Page 13 of For What It's Worth

With that reassurance, I opened the door. The first thing that caught my attention was how dark it was. There weren’t any windows in the room to even hint at the time. I assumed Jenson found the switch because the lights finally came on in a dim setting, just barely illuminating the whole room. There was a ledge, at floor level with the rest of the house, that wrapped around the entire room. The middle of the room was about two feet lower than the ledge but a set of stairs in front of the door, just a step away, invited me to make the descent. Without any decorations, the room looked bland, but I could see its potential. Maybe with some blankets and pillows it could be…

“A nest?”

Jenson nodded. “An empty one. It’s never been used, actually. I know we come in here sometimes to talk. Or if we want to be alone. At least, I used to come in here.”

“Used to?”

“I still do, just less frequently. But I figured you could use the space.” The confusion must have read on my face because Jenson added, “Koda, you’re bouncing off the walls. You can’t hold still. Sit in here, take a nap, whatever you need to feel like you again.”

“But a nest? That’s for an omega.” And one inside a house is meant for a pack omega, not a guest.

I didn’t meet Jenson’s gaze, but I felt it on me like he was trying to see into my thoughts. My soul. Into my truth.

“Then I guess you don’t want any blankets or pillows,” Jenson said.

The thought of decorating this space for my nest intrigued me, any lie otherwise would be obvious. But what would happen when I left? When I walked out the front door and demanded these alphas left me alone? They would find a new omega. One that perfumed properly and wanted this room for his or her perfect nest. If they didn’t get this room cleaned properly, an omega might smell me. Even if I did smell like a beta, it would still be my scent on the omega’s blankets, pillows, and soaked into the walls.

And why does that idea excite me?

“If you tell me where to find the blankets and pillows, I wouldn’t object.”

The look of surprise on Jen’s face made me laugh, but he recovered quickly, telling me I could go into any room and just pull covers, sheets, and pillows off beds and couches. Seemed strange to me, but my inner omega loved the idea of taking things that would smell like these males. Better than clean towels and such that were locked in a musty closet. He headed back toward the living room, and I made my way from room to room to scavenge some nest materials.

My beta side was effectively pushed to the back as my inner omega went hunting.

Chapter Eleven

The hallway that held all the bedrooms was on the opposite side of the living room, closer to the kitchen. There were several doors down the hallway but without any decorations along the way there was no way to tell which room was whose. Without any consideration, I chose the first room on the left, closest to the kitchen. With a bed, a desk, and two doors on the one side that most likely led to a bathroom and closet, the scent of all three alphas was weaker here than in the hallway. Most likely meant this was a guest room. The thought of using these materials in my nest didn’t excite me. Of course, I could’ve asked any one of the males to rub their scent all over it, but that felt too close to admitting the truth.

And yes, I knew they already knew, but it was their word against mine in any situation where they told the administration. As long as I didn’t perfume in public or actually admit to being an omega—I was safe with my beta scent.

Not really a lie, even if it wasn’t the full truth.

Now I just have to get my clothes and then convince these alphas to not bring this up again. To anyone.

I couldn’t imagine Jenson would be willing to look over my project if he was just going to get me kicked out. Aidan wasn’t angry when he flirted with me in the bathroom. And assuming Aidan was telling the truth, Lorenzo didn’t seem to hate my scent. But would he hate that I’d sort of but not really lied to him?

I shook my head, wanting the serious and negative thoughts to magically fly out. Jenson was right, I was stressed, and a nest would help. A good one, not one with bad scents that would just make me more agitated. So I left the room, closed the door behind me, and crossed the hallway, refusing to be intimated by my truth.

Barely opening the door, the scent of Jenson leaked out. My excitement felt palpable as I squeezed my way inside, trying to keep the scent in the room as much as possible. The head of the bed was pushed against the opposite wall. Large bookshelves lined the wall to the right. A door, opened slightly to the closet, on the left side of the room had a mirror installed on it. Farther along the same wall was a set of dressers, a desk that didn’t look used, and another door that was closed (most likely leading to a bathroom). The windows were up high on the same wall as the head of the bed. They took up the whole length of the wall but were only about a foot down from the ceiling so Jensen could get undressed in this room without worrying about someone looking in or needing curtains.

Several framed pictures on the desk caught my attention but looking at them felt wrong. I was only supposed to get pillows and blankets. Ignoring my curiosity was unnatural, like an itch I was trying to power through instead of scratching, but I managed it. Sort of. I threw the pillows at my feet—at least I was clean—and started undressing the bed. I took everything off the bed. All the way down to the fitted sheet. I rolled them all up and headed back to the nest room.

Jenson wasn’t in the living room anymore, but considering my backpack was missing, I assumed he was in one of the at-home offices he pointed out.

It took two trips before I had all of Jenson’s bed—minus the actual bed—in the nest room. But I didn’t stop there. Maybe for the nest in my dorm, this would have been enough, but not for a nest of this size. I needed more.

I went to the door next to the guest room and, without thinking, slipped inside.

And froze.

In the room was a half-naked Lorenzo, a towel wrapped around his waist as he rifled through what I could only assume to be his underwear drawer.

He looked up at me, but I couldn’t get my mouth to move. My lips were opened in a silent gasp as the memory of clinging to Lorenzo played over and over again in my mind. I remembered how soft and firm his lips were. How tight he held me against him, his moans, his touch. His rough demand for me to call him Enzo.

Being able to see his body was like the greatest temptation. His skin was darker than his packmates’, and he had more hair on his chest and stomach than Jenson. I wanted to explore every inch of him with my hands. My lips. I wanted to run my fingers along his body and tug on his body hair to make sure he was only thinking about me while I took in my fill of his skin.

A groan that didn’t come from Enzo, but near him, pulled my attention down his arms and to his death-like grip on the dresser drawer.

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