32. Talya
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
TALYA
E merald broke free of Ainsley and headed for the door. Colby stood, grasping me firmly in his arms, then followed with everyone else.
The men were hog tied on their stomachs with their hands and feet secured behind their backs. Ronan’s boots crunched across the driveway as he approached them, grabbing a handful of each man’s hair and forcing their faces up to look at us.
I shivered, turning my face into Colby’s neck.
“Yes,” Emerald said. “That’s them.”
“How did you find them?” Colby asked. “You weren’t with Emerald and Talya.”
“When they lost you, they headed back to town and tried to blend in. But in a place like this, they weren’t going to manage that,” Ronan said.
“See?” Emerald said, grinning triumphantly. “I told you they wouldn’t get far.”
Ronan nodded. “Take their pictures.”
Lohtus took his phone out and got up close to each of them to take their pictures.
“We’ll see what we can learn about them in town,” Ronan said.
“Seriously, how did you catch them without knowing who you were looking for?” Colby asked.
“There was a fatal flaw in their plan of staying anonymous on the island,” Ronan said. “Their attempt was seen by the locals. As soon as they returned from an unsuccessful chase, they’d already been corralled and held.”
Emerald was looking pretty smug right now. I grinned even though my heart was racing from being this close to my attempted kidnappers.
“I’m going to have to call them back,” Lohtus said as he pulled out the phone he’d just used. We silently waited while the phone rang until the same female voice answered. “This is Lohtus again. I need the man I spoke to a few minutes ago.”
More elevator music, but this time, it was quick. “What happened, Lohtus?” he asked, a sense of urgency in his voice.
“The islanders were a little offended that someone tried to kidnap one of their own and had already cornered these two dickheads. They’re tied up in our driveway.”
A pause met Lohtus’s statement, then a low chuckle answered. “Very well. Do you have somewhere secure to hold them until we get there?”
Lohtus looked to his left, and my eyes followed. I didn’t see anything but trees. “We do, but depending on how long you take, they may be dead. We aren’t feeding them or keeping them hydrated.”
“Very well. I hesitate to say this because your job is to remain hidden and safe, but nice job, Ronan.”
I raised my eyebrows as I looked at Ronan. How had they known that?
Ronan gave the phone an amused little smirk. “Thanks.”
“We’ll see you shortly.” Once more, the line went dead.
“Take that one,” Ronan told Lohtus.
Lohtus pocketed his phone once again. “Everyone else back inside. We’ll be right there.”
Blakely shifted Kasen to Emerald’s side and followed Ronan and Lohtus. With his arm around Kasen’s shoulders, Emerald steered Kasen inside. Colby followed, holding me in his arms, while Ainsley took up the rear.
We returned to where we’d been. Ainsley leaned down to kiss my cheek, angling my face up to meet his eyes. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Just shook.”
“I know,” he said, then kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry. This should have been a safe place for you.”
I was beginning to think that nowhere was safe at all.
“Do you have somewhere secure for them?” Colby asked.
“Yes. One of the sheds has a strange cell in it. Short, like the size of a dog kennel, but wide. It was part of the property when we arrived, and we didn’t ask questions,” Ainsley said.
“That’s not disturbing at all,” Colby muttered.
Ainsley grinned.
I shivered, though my skin felt uncomfortable. A little warm. Like when you don’t feel good and you go through waves of hot and cold. With the spike of my adrenaline and subsequent crash, only to come face to face with my would-be abductors again… Yeah, my body chemistry was all over the place.
It wasn’t long before the others returned. My mouth felt dry. Ronan dropped into a chair before he set a tablet against a flower vase and crossed his arms over his broad chest, his attention remaining primarily on the screen.
Blakely returned to the couch with us, once more petting me with Colby. I appreciated the comfort even though my body felt warm, too warm. I was beginning to sweat.
It wasn’t until the sweet tang of my perfume filled my nose that I realized what was happening. I sat up abruptly, eyes wide, and looked around the room. Apparently, I was the last to notice. The pang in my stomach made it doubly clear what my body was telling me, and I wrapped my arm around it.
My heat was coming.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
Colby snorted and kissed the side of my face. “Not something to apologize for, Tal.”
I looked up when a bottle of water appeared in front of me. Ronan gave me a small but sweet smile. “Thank you,” I said, taking it from him and immediately chugging half of it. The cold water staved off the heat of my first fever, and I sighed, slowly sipping the rest.
The room remained silent as they watched me.
“I suppose now is a good time to talk about heats,” Colby said.
Sighing, I leaned back. Blakely was no longer touching me. In fact, the look on his face made me giggle. He was intrigued, aroused, and horrified all at the same time.
“We likely have a couple days,” I said, “but I don’t think I’m due for at least another couple months since I’d just had my heat right before…”
Colby kissed the side of my head as I trailed off.
“So…” Kasen asked, eyes huge, and I tried not to giggle again. “Uh, do you need anything?”
“Yes. I need my entire pack,” I said. I must have done a rather good job of keeping a straight face since Kasen’s eyes bugged out. His cheeks turned bright red as he stared at me.
Lohtus shook his head.
“Honestly, when I’m fully in heat, I won’t even notice that you don’t have a knot, Kasen. I have a feeling you could outperform all these big alphas. Can’t you?” I batted my eyelashes.
He was torn between agreement and horror. I couldn’t keep up the joke for long though. Laughter bubbled inside me. “I’m kidding,” I said, grinning.
Kasen practically melted in relief, then he narrowed his eyes at me.
“That was mean, sweet omega,” Colby murmured.
“No meaner than when you told him he should court you,” I pointed out.
