Page 47 of Daisy (Omega Chosen #3)

Daisy

I wake up wrapped in Gunner's arms, and everything feels perfect.

The bond pulses under my skin. Warm. Steady. Right. His emotions flood through me. Happiness and protectiveness and love so deep it makes my chest ache. In the best way.

My body feels tender but satisfied. The cramping that started days ago is barely there this morning.

Just a dull ache instead of the sharp pains I've been having.

Yesterday morning changed everything. When I finally worked up the courage to ask for what I wanted, Gunner gave me the most perfect first time I could have imagined.

My first time. His first time. We gave each other something precious.

Even with everyone bursting through the door.

That's the first time I've heard one of my alphas bark. Gunner's voice had been raw, protective, commanding them to get out. I'd felt that bark in my bones the way I used to feel my uncle's—but this time it wasn't meant to hurt me. It was meant to protect me.

I had no idea that Gunner was bonded to Hawk.

They'd never mentioned a pack bond. Poor Hawk, feeling Gunner's emotions from miles away, and thinking something terrible had happened to me.

If I'd known, I would have told them all what I was planning.

I felt bad about that, but also... happy.

Happy I was bonded to Gunner. Happy they cared enough to be scared for me when they smelled satisfaction instead of fear.

Eight years of keeping that bond shut down, and one morning with me blew through their walls.

After the shock wore off, they were so sweet about it.

Happy for us both, even if things happened that weren't planned.

They left us alone all afternoon and night, and Gunner helped me through my pre-heat symptoms.

Which is still weird to think about. Me. Taking what I want. Six months ago I didn't even know what want felt like.

Gunner shifts beside me. Tightens his arms around me as he starts to wake up. His scent wraps around me like a security blanket. Sweet, earthy wild fig mingles with woody sandalwood.

"Morning," he mumbles against my hair. Voice rough with sleep.

"Morning." I turn in his arms to face him. Study his features in the soft morning light. The stubble on his jaw. The way his sandy hair sticks up at odd angles. "Sleep okay?"

"Best sleep of my life." His green eyes are soft as they search my face. "You? Any regrets?"

"None." I press a kiss to his jaw, right where his stubble is starting to come in. Taste salt and warmth and something that's purely him. "Absolutely none."

Relief floods through our bond. I realize he's actually worried about that. Like I might wake up and change my mind about him.

About us.

"Hey." I touch his face gently. "I meant what I said yesterday. I wanted this. I wanted you. That hasn't changed."

His smile could light up the whole cabin. "Good. Because I love you, Daisy. More than I ever thought possible."

"I love you too."

The words feel different now. Deeper. Like they mean more when there's a bond between us carrying all the feelings underneath.

We stay curled together for a few more minutes. Just enjoying the quiet. Through the walls, I can hear movement in the kitchen. Soft voices. The others letting us have this moment but still taking care of everything else.

Taking care of us.

"Should probably get up," Gunner says eventually. "Let them know we're alive."

"Probably." But I don't want to leave this bubble where it's just us and this bond humming between us.

"Come on." He presses a kiss to my forehead. Lingers there for a moment, breathing me in. "I smell coffee. And knowing August, he probably made you that tea you like."

Tea. My stomach rumbles at the mention of it. When did I last eat? Yesterday feels like a blur of emotions and intensity and the best sex of my life.

We get dressed slowly. Me in one of Gunner's flannels and my sleep shorts. Him in jeans and a fresh t-shirt.

Everything feels natural now. Easy.

Like we've been doing this for years instead of one day.

When we emerge from the bedroom hand in hand, the conversation in the kitchen stops for exactly two seconds. Then Hawk grins.

"Look who's finally up," he says. Not even trying to hide his amusement. "Sleep well?"

Heat creeps up my neck, but there's something else too. The moment I step into the kitchen, surrounded by all their scents, my body reacts. A flutter low in my belly. I breathe them in deeply. And when they catch my scent shift, their nostrils flare, their eyes go dark.

"Yes, thank you," I manage, suddenly very aware of how warm the room feels. How their eyes are tracking my every movement.

"Good," August says, but his voice sounds rougher than usual as he moves to pour hot water over a tea bag. "Because you've got perfect timing. Breakfast is almost ready."

