“So I suppose today we’re staying inside and watching movies?” Miles suggests.
“Yes,” Santo says, stretching his legs in front of him. “We’ve walked so much, my muscles are complaining.”
“You need more exercise,” Miles teases him. Santo goes for runs and works out. He rubs his middle finger over his cheek, leaving Miles to chuckle.
I listen to them talk and let myself drift off for a nap. The rain makes the perfect backdrop for a lazy day.
MILES
“There’s something wrong,” I mutter, watching as Caelia tosses something out the bedroom door.
She went in there earlier, and yelled at me to give her some space when I went to check on her. I’ve never seen her like this before.
Caelia begins to cry, and Levon, Santo, and I stiffen in worry. I can feel a million emotions coming from her through the bond. She feels unsettled and confused.
When she whines, I jump up and start walking before I even recognize that it’s happening.
“Miles,” Santo hisses. Turning, I glare at him, and he gives me an understanding nod. “Askif you can come into the room. I’m getting this odd vibe that it’ll be really important to her.”
“She’s nesting,” I mutter. Of course. “Fuck’s sake. I’m an idiot.”
“No you’re not,” Levon says, his hands fisted to keep himself seated. “All I can smell is her scent. You need to get her to let us in to help her.”
Nodding, I keep walking until I’m at the entrance. The curtains are all drawn, and she’s pulled out all of our clothing to hide them under the blankets. The huge canopy over the bed is almost completely closed, but I can see her in there fixing things. The room is dark as it continues to rain, and our bags are empty of our belongings.
It’s clear to me what she’s doing. Our omega is making her nest. Inhaling deeply, I stifle a groan as I’m hit with a thick cloud of her cherry scent. Caelia gasps out a cry that tears at my heart, solidifying that it’s beyond simply nesting.
She’s in heat.
“Caelia, please let me in,” I rasp, struggling not to take another step. “Baby.”
“Nothing is right,” she sobs.
“How isn’t it right?” I ask. “Maybe I can help?”
“The scents,” she whines. “It’s not right and Ihurt.”
“Maybe your alphas can help you with the scents,” I suggest. “We just did laundry last night. They may not be strong enough.”
None of us had planned to stay with her this week, which meant we were out of clothes. Everything is clean. Not only that, we’re in a rental property where our scents haven’t had time to soak into anything either.
The laundry detergent is scentless as well due to a nod to any sensitivities, making our clothestooclean. All of this hits me likea hockey puck, and I know exactly why our omega is suffering, even outside of her heat hitting her.
“We washed the clothes,” she breathes, making a keening sound.
As if she called her other alphas, I can feel the heat of their bodies at my back.
“Baby, can we come in?” I ask. “We’ll fix it. I promise.”
Caelia sticks her head out of the canopy, her dark hair tangled, and her hazel eyes wet. She’s not doing well, and has been hiding it as long as possible. I want to scream with how useless I feel, but I don’t think she realized what was happening either.
This is her first heat.
“I don’t feel good,” she whimpers.
Santo mutters a curse and pushes me out of the way, grabbing a trash can in time to shove her face as she begins to dry heave. It’s late in the afternoon, and she hasn’t had much to eat today.
“She’s not sick,” Levon whispers under his breath.
