Page 33 of For What It's Worth

“Do you smell that?” Jenson whispered. I watched his throat bob as he swallowed, my fingers itching to reach out and wrap gently around his neck. Not to cut off his breathing, but to simply hold him in place. To keep him near me.

“What are you thinking about, Orsetta?” The question was so quiet, I was almost shocked I’d heard it at all.

My tongue suddenly felt too dry to lift, so I wiped the tip of it along my lips, trying to get some of the moisture back in my mouth. I swallowed once, twice, and finally managed to say, “Nothing.”

Jenson raised a single eyebrow, obviously not believing my blatant lie, but Enzo saved me, saying, “Come on, Orsetta. Let’s get your tacos before Aidan eats them.”

Looking around, I realized I was on a single-seat couch in the pack’s living room—the same place where I’d said goodbye to them.

Aidan was in the connected kitchen, having already sorted all the tacos out in front of undesignated designated spots. When we walked into the kitchen, his eyes lit up when he saw me, and he patted the bar stool next to him for me to sit in. There were only two bar stools on this side of the counter, which meant Jenson and Enzo had to stand.

Whoever designed this house had considered the appearance over pack dynamics. The backsplash in the kitchen was black tile with gray caulking between the pieces. The top for the island and the rest of the kitchen counter space was marble with a black and white design. Cabinets didn’t have any exterior handles and appeared flush against each other instead of standing out.

The kitchen made an “L” shape with a small window over a deep farmhouse style sink and a dishwasher nearest the living room wall. Going from left to right along the longer portion was a stainless-steel fridge and freezer set I was pretty sure had the ability to speak if it was the same one from the commercial, lots of counter space containing blenders, a coffee maker, an air fryer. Then there was the stove top, which was not connected to the oven (which I loved) and finally a door to the pantry near the entrance to the hallway for the males’ bedrooms.

Everything about the area screamed stylish, not comfort. Actually, despite how nice the kitchen was, there were a lot of changes I would make if I lived here. Starting with different bar stools needing taller backings and ending with more splashes of color.

Unwrapping the taco in front of me, all thoughts of interior design vanished. The corn tortilla was steaming and filled with something looking like pulled pork but smelled different. It was topped with finely chopped cabbage, some sort of cilantro and onion mix, and if my nose was correct, lime. No unnecessary vegetables. My mouth watered just from the smells alone. It had cooled down to the perfect temperature to still be warm but not burning the roof of your mouth hot that I suspected they were when Aidan first bought them.

Aidan was already on his second taco, Enzo on his first, but Jenson was simply holding his, watching me to make sure I liked mine. I took a bite, and little red dots of the sauce fell onto the wrapper, but my main focus was on the delicious taste of my favorite taco. The spices, and whatever the meat was were the perfect mix between sweet and savory. I took another bite and then another until I was eating the taco so fast, I accidentally bit my finger.

His chuckle told me that Jenson saw it happen, but I didn’t slow down. Unwrapping the next taco, I dug in.

****

I ate too much. Five tacos seemed like the perfect number, but now my stomach was bloated to the point of hurting. In addition, my headache may or may not have been related to overstuffing myself. Whatever—no regrets. Those tacos were the best thing I’d ever eaten.

When I went to lean back and stretch out my stomach, it dipped, telling me a moment too slowly I was about to fall backward. Luckily, I had three strong alphas that managed to catch me.

I erupted into giggles for so long that tears came to my eyes and my stomach ached from the workout it apparently received. As the laughter finally subsided, I wiped under my eyes. My body seemed to have exerted all my energy in eating, laughing, and staying awake, because I could feel it crashing. Eyelids growing heavy, I rested my forearms on the countertop, carefully cradling my head.

“Tired, Koda bear?” Aidan asked.

I nodded, too exhausted for words.

“Okay, c’mon. I’ll carry you to bed. You have to stay with one of us so we can make sure you’re okay throughout the night. Whose room do you want?”

Whose room? Like, I had to choose between my alphas? Was that what these males wanted, for me to pick? How could I explain that I wanted them all when I could barely lift my head off Addie’s shoulder? And when did he pick me up?

Without thinking it through too much, I told Addie I wanted my nest. The swaying motion suddenly stopped. When I lifted my head to figure out what was going on, Addie’s hand came up to the back of my head, gently pressing my head back down.

“Okay, Koda bear. I’ll take you to your nest.” With my head on his shoulder, and against his throat, I felt him swallow. It was a weird sensation and would’ve totally made me giggle if I had the energy. As it was, I barely managed a smile.

I didn’t hear the door opening, but the strong scent of all three alphas was my indication that not only had my nest in their house not been aired out, but the alphas had left their pillows and blankets in the room.

“We hoped you would come back to us,” Enzo said.

My chest started purring to show how much I liked that idea.

“Do you want me to carry you in, Koda bear?” The question came so quietly from Addie, I instinctively inhaled his scent.

Aidan’s sadness almost completely drained out his desert rainstorm scent. The need to comfort him became my first priority, as if I could physically fight my tiredness to be present.

“Why are you sad, Addie?” A horrible thought hit me that maybe he didn’t want me to stay here. Especially in a nest meant for his omega. My heart broke at the realization. But I wouldn’t stay there if it meant upsetting my alpha.

Aidan gave me a small smile like he was trying to hide his sadness from me. “I was just hoping you would plan to sleep with one of us tonight.”

Wait. What?

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