Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sierra
The silence that follows my words is absolute.
Four alphas stand frozen, staring at me like I’ve just offered them something they never expected to receive. The air is so thick with pure, concentrated alpha tangled together with my own sweetness until it’s hard to tell where one ends and another begins.
My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
The muscle in Dax’s jaw is jumping as he clenches his teeth hard. Cole’s breathing has gone ragged. Jalen’s grip on my shoulder has tightened almost imperceptibly. And Malik closes his eyes, his jaw working as he visibly fights for control.
“Sierra.” His voice when he finally speaks is strained, careful. He opens his eyes, and they’re darker than I’ve ever seen them. “This is heat and rut talking. You need to be certain.”
It’s the responsible thing to say. The right thing. The thing I should probably thank him for because he’s giving me an out, a chance to take it back before we cross a line we can’t uncross.
But I don’t want to take it back.
“I know,” I say softly. Another wave of heat rolls through me, and I have to pause, breathing through it.
My skin tingles as if electricity is running just underneath it.
“I know what this is. I know my biology is screaming at me to let you help. I know your ruts are making this harder than it should be.”
I look at each of them in turn. Dax with his aggressive protectiveness barely leashed. Malik with his controlled exterior fracturing. Jalen with his gentle hands still trembling against my shoulder. Cole with his desperate need written across every line of his body.
“I don’t know what’s biology and what’s choice right now,” I admit, and my voice cracks slightly.
“Maybe I won’t know until this is over. But I know—” I have to pause again as my omega purrs, as fresh slick pools between my thighs, as my scent spikes with want so intense it makes all four of them inhale sharply.
“I know I want this. I know I trust you. And I know I can’t do this alone anymore. ”
My lip trembles, and I bite down on it, tasting salt from the tears that are still drying on my cheeks.
“Please,” I whisper.
The word breaks something.
Dax makes a sound low in his throat that’s pure alpha. Possession and need and barely restrained hunger.
Cole’s control visibly cracks, his scent spiking so sweet and desperate it makes me dizzy.
“We’ll take care of you,” Jalen says softly, and the promise in those words sends a shiver through my entire body. “I swear it, Sierra. We’ll take care of you.”
He moves first.
His hand slides from my shoulder down my arm, fingers wrapping gently around my wrist. The touch is electric. Heat and alpha and rightness all combined into something that makes my omega sing with satisfaction.
“Can I?” he asks, voice rough.
I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
Jalen slides one arm under my knees, the other behind my back, and lifts me like I weigh nothing.
The movement brings me against his chest, and the full-body contact is almost overwhelming.
He’s so warm, radiating heat that matches my own.
His scent wraps around me, and I can’t help the small sound that escapes my throat.
Pure omega approval.
Jalen’s arms tighten around me, and he breathes in sharply, burying his face against my hair for just a moment.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “You smell so good. Like—God, like everything I’ve ever wanted.”
He carries me to the nest they just rebuilt. Every step sends little jolts of electricity through me where our bodies touch. My oversensitive skin registers every point of contact. His arms under my legs, his hand against my back, my side pressed to his chest.
When he lowers me onto the fresh sheets, I immediately miss his warmth. My omega whines at the loss of contact, the sound a soft little whimper that leaves my lips.
But then the others are there.
All four of them surrounding the nest, surrounding me, their scents mixing and layering until the air is thick with alpha. My omega is purring so loudly I’m sure they can hear it, completely abandoning any pretense of restraint.
This is what she wants. What she’s been screaming for since my heat started.
Pack. Alphas. Safety.
Dax reaches out slowly, giving me time to pull away if I want to. When I don’t, his hand cups my cheek, and his thumb brushes away a streak of moisture I didn’t realize was there. Rain or tears, I’m not sure which.
“You’re shaking,” he says quietly. His dark eyes search my face, and I can see the concern there beneath the rut-hunger.
“Heat,” I manage, my voice a soft, breathy thing. “And maybe nerves.”
“We’ll go slow,” he promises, and the rough sincerity in his voice makes something in my chest tighten. “We’ll follow your lead. You’re in control here, Sierra. Always.”
