“More than safe.” Kai cups his good hand and dips it into the water. “This is the water used in the designation ceremony. Every child born in Heat Mountain will drink from this pool when they’re still young enough that they haven’t presented yet.”
He lifts his hand, the water in his palm glowing softly. “Try it,” he urges. “Just a sip.”
I hesitate. “I’ve already presented as an omega.”
“Just trust me. Try it.”
Something in his expression, so earnest and open, convinces me. I cup my hands as he did and dip them into the pool. The water is surprisingly warm—not hot like the springs, but like sun-warmed silk against my skin. I lift my hands to my lips and take a small sip.
The effect is immediate and astonishing. Warmth blooms in my chest and radiates outward, flowing through my limbs like honey. My omega senses—normally dulled by years of suppressants—suddenly sharpen. I can smell Kai’s alpha scent with perfect clarity—freshly fallen snow and wintergreen.
An overwhelming urge to curl up in a nest with all three of them washes over me. To be surrounded by their scents, their bodies, their protection. To be claimed and cherished and kept.
I gasp, shaking my head to clear it. The feeling recedes slowly, like a tide pulling back from shore, but doesn’t disappear entirely.
“What the hell was that?” My voice sounds strange to my own ears, higher and softer.
“The water does something to you, enhances whatever parts of your dynamic are there,” Kai explains, watching me carefully. “For alphas and omegas, it strengthens their connection to their instincts.”
I blink at him, still processing the lingering warmth in my veins. “Supposed to?”
He sighs, looking down at the shimmering water. “I moved here when I was sixteen, after my parents died. I’d already presented as an alpha by then.” His fingers trail through the water’s surface, creating ripples that distort our reflections. “Everyone said I should drink from the spring anyway—that it would strengthen my alpha traits. Make me more... alpha-like.”
“And it didn’t work?” I ask gently.
“Oh, it worked. For about twenty minutes, I felt like every alpha stereotype rolled into one—aggressive, dominant, territorial.” His mouth twists. “And I hated it. It didn’t feel like me. It felt like wearing someone else’s skin.”
I remember the bottle of Alphastat in his bathroom. “So you started taking the blockers.”
“It was easier,” he admits. “Easier than trying to measure up to what everyone expected an alpha to be. Easier than explaining that I don’t want to be that kind of alpha.” He gestures vaguely. “The kind that dominates rooms and takes what they want and fights for status.”
“So what kind of alpha do you want to be?” I ask.
He looks up at me, his expression surprisingly vulnerable in the moonlight. “The kind that takes care of people. That makes them feel safe and happy. That’s what feels right to me.”
I study him for a long moment. This beautiful man who makes breakfast for everyone in the house. Who remembers how I like my coffee. Who defuses tensions between Noah and Grayson with well-timed jokes. Who made a heat suite in hishome just in case an omega that he hadn’t even met yet ever needed it.
“Sounds pretty much exactly like a good alpha to me,” I say firmly.
He snorts. “Not according to anyone around here.”
“That’s bullshit.”
Kai’s head snaps up, his eyes widening at my tone. “Sorry?”
“Complete and utter bullshit,” I continue, surprising myself with my vehemence. “Who decided there’s only one way to be an alpha? One acceptable expression of alpha traits?”
“Society? Biology?” He shrugs, but I can see I’ve caught his attention. “Every alpha asshole who ever bullied me on the playground. I don’t know.”
“The same society that says omegas are too emotional and unstable to be doctors?” I challenge. “The same biology that supposedly makes us incapable of rational thought during heat?”
A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Point taken.”
“You’re an incredible alpha, Kai,” I say, softer now. “You protect your pack in your own way. You make sure everyone is fed and comfortable. You notice when someone’s upset and you fix it. That’s not less alpha—it’s just a different kind of strength.”
He stares at me for a long moment, something shifting in his expression. “You really believe that?”
“I do.” I reach out and take his uninjured hand. “And I think you should stop taking those blockers.”
