27. Claire
Coming out of a heat was like breathing for the first time in a week. Everything felt strange and disconnected. Yet the incessant need and fog were finally gone.
The first haze that broke, I was surrounded by the guys but just wanted to sleep. This time the room was empty, but the guys had tucked me in tightly. I finally pulled myself out of the bed and went to the connecting bathroom in my nest and started a shower, smiling a bit when I saw the fresh clothes they’d laid out for me.
Steam quickly filled the room, and I breathed it in, willing it to bring me back to life. My body was sore, and I was ten shades of exhausted.
The hot water rained down on me, unknotting my tense body slowly as I stood under the hot spray. It wasn’t until I was finally able to move freely that I even bothered with body wash.
I may not remember it, but my sweet pack had clearly taken good care of me. My body was clean despite the past week of debauchery. Part of me wished I could remember more than just the small snippets of memories I had. Hands skimming my body. Knots stretching me to my limits. Sweet words telling me how great I was doing. It was choppy and disjointed, but my chest warmed that they were so perfect.
Hands startled me as they wrapped around my waist but the scent was a dead giveaway. I chuckled as I spun around and placed a soft kiss on Adrien’s lips.
“Sorry, mon chou. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he whispered. “But you didn’t hear me say your name.”
“I was just relaxing and got lost in thought,” I admitted. He reached for my favorite scented shampoo, a vanilla that they all told me complimented my scent. Lathering up his hands he ran them through my curls, massaging my scalp and ordering me to rinse. He repeated the process with conditioner.
“Vance and Riley are starting some lunch and have a show already loaded on the TV. Are you ready for relaxation and snuggles?”
I could feel his contentment through our bond, the faint echoes of Vance and Riley too and I marveled in it.
“Honestly, I can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” I said with a smile. He didn’t leave my side, drying me off and helping me dress, then leading me to the others.
It was as if he thought I was delicate, and for once, I felt like it. My body was still a little tender, and a bone deep exhaustion was settling in.
“There she is,” Riley sang out, lifting the edge of his blanket to invite me to sit next to him. I slid into the spot and snuggled in. “We found this new show called Pack Appeal. It’s helping hopeless, styleless alphas find their confidence. Makeovers. Wardrobe overhaul. The works.”
“They need a Riley,” I said with a laugh as the poor alpha on the screen walked out in a stained t-shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and white tube socks. Mind you this was all while he was wearing sandals.
“That’s certainly a look,” Vance noted as he joined us. He placed a kiss on top of my head and put a snack tray down on the table. They all paused, waiting for me to fill one of the tiny plates. I did it mainly so they’d relax, though I wasn’t terribly hungry.
I nibbled at the snacks as we watched the alpha go from a bachelor to mate material. It held my attention enough, I wasn’t falling asleep quite yet, but I knew it wouldn’t be long.
“How long did my heat last?” I asked, tiredly.
“The Sweetheart Swing is in two days now,” Adrien noted.
“What?” I gasped. “No…” I tried to do the math in my head, but I genuinely had no clue what day it even was.
“It’s on Saturday,” Vance confirmed at my obvious confusion. “Don’t worry, Peach. We have everything covered, and we checked in at the cafe.”
“Oh god,” I gasped. Even though I’d been up and moving for close to an hour I hadn’t once thought about work.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. This was your first heat with us all. It was intense,” Adrien said, reassurance coming down the bond.
My gaze fell on Riley as I reached for him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him closer. His shirt had shifted just enough to show a half-healed bite mark. He shifted his free hand to show the matching bite mark on the other wrist.
He whimpered as I ran a finger lightly over the ridged skin. Again the memories were disjointed and hard to understand, but I was the one who asked them to do it in the moment. Plus, it was something we’d all talked about beforehand.
I knew Vance would have never let heat claim that moment between him and me, but with Riley, it was different. They had their own relationship, and Riley was clearheaded enough to make his own decisions.
“Are you upset about it?” Riley asked as he ran his fingers over the bite Adrien had given me.
“That the bite probably triggered my heat?” I clarified before Riley nodded his head. “It’s just so weird. Heat is like a crazy fever dream where I only get little pieces of the puzzle. But I wouldn’t change the bond for the world. I can feel you all now.”
“Good,” he smiled.
Before we could say anything else, my phone was ringing. Vance was up quickly, grabbing it from the charger, then bringing it back over to me.
“It’s your mom, she called earlier, but we told her you were still sleeping.”
“Hey mom,” I said as I answered the call.
“Hey, honey,” she said excitedly. “I’m glad to hear your voice.”
“I take it Riley kept you informed?” I said, giving my beta mate the side eye. He popped a chip in his mouth and pretended not to notice.
“Of course,” she said absently. “Is there anything we can bring over for you guys? I know first heats with your pack can be tough. The recovery is the worst part.”
“They’ve got snacks, we’ve got a comfort show, a big couch, and I took a long shower. I think I have everything I need,” I said. But knowing my mom, she was already halfway here.
“Well, too bad. I made you the best post-heat tea blend. It was one of my new endeavors, and I think tea making might be my hobby. Anyway, it’s in a thermos along with some goodies for you guys,” she said as if I didn’t just tell her I was fine. “I’ll be there in a few. Don’t worry, I know how possessive alphas get during all this, so I’ll drop it and run.”
“Where are you going?” I questioned, knowing damn well she’d have sent one of my dads if she wasn’t already going out. Mom was too busy otherwise. I swear, if she was idle for even an afternoon, I would think something was seriously wrong.
