Page 32 of Scent of Sanctuary

Lyle guides her toward the stairs, his arm around her as they climb the steps. Once she’s out of earshot, I twist around to Ambrose. “We’re getting her new pillows today. I can’t watch her crawl into the back of my closet anymore.”

“Thank fuck. I don’t want to leave her, but Jesus, we can do better than that.”

I snort, reading between the lines, knowing that we all share some healthy jealousy between us based on what Seraphina gravitates to. It’s a bit of delightful competition, wondering who she’ll step up to first, where she’ll make her nest, and who she calls when she needs something. So far, Lyle is winning by an obscene amount but Ambrose and I are neck and neck. Him buying her another nest, though, is most definitely going to put him ahead.

So long as she’s comfortable here, though, I don’t care who wins. In the end, we all do.

Seraphina

Asoftwarmthbloomsin my chest as I wake from a nap, the nest in Ambrose’s room cradling me like a gentle embrace. The new pillows sink beneath my weight, the deep indigo fabric a gift from Ambrose, chosen with care to match the blankets he draped over me. My heat spikes have slowed this week, far and few between, leaving me clear-headed but raw, my Omega still clinging to their attention.

It took me too long to find this spot, rejecting Callum’s closet after he explained that we couldn’t all fit there during my heat. Ambrose’s room won out in the end, its smaller space and darker corners absolutely perfect. I’ve never seen him happier, the Alpha curling against me every chance he gets, lording my choice over the others in the most hilarious way.

I drink it all up, though. The soft kisses, their quiet devotion to my needs, and the patience they have each time I flinch and then apologize. Add in the fact that the investigation is still open, no new evidence or answers available and I’m starting to feel a little lost.

The only thing I have to look forward to is starting up my shifts again, new equipment delivered to the house yesterday and set up in the corner of Ambrose’s room so I don’t have to leave my nest. It’s perfect. Almost. Almost perfect because none of them are in here right now.

I stretch, my spine cracking in the best way, Ambrose’s oversized shirt slipping off one shoulder as I stand up. Their shirts have become my new wardrobe, my Omega needing their scent on my skin at all times, like an extra barrier from the outside world. That’s when I realize the new fairy lights hanging above my head, this one full of little moons, a smile forming on my lips at Ambrose’s extra attention.

That doesn’t substitute my need for their presence, though.

I step out into the hallway, curious about the small hum of noise coming from the kitchen. I step inside, my Alphas freezing as they all twist to stare at me, several boxes piled beside the counter.

“What is all this?”

Callum sits up a little straighter, searching my face for discomfort. “We were finally able to get what we could from your apartment. There wasn’t much, just stuff from the bathroom and Felix’s room. Everything else was pretty much damaged by smoke or the fire.”

My breath catches in my throat as I twist my fingers in my shirt. “Felix’s room?”

“Yeah, baby girl. His gear, some photos, a few clothes. The fire didn’t touch much in there and we knew you’d want to look through it at some point.”

Ambrose comes around the corner, gently offering his chest and I snuggle into it, unsure what to do with Felix’s memories so close to me. “We were going to sort through everything and then leave it by your nest for whenever you’re ready. You don’t have to do this now, sweetheart. We can wait.”

As much as I want to wait, I also know that the memories in some of these boxes are also theirs. We all shared Felix. I also know that I need to finally deal with all of these emotions I keep shoving way. “No, I need to. It’s Felix. I need to say goodbye.” Not forever. I know he’ll always be in my heart but some part of me never really dealt with his death and in the safety of my Alphas, there’s really no better time. “You’re not tired of me, are you? All this… am I too much?”

Lyle lets out a soft laugh as he gently pulls me from Ambrose and guides me toward the boxes.. “You’re our heart, Fi. Never too much.”

I slowly peel open the first boxes, trembling fingers pulling out a small photo of my brother, his smile blurring through my tears. God, I forgot how happy he used to be, how much joy he brought into the room. His graduation cap is crooked but he’s so damn proud, holding up his diploma. I remember taking that picture, memories flooding back in.

Having boxed Felix up in his room, I pushed away all the good as well.

Each picture and trinket I pull from the box, brings back another image of a life I nearly forgot. I drop to my knees, laughing over each one, Callum sitting beside me as he points to one of the pictures. “That’s from the day he threw his cap in the air and it landed in Mrs. Carter’s tree. It took us an hour to get it down.”

Lyle plops down on my other side, Ambrose nearly sitting in his lap, the two of them infuriatingly adorable. “Felix was so proud,” Lyle starts as he strings an arm around Ambrose’s waist. “Strutting around like he owned the world. We weren’t even friends then but he was always the center of the world.”

“And he insisted on that awful karaoke machine when we first showed up at the station. Sang ‘Sweet Caroline’ three times, off-key to every one.”

I remember that too. Felix couldn’t sing at all but the happiness he poured into everything he did made everyone laugh and smile. He was the light of the party. I could be having the worst day and then he’d say something so stupid, I couldn’t help but laugh at him.That’swhat I lost when Felix was taken from me—his light. His happiness.

And yet, the men sitting around me feel like a gift he left in his wake, knowing that I just needed to find my own light to bring into the world.

I continue sifting through the boxes, my fingers grazing his firefighting badge, a worn baseball cap, each item sparking stories from my Alphas. Callum tells of Felix sneaking donuts to the station, Lyle of their fishing trips, Ambrose of late-night video game marathons. My tears turn happy as I memorize every word until I pull out a frame of all five of us. It was his last birthday, a lopsided 28 candle hanging off the top of a small chocolate cake.

“Can we hang this one up?”

“Absolutely, sweetheart,” Callum purrs, slipping the frame from me and marching right to the TV to hang it a few inches above. I didn’t think it would be that easy but now Felix is here, in this home, like he never left. “How’s that? Now, he can be part of all the shenanigans.”

I snort at that, digging through a few more things. I get to the bottom of the box and pull out his high school yearbook, scanning the faces to see if anyone is familiar. One face is. One I wish I never had to see again.Jonah.I linger on his face for a few minutes as I remember the morning before the fire. “Is Jonah back at the station?”

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