(Matthew’s POV)

I gently cupped Olivia’s face and replied softly, “It tickles.”

Olivia, trying tofort me, added in a soft voice, “It doesn’t hurt when I get bitten, it’s just a little itchy.”

I could feel that she was slowly, step by step, walking towards me. I should have been overjoyed, but my heart ached with worry.

I feared that if she were frightened again, it might trigger her heart condition, and I wasn’t prepared for that. Yet, I refused to control her freedom.

She was not a canary in a cage; she was her own person.

My hand moved to the buttons of her hospital gown. Olivia was slightly taken aback but didn’t stop me.

He leads me back upstairs, one arm around my waist, steadying me when my knees wobble. I expect the others to have retreated to their own rooms for the night. Instead, the sight that greets me makes me stop in the doorway, my throat tightening.

Parker’s bed has been dragged into Ryder’s room and pushed up against his. The sheets pull tight, nkets spread across both mattresses, and pillows pile high, forming a makeshift nest that takes up most of the space. Ryder is leaning against the wall, his arms folded, with a small grin on his face. Remy sits on the corner of the bed with a smirk, and Parker is fussing with the pillows. I bet he’s rearranged them three times already, trying to make sure they’re perfect.

Ryder pushes off the wall. “We thought we should all stay close to you tonight.”

Parker nces up, smiling sheepishly. “So we made you a bed big enough for all of us. Just for tonight.”

“Or,” Remy adds, still smirking, “longer, if you want it to be.”

My heart swells so full it aches. “You did this… for me?”

“For all of us,” Callen corrects gently, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

I let them guide me into the bed, the mattress sinking beneath ourbined weight as, one by one, they wrap around me. Ryder and Callen sandwich me between them. Remy curls around Callen, reaching over toce his fingers with mine. Parker crawls up to lie on his side between my legs, using my stomach as a pillow. The heat of them surrounds me, my mates warmer than any nket.

I listen to the steady rhythm of their breathing, the low murmur of their voices as they quietly discuss the possibility of a permanent arrangement. They talk about moving furniture, knocking down walls, and custom–made beds. I don’t offer any suggestions, too exhausted to even speak.

I smile, feelingpletely content surrounded by the only ce that’s ever felt like home since I lost my parents… right here, in the arms of my mates.

I don’t fight the pull of sleep as it takes me. Thest thing I hear is Ryder’s low voice. “We’ll figure it out. Whatever it takes, we’ll do it. She deserves to fall asleep knowing she’ll never wake up alone again.”

I wake up buried under a tangle of limbs, heat, and way too many heavy bodies. For a second, I panic, thinking someone has caught me in some kind of restraint. Then I realise it’s just my mates. My veryrge, very warm, very sprawled–out mates.

Ryder’s chest is pressed against my back, his arm hooked protectively around my waist. Callen’s leg is slung over both of ours like he’s physically trying to pin me to the bed. Somewhere near my feet, I feel Parker, and Remy has somehow imed the entire top half of the bed, stretched out like a smug king across the pillows.

They’vepletely boxed me in. It’s a miracle I can breathe at all.

I try to wiggle free, but Ryder growls in his sleep and tightens his grip. “Mine,” he mutters, low and possessive.

A snort escapes me before I can stop it. “Yes, big bad Alpha, I’m yours. But unless you want me to suffocate, you’re going to have to let me up at some point for air.”

Callen cracks one eye open from his side of the bed, his voice groggy with sleep. “Good luck with that. Ryder doesn’t share well before breakfast, not even air.”

“Neither do you,” Remy grumbles.

“Excuse me,” I whisper too loudly, trying not tough. “You’re all smothering me. Someone is going to have to make the ultimate sacrifice and roll away.”

“Not it,” Parker mumbles, without opening his eyes.

Iugh at the stubbornness of them all, and Ryder finally stirs, pressing a kiss into the back of my neck. “Fine,” he growls. “But only because I don’t want my mate passing out before I’ve had the chance to kiss her properly this morning.”

He pushes Callen back before he rolls away, which makes Callen swear and Parker chuckle. I sit up, my hair sticking out in about twenty directions, and feel the room tilt slightly. My muscles ache in ways that make heat flood my cheeks when I remember why.

Callen looks at me and smirks. “Blushing already? Goddess, you’re adorable.”

I throw a pillow at his face. He catches it effortlessly,ughing.

Breakfast ends up being chaotic in the best way. Jaxon wakes up requesting pancakes, and suddenly all four men are in the kitchen like it’s some kind ofpetition. Ryder insists on making the batter, and Parker hovers like a watchdog to make sure he does it right. Callen. flips pancakes with ridiculous ir, nearly hitting the ceiling at one point. Remy just leans against the counter with coffee, pretending he’s not interested, while secretly stealing bites off Jaxon’s te whenever he thinks no one is looking.

“Remy!” Jaxon squeals, swatting at his hand. “Those are mine!”

Remy ruffles his hair before popping another stolen strawberry into his mouth. “They were yours,” he teases.

Jaxon gasps, but his eyes twinkle with amusement, and Ryder growls at Remy while Callen mutters about bad examples. Parker just shakes his head and slides another pancake onto Jaxon’s te like it’s no big deal. I sit at the table, chin propped on my hand, watching them all with a stupid smile on my face. My little boy is glowing with happiness,ughing so hard he nearly chokes on his orange juice, and my chest swells so much it almost hurts. This is exactly what I’ve been craving for me and Jax. A real family, stability and love.

Ryder’s phone buzzes on the counter, and he grabs it. He nces at the screen, then his entire body goes rigid.