"I'm not going anywhere," I promise, meaning it with every fiber of my being. "Mess and all."
He kisses me then, soft and grateful, and I taste the promise of tomorrow on his lips. When we break apart, he's smiling for the first time since the arena.
"Will you stay?" he asks. "In the nest? You don't have to do anything you don't want to, just... be here?"
"Try and stop me," I say, and his laugh is everything.
We curl up in the nest together, surrounded by the scents and textures of pack, of home. Darren's heat is still there, simmering under his skin, but for now, he seems content just to hold me. To be held.
"I love you," he whispers against my hair, so quiet I almost miss it.
My heart stops, then restarts at double speed as he echoes the words I so recently came to terms with myself. "Darren..."
"You don't have to say it back," he says quickly. "I know it's fast, and complicated, and?—"
"I love you too," I interrupt, because it's true. Messy and complicated and absolutely true.
"Even though you've seen this side of me?" he asks warily.
"Especially now," I confirm, and his smile could power the city.
We settle deeper into the nest, my body curved against his, and for the first time since the arena, I feel him truly relax.
"Should I go get the others?" I offer when I catch his heat scent intensifying again.
"In a minute," he murmurs against my neck, his face buried in my hair. "Just want to enjoy this for a bit."
His words soothe the last of my lingering insecurities. I always assumed if I ever joined a pack with an omega, I'd end up on the outside looking in when a heat was happening, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Darren wants me here. And there's nowhere else I'd rather be.
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
DARREN
The heat crawls under my skin like fire ants, making every nerve in my body scream a need I can't quite name.
No, that's a fucking lie. I know exactly what I need, I just can't bring myself to say it out loud. Not yet.
Lexie's warmth against me helps, her beta scent a soothing balm against the chaos raging through my system. But just smelling isn't enough. I need more, starting with being inside her. But I know as soon as I give in to that need, all the others are going to come to the surface.
My body knows what it wants, what it's been denied for months while I pumped myself full of suppressants and pretended I could still be the beta I used to be.
A knock at the door makes me tense. "Yeah?" My voice comes out rougher than intended, heat making everything raw.
The door cracks open and Aidan peers in, arms full of pillows. "Hey, uh, brought more supplies. Zayn went to the store for other stuff. Thought you might want options."
He sets the pillows down near the nest, careful not to get too close. His vanilla scent hits me like one of Dmitri's body checks during practice, and I have to bite back a moan.
Fuck. When did Aidan start smelling so good? Has he always smelled like this, like warm cookies and safety that makes my omega brain want to bare my throat?
"Thanks," I manage, trying to sound normal. Like I'm not imagining what those freckled shoulders would look like without a shirt. Like I'm not wondering if he tastes as sweet as he smells.
Aidan's eyes flick between Lexie and me, and I see the moment he registers the shift in my scent. His pupils dilate slightly, nostrils flaring, but he takes a deliberate step back. Always so fucking considerate, our rookie goalie. Even when every alpha instinct must be screaming at him to claim the omega going into heat right in front of him.
"I'll just... yeah." He backs toward the door like I might attack him for reading his thoughts. "Jax wants to talk. When you're ready. About... you know. How this is gonna go."
