Page 48 of Daisy (Omega Chosen #3)

The honeysuckle and vanilla pour off me, but richer now. Deeper. Sweeter. So thick and potent it fills the air around me like a cloud. Heat pheromones flooding the room whether I want them to or not.

The guys notice immediately. All of them going very still. Gunner's nostrils flare, and he actually pushes back from the table slightly, like my scent hits him physically. His pupils dilate until there's barely any green left.

Dante's hands clench into fists on the table, his jaw going tight as he fights for control. Even August goes tense, his gentle composure cracking as his breathing becomes shallow and deliberate.

Cassian grips his coffee mug so hard I'm surprised it doesn't shatter, and I catch the way his amber eyes flash with something primal.

And they all groan. Deep, frustrated sounds that make slick pool between my thighs. The sound of alphas barely holding onto control.

But it's more than that. I can smell their want now.

Their need. It pours off them in waves..

. raw, desperate, hungry. And my body responds in ways that shock me.

All I can think about is how much I want to taste each of them.

How badly I need to feel their knots stretching me, filling that aching emptiness inside me.

The thoughts are so vivid, so overwhelming, I gasp.

Where did that come from? I've never thought anything like that before. But now I can't stop. My mind is flooded with images of them taking me, claiming me, making me theirs in every way possible.

"Fuck, princess," Hawk breathes, his grey eyes going dark. His voice is rough, strained, and I watch his hands tremble slightly as he sets down his coffee mug. "You've had me hard for weeks, but I think today's the first time I'm gonna bust a nut in my pants. You smell incredible."

My eyes go wide. Holy shit. Did he just—? And suddenly all I can think about is watching him stroke himself, seeing him lose control because of me. The thought sends another wave of slick gushing between my legs, soaking through my leggings.

But then I realize they can all smell exactly what I'm thinking.

What I want. My scent is probably broadcasting every dirty thought in vivid detail.

Oh god, they're going to think I'm completely sex-crazed.

I duck my head, suddenly fascinated by my hands wrapped around the mug, my face burning with mortification.

I was never taught that heat would make me think like this. The Omega House never prepared me for wanting things so desperately, so explicitly. I feel like a stranger in my own body.

Hawk catches it immediately. When I peek up at him through my lashes, he winks, but there's something predatory in his eyes now. Something that makes my stomach flip with want and fear in equal measure. "Like that, do you?"

My scent spikes again, even richer now, and I know they can all smell exactly what his words do to me.

"Hawk," Dante says sharply. "Too far."

Dante's hands clench into fists on the table, his eyes blazing with barely restrained want. Cassian's breathing goes shallow, his massive frame rigid with control. Even sweet August is looking at me like he wants to devour me, his hazel eyes darker than I've ever seen them.

The way Hawk's looking at me makes my breath catch. Like he's imagining all the things I could do with my mouth. All the ways I could make him fall apart again.

I'm so heated. So flushed. My lips feel dry so I lick them without thinking, and suddenly all I can think about is how he tasted when I had my mouth on him.

I want to taste Hawk again so bad.

Everyone stares at me.

Hawk grins, but through the bond, Gunner's pleasure shoots through me as intensely as mine feeds into him. He groans low in his throat and shifts in his chair, adjusting himself. I look down at the table, confused by their reactions.

August gives me a cheeky smile. "Was that an inside thought that just popped out?"

Oh god. Did I just say that out loud? I clap my hand over my mouth, wanting to disappear into the floor.

"No, no," Hawk says, his grin widening as he leans back in his chair and rubs the palm of his hand over the hardness straining his jeans. "That was definitely an outside voice, just for all of us to hear. My princess wants to taste me again."

My face burns with embarrassment, but underneath it, I'm getting more restless by the second. My hands tremble. I can't sit still. Something under my skin demands movement, demands I gather things, find a safe space.

The guys exchange looks. Some silent communication passing between them.

"I think my heat is coming soon," I manage, but even as I say it, another cramp hits so hard I double over. "Today." I can barely get the word out. "Maybe...oh god..."

Another wave hits me so hard I whimper, and every alpha in the room goes rigid with the need to respond.

