2
Hector
Iknewwhat was happening before Virgil did. My skin crawled, electric and sensitive. The pit of my stomach ached with warmth and desire, needing release. With everything that was going on, this was the worst possible time to come into heat, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. If only I could sit down and have a chat with my biology - maybe tell it to fuck off for a little bit while Virgil and I, you know, saved the pack andallthat.
Still, I had to wonder if Virgil’s presence had something to do with it. When I was living alone as an exile and rarely came into contact with anyone, my heats were often staggered and easier to manage. They still sucked - being non-stop horny and having to jerk off relentlessly in the middle of the woods isn’t as fun as it sounds - but at least I could dealwiththem.
But this? This felt like the calm before a raging storm. Every breath I inhaled within five feet of Virgil was like breathing in fire. Every time he spoke, a chill ran down my spine. His gaze in my direction sent me internally reeling, like I would crumble and collapse. Even just thinking about him right now made meshudder.
Stupid sexyalpha.
My mind wandered to our current dilemma - namely, the fate of Scarlet Ridge pack. Personally, I was content to ditch this place and never look back. I had nothing but bad memories here, the worst of which involved being nearly killed for failing a mission - a situation I’d narrowly escaped due to Virgil’sintervention.
But I knew that wouldn’t solve anything. It was selfish to only think about myself. How many omegas had suffered because of Gunner? Charlie, Niko, Wesley, and even Mason, the omega that I’d helped escapemonthsago.
I thought back to that night where I’d spotted Mason being bullied by those alphas and knew I had to do something. It was pure luck that I’d been closer to town that night, and thankfully was still taking the pills to disguise my scent as an alpha’s. It was even greater luck that I still owned the old key to unlock the omega collars, a contraption I founddespicable.
No… Maybe it wasn’t luck at all. Maybe I had some kind of greater destiny to help the omegas of this pack, to make sure nobody else ended up like me. Like any of the Indigo Mountain omegas who escaped. This life of unfairness had to stop, and somebody had to be willing to take thefirststep.
I sighed. I guessed that was part of the reason I liked Virgil so much. Stupid noble go-getter.
Then, thinking of the way he’d brushed off my blatant request for sex, I growled in frustration.Stupid noble go-getter.
I took stock of my surroundings. Nobody was around. We were in the middle of nowhere, a place that most Scarlet Ridge wolves probably didn’t even know existed among the territory. Even if the scent of my budding heat carried, it should dissipate and fade out before it reached any prying alpha’snoses.
Except the one alpha Iwantto notice me,I thoughtmiserably.
The gnarled knot of building tension below my stomach made me groan out loud. It was becoming too intense to ignore. I needed some kind of release, and I neededitnow.
Choosing a secluded spot behind the thick trunk of a tree, I slid down to sit on the ground and let my hand snake to the front of my pants. I bit my lip and grasped myself. My cock was already half-hard just from doing nothing, thanks to myuselessheat.
But as I touched myself - frustrated and annoyed - I discovered it was useless. A quick jerk off session under a tree wasn’t what I wanted. What Ineeded.
What my body really craved was an alpha’s knot. And I knew exactly where I couldfindone.
Hissing with irritation, I got up and skulked back to the cabin. I was not above begging on my hands and knees to get what Ineeded.
When I pushed the door open again, Virgil eyed me withsurprise.
“Back so soon?” he asked. But after he spoke, his brows raised slightly in surprise. I watched the realization dawn across his face. The scent of my heat carried with my arrival, stronger than before. If he didn’t realize I was coming into heat before I left, he was definitely aware ofitnow.
I tried to hold back a smirk as I watched him swallowvisibly.
“Yeah, I came back. I couldn’t concentrate out there by myself,”Isaid.
He didn’t blink as he watched me cross the small room. “Concentrateon…?”
“Jacking off,” I said with ashrug.
His brows lowered for a moment as he sighed. I expected him to chide me for my crude language, but instead he only said, “Isee.”
“You don’t have anything to say about that?” Igoaded.
He only stared back, his expression cool and unreadable, like the raven that he could shift into. “Notparticularly.”
I growled, frustrated. “Come on, Virgil. Don’t tell me you can’tsmellthat.”
By now, because of both sexual and emotional arousal, the scent of my heat flared. It was heady, rich, and any other alpha would be tripping over himself trying to stick his dick in me at this point. Except the only one I gave a shit about,apparently.
