Page 69 of They Love Me Knot (Starsfalls Omegaverse #2)

Daphne

T he morning after my heat breaks starts awkwardly, waking with my mouth hanging open and body spreadeagle.

Hormone crashes after a heat always makes me second-guess things, so while normally I think it’s hot to be covered in my mates’ come, my stupid omega brain is now making me afraid they thought I was gross or behaved embarrassingly or was too needy during my heat.

Even though I’m supposed to be needy and get lots of knots and come and my mates were always very happy to oblige.

I don’t know why my brain likes to torture me like this, and the post-heat anxiety has never been this bad.

Maybe it’s because I care so much more about what this pack thinks of me.

None of them mentioned my drool though, so at least I’ve got that going for me.

Once they realized I was awake, Alister, Ciro, and Kieran carried me off to the shower. Feliks and Sterling left to take their own showers and make us some food .

I recall some showers during my heat, and even a few baths in the giant walk-in tub, but those were still largely focused on heat shenanigans, with a bit of cleaning as a byproduct.

This time, the three of them make sure I get a full shower, scrubbing every inch of me and washing and conditioning my hair.

After that (and a few refreshing shower orgasms), they bundle me up in a towel and set me at the vanity. I admire the décor while they work on me, not having paid attention to the nice bathroom attached to my nest during my heat because it didn’t have a cock for me.

The vanity mirror has scrollwork flowers carved into the light wood frame, with more flowers carved on the drawers and handles below.

The countertop is a light green marble, soft and soothing, with dozens of potion bottles with various floral scents.

The seat I’m on is a giant pouf in green gingham, and sitting on it was like sinking into a cloud.

Alister combs leave-in conditioner into my hair, massaging my scalp as he goes, while Ciro and Kieran rub peony and strawberry scented lotion on my legs and feet and also massage me.

Despite the relaxing spa treatment, my curiosity gets the best of me, so I wrangle my arms out of the fluffy green towel they wrapped me in and start opening drawers.

The scent hits me first, each drawer wafting a different floral aroma thanks to whatever’s inside. There are bath bombs and shower steamers with dried petals in them, more scented lotions and hand creams, perfumes and body mists and nail polish in every shade imaginable.

Some brands I recognize from seeing their products at the fair, but there’s plenty of other brands I’ve never heard of.

They range from local, small-batch products to creams and mists I’m afraid to touch because they look way more expensive than any I’ve ever seen.

I was afraid to even look at one of the perfume bottles because I think there might be actual diamonds encrusted in the metal frame around the glass bottle.

I shut the drawers without comment.

“Do you like the brands I got? If not, I’ll replace them with whatever you want,” Ciro offers, but keeps talking without waiting for me to reply.

“I know I chose the generic things that omegas are supposed to like, which it’s my fault I don’t know your tastes better.

Stalking you, er, I mean following you around—wait, no.

What I mean is, I know I didn’t do a good job of getting to know you on our date, so I had to base my purchases on what I observed when you were out and about.

I picked the scents I thought you would like and got a lot of different things for you to try.

If there’s anything you don’t like, we can buy you replacements. ”

I was trying to hold the tears back, the hormones hitting hard, but I can’t after that.

I burst into tears and launch myself at Ciro, towel falling off in the process.

“You’re so sweet, I love everything,” I say, each word punctuated with a sob.

“You do?” Ciro asks.

“Yes,” I cry into his neck.

“Then why are you crying, princess?”

Ciro strokes my hair and purrs, trying to calm me down. The feeling is soothing, but it just makes me cry harder because he’s so sweet and thoughtful, and it was all hidden beneath his formerly grumpy exterior.

Now that I know he was trying to protect himself from being hurt again, I could never be mad at Ciro for how he acted. Being rejected by a pack, an omega, and cut off from his packmates is the worst thing I could imagine.

I just made myself cry harder.

“Heightened feelings are normal after a heat due to the hormone fluctuations. Things should even out in a few days,” Alister explains for me.

“If you’re sure it’s normal…” Ciro says quietly, like he doesn’t mean for me to hear, and I almost can’t over my sobbing.

He keeps comforting me while my tears cover his back and chest, Alister and Kieran joining in to surround me with purrs.

Eventually I’m down to just a few sniffles.

This was a slight setback to my plans for the day. I didn’t want to seem erratic in front of my pack, even though it’s normal to have mood swings like Alister said. It still makes me feel self-conscious that I overreacted.

And I can’t stop myself from saying, “I’m sorry I’m more emotional than the other omegas you helped with their heats.”

I don’t want to remind Ciro of his ex, but I can’t get the comparison out of my mind.

“I’ve never been with an omega during their heat,” Ciro says.

“Me neither,” Kieran says.

“It’s normal, baby girl, don’t stress about it. Let yourself feel what you feel,” Alister says.

