Page 279 of Claim Me
And along with that, something is simultaneously building inside me, more subtle, yet powerful.
At the edge of my awareness, I notice Gabriel briefly looking through the doorway before immediately backing away again. He doesn’t want to interrupt the process, and I appreciate that deeply, because I’m almost in a trance and simply cannot stop.
All of my omega nature finally rises fully to the surface like some beautiful multicolored fractal, saturating my soul while I build this nest. And I have to say it’s beautiful.
Strong, tall, safe…
I’m almost surprised by how much energy I still have. I gave birth this morning, yet somehow I’m still able to spend an entire hour weaving and reinforcing the nest, filling it up with my energy and pheromones.
I feel almost drunk with happiness and so unbelievably… free.
So it’s ready, a compact, safe circle around my child and around us, and the energy saturating it feels like it’s radiating through my entire life. I just know it is. There’s something extraordinary hidden inside the magic of omegas, the magic of nesting.
As I stand there admiring it, I suddenly notice Gabriel’s silhouette in the doorway again. This time he must’ve realized I finally finished.
I look at Gabriel and see that his eyes are red and his cheeks are wet with tears, and in that moment I understand even more clearly just how unbelievably much this meant to him.
The nest closed some emptiness inside him too, maybe even healed a pain he’d been carrying… for me.
And it did one more thing. It made memature.
Yes, the teen in me is no teen anymore. He grew up today, becoming of age, the protective fortress no longer necessary.
"He doesn't need it anymore," Gabriel whispers. He knows, he sees it.
"He’s an adult now," I whisper.
And with that I am too, finally ready to say the two words I once considered cheesy, except they aren’t like that at all, because they’re the absolute truth filling every part of me.
"I love you, Gabriel."
In two quick strides he’s already beside me, pulling me into his arms and holding me tightly against his chest.
We stand like this and he sobs and I sob… we are both free, we are both healed.
And unbelievably happy.
"Oh, Blue," he whispers, voice breaking, "Are you perfect at absolutely everything? Your very first nest and it’s a masterpiece! On top of that you picked the perfect moment to say those words…"
"A bit cheesy?"
"Beautifully cheesy!"
I tilt my face up and he lowers his toward mine, kissing my forehead softly first, then my cheeks, and finally my lips in a gentle kiss.
"I’m healed," I whisper. "I don’t feel that wound inside me anymore. That sixteen-year-old boy inside me, the one from whom something was taken, the one who had his choices stolen away, he… became me."
Gabriel only pulls me tighter against his chest in response.
"I know, you and him are one now, integrated. Again."
I close my eyes, feeling so good, so safe surrounded by the sound of his heartbeat, but a moment later I hear a soft noise coming from our son.
"I think he’s hungry," I murmur quietly.
"I’d very much like to watch him eat," Gabriel says, gently brushing the tip of my nose with his finger.
Holding hands, we walk toward the bed, where little Cyan is impatiently kicking his legs.
