Page 104 of Fated or Knot

“Bye, Dad!” Tormund said cheerfully. After the king left, he looked at the pair of crutches Rennyn handed me, and then at my face.

“You can carry me back,” I said. His brows rose straight to his hairline. “I mean, if you want to.”

“I definitely do. I just need to visit my brothers’ rooms,” he declared, setting off with me. It was a bit of a relief not to haveto match his giant’s stride, even though I’d thought he might’ve needed to carry me a little ways to calm an alpha instinct or two. “No nest is complete without your mates’ scents.”

I brightened at the mention. I still had Fal’s mask…somewhere. But having freshly worn clothes from my males layered into my nest would be so much better. Tormund produced a master key off his belt to pay the rooms a quick visit, if Fal and Marius hadn’t returned to theirs.

When we returned to the royal wing, Marius was standing guard at my door, his face blank until he spotted us. Instead of taking me along for clothing retrieval, Tormund passed me over to the kelpie with a brief explanation and walked me to my armchair in the study before leaving. I figured they’d be back pretty soon and didn’t pick my book back up, so my gaze wandered.

Someone had alphabetized my stash of Theli books from the library tower and placed a small pot full of silvery flowers on the desk. Their fragrance had long covered the scent of the male who’d brought them, but the lack of fanfare suggested who they were from. I didn’t ask Jani and Lon about it. They were busy making up the bed outside my nest with a new set of covers and a gray bedspread with pops of red in raised, flower-like rosettes that I’d selected earlier.

Servants arrived to tag the furniture that would be leaving. I spoke with a grimalkin alpha—a real one, unshifted, and he was tall and feline in mannerisms, though the only outward sign of his Unseelie status was a pair of pointed cat ears and a plush, swishing tail—who would get my new things set up in mostly the right place.

Our conversation was interrupted by a low, territorial growl. I turned, expecting Marius, just to see Tormund approaching with a stack of clothes in hand. The grimalkin took a healthy step away from me and bowed his head.

“Here, Lark, for your nest,” the redcap said. “If you want to get started setting it up, the rest of your new nesting materials should be here any moment.”

He followed me as I crutch-walked to my nest and stopped just past the threshold. He set the stack down, remaining on the other side, respectful, as always, of every boundary between us. I shouldn’t invite him or any other male in until it wasperfect, though I wanted to. But no omega wanted to show her mates into a sloppy nest.

Tormund’s eyes creased with fondness. “Take all the time you need, li’l bird.”

He left me to it. I turned to my nest and stripped the bed down to the sheets for now. I arranged everything into two piles, then hummed, mixing in the shirts and the blankets for no particular reason.

Tormund had retrieved one plain undershirt from each male, which carried more scent than the fancier tunics they wore. I ended up sorting by color. Navy for Fal, black for Marius, gray for Kauz, and orange for Tormund. The latter didn’t match anything, and it bothered me just a little, but I’d find a place for it since it belonged to my gentle giant.

When the extra supplies arrived, they were delivered by Marius. He took one look at me limping around on one crutch, the other arm cradling blankets, and his nostrils flared with an equine snort. “Let me in,” he said.

“It’s not ready yet,” I answered.

“You’re guaranteed to trip over something.”

“It’s a sloppy nest.”

“Nay, it’s unfinished. There’s a difference.”

I set down my burden and doubled back, peeking around the half-drawn privacy curtain at him, eyes narrowed. “This wouldn’t be an invitation to bed,” I said in an undertone.

He didn’t quite look at me. “I know. I don’t deserve that yet,” he murmured.

Just that reaction made me want to argue that I hadn’t meant anything about deserving or not, but if I convinced him that I had feelings for him, too, just like his brothers…then we’d end up in bed. I motioned him inside, drawing the curtain completely when he entered my nest, such as it was.

“I’m not quite running the show here,” I said, preemptively apologetic. My inner omega was probably about to drive him nuts moving things back and forth along the rectangular first floor of the nest.

He tipped his head with a sardonic lift of his lips. “Neither am I. Perhaps you need Niall for this.”

I nodded in agreement and got to work. I started with the faelights, setting a couple stray ones loose to illuminate more of the first floor and its low, intimate ceiling. Then the best materials were arranged on the bed: the fleece, the gifts from the family’s omegas, especially the silk blanket.

Marius watched me with his head cocked, his breathing shallowing out. For a moment, he hesitated, resisting whatever had to happen to bring out Niall. But then he surrendered to his feral side, judging by the change in his eyes and the softening of his stance. He glanced around and released a soft rumble of approval.

I layered in my mates’ scents on the bed and then pivoted on my heel, looking longingly at the pile of pillows. Marius wordlessly plucked out the pillow I was eyeing and tossed it to me. After feeling it up and testing its filling, I mewled. Not the right pillow after all. He growled back and brought me three more. We didn’t say a single word as I continued to build, communicating mostly through body language and sounds.

He may or may not have realized it, but he was reprising his old role as my extra set of hands. At least he seemed to beenjoying it, as he was extra attentive and homed in on my every need as I built this nest on pure instinct.

Once the bed was properly arranged, I set out the cushions and the rest of the blankets for a cozy resting space in the alcove beside the stairs. With no kids planned, this spot could be for visitors or for us to laze around as an alternative to the bed. I fussed over placement and second-guessed the blankets on the bed, swapping a few out with my feral kelpie’s help.

After I nodded in approval, he held my hips and pressed to my back, nuzzling my neck with his silent but steady purr. With my omega side so close to the surface, it felt right to tilt my head further for him in both trust and submission. His fangs pressed into the sensitive column, and I shivered in awareness.

“Mine,” he murmured against my skin. “You claim this nest but not me, p’nixie?”

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