Avery’s arms tightened a fraction, and I startled, nearly forgetting he was holding me before I relaxed again into his warmth. It didn’t feel strange for him to hold me like this, despite only meeting him today. “For us, courting is more than just giving you gifts and asking the basic questions, though we want that too. But we want you to feel what it would be like to be in our pack and belong to us the way we would belong to you.”

Those words hit me in the gut, along with the same emotion I felt when they told me they wanted to court me in the first place. I closed my eyes so they couldn’t see how much I wanted it because it felt too vulnerable.

“Stay here with us if you like. Make this place your own. There are more important things than paint and cushions. Hell, if you want to paint your room every week, we’ll do it. But you don’t have to worry about something not being yours yet.”

I swore my perfume got stronger after hearing those words. This was all so fast, and it was too good to be true. It had to be, right?

“Just think about it,” he said gently. “We’re not going to force you. But know it’s where we stand.”

Glancing at the other pack members, I saw no signs of disagreement. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Avery said, releasing me and turning me around. “Now, are you a pizza girl? We were thinking pizza and a movie. Something we can talk over if we need to.”

I laughed, appreciating the lighter topic. “Definitely a pizza girl. Meat lovers, cheese, whatever. No pineapple for me.”

“Good to know.”

I trailed behind them and looked back at the nest one more time before the lights flicked off. I’d never let myself imagine a nest. When my heats came I took the dampeners and holed up in my bedroom, just trying to get through them. Now I was afraid all I would see was the perfection of the nest behind me.

The guys were already halfway down the stairs, but Wes was with me. “What do you think?”

He looked surprised I asked, but Wes had been with my family for more than half my life. He knew me well, and his opinion mattered. “I think it’s a beautiful house.”

My heart started to sink, and then he continued.

“And I think even if these men lived in a dumpster I would have a hard time telling you to say no. You can’t see the way they look at you, but I can.”

“They don’t know me.”