Page 40 of Their Knotty Pack (Starbrook City Omegaverse #3)

Bethany

T he nest is dark when I open the door, an unmoving lump under the blankets as the blueberry-dark chocolate swirling around tinges the room with sadness.

"Miles?" I call out quietly, but he doesn't stir as I pad across the room and climb onto the mattress.

I hear a sniffle when I slide under the covers, the two of us completely enveloped by the coziness of the nest. My hand reaches out, and when my fingers touch his cheek, they're met with tears. "Oh, Miles." My voice chokes.

I don't know how to handle this. We've never had a real argument or fight before. Debating who would win in a battle among our favorite characters? Yep. Wrestled for the corner spot on the couch? Done that.

But actually be upset with each other? Or hurt? This is new territory.

"Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me what was happening?" His voice is thick. "Did you…did you think I wasn't strong enough to handle it?"

"Babe, no," my vision has adjusted, and I can make out the vague outline of his face, "I didn't tell anyone about it, and not on purpose—"

"Yo u told Brody," he mutters, wiping away his tears like he's offended by them.

"I didn't tell him, but he was right there when they called me on Friday, and it's not like I tried to hide it.

But…you're right. I should have been more forthright about it.

I'm just…" I sigh. "When I was with them—Pack Hansen—my problems, my concerns, my issues…

everything that was related to me was considered silly and unimportant.

I guess at a certain point, I subconsciously adopted that mindset as well. "

"You're not with them anymore, nymph," he says fiercely, but still a little sniffly. "Never again."

"Never again," I agree, reaching to run my fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry. I should have said something. I was just hoping it would stop eventually. I had thought since they lost interest before, it would happen again before long. But…I should have told you. I'm sorry, and I love you."

Soft lips close over mine, his still slightly-wet cheeks brushing over me. "I can't believe you're mated to such a drama queen."

"Who, Kieran?"

Miles snorts before pressing his forehead to mine. "I'm sorry for storming off like that. I was so wrapped up in how I felt about everything, I didn't think about how it must have been affecting you."

"I'm fine, really. Somehow my trauma with them is actually helping me in this case. I really do feel like it's silly—"

"But it's not." His words are firm. "I saw you shaking when they showed up, baby. I wanted to rip their fucking heads off and mount them on a pike as a warning to any others who might even look at you wrong."

Well then.

"How about," I say slowly, running my hands down his arms, "instead of resorting to brutal murder, you can model some characters after them in Sims and trap them in a swimming pool before fillin g it up. Oh! Or, you can make them sunbathe for so long they get heatstroke."

"The Sims?" I can hear the surprise in his voice. "I haven't played that game in forever." Then he laughs. "Did I mate a secret psycho?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say coyly, "I feel like this is a much healthier coping mechanism than mounting their heads on pikes."

"Huh. I guess you're right. You're so smart." He kisses me again, and I melt into his touch. His hands come up to cup my cheeks as he presses his body to mine, and I can feel his growing erection pressing into my leg, making me groan.

Right as I throw the covers off of us and straddle his hips, there's a knock at the door.

"Bethany? Miles?" It's Kieran's voice on the other side of the door, and I'm torn.

I was just about to have some alone time with my omega, but we did just agree to a courtship and I can't say I'm a fan of how our date ended.

Sighing, I roll off Miles. "Come in!"

Miles grins at me before pulling the covers over his crotch, hiding the tent in his shorts.

The door cracks open, and we're met with the sight of not only Kieran, but the whole pack—even Hunter. They've all changed into comfortable clothes, and damn, have I ever seen Hunter without a shirt on? He's probably the most cut out of all of them.

"Hey, I hope we didn't interrupt anything," Kieran says, his tone serious, but I can tell by that little tilt of the corner of his mouth that he knows exactly what he interrupted.

"We just thought," Brody steps out from behind him, "well, Kieran suggested, actually…"

"Pack cuddle, anyone?" Damien finally asks. "I can always use a good cuddle after dealing with ignorant alphas."

"We can go in the living room," Brody says quickly, "Or— "

Miles and I exchange a look. "Why don't you guys pile in?" I cut in, and before my sentence is fully out of my mouth, Damien is diving onto the bed by our feet, before shimmying up so he has his head resting on our touching thighs.

"This is my spot now, losers." Damien declares, making me laugh as he nuzzles his head into our legs. "Ugh, Miles, lay off the leg-lifts, will you? Your muscles are not very cushiony." Kieran and Brody smile, shaking their heads as Brody slips into bed behind me, and Kieran gets behind Miles.

Miles suppresses a smile. "You could always not put your head there—"

Damien lets out a gasp. "How dare you."

"You know, I like my pillows a little firmer," Kieran chimes in, throwing an arm over Miles' waist. Seeing Miles' blush is the cutest thing. "Maybe I could switch with you—"

"Nope," Damien declares with finality. "Just because you were too slow getting on the bed…"

I tune out their banter as my eyes fix on Hunter, who is still standing by the door.

I know he feels something for me, otherwise he wouldn't have been so upset about the Pack Hansen thing.

My brows raise in a silent question, and he hesitates for only a moment before nodding.

