Chapter 45
Cole
M assimo and I move fast. Sébastien is flushed, clinging to the railing as the slick between his thighs slows him down. Rowan’s scent has gone from warm and sweet to soaked , perfumed peaches and honeysuckle clouding the stairwell. The air is heavy with it, so thick it coats the back of my throat.
I take the lead, clearing the steps ahead, forcing my instincts into a chokehold. My Alpha is snarling just beneath the surface, clawing to the front. I can feel my rut trying to break through. Heat in my veins, need in my chest, a savage, primal urge that says take, mark, claim .
Not here. Not now.
We round the next landing. Almost there. Then the stairwell door slams open below us. Hard, and everything shifts.
Four Alphas charge in, eyes already glassy, scents sharp and aggressive. Their gazes land on Rowan and Sébastien, and I hear one of them inhale like he’s just discovered a feast laid out before him.
They’re scent-drunk. Fuck. I don’t think. I move. I step in front of the others, blocking the stairwell, squaring my shoulders. My Alpha flares so hard it nearly knocks the breath out of me. They feel it. Oh, they feel it.
“Back. The fuck. Off!” I bark.
My voice comes out in a growl so deep it rattles the metal railing. My scent slams into the space like a wall. The stairwell trembles under the pressure of five Alphas going toe to toe, except I’m not just any Alpha. I’m an Ultra Alpha. The kind they warn you about. The kind most sane people don’t challenge.
But they’re high on slick and desperation, barely tethered to reason. One of them steps forward. Just one. But that’s all it takes for my control to snap halfway. A brutal snarl tears from my chest as I roar , letting my full dominance crash into them like a thunderclap. It’s not polite. It’s not safe. It’s not human.
They freeze. One of them whimpers. Another stumbles back, eyes wide.
“Out. Now.” My voice is lethal. A command carved from stone.
They back off, retreating like kicked dogs, their own instincts overriding whatever delusion led them here. I watch every step until the door slams shut behind them. I stand there breathing hard, vision swimming at the edges. My Alpha is barely in check. My heart’s pounding like a war drum, and my scent is everywhere.
I turn to the others, still shielding them with my body. Sébastien’s clinging to the rail, shaking. Rowan’s eyes are glassy, her cheeks flushed, pupils blown wide.
Mass puts a hand in the middle of each of the Omega’s backs and ushers them down the few remaining stairs. I open the door for them scanning for the SUV.
Xavier spots me at the same time I see him. He rushes over helping Mass get the Omegas to the SUV and inside. I slide beside the driver, whose eyes grow wider by the moment.
They’re all still trembling when I hustle them into the back of the SUV. Sébastien curls into himself, eyes half-lidded, trying to fight the pull of instinct. Rowan’s perfume is everywhere, and her thighs are slicked with need, her breath hitching as she sinks into the seat.
Massimo slides in last, pulling the door shut. The moment the locks click, and we’re sealed inside, something in me cracks.
“Mass,” I snap, turning in my seat, voice tight with heat and leftover rage. “Hotel. Now. ”
He blinks. Just once. That Alpha brain of his short circuits for a second under the force of my command. I didn’t mean to bark it. Not at him. But it’s too late to pull it back.
My words echo in the cabin, sharp and too loud. The moment they leave my mouth, I regret them. Massimo doesn’t flinch, but his jaw tightens. His hands are already on his phone, pulling up hotel listings, but I still feel the weight of what I did.
“Shit,” I murmur, dragging a hand down my face. “Mass... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bark. I’m so fucking close to rut, then the Alphas. Fuck man, I’m truly sorry.”
He nods once, still focused, but I see the muscle twitch in his jaw. I hurt his feelings. I’ll make it right later.
Right now, we need to focus on our Omegas. Rowan lets out a soft whimper. I twist in my seat, just in time to see her curl forward, arms wrapping around her middle, her hair falling like a curtain around her face. Her breathing shifts, shallow, hitched.
“Ro?” My voice is gentler now, laced with worry.
“I—” She gasps, then moans through her teeth. “It hurts. I—I need—” Her voice breaks off as she doubles over farther, pressing her knees together, trembling.
Sébastien reaches for her, whispering something soothing in French, but I can smell her panic. Her pain. She needs relief. But not here. Not in the back of a stranger’s SUV, not with the city rushing by outside and unfamiliar eyes too close.
My heart cracks a little.
“We're almost there, sweetheart,” I murmur, shifting to brush a hand against her leg. “Just hold on. A few more minutes, okay? Just a few.”
Massimo’s voice cuts through the tension. “Got one. Five minutes out. Omega suite. Key is waiting.”
I meet his eyes, relief and gratitude crashing through me.
“Drive faster,” I growl to the Beta behind the wheel. “And don’t stop for anything.”