Page 42 of Mating With My Grumpy Alphas (Hollow Haven #2)

Willa

I woke with fire in my veins.

The transition from sleep to awareness was jarring, like surfacing from deep water into blazing sunlight.

Every nerve ending felt exposed, hypersensitive.

The soft cotton of Wes's sheets against my skin was almost overwhelming, and the combined scents of three alphas in the bed made my omega instincts sing with desperate need.

Heat. Full, undeniable heat.

I must have made a sound because suddenly there were gentle hands on my shoulders, a soothing voice in my ear.

"Easy, sweetheart," Elias murmured, his healer's training evident in the calm authority of his tone. "You're safe. We're all here."

I turned toward his voice, my vision slightly hazy with the intensity of what was happening to my body. He was propped up on one elbow beside me, fully dressed despite the early hour, his green eyes alert and focused on my face.

"How long have you been awake?" I managed, my voice coming out rougher than expected.

"A while," he admitted. "Your scent started changing around three AM. We've been taking shifts, making sure someone was monitoring."

The idea that they'd been watching over me, protecting me even in sleep, made my chest tight with emotion. This was what safety felt like. What being treasured meant.

"Where are the others?" I asked, suddenly aware that we were alone in the bedroom.

"Kitchen," Elias said gently. "Giving you space to see how you felt when you woke up. But they're close if you need them."

How I felt? Right. Because this wasn't just about sex or physical release. This was about bonding, about claiming, about establishing permanent connections that would change all of us forever.

"How do you feel?" he asked, his hand moving to rest lightly on my forehead. Checking for fever, I realized, though his touch sent sparks of electricity through my overheated skin.

"Like I'm burning from the inside out," I said honestly. "But good burning. Want burning."

"That's normal," he assured me, though I could see the way his pupils dilated at my words. "Your body's preparing for bonding. Everything's exactly as it should be."

I shifted restlessly against the sheets, hyperaware of every point where fabric touched skin.

The need building in my core was unlike anything I'd experienced before. Not just physical desire, but something deeper. A biological imperative that demanded completion. This wasn’t heat like I’d ever experienced it before.

"Elias," I said, his name coming out like a prayer. "I need..."

"What do you need?" he asked gently, though the careful control in his voice suggested he was fighting his own instincts.

"You," I said simply. "I need you. First. Now."

Something shifted in his expression, the gentle healer giving way to something more primal. His scent deepened, taking on the rich, complex notes that meant an alpha was responding to an omega in heat.

"Are you sure?" he asked, even as his hand moved to cup my face. "Once we start, once I claim you, there's no going back."

"I don't want to go back," I said firmly, turning my face into his palm. "I want to go forward. With you. With all of you."

The smile that spread across his face was brilliant and tender and full of promise. "Then let me take care of you, sweetheart. Let me give you what you need."

He leaned down to kiss me, and the contact was like touching a live wire. Every cell in my body responded to him, the heat in my core flaring to almost unbearable intensity. I made a desperate sound against his lips, my hands fisting in his shirt.

"Easy," he murmured, pulling back just enough to speak. "We have time. All the time you need."

But I didn't feel like I had time. I felt like I was drowning in sensation, like every second without his skin against mine was torture.

The logical part of my brain understood that this was heat talking, biology overriding rational thought.

But the omega part of me didn't care about logic.

She only cared about need and completion and the alpha whose scent was calling to every instinct I possessed.

"Please," I whispered, and the word came out broken with want.

Elias made a sound low in his throat, something between a growl and a groan. "Let me get the others," he said. "Let them know we're starting."

"No," I said quickly, grabbing his wrist. "Not yet. Just us first. Please. I want to start with just us."

He studied my face for a long moment, reading something there that made him nod slowly. "Just us first," he agreed. "But they stay close. In case you change your mind or need support."

I nodded, grateful for his understanding. I loved Wes and Rhett deeply, but the idea of trying to navigate three different alpha energies while my body was just beginning to surrender to heat felt overwhelming. Starting with Elias, who understood omega physiology better than anyone, felt right.

