Page 173 of Power Shift

I’m asleep before I can say I love you.

54

LANDON

Jasper carriesa tray of food up the stairs with me and Dash at his back. It becomes clearer with every step we take that if we closed our eyes, we could still find the nest without struggle. All we’d need is to follow the toothache-inducing sweet lemon scent drifting through the house, guiding us like a lighthouse in a stormy night at sea.

I’m tense, every inch of me coiled tight with the restraint it’s taking not to plow my way past Jasper and into the nest. Leaving Ronan and Briar alone while I was pulled out of the room wasn’t something I’d ever like to do again. I need to be with her, but I also know what would have happened if I’d been the one to stay.

As much as I want to mark her, I won’t do it without everyone else around us. We do it together as a pack or not at all, even if I have to wait months. Years, even.

As fucking cliché as it is, Briar’s worth it.

“Okay, so we’ve never done this,” Dash blurts out beside me.

I snort. “Spent a heat with an omega?”

“Yeah. We’ve never even shared an omega before Briar came into our lives. How is it supposed to work? Do we take turns? Areyou going to be shoving your fingers inside of her alongside my dick again? I didn’t mind that, but I’d like a heads-up next time, you know?”

“If I think about that, I’ll end up smashing through the door to the nest,” Jasper admits tightly.

The time in the gym with Ronan was the first time I’d ever been in a situation like that, and I think it made my arousal stronger.

Ronan’s naturally possessive, and the fact he allowed me to share her with him then was something unexpected. I wouldn’t be surprised if he felt the same way I do.

I focus on Jasper. “So, you’re okay with that, then?”

“With us helping each other out? Yeah, I am. I’m sure once we get inside the nest, nothing will matter but Briar and making sure we satiate her. I don’t care how that happens as long as it does.”

“Think Ronan will think the same?” Dash asks.

I inhale, dragging Briar’s sticky scent into my lungs. “I’m sure we’re about to find out.”

“She should eat before anything else,” Jasper pushes, stopping at the top of the stairs. He turns to look at us with a serious expression. “She’ll need the nutrients. More than she’ll get from our cum.”

Dash nods, eyes flashing to the door. “Has anyone told Coach?”

“I called him,” I say hoarsely. “Got heat-leave for the four of us.”

Being this close to Briar . . . I need inside the nest. I’ll lose myself if I don’t get there soon.

Jasper must sense my fading patience. He steps aside and gives me room to pass.

My shoulders curve inward when I press a hand to the wall to keep myself anchored in place. “If you think I’ll be able to sayno to her once we get in there, you’re going to be disappointed in me, Jas. I’m already hardly holding back right now, and there’s a door between us. I need to know that the both of you are prepared to pull me away from her if necessary.”

“She’ll be safe, Landon. You won’t hurt her,” Dash says.

“I’m not scared that I’ll hurt her. I’m scared I’ll betoo muchfor her. That once I start, I won’t stop until I’ve marked her and we’re bound together for the rest of our lives. What if she says yes in the thralls of heat and then wakes up afterward to regret wearing my bite? Regret being with me at all?” My voice breaks, revealing the depth of my worry.

Dash clasps a hand over my shoulder, offering a silent type of support while Jasper fidgets with the tray in his hands and frowns at me.

“She’s already given us approval for marking her. Now, you have to trust that she meant it. Ask her again before you do, and dig into the bond you’ve formed with her already to find her answer again. It’s there in all of us. We share that with her, and I have no doubt that she’s as ready for the next steps as we are.”

“I haven’t even given her the courting gifts I’ve been storing,” I blurt out.

Dash clears his throat to hide a laugh. “There’s still time for that after she’s back to herself.”

“You’ll be the first one, Landon,” Jasper says when I take that first step toward the nest door.

---