Chapter 26
Claire
The Omega breakfast before the pickleball tournament is…something.
Long gone are the friendly conversations of the mixer. Everyone seems rather pissy, and it has hairs rising on the back of my neck.
Andie is fanning herself next to me, so are a few other Omegas. It is rather hot in this fucking room, now that I think of it.
“We want friendly games. Any unsportsmanlike misconduct will be an automatic disqualification,” the cruise director says in front of us all.
Is it unsportsmanlike to hit this ball as hard as I can right into Megan’s smug, Beta touching, jealous ass face?
She’s glaring at me across the room and it’s taking a massive effort to not lift my middle finger at her.
God, I’m really on edge today. It's probably because I had no one to cuddle with me last night and I can smell Megan’s too sweet banana scent; it’s like you left her on the counter for too long and she’s all rotten.
I snort to myself as I wipe the back of my neck.
“We’re going to kick ass, Andie,” I tell her.
Both of us want out of this meeting. This is too many Omega scents in one place, on top of all the Alpha scents clinging to everyone. It makes me feel nauseous.
I need Forrest.
I’ll just have to get a hit of his scent between matches.
“Alright, let’s do this,” Andie says, though her enthusiasm seems like it’s more geared toward getting this over with versus the actual excitement for the sport.
Luckily, she’s a natural and a good listener. Andie and I win our first two games. Her pack and mine are all there supporting. Wells is the loudest of my guys and I wonder if it’s because he comes from the sports world.
However, my teammate is losing steam and we play Megan next.
We’re over by our packs, getting water and cooling down. I’m sniffing Forrest like my life depends on it, maybe it does.
He tugs lightly on my ponytail, making me look up at him.
“You feeling alright?” he asks me.
“Yeah, for sure. It’s just hot today, and I didn’t sleep the best last night, and I need to kick Megan’s ass in pickleball.”
Elliot has his phone out. “I’m ready to record and send it to Axel,” he says, and I smirk.
“She’s been hitting short a lot of her games, you need to be prepared for that,” Wells tells me, like he’s my coach.
“After this is over you need to spend the rest of the day relaxing,” Forrest demands and I give him a warm smile and tug on his shirt for a good luck kiss.
His lips touch mine and I moan. There’s no time to thirst over my pack though, I have a game to win. I walk away from them, maybe swishing my ass in my skirt a bit. It’s always important to let your pack know they need to appreciate what they have on a near constant basis.
When I’m back on the court Andie looks worse for wear. Her curly red hair sticks to her skin and her white top is covered in sweat.
“Andie, sweetie. Are you okay?” I ask her.
“Yeah, it’s just so hot being out in the sun for so long,” she says. I give her a nod. Because the Caribbean sun has been rough today.
I glance around at the other Omegas and they all seem to be in a similar state, so at least it’s not just Andie.
“Honestly, if you’re not up for it, we can call it, I don’t want you to over exert yourself,” I tell her and she shakes her head.
“And miss you defeating your arch nemesis? Please. We’ll kick her ass and then I’m sleeping the rest of the day away,” she says, pinching her side.
“Only if you’re sure. If we don’t win I was planning on getting our packs cabanas anyway,” I tell her. I feel guilty that I roped her into this tournament and she isn’t feeling well.
“But it will be so much sweeter to win it,” she grins at me and I give her the same look back. I’ve made her a little blood thirsty and I’m not mad about it.
“We got this,” I tell her, keeping our positive vibes going.
Maybe I hoped she would want to call it quits, because despite the smile I’m putting on, I’m not feeling too great either. I should have eaten more for breakfast because my stomach is clenching in protest of my choices.
Whatever, I’ll work through the discomfort. I owe it to myself and for Andie to do my best.
“Let’s go, Claire!” Wells bellows, and I smile, looking over at where he stands. I give him a wave of my paddle and use the hem of my shirt to wipe off some sweat from my face.
That elicits some growling on the sidelines, and I ignore it. In fact, we’re ignoring how most of the Alphas’ sideline behavior. They’re acting like they’re high stakes betting on this pickleball tournament.
I’m also absolutely ignoring how far Elliot and Forrest are standing from each other. I can’t help it when a little whine of displeasure slips out of me.
Forrest and Wells both tilt their heads at the noise and I shake it off.
“Let’s get this over quick,” I tell Andie and she nods at me, her skin flushed.
I decide right then and there that no matter what, I’m giving Andie the best present ever for being my ride or die and agreeing to do this with me, especially when it’s so wretchedly hot outside.
I fan myself with the racket as I lock eyes with Megan on the other side of the court and she serves. Luckily, Andie and I rally and then it’s our turn to serve and we score a point.
The game goes back and forth, each of us raking up points until it’s twelve-eleven. Andie and I need one more point to take this and it’s our serve.
I bounce the ball twice, licking my dry lips. I feel like I’m about to fall over. Out of all the Omegas on the court, though, I’m probably in the best shape. Poor Andie looks like a ghost next to me, Megan is clenching her side, and her partner looks like she’s close to throwing up.
Maybe having a pickleball tournament in the middle of the day in the Caribbean was not the best choice for Omegas. I’m going to have to write a strongly worded email saying they need an indoor athletic space, because this is brutal.
“Come on, baby, you got this,” Elliot shouts.
“Take the game, princess,” Forrest follows.
Wells is letting out some chant and the blood pounds in my ears. I serve the ball and Megan dives for it, but she misses, falling to the ground.
Andie and I win!
I jump up and down, grabbing Andie, who looks a little green.