“I have a class an hour away. It’s on herbal tea blends and how to get the best combinations for optimal health,” she said. “The guy who runs it is a hunk of an alpha and his omega and beta wives help teach. They’re all amazing. The beta even owns her own wellness center. It’s got yoga classes, a spa, reiki, the works. We should go sometime!”
“That sounds like fun, mom,” I agreed, secretly knowing she’d already move on to new adventures by the time it came time to go.
“Okay, here. Go out in a few minutes, and it’ll be there. I love you!” She hung up before I could even respond, and I laughed, tossing my phone on the side table.
“She’s dropping off a care package of sorts. Apparently, the new phase is herbal tea blends she does herself,” I said with zero enthusiasm. “On a scale of one to ten, how bad is this about to taste?”
“Oh, like absolute grass, I would guess,” Riley snorted.
He shifted the blanket off before going to check the porch, coming back with an actual wicker basket and setting it on the table. A hot pink thermos was on top, and he grabbed it, twisted off the top, inhaled, then gagged.
“No,” I groaned. “Don’t. If I don’t try it, she’ll know.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Vance said, eyeing it with curiosity. But the moment it was in his hands, he held it at arms’ length and turned his head. “Holy fuck. Is this even alright to drink?”
Taking a deep, stealing breath, I grabbed it from him and poured a bit in the lid, ignoring the dark green color. It did smell like the inside of an herb shop. After counting down in my head, I tipped it into my mouth.
There was mint, lemon, something floral, and it was intensely bitter. Adrien quickly handed me a drink to chase down the tea, and I took it, doing it just like I would a shot.
“Okay, mom needs to move on quicker than ever,” I complained as I grabbed a chocolate truffle and shoved it in my mouth, for once not savoring the rich flavors.
“You know, I never knew how much I needed a family like this in my life,” Vance chuckled. “We get amazing food, cookouts, acceptance, and random treasures like this tea.”
“Never tell Blaire you’re sick,” Riley warned. “One time in high school, I got super sick. My mom couldn’t keep her mouth shut, and we ended up having to clear out our freezer to fill it with no less than eight different types of soup.”
“The entire town ate soup that week,” I confirmed. “My favorite was the wild rice one.”
“I couldn’t even enjoy it, I was too stuffed up to taste anything,” Riley laughed. “My mom swore me to secrecy when we got rid of it all. Don’t spill the secret.”
“I’ll take it to my grave,” Adrien said solemnly before we all burst out laughing.
Every other heat, I’d sat alone afterward, curled in a ball, watching trash reality television and wishing I had a pack. Now that I was experiencing our own rendition of the aftermath of heat, I could easily say it was so much better.
The warmth and steady thrum of comfort through the bond was everything.
“Okay, you’ve all officially ruined me. I have to know how this ends,” Adrien said, clicking the show back on. They’d paused it the moment mom called, so I didn’t miss anything. Seeing him this invested had me biting back a grin and snuggling back into the couch. I shifted so my head rested on Adrien’s lap and my feet on Riley’s.
Adrien lifted my head and put a throw pillow underneath before gently running his fingers through my curls. Riley’s hands gently rubbed the soles of my feet, eyes trained on the screen. While they watched the show, I watched them. Even Vance was touching me, sitting on the floor with a hand on my knee, offering silent comfort that had me feeling completely content.
“We should all submit the triplets for this show. They’re the ultimate bachelors,” Riley said as we waited on the recap from the last episode we just watched. “Imagine these hosts if they saw those matching, dirty flannels they love.”
“They at least don’t slick their hair back with a pound of gel,” I said in their defense. “And they know how to flirt. This guy was hopeless.”
“The first kiss is coming up. I watched the preview, and all I can say is just wait,” Riley said with a shudder.
“Now I have to know,” Adrien laughed. “I’m grabbing more drinks first. Pause if anything good happens.”
“I’ll help. I wanted to grab more chips,” Vance agreed, getting up and going with him. The moment they were gone Riley turned to me.
“So, are you doing alright?”
“Yes…?” I dragged out the word, confused why I wouldn’t be.
“The bites. Heat. All of it,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Just making sure. Adrien barely agreed to leave you to sleep this morning, if it”s too much you let me know.”
“No regrets, Ri” I promised him. “One more bite, and we’ll have matching sets.” The joke had him grinning.
“I was a little afraid you’d come out of your heat angry it happened,” he admitted. “Omegas get territorial sometimes.”
“It’s you,” I said easily. “There’s no jealousy there, I promise. They both love us, and we love them and each other. That’s what matters.”
“You’re right. I’m being ridiculous,” he agreed. “All these damn hormones are getting to me. I need some fresh air soon, or I’m going to go crazy.”
“Back to reality tomorrow,” I said. Though in truth, I wasn’t quite ready to let go of the little corner of peace we’d claimed for ourselves. But life moved on, and we had only two days to prepare for the Sweetheart Swing, finish up the big orders I always got around this time, and we still had the last courting riddle to figure out.
None of that mattered tonight, though.
The alphas joined us again and we shifted so we were all on the couch, me on Adrien’s lap, as we turned our show back on.
There were a few more episodes and I hoped I could stay awake long enough to see it through to the end. That would be a challenge when I was breathing in their scents and fighting my exhaustion.
But it was worth it. I was happier than I’d ever been, and it was thanks to all three of my mates.