I twist around, finding the one ray of afternoon light shining through the curtains and waking me up fully. A groan pulls from my lips as my lids open to find Blake curled up beside me in the makeshift nest we created yesterday, his breathing still slightly fevered even in sleep. His color is much better than yesterday, both of us thoroughly fucked and then thoroughly taken care of by our Alpha.
I lean over to press a kiss to his cheek, giggling when he throws an arm over my belly. The pressure, however, is horrid,one of the twins deciding to kick my bladder. "Blake," I whisper, shaking his shoulder. "I have to pee."
He mumbles something completely incoherent and tries to pull me closer against his chest, his arm tightening around my waist in a way that would be sweet if my bladder wasn't screaming for attention. But my body has other priorities than cuddles right now, and the pressure is becoming almost painful.
"Blake, seriously, I have to go right now." The urgency in my voice finally penetrates his sleep-fogged brain.
I manage to extract myself from his sleepy grip and waddle as quickly as I can manage to the attached bathroom, barely making it in time before my bladder would have made the decision for me. Pregnancy has definitely not been kind on that front, though my mates have been immensely helpful throughout this whole ordeal. I take a moment to catch my breath and splash some cool water on my face before heading back to the bedroom.
When I come back, Blake is sitting up and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, his hair sticking up at odd angles. He looks younger somehow when he first wakes up, less like the powerful CEO who runs a gaming empire and more like the college friend I remember from years ago. I blow him a kiss, Blake playfully catching it and chomping on it before I reach for my phone.
There’s a message from my parents which I instantly block the number. They’ve tried a few different numbers over the weeks, although, they’ve stopped calling which is nice. A second later, another text comes in and I nearly delete it before I realize it’s not from my parents.
>>> Looking forward to having you soon. The house is finally set up for you and the babies.
The blood drains completely from my face as I stare at the words on the screen, my hands beginning to tremble as I realizewho it could be.The buyer.The thought makes bile rise in my throat, and I have to swallow hard to keep from being sick.
"What's wrong?" Blake asks immediately. "I can feel something through the bond. You're terrified."
"I just have a bad feeling about something. Mom texted again." I delete the message as quickly as possible, not wanting Blake to see it and send him into his own panic spiral. "Maybe it's just pregnancy hormones making me paranoid, or maybe I had a weird dream that's still affecting me."
But even as I say the words, trying to convince myself as much as Blake, I can't shake the feeling that someone is watching us right now. The sensation crawls across my skin, making me hyperaware of every shadow and movement outside the windows. I look up toward the bedroom window and for just a moment, I swear I see the shadow of movement outside, something that doesn't belong to the natural sway of tree branches. Which doesn’t make sense since we’re on the second level with a fully fenced background surrounding the back of the house.
"Can we go downstairs?" I ask, hating how small my voice sounds. "I don't want to be up here alone anymore."
Blake immediately moves to help me navigate the stairs, his hand steady against my back as I move carefully down each step. My belly makes everything more difficult these days, throwing off my balance and making simple tasks feel like major undertakings. But I feel better the moment we reach the main floor where I can hear Grayson humming softly in the living room, the sound of normal domestic life helping to calm my racing heart.
We walk into the living room and I stop short at the sight of a huge mound of pillows and blankets piled artfully on and around the coffee table. Grayson is propped up on the couch, grinningat us with obvious satisfaction and pride, his long hair falling around his shoulders as he watches for our reaction.
"Hey, sweetheart, we brought you a little something," he purrs.
I squeal with genuine excitement, my earlier anxiety temporarily forgotten in the face of this thoughtful gesture. "Finally, a real nest!" I didn’t even know how much I missed the one at the other place until just now but the colors are perfect, ones from the list I gave my mates a few weeks ago.
There are different textures and sizes, enough variety to build exactly the kind of nest I've been craving since we arrived at this house.
"Where are you going to build it?" Blake asks.
My face goes completely blank as I look around the room, suddenly uncertain about something that should be simple. The bedroom upstairs feels too far away from everyone else, too isolated and vulnerable, but asking to build my nest in the main living room feels selfish.
Blake comes over and wraps his arms around me from behind, already reading my thoughts. "You want it in the living room, don't you, cupcake?"
"I don't like it upstairs." The admission comes out all at once. "It's too far away from everyone else, and I feel cut off and alone up there." That and I’ve been spoiled since the last place. It felt so homey having everything in one spot.
Both Blake and Grayson laugh, but it's warm rather than mocking, the kind of laughter that makes me feel accepted rather than judged. "Then the living room it is," Grayson says easily, as if it's the most natural thing in the world.
Blake immediately starts picking up pillows and blankets, trying to help arrange them according to some vision in his head, but he gets out of breath quickly. His face flushes red and he has to sit down on the couch, his hand pressed to his chest as he triesto catch his breath. Even now that we know what’s causing some of his medical issues, it doesn’t mean that it just goes away.
"Jesus Christ, I can't win with either one of you today." Grayson shakes his head with exasperated affection, moving to gently push Blake back against the couch cushions. "Sit down, babe, and let me handle the physical labor."
Grayson settles Blake more comfortably on the couch and then sets me down next to him before turning back to the pile of nesting supplies. "I'll do all the heavy lifting, but you two need to tell me exactly where everything goes."
"Actually," I tease, a mischievous grin sliding across my face, an idea forming that might make this whole process more fun, "let's make it a game." I place my hands on my belly as I lean back a little further to get comfortable.
Blake catches on immediately, his eyes lighting up with the same playful energy that I remember from our college days. "Alpha, for every time you put something in the wrong spot, you have to take off a piece of clothing."
"And every time you get it right, either Blake or I take off something," I add, feeling heat bloom across my cheeks at my own boldness. No doubt this will end up in Blake getting fucked, which he needs, and I’ll get off just by watching him fall apart. It’s a win-win situation in my book.
Grayson raises an eyebrow, his expression shifting to something much more interested. "That seems like a game where everyone wins regardless of the outcome."
