“I could have told you, this is true. But I very quickly got the impression that you were not looking for a grandmother. You needed a friend and a mentee to survive your first few months in society. I could be that for you—and I wanted to be that for you.” The more I looked at Cecelia the more I could see features she shared with Eloise like her button nose and her heart shaped face.
“And now? Why are you telling me these things now?”
“Because I heard that you were in the hospital. Atticus, Roald and Simon finally convinced me that it was time to tell you before it was too late to do so. Stubbornness is a family trait that I’m afraid that we share.” Ric snorted and was rewarded by a sharp elbow to the stomach by Eloise. Cecelia continued, “I am fine with whatever kind of relationship you wish to have with us. We’d love to welcome you as our granddaughter but we are going to let you drive the ship from here on out and make the decision of your own volition.”
With that Cecelia stood and headed for the door, reaching out to cup Eloise’s cheek before leaving us in the hospital room alone.
The five weeks since Cecelia’s bomb shell passed in a blur. It was the beginning of December now and it had been raining in San Francisco for most of it. Eloise was discharged from the hospital a few days after Cecelia’s visit and Dominic followed a few days after that. Both were given strict instructions to take it easy and—both being the most stubborn human beings on the planet—chose to ignore that and most days I would come back from work to find them using the Nintendo Switch fitness wheel or trying out various hobbies to find what Dominic liked to do now that he no longer worked at Russo Enterprises.
We’d spent most of our time at the Sausalito house as the San Francisco house felt tainted somehow by the events of a few weeks prior. Leon was even talking about selling it and buying something bigger in the city, but for now we had taken up residence at the Sausalito house full time—myself included. After a few weeks of spending more time at the Sausalito house than my own apartment they offered me my own room, saying: ‘It’s all yours. You can keep your apartment if that makes you feel more comfortable, but this is your home now.’
I would never admit it out loud, but I’d nearly cried when they showed me the room. It was easy to tell that Eloise had decorated the space with me in mind. The walls were a light blue color and the far wall where the bed was painted a slate gray and sponged to resemble concrete. The bed had a fluffy white down comforter with a blue fuzzy blanket draped over the corner. In one corner of the room stood a desk that could be sat at or adjusted so that I could stand when I was working from home. Then, finally, my favorite part of the room was the window seat that overlooked the backyard and the San Francisco Bay.
After so long I finally felt like I was where I belonged. I’d spent so many years after Eloise was taken to the omega academy just wandering through life, not really getting close with anyone. It had taken Aria taking me under her wing for me to finally begin coming into my own as a person as a sort of adoptive family. But I had no interest in being in their pack—I think I was always waiting for Eloise to crash land back into my life again and boy was I sure glad that she had.
Now, as we sat cuddled under a blanket in the living room, I could hardly believe the turns that my life had taken over the past few months. We had the house to ourselves—well almost—Dominic was on the other side of Eloise reading a book but I didn’t mind his presence. Ever since being shot he’d changed from the mischievous party boy into the much calmer man who preferred to spend his afternoons with our omega.
We were watching a movie where lots of things exploded and super heros zoomed off and on screen when Eloise sat up with a little “Oh!”
Dominic and I sat up to get a better look at the omega, finding her cheeks to be flushed and her eyes glazed over. I reached out and pressed a hand to her forehead and found it to be hot. I was starting to have an idea of what was going on but when Eloise doubled over with a groan, I knew.
After a minute Eloise straightened and said, “I think my heat is starting.”
Shit.
47
My body felt like it was on fire as I doubled over on the couch and would have fallen off if it weren’t for the sturdy hands that caught me. Matteo Diaz, the doctor who had taken care of me when I was in the hospital, had told me that the artificial heat chemicals might mess with my cycle but my next heat wasn’t supposed to be for another month or two!
“Call Leon and tell him to get everyone home.” Link told Dominic who was already dialing. Leon and the rest of the pack had driven to San Jose for a business meeting this afternoon and were planning to stay the night at a hotel. But those plans would have to change—and quickly.
“Hurts.” I moaned as my insides twisted violently, leaning into Link and inhaling his scent and finding it to be mouthwatering in a way I’d never experienced before. The artificial heat hadn’t been anything like this and my heats at the academy were usually on my own. “You smell good.” I mumbled into the skin of his neck and I could hear Dominic’s chuckle from behind me, the sound drew me to him like catnip and I moved my nose from Link’s neck to Dominic’s and inhaled his lemony scent.
“Do I smell good too,mon coeur?” Instead of answering I latched onto his neck with my lips and gave it a good suck. “I will take that as a yes. Link can you carry her upstairs? I’m going to gather the things we need for her heat.”
“Yeah,” Link swept his arm under my knees and lifted me from the couch, detaching me from Dominic’s neck with a pop and leaving an already blooming bruise on the man’s neck. The trip up the stairs was a bit of a blur for me, as we climbed I’d began to press feather light kisses along Link’s jaw and neck causing him to grunt when I used my teeth over his pulse.
“Eloise, we are both going to fall down the stairs if you keep using your teeth like that.” Link groaned but he had managed to make it to the top of the landing anyways. The trip down the hallway was fast and as soon as he opened the door to my bedroom the overwhelming urge to stand on my own two feet consumed me and I wriggled out of his arms.
“Don’t come in yet!” My nest wasn’t ready. It was a mess from my morning cuddles with Owen and Leon and wasn’t ready yet. My omega instincts were riding me hard and I practically vaulted over the ledge into my nest and landed amongst the soft blankets and pillows, my hands already moving them.
I don’t know how long I spent arranging pillows and blankets, stopping every once in a while to double over from the cramps. When I sat back to examine my work I realized that my slick had soaked the pajama pants that I was wearing. Normally that would gross me out but my brain was so fuzzy and gone that I simply slid the pants off and threw them out of my nest along with my shirt.
I flopped down amongst the blankets to test it out and was pleased when the softness soothed my itchy hot skin a little bit. Not enough though. Rolling onto my knees I laid my arms flat on the ledge and rested my chin on them to look out at the beta and alpha who were standing outside patiently for me to invite them inside.
“Leon and everyone else are on their way,” Dominic informed me, he had already taken off his shirt and I could see the new shiny scar from his gunshot wound, “It should take them about an hour, less if Ric drives.”
I crooked my finger at him and he grinned, unzipping his pants and coming to join me in the nest. My gaze landed on Link, who looked like he didn’t know what to do.
“Are you coming, Link?” I asked in almost a purr.
“Are you okay with that? We’ve never been together like this before and I’m not sure if you’re ready yet… I don’t want to push…”
Any other time I would have understood and we would have discussed this next step like sane adults. But right now his words made me feel like he was rejecting my advances, which would just not do because he wasmine. My purr turned into a tiny little growl.
“Mon frère, let me offer you a word of advice, you never tell an omega in heat ‘I am not sure if you’re ready’. If she wants you, she wants you. No if ands or buts about it, so I suggest you get your ass into this nest before she gets really upset.” Dominic said from behind me and I was momentarily distracted by his warm hands smoothing their way up my belly to tweak one of my already hard nipples.
Luckily Link didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and came to kneel in front of me and took my mouth in a rough kiss. It was different from the kisses we’d shared over the past two months—which had been new and exploratory. We’d steadily been moving from ‘childhood friends’ to romantic partners. This was on a completely different level and when we broke apart the look in his green eyes made a gush of slick leak from my body.