The others nod in agreement. Malik settles on the edge of the nest near my feet. Cole kneels beside Dax, and Jalen climbs carefully into the nest on my other side, close but not touching yet, waiting for permission.
They’re all waiting for permission.
These four alphas in full rut, surrounded by an omega in heat who just invited them into her nest, and they’re holding themselves back with visible effort because they want me to be sure.
The realization makes my eyes sting with fresh tears.
“Sierra?” Jalen’s voice is concerned now. “If you’ve changed your mind—”
“No,” I interrupt quickly. “I haven’t. I just—” I have to swallow past the lump in my throat. “Thank you. For being careful. For making sure.”
“Always,” Malik says firmly from his position at my feet. His hand settles on my ankle. A light touch, barely there, but it sends warmth radiating up my leg. “We’ll always make sure you’re okay with this. With us.”
I nod, not trusting my voice again.
Jalen shifts slightly closer. His hand comes up slowly and settles against my jaw. His thumb traces my cheekbone, and I can feel him shaking with the effort of maintaining his control.
“Can I kiss you?” he asks softly.
The question surprises me. Of all of them, I expected Dax to make the first move. Or maybe Malik with his controlled intensity. But Jalen, with his gentle hands and soft questions, feels right in a way I can’t quite explain.
“Yes,” I breathe.
He leans in slowly, giving me every opportunity to change my mind. When his lips finally brush against mine, it’s surprisingly soft. Sweet. A question more than a demand.
I answer by pressing closer.
The kiss deepens, and suddenly I’m drowning in toasted marshmallow, in the taste of him, in the feel of his mouth moving against mine with increasing urgency. His hand slides into my hair, and he angles my head, taking the kiss deeper still.
My knees would buckle if I were standing. As it is, I sway slightly, and suddenly, there are more hands steadying me.
Dax’s hand on my waist. Cole’s fingers curling around my wrist, his thumb finding my pulse point. Malik’s grip on my ankle tightening just enough to anchor me.
All of them touching me now. All of them helping to hold me steady while Jalen kisses me like I’m oxygen and he’s been drowning.
When he finally pulls back, we’re both breathing hard. His deep brown eyes are nearly black with rut, and his scent has gone so thick and sweet it’s like being wrapped in warmth.
“Okay?” he asks roughly.
I can only nod, too overwhelmed to form words.
“Good,” he murmurs, and then his lips are on my jaw, trailing down to my neck.
The moment his mouth brushes against that sensitive spot just at my collarbone, I gasp. Pleasure shoots through me so intense it borders on painful. My omega practically screams with satisfaction. Alpha. Touching me. Scenting me. Claiming me.
“Jalen,” I whimper.
“God, Sierra,” he breathes against my skin, his voice thick with a need he’s no longer hiding. “You have no idea.”
His nose traces the line of my neck, and he breathes in deeply, scenting me properly. The intimacy of it makes me tremble. This is omega-alpha bonding at its most basic, and for the first time in my life, I realize I’ve been starved of it.
Then Dax is there too, on my other side. His hand slides from my waist to my hip, and he leans in, his nose brushing against my neck on the other side.
“May I?” His voice is pure gravel, barely controlled.
“Yes,” I breathe.
He nuzzles into my neck with less gentleness than Jalen but equal reverence. His sugar-spun warmth wraps around me as he scents me thoroughly, his lips brushing against my skin in a way that makes me shiver.
Two alphas at my throat. Two more touching me. Cole’s hand has slid up from my wrist to my forearm, his grip gentle but possessive, while Malik has moved closer, his other hand now resting on my calf.
I’m surrounded. Covered in alpha scent and alpha touch, and my omega has never been happier.
Another wave of heat crashes through me, and I whimper, my body arching slightly. Fresh slick pools between my thighs, and I know they can smell it.
All four of them tense.
Dax pulls back from my neck just enough to look at me, his dark eyes searching my face. “Are you in pain?”
“No,” I manage. “Just—it’s a lot.”
“Too much?” Malik asks immediately, concern cutting through the rut-fog.
