Page 19

Beth

I was lucky that Joey was such an easy child. My first day back babysitting for her, she greeted me with a huge smile as I picked her up from school and offered to take her to a drive-through for a little after-school snack.

Joey’s school was private, and fancy as fuck.

There was no normal school routine. They broke for the summer in mid-June, and even then, Joey would remain in a summer program until mid-August, when she would get three weeks off with her dads.

They had a whole litany of adventures planned for then, but for now, it was me and her.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in front of the TV, playing a video game where we were giant stuffed animals that beat the living snot out of each other.

Then I helped Joey with some of her schoolwork.

She currently had a reading assignment, so she sat next to me, reading from her book while I listened and occasionally helped her.

When it was time for dinner, I heated pasta from the restaurant, but I had also found a packet of turkey dinosaurs in the freezer.

That, in my opinion, made for a perfect match.

Joey was very much in agreement.

She wolfed down her food as I leaned over the counter, picking at my own bowl.

My stomach was turning, cramping, and sweat was beading along my hairline.

Running my hand through my hair, I took a few deep, measured breaths.

The last thing I wanted to do was worry Joey, but she was more concerned with playfully biting the heads off her turkey dinosaurs.

“Hey, kiddo, I’m just going to run to the bathroom.”

Joey looked up at me, a frown marring her face. “Beth, you’re really pale…”

“I’m just feeling a little icky. I’m probably not all better yet. It’s nothing to worry about, though. By the time I get back, I expect all of your dinosaurs to have no heads. Okay?”

She nodded, a glimmer of excitement entering her eyes as she picked up another dinosaur.

Reassured that she was all right, I climbed up the stairs to the bathroom as my stomach started to twist even more violently and my vision swam.

Closing the bathroom door a little too hard, I pressed my back against it, taking a deep breath as I ignored the cramps tearing through my abdomen.

For a while, I just stood there, dragging in deep, slow breaths, willing my heart rate to slow. Every part of my body felt electrified, but not in an excited way—in an icky, unwell sort of way. My pulse was through the roof, and I could feel sweat gathering at the back of my neck and my palms.

I stilled as it dawned on me what could possibly be going on.

Was I going into heat?

Sure, I had all the symptoms of going into heat, but I took suppressants religiously and had never actually experienced a full heat.

“Bethany?” Jensen’s voice rang out, along with a knock on the bathroom door. “Are you okay? Joey said you weren’t feeling very well.”

I silently cursed. Clearly, he had just gotten home and spoken to Joey.

It was obvious what was going on, but I didn’t know why it was happening.

I had been on suppressants since I was a preteen.

The moment I had shown signs of maturing, my fathers had put me on them.

They took me to the doctor and let them explain the heat cycle.

“I…fuck, I don’t feel well.”

“Are you in heat?” he asked incredulously. “I can smell you…”

“I take suppressants every day,” I hissed. “I can’t be in heat.”

There was a moment of silence, then a curse from Jensen. “Uh, Bethany. The medications I gave you while you were sick… they can make suppressants not work. Jesus, you smell really strong.”

Great. Just fucking great.

Embarrassment heated my face. I wanted the ground to swallow me up. Jensen Noble could smell the slick that was already soaking through my underwear.

“Yeah…” I trailed off.

I was totally going into heat. I couldn’t deny it. The cramps were increasing, and sweat was beading on my brow. Of all the fucking places to go into heat! If only I was at home with my nest… and my vibrator.

“Okay, what do we do?” he asked frantically.

“I don’t know what to do!”

I heard muffled voices as one of the other pack members clearly joined Jensen outside the door.

“Bethany?” Gideon’s voice joined in.

Fuck.

The low, gravelly tone made another wave of cramps roll through my body.

Go to alpha.

My body was making demands that my brain didn’t want to listen to. How long did I have before I would be completely lost to the heat haze?

Pressed against the door, I could make out every word they said to each other.

