Page 148 of Ember

“Yes.” West sat up, looking drained. I pulled him into a quick hug. He clung to me with sudden ferocity before letting go.

I patted his back. It was going to be okay. It had to be. I didn’t find one of my omegas just to lose her.

We shifted outside the nest but leaned against the wall. We kept the door to the nest open in case she wanted to climb back in. Ben kept her in his lap, and I stayed to her left. She whimpered and buried her face in my neck. She was still pale, her skin too warm.

Sunshine came down the hallway slowly, with Julian in tow. Logan’s bonded omega, Julian, was a regular at Talk of the Town. His black hair was pulled into a ponytail, and he wore his blue firefighter uniform. He had a blue duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

“I’m Julian, Sunshine’s omega.” He gave everyone a grin and lingered on Ember, who was giving him a side eye. “Hey, babycakes, how are you?”

Ember made a soft noise in the back of her throat that reminded me of a cat.

Sunshine looped her arm around Julian, her face red and blotchy. “It’s Julian, remember?”

Ember gave Julian the thousand-yard stare, but the other omega didn’t seem bothered. He sat down on the floor a couple of feet away from us, looking relaxed. “I heard you had some excitement lately,” he said, using a calm voice.

I’d seen him at the restaurant a hundred times but never heard him sound so calm and reassuring.He’s damn good at his job, I thought,and we’re lucky to have him in the family.

Julian glanced at me and grinned at Ember. “I see you finally netted yourself a chef. Awesome, now you can have gourmet meals at the crook of your finger.” He lifted his hand up for a high five.

Ember stared at him, but she wasn’t growling. I thought maybe it was a good sign.

West shifted over and gave Julian a quick hug. Julian didn’t smell like anything, I realized, and must have used scent-canceling products so he didn’t smell like his pack.

“Remember at Christmas?” West rubbed his wrist on Julian’s shoulder. “Julian bought us some really great dildos.”

Rian choked. “Oh my god, what?”

West had a ghost of a smile. “Yeah, he said we needed some extra help.”

“We omegas gotta stick to together,” Julian said with a grin. “Nice job on getting another omega, Ember. He’s hot.” He looked at Rian when he said it. “Are you going for a record or something? Three omegas. Sounds like a good time.”

“That’s what I said,” I told him, and squeezed Ember against me. She lay between me and Ben, propped up on Ben’s chest, but just watched us talk like she was on an alien planet.

Sunshine sniffled, digging her fingers into Julian’s forearm. He patted her hand. “It’s okay, babe.” He looked at the rest of us. “I’ve seen worse. A lot worse. Just give her some time.”

Julian pulled his duffel bag closer and pulled out a needle. He held it up but didn’t come closer.

Ember growled when she saw it.

Julian held his hands up. “Okay, babycakes, no needles.” He put the needle away and sat back against Sunshine. “Is she eating? Drinking?”

“When we feed her,” Ben said quietly. “She feels…muted through the bonds.”

“That’s okay. Keep her eating and drinking.” Julian nodded, and Sunshine curled next to him. “She might feel off in the bond for a long time. That’s also normal.”

I let myself hope. Julian was so reassuring. It could be worse; he was right. She could be spitting and howling at us, not even letting us touch her.

We sat for a little while longer, chatting about nothing. Julian patted Sunshine’s leg. “We’re going to go, Ember, but we’ll come back tomorrow. Maybe we can do a blood draw then.”

“Of course,” Rian said. “Please. There’s two spare rooms if anyone wants to spend the night.”

Sunshine shook her head. “Thanks, but…” She sighed. “I need some sleep. I think we all do.”

We’d barely gotten more than snatches of sleep here and there. Sunshine was right. We piled back into the nest and curledaround one another. I put West in front of me, next to Ember, and curled around him.

Sleep was a long time coming.

The next day was more of the same. We fed Ember, and she ate what was put in front of her. Julian tried two more times to draw blood.

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