Page 34 of Nesting With My Three Alphas (Hollow Haven #1)

Kit

R eed's knot was still locked inside me, his body wrapped protectively around mine as we both caught our breath from the intensity of our claiming.

I could feel the second bond settling into place alongside the first, creating a complex harmony of connections that made me feel more complete than I'd ever imagined possible.

But even as I basked in the afterglow of Reed's claiming, I was hyperaware of Jonah's presence across the room.

He'd been watching everything with the patient focus of an alpha who understood that good things were worth waiting for, but I could smell the shift in his scent.

Deeper, more possessive, tinged with barely controlled need.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Reed murmured against my ear, his hand stroking possessively over my hip. "Still with us?"

"Perfect," I said honestly, turning my head to press a kiss to his jaw. "But I'm not done yet."

Reed's chuckle was rough with satisfaction. "No, you're not. Our girl's got one more alpha to claim her properly."

Our girl. The casual possessiveness in his voice, the way he included Jonah in his ownership of me, sent warmth spiraling through my chest. This wasn't about competition or jealousy. This was about three alphas who were so secure in their pack bond that they could share me completely.

"Jonah," I called softly, looking across the room where he sat in the chair by the window, his hands clenched on the armrests and his eyes dark with want. "Come here."

"Reed's knot needs to go down first," Jonah said, his voice carefully controlled. "I won't rush you or hurt you."

Even now, even with my heat scent saturating the air and two claiming bites fresh on my neck, he was putting my comfort first.

"I know," I said gently. "But I want you close. I want to feel all three of you."

Jonah rose from his chair with the fluid grace of a man who'd been holding himself in check for hours. When he settled on the nest beside Reed and me, when his scent joined the complex mix already surrounding us, I felt my heat spike again with renewed intensity.

"Better?" Jonah asked, his hand finding mine and intertwining our fingers.

"Much better," I sighed, feeling completely surrounded by alpha attention and care.

Reed's knot was beginning to ease, the intense pressure slowly releasing as our bodies prepared to separate. But instead of feeling empty or abandoned, I felt anticipation building for what came next.

"Talk to me," Micah said from somewhere nearby, having moved closer now that Reed's claiming was complete. "How's your heat feeling? What do you need?"

What did I need? I took inventory of my body, noting the satisfied ache between my legs, the tender sensitivity of the two claiming bites on my neck, the way my skin felt hypersensitive to every touch.

Reed's knot released and I winced as he eased himself from my body. It didn't hurt really, but I felt the loss immediately.

"I need water," I said practically. "And maybe some fruit. But mostly I need..." I looked at Jonah, taking in his carefully controlled expression, the way his scent kept spiking with barely leashed desire. "I need my third alpha."

"Food first," Micah said firmly, already moving toward the door. "And hydration. You've been through a lot."

"I'll help," Reed said as his hand gently stroked down my side. He leaned in and kissed my forehead gently before he moved away, leaving me feeling momentarily empty before Jonah's presence reminded me that completion was still coming.

Jonah stayed close, his hand never leaving mine. It was pack coordination at its finest. Three alphas working together to ensure their omega was properly cared for.

When Micah returned with a tray of carefully selected foods and Reed came back with fresh water and damp cloths for cleaning up, I felt so cherished I could barely breathe.

"Better?" Micah asked after I'd eaten some fruit and drained a full glass of water.

"Much," I said, already feeling my strength returning. "Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"Always," Reed said immediately, settling back in the nest beside me. "That's what pack does."

I could feel my heat beginning to build again, my body recovering from the intensity of the first two claimings and preparing for the third. The urge to rush ahead, to demand immediate satisfaction, was almost overwhelming.

"I'm ready," I said, reaching toward Jonah with desperate hands. "I need you now, I need..."

"No." Jonah's voice was calm but carried an authority that cut through my heat-addled desperation immediately. "You're not ready yet."

I blinked at him in surprise, my hands faltering. "But I..."

"You're overheated, exhausted, and running on instinct instead of actual need," Jonah said gently but firmly. "Look at yourself, sweetheart."

I followed his gaze down to my own body and realized he was right. I was panting, my skin flushed and damp with perspiration, my hands shaking slightly from the intensity of what I'd already experienced. My heat was telling me to rush ahead, but my body was telling a different story.

"But my heat..."

"Your heat will still be there in an hour," Jonah said, his voice carrying the kind of quiet authority that made both Reed and Micah nod in agreement. "But if we push too hard too fast, you could hurt yourself. And I won't let that happen."

The calm certainty in his voice, the way he was willing to deny both my heat and his own obvious arousal in service of my wellbeing, sent a different kind of warmth through me.

This was what a real alpha looked like. Someone who could see past immediate desires to what was actually best for his omega.

"What do I need?" I asked quietly, trusting his judgment over my heat-clouded instincts.

"You need to cool down, clean up, and rest for a bit," Jonah said, already moving toward the en-suite bathroom. "You need your alpha to take care of you properly."

Your alpha. Not just any alpha, but specifically him. The possessive claim in those words was different from Reed's demanding dominance or Micah's gentle worship. This was the deep, bedrock certainty of a pack leader who knew exactly what his omega needed.

"Can you walk?" Jonah asked, returning with several fluffy towels.

"I think so," I said, though my legs felt shakier than I wanted to admit.

