Page 14 of Scent of Sanctuary

Callum plops back down on the couch, throwing his feet on the coffee table. “Not it,” he grins. “It’s still my birthday for an hour.”

Lyle groans, tossing a popcorn kernel at him. “Both of you are assholes, but I got to knot our Omega, so I think I can clean.”

There’s some quiet laughter as I lean farther back in the couch, Lyle pressing a kiss to my cheek before gathering some of the dishes from the coffee table. I’ve always dreamt of this moment, of this kind of domesticity that involved Seraphina between the three of us. She’s always been ours but right now, I’m wondering why it took us so long.

Why we didn’t say something years ago.

I keep telling myself it’s because Seraphina was too afraid of us turning out like her nightmares. But it wasn’t just that. I was terrified that she’d reject us. Rejectme. And the idea of not having Seraphina in my life was a pain I wasn’t willing to bear.

But I have her now and I’m not losing her.

Seraphina

Wakinguptostickywarmth, surrounded by Ambrose’s rum scent is overwhelming. Mostly because his hoodie is plastered to me, sweat trickling down my back and gathering around my forehead. I know it’s just a symptom of the heat but it’s uncomfortable. I blink a few times and find myself horizontal, pressed against Ambrose’s chest, his arm dangling over my waist. His purr is a steady hum, vibrating through me in the darkness, my face warming in embarrassment at last evening’s chaos.

I vaguely remember crawling into his hoodie last night, needing to burrow somewhere and then at some point, he had slipped the hoodie off and dragged me into his chest. But now I just feel exposed as I sit up a little, wondering where Callum and Lyle disappeared to.

Ambrose’s sleepy hazel eyes snap open when I pull away from him, his gaze meeting mine. “Hey, angel,” he murmurs, his voice rough with sleep, a lazy grin tugging at his lip ring. “How you feeling?”

I wrap my arms around myself, his sweatshirt swallowing my frame, and mumble, “Sorry.” My cheeks burn, thinking of how I crawled into his clothes and how I must look now, sweaty and disheveled. I’ve heard of Omegas stealing their Alphas’ clothing but crawling into them while the Alpha is still in it?Ridiculous.

Ambrose lets out a quiet laugh as he sits up beside me, his tattoos on full display now that he’s not wearing his hoodie. “I’m not sorry. I like seeing you in my clothes. Do you want us to leave?”

My nose scrunches at the blunt question but I shake my head. “No. I just… kind of need my nest. I like the living room, but I need…” I trail off, my hands twisting in the sweatshirt’s hem, the open space of the couch pressing in.

“I know. Callum cleaned out your room for you and sprayed descenter, so whenever you’re ready to make your new one, everything’s by the door.”

I glance at the pile of pillows he brought, stacked near my bedroom, still in the plastic. Callum steps out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. My brows furrow as I wait for a third body but no one else comes from the kitchen. “Where’s Lyle?”

Callum leans against the counter, a small chuckle escaping him. “Lyle had a shift but he’ll stop through at some point. Go ahead and make your nest and then I’ll show you how the cameras work, okay?”

I nod, slipping off the couch, Ambrose’s sweatshirt hanging past my thighs. Everything is so tidy now, the mingled scents and food aroma making me move faster so that I can have my special space. I block out Ambrose and Callum’s presence as best I can, fighting my Omega and then ultimately giving in. She can build a better nest than I can on any given day and she knows just how I like it. My chaos-addled brain would be no good for building anything so I let her take over.

A giggle peels from my lips as I unwrap the first couple of pillows and a dark, sunburnt orange blanket. Each of the items are placed just right in a small ring toward the corner. Everything is perfect until I find one with frills and frown at it, the lacy edges tickling my fingers. However, I find a spot for that one too—at the very edge of the nest so it doesn’t rub against me while I’m sleeping.

My Omega steals the reins completely, little grunts and soft purrs coming from me as I arrange the pillows, tucking them against the wall and fold blankets into perfect curves. I glance back at Ambrose and Callum, watching me from the living room, a smile spreading across my face. It’s been a damn long time since I built a nest from scratch. Not only is it perfect but the pride in their expressions makes it that much better.

Except for the last pillow. I bring it to my face, unsure if I hate it or if it’s something else. It’s almost gray, not the silver I wanted, and every time I think of placing it in my nest, I shake my head, a low growl rumbling in my throat. It doesn’t fit, my instincts screaming to reject it. I march back to the living room and thrust the pillow at Ambrose. “It doesn’t fit. You can have it.”

Ambrose lifts an eyebrow, his hazel eyes glinting as he takes it. “Fuck yeah,” he muses. “Our Omega just gave me a present.” He wraps his arms around the pillow, pressing a soft kiss to the frills along the side.

I wrinkle my nose at “our Omega,” a flutter of warmth and fear twisting in my chest. Callum laughs, his gray eyes crinkling at the edges as he leans against the wall. “It’s my birthday, sweetheart. Why’s he getting gifts?” His chuckle has me stepping closer and leaning up on my toes to kiss Callum’s cheek, his oakmoss scent clinging to my lips. “Yeah, I’ll take that.” A smile tugs at his lips and my cheeks flush in response, the ease of their words and laughter calming my panic.

Callum straightens up, nodding to the small camera in the kitchen. “Everything’s set up. An app on your phone will let you see everything and any alerts—like a window or door opening will be sent to your phone. No one’s getting in without you or us knowing.”

It feels like overkill but I also feel seen. I thought they would dismiss my fears, tell me I’m crazy. After all, I don’t leave the house—how could anyone be in here? But the first thing they did was comfort me and then they made my safe place a little fortress. “Thank you,” I whisper, my eyes flicking to the camera, then back to him.

He leans over to press a kiss to the top of my head before nodding to Ambrose as a silent gesture to leave. “I think we’ve kind of overstayed our welcome but you’ll see a text to download the app. If it doesn’t come up, just call me, okay?” I nod, wrapping my arms around my chest. “Sleep tight, sweetheart.”

Ambrose moves closer, gently pulling me into his chest. I try hard not to flinch, my body tensing before relaxing into his warmth and then kisses my forehead, lingering there for a minute. “Get some rest. I know you got an early shift.”

I watch them leave, waiting until the door clicks before rushing to my new nest and settling in, pulling one of those sunburnt orange blankets over my head. This whole place is mingling with their scents and mine, the perfect cocktail that keeps drawing my Omega front and center. Heat bleeds through me, settling in my lower belly as I clamp my thighs together, frustrated because there’s no one here to ease this need.

I realize that pushing them away is only going to make the weeks leading up to my heat worse. My instincts are screaming for them and even with the fear trying to keep hold of me, Ambrose, Callum, Lyle have never been anything but good, and their confessions last night, their promise to stay, make me want to trust them, make me want to believe I can have them forever.

My mind wanders to that knotted dildo in my nightstand a few feet from me but I’m not stupid. I’ll only exacerbate my symptoms and then I’ll fall into a pit of Omega slick and need without an outlet. Even with my heat blockers, I’ve already given in too much to my Omega to pull back now. Needing something or someone to distract me, I pull out my phone and quickly download the security app, plugging in the numbers Callum texted me. And all of a sudden, I can see the front of my apartment and my kitchen and part of the hallway. It’s disconcerting but also gives me a sense of relief I hadn’t had before.

A notification pops up from myChattedapp, a safe haven for Omegas to gripe about their packs, their Alphas, nests, and whatever else. There seems to be over a hundred messages I missed which doesn’t surprise me.

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