“We did it,” she says in a near groan.
“Andie?” I question her and she waves me off.
“She’s not getting up,” someone shouts, and I glance over at Megan. She still hasn’t gotten up from where she dove for the ball.
I gasp, jumping over the net and looking down at her. I might hate her, but I don’t want her to actually keel over. She turns to face me and a groan slips out of her.
It’s only then that her over-ripened banana hits me in full force, churning my gut in a way I didn’t think was possible. Oh, God, I’m going to throw up off the side of this ship again.
“Fuck,” I hiss, grabbing her wrist and hitting her panic button on the side. Multiple Alphas approach and there’s a fear licking up my spine. “Back the fuck up,” I tell them and they only somewhat listen.
Their scents are overwhelming, coating my throat with a sickening feeling.
My heart pounds as I breathe rapidly and look around me. I watch in horror as all the Omegas around me fall like dominos. A loud alarm blares over the ship’s intercom system and I cover my ears.
Tears prickle my eyes and everything is moving so fast. I fall to my own knees against Megan, the court scratching my knees, but all I can focus on is this pain rippling inside me.
Someone scoops up Megan, Andie’s pack grabs her, and other Alphas seem to be swiping Omegas left and right.
A hand grips my arm, and I yelp, with the scent being unfamiliar. When I look at the Alpha, I know he isn’t mine. A scream takes over, but it’s washed out as the intercom system blares around us.
“Code pink. We have a code pink. All Omegas must be accounted for. Code Pink. Code Pink.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, overwhelmed with all the scents, all the noise as the first cramp in my stomach hits me and I whimper.
“Get the fuck off her,” a growl sounds next to me, his whiskey scent clear as the offending Alphas hand leaves my skin.
When I look down, it’s to him passed out on the ground, his nose bleeding.
I’m able to breathe for a moment, but a whimper falls out of my lips. I’m so scared. This can’t be happening right now. They don’t even like each other yet. They were going to bring me home and build me my dream nest.
Strong arms wrap around me as the soothing scent of ginger and lemon envelopes me.
Safe. I’m safe in my Alphas arms.
“We’ve got you, Claire,” he says and I curl into his chest.
“Fucking shit,” I hear Elliot. “Get out of the fucking way, you cunts.”
There’s shoving, a plethora of scents, and the horn is still blaring. Someone grabs my ankle and the hand is quickly removed.
“You get your fucking hands off of her,” Wells says and I groan.
“My head hurts,” I moan, and Forrest rubs his cheek against my head.
“I know. I’m pretty sure every single fucking Omega on this ship just went into heat. We’ll take care of you, don’t worry,” he says.
Tears fill my eyes, because the truth was I knew I’d likely go into heat on the ship. I came onto this cruise knowing that was the most likely possibility. But once I met Forrest and Wells, I thought that maybe my first heat could be the perfect one I always imagined.
“Please don’t cry, Claire. I might kill someone,” Forrest rumbles against me and I sniffle against his chest.
“Elevators are down,” Elliot says, and I wish he were touching me too. I need them all so badly and I don’t even know if they’ll be okay during heat.
“You don’t even like each other,” I cry and Forrest and Elliot both curse.
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll figure our shit out,” Elliot says. “Fuck, we’re going to have to take the stairs to the heat suite levels. We’ve got to get her away from all these Alpha and Omega scents.”
“Alright, Princess, I’m going to carry you over my shoulder, alright?” Forrest says.
I don’t give him a sound of agreement, he just does it and it’s dizzying how fucking fast he flies down the stairs. It churns my stomach and I think I’m going to throw up on his back.
Luckily they finally get to the right level and Wells picks up my wrist to open the door and Forrest goes back to carrying me bridal style.
“Holy shit,” Wells hisses next to me.
When I look up with watery eyes, I know exactly why. The entire lobby is filled to the brim with Alphas and Omegas as moderators try to handle the chaos.
“We’ll just push through?” Forrest suggests.
“There will be no pushing! Our priority is getting every Omega into a suite first, along with the Alphas who already have permission to be a part of their heat.”
My heart thunders against my chest as I grip Forrest’s shirt, bringing his face close to mine.
His deep brown eyes pool with concern as he looks at me. “I never added Elliot to my list.”
“We’ll handle it. Don’t worry,” he tells me, and I just have to take his word for it.
The scents in here are, quite honestly, fucking disgusting. A mix of sickly sweet Omega scents sneak through my nose. Hell, an Omega is literally naked only a few feet away from me as an Alpha fingers her.
“Get me to a suite now,” I grate out.
I will not be finger fucked in the hallway while all these people watch. They get taken away and so do other packs while we stand here and wait. I know Forrest is getting pissed as he holds me.
Eventually we’re the last pack in the lobby as a frantic man comes up to us and doesn’t even speak, he just starts scanning wrists.
I decide I hate him, and he needs to get the hell away from me and my pack.
“You’ll need to leave the lobby,” he tells Elliot, pushing his glasses up. Elliot grabs the man’s shirt and Wells steps between them.
“She hasn’t been able to add him to her list. She needs him there.”
The man looks at me and I know I must look pathetic with tears in my eyes as I nod.
“You consent to him being in your heat? Can you verbally confirm that with me?” the Beta moderator asks.
“Need Elliot,” I say and the man grumbles but scans Elliot’s bracelet and tells us to follow him.
“It’s the last suite available,” he says as he opens the door.
I look around and sob.
It’s the fucking Under the Sea heat suite.