Guilt slashes through me as my heart sinks. After everything I promised myself, I still can’t change who I am.
“It’s okay, I—” I reach out to her, but she edges back. Even I can tell she’s forcing her smile.
“I think the three of us have a lot to talk about. It’ll be easier to do when I’m not so horny that I’m going to explode if I don’t get out of here.”
“Then let us help you,” Kane says. She throws a look over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes at him.
“No. We both know exactly where you’re going with it. And I’m not letting you off for springing this on us just because we got hot and heavy. You need to stop all that talk about being a pack. I’ve just met Timber, and I barely know you.”
“But you can get to know us. We’re not going anywhere,” he purrs, running his hand up her arms, and she swats him away.
“Stay down, boy. I’ll deal with you later.”
“Oh, I love it when you get bossy.”
A growl rumbles from her, which turns me on even more before she looks back to me.
“I’ll come and see you, okay? Just not now. Luke says you’ll be away, and I have some things I need to sort out first.”
“You mean like your heat?” Kane asks, and my heart suddenly crashes to the floor.
Her scared look morphs into a scowl instantly as she arches her neck to look at Kane.
“I can’t fucking believe you,” she mutters.
“W-What…?” My eyes widen as shock rips through me. “What do you mean by ‘your heat’?”
Kane gives me a serious look over her shoulder. I can tell he wants backup, but what right do I have to tell her there is not a single chance in hell my omega is going into heat without me?
“Can I mention again thatwe don’t know each other?” she says as she pokes his arm. “No matter how many times we’ve hooked up, we’re still strangers.”
“We’re less strangers than any alpha you’re planning to hire,” he says as he glides over so we stand side-by-side.
“I have regulars. And you’re away when my heat is due, so it’s none of your business.”
“It is our fucking business,” I cut in. Like it is with Luke, the thought of her fucking any other person isn’t on. Especially if it’s the alphas she’s with for every other one of her heats. Who knows how they feel about each other?
Ollie swallows hard enough that her throat bobs before looking at Kane. “Why did you tell him? You know why I can’t.”
Another buzz of understanding weaves between them, and I want to demand they tell me what’s going on.
“Whatever it is, fuck it,” I growl as I reach for her. This time, she lets me take her hand, and she instantly grips me. “We won’t let you go through it alone.”
Her eyes flutter, and I know it’s wrong for my cock to twitch when we’re talking, but they’ve blue-balled me, and the fact that her heat is coming…
She lifts her head with a determined look. “It’s really nice to meet you, Timber. In more ways than one,” she says as she glances down at my cock. I resist the urge to cover myself because I want her to see what she does to me.
“Kane, you have my number. Maybe we can talk later so that this doesn’t become messier than it already is?”
He gives her a hard nod. She drops my hand, and Kane quickly replaces it with his own. I can’t tell which of us needs it more as my fingers dig into his.
She leaves as quickly as she arrived, and Kane keeps a firm hold on me, like he thinks I’m going to chase after her when everything is so fucked up that I can’t tell what just happened.
“Are we just going to let her go?” I ask when she finally vanishes, and all the tastes and scents that plagued me fade.
It’s the question I’ve asked myself all week about Luke.
“Yeah, see, that’s the thing about Ollie. If you try to stop her or tell her to do something she doesn’t want, she’ll bolt. It’s better she ends it on her terms rather than feeling like she needs to escape from us.”
