Chapter 31
Hazard woke with a start. His bedroom was dark. Fire licked over his skin and his forehead was damp with sweat. And yet he wanted to pull another blanket over him. When he adjusted his position on the bed, he felt the backs of his thighs were wet with slick. He hoped the seal on his door was holding strong because his scent was thick in the air.
Sitting up, he turned on the nightstand lamp. He poured himself a glass of water from one of the jugs, drinking it down in a few gulps. His pre-heat was rapidly sliding into the full thing. Between his legs his cock throbbed, but he ignored it for now. He’d have his hands on it almost constantly real soon.
He needed some fresh air. Even though his Instinct already had him reluctant to leave his nest, he rose from the bed and made his way over to the window, his stiff cock bobbing with every step. He fumbled with the lock before he managed to slide the window open. There was a heavy-duty screen over it so he wasn’t worried about anyone outside bothering him. And it was a windy night. The smell of his heat would dissipate before it had a chance to be noticed by anyone near their barracks.
As he stood there a breeze blew in, cooling his forehead. Hazard sighed with relief. He closed his eyes, letting the cold air wash over him for a few minutes before he went and flopped back down on the bed. He looked down his body at his cock laying across his stomach. It was already wet at the tip. Touching a finger to that spot caused him to shiver. The feeling wasn’t unpleasant so he did it again. He kept up the gentle stroking, getting himself ready for what was to come.
* * *
An hour later, he was in the thick of it. He’d given himself two orgasms already and was working his way toward a third. But even as he stroked his wet, straining length he knew it wouldn’t be enough.
A whine slipped from his throat. He bit down hard on his lip, trying not to make the desperate noise again. He’d stopped the sound, but not the feeling that caused it. He felt empty. His thigh and ass muscles clenched, wanting something inside him. There was only one thing that could satisfy that feeling and it was there on his nightstand, waiting to be used.
Hazard reached for the sex toy he’d bought that afternoon. Spreading his legs, he pressed the head of the dildo to his entrance. He was wet with slick and had fucked himself with his fingers just before his second climax, so it slid inside of him without too much trouble. He went slow anyway, enjoying the sensation of being filled.
Once the dildo was all the way inside him, Hazard paused, focusing on the way the toy stretched him, pressing on that sensitive spot that made him shiver. But it felt wrong. The thing was fake and cold. His senses were overly sensitive right now and the smell of the silicone made him wrinkle his nose in distaste.
“Should have paid extra for the deluxe heated version,” he mumbled, trying to make light of his desperate need to feel a hot, throbbing, real cock inside him. The toy would have to do, it was too late to find a heat partner. Besides, there was only one person he wanted and he wasn’t coming.
Hazard whined again even as he started to work the dildo in and out of his slick hole. It felt good but he wanted more. His body was all mixed up, trembling on the edge of another release while wishing his mate was there to give him one that was even better. Biting back a curse, Hazard reminded himself that he didn’t have a mate. No one was going to help him through this. Gritting his teeth, he fucked himself faster, thrusting his hips up to meet each push in of the silicone cock.
With his jaw clenched tight and brows drawn down in concentration, it felt as if he was fighting his body rather than pleasuring it. When he climaxed, it was with a full-body shudder, knees drawing up as his cock spilled onto his already messy stomach.
After several deep breaths, Hazard relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. He tugged the toy out of him with a wet squelch and tossed it aside. His chest heaving, he lay there, legs sprawled, staring up at the ceiling. But as soon as the release eased off, the next wave of his heat began.
“I hate this. Hate it,” he mumbled resentfully. Male omegas couldn’t bear children. But there was still an echo somewhere in their biology that thought they could. Regardless of how an omega felt about having kids, something within their genetic makeup wanted them to be bred. And the best way for that to happen? Have lots and lots of sex. Days of it.
Their bodies did everything they could to make the sex marathon possible. He smelled amazing, sending out pheromones to entice virile alphas. His ass produced slick to make penetration easy. And a flip was switched in his brain that not only had him in a constant state of arousal, it also turned the strength of that arousal up far past usual, everyday levels. It was like turning the volume dial up on the stereo until the music was scratchy and overwhelming.
Hazard turned to his front, pressing his face into the pillow. The first day was always the hardest. Once he made it past the first twenty-four hours, the urge to be fucked wouldn’t be as strong and he’d have more time in between each wave.
Still on his front, he shoved a hand beneath himself and gripped his cock. Not wasting any time, he immediately started to stroke, hoping for a quick orgasm. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. No matter how fast or slow he moved his hand, or how he teased the tip with his thumb, he couldn’t get there. Nothing worked. The pleasure built higher and higher until he was filled with sensation from head to toe, but he couldn’t come.
“What the hell?” Confused, he rolled to his back, hoping a change in position would help. When it didn’t, he let out another frustrated whine. He grabbed the toy and held it upright on the bed with one hand. Kneeling over it, he slid down until it was sheathed inside him. He started to bounce, desperate to climax. But this wasn’t working either. He kept trying, his frustrated whines continuing. Before he knew it, they changed pitch, becoming stronger, longer until he was full out howling.
Knees spread wide on the bed, he threw his head back, another howl coming from his throat. Lost in the haze of his heat, Hazard sobbed with frustration. His mate should hear him and come to him. Why wasn’t he there? Why was he alone during his heat?
Hazard howled again. Louder. Demanding, pleading for Ice to come and give him what he needed.
* * *
Sam abruptly awoke and sat straight up in bed. A noise had snatched her out of sleep. She sat there, ears straining as she listened, trying to figure out what she’d heard. There was only silence for several seconds. And then the sound came again. A high, plaintive howl. Her wolf’s brain instantly recognized the tone. An omega calling for his mate. It was Hazard calling for Ice. Fuck.
She scrambled from bed, quickly tugging on her pants and a T-shirt. She opened her bedroom door at the same time Jax burst out of his own room. They stood there in the middle of the common area, staring at each other.
“Was that what I think it was?” he asked.
“Hazard calling for Ice.” Sam ran a hand through her hair. She hadn’t expected this to happen when she’d granted Hazard permission to spend his heat in his room.
The howl came again. It was pure as a crystal bell with an unmistakable note of demand. Hazard wanted his mate and he wanted him now . The sound sent shivers of apprehension down her spine.
“Should we make him stop?” Jax asked in a low whisper.
Sam shook her head. “I don’t think we can. The best we can do is try to get him moved to the omega heat house. But we’ll need to get some omega or beta medics here to assist. He might not deal well with two alphas who aren’t his mate near him right now.”
She turned to go into the kitchen, where the phone was on the wall next to the pantry. She reached for the receiver, but before she could pick it up, an answering howl, distant but deep and powerful, echoed down from the direction of the hills to the east of the base.
Sam dropped her hand from the phone. She recognized that howl.
“It’s too late,” she said quietly. “Ice will be here soon.”