He gives a short nod, reassuring himself that he's done his duty, then slips out through the canvas flap without another word.
Knox raises his face and his nostrils flare. "Rut-dammit, he's right. She can’t be here smelling like this. We’ll have every Alpha for miles crashing through this camp."
Halley stiffens, her wide, purple eyes peeking out from where she’s nuzzling my shoulder. “Ah… woops? I didn’t realize I was doing that.”
“I know, I know. We’re just so sexy, aren’t we, Sparkles?” Blaze jokes, voice light, but alert. He moves to position himself in front of the tent entrance, eyes scanning for potential threats.
Blaze really is his best self when he has a task, a mission. It’s only when he’s left to his own devices does the chaos begin. At least keeping Halley safe here at this camp will keep him busy.
Halley groans softly and buries her face in my neck again. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t stop wanting to touch you. Is there, like, a cold shower nearby or something?”
Her embarrassment tinges the air, wrapped in sweet, clingy pheromones.
A deep rumble escapes my chest before I can stop it. She melts into it, her body going soft and pliant against mine.
I hold her tighter.
It never gets old, how she seeks me out when she needs safety. How her breath evens out against my skin. She doesn’t care thatI’ve done heinous things while under the influence of my Blood Lust. I’m her safe harbor.
Shade tilts his head, studying us with that sharp, analytical look.
"There’s nothing wrong with you, baby girl,” he says, voice calm and sure. “We’re building a Pack. Your instincts are shifting. That’s normal.”
He steps a little closer, eyes still locked on Halley like she’s a living theory coming to life. “The books described Pack Omegas as touch-hungry and comfort-driven. Craving physical contact, constant reassurance. The scholars didn’t exactly highlight, well, how insatiable you are, but they were clear on one thing. As our bonds settle, that neediness ramps up.”
Halley makes a distressed little whine of frustration.
Shade’s gaze softens just slightly. “And it’ll keep building until we claim you. Until we’re bound, and this Pack is whole.”
Knox grunts and rubs his thumb over his lower lip. “If she keeps smelling so fucking good, we’ll have to fight off every knothead Alpha in the region. We need a plan.”
Shade’s brows pull, rifling through his extensive mental library. “She needs tending.”
“Tending?” I echo, but the word barely leaves my mouth before Halley starts rolling her hips against me again. My voice snags in my throat.
"She needs mutual scenting sessions. We have to smell like her and she needs to smell like us. It’ll calm her Omega, at least for awhile.”
Halley groans and buries her face deeper in my chest. “This is so humiliating.”
She’s pouting, but it’s hard to take her displeasure seriously when her cheek is smushed so adorably against my collarbone.
“Anything else to add, princess?” Knox probes with a raised brow.
She grumbles for a moment before sighing in defeat and shaking her head. “Nope, that about sums it up.”
“Alright, well, what do you suggest, oh wise Omega whisperer,” Blaze asks Shade, already palming his hard cock through his trousers.
Shade shrugs. “Get her off.”
There’s a shuffling sound from outside as one of the Beta soldiers moves a crate of supplies nearby. Blaze slips through the canvas door like an avenging wraith hunting prey.
A startled shout cuts the air, followed by the rapid retreat of footsteps.
Blaze returns a moment later, smirking, and casually slides his combat knife back into its sheath with a soft scrape of steel on leather.
“We’re not exactly somewhere private,” Knox adds, his shoulders raised as his territorial instincts scream at him.
He’s right. Every Alpha instinct in me agrees.
