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Expected outcome:Complete success.

Everything else is just details.

And we've always been good with details.

"You know what?" Marcus says suddenly, setting down his empty coffee cup. "We should go out tonight. Have a drink, celebrate the end of our search."

"The end of waiting," Felix agrees with a grin. "Tomorrow changes everything, but tonight... tonight we're still three alphas who found their perfect omega."

"One last night before we become a complete pack," I add, and the idea feels right. "Belle's spending the day at the library, tying up loose ends before her time off. We should mark this moment."

"To the end of searching," Marcus says, already reaching for his keys.

"And the beginning of forever," Felix finishes.

34

BELLE

Iwake up knowing everything is about to change. I've grown accustomed to over the past week since stopping my suppressants. My body is singing with a heat that has nothing to do with the temperature in the room and everything to do with the biological imperative that's been building in my system for days.

My first natural heat in a year.

The realization sends a mixture of anticipation and terror shooting through my nervous system. I've been preparing for this moment since I made the decision to go off suppressants permanently, but knowing something intellectually and experiencing it physically are two entirely different things.

I'm in my nest, surrounded by the soft pillows and blankets I've been compulsively arranging for the past week, and even through the haze of emerging heat, I can smell them. Marcus, Felix, and Theo. Their scents linger on the throw pillows where they sat during our dinner three nights ago, faint but unmistakable. Cedar, amber, and dark coffee mixing together in a combination that makes my newly awakened omega instincts purr with satisfaction.

My phone shows it's barely six in the morning, but I know I need to call them. Soon. The heat is still in its early stages, and it is manageable but I can feel it building like a storm on the horizon. And unlike that night in the library when Theo found me unprepared and terrified, this time I have a choice. This time, I want them here.

I want to experience this properly, with the alphas who've claimed my heart and who I'm finally ready to claim in return.

The thought sends another wave of heat through my body, stronger this time, and I know I can't wait much longer. My skin feels too sensitive, every nerve ending alive with need, and the ache between my legs is becoming impossible to ignore.

I reach for my phone with hands that shake slightly and dial the number I've memorized by heart.

"Belle?" Marcus's voice comes through the phone immediately, alert and concerned despite the early hour. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," I tell him, my voice already breathier than usual. "But Marcus, I need you. All of you. It's starting."

The silence on the other end stretches for exactly three heartbeats before Marcus's voice returns, rougher and more urgent. "Your heat?"

"Yes."

"Where are you?"

"At home, in my nest." The words feel strange on my tongue, claiming ownership of this space I've created, this sanctuary where I want to let myself be completely vulnerable. "Marcus, I'm scared, but I'm ready. I want this. I want you."

"We're coming," he says immediately. "Belle, listen to me. Don't try to manage this alone, don't push through it. We'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"All of you?"

"All of us," he confirms. "Belle, we've been waiting for this moment since the night we met you. We're not missing it."

After he hangs up, I lie back in my nest and try to process what's about to happen. This isn't just about physical relief or biological necessity. This is about choosing my pack, accepting the bond that's been building between us for weeks, allowing myself to be claimed and to claim them in return.

The heat is intensifying, making me restless and needy in ways that go beyond anything I've ever experienced. The suppressants had muted everything for so long that feeling the full force of omega biology is overwhelming. My skin feels like it's burning from the inside out, and every breath brings waves of arousal that make it difficult to think clearly.

But underneath the physical need is something deeper, more complex. A sense of rightness, of finally moving toward something I've been unconsciously seeking my entire adult life. The pack bond isn't just about heat and biology, but it's about trust and partnership and building something together that's stronger than any of us could create alone.