"This is nice," Sharon says, settling into the pillows. "This feels safe. This feels like what being part of a pack is supposed to feel like."
Cassian gets on one side of her, Pine on the other. I'm on the end of the bed, which is strategic because if I was any closer, I would do something stupid like kiss her or let my hands wander to places they shouldn't go.
We fall asleep like that. Sharon safely surrounded by three alphas who would literally throw themselves in front of a moving train if it meant keeping her safe. Sharon nestled between us like she belongs there. Sharon's scent mixing with ours until we all smell like pack.
And that's when things get really complicated. Because now I know what it feels like to have her in my bed. Now I know what her scent smells like when she's completely relaxed and trusting. Now I know that she feels safe with us. Now I know that going back to not having her in my bed is going to be impossible.
But we're not there yet. For now, we're just three alphas protecting an omega. Just pack watching over its own. Just the beginning of something that's going to change all of our lives forever.
I fall asleep with her scent in my lungs and a smile on my face that I can't quite make disappear. She's here. She's ours. And we're not letting her go.
In the morning, we'll figure out what comes next. But for tonight, we've got her. We've got this. We've got each other.
And that's more than enough.
22
SHARON
Iwake up burning, and at first I think I'm dying.
My skin feels like it's been set on fire from the inside out. Every nerve ending is screaming. My body is drenched in sweat, and the scent rolling off me is so thick I can practically taste it on my tongue. It's not like the polite strawberry and honey scent I've been letting out since I arrived in Pine Hollow. This is raw. This is primal. This is every omega pheromone I've been suppressing for years finally deciding to make an appearance all at once.
Oh god. Oh no. This is my heat.
Ever since I stopped taking my suppressants and just let myself be an actual person again, life has been a lot simpler. No more stressing over every little thing. No more walking around like a guilt-ridden time bomb because I thought Ben’s canceled wedding was somehow my cosmic fault.
"Guys," I whisper, my voice rough and desperate. The word barely makes it out before another wave crashes through me, and I can't help the small gasp that escapes. "Guys, I think I’m going into heat.”
Jett is awake instantly, his body responding to my distress faster than conscious thought could possibly work. His alphainstincts are picking up on my panic, and I watch his entire body shift into protective mode. His gray eyes snap open, and before I can say another word, his hand is on my forehead, checking my temperature.
"Sharon?" His voice is concerned, gentle, but there's an underlying note of something else. Something that smells like alpha arousal mixed with protective instinct. "You're burning up. Your fever is—Jesus, how long have you been awake?"
"Just now," I gasp as another wave hits. "I just woke up like this. I don't understand what's happening to me."
Pine and Cassian are awake within seconds, their sleep-foggy brains clearing immediately when they catch my scent. I watch their pupils dilate, watch their entire bodies go rigid with understanding. They can smell it. They know exactly what's happening to me.
"Your heat," Pine says, and his voice is rough in a way I've never heard before. He's swung his legs out of bed and is already moving, like his body won't let him stay still. "You're going into heat. A full heat."
"No," I say, panic rising in my throat like bile. "No, this is not happening. Not now. Not this week. The wedding is in two weeks, and I cannot be incapacitated for three to five days. Tangle Peak is counting on me. Savannah just finally trusted me with something important and I cannot just disappear."
Cassian is already reaching for his phone, his firefighter training kicking in despite the obvious arousal in his scent. "I'm calling Jessica. She needs to know what's happening."
"Tell her I'm sorry," I say, my body already shifting into something I can't control. The heat is building, wave after wave of it, and my mind is starting to get foggy. Everything feels simultaneously too tight and too loose. My dress is somewhere on the floor, discarded at some point during the night. Jett's t-shirt is clinging to me, soaked through with sweat that smells like my heat pheromones mixed with anxiety.
"Don't you dare apologize," Jett says firmly, his hands already moving to help me. "Sharon, listen to me. Your body doesn't give a fuck about weddings. Your body is doing what omega bodies do. You don't get to feel guilty about biology."
Pine is already on his phone, typing out a message with focused intensity. His jaw is clenched tight, and I can see the restraint it's taking for him to stay in control of himself. "Texting Jessica now. She needs to know what's happening so she can coordinate with Savannah."
"What should I tell her?" Pine asks, looking up from his phone.
"Tell her Sharon is in her heat and she's going to be incapacitated for at least three days," Cassian says, his tone brooking no argument. "Tell her we're taking care of her, so Jessica is in charge of the wedding logistics until Sharon is back on her feet."
Jett is helping me out of the wet shirt, and the cool air against my skin provides momentary relief before the heat surges back in stronger than before. My body is practically vibrating with need, with want, with something primal and demanding that I don't have words for.
"Let's get you to the shower," Pine says, setting his phone down after hitting send. "Cool water. It'll help."
But even as he's saying it, another wave hits, and I'm not thinking about showers. I'm thinking about the three of them. About how badly I need them to touch me.
