Page 39 of For All My Effort

Gripping my internal confidence with every metaphorical limb I could, I lifted my chin and made my way out of the bathroom. Could I feel the cool air on my head? Yes. Was my neck suddenly cold? Also, yes. Did all the hair on my body seem to pebble from a mix of cold and anticipation? Again, yes.

But I followed the sounds of my mates’ voices into the living room. Han and Zeke were sitting on one couch together, half laying on it, so Han was leaning against the couch’s arm with Zeke between his legs. They saw me first, both sitting up with looks of pure arousal on their face.

Sebastian was sitting in the center couch, and he turned around so fast that I couldn’t help smiling at him. “Oh, Princess.”

My attention was pulled from Seb getting up from the couch as Jackson rounded the corner from the kitchen, taking one look at me and tossing his snack back onto the island. He picked me up, holding me against him with one arm around my back and the other running a palm over my head.

I had to squeeze my legs tight around him in order to hold myself up. Seb, Han, and Zeke were following after us as Jackson carried me up the stairs toward my nest.

“Fuck, your hair looks so good, rebel,” Jackson said, his scent blooming around us, becoming stronger and juicier.

“I called dibs on first fuck,” Zeke called out, chasing after us.

Jackson stopped at the top of the third floor, turning to glare at my other mate. When he turned his attention to me, raising a single eyebrow in a silent demand for an answer, I had to work to keep from smiling.

“He did,” I admitted.

Jackson growled, claiming my mouth right then and there, grinding his erection between my legs and heightening my arousal.

I was yanked from my mate, a whimper working its way up my throat until I was turned to my other alpha. Out of all my mates Zeke wasn’t the most classically handsome, but there was a sort of beauty that radiated from him. Even more so, there was a kindness, a gentleness, an understanding.

There was so much to learn about my alphas. These dates they were going to take me on, it would do more than comfort me about my place in this pack, it would help me fall even more in love with them—I knew it.

Zeke carried me into my nest, the others following. All the deliciously aroused scents of my mates, the comfort of my nest, I was sure that this moment was the beginning of my happily ever after. The second time.

Chapter Eleven

I woke up the next morning with only Seb still in my nest. He was on his phone, the glow from his screen illuminating his face since the rest of the room was still dark. My brain was still slow to conscious thoughts even as my body was trying to get closer to my mate.

We were both on our sides, facing each other, my face pressing against his bare chest. His free hand was gently rubbing along my back and a part of me wanted to continue to feign sleep so he’d keep going.

“You finally up?” Seb asked, his teasing tone had me looking up. The glow from his phone disappeared as all his attention turned to me.

“What time is it?”

“Not that late. We’re all just used to getting up early.”

I scrunched my nose in mock disgust. If omegas ever get enough rights in my lifetime to work, I was getting a night job. “What’s the plan for today?”

“I was thinking we’d spend the day in the nest together.”

My smile was huge, and I snuggled deeper into Seb’s chest. I was basically giddy with the excitement that my mate wanted to spend time alone with me—and not just sexually. “Will you tell me about yourself?”

Our legs were intertwined, both of my hands crushed between our chests, and my head was lying on his bicep. He continued to rub my back as he started telling me about his life, his family. Apparently, his family’s first disappointment with him was when he didn’t pack bond with Aidan—one of Koda’s mates.

“Our families are close,” he told me. “They have a great working relationship, and both our moms are as close to friends as they can be considering all they really do is trade gossip with one another. They had built up this grand idea in their heads about the kind of powerful pack we would be when we found an omega.”

“Do you not like Aidan?”

“Aidan and I are friends. Close friends. But packs aren’t between friends, it’s a kinship that’s hard to describe. Someone you’d trust with the love of your life. Someone whose morals and values you agree with. Someone you’d trust with your offspring. Or even consider your own. It wasn’t a fully conscious decision to bond with the guys, more instinct. We’re just a different type of mate.”

“I love that you all have that.”

“Proud of yourself a little, too, huh?”

I shrugged my shoulder. “I picked good alphas. That seemed impossible when I was living at the OC. I always figured if I was forced to find a pack, I’d spend my days hiding away in my nest, just using their cocks during my heat—”

My words were interrupted by Sebastian’s growl, his scent tinged with jealousy. He turned us so I was on my back while he leaned over me, his face so close that his nose was less than an inch away from mine. “I don’t like you talking about other alphas’ cocks.”