“Mmmm,”I groan with frustration as my stomach cramps, making me wince, and then gasp as reality comes crashing in. The pain, combined with the powerful concoction ofpheromones filling my lungs, has a little bit of clarity returning to my foggy mind.
“Oh shit, guys, I’m going into heat!” I announce, clutching my abdomen.
It’s comical, the way three sets of eyes snap to me, wide, shocked, and—are they annoyed?
“Yeah, we figured that out, Little Omega. Thank you,” Nick snarks, and I lift a brow at him.
Is this his first day as an alpha? He’s sassing an omega? At a time like this? Very brave of him. The look I give him is enough to counter that attitude of his, because he huffs, crosses his arms over his chest, and steps away from the other two. I can see him pacing in front of the door, and I snort.
“Anyway, we’ve got like maybe an hour before I’m full-on feral,” I inform them with a sigh, glancing between Benson and Kai. “What?” I ask; they’re both just staring at me. After everything, I’m pretty confident that they aren’t about to abandon me, but they’re making me nervous. “You’re not going to leave, right?” I ask just to be sure.
“What? Benson’s face morphs from concerned to completely offended. “Why would we leave you, Plum?No. None of us are going anywhere.”
“Okay.” I nod, letting out a relieved breath. “Then why are you looking at me like this the first time you’ve ever heard of an omega going into heat?”
“When was your last heat, baby?” Kai asks very gently as he gets down on one knee, leaning forward to rest an elbow on his bent leg. He pushes a stray strand of hair behind my ear. The light caress makes me shiver, but I pull back.
“Uh, technically August.” I clear my throat. “Why?” I don’t like where these questions are going.
“What do you meantechnically?” Benson tilts his head, stepping further into the closet now that Kai isn’t blocking him,and crosses his big arms, assessing me with a critical look I don’t appreciate. I look away from him, but Kai’s concerned face isn’t much better.
“It was unfulfilled,” I say quietly, looking away from them both to stare at the floor.
“Because you suppressed it? Or because you spent it alone.” Nick reappears in the doorway. “Your scent is…” he grunts, and I risk a look his way. He looks concerned and grumpy all at once. Alphas and their pushy questions. “Your scent is incredibly overpowering. I can feel it pushing me into a rut. So we need to know, was it unfulfilled because?—"
“Suppressed,” I cut him off but shrug, like it’s no big deal that I’ve suppressed every heat I’ve had except one. Like I’m not hanging on by a thread right now.
“When did you last have an unsuppressed heat?” Kai asks, and I wince. Glancing behind me, I grab the shirt I stole from him when we were eighteen. Holding it to my chest, I take a deep breath and meet his eyes. He looks from me to the shirt, mouth popping open as he sucks in a ragged breath when he recognizes it.
“Just after you left,” I admit weakly, but as much as I don’t want to, I need to be honest. “It was hell.” His expression crumbles, his scent is full of pain as his eyes fall shut, and I have to look away. Needing their strength to say the rest, I look up at Benson and Nick. They need to know how bad this heat could get and why I did what I did. “I was broken-hearted and alone. I didn’t know it was coming until much too late. I didn’t even fully understand what happened until after. It was just two days of constant pain and endless tears. I remember begging—” I trail off, voice breaking. I bite my lip, trying to keep the final confession in, but Kai shakes his head.
“Let it out, Plumshine.” Kai’s encouragement, and the way he takes my hand in his, helps me force the words out.
“I remember begging for Kai to end the pain,” I whisper, a few tears escaping as I blink.
“Fuck, Plum. I’m so fucking sorry.” Kai moves onto both knees and pulls me into his arms. “I’m a fucking asshole. The worst fucking asshole.” Kai shifts us so he’s sitting on the floor and gathers me against his chest, so I’m sideways, as he leans back against the wall, cradling me as he holds me so tight. “I feel fucking horrible, Plum. If I could take it back right now, I would. I wish I could carry that pain for you instead. I would do anything...”
“I know,” I whisper, nuzzling into him, pressing my nose into his neck so I can breathe him in. Being wrapped up in his arms feels fucking wonderful. “It’s why I showed up to your apartment after Thanksgiving,” I admit, glancing over at the two alphas.
Mostly to make sure they aren’t contemplating homicide after hearing my confession. It’s hard to tell when they both look like they are trying really hard not to react. I’ll focus on them in a second.
I pat the beta’s chest so he’ll loosen his grip and move so I can look Kai in the eyes.
“If you knew I was suffering alone in my room, crying out your name—if I had been able to tell you what was happening, you never would've let me suffer like that. But I couldn’t call you, and you didn’t know. You never knew,” I say, as his eyes turn red. “You’re not a bad man. You made a mistake without knowing the cost we’d all pay for it.”
“I would have dropped everything and spent every dollar I had to get back to you and end your pain,” Kai vows, holding my gaze as he searches my eyes. He leans forward to press his forehead against mine. For a moment, we stay like that, until I pull away.
“We were both young, and some of us were dumb,” I tease, making him smile with me. “And you made a really shittymistake, but you aren’t, and never were, a cruel or heartless man.”
“Do you forgive him, Omega?” Nick asks, his voice strained. He looks ready to attack if I say no.
“I do forgive him,” I tell them honestly, biting my lip before adding, “But that doesn’t mean he can’t find ways to make it up to me now…”
“Thank fuck.” Benson sighs, his shoulders slumping. “I really didn’t want to have to bury a body while you’re in heat. We’re already going to be exhausted enough as it is.”
“Fuck off,” Kai barks, flipping the alpha off, glaring when Benson smirks.
“He’s serious,” Nick adds with a shrug, calm and collected while discussing homicide.
