"Go to him." His voice was encouraging, supportive, his green eyes warm as they met mine. "He needs you. And I think... I think you need him too."
I found Reid's door at the end of the hallway. Even from feet away, I could feel the heat radiating from the room, could smellhis scent — sharp and heady and overwhelming, making my head spin. My Omega stirred in my chest, drawn to him like a moth to flame, every instinct urging me closer.
I knocked softly, my heart pounding against my ribs, my knuckles rapping gently against the wood.
"Reid?" My voice came out steadier than I felt, my hand pressed flat against the warm wood, my body leaning toward the door. "It's me. Can I come in?"
A long pause. Then a sound — something between a groan and a growl, rough and desperate, muffled by the door.
"No." His voice was strained, wrecked, barely recognizable, the word forced out through gritted teeth, his breath audibly harsh even through the barrier. "Aster, you need to leave. Go back to the others. Stay away from me until this passes."
"Nolan told me what's happening." I kept my voice calm, even, my palm still pressed to the door, feeling the heat seeping through the wood. "I know about the rut. I understand."
"Then you understand why you need to go." A thud — his fist hitting the wall, maybe, or his body slumping against the door, his voice cracking with strain. "I can't control it, Aster. I can barely control it now, and it hasn't even hit full force yet. If you come in here, if I touch you?—"
"What if I want you to touch me?" My voice was soft but certain, my forehead pressing against the door, my eyes closing as I spoke.
Silence. Complete, deafening silence.
"You don't know what you're saying." His voice came out ragged, broken, desperate, his breathing harsh and uneven through the door. "This isn't like before. This isn't gentle. During rut, I'm not... I'm not myself. I'm something else. Something primal. Something that only knows how to take and claim and?—"
"And protect." I cut him off, my voice fierce, my hand pressing harder against the door. "And care for. And cherish.That's what Nolan said. That even during rut, your deepest instinct is to take care of your Omega."
"Aster—" His voice was strangled, desperate, pleading.
"I'm not afraid of you, Reid." I pressed my forehead against the door, wishing I could see him, wishing I could touch him, my voice softening with love. "I've never been afraid of you. Not from the first moment you found me in that barn. And I'm not going to start now."
"I don't want to hurt you." The words came out broken, anguished, carrying the weight of every fear he'd ever had about himself, his voice cracking on each syllable. "I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you."
"You won't." My voice was soft now, certain, filled with trust. "I trust you, Reid. I trust you with my body and my heart and everything I am. I'm not leaving you to suffer alone when I can help. When I want to help."
"Why?" The question was barely a whisper, raw and vulnerable, his voice breaking on the single word.
"Because I love you." The words came easily now, flowing from somewhere deep in my chest, my voice warm and certain. "Because you're mine just like I'm yours. Because leaving you alone right now goes against every instinct I have." I smiled against the door, even though he couldn't see it, my lips curving up. "Apparently my Omega has chosen you too."
Another long silence. Then the sound of movement — footsteps approaching the door, a hand pressing against the wood from the other side.
"Last chance." His voice was rough, strained, but some of the despair had faded, replaced by something that sounded almost like hope, his palm pressing against the door to mirror mine. "Once you come through this door, I won't be able to stop. Not until it's done. Not until we're done."
I reached for the handle, my fingers curling around the metal, my heart pounding in my chest.
"Then don't stop." I turned the knob, pushed the door open, stepped into the furnace heat of his room, my eyes finding his immediately. "I'm yours, Reid. Take what you need."
He was standing just inside the door, shirtless, his skin slicked with sweat, his muscles taut and trembling. His dark eyes were wild when they met mine — desperate and burning and so full of need it stole my breath.
"Aster." My name was a prayer and a warning and a promise all at once, his voice rough and broken, his whole body shaking with restraint.
"I'm here." I reached for him, my hand cupping his burning face, my thumb tracing the line of his jaw, my voice soft and steady. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. We're going to do this together."
His control snapped and I let him catch me when I fell.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
ASTER
His control snapped. One moment he was standing there, trembling with restraint, and the next his hands were on me — grabbing, pulling, claiming. His mouth crashed into mine with bruising intensity, all teeth and tongue and desperate hunger, and I tasted salt and need and something wild that made my head spin.
He walked me backward without breaking the kiss, his hands already tearing at my clothes, fingers fumbling with buttons before giving up and simply ripping. The sound of fabric tearing filled the room, and I gasped against his mouth as cool air hit my heated skin.
