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A fresh rush of nerves and excitement got me moving again.

I undressed and hung Ivy’s dress exactly as she’d told me.

A pale-green nightdress sat on the bench in the middle of the dressing room, so I took it into the bathroom. The shower was big enough for several people, and thankfully the controls were easy enough to work out.

By the time I’d washed and dried my hair and put on the nightdress, I felt a lot more determined than nervous.

Five Alphas in one night. Fine. Other women managed it, so I could too. Probably.

I went down the three steps into the nest.

The periwinkle canopy above it was so pretty, and the fabric looked like linen but felt like satin.

Strange, but lovely.

“All right, Elowen, it’s just a bed,” I told myself as I tied my hair up with a ribbon I’d found in one of the dressing-room drawers. “Put a sheet on, sort out the pillows and throw a few blankets around. You don’t need a degree to make a bed.”

Chapter 18

Elowen

Isat back on my heels and stared at the nest again, trying to work out what was bothering me. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly why, but something wasn’t right. Which made no sense, because I’d already pulled the whole nest apart and started again more times than I wanted to count. Every time I thought I was finished, I’d sit back, look at it and decide something needed moving. The urge to fix it was even stronger than the feeling that used to make me go all the way back home because I couldn’t remember whether I’d locked the front door.

The cream cushion looked better beside the pale green, except it didn’t feel right there, so I’d moved it back again. Even the floating lights had become a problem. I’d moved them higher, then lower, before finally placing them outside the canopy so the glow came through the fabric instead of shining straight into my eyes.

Something had definitely happened to me the second I started arranging everything. It didn’t matter whether it looked pretty if it didn’t feel right. I looked over the nest again, moved a cushion, stared at it for two seconds and put it straight back where it had been. Changing two of the blankets helped, and when I sat back down, that annoying little feeling finally eased.

I had absolutely no idea how long I’d been doing this. Long enough that I probably should’ve been embarrassed, but I wasn’t. Every time I tried telling myself it was only a bed, my brain basically went, No, it isn’t. It’s my nest.

Once I finally stopped finding things to fix, I carried the empty baskets into the dressing room and stacked them against the wall. Then I went back to the room and looked everything over again, fully expecting to spot another problem, but for once I didn’t. The blankets were where I wanted them, the cushions looked right, and the canopy hung exactly the way I liked it, with the lights glowing softly through the fabric. Even the room smelled right.

I climbed onto the nest and moved around it one last time, just in case, but nothing bothered me. I’d actually finished! And honestly, it might have been the most beautiful bed I’d ever seen.

I smiled to myself. Nest, Elowen. Nest.

Time for the next phase. Taking a deep breath, I left my cosy nest again and went over to the communication panel beside the doors. The options were in the Common Tongue, which helped, but I still didn’t know what to select. I was about to give up and go looking for my alphas myself when I spotted Madam Steward among the options.

Asking Livia was going to be slightly awkward, but wandering around the house trying to find them sounded much worse, so I pressed her name.

Her face appeared on the screen. “My lady, how may I help you?”

“Oh, hi! I…” I swallowed and scratched my neck. “The nest is ready, and I don’t really know how to use this.” I gestured towards the screen.

“Would you like me to inform the Alphas that you’re ready to receive them?”

“Yes!” I said too quickly. “That’s exactly it, actually. Only if you don’t mind, of course.”

I was about to apologise in case I’d woken her, but she spoke before I could.

“It would be my honour, my lady. A peaceful rest to you.”

“And to you.”

Her face disappeared from the screen, and I stood there for a second, looking at my own reflection.

All right, then.

I unlocked the doors, left them slightly ajar, and climbed back into the nest. Wrapped in a periwinkle-blue blanket, I sat in the middle and waited.