“No,” I say again. “Not too much. Just... intense.”
Cole makes a sound that might be agreement. His hand is trembling against my arm, and I can see the effort it takes him to stay gentle, to not grab and claim and take.
They’re all holding back. All fighting their ruts, their instincts, their desperate need to ease an omega in heat.
For me.
“You’re being so careful,” I say softly, and my voice cracks. “All of you. Even though I know your ruts are telling you to—”
“Doesn’t matter what our ruts are saying,” Dax interrupts roughly. “You matter more.”
“We won’t hurt you,” Jalen adds, his hand stroking through my hair. “Won’t push you past what you’re ready for. Even if it kills us.”
“Which it might,” Cole mutters, but there’s affection in his voice along with the strain.
Malik’s hand squeezes my calf gently. “We’re yours, Sierra. However you need us. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
The words settle over me like a blanket. Warm and safe and utterly devastating in their sincerity. These don’t sound like empty promises spoken in the heat of rut. These are vows.
I reach up with a shaking hand and cup Dax’s jaw, feeling the stubble there rasp against my palm. He leans into the touch like he’s starving for it, his eyes closing briefly.
When he opens them again, the hunger there steals my breath.
But beneath the hunger is something else. Something deeper.
“I trust you,” I whisper. “All of you.”
“You shouldn’t,” Dax says roughly. “We’re in rut and you’re in heat and we want—fuck, Sierra, you have no idea what we want.”
“Tell me.”
The request comes out breathless, but I mean it. I want to know. Need to know.
“You,” Cole says simply, his eyes darkening to the color of a stormy sea. “We want you. In every way there is to want someone.”
“We want to ease your heat,” Jalen says against my neck, his lips brushing my skin with each word. “Want to make the pain stop. Want to give you everything you need.”
“We want to scent you until there’s no question who you belong to,” Malik adds, his voice lower than I’ve ever heard it. His vanilla ice-cream has gone dark and possessive. “Want to mark you. Keep you. Build a nest with you and never let you leave it.”
“We want it all,” Dax finishes, and the raw honesty in his voice makes my eyes sting. “Even knowing we shouldn’t. We want it anyway.”
I should be terrified. Should be running from this intensity, this claiming, this complete and utter certainty from four alphas who’ve been my rivals from the start.
But I’m not terrified.
I’m relieved.
Because my omega wants it too. Wants them. Wants this pack that’s been building around me since the moment they walked into this house.
And maybe—just maybe—it’s not just my omega who wants it.
“I’m scared,” I admit quietly. “And I don’t know if I’m thinking clearly through the heat or if—”
“Then we’ll wait,” Malik interrupts gently. His thumb is stroking small circles on my calf, soothing. “We’ll help you through your heat and then when it’s over, when you can think clearly, we’ll talk about this.”
“But right now,” Jalen says, pulling back to look at me properly, “right now we just want to take care of you. Make you feel safe. Ease your pain. Everything else can wait.”
“Everything else can wait,” Dax echoes, his hand still cupping my face. “You’re what matters right now, Sierra. Just you.”
Cole shifts closer, his hand sliding up to my shoulder. “So let us take care of you. Please. Let us do what our ruts are screaming at us to do and make our omega feel better.”
Our omega?
The words send a shiver through me and, for some reason, I don’t correct him.
My lip trembles and I bite down on it, overwhelmed by gratitude and need and something deeper I’m not ready to put into words.
“Sierra?” Malik’s voice is soft, but there’s an edge to it. “One more time. Are you sure about this? About us?”
I take a shaking breath. Let it out slowly. Meet his dark eyes and see the question there, the desperate hope, the promise of safety.
“Yes,” I whisper. My voice is steady despite the trembling in my hands. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Say it,” Dax requests roughly, his hand tightening slightly against my jaw. “Tell us what you want.”
I know what he needs to hear. What they all need to hear. The explicit permission, the clear consent, the words that will let them finally give in to what their ruts are demanding.
“Please,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper but utterly certain. “Please take care of me.”
Malik’s eyes flash, and a slow smile curves his lips.
“Then let us take care of you, omega.”