Page 103 of Fated or Knot

“Thanks, Dad,” I said. Surprisingly, I did feel better about the royal pack knowing about my darkest days by the time hewas done talking. It helped that we were moving on rather than dwelling on it. If Cymora was gone…something told me that we could simplynottalk about it anymore and leave it in the past. And that was a bigger relief than I would’ve expected.

“Oh, what about Laurel?” I asked, glad she could be an afterthought too.

“We’re sending her back to Thelis soon. Did you want to talk to her?” the dark elf asked.

I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head.

“I didn’t think so.”

Tormund cleared his throat. “I want to drop you in the middle of the nesting supplies now, li’l bird.”

“Okay,” I said, not realizing he meant it literally. He scooped me up and trotted off with me. I didn’t whine, since he put me down in the next room over, atop a pile of blankets I immediately starting inspecting with my fingertips.

“Supplying nests is hard sometimes. Most of these things were requested by the palace nixies, then they didn’t like them,” Tormund explained. “So, you can take anything your instincts want for your nest. And if you want something but in a different color, we can order it.”

My first thought wasI’ll take all of it, but he hadn’t lied when he suggested they could stock a full omega store. There were so many options for basic things like blankets and cushions that I could color-coordinate my nest with everything I loved. I could build somethingbetterthan my epic dream nest.

“Would you look away for a moment?” I asked.

“Why?”

“I’m about to get emotional over pillows and…”

I blamed it on my earlier conversation with Rennyn, but I really could’ve cried then and there about what a turn my life had taken. I could have any kind of nest I wanted. No one wouldforce me to destroy it, because it wasmine. It could be designed down to the grain or as eclectic as my heart desired.

Tormund sat on the pile of blankets, causing me to slide into him. He put his arms around me. “I don’t want to miss happy tears, if there must be tears. I just want this to be special for you.”

“It isveryspecial,” I assured him.

He tilted my chin up and kissed me, combining that with a soothing purr. The choked-up feeling in my throat loosened. I parted the seal of my lips and let his tongue in to play with mine, savoring the smoky, caramelized sugar taste of him all the while. I could’ve gotten lost in the moment for longer, but he was the one who pulled away. I whimpered at the loss of his mouth.

“Invite me to your nest tonight,” he said in a low tone, hardly more than a rumble. “I would be happy to continue this privately, li’l bird.”

Stars, one of the kings was in the other room. Not that I think Rennyn would’ve minded seeing us kiss all that much, but the reminder had me turning my attention back to the blankets. “Let me get it set up first,” I said with a self-conscious giggle.

Since we’d left my crutches behind, he had to help me to the various piles in the room, but I was soon picking out acceptable nesting materials in shades of grays and cool colors. There wasn’t much conscious thought behind most of the picks. Some fabrics feltright.They had to hit my instincts just so, or they were left behind. I still probably picked too much, but there were several items I had to have.

“And what were you thinking of doing with the second floor of your nest?” Tormund asked once it was all put aside in a neat pile.

“Um…I didn’t even look up there yet,” I admitted. Though I wondered if I could use that space to coax my males to spend more time with me after we were all bonded and some of thenewness wore off. Something like the library nest, perhaps? Though one where fucking was allowed and we picked up after ourselves. Compromises for both Fal and Marius.

“You haven’t?” he gasped. I just pointed at my cast. “Okay, we’ll go up there together once you invite me in.”

“Any chance we can remodel it so it doesn’t have stairs?”

Though Tormund laughed, his craggy face was creased with confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“Just a joke. Don’t worry about it,” I said.

He cracked a smile and nodded, picking me up one more time to view some of the artworks in storage to see if anything caught my eye. I snuggled in with him, and we took our time admiring several pieces for longer than was absolutely necessary. I didn’t end up picking many paintings. I didn’t want to clutter my new space.

Eventually, Tormund carried me back to my crutches, which Rennyn was holding upright while he was turned toward the door and a liveried guard. They spoke in hushed voices, then the king gestured the other male off.

“All ready to go, then? I’ll arrange for the items to be delivered posthaste,” Rennyn said. “Hold still for a second.”

He leaned up and sandwiched me in a hug between him and Tormund. Then he tousled my hair. “Great to see you again, p’nixie. Work calls, as it always does.”

“I’m glad we ran into each other,” I said. I hoped we crossed paths again soon.

---