When my knot finally began to soften, she whimpered at the loss.
“I know,” I soothed, carefully pulling free. “But there will be more. The heat’s going to come in waves all night. We’re going to take care of you through each one.”
“All of you?” she asked, her voice raw from crying.
“All of us,” Dane confirmed. “We’ll take turns. Make sure you’re satisfied. Make sure you get the knots you’ve been denied. Make sure you feel cherished.”
She looked at each of us, and I saw the moment she fully surrendered. The moment she stopped fighting her biology and her fear and just let herself feel.
“Then take care of me,” she said simply. “Give me everything I’ve been missing.”
Chapter 16
Silas
Being scent-sensitive during an omega’s heat was like drowning in sensation.
Every emotion Sable felt hit me like a physical wave. Her pleasure when Beau touched her in the shower, the spike of arousal that made her gasp. Her overwhelming relief when his knot locked inside her for the first time, filling a need she’d carried for years. Her grief and joy tangled together as years of denial finally broke free, sobbing against Beau’s chest while his knot kept them connected. I felt all of it, experienced it alongside her, and it was exhausting and beautiful and more intense than anything I’d ever experienced.
Most scent-sensitive alphas learned to block it out, to build walls between themselves and the emotional tsunami of an omega in heat. But I didn’t want to block Sable out. I wanted to feel everything she felt, to understand her on a level that went deeper than words or touch. Even if it meant I was shaking withthe intensity of it, even if it meant my own emotions were getting tangled up with hers.
But I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.
After Beau’s knot released, we gave her time to rest. She needed it. Her body had been through something profound, something she’d been denied for her entire adult life. The physical exhaustion was obvious in the way she melted into the nest, boneless and spent. But emotionally, I could feel her processing, working through years of shame and denial.
Dane brought her water first, then a protein bar and some fruit. “You need to eat,” he said gently, his command presence softened into pure care. “Heat burns a lot of energy, and you’ve been through two intense waves already.”
She ate slowly, mechanically, like her body was on autopilot while her mind worked through everything that had happened. Beau sat beside her, stroking her hair in a repetitive motion that I could feel was soothing to her. The simple touch, the care without expectation, was helping her nervous system calm.
I positioned myself near the foot of the nest, giving her space but staying close enough that my scent could provide comfort. Watching her, monitoring her emotional state, making sure the heat wasn’t pushing her too hard too fast.
“How are you feeling?” I asked after she’d finished eating.
She looked at me, and I saw the truth in her eyes before she spoke. “Overwhelmed. Grateful. Scared. Happy. Sad. Everything all at once.”
“That’s normal after your first real heat with a pack,” I said. “Your emotions are going to be all over the place for a while. That’s okay.”
“Nathan never told me that.” Her voice was quiet. “He never told me what it was supposed to be like. I thought heat was just this biological inconvenience I had to suffer through alone.”
“Heat is pack bonding time,” Dane said, his voice carrying that absolute certainty he had about the things that mattered. “It’s when we prove we care. When we show up. When we make you feel safe and cherished and wanted.”
“I’ve never felt wanted like this,” she admitted. “Never felt like my needs actually mattered.”
Beau’s hand tightened in her hair, just slightly. “Your needs matter to us. Always.”
I could feel her emotions shifting, settling, the chaos starting to organize itself into something more manageable. She was integrating the experience, making sense of it, beginning to believe that maybe this was real.
She dozed after that, her body demanding rest between waves. I stayed alert, monitoring her scent, feeling the heat building again in her system. It was like watching a storm gather on the horizon. Slow at first, then faster, then inevitable.
It came about an hour later.
She woke with a gasp, her scent spiking immediately. Cedar smoke and autumn rain and underneath it, that rich omega heat scent that called to every alpha instinct I had. Her skin flushed, pupils dilating, breathing quickening.
“It’s back,” she panted, her hands fisting in the blankets. “The heat. It’s back.”
“We’ve got you,” I said, moving closer to the nest. “That’s normal. Heat comes in waves for the next day or so. Each time, we’ll help you through it.”
She looked around, seeking. Her eyes landed on me, and I felt the spike of want that went through her. Not just biological need, but desire. She wanted me specifically, wanted to feel connected to me the way she’d connected to Beau.
