Page 128
I shrug. “I don’t mind.”
It’s not like I’ll be able to ignore them for the rest of my life—even if Caelan somehow follows through on his threat, that doesn’t change the fact that they’re my Fated Mates—with or without a completed Bond.
“Well, I do,” Caelan grumbles.
“As do I,” Soren agrees. “You shouldn’t have to sleep so close to the two men who terrorized you.”
I open my mouth, but shut it again, too tired to have this conversation tonight. Instead, I smile as Caelan lifts my hand and places a gentle kiss against my palm.
“What do you think, sweet girl? We can do whatever you’d like if you’re not ready to go to sleep yet.”
The feeling of his lips against my skin makes me shiver.
The thought of sleeping on an actual mattress is enough to make me dizzy. For tonight, at least, I’ll be safe. Warm. Comfortable. With Caelan and Soren surrounding me.
It’s more than I ever dared hope for, and the smile that blooms across my face is the first one I haven’t had to force in what feels like years.
“Sleep sounds… perfect.”
Chapter 15
Caelan
I’m not someone who wakes up slowly. The moment my brain clicks back online, I’m up. This morning is no different.
My eyes are still shut, but I can hear rustling noises from the bed next to me, where Idril slept last night.
Soren and I chose to sleep on the floor, on extra mattresses I had brought in for us. It went against every one of my instincts, but after everything Idril’s been through, the last thing either of us wanted to do was overwhelm her the first night she spent in a bed.
The rustling grows louder, so I shove down the blankets and sit up. It takes a few seconds, but once my bleary eyes adjust, Idril comes into focus.
My Omega is on my bed, wide awake, crawling around the California king, shoving and yanking at piles of blankets and sheets with increasing agitation.
She’s erected a small wall out of sheets and a comforter around the edge of the mattress. Her hand shoots out behind her, and she waves it around blindly, searching until it lands on a pillow, which she grabs before shoving it into the barrier with a huff.
I whip my hand to the side, smacking Soren in the chest. Or maybe it’s his head. I’m not sure, because I can’t tear my eyes away from Idril long enough to bother looking.
I have to smack him twice before the wolven startles awake. It’s almost eerie how fucking silent he is as he jerks awake and—almost in the same movement—catapults out of his prone position and into a defensive crouch.
This time I do pull my attention away long enough to raise a finger to my lips, smirk, and point toward the bed.
At first he frowns in confusion, but then his eyes land on Idril and soften with clear adoration. She growls and mutters under her breath, swapping pillows for at least the third time.
“Stupid soft pillow,” she grumbles. “If you’re so comfortable to sleep on, then you should be perfect for everything…”
She jams it against the makeshift wall with force, but before her hand leaves the fabric, she’s ripping the pillow away again.
“Nope, that’s not right either.”
Changing tactics, she reaches for another pillow—one I recognize from the window seat next to the balcony. She squishes it one way and then another, muttering, “Why is this one so lumpy? Who even approved this?”
When another pillow comes loose, she lunges for it and tucks it back where it belongs with gentle precision. When it holds, she grins, gives her work a single approving nod, and spins on her knees to continue tackling what I’m starting to realize… might be her very first Nest.
I lock my side of our Bond down tight. I don’t want her to feel the way my heart fucking breaks at the realization that my Mate is twenty-two and has never—not once in her entire life—felt safe enough to make a Nest.
Most Omegas do this for the first time within weeks of officially Designating. By twenty-two, she should have closets full of approved Nesting material.
When Soren’s eyes slide to mine, he frowns. It’s clear he, too, is getting a clearer understanding of just how horrible our Mate’s mostly unknown past has been. He swallows thickly, eyes brimming with pain.
