Page 172 of Toxic

Devon nodded, looking thoughtful. "That’s… considerate." There was actual admiration in his voice, like he regarded it as a kind of noble sacrifice for the sake of making our relationship more secure and stable. "You truly do love him." His voice became a bit dreamy.

"Yeah. I do. He’s… everything."

Devon slowly raised his head, rubbed his chin, and sighed as he gazed through the window.

"So romantic!"

***

The next evening, something interesting happened.

After I took a shower, I walked into our bedroom, and to my surprise, I noticed two rolled-up blankets and six small pillows on the bed. Soren must have brought them in from the hallway closet. In addition to the mint green set, there was now a turquoise blanket, two turquoise pillows, and two lime-green ones.

I stood there for a moment, staring in disbelief because I knew exactly what this looked like.

Should I bring it up? While asking an omega about nesting was considered impolite, asking a beta about it seemed downright crazy. But then again, the fact that he was a beta might leave some room for that conversation.

When Soren walked into the room, I was still standing by the bed.

"Interesting setup," I commented, trying to sound casual.

He raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised. "What? What are you talking about?"

"The blankets and pillows…"

Soren’s face twitched, and he almost jumped, like I’d accused him of something nefarious. "I just wanted to make it more comfortable for us! I don’t see the problem—two blankets and six pillows aren’t exactly overkill," he said defensively, pouting.

I stared at him for a second. Was he really this clueless?

"It looks like a nest, Soren."

There was a pause. Soren glanced at the bed. "I don’t know… it’s just some blankets and pillows…"

"Come on. I know what omega nests look like—I was in a relationship with omegas for years."

Soren started to get annoyed. "What do you want me to say? I didn’t do it on purpose; I just wanted us to be comfortable. There’s nothing more to it, so stop reading into it!"

I took a step closer to him. "Soren, I don’t mind if you’re building a nest. Actually, it makes me happy. But it could be another sign of what Dr. Jim mentioned…"

Seeing his grimace, I tenderly put my hands on his shoulders, but he still looked a bit grumpy.

"I don’t know if I’d call it that. I didn’t do it with any intention—"

"Because you did it instinctively, which means something in your nature is waking up."

He was silent for a moment, then slowly lifted his head and peered into my eyes. "So, you’re saying this is just the beginning? You’ve probably seen much nicer ones. What I did is pathetic."

"I smiled and gently lifted his chin. "Soren, you know it’s a rule that alphas don’t comment on how an omega’s nest looks. I include betas who are transitioning into omegas in this too!We understand how intimate that process is, I would never say anything critical.""

"But you thought about it."

Classic Soren, jumping right to the pessimistic scenarios! I sighed in frustration. "What I thought was all positive. Honestly, I’m really happy because the stronger your omega side wakes up, the better the chances for this pregnancy. You understand that, right?" I slowly moved my lips to his temple and kissed him gently. "My sweet omega Soren…" I murmured in a low, teasing tone.

"Stop it," he murmured back, but he let me continue placing soft kisses on his temple and cheek. Then I slowly trailed them down to his neck, where I licked his gland with the pale, curved mark left by my teeth.

"You are mine, Soren. Mine forever," I whispered directly into his ear.

I could practically feel the little shiver run through him as his hands slid up to wrap around my back.

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