He stood up, moving to the bedroom door. I could hear him speaking quietly to the others, explaining the plan. Their voices carried back to me, low and reassuring, but I was too focused on the fire building in my veins to process words.

When Elias returned, he'd removed his shirt, and the sight of his lean chest and strong shoulders made my mouth go dry.

He wasn't built like Rhett, who was all heavy muscle and raw power, or like Wes, who carried the lean strength of someone who spent his days outdoors.

Elias was elegant in his strength, every line of him designed for precision and care.

"Better?" he asked, settling back on the bed beside me.

"Much better," I managed, reaching for him without conscious thought.

He caught my hands gently, bringing them to his lips. "Tell me what you need," he said. "Don't think about what you should want or what seems normal. Just tell me what your body is asking for."

The permission to be honest about my needs, to voice desires without shame or judgment, was almost as arousing as his touch. No one had ever asked what I wanted before. Had never cared about my experience beyond how it served his own pleasure.

"I need skin," I said, the words tumbling out. "I need to feel you, smell you, taste you. I need to know you're real."

"I'm real," he assured me, guiding my hands to his chest. "Touch me. Take whatever you need."

I explored him with trembling fingers, tracing the lean muscles of his chest, the vulnerable hollow of his throat, the strong line of his shoulders.

His skin was warm and smooth and carried his scent more intensely than anything else.

Herbs and healing oils and something uniquely him that made my omega instincts purr with recognition.

"You smell like safety," I told him, pressing my face against his neck and breathing deeply.

"You smell like heaven," he replied, his hands moving to the hem of my sleep shirt. "Can I?"

I nodded, lifting my arms so he could remove the soft cotton. The air against my overheated skin was both relief and torment, and when he looked at me with reverent appreciation, I felt beautiful instead of exposed.

He was being gentle with me. Holding back his natural dominance that I’d gotten a glimpse of last time. And I quite possibly loved him even more for it.

"Perfect," he murmured, his hands skimming lightly over my ribs, my waist, the curve of my hips. "You're absolutely perfect."

The worship in his voice made my chest tight with emotion. This was how claiming should feel. Like being treasured rather than taken.

He took his time exploring my body, his healer's hands reading my responses like text. When I gasped at his touch, he lingered. When I arched into his caress, he deepened the pressure. When I whimpered with need, he soothed me with gentle words and softer kisses.

"Tell me about bonding," I said as he mapped the sensitive spots along my neck with his mouth. "Tell me what to expect."

"Physical connection first," he said between kisses. "Knotting, when your body's ready for it. Then the bite, at the moment of climax. The bond forms during that peak intensity."

This was something I’d never done before.

I’d never accepted a bond, let alone wanted one and looking back now I could see that Sterling had never pushed for it because it meant he could throw me away whenever it became convenient for him.

And thank god he did. Because now I was exactly where I was supposed to be, with the exact alphas who were made for me.

"Will it hurt?" I asked, though I wasn't afraid. Not with him.

"No more than you want it to," he promised. "Pain and pleasure can blend during heat, but I'll be careful. I'll make sure it's good for you."

The reassurance helped quiet the small part of my mind that was still capable of anxiety. Everything else was consumed by the growing need that seemed to intensify with every passing moment.

"Elias," I said, his name a plea.

"I know, sweetheart," he said gently. "Let me take care of everything."

He moved between my legs, settling his weight carefully so I felt supported rather than trapped. The heat of him against my most sensitive places was almost overwhelming, and I made a desperate sound that seemed to come from somewhere deep in my chest.

"That's it," he encouraged. "Let me hear you. Let me know what you need."

What I needed was him. All of him. The careful preparation he was providing was wonderful, but my body was demanding completion with an urgency that was rapidly becoming painful.

"Please," I said again, the word barely coherent.

"Are you ready for me?" he asked, his voice strained with the effort of maintaining control. “Are you ready to become my omega?”