Page 38 of Marigold Run

I can’t believe I was ever a member of their shitty family.

Fuck, Donovan Tenus.

A Few Days Later

Mari

Iam bored out of my mind.

Each day is exactly like the last—I wake up in my nest, exhausted and sore after fighting and fucking Izan all night. I have breakfast with Everly, then we roam around the gardens all damn morning, while she asks me if I want a fucking nap. In the afternoon, we sit on the most luxurious nesting couch I’ve ever seen, while Everly chats endlessly about mindless shit like the weather or her hobbies—apparently she loves photography and crafts.

I can’t really complain, but my days are filled with both nothing and everything all at once.

It probably wouldn’t be so bad if I was able to sneak out of my room at night, but I can smell Hutch outside my door at night. I don’t know if he’s hanging around the hallway at night, or if he’s hoping to catch me doing something wrong. I need to do anotherinternet search, but I noticed the tablet was missing the last time we were in the sitting room.

I’m going to have to come up with another plan to get my hands on a computer. I need to do a search on Cardis and where I might be able to find him. While it’s not likely, I’m hopeful that he’ll remember me and Stefan.

I slump in my chair, thankful that the last of my clothes arrived today. At least there’s something to actually do…or there would be if Everly let me help her put them away. Instead, I’m sitting on my uncomfortable desk chair, watching the beta hang everything up. I could probably sit on the fat cream-color couch or matching armchair, but they’re on the other side of the room, and I want to see what Everly is doing.

“How are the leggings?” Everly asks as she places the last of my shirts onto woodenhangers. “Is the waist too tight?”

“They’re perfect.” I smooth my hand over my middle. My new lilac shirt is especially soft. The thin fabric is loose, fluttering around my waist while still showing off the snug fit of my black pants.

“Let me know if you want to switch to a pair of joggers.” Everly holds up a pair of gray pants on a hanger. The ankles are fitted and the drawstring dangles.

“Will do,” I say as the beta disappears into my bathroom with an armload of my new clothes. Apparently, there’s a closet door on the other side of the bathroom.

“Do you need any help?” I ask, leaning forward in the desk chair. I wish it swiveled or turned or rocked, but it’s completely immobile, just like me.I’m restless.

“I’m almost done!” Everly yells out from the other room. “Just a few more things.” She pauses as if in the middle of something. “Oh! Where do you want your panties?” She steps out of the bathroom, carrying a handful of bunched up fabric. “Do you want them in your dresser?”

“Panties?” I pop up, sitting straight as an arrow. “You got meunderwear?”

“Well, yeah.” Everly lifts them up to show me. She has maybe five or six pairs, each one a different shade of red or blue. “They aren’t fancy or anything like that. They’re just regular slick-panties.” She holds one of them out, showing me the modest undergarment. I can see the thick padded gusset from here.They look so comfortable. “Don’t omegas need this kind of underwear when they’re out in public?”

A bitter snort leaps from my throat. “Are there packs that let their omegas leave the house?” I stand, walking toward the beta. “Did you buy more?” I take a pair of bright red underwear from her, feeling the plush cotton material.I can’t believe she bought these for me.

I wonder if I can convince her to buy me a bra.

“I only got a few pair,” Everly says with an apologetic scrunch of her nose. “Izan occasionally takes us to parties to meet potential business prospects. I figured slick-panties were a good idea. But I can order more,” she offers with a bright smile.

Parties?

A rush of excitement tickles my belly before I quickly tamp it down. I don’t plan on being here long enough to go to a party, but I am intrigued. I’ve never been to one before. I obviously had birthday parties as a youngin, but I’ve never been to a proper grown-up one.

“Should we put them away?” Everly’s gray eyes slip from my face to my hands, watching me squeeze and caress the cotton fabric.

“Yeah.” I force myself to hand them over.They’re so soft.

“You know.” Everly stares at the bright red fabric in her hand. “You can put on a pair if you want.” She lifts them a little higher, offering them back to me.

“I can wear themright now?” I ask, shifting my gaze from Everly’s face to the underwear, then back again.

“Of course.” She grabs my hand, placing the panties in my palm. “These belong to you. You can wear them whenever you want.”

Thick emotion moves through me, making my face flash hot. And for a moment, I fear I’m going to cry. Ever since I started fucking Izan, I feel a little more emotional each day.I hate it.

“Mari?” Everly says my name. “Are you okay?”

---