Gunner reaches for me, trying to gather me up, but I can't focus on his touch because suddenly I need to move. Need to get up. Need to find a safe space where I can curl up and hide and gather soft things around me.

"I need..." I stand up too fast, the world tilting sideways. "I can't sit here. I have to... the room feels wrong. Everything feels wrong."

Everything in me screams to find somewhere safe where I can ride out what's coming.

"The bedroom," August says gently. "You need to nest."

The word hits me like lightning. Nest. Yes. That's exactly what I need.

"But it's not ready," I say, panic making my voice shake. My cheeks burn as I realize what I'm admitting. "It's all wrong. The bed, everything... I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

I'm spiraling now. My breathing is too fast. My hands won't stop shaking. This need to nest is so overwhelming I feel like I might crawl out of my skin if I don't do something right now. And I'm mortified that they're all seeing me like this. Desperate and needy and completely out of control.

"We've got this figured out," Dante says, his voice steady despite the way his scent has deepened in response to mine. "Remember? We've been planning for weeks."

They have. They've been planning for weeks, and I feel a rush of gratitude so strong it nearly brings tears to my eyes. While I'm scared and overwhelmed by the idea of my first heat, they're quietly preparing. Making sure I'll have everything I need.

"The supplies from yesterday," August says. "Remember? Cassian and I brought back fairy lights, extra bedding, pillows. Everything you need for a proper nest."

Yesterday. When they came back from their supply run and found Gunner and me... occupied. When they couldn't bring the nesting supplies in because we were bonding.

"Where are they?" I ask desperately. "I need them now. I need to start?—"

"Bedroom first," Gunner says, already standing. "We need to clear space and set everything up."

"The mattresses," Hawk adds, heading for the living room. "And we'll need to black out the windows completely."

They spring into action like a well-oiled machine. Moving furniture out of the bedroom. Taking apart the bed frame and carrying it out in pieces. Bringing in the mattress from the living room to create one huge sleeping surface.

I watch, my anxiety spiking with every passing second. I need to be doing something. Need to be arranging things. But they won't let me help, just keep telling me to wait, to let them set up the space first.

"I can't just sit here," I say, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to hide how much my hands are shaking. "I have to... I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my skin. But I don't know what I'm doing and it's embarrassing and..."

Tears of frustration threaten. Everything feels wrong and I don't know how to fix it.

Cassian pauses in moving a dresser, looks at me with those amber eyes. Then he's crossing the room in two strides, wrapping his massive arms around me in a gentle but secure hug. "I got you, little fighter," he says softly against my hair.

The promise in his words settles something anxious in my chest. They're not going anywhere. They'll wait for me to be ready.

He guides me to the couch, keeping me wrapped in his arms as the others finish preparing the room.

His dark amber and musk scent surrounds me, and I breathe it in deeply, trying to calm myself.

But instead of calming me, it makes everything worse.

My skin feels even hotter. My pulse quickens.

I press closer to his chest, and his scent grows stronger, richer.

I'm burning up in his arms, but I can't make myself pull away.

When they finally finish with the room, I practically stumble inside. The space is just right. Dark and safe with just the fairy lights casting everything in a warm glow. The huge mattress covering most of the floor.

But I can see the bags in the corner. The supplies they brought back yesterday. Extra blankets, pillows, soft things for nesting.

I drop to my knees beside the mattress and start arranging things without really thinking about it. But another cramp hits and I drop the pillow I'm holding. My breathing is too fast. The anxiety is making everything worse.

"Hey, sunshine." August appears in the doorway. "You need to breathe for me or the alphas are gonna freak out. Did you want me to help you? I'll do anything you need, just tell me."

I nod desperately, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I don't know what I'm doing. I've never done this before and I feel like I'm going crazy and everyone can smell me and..." My voice cracks with mortification.

"Breathe," he says gently, sitting down beside me. "In through your nose, out through your mouth. There's no rush. And hey..." He touches my shoulder softly. "This is normal. You're okay."

I try to follow his breathing, but the need to nest is so overwhelming. "Everything has to be exactly right. It has to smell right and feel right and I don't even know what that means." The words tumble out in a rush. "What if I do it wrong?"

"It will," he promises. "Here, let me help."