"No thinking necessary," Jonah said, scooping me up in his arms with effortless strength. "I've got you."

When he said "I've got you," I didn't flinch or brace. I believed him.

Being carried felt like the most natural thing in the world. I nestled against his chest, breathing in his cedar-and-comfort scent while he transported me to the bathroom with the kind of steady confidence that made my omega purr with satisfaction.

The bathroom had been prepared. Candles lit, water temperature perfect, soft music playing from a speaker I hadn't noticed before. Someone had thought ahead, had planned for this moment of care between the intensity of claiming.

"Reed, Micah?" Jonah asked over his shoulder as he settled me carefully on the edge of the large bathtub.

"We'll keep an eye on things out here," Reed's voice came from the bedroom, warm with understanding. "Take care of our girl."

Our girl. Even in their devotion to me, they deferred to Jonah's authority when it came to my wellbeing.

"This might be warm," Jonah warned, testing the water temperature against his wrist before using a soft cloth to begin gently cleaning my overheated skin.

The cool cloth felt incredible against my flushed skin, immediately beginning to bring down my body temperature and clear some of the desperate haze from my mind. Jonah worked methodically, cleaning away the evidence of my previous claimings with a care that was both practical and reverent.

"Better?" he asked, noting how my breathing was already becoming less labored.

"Much better," I admitted, feeling my racing heart begin to slow to a more manageable rhythm.

"Good girl," Jonah said, the praise making my omega preen despite my exhaustion. "You're learning to trust me to know what's best for you."

The phrase should have triggered my defenses, should have reminded me of Marcus's controlling behavior. But this felt completely different. This was care, not control. Protection, not possession.

"How do you know?" I asked quietly. "How do you know what I need better than I do?"

"Because I've been watching you for weeks," Jonah said simply, moving the cloth down my arms with gentle efficiency. "Because I've been learning everything about you. What makes you feel safe, what makes you panic, when you're pushing yourself too hard."

He'd been learning me. Not trying to change me or control me, but studying me so he could care for me better.

"And because," Jonah continued, his voice dropping to something more intimate, "you're mine to protect. That means protecting you from everything. Including your own instincts when they're not serving your best interests."

The quiet possessiveness in his voice was different from Reed's demanding claims or Micah's gentle devotion. This was deeper, more fundamental. The bedrock certainty of an alpha who'd claimed the responsibility for my wellbeing and would never take that lightly.

"I like when you take charge," I admitted softly, surprising myself with the honesty.

"I know you do," Jonah said with quiet satisfaction. "Your omega recognizes pack hierarchy. You need to know someone stronger is looking out for you, making the hard decisions so you can just be."

When was the last time I'd been allowed to simply exist without constantly calculating, managing, performing?

"Is that what you are?" I asked. "The pack alpha?"

"I'm whatever you and this pack need me to be," Jonah said, beginning to wash my hair with the same methodical care. "But yes. Reed and Micah are incredible alphas, but they look to me for guidance. Just like you're learning to."

The warm water cascading through my hair, the gentle massage of Jonah's fingers against my scalp, was incredibly soothing. I could feel my heat settling into a more manageable simmer instead of the desperate urgency that had been driving me.

"How much longer?" I asked, though I was no longer panting with desperate need.

"Until you stop asking how much longer," Jonah said with gentle amusement. "Until you're thinking clearly enough to want me for the right reasons."

"What are the right reasons?"

"Because you love me," Jonah said simply, tilting my head back to rinse the shampoo from my hair. "Because you want to complete our bond, not because your heat is demanding it. Because you trust me to claim you properly when you're ready to receive it."

No one had ever told me that this was what bonding was supposed to be like. That my readiness was more important than an alpha's desire or my heat's demands.

"I do love you," I said quietly. "More than I thought I was capable of loving anyone."

"I know," Jonah said, beginning to rinse my body with clean water. "But right now, your heat is doing most of the talking. I want to claim you when Kit is making the choice, not when your biology is making demands."

The distinction was subtle but important. I could feel the difference now. The way my desperation was settling into something deeper, more intentional.

"You're very wise," I said playfully, leaning into his careful ministrations.

"I've had practice," Jonah said quietly. "Sarah taught me the difference between what someone needs and what they think they want. Sometimes the kindest thing an alpha can do is slow down."

The patience he was showing me, the willingness to deny his own obvious arousal in service of my actual wellbeing, was the most alpha thing I'd ever experienced.

"I think I'm ready now," I said after he'd finished rinsing me clean and my breathing had returned to normal. "Really ready. Not heat ready, but Kit ready."

Jonah studied my face carefully, looking for signs that I was still being driven by biology rather than choice.

"Tell me why," he said finally.

"Because I love you," I said simply. "Because I want to complete our pack bond. Because I trust you to claim me exactly the way I need to be claimed."

Jonah's smile was radiant, transforming his serious expression into something that took my breath away. "Now you're ready," he said with satisfaction. "Now we can do this properly."

He lifted me from the tub, beginning to dry me with infinite care. "You're mine, Kit," he said quietly, his voice carrying that familiar bedrock certainty. "And I'm going to show you what that means."

As he wrapped me in soft towels and carried me back toward our nest, I realized that this. This patience. This protection. This quiet, deliberate refusal to rush me. This was what real love looked like.

And I was finally ready to claim it completely.