“She’s going into heat,” Jensen explained.

“What? How?” Gideon’s voice was shocked and almost frantic.

“I forgot to ask what suppressants she was on before I gave her the migraine medication. Clearly, it’s affected her system, and, yeah…I was just going to ask about taking her back to her dorm.”

“Bethany?” Gideon raised his voice so I could hear him clearly. “Would returning to your dorm be for the best?”

I shook my head before it dawned on me that they were on the other side of the door and obviously couldn’t see that.

“It doesn’t really have the facilities for going through a heat. Maybe in some other fancier buildings, but usually you need to book a heat suite in advance. I could try and ride it out in my dorm room, though. I just need to get back there.”

“Is your dorm secure?” Gideon asked. “From what I’ve seen, it isn’t.”

“Well, it’s better than nothing!” I growled.

“No fucking way. The smell of an omega in the building would be way too much—she wouldn’t be safe!” Jensen said.

I stilled. That was something I hadn’t considered…how easily an alpha could break in. It wasn’t like I could say no when I was lost in the throes of my heat.

My chest constricted as panic started to well up and a sob escaped my chest. “What do I do? It hurts!”

And boy did it fucking hurt. I hadn’t gone through a full mature heat before, thanks to my fathers putting me on medication before I even had tits.

“We can help you through this. It’s not ideal…but we can do it.” Jensen’s voice was strangled.

Not ideal?

Inexplicable rage filled me. His tone was so confusing. Did he want to fuck me through my heat, or was he looking at it like a freaking chore?

Grabbing the first thing my hand touched, I whirled around, stood with alarming speed, threw the door open, and tossed the toilet roll I had picked up at Jensen’s head with surprising accuracy.

“I am not a fucking chore to be done!” I growled, grabbing another projectile and throwing it at the startled alpha. He was so shocked, it took him a moment to raise his hands to protect his face from the flying paper.

“I didn’t say it was a chore!” Jensen said, utterly appalled.

Gideon stood to the side, a small smirk on his face, enjoying the scene that was unfolding in front of him. “You really don’t know when to pick your words, idiot.”

Thoroughly deflated, I turned to Gideon, bending over slightly, resting my hand on the wall as another wave of cramps threatened to overtake me. “Take me back to my dorm?”

Even as the question left my lips, I knew it was a bad idea. Being in an enclosed space with him would just lead to me crawling into his lap and begging him to fuck me.

Gideon grimaced and shook his head. “I don’t think I can do that. I’m not going to take you back if you won’t be safe.” He turned to Jensen. “Is there anything you can give her for the pain?”

“Not really. If she’s had a heat within the last year, we can probably numb it with medication, and then she can ride it out here?” he asked questioningly.

“I’ve been on medication since I was, like, thirteen,” I admitted.

Both their eyes widened.

“Have you ever had a heat?” Jensen asked.

“Nope.” I gritted the word out, clutching my stomach with one hand. “I planned to save that until I was settled down with a pack. Heats make omegas do stupid things.”

“Oh, this is bad,” Jensen muttered.

“No shit!” I snarled, reaching for another projectile, but was stopped by Gideon lightly grabbing me and pulling me toward him.

He likely intended for me to just go near him, but as soon as I was in his vicinity, my omega took over, and I launched myself at his chest, burying my face in his neck, inhaling lungfuls of that delicious scent.

“Fuck, you smell good,” I groaned, pressing myself against him. Old paper and blackcurrant. Fresh but musty. It was a paradox, but I fucking loved it. I wanted to lick his neck, to see if his skin tasted like he smelled.

He clearly didn’t mind, seeing as his cock was pressed firmly against me, and he was excited.

A growl rumbled in Gideon’s chest as he turned to Jensen. “Go make sure Joey is okay, and call Cullen. He needs to get home right now.” He barked the order in that bossy voice that made me melt.

I liked the sound of that. I liked it a lot.