Page 70 of Shattered Trinket
When tears well back up in her pretty blue eyes, my breath halts in my lungs as I scramble closer to her, pulling her into my arms on instinct and letting loose a purr to rival all purrs to stop the tears because I can’t take it anymore. She relaxes against me, her hands tucked between us and clutching my shirt in her fists.
Fuck, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.
“I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought it’d be good for us all to-to get to know each other easier, spend time together.”
“Are you asking us to move in with you?”
Her voice comes out muffled since her face is pressed against my chest and I can’t help but chuckle, kissing the top of her head.
“Pretty much, Pretty Girl. I think it’d help us all,” I murmur to her, burying my nose in her hair and breathing her in.
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. We have plenty of room for everyone, and there’s a special nest we built a few years ago when we were building the house that I think you’d love. It’s actually not inside the house, but in its own separate space. You can decorate it however you want or bring your things from here with you. It’s a blank canvas inside, and I, for one, would love nothing more than to see it finally made up with an omega’s touch.”
She pulls back slightly and peeks up at me, nibbling on her bottom lip and looking ridiculously adorable despite her tear streaked cheeks and red nose and eyes.
“Do you have a picture?” she asks, her voice soft and slightly hoarse from her crying.
I nod and dig into my back pocket for my phone, pulling it around and opening my pictures. Since I only documented it after its completion, I have to scroll through several years of photos to find one. It’s sat untouched since the moment it was finished, untouched byanyof us. We never even let Elise in there, not that she seemed too impressed by it when we pointed it out to her the one and only time she came to our house.
Will Cozy like it? Will she like the home we built with her in mind?
Finally, I find them and eagerly turn the phone for her to see, handing it over. Her reaction is immediate as she lays eyes on the picture, letting out a gasp and wriggling in my grasp. She sits up on her knees, swiftly swiping through the pictures with wide, sparkling eyes.
“This is… beautiful,” she breathes out, hands shaking. “The ceiling is like a giant skylight. Oh, it’s so lovely. You built this?”
Connected by a meandering stepping stone walkway, the nest door is guarded by a grand tower structure on the right side of the house. It’s constructed entirely from oak, untouched by paint and left in its raw, natural form. Surrounding it, flower beds encircle the ground, with a multitude of bright flowers my mother helped us plant. Inside, there’s a small entryway and a wide, winding staircase that leads up to the nesting area. Behind the stairs, there’s a small kitchenette with a mid-sized refrigerator, a sink, and enough counter space for a toaster oven to heat up food during heats. The stairs lead up to the nest, where a simple, foam-covered floor dominates the majority of the area. A decently sized bathroom, featuring a walk-in shower, is conveniently located to the right. When you’re inside, the vaulted ceiling, reminiscent of a tower, is mostly composed of thick glass, offering uninterrupted views of the sky.
After seeing the way her room here is decorated, I can’t help but think it’s fate that we built the nest the way we did. Idon’t even remember what gave us the idea to build the nest in an entirely separate building, to give it the look of a tower or lighthouse, depending on who’s looking at it. I just remember feeling incredibly proud of the structure once it was complete and how optimistic I was that our future omega would love it.
“We all did. We saw it as an opportunity to strengthen our bond as a pack, and since we knew the nest needed to be perfect, we handled it ourselves to guarantee perfection. We built the house, too, though we did have help with that to get it up faster. The fact that Manny owns his own construction company made the project a lot more feasible.”
I sit up, and her hand drops to her lap as she looks at me. Her hair is a mess and her face is splotchy, nose and eyes red, but she’s still so beautiful that it hurts. My heart is in my throat as I wait to see what she’ll decide. If she’ll give this an honest chance and come stay with us.
She glances over at Micah and then Jeremiah, nibbling on her lip.
“What do you think?” she asks them, showing me how important they are to her.
“Wherever you go, I follow, Dove. It’s up to you,” Jeremiah tells her, his features softening as he looks down at her with a soft smile.
“It’s not a bad idea, and it might help you feel more secure with us all around so you don’t have the chance to keep second guessing anyone’s intentions. I’m with Jeremiah. Where you go, I’ll follow, Firefly.”
She looks over at the door where Manny and Zeke are still standing outside, shifting on their feet.
“Okay,” she murmurs, and I can’t stop myself from reaching forward and grabbing her, pulling her into my chest and gripping her cheeks.
Before I do what I’ve been craving to do since the moment I laid eyes on her, I let her see my intentions in my eyes so she can pull away if she wants to. When she doesn’t, I crash my lips to hers and groan at how soft they feel against mine. She whimpers when I let my tongue slip out and run across the seam of her lips before nipping that bottom lip she’s been abusing and pulling back with a smile.
I watch as a blush colors her cheeks, which brings a lighthearted chuckle from me. But when she smiles back, it’s as if all the pieces of my life finally click into place.
I can’t wait to take her home with us.
Twenty-Seven
Cozette
The sensation of the cold water hitting my face is invigorating and helps to cool my flushed skin. I quickly grab the hand towel from its place and carefully pat my cheeks dry, taking a moment to study my reflection in the mirror.