Page 99 of Hidden Fates

“No dice,” she whispers hoarsely, her eyes watery and her bond flooding with fear.

“Shhh.” I pull her into my arms, lifting her gently, and carry her from the nest. My earlier phone call gave me some insight into what the issue might be. A theory we are going to test right now.

“Where are we going?” she asks, shivering against me.

I pause in her room to grab a mostly scent-free blanket from her bed. She takes it, draping it over her nude form. “The sitting room.”

“But my nest…”

Tapping her head with mine, I brush my scent onto her skin. “Your nest is soaked in the scent of your heat and your Alphas’ rut.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

We reach the bottom of the stairs and head into the sitting room, where a fire is roaring. I pushed the furniture aside and laid out several thick blankets and cushions to help keep her warm.

Setting her into the center of the pile, I brush her hair away from her face, fingers lingering on her cheek. “Normally, yes. Unfortunately, with bond sickness cases, they can have the opposite effect, extending an Omega’s heat. Your body might be refusing to let your heat subside out of fear that your Alpha will leave you again.”

“So moving down here will help? It won’t make it worse when I can’t smell Caleb?”

I sit beside her, slipping my sweater off so that she can press against my chest. “No, because you can feel him here.” I tap her chest over her heart, and trail my fingers up to his bond mark on her throat. “And here.”

Skye lets me feed her bites of a hearty stew Mama Aisha made last night, her appetite ravenous with how much energy she’s burned through.

We cuddle in front of the fire, longer than I thought we would make it before she spiked again. There must be merit to the doctor’s theory after all.

“Quentin,” Skye whines, her thighs pressing together and a hand clawing at her abdomen.

I prepared for this, making sure a box of her toys were within arms reach. Digging into them, I find a hook shaped toy in a soft pink, the inflatable knot at the curve perfect for easing her.

Shifting her to her back, I press the tip of the device to her lips. “Open.” They part and her tongue slides along it, wetting the silicone. “Good girl. Now spread your legs, let me see your pretty pussy so I can take your pain away.”

I kneel between her parted thighs and press the toy to her opening, inching it inside. The hook settles against her clit, vibrating intensely when I power it on.

“Oh Fates.” she cries out, hands scrambling in the blankets. I catch one, lacing her fingers with mine to ground her.

I alternate between teasing her clit and pumping the toy into her, letting her build up her release. When she’s mindlessly begging, her head thrashing against the blankets, I push it back in and inflate the knot, letting it and the vibrations sweep her over the edge.

“Quentin.”

My little Omega cries my name so prettily.

Laying beside her, I slip one arm beneath her head, enjoying the way she melts against me, her eyes already slipping closed. The toy stays lodged inside her, ready for another round if she wakes needy and wanting.

A few hours pass without her stirring. I sigh in relief when her temperature regulates, her skin cool beneath my palm.

Onyx stumbles into the room and peers down at us, searching our mate’s face. “It’s over,” I tell him. “We need to air out her nest before she goes back upstairs.”

His lips tilt down at the corners. He doesn’t question me, slipping from the room to take care of it. I’ll explain later. Preferably when the rest of our pack are available.

“My scent made her heat worse?”

Caleb is stricken, his fist clenched tight around his fork. Our pack finally gathered for a late breakfast two days after Skye’s heat broke, and I just finished explaining the doctor’s theory about why it was so extensive.

“This is a side effect of the bond sickness you both share. One we will address at your appointment this afternoon.” I keep my voice gentle, trying to help shake some of his guilt.

He stares down at his lap, fingers clenching and unclenching around his silverware until Onyx reaches over and takes it away from him.

“Caleb, it isn’t your fault,” Skye tries to explain.