I cut him a glare because Iwasbreathing, and that was the fucking problem.
“She can’t sleep in the nest.” I grit out, nails digging into my jeans. “If she’s not marked by both of us, it’s not the place for her. We don’t need to stress Skye out right now.”
Thank God for our pregnant omega.
Serena’s fingers stilled in Violet’s hair. “Are you sure that’s for Skye? He and Violet seemed pretty content with each other earlier.”
“Yeah, but now he can feel everything she does.” I crossed my arms. “We don’t need them to be close enough to share nightmares. He’s in his second trimester; the pack’s baby is the number one concern.”
“Hate to admit it, but Vinny’s right.” Benji hummed as he rubbed his mark once more. “Skye’s always been sensitive; we can't risk her stressing him out.”
“Then where’s she supposed to sleep? I can’t hold her like this all night,” Serena snapped.
Violet shifted in her sleep at the sound, nuzzling deeper into Serena’s neck like the idea of being put down terrified her even unconsciously.
Lifting a shoulder, I silently ran through our options. The nest thing was more for me than Skye, if she wasn’t going to let me mark her, I wasn’t going to sleep in the same room as her. The last thing we needed was for me to bite her in my sleep. But… I wasn’t exactly tired right now, and I could go a bit without sleep.
“I’ll go to the store tomorrow and get the shit to turn the closet in my room into a makeshift nest for her.”
Serena blinked at me. “The closet?”
“She’ll feel safer in a small space,” I muttered. “Closed-in walls, no windows, nothing to freak her out. I’ll reinforce it, scent it down. It’ll be hers.”
If she panicked from being alone, Benji would probably wake up and go soothe her; it worked.
“Okay, but what about tonight?” Benji asked.
“Well, thanks to her–” I nodded toward Violet. “You’re both exhausted… I’ll take her.”
Benji eyed me for a beat. “You realize I can feel that was exactly what you wanted, right?”
I clenched my jaw. “That’s not why I’m doing it.”
“Mhm. Sure. You keep telling yourself that,” Benji snorted.
“Look, the quicker she warms up to me, the quicker I can mark her and—”
“Vinny, I swear to god if you mark her tonight—”
“I won’t bite her without permission!” I barked.
The room fell so silent I could hear Violet snoring against Serena.
“Just let me take her,” I said, softly. “I’ll hold her. That’s it. Nothing else. She’ll be safe.”
Serena hesitated for a moment, but the dark circles under her eyes gave her away.
She was exhausted.
Benji was exhausted.
No one in this house was in any state to watch over a traumatized omega, other than me.
“You’re no use to Violet like this,” I said, arms out. “Give her to me.”
Serena’s expression tightened, but then she sighed.
“Fine,” she whispered. “But if she wakes up scared—”