His thumb strokes my chin and I sigh at the calming feel of it. “You know who Sadie is right?”
My eyes dart behind him. Sadie peeks out, her eyes worried. Sadie. My assistant, a Beta. She’s not here to take them from me. Right?
I blink a few times, my hormones leveling out the longer I’m not in Wilder’s arms. My Omega isn’t happy about that but I am. My head gets clearer the longer I stand here, and the longer I’m in Augie’s calming presence, his touch gentle on my face.
“I do,” I finally exhale.
“I need you to go with her, now,” he says, keeping our gazes locked together.
“No!”
He doesn’t blink at the outburst, his only reaction a small ghost of a sad smile. “We just gave Wilder an emergency rut blocker, but my pack is hanging on by a thread here.”
Rejection washes over me and before I can stop myself my eyes fill with tears. Sadie cautiously steps beside Augie and I want to both hug her and snap at her. My Omega knows who she is but she doesn’t like that she’s here, her scent clear to the males in the room.
Augie drops his hand from my chin and I give my full attention to Sadie. She keeps her hands held up and voice low, eyes darting to the Alpha’s behind me. I can’t see them, can’t smell them, and I’m not bonded to them, but I can feel their stress, their need for me. The air around us is like a rubber band about to snap.
“Iris,” she says calmly. “I called the Omega clinic for you. They have a private room waiting, we just have to get you there.”
No! Not that, please!my Omega pleads with me as an Alpha behind me growls.
The tears that had filled my eyes spill over my cheeks, and my nose runs. My gaze darts to Augie who looks pained, his square jaw clenched. He lifts his hand like he wants to wipe away my tears then stops. More tears spill and I reach up to wipe at my nose, having enough headspace to know I don’t want to snot everywhere and embarrass myself more if that’s even possible.
Sadie hands me a tissue she stashes in her purse in case of emergencies, and I note Augie’s wide eyes the moment I bring it to my nose. His lips part but I don’t hear what he says as I clear out my sinuses, the sterile smell of neutralizers leaving.
The moment the small rational part of my brain that was left realizes what I’ve done, my eyes widen too. My nostrils flare as multiple mouthwatering scents hit me.
Mint, lemon, honey, and the perfect hint of basil. My strawberry perfume bursts out of me, adding to the mix and creating what I can only describe as a cocktail meant to be the biggest aphrodisiac on the planet.
Ours. The Quinn Pack is ours.Mine. There’s no denying it now.
Tears prick my eyes for a whole new reason and the desire to grab Augie and run into the arms of our Alpha’s is tantalizing, but my feet stay glued to the spot, my mind still in shock at this revelation. One I never would have guessed to happen to me in a million years. Let alone on the set of my dream job, something I’ll have to unpack later when biology isn’t taking over and I’m feeling too many emotions mixed with needy arousal.
“Oh shit,” Sadie mutters, realizing what she helped me do.
Oh shit is right. Heat flares through my body worse than before. Usually when I have a heat, especially after going off suppressants, I’ll have pre-heat symptoms and a couple of heat spikes to warn me of what’s to come, but this is different—a full blown first wave of heat. Once this is eased, they’ll only get more intense until I’m completely lost to estrous.
I grip my abdomen and whine. Purrs erupt behind me and that doesn’t do anything to help the situation.
“What do we do?” Sadie mutters. “Fuck, I fucked up.”
“Iris,” Augie grits out, his voice strained. “Can I touch you?”
I should say no, but there’s no way I can’t. I want his touch.Needhis touch.
“Yes,” I exhale, eyes watering from pain and need.
He grips my arms, his soothing touch easing me slightly. Enough I can look into his beautiful green eyes that remind me of his scent. Herbaceous basil, like it’s been freshly cut. It’s not as strong as mine or the Alpha’s still at my back, but it’s perfect, and I want to lick him to see how it tastes on my tongue.
“Do you feel it?” One of his hands leaves my biceps to tap over his heart.
I exhale through the pain in my body, focusing on the center of my chest. Where once it was just my heart beating, now there’s an added sensation. A tug that pulls me toward him, like a string connecting us together. The more I focus, the more I feel that string pulling me to the Alpha’s at my back, their purrs rattling in a way that makes it sound like they’re in pain—restraining themselves from coming to me like our biology demands.
They need you, my Omega prods me.Please!
I swallow hard and nod.
“Good.” He smiles, eyes shimmering with what look like tears. I don’t know why that made him cry, but he doesn’t look sad. Relieved maybe?
