Page 79 of A Nest of Maple & Mist

“Such a good girl.”

A purr vibrated in his chest. I sighed. Jason pulled the blanket over us, holding me close as I cuddled closer.

“I think we need to spoil our omega. Now that Pack Hawthorne is officially courting you.” The last remnants of tension seeped from my body. “How about we go to the nest store to make sure you have what you need?”

“Nest?”

I perked up, my omega humming as a million ideas swirled in my mind.

“Yes, baby girl.”

TWENTY-NINE

MIA

With the festival less than a week out, Fern started spiraling into what she called “controlled crisis mode.” It was hard to reconcile how stressed Fern was with how nonchalant Jason, Shane, and Ty were.

Exhausted? Sure. But their scents had been nothing but sweet since I agreed to the courtship.

Somehow, Fern had roped all of us into helping run the Hawthorne Farms pancake breakfast for the Maple Festival. Fern had taken on the brunt of the coordination and planning. Which led to me, Hazel, and Lily prepping absurd amounts of pancake batter for the first day of the festival.

It had been years since I had attended, and I couldn’t wait. The last time I went had been with my parents. Now I got to revisit it with my pack. My new family. A nervous little flutter took flight in my chest.

An arm threaded through mine. I met Ty’s carefree expression.

“Are you ready, sweetheart?”

I nodded, overwhelmed and excited. Nesting Nook was the largest nesting warehouse in the country. Jason had driven us the two hours so I could experience it. Not that I minded. I had never been to a nest store at all, so any sized store would have been fine with me.

But now that I was here, I never wanted to leave.

Rows upon rows of weighted blankets, silk pillows, and fur throws stretched out further than I could see under the sprawling ceiling.

A bubbly beta with violet hair bounced up to us. Possessive rage prickled under my skin. The industrial de-scenters in the store did nothing to hide the acrid edge to my maple perfume.

Which meant even the beta employee sensed my jealousy.

“I promise. I’ll keep my distance from your alphas and beta.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, wishing the floor or the mountain of blankets would swallow me.

“Don’t be. It happens all the time. But you don’t need to worry. I have my own pack. So, these boys are all yours, sweetie.” She winked, and I relaxed. “Have you visited our store before?”

“No,” Jason answered, tugging me close. “Our omega deserves anything her little heart desires.”

Blush crept up to the roots of my hair. I may have been embarrassed, but my giddy omega nearly clawed out my chest, wanting to dive headfirst into the silk sheets.

“I’m confident we have anything you can dream up here! And if we don’t, we can special order it. Here.”

She handed me a cream-colored scanner.

“Anything you want, just scan the barcode and it will be added to your cart. Then we’ll deliver it to the address on your account.”

My eyes got too big for my head.

“You’re cute, love,” Shane murmured, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth.

“Do you offer same day delivery?” Jason asked.