It’s been hours, days, maybe years—it all blurs together. The only thing that’s been constant is the sound of Skyla’s breathing, the rise and fall of it against my skin, the endless cycle of need and rest and need again.
An omega’s heat isn’t anything like I expected. I thought it would be more predictable—rut, come, sleep, repeat. Something we could manage. But it’s chaos. Beautiful, maddening chaos that chews through sleep, sanity, and hunger.
Every time Sky drifts off, it’s only for minutes. Long enough for Dakota to wipe her skin clean, long enough for Alex or Knox to grab a bite to eat, long enough for me to think she might finally rest?—
Then her body tenses, her scent spikes, and we’re right back where we started.
She’s wrecked us. All of us.
And I fucking love it.
I glance at Skyla, curled in the center of her nest, her breathing shallow for now.
The quiet feels fragile, like it might shatter if I move too fast, but my body is too tense to stay put. I shift onto my back, every muscle aching as I slowly stretch, taking in the wreckage around me.
Across the room, Knox leans against the wall, head tipped back, eyes closed but not asleep. He palms his semi-hard cock gently, The base is raw and chafed from the repeated inflating and deflating of his knot.
Dakota’s half dozing, snuggling up close to our omega, with one hand resting protectively near her hip.
And Alex is sprawled beside them, hair damp from his quick shower, his chest rising and falling slowly.
We’re all catching our breath, waiting for the next wave.
Then Skyla stirs, a soft whine slipping from her throat—not quite a word, not quite a sigh. Her scent shifts, flooding the air as her pheromones spike again.
Alex lets out a low, rough sound—half groan, half awe. His hand drags down his face, but there’s a flicker of something wild in his eyes. “Unreal,” he breathes, voice catching somewhere between disbelief and reverence. “It hasn’t even been ten minutes since we last rutted her. Her tiny body has to be exhausted.”
Knox’s eyes open, looking between me and Alex, reading the room in a heartbeat. “This has got to be the peak of her heat,” he says quietly, voice rough with exhaustion.
I sit up, pulse already quickening. My mouth is dry. “You sure?” The words come out lower than I mean them to, tight in my throat. “Maybe we should wait for the next wave. It could be stronger.”
The thought of marking her sends a mix of heat and dread rolling through me. I want it.Fuck, I want it.But I also need to be sure our omega’s body is ready, that she’s wrung out and calm, not still trembling from the storm of it all. The last thing I ever want is to hurt her again.
The pack alpha meets my gaze, head-on. The dominance in his expression makes something primal in me settle, but he keeps his tone level. “Tadeo, this is it. Look at her.”
Dakota, still kneeling near the edge of the nest, shakes his head. “He’s right,” he murmurs. “The last two times she’s been rutted, she’s bared her throat.” His eyes soften as he glances toward Skyla, her body shifting restlessly in the sheets. “She’s asking to be bitten, even if she doesn’t understand what she’s asking for.”
I drag a hand down my face as heat and tension tangle in my chest. My cock is rock hard already, ready to give my omega what she needs, but my mind hasn’t quite caught up yet.
“Or it’s instinct, and she’s not actually consenting to anything,” I say, mostly to myself. “She’s been through enough already.”
Knox exhales slowly, his jaw flexing as he rises to his full height. The shift in the air is instant—heavy, electric. His pack alpha aura rolls through the room like a fucking storm.
Alex straightens without thinking, his shoulders squaring. Dakota’s back goes rigid beside him. And me—my pulse stutters, then my head dips to submit, the urge to bare my neck clawing up my spine.
“She hated me for mating her outside of her heat, Tad,” Knox says, voice flat but heavy with command. “It’s an alpha’sjobto mark theiromega.”
I meet the pack alpha’s gaze, and for a second, I swear he can see every thought tearing through my head. The fear of breaking her again warring with the primal need to finally make her ours.
I don't want to hurt her.
“Give our omega what she needs,” Knox says, his voice softer.
Skyla’s body jerks suddenly, a tremor starting deep in her chest.
Then she screams. The sound tears through the room, raw and wild, and every one of us tenses.
Something inside me snaps. Instinct crashes over any other thought.My omega’s in pain.
