Page 29 of These Bonds that Unite Us
With my energy so low I can’t afford to spend my time worrying why he’s so upset. It’s going to take everything I have to get settled into a room in their house.
“I’m going to leave you here,” Donovan says when he steps inside with us. He narrows a harsh look on each of the guys before turning to me, his eyes softening. “They have my number, call me if you need anything. I’ll keep you updated on the situation at your apartment.”
I offer him a half smile, and he pulls me into a tight side-hug before he gently closes the door behind him.
“Would you like a tour?” Callisto asks after a few moments of awkward silence.
“Um, sure,” I nod, though I don’t know how much of this giant house I’ll be able to stand walking through. Titan must sense my doubts as he quickly promises they’ll only show me the important parts and I can explore the rest later.
We walk a few feet down the hallway before they stop me outside of an open door. Peeking inside I see a small library, or maybe it’s a sunroom, with floor-to-ceiling windows running along two sides. Toward the front of the house is a glass door leading to a small enclosed patio. It’s empty but has a lot of potential to be a cozy reading wonderland.
For Nexus, obviously, since I won’t be staying here for more than a couple of days.
Turning back to the guys, I spy the partially filled bookshelves and boxes of unpacked books on the floor. “Did you move here recently?” I murmur.
“We wanted you to have a pack house to return to,” Nexus answers. I’m shocked he was the one to speak when he seems so hesitant to get any closer to me than the six feet he’s maintained since I arrived.
His words sink in, making my hands tremble and my throat ache. “You-” My voice shakes. “You bought this house because of me?”
Body shuddering, Nexus steps between his packmates. He doesn’t stop until he’s standing close enough I can feel each ofhis deep breaths as he inhales my scent. His head falls forward to gently thump against mine, pressing our foreheads together.
My lungs are working in overdrive as I suck in small, rapid breaths. Each is coated with the warm amber and woodsy oud of his scent, soothing the barest edge of my pain.
“You needed a nest, a safe space, and we want that to be here with us. This is your home, sweet girl. If you don’t like it we can move. Anywhere in the world, just point your finger and we’ll go. Wherever you are is where our home is.”
A tear slowly tracks down my cheek as his words echo in my broken heart. I want to believe him so badly, to go back to the happy, newly in love place we were before they learned who my birth family is, but my head reminds me of the pain I felt hearing they’d abandoned me. I take a step back, putting distance between us, and wipe the tears from my face.
Flipping the mental switch I built as a child, I let all of my emotions disappear. If I lock them in a tight box, I can deal with them later when I am alone instead of breaking down here.
“Let’s head upstairs,” Callisto suggests. His voice is tight, showing he isn’t unaffected by me shutting down, but he doesn’t call me out on it either.
I follow behind him slowly, each step heavier than the last. They show me their kitchen, and a sneak peek of the expansive, whimsical garden in the back. Then we head up to the third floor.
As soon as we step onto the landing I want to turn around. This is their pack floor. I don’t belong here. My feet drag across the hardwood as they show me the drool-worthy bathroom with a huge jacuzzi tub and a walk-in shower.
Imposter syndrome kicks in hard as we step back into the main bedroom and they guide me to a door at the end. I already know in my heart what awaits us there and it isn’t mine.
It can’t be mine when I’m not theirs.
“This is your nest,” Titan grunts as he swings the door open. “We left it blank so you could decorate it yourself.”
It’s the perfect size, and it’s dark. A huge circular bed sits at the center with twinkling white fairy lights on a floating ring above it. Gauzy black curtains fall from the ring to surround the bed. My inner omega squeals with joy, wanting to dive inside and make this space our own, but we can’t.
It isn’t mine.
My head is shaking before I can force the words from my lips. They watch me with concern, dejection, and acceptance in their eyes. “I can’t sleep there.”
“Tell us what you need us to do to fix it, and we will,” Nebula cuts in.
I turn to meet his dark blue eyes, no longer getting lost in those colorful orbs. I’m unflinching in the face of their stress. “I can’t stay there because I’m not your omega.”
“Omen…” His shoulders lump in defeat, but I’m not going to back down. They made it clear I wasn’t theirs when they left me to a heat that could have killed me. I may have kept secrets from them, but I was keeping them safe. The connection between us was never something I intended to ignore forever, only long enough for my birth family to no longer be a threat.
If they hadn’t realized I had Rejected Omega Syndrome, would they even be speaking to me now?
“You have a guest bedroom on the second floor?” He nods stiffly. “I’ll stay there.”
I don’t wait for them to respond, I turn and head back down the stairs. My heart is breaking all over again being here, surrounded by their scents and hearing their suddenly reignited desire for me to be one of them. The whiplash is giving me a headache.