He lays on the edge of the bed next to Brody, who pulls me closer to him, scent marking my cheek with his.

Something settles within me the moment Hunter joins us. My whole pack is here.

My pack.

When did I start thinking of them as more than the alphas and beta I was stuck with because of my reckless actions?

Kieran sighs, a little smile on his face. "I'm so…wait what's this?" I watch with absolute mortification as he pulls out a pair of….boxer shorts from under the pillows.

Not Miles' .

But, bless him, he tries to cover for me anyway. "Those are mine. Invasive, much?"

"These aren't yours," Kieran scoffs, then his nose wrinkles. "They smell too much like… ugh. Brody. Don't leave your shit in here, man." Then his brows furrow. "As far as I know, you guys aren't there yet, so how did they even…?"

"What? I haven't—" he stammers, quickly looking at me and Miles. "I swear, I've never planted my stuff in here. That would be…"

"Brody," Hunter speaks up, and I relax for just a second. The voice of reason. "If you have some kind of fetish for leaving your underwear in the omegas' nest, that's fine, but they need to consent to it beforehand."

"What the hell?" Brody's mouth drops open.

Oh my gods. What is happening right now? My face is flaming. Poor Brody is still trying to defend himself, Damien looks like he's going to explode with laughter, and I don't even want to see Hunter's expression.

I sit upright, covering my face with my hands. "I had Damien steal them from the laundry for me!" The words burst out of me, mortification filling my chest as they all still.

Brody sits up next to me. "You…you did what?"

Kieran gives me an undecipherable look.

"Well, to be fair," I ramble, running a hand through my hair, "Damien offered to steal them for me, but that was after I smacked him in the head with the door—"

"I knew you didn't walk into a door!" Kieran nearly shouts, and I cover my face with my hands again.

"Brody doesn't have a fetish for leaving his underwear places…that I know of, I just really needed your guys' scents."

Hunter freezes. " All of ours?"

I swallow roughly. "I mean, yeah. You're all my true scent matches, and omegas need scents…"

"I definitely participated in the scent-hoarding," Miles finally speaks up, raising a hand.

"Sunshine…" Kieran says in a low voice, making me look at him. Shit. I crossed a boundary. "Why didn't you just ask us? Shit, okay, I get why you didn't ask me at the time, but you could've asked Brody or Hunter."

When the guys murmur their agreements, I look around in shock. "You guys aren't mad?"

"The only thing I'm mad about is not knowing you've been hoarding my scent. That information is going straight into the spank bank." Kieran smirks.

"No more sneaking from the laundry, okay?

" Brody asks, wrapping his arms around me.

I lean back into him, and he presses a kiss to my temple.

"Just ask. Or let us know you're raiding our rooms. You don't happen to have an old, ratty, sweatshirt from Starbrook City Law School laying around here, do you? "

Biting my lip, I nod. "And I'm not giving it back. It's the perfect amount of soft and I wear it to bed every night. I mean, you'll need to wear it for a couple of days soon to refresh the scent, but…"

He smiles at me. An unrestrained, blinding smile. "I wouldn't dream of trying to take that away. I just thought I lost it."

"Bluebell?" Hunter's voice has me turning towards him. "Will you come over here for a second?"

Miles gives me an encouraging nod when I glance at him, and I crawl over Brody, just in time for Hunter to pull me into his lap.

"Oh!" I give a surprised cry at being handled, but I don't dislike it. Not at all.

I've never been this close to him, and being enveloped in his lemon-ginger scent is like taking a warm, comforting sip of hot tea.

Sitting sideways on Hunter's lap, he tilts my chin up with his finger so I'm staring into his eyes. "I'm going to tell you something, and I want you to take me very, very seriously."

"Ok ay." I swallow roughly.

"Whatever it is you need, any teeny tiny thing that you want, any passing whim . It is not silly, it is not too much trouble, and it is important." He holds my gaze until I give a small nod. "You will come to us, okay?"

"Yes, sir." The honorific comes out without me even thinking about it, and all the guys let out pained groans. It wasn't intended to be sexual, but that's obviously what they took from it. I'm not even sure how much older Hunter is than me, but it can't be that many years.

Hunter gives them a scathing look before fixing his attention back on me. "As your pack, it's our job to take care of you, and it's your job to trust us enough to let us do that."

"What about Miles?" I ask softly.

"Miles…I get the impression that he doesn't want to feel like he's being taken care of, but he still wants the benefits, all while still feeling like he's taking care of you."

"That sounds fair," Miles chimes in.

Hunter merely shakes his head with a soft chuckle before fixing his eyes back on me. "You…you want to be taken care of, don't you, bluebell?"

Do I? I suppose…when you don't know any different…it's easy to think that the attainable isn't even a possibility.

"Yes, sir. I think do." I don't know why I keep calling him "sir", except for the fact that it's what feels right .

"Fuck me ," Miles mutters, and I flash him a smile.

"Not tonight, babe."

Then Hunter surprises the hell out of me, brushing a kiss to my temple. "I look forward to it," he murmurs, his lips moving against my skin, and shiver runs through my body.

Well hell, I'm looking forward to it too.