Page 114 of Feeling the Heat: Part Two
“What about Pack Clairmont?” River suggests, smiling at me as he moves in closer.
“What? No. I’m the newest member, we shouldn’t use my name.”
Ambrose snuggles in too until all three of my men surround me. “Sounds pretty fitting given you’re the piece of the pack we’d been missing.”
“Three votes for Pack Clairmont,” Jackson declares.
Tears well in my eyes as they envelop me with their adoration and joy. “Are you sure?”
River nods. “Never been more certain in my life.”
After a long,snuggly nap, I emerge from my nest suite for the first time in days. The fact that we’re in a new house that they bought to surprise me comes back in a rush as we head downstairs into the sparsely furnished main living area.
Ambrose frowns at my stunned expression. “Wish we’d had more time to get things set up properly for you, but the nest was the priority. We’ll get everything over here ASAP, don’t worry.”
I shake my head. “I’m not worried. Just still a little in shock about all this.” The smell of the spread of Chinese takeout on the kitchen island reaches my nose, and my stomach rumbles. “Shocked and starving.” I squeeze his hand. “Let’s eat.”
He nods, and we join River and Jackson in the kitchen, where there’s a set of folding chairs arranged around a card table. It makes me smile, knowing that they must’ve left most of their furniture at their townhouse so they wouldn’t tip me off to their grand plans.
When I sit down with a plate full of lo mein and orange chicken, I’m right by the French doors looking out into a fenced-in backyard, complete with more rose bushes, as well as an herb garden and stone patio.
“This place is so beautiful.”
Jackson perks up between bites. “Yeah?”
“It’s perfect.” I rub my neck, still a little stiff after all the heat activity. “All we need is a hot tub and it’ll be perfect,” I joke.
River nods. “Done.”
I scoff. “Don’t be silly, you all just bought us a fucking house. We don’t have the money to buy a hot tub; I was joking.”
“Eh, we can figure it out,” Jackson says with a shrug.
I give Ambrose a beseeching look, hoping he’ll join me in being a voice of reason.
“A hot tub is a great idea. The nesting suite tub isn’t big enough for all of us, and I like the thought of soaking with my pack under the stars. Plus it’ll help with River’s back pain, so as a medical professional, it's irresponsible for me not to get one.”
“You all are ridiculous,” I huff, even as I smile. “Guess I’m going to have to be in charge of pack finances.”
Honestly, it’s nice to know there’s something I can do to contribute to the pack instead of sitting around being theirpampered princess of an omega. Not that I dislike pampering, but I want to be useful, too.
“Alright, but you have to promise to let us spoil you sometimes,” Ambrose says. “It’s important to pack cohesion to show our omega how cherished she is.
I let out an exaggerated sigh as my omega preens at his words. “Fine.”
We stuff ourselves full, all of us ravenous after the heat, chatting and joking about increasingly extravagant and ridiculous purchases they want to make for me. They’re debating the pros and cons of a private jet when my phone buzzes where it’s charging on the counter. The guys wouldn’t let me look at it at all during my heat, promising to monitor my messages in case of any emergencies, so I’ve been living in a blissful little bubble removed from the rest of the world.
A bubble which bursts at the reminder that life, in fact, does exist outside this pack and the joy of being with them. I’d managed to block out the trauma of the attempted kidnapping and assault, Holden’s confessions, and Bryce’s vile promises, but it all comes rushing back in.
“You don’t have to answer it,” Jackson says immediately. “Take another day or two. It won’t hurt anything, and I’ll keep an eye on it.”
I want to agree to his offer, but there’s a nagging feeling that the longer I stay checked out of reality, the harder it will be to go back, so I shake my head and grab my phone to see who the message is from.
It’s a missed voicemail notification from Sandra. I press play, putting it on speaker so everyone can hear, and the alpha woman’s voice fills the room.
“Hi Camille, sorry to disturb you, but Jackson let me know that your heat ended, and I have some news to share with you regarding your case. Pulse PR wants to settle. Once they foundout about the recording of their employee’s confession, they offered a five hundred thousand dollar settlement, contingent on you dropping the lawsuit against them and signing an NDA about your termination, as well as an agreement not to release the recording.”
My stomach flips violently, the food I ate threatening to rise back up. Five-hundred grand to shut me up?