I squeeze Ciro tightly, embarrassed I brought up his past when he didn’t sleep with that omega, and hoping I didn’t stir up too many bad memories.

When I finally calm down, they wipe my face with a cool cloth and finish lotioning me.

We return to the nest, and Ciro shows me the other connected room, a giant walk-in closet.

It’s just as packed as the rest of the nest, clothes and shoes and purses hanging everywhere or stacked on shelves.

There are drawers of socks, underwear, lingerie and other fun outfits and toys that we clearly didn’t dip into much during my heat.

I circle the closet a few times just taking things in. Everything is so colorful and stylish, I don’t see one thing I hate or even just don’t like. I’m not sure how Ciro managed that. When I go shopping for myself, I usually end up not liking at least one of the outfits after I get home.

I may have to deputize Ciro as my personal shopper from now on if everything fits, and it looks like he got the right sizes.

I keep the happy tears to a minimum this time, so it’s only fifteen minutes before they’re able to get me dressed.

Ciro carries me downstairs, the others trailing behind, and into the kitchen.

At least I think it’s a kitchen. I smell food and see Feliks and Sterling before my attention is stolen by the other end of the room.

I gasp and twist out of Ciro’s hold, fuzzy socks sliding against the floor as I scramble over to press my face against the glass.

I stare out at the…I guess backyard, but that doesn’t seem like an accurate word for it.

Even though the entire wall is floor-to-ceiling windows, it still isn’t wide enough to show me the full view of the back gardens.

“Is all of this yours?” I ask in shock.

I wasn’t paying attention to our surroundings on the way here (for obvious reasons), so I don’t know what their place looks like.

When Ciro carried me down from the nest, I could tell the house was big, which isn’t surprising for a pack house, especially a larger pack. But pack houses don’t always sit on acres and acres of land like this one apparently does.

“Everything you see from here to the edge of the mountain is ours,” Alister says, coming up behind me. “Our property extends around the house for a few acres too, with forests separating us from our neighbors, so we have plenty of privacy.”

I see the trees in the distance, and the mountain too, obviously. But closest to the house are enormous gardens.

Flower beds and rose gardens are interspersed with fruits, vegetables, and herbs. There are berry bushes and fruit trees scattered around, and beyond that tower tall, green hedges that kind of look like they might be a hedge maze.

I’m not surprised by the other plants in this pack’s garden, but the maze is unexpected, like a secret garden.

Maybe I shouldn’t be shocked that my pack has this much property in a place like Starsfalls. You don’t have to travel far outside of town before you hit rural roads and sprawling landscapes. There are probably lots of people with giant houses and properties out here.

I never dreamed of actually having a giant garden with seemingly every cultivated plant imaginable.

Now I can’t picture myself living anywhere else.

Ciro and Sterling tell me about the plants we can see from here, the ones Sterling uses for baking, the fruits and vegetables Feliks likes to cook to make meals for everyone, and Ciro’s favorite flowers.

“Those tall bushes back there, is that a maze?” I ask.

“It is. That came with the house, actually. Not something we would have thought to add ourselves, but it turns out it’s a nice place to walk around and clear your mind,” Ciro says.

“Now that we found you, I might have installed the maze if we didn’t already have it. I have some ideas for how we can use it,” Alister whispers to me. It must be loud enough for Ciro to hear too, because he lets out a low growl.

I blush as my scent rises around us, his words making me picture being chased through the maze and what my pack will do once they catch me.

“After we eat, we can take you on a tour of the grounds and the house, since you’ve not seen much of that either,” Feliks says.

I rub the smudge off the glass from where my face left an impression, hoping no one noticed, and follow them to a cozy breakfast nook. I plop down on the cushioned bench and immediately lean against Kieran and stretch my legs over Ciro when they join me.

Feliks and Sterling bring the food over, placing the various eggs and pastries and meats and gravy on the table.

Sterling puts an iced lilac oat milk latte with vanilla bean cream in front of me, and I snatch it up immediately and take a sip. I close my eyes and sway in my seat, enjoying my first post-heat caffeine.

Coffee always tastes extra good after a heat. Usually I’m only able to make a basic coffee afterward since I’m so worn out, so this extra fancy coffee hits a thousand times better than the usual first cup.

If I weren’t already so in love with this pack, the amazing coffee would’ve done it.

I choke on that amazing coffee when I realize what I just thought .

Kieran grabs the cup from me as I clear my throat.

“Be careful. There’s no need to swallow that fast right now,” he teases.

I glare at him but feel my face heat. Kieran laughs after making sure I’m alright.

Sterling brings over a jug of water and a tray of ice cubes with frozen flowers. He uses tongs to put the ice cubes I pick out into a glass and pours me a water. Feliks fills my plate and sets the towering mound of food in front of me.

I focus on enjoying the delicious things before me and do my best to avoid thinking about anything else.

Now isn’t a good time to think about big relationship things when my emotions are so volatile.