Jalen is quiet, sitting on the window seat and staring out at the darkening ocean. He’s been quiet since we arrived, which isn’t unusual. Jalen’s always been the quiet observer in our pack. But there’s something tense in his shoulders.
“You okay?” I ask him.
He doesn’t answer immediately. Then: “Did she seem... off to you?”
“Off how?” Malik looks up from his bag.
“I don’t know. Flushed. Jumpy. Her scent was...” He trails off, frowning.
“Her scent was what?” Dax has stopped pacing.
“Sweet,” Jalen says finally. “Warm. Like...” He shakes his head. “Never mind.”
But I’m already putting the pieces together. The flushed skin. The stress baking. The way she claimed the master bedroom immediately, the territorial edge to her voice.
“Oh shit,” I say, sitting upright.
Three pairs of eyes turn to me.
“She’s going into heat.”
Silence.
Then Dax starts pacing again, faster this time. “No. No, no, no. This is not happening.”
“It makes sense,” Malik says slowly, and I can practically see his analytical brain working through the evidence. “The private rental. The week off. The defensiveness about needing space.”
“The stress baking,” I add. “That’s textbook pre-heat behavior.”
“So, what do we do?” Jalen asks.
“We leave,” Dax says immediately. “First thing tomorrow, storm or no storm. We are not staying in a house with an omega in heat.”
“The weather report said the storm is getting worse.” Malik pulls out his phone, scrolling. “Hurricane-force winds expected. Coastal flooding. They’re already talking about road closures.”
“How long?” I ask, though I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know the answer.
“Three to four days minimum before it’s safe to travel.”
“Perfect,” Dax says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Just perfect. We’re going to be stuck in a beach house with Sierra Smith while she goes into heat during a major storm. Is there anything else that can go wrong?”
As if in answer, the lights flicker.
“Don’t,” Malik warns. “Don’t even joke about?—”
The lights flicker again, then hold.
Malik glances at the woven fixture, frowning. “We should charge our devices while we can.”
“We should also talk to her,” Jalen says. “Make sure she knows we know. Make sure she’s... prepared.”
“Prepared for what?” Dax asks. “It’s not like we can do anything about it. She’s not our omega. She doesn’t even like us.”
“She should still know that we’re aware of the situation,” Malik says. “So we can all make informed decisions about how to handle the next few days.”
“Who’s going to tell her?” Jalen asks.
We all look at each other.
