Page 34 of For What It's Worth

Aidan’s cheeks turned pink, hitching my confusion higher. What did he have to be embarrassed about?

“It’s okay if you’re not ready for that, little bear.” Jenson’s voice startled me, reminding me that Aidan and I weren’t alone. The house was soaked with all three of the alphas’ scents, making it impossible to know whether they were nearby when I couldn’t see them. “We’re just happy you’re comfortable enough to stay here, in your nest.”

Speaking of which—I scrambled down from the Aidan, momentarily ignoring his pained scent increasing, so I could shut the door to my nest. Then I glared at all three alphas. “Don’t open the door. The scents will come out.” It was a ridiculous notion since the whole house smelled of the alphas, but my mind couldn’t be swayed. People came into the house. Scents clung to clothes. All those scents could’ve ruined the sanctity of my nesting space.

All three alphas seemed shocked but nodded their agreement. Going from ninety percent asleep to fully awake and pissed off was giving me emotional whiplash.

“Now. You three need to go get your pajamas on and then meet me back here. Knock but make sure you close the door behind you.”

My beta side was telling me this was a bad idea, but I didn’t listen to her. These males were mine—I’d proved it when I offered them a place in my nest. But the longer they continued staring at me, the less confident I became. Why weren’t they excited at the invitation to join me in my nest? Did they not know how to turn me down? Was my beta side, right?

“Are you sure, little bear?” Jenson asked. “You know what it means to invite us into your sacred omega space?”

“Yes. It means we’re pack.” Even my beta side knew that. Although, she was adamant that I was forgetting something.

I scented the alphas excitement moments before all three disappeared without another word, leaving me alone in the hallway. Slipping into my nest room, I took a deep breath, feeling immediately calmed by the familiar—untainted—scents. Without their emotions to manipulate their scents, my nest simply felt safe. Plus, the huge pile of pillows and blankets helped.

Finding the entrance to my nest was easy, but I still hesitated. This wasn’t right. It looked the same as I left it, but I had built that nest for myself, for comfort. Now my alphas were going to be joining me and the space was all wrong.

A door slamming jostled me out of my frozen state. I slid my skirt and tights off, tossing them into the middle of the nest for more fabrics to use. I considered leaving my key necklace on but decided to take it off, carefully putting it off to the side. The males might cuddle me, and they wouldn’t want to wake up with a key imprint like I occasionally did. I’d never been embarrassed about having my nipples be noticeable when they turned into hard points and had shown through my shirt. But that was just normal, everyday boobs. Now my breasts felt sexy, and the hard points seemed to somehow grab more attention than usual. The thought of all three alphas joining me made my nipples hard, begging for attention, and my pussy grew wet like it was expecting a knot to just jam up in her at any moment.

A knock on the door distracted me from my clothing, and I turned to face it, expecting them to just walk in. Instead, there was a beat of silence. “Koda. It’s Jenson.” Another slight pause. “Aidan and Enzo are here too. We’re ready whenever you are.”

Having alphas need permission to enter my nest was a first-time experience, and it made me feel heady with the power. And arousal.

Outside of this room, I bent to the will and strength of alphas. Not just mine but every alpha. In here, though, it was my sanctuary. It smelled how I wanted, was set up how I liked, and I had complete control over what did and didn’t happen.

Which reminded me—I looked over at my nest. There was a vent above the door to the room, but it must not have been on since the alphas’ scents still clung to the pillow and blankets enough to please me.

“If I let you in the room, you have to wait to enter the nest.” Having a comfortable nest was important to me but almost as important was how my alphas liked my design.

“Yes, Omega,” Jenson growled, disliking the order but deferring to me.

Opening the door, I peeked through as if I could’ve spied on the alphas. Three sets of eyes looked down at me. Taking in all the alphas raised my body’s internal temperature up several degrees. Jenson’s stomach was sharply defined, drawing my eyes to the space between his pectorals, down to the outline of his abdominals, and to each side that had the definition of a V. He was in a simple pair of gray sweats hanging low on his hips. My beta side was shocked at the realization her professor was ripped.

Aidan was also in sweats, but his were short, having been cut off above his knees. He was the thinnest of my alphas with the kind of body that looked like he could eat without gaining any weight. But that wasn’t what surprised me the most. Ink decorated his body. His light skin tone made the perfect canvas for the colorful tattoos. Usually dressed in suits at the academy or even at his club, I had only seen Aidan’s neck and forearms. But now. Images of animals, some wielding weapons, some attacking others, were drawn along his calves and thighs, covering almost every available inch of his legs.

Enzo was the most covered in his pajamas, and I wanted to demand he take the offending fabric off. He wore a black tank top that was tight on his body like a second skin and allowed the hair from his chest to peek through. The dark curls called to me, demanding I run my fingers over it. Instead of sweats like the other males, Enzo wore basketball sports and socks. The combination would’ve been humorous if he hadn’t looked so good. He was my biggest alpha, his body built heavier. He might not have had a six pack, but that didn’t stop him from looking like the strongest male in his pack.

“Do you plan to let us in?” Jenson teased, earning a glare from me. “Or are you planning to drool from behind the door all night?”

“I have to fix the nest still.” I left the door open and focused all my attention on making the necessary adjustments to the nest. Every movement became more urgent as the fresh scents of my pack filled the area. This needed to be perfect. The concaved roof needed to be fixed—the whole nest needed a good fluff. I extended blankets, made sure the pillows were firm, and sorted through the best fabrics. I needed enough space for three large alphas and a single omega.

Adjusting and fluffing and spreading and all the little touch ups were like a little work-out routine. I hadn’t noticed my heavy breathing until I finally sat in the middle of my nest, in a delicious sandwich of scents and blankets. I had actually forgotten about the males waiting for permission to join me. But without anything left to manage, I quickly remembered.

“Okay. You may enter. Just…”

“Just what, little bear?” Jenson asked.

“Don’t ruin it.” I stared at the small opening that was available for my males to enter. I’d made it as big as I could, but my fingers itched to try again. If they weren’t on the edge of fatigue, I might’ve.

“We wouldn’t think of it, little bear.”

The first male to enter my nest was Jen, solidifying him as the head of this pack. He was just barely able to crawl in, but his elbows were still bent to ensure he didn’t accidently knock down the stretched blanket acting as a roof. My nerves settled when he made it all the way in.

Jenson scooted his way to the deepest portion of my nest and then Aidan’s blond locks appeared as my second alpha crawled his way into the nest. He looked around, searching for a spot to claim for himself, but I couldn’t help but scrutinize his gaze. Was he impressed with my nest? Did he think it was too small? I could probably fix the corners so they were even tighter, and he could push his head against the top to give himself more room … although I didn’t do that originally because that meant the blanket would sort of sag. But maybe if Aidan preferred it—

“Wipe that look off your face, Koda.” Aidan sat down beside me, but leaned in, grabbing my chin so I was forced to look directly at him. “Your nest is perfect.”

---