Kasen folded his arms over his chest with a glare at both of us.
“No,” I said more seriously. “I’ve gotten through all my heats with only Colby. He does very well tending to my needs.”
“Just Colby?” Lohtus mused, his eyes moving between us, seeming both intrigued and impressed.
“Yes.”
“Again, we’ve grown up together, so I adapted out of necessity. I give my omega what she needs,” Colby said.
“No matter the toll,” Lohtus said, a soft smile for Colby, then his gaze turned to me. “Is that what you want for this heat? There’s zero pressure here, Talya, but we need to know what you want.”
I chewed my lip as I looked around the room. Meeting Colby’s eyes, I tried to convey that maybe… maybe I wouldn’t mind some others? A few specific men. His smile grew, and he inclined his head.
“Well,” I said, feeling a little self-conscious. “I wouldn’t mind maybe… If you’d like…” I made eye contact with Ronan then Ainsley then Emerald. “It’s okay if not. I just… If you maybe want to.”
Ronan crossed the room again and gripped my chin, pulling my attention to him. His dark eyes bore into me. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than wherever you need me, sunshine.”
My heart fluttered dangerously in my chest. “Yeah?” I breathed.
He nodded.
I gave him a shy smile as he leaned in and kissed me. “Yes.”
I sighed. He backed away again, returning to where he’d been sitting in the chair with the tablet open. Now his eyes remained on me instead of the tablet.
With a smile, I looked at Ainsley and Emerald, the question alive in my eyes.
Ainsley nodded. “I’d be honored, precious.”
Grinning, I turned to Emerald. It was difficult to see color on his dark skin, but I was pretty sure he looked green. “Are you nervous, Em?” I asked.
“You know I don’t have a knot, right?” he asked.
“He doesn’t,” Kasen confirmed. “But he’s bigger than a beta so that makes up for it.”
Emerald huffed, his lips pressed together as he glared at Kasen. The other beta only grinned sweetly.
I laughed. “It’s okay. You don’t need a knot. I have Colby. I meant it when I said there was no pressure. Colby always takes care of me.”
“He shouldn’t have to be the only one taking care of you,” Lohtus said. “And he doesn’t have to anymore. We’re very happy to take care of you too, Talya.”
“You know, I also meant it when I said that I don’t mind if you all want to be a part of my heat. I’ve talked to other omegas, and even those who they’re not directly bonded to or don’t have that kind of relationship with often join in their heats. One even calls it a team-building moment for them all.”
Blakely snorted. “Flattered.”
“I think for this one, at least, let’s just keep it at what it is, hm? You and your alpha and your courters. With what just happened today, I think it’s important that we’re not all locked away in your nest,” Lohtus said. “But later down the road, we can definitely talk about it.”
“You just want to know what a heat is like, don’t you?” Kasen asked. “All alphas want to experience a heat with their omega.”
“I’ve experienced plenty of heats,” Lohtus said.
“Seriously?” Blakely asked. “I thought you?—”
“Not with a pack,” Lohtus clarified. “I was part of Heat Hideaway, so while I suppose I wasn’t there in the full-on heats, I was there for spikes and let-downs. Some of those were… intense.”
Jaw dropping, Kasen stared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it doesn’t matter. Not only was that a past life, but it was also irrelevant.”
Kasen didn’t seem so sure. He looked a little self-conscious now. Emerald held him close, kissing him and purring quietly, something that made us all smile.
“Let’s take another look at your nest over the next couple days,” Lohtus said, “so we know you have everything you need. We’ll get ready and make sure we’re extra locked down while you’re… occupied.”
I nodded.
“In the meantime, Ronan, will you take Em to get his belongings?” Ainsley asked.
Emerald sighed.
“Are you still going to argue, beta?” Ainsley asked.
With a grin, Emerald said, “No. But for the record, some conversations should be had.”
Ainsley bowed his head. “You’re right. We’ve always been on the same page, and you’re right that we still should have spoken about this.”
“That’s what I was trying to say,” Emerald said. He gave Kasen another squeeze before getting up and meeting Ainsley where he stood. “We have always been on the same page, but it never came up. As time went on, doubt started to creep in.”
“That’s my fault, and I’m sorry.”
Emerald shook his head. “It’s no one’s fault. I just needed to know that you still wanted me.”
Ainsley gripped the back of Emerald’s neck and pulled him close. “I do. You’re mine, and you’ve always been mine. Hurry up and get your things home. I’m breeding your fine ass tonight.”
“Jesus,” he muttered, glancing around the room. He shoved Ainsley away. “Honestly, alpha.”
No one missed the smile he was fighting as he headed for the door. Ronan handed Ainsley the tablet then followed.
“What’s he watching?” I asked.
“Our guests in the shed. We have a camera set up,” Ainsley answered.
“What’re they doing?” Kasen asked.
“Not a thing.”
“The feed’s not stuck, is it?” Colby asked.
Ainsley shook his head. “Nope. There are some chickens in the shed, and they’re moving around.”
I rested my head against Colby’s. There was tension in my shoulders that I was sure wasn’t going to leave until Emerald and Ronan returned and I knew we were all safe and together. Then I was sure my thoughts would turn to my impending heat.
This would be the first time I’d have anyone else besides Colby. It would be the first time anyone else had ever touched me, and it was as thrilling as it was terrifying. I wasn’t even sure which emotion was more prevalent.
But below all that, humming quietly like a static radio, was fear. They’d found me here. They’d found us, and there was no way they were going to let us go.
We weren’t safe anymore, and I had no idea what that meant. The situation was made even more frightening since I knew that within the week, five of the eight of us would be locked away for my heat.
Helpless.