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“What’s this?” I ask, looking between the two of them.
Reid grins, his hazel eyes full of excitement. “Go take a look.”
Up close, it’s beautiful. The wooden box is made of numbered compartments, each with a lock. The smaller components all work together to create a vivid scene. The smooth brown wood is intricately carved to look like vines with hanging raspberries stained a vibrant red.
I recognize Finn’s woodcut style. One afternoon earlier this week, when we were snuggling in his nest, he showed me pictures of his creations on his phone. He is a master craftsman, selling handmade pack bed frames and omega nesting chests.
“You made this? It’s beautiful. But what is it?” I ask, tracing my finger over the swirling vines. “I don’t understand.”
I look over my shoulder at them. Finn told me it’s traditional for omegas to get chests before courting. The courting mate or mates fill them with nesting blankets. My gift is in the same style as those chests, but I have no idea what it is. “Is it like those omega chests you make?”
Reid’s hazel eyes are soft when he says, “Not quite.”
Finn steps closer, his hand brushing along the small of my back as he murmurs in my ear, “It’s your courting calendar. It signals the start of our courting.”
“Betas in packs get them?” I ask. I’m so unfamiliar with packs and mates that it’s like learning a new language.
“No, sweetheart. Betas get courted too, but this is for you. Because we want to,” Reid explains.
I look between their earnest faces. “And the caring for us while I was sick, the mowed lawn, the extra tips? That wasn’t courting?”
“That was pre-courting courting.” Finn’s eyes light up with mischief.
Reid tugs a key out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Go on and open day one.”
It takes me a moment to find the first box because they’re not in numerical order or the same size. The first box is rectangular, like a mail slot. I put the key in the lock and turn, anticipation bubbling. I’ve never known anyone who has actually been courted. People go on dates, but I don’t even have any idea what someone gets as a courting gift.
Inside is a set of keys. A red leather strap with my name in gold cursive dangles on the key ring next to a pretty raspberry charm. The keys are heavy, as if they hold the weight of my future.
“It’s the keys to the house because this was how we were going to ask you to stay before someone got too impatient.” Reid chuckles. “But starting tomorrow, it will be a surprise shared between us.” He eyes Finn when he says the last part.
Finn teases the alpha back, but I stare, mesmerized by the keys in my hand. The charm is made of gold and sparkling jewels. I’ve never owned something this delicate in my life.
“Is this real?” I ask, a note of panic in my voice. I can’t carry my keys on something this nice. What if I lose them?
“Yes, sweetheart. It’s all real. This is your home. We’re your mates. This is forever,” Reid promises.
He’s told me something similar before, but this time, I believe him.
I rub the jeweled charm between my fingers, focusing on the sensations in my hand while I stare at the two most beautiful men I’ve ever met. They’re handsome as hell, but that’s not what I mean. They’re the good guys, like Em said. And in some strange twist of fate, they will be mine. I want to know everything about them, learn how to give back as much as they’re giving me. My eyes get watery, and I swallow around the lump in my throat.
“Let us give you a proper welcome home, baby,” Finn says, voice so thick with want that it feels like a caress along my spine.
It awakens that earlier need inside me, heat and arousal mixing in with something more tender. “Take me to bed.”
“Gladly, sweetheart.” Reid scoops me up, carrying me toward their nest.
Our nest now, I guess.
Chapter 14
Cammie
Reid sets me down at the foot of the nest bed in their bedroom. The sheets have been changed, a stack of blankets sitting at the edge, and the room is lit only by the twinkle lights that hang from the canopy of the bed.
Finn takes my hand, raising it and kissing the back of my palm. “Will you let me build you a nest?”
The question seems to have significance. The way he says it is similar to a prayer.