The cabin smells amazing. Eggs and bacon and something sweet that might be pancakes. But underneath all that, their scents surround me, thick and warm in the air. Dante's honey. Cassian's dark amber. August's cedarwood. Hawk's caramel and leather. All of them mixing together, wrapping around me.

And they're all responding to me. Their scents deepen, more possessive. More alpha.

My hands are starting to shake slightly as I reach for the mug August offers me. Something's building under my skin. And they can all sense it. Dante's ice-blue eyes track the tremor. Cassian's jaw clenches when he catches my scent shifting.

This is our new normal now. Me bonded to Gunner, my heat approaching, all of us figuring out what comes next. Everything's moving so fast, but somehow it feels right. Like I really do belong here with them.

Cassian glances over from the stove, catches my eye, and gives me the smallest nod. Like he's checking that I'm really okay. That no one hurt me yesterday.

It's such a Cassian thing to do. Quiet but protective.

"How are you feeling, sunshine?" August asks quietly, pressing a mug of perfectly prepared tea into my hands.

"Happy," I say, and mean it completely. "Really, really happy."

But that happiness comes with something else now. My pulse quickens. The need to be closer to them grows stronger.

We eat breakfast together, and I try to focus on the food.

Fluffy pancakes drizzled with syrup, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs that August makes just how I like them.

But I keep catching myself watching the way Gunner's jaw moves when he chews, or how Hawk's fingers wrap around his coffee mug.

Everything feels heightened, more intense.

"I'm going to shower," I announce when I finish eating, needing a moment to collect myself.

The hot water feels amazing against my skin, but it doesn't calm the restless energy building inside me.

If anything, it makes it worse. Every drop feels like a caress, and I find myself thinking about their hands instead of the water.

When I step out, I catch my reflection in the mirror.

My cheeks are flushed, my eyes bright. Even I can smell the change in my scent.

I dress in clean clothes—one of Gunner's soft t-shirts and my own leggings—and return to the living room where they're all scattered around, pretending to read or clean up from breakfast.

The morning passes, but pressure builds inside me. Getting stronger every minute I'm surrounded by all their scents.

I keep wanting to touch them. All of them.

My hand reaches out without thinking to brush August's wrist when he passes by, and the simple contact makes him inhale sharply.

I lean into Hawk when he makes a joke, breathing in his caramel and leather scent, and he goes very still beside me.

When Gunner's thumb traces across my knuckles, I have to bite my lip to keep from making a sound, and the small noise I make has his pupils going wider.

They're trying to be normal. Trying to act casual about the way my scent is affecting them. But their hands clench. Their breathing changes. Their scents grow deeper, more intense.

"So we'll have advance warning if anyone comes up the access road," Dante explains, but his voice sounds far away. "Should give us plenty of time to grab our things and disappear if needed."

"Hopefully we won't need to," August says.

"It is safe," I say, but my voice comes out breathier than I meant. "It feels like home."

But as we talk, something starts to change. Gets stronger.

The dull ache in my belly starts to sharpen.

Become more insistent. I shift in my chair, trying to find a comfortable position, but there isn't one.

Gunner's soft t-shirt that felt perfect an hour ago suddenly feels too warm.

Too heavy. And there's this emptiness inside me, this need to be filled that I don't understand.

The Omega House taught me flower arranging and proper posture. Not how badly I'd want to be knotted by my alphas. This confusion, this desperate ache... none of it makes sense, but somehow I know they're perfect for me. That they're exactly what I need.

And then the cramp hits. Sharp and sudden, radiating from deep in my core outward until my whole body tenses. I gasp, gripping the edge of the table.

"You okay, sunshine?" August notices immediately.

"Just cramping," I manage, but even as I say it, slick pools between my thighs. My body responding to their scents, their closeness. "But it's different now. Stronger."

"Different how?" Gunner asks. His hand finds my back, rubbing gentle circles. I can feel his concern through our bond, warm and steady.

"More regular. And... oh." Another cramp hits, and this time I can't hide the way it makes me double over slightly. Can't hide the rush of slick that follows. "And I feel really warm."

But it's more than warm. I feel... restless. Anxious. Like every instinct is screaming at me to move, to gather things, to find a safe space. Tremors run through my hands. My breathing quickens.

That's when my scent explodes.