Chapter 30
Hestia
Iwake up wet and sticky, starfished across my mattress, surrounded by discarded blankets.
Why is the fire so goddamn hot.
Sleeping alphas are all around me, bundled up in their blankets. How are they sleeping so peacefully when I’m being burned alive?
I tug on my top, considering taking off my clothes, but it’s so damp it clings to me.
I don’t think lying here tits out is going to be enough anyway.
I struggle onto my hands and knees and crawl out of the nest of mattresses. I bump into the doorframe and pull myself up, eyes bleary.
It’s hardly any cooler in the hallway. I go searching in the dark for relief, wandering until I hit the kitchen.
It’s only a little better in here. As I turn to leave, I bang against the counter. That feels cold. I press my face against the marble countertop, sighing as the freezing stone offers relief.
I can think again.
I could just climb on the counter and sleep here.
I frown as the heat returns, blazing even hotter than before.
I shift to a different spot, fresh cold stone, but it doesn’t help.
I whimper, my skin burning. How is the fireplace making it so hot in here?
I push off the counter and return to the hallway, sliding against the wall to keep myself upright as I look for a cure.
I squint as a white glow appears ahead and pick up my pace, aiming for the cold light.
My hands hit a window, nice frigid glass. It’s still not enough, but outside…outside is snow.
That will quench this fire.
Conveniently, the window is by a door, so all I have to do is open it and then I’m saved. I’ll lie in the snow until I feel better.
I push on the door, but it doesn’t budge.
I put my shoulder against it and push harder.
Why won’t it open??
I let out a whine.
I’m burning up. I need to get outside. I’m so wet and sticky, and I can’t breathe with the sickly-sweet fruit scent overwhelming my senses.
I shake the handle and thump against the door to no avail.
In blind frustration, I yank on the handle, jerking it up and down, until suddenly it pops open and the door swings in.
The rush of snowy air offers immediate relief, and I inhale deeply. The freezing cold hurts, but it clears out the almost drugging scent clogging my nose.
In response, the heat inside blazes hotter, the snow on my face already melted and dripping.
I step toward the alluring snowdrifts piled just outside the door.
“Hestia, stop,” a choked voice says.
I almost think I imagine the voice, self-preservation telling me to stop. I know there’s a reason I shouldn’t go outside, but it’s too hot to stay here.
Except I know that voice.
My omega roars to the front, taking over.
We turn to face our pack.
“Hestia,” Orion says again.
They’re all here, Orion, Magnus, Charm, and Henri. I can’t see him, but I can sense him—my final alpha.
I search the shadows until I find him, Cato’s eyes reflecting the light of the moon.
No one moves.
They’re my mates, they should be falling all over themselves to help me with my heat, but they’re just standing there. With the wind blowing in behind me, I can’t even scent if they’re interested.
I pout at them.
“Hestia, come back inside,” Henri coaxes, like he’s afraid I’ll run off into the night.
That might have been true a moment ago, but now I understand what’s going on and how to fix it.
I turn away from them.
“Hestia,” Orion starts, but whatever else he was going to say is cut off as I drop to my knees and stretch forward on my forearms, head down.
My ass is up, legs spread so they can see the slick on my thighs and my wet, fabric-covered pussy.
If I weren’t so impatient, I would have undressed first to give them a better view of what I’m offering, but they can just tear my clothes off instead.
My mates growl and finally move.
I pant with anticipation, pussy fluttering. I need knots now.
I squeal as I’m picked up, and whine when no one touches me where I want them to.
Magnus’s arms are tight around my waist, holding me back against his chest. I push my feet against his thigh, trying to stretch up and pull his head down to mine. He ignores my attempts like he doesn’t even feel them.
I reach for the others, but they don’t seem any more inclined to knot me than Magnus.
Charm struggles to shut the door with the snow that’s built up inside.
Was my presenting not clear enough?
I guess I should have taken my clothes off.
He finally gets the door shut, and the wind cuts off abruptly. In its wake, their scents surge around me, a maelstrom of fragrant alphas.
They’re clearly interested, and it makes me even wetter. I inhale deeply, trying to infuse my body with their scents. They’re doing the same, chests heaving.
I whine for them, which makes them twitch, yet they still won’t touch me.
“Hestia…your heat started,” Orion says, stating the obvious.
He’s so cute, even when he’s delaying giving me his cock. I nod, amused at how long it’s taking them to figure out they should be knotting me.
If they want to ease into this and do a little foreplay before they knot me for days, we can do that.
My perfume blooms at the thought, causing more growls, Magnus’s chest vibrating against my back.
“Do you have any suppressants with you? Or heat stoppers?” Orion asks.
“I think it’s too late for that,” Charm says, voice tight.
I huff and wiggle against Magnus’s hold, but he doesn’t budge.
“You have to knot me,” I say, pouting.
My tongue feels thick and heavy, and it’s hard not to drool with how excited I am to taste the delicious flavors they’re teasing me with.
“You’ve been taking your suppressants, haven’t you?” Orion asks.
"Yes,” I say, still trying to fight my way out of Magnus’s arms so I can go for his cock.
“The stress of the blizzard could have impacted their effectiveness,” Charm murmurs, consulting with him.
They’re talking to each other as if I’m not even here.
“The pre-heat fever probably burned off the rest,” Magnus says.
I wiggle again in frustration. Now isn’t the time to analyze why my heat started. We’re not writing a report!
Magnus finally sets me down, and Orion takes my hands.
“We’d be honored to help you through your heat, if you’ll have us,” he says.
“This won’t have any impact on your training. Everything will go back to normal after this,” Henri says.
“If you don’t want our help, I’ll see if dispatch can get us an emergency evac to take you to a heat clinic,” Orion says.
Now isn’t the time for thinking, that’s Hestia’s area to deal with, but apparently they won’t knot me until we sort this out. As an omega, all I want is for my mates to knot me, I don’t care if they’re my bosses.
I put my hands on my hips and make sure I have their full attention before saying, “I want you. Whether we were trapped together or not, I’d want your pack to help me through my heat.”
I make eye contact with all of them, so they know I’m coherent enough to mean it. Still, they wait as if I’ll suddenly change my mind, but I don’t waver. And I think my voice was very steady for someone who’s dripping slick on the floor.
I’m not sure if they discuss things in their bond or if they simply come to the same conclusion at the same time, but something snaps, and things move quickly after that.
In seconds, I’m flat on my back in the living room, surrounded by my alphas in the nest they made me.
But this time, I know what I’m really hot for.