Page 59 of A Nest of Maple & Mist

My tank top clung to my back. The material must have been nearly sheer at this point. In my defense, the mattress hadn’t looked that heavy. I sucked in a breath, squeezing between the bed and the wall. Once on the side, I leaned against the beast, shoving with all my might.

“Stupid. Piece of s—Woah.”

I tumbled through the doorway, bouncing on top of the mattress now lying on the floor in the nest.

“That works.”

My head fell back, and I stared at the wooden beams running below the vaulted ceiling.

This was ridiculous. What was I doing? I had done my best to ignore this space, but for the last week, I found myself wandering into it, picturing it as my nest.

My fingers rubbed the spot between my eyes. A dull throb pounded there. It had been there ever since my heat spike. I rolled over, burying my face.

Gods forbid the windows saw me.

After the spike, I called my doctor, saying my supplements were no longer working. To my dismay, she confirmed they would be ineffective around a scent match, let alone an entire pack of them. She also warned me that if I was having heat spikes, a full-blown heat would soon follow.

Visions of Jason, Ty, and Shane flashed in my mind. I scrambled to my feet.

“Dammit.”

Not only had I called Jason, Daddy, during my heat spike. I all but confirmed I saw him as a daddy when I said “our daddy” to Ty. My hands caressed my upper arms.

Neither of them had brought it up.

Granted, I knew it wouldn’t slide for long.

When had the boy next door turned into this sinful Apex alpha? Jason Hawthorne always had a boyish charm about him. But he grew into a man who commanded attention. One who made my insides melt and my mind quiet. One I wanted to call Daddy while he held me and hushed the world surrounding us.

I still didn’t fully understand what Jason being a “daddy” meant, but I loved the taste of it on my tongue—how it made all my limbs go lax.

Grunting, I bent over, pushing the mattress along the floor until it slipped into the recessed spot under the window. My hands rested on my hips and I tilted my head. My nose scrunched. It was too small. I needed a bigger bed to fill it.

For now, it was fine.

My omega whined, and I agreed with her.

It wasn’t fine.

Not really.

But I didn’t have the money for a proper pack bed. So, she and I would have to deal for now.

My heart tumbled into my stomach. Money. I needed it, and a lot of it if I had any hope of fixing my house. Northeast Property Management had ignored every email, voicemail, and frantic text message I was sure went nowhere.

I didn’t even know where to start. A lawyer, probably. Unfortunately, those required money as well. I shifted from foot to foot. Jason, Ty, and Shane had told me they wanted to help. They wanted to take care of me.

Still, I didn’t want to be some needy, attached omega. And the last thing I wanted to do was ask them for money. Potentially a lot of it. I had no idea how much it would cost to repair my house.

More than I had ever seen, that was certain.

Even if I got a lawyer, I didn’t expect to get any type of relief from Northeast Property Management. There was no way that I was the first person they had done this to.

Nope. I wouldn’t dwell on that.

I eyed the bed, my eyes narrowing. It was too empty. Too sterile. My hands worked my curls into a haphazard bun as I made my way down to the laundry room. Thankfully, the boys had been busy and hadn’t had time to tackle the full hampers by the wash.

My hands sifted through their laundry. I plucked one of Shane’s flannels from the pile. Before I could overthink it, I burrowed my face in the fabric. It smelled of him. The perfect blend of caramel and apple. I tucked it into my arms, tossing garments aside until I located one of Ty’s undershirts.