Chapter fifty-nine
ASH
“Goooooaaaaaal!”
We all have our arms in the air, screaming as the arena explodes around us. The roar is so deafening it vibrates through the glass of the VIP box and straight into my bones.
“We won! We won! We won!” I’m bouncing in tight circles.
“Did you see that?” Pierce growls, grabbing Liam by the shoulders and shaking him. “Motherfucking beautiful! That was textbook!”
“Hansen with the assist!”
Pierce pulls Liam to him. They kiss hard. They’ve worked so hard for so long for this. Yes, it’s Beckett on the ice, but this is a pack win. My pack win.
My head is spinning, the entire world is wobbly, and it is so damn hot. My tank top clings to me, suddenly suffocating. I dig my finger into the hem, and I hear ripping sounds as I pull it over my head.The cool air hits my exposed stomach, giving me a hint of relief, but it’s not enough. My hands are already at my jeans, fumbling with the buttonand the zipper. Some distant part of my brain recognizes I should care about stripping in Alexei’s luxury box, but that voice is drowned out by the screaming of my skin.
“Ash?” Liam’s voice cuts through the fog.
“I’m hot,” I snap, kicking my jeans away. “Everything feels weird, and we just won the fucking game.” My skin prickles like I’m being stabbed with thousands of tiny needles, and beneath that, needy hunger.
“Let’s just check the door,” Liam says with an odd tone in his voice.
“Not like this is the first time I’ve been locked in a room for heat,” I snort.
Pierce and Liam freeze and stare at me with that look like they think I’m going to burst apart into a million pieces.
“What?” Neither of them move. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. In‘Healing Your Inner Child: A Guide to Emotional Recovery’there’s an entire chapter on dark humor as a way of ‘processing’ your trauma.” I say with air quotes.
“And in that chapter, it also says there’s a time and a place for gallows humor. I know,” Pierce says, pointing a finger at his chest, “because Liam made me read it twice.”
A spike of heat burns through me, distracting me from the argument. “Where’s Beckett? How long does it take to win a stupid game?” I whine before catching myself. “Sorry, that was bitchy.”
“I like it when you’re bitchy. It’s hot.” I can’t even look at Pierce. I’m already soaked with slick, he might send me over the deep end.
“Security is bringing him,” Liam says, already on his phone. “They’re cutting through the service corridors. Ten minutes, maybe less.”
“Ten minutes? That’s too long.” I drag my fingers through my hair, pulling it off my neck. “I wanted you all here. I need my alphas. All of you.”
We hadn’t talked about it. Not really. But they know. They know I haven’t had a good heat. They know I want them all here.
“Okay,” Pierce claps his hands, grabs the few floppy pillows and couch cushions on the floor. “I know you want to wait for Beckett, but you don’t need to suffer. And we are your alphas too. Liam, sit here”, he points to the stack of pillows.
“What are you doing?” I cross my arms and pout.
“We can do one of three things right now. You keep bitching. I like it, makes my dick hard. We can also fuck you right now. Or I can help you relax while we wait for Beckett. It’s your heat, we are at your service.”
Liam just shrugs and makes himself comfy on the pillows.
“Okay, fine.” I roll my eyes.
“Come here.”
I take a step closer, and he scoops me up and puts me in Liam’s lap, facing him.
“Well, this is familiar,” Liam says softly, as he pushes my bangs back.
I start to protest. Sitting still feels insane right now. But then Pierce’s hands are on my shoulders, thumbs pressing into the base of my neck. I make a noise that’s so obscene I should be embarrassed.
