.

"You're pack. They protected you because that's what pack does. That's not liability, that's family."

He stares at me, a vulnerable and desperate light in his eyes. "You really don't... it doesn't change how you see me?"

"Can I tell you the truth?" I ask, and when he nods, I take a deep breath.

"When I first found out you were an omega, I was wary.

Not because of you, but because of me. I've been left four times for omegas.

Always the safe beta choice until something better came along.

Someone who could give them what I couldn't."

"Lexie..." His hand finds mine, squeezing gently. He's burning up.

"But you've never made me feel that way," I continue, meeting his eyes. "Never made me feel like I'm not enough. When I'm with you, I feel safer and more special than I ever have with any alpha or beta. You make me feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

"You are," he says fiercely. "God, Lexie, you're everything. The way you're here now even though I'm a fucking mess... I don't deserve you."

"That's where you're wrong," I say, squeezing his hand back. "We deserve each other. And I want to make sure you feel as safe and special with me as I do with you."

His expression shifts, the shame cracking to reveal the need underneath. "I do," he admits quietly. "Even like this. Especially like this."

"Good," I say simply. "Now, Aidan mentioned you might need help with nesting?"

Darren's cheeks flush, but not from the heat. "I... yeah. The urge is pretty strong. But I don't want to assume..."

"Assume what?"

"That you'd want to help," he says, vulnerability clear in his voice. "Nesting is intimate. It might be weird. And I have no fucking clue what I'm doing."

My heart swells with emotion. "Well, that would make two of us."

"Only if you want to," he says quickly, but I can hear the hope in his voice. The relief that I'm not rejecting him. As if I ever could do that. "No pressure. I know this is all new and?—"

"Yes," I interrupt. "Yes, I want to help. Tell me what you need."

The smile that spreads across his face is like sunshine breaking through storm clouds. "Really?"

"Really," I confirm. "Though you might have to guide me. Beta here, remember? Nesting wasn't exactly covered in health class."

He laughs, a real laugh this time, and stands, pulling me with him. "First, we need supplies. Blankets, pillows, clothes that smell like pack..."

"I'll help gather things," Zayn offers, and I'd almost forgotten he was there, letting Darren and I have this moment. "The others can contribute too."

"Thanks," Darren says, and there's a wealth of meaning in that single word.

We spend the next hour collecting nesting supplies from around the rental. It's fascinating watching Darren work, seeing him evaluate each item with intense focus. Some blankets are rejected immediately, Darren citing the wrong texture, while others are hoarded like treasure.

The pack contributes without being asked.

Jax offers a soft henley that makes Darren's eyes dilate.

Dmitri provides a blanket that smells like pine and safety even to me.

Aidan hands over his own pillow, his cheeks reddening when Darren clutches it like a lifeline.

Even Zayn contributes, tossing his prized leather jacket onto the pile.

"What about you?" Darren asks me as we survey our collection. "Can I, uh… have something that smells like you?"

My cheeks flush at the realization that he wants my scent in the nest, too, not just my help.

I'm wearing his jersey still, but underneath... I pull off the jersey, revealing the tank top beneath, and hand it over, leaving me in just my bra. It's warm from my body, scented with my perfume and the adrenaline from earlier.

Darren brings it to his nose, inhaling deeply, and the sound he makes goes straight to my core. "Perfect," he murmurs, his gaze heating up as it travels over me. "You're perfect."

I realize the alphas are staring, too. At both of us.

We work together to build the nest on the bed, a quiet intention behind our work.

The energy in the pack has shifted now, and even the air feels electric.

The alphas are giving us space, keeping their distance until they're invited in. Darren directs, but he asks for my input too, wanting to know what feels right to me. We’re building a safe space that's ours rather than just an omega’s.

"Here," he says, guiding me to arrange pillows along one side. "Like a wall. Protection."

I can tell he's fully given himself over to the instincts he's been trying so hard to fight, but even though he's afraid it will make him weak, it couldn't be further from the truth.

I follow his instructions, understanding instinctively what he needs. The nest takes shape, a cocoon of softness and safety, scented with pack. With all of us. When we're done, Darren sits back to survey our work, and the satisfaction on his face makes my chest clench.

"It's good," he says softly. "Really good."

"Yeah?" I ask, suddenly uncertain. "Even with beta hands helping?"

He turns to me, cupping my face in his hands. " Especially with beta hands helping. Your hands. Lexie, I..." He pauses, searching for words. "Thank you. For this. For being here. For not running when things got messy."

"I'm not going anywhere," I promise, meaning it with every fiber of my being. "Mess and all."

He kisses me then, soft and grateful, and I taste the promise of tomorrow on his lips. When we break apart, he's smiling for the first time since the arena.

"Will you stay?" he asks. "In the nest? You don't have to do anything you don't want to, just... be here?"

"Try and stop me," I say, and his laugh is everything.

We curl up in the nest together, surrounded by the scents and textures of pack, of home. Darren's heat is still there, simmering under his skin, but for now, he seems content just to hold me. To be held.

"I love you," he whispers against my hair, so quiet I almost miss it.

My heart stops, then restarts at double speed as he echoes the words I so recently came to terms with myself. "Darren..."

"You don't have to say it back," he says quickly. "I know it's fast, and complicated, and?—"

"I love you too," I interrupt, because it's true. Messy and complicated and absolutely true.

"Even though you've seen this side of me?" he asks warily.

"Especially now," I confirm, and his smile could power the city.

We settle deeper into the nest, my body curved against his, and for the first time since the arena, I feel him truly relax.

"Should I go get the others?" I offer when I catch his heat scent intensifying again.

"In a minute," he murmurs against my neck, his face buried in my hair. "Just want to enjoy this for a bit."

His words soothe the last of my lingering insecurities. I always assumed if I ever joined a pack with an omega, I'd end up on the outside looking in when a heat was happening, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Darren wants me here. And there's nowhere else I'd rather be.