Eli’s bright citrus mixed with Knox’s warm mocha. Walker’s deep, grounding scent of oak barrels and delicious, juicy grapes. The smells cling to the air around me, and my Omega instincts latch onto them immediately, drinking it all in like oxygen.
My teeth ache to bite into them.
The pulsing in my mouth takes me by surprise. My mouth waters, ready to stake my claim. Since when? Since when did my body start considering them my Alphas?
The cramp rips through me, shivering my thighs. My nostrils flare as I drink down another lungful of their scents. My thoughts blur. My body turns into liquid.
Over and over, I breathe them in as my hips fall to the bed. They grind against a pillow I’ve somehow stuffed in between my legs, trying to find the friction my body requires.
I need them.
I’m too scared to do this alone.
“My Alphas,” I whine out. “Please.”
Another cramp grips my stomach and I curl into myself with a soft cry. The door swings open and I hear all three of them rushing in, quickly surrounding me. The moment their scents grow stronger, my control shatters completely.
I don’t know much but I know one thing for certain.
They won’t hurt me.
“We’re here,” Eli says as he smooths his hand along my forehead. “Tell us what you need, Alley Cat.”
“Hey there,” Knox says. A hand begins massaging my lower back. “You hurting?”
“Help me,” I gasp out when another cramp rips through my body. “Please. It hurts so much. I don’t have a nest. I don’t—I need a—my blankets. I don’t—I don’t have anything—and I?—”
“Shhh,” Walker hushes softly as I feel him cup my cheeks. “We’ve got you, Lia. You won’t do this alone if you don’t want to, okay? Knox.”
“Yep.”
“Gather all the blankets and pillows you can find in this place.”
His voice is low. Soothing. Even with his commands, it fills me with a softness that relaxes my hips.
The fog of my brain clears for a moment. “Amber. Where is she?”
“She’s fine,” Eli says as he dips into my vision, laying down beside me. “My parents just picked her up.”
Relief washes through me, even through the heat fog. “She’s safe?”
“Completely safe,” Eli promises. He smooths my sweaty hair off my forehead. “Pickles went with her, too. Can’t stand to be away from her, it seems.”
My shoulders relax at that. “Okay. Good, good.”
“I called my father,” Walker adds while he takes over the massaging of my lower back. “He’s heading to the vineyard to cover things for a few days.”
Knox dumps the first round of pillows and blankets onto the bed. “Called in a week with Ford, too. Just in case you need it, Sunshine.”
Their words settle over me slowly. They’ve stopped their lives for me, to take care of me. My chest tightens as another cramp ebbs back into my gut, and as the pain subsides, clarity slices through my haze like a ray of sun piercing through dark clouds.
The memory of my former pack flickers through my mind. The shouting, and the control. Being angry at them for marking me without my permission. Being angry at myself for working when I shouldn’t have been.
The cold realization that I never really belonged to them, that they just wanted an Omega to drag around like a trophy to their arrogance.
Can I do this again?
Can I allow Alphas to help me through my heat and trust that they won’t take advantage?
