Page 64 of Marigold Run

The alphas murmur to themselves, but we completely ignore them, only looking at each other.

“I think I’d like to go back to the house,” I say, suddenly unusually tired. “Do you want to hang out with me in my nest?”

“Your nest?” Everly’s mouth falls open and I nod. “I’ve never been in an omega’s nest before.” Her breath picks up, possibly with excitement, but I have a feeling it’s nerves. “I don’t really know the etiquette.” She grimaces and I smile. “What if I put my feet in the wrong place? Or if I?—”

“It’s okay, Everly.” I laugh, reaching for her hands. “You aren’t going to burn the damn thing down. If you mess it up, I can fix it.”

“Okay.” Everly’s voice is filled with apprehension as we turn back toward the house. Her fear of doing something wrong is very sweet, but betas rarely have the ability to ruin nests. It’s alphas that you have to watch out for. “I definitely need to change. Jeans are not appropriate nesting wear.”

I quickly nod, agreeing. “We’ll both change into jammies.”

“Mari?” Dassy takes several big steps to catch up to us. “Can I come into your nest too?”

“No,” I snip, and Hutch snorts.

In Mari’s Room

Hutch

Dassy’s big body consumes Mari's armchair. His thick thighs and fat ass push at the armrests, making the damn thing groan every time he shifts. I want to make fun of him for it, but then he’d move onto the couch with me, and I don’t want to share. Not to mention that this thing would probably buckle under the weight of the two of us.

“Oh no!” Everly’s panicked voice hits the air once again. The beta has been on edge the whole time she’s been in Mari’s nest. “Did I move that pillow? Is that where it was?”

Mari chuckles under her breath and I look up from my phone.

“It’s okay, Everly.” Mari pushes up onto her knees, reaching past a very flustered Everly. She shoves a pillow in place, not really giving it the care omegas usually do. It’s obvious Mari is being extra kind to our frazzled beta. “Parts of a nest are meantto move a bit,” Mari says, patting Everly’s hand softly. “Just don’t pull at the edges of the blankets.”

“Okay.” Everly’s eyes go wide, scanning the fabric all around her. The poor girl looks like she’s calculating how badly she can fuck this up.

Dassy lets out a deep groan as he stretches out his legs. The chair creaks once again, and I stare intensely, waiting for the damn thing to snap in two. “We need to bring some real furniture in here,” Dassy says, dropping his phone onto his chest. He tucks his hands behind his head and arches his back, stretching a little deeper this time.

“Agreed,” I say, eyeing the coffee table in front of us. It barely looks big enough to hold my dinner plate. I glance back at the nest, making sure the pair aren’t listening. “You good?”

“About what?” Dassy sits up, resting his elbows on his knees so we can talk a little more privately.

“All the ‘I love you’ stuff. The way Mari reacted didn’t seem…great.” I grimace at my description, but Dassy only smiles. Nothing gets him down.

“I’m all good, brother.” He slaps the top of my thigh. “I don’t mind it when people struggle to share their feelings. It makes it that much sweeter when they finally do.”

I can’t help but smile at that. It’s a nice way to think about rejection. Maybe a little foolish, but still nice. “I’m glad it’s not getting you down.”

“Nah,” Dassy says as he looks over at our girls. “I expected Mari to be a little guarded.”

I nod, understanding what he means. “Because of her past.”

“No.” He laughs. “Because she's just likeyou.”

“Me?” I frown. “I’m not guarded.”

Dassy makes an exasperated sound, speaking at full volume as he leans back in his chair. “You barely talk about your day,let alone your damn feelings. You are the very definition of guarded.”

“I am not.”

“Yes, you are,” Everly’s quiet opinion pops up from somewhere within the nest. “You suck at sharing your feelings.”

I grind my teeth, hating it when they gang up on me. They don’t do it often, but Izan and Dassy love to drink on the back porch and see who can piss me off first. Everly never joins in, but today seems to be an exception.

A breathy yawn drifts from the nest, and Dassy and I instantly turn to the noise. Mari seems oblivious as we all watch her rub her eyes. Even though no one says a word, there’s an obvious excitement in the air as Everly gives me, then Dassy, a knowing look.

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