Grayson, now awake beside us, leans over and kisses my bare shoulder. "Where's the fun in that?"
I shoot him a glare. "Is there anything else sex-related I should know about?"
The guys exchange glances, making me nervous. I let out a frustrated groan. "Seriously? There is?"
"We'll need to talk about your heat soon," Orion says, pulling me down for another kiss.
"What's a heat?"
"It's like a fever for omegas. Makes you... need things. Nature's way of ensuring rare bloodlines continue. It happens—I'm not sure exactly—" Orion turns to Grayson who, unhelpfully, shrugs. "I think every few months or maybe once a year. We'll have to ask Doc."
"Why is everything about procreation with you people?" I gave them both a disgruntled huff and cross my arms against my chest. "And what exactly doesneed thingsmean?" I ask with quotations.
"I think, umm… I think you may have had one before. When you jumped off that cliff and knocked yourself out?"
The memory of that day in the diner comes flooding in. The way I sat there, confused and scared and irrationally fucking horny, the way Beep kept sayingheat. Before those wolves found me, who were undoubtedly far more aggressive than all the others. After I jumped off the cliff, I woke up on a muddy bank,but wasn't sure how much time had passed. Days, maybe. I still felt off, but not nearly as bad as when it started.
"That was a heat? So, what happens? Why—"
Grayson leans over to bite my shoulder, sending a shiver down my spine. "As soon as we get back, we'll explain the finer details, though I'm sure you can use your imagination till then," Grayson teases.
I shove him away and scramble off Orion's lap and out of the bed. "What happened to transparency?" I grit, yanking on my pants.
Grayson, unconcerned with offending me, saunters over and snatches my bra from my hands. He perches at the edge of the mattress and tugs me backward until I'm settled on his lap.
He casually toys with my nipple, fingertips gently brushing the sensitive bud before squeezing and flicking. Then his full palm kneads my breast, and a current runs through me at his touch, like he's stuck an electric prod inside me. My pussy clenches as he tweaks my nipple, making it impossible to focus while heat pools low in my belly.
"Stop using sex against my anger," I say weakly.
Of course, he carries on the conversation like I'm not trembling in his lap, and says, "I'm answering your question. So, heat… Deliriously horny. Fever high enough to kill a human. Constant begging for a knot, for our cum—needing to get fucked in every hole for hours, for days."
"Wh-what?" His words echo through me, and while I catch every word, they take a moment to register. Grayson continues to pinch my hardened nipples and I clench involuntarily each time, while hot, wet slick floods from my core. My omega whimpers, my honeyed perfume filling the air.
Orion appears beside us with that infuriatingly playful grin as he pulls me out of Grayson's lap and into his arms.
"God, you smell good," he groans into the space between my neck and ear, taking a deep inhale.
"Maybe do something about it," I pant.
"I plan to. Soon. For now—" He plucks my bra from Grayson's hands and guides it over my head. I raise my arms obediently because all my blood has concentrated south of my brain.
Orion continues, "An omega's heat is messy, intense, and hot as fuck. Yes, it's tied to procreation, but so is regular sex—which means it's something we all can enjoy together. Don't listen to Grayson. Neither of us has been through one, so it might be best to consult Doc on this, and we can do that together when we get home in a few days."
"I'm not seriously supposed to ask Doc about—that?" I hiss, shuddering, thinking about everything Grayson just listed, then about asking the sweet old man with white hair and grandfather-energy to explain wild omega sex.
I'm only slightly mollified by the fact that the guys are ignorant on the subject as well. I relent, agreeing to discuss it when they get back after the full moon in a few days. And while a million other questions pile up in my mind, the guys have a mission to prepare for, bags to pack, plans to finalize before tomorrow's departure.
My chest tightens. I'm not ready for them to go. I feel like I've barely settled in. Everything feels rushed. I've only just got here and they're leaving again. Two or three days, they promised, but that seems like an eternity.
I make one last desperate attempt to convince them to bring me along, but am shot down pretty quickly. They leave me for the day with a quick kiss and a promise they won't be home late tonight.
My bodyguards for the day are Kellen and Cynthia. And after wallowing around the empty house for an hour, I decide I'mfeeling brave enough to venture out. This is my home now. I need to find my place in it—not as Grayson and Orion's mate, but as me, Mona. Or, okay fine—Mona, the omega.
"The woods are off-limits until Gray lifts the red-threat, but we can take you to the heart if we stay on the roads," Cynthia tells me as we step outside the cabin. It's humid, a surprising feat this high in the mountains. The sun is bright, the air feels good. I leave my cardigan behind, surrendering to the inevitability of more freckles the sun will paint across my face, shoulders and arms.
The heart is what they call the small downtown area—the cluster of weathered buildings where most of the clan's social life takes place. We walk along the dirt road, occasionally spotting wolves patrolling through the trees. It doesn't take long before the buildings come into view.
Shifters greet me with friendly waves as we pass, though few approach. In a community this small, Kellen and Cynthia seem to know everyone by name. They must be giving off their enforcer alpha energy, though—most people keep a respectful distance away after saying hi.
