33. Talya
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
TALYA
I wasn’t a good person. A good person wouldn’t have silently hoped that this mysterious ‘they’ who oversaw our protection from afar would be too late and the guys in the cage would be dead. A good person wouldn’t have been disappointed like I was when I watched from inside as they hauled the men out of their cages and into the back of a van.
My heart pounded wildly as flashbacks of being thrown into the back of a van with my unconscious alpha flooded my head. I’d had to close my eyes to get myself under control.
They’d wanted to send us away immediately. Relocate us somewhere new, no doubt with another handful of unnecessary stops and thirty-something hours of flight time, but thankfully, with my impending heat, that wasn’t an option. They’d just have to beef up security around the farm until my heat was over.
There was also the argument about us staying together. My heart raced as dread settled in my stomach. It wasn’t just me and Colby they wanted to tear away. They wanted to break us down into smaller groups, too—Lohtus, Blakely, and Kasen; Ainsley; Ronan.
Emerald, they had wanted to leave here.
That turned into a very loud yelling match in which I heard my alphas lose their shit. All of them. Meanwhile, Emerald, Kasen, and I sat on the porch with Emerald wrapped around me and Kasen while he purred to comfort us.
It didn’t work.
In the end, ‘they’ decided that we’d revisit this issue once my heat was over.
“Bites will change their minds,” Ainsley said, his eyes locked on his bite on Emerald’s neck. “As soon as I pointed it out, suddenly Em was coming with me.”
“We’ll talk about that another time,” Lohtus said. “Let’s make our omega as comfortable as possible through her heat, then we’ll get our battle gear on. Splitting us up is not an option.”
We received several updates via the phone that Lohtus had used to inform ‘them’ of the incident. One stated that Ronan’s job was to stay hidden and safe, not going off after anyone when those in charge could easily handle it.
Ronan told them off—something along the lines of if they were doing their job of keeping us safe, he wouldn’t have had to. It had taken them hours to get here. Those fuckers would have been long gone.
Needless to say, he didn’t receive a response in return.
Also, it wasn’t entirely true. Ronan had left the house as soon as Emerald sent his mayday text. He’d gotten into town quicker than we’d woven our way through the trees. When the abductors acknowledged that they’d lost us and would have to try again, they thought they’d just hide away in town, remaining anonymous.
But that wasn’t the kind of town this was. Maybe on the mainland, attempted kidnappings (or even successful ones) happened in broad daylight with an audience and no one cared, but they cared on this island.
Everyone saw. Everyone was horrified. So as soon as these assholes tried to hide, they were cornered in different shops and held there by the workers and the islanders. I wasn’t sure what they were waiting for since they couldn’t have known that Ronan was coming for them. The police, apparently, turned a blind eye to the fact that they’d been held against their will in these shops. Ronan said one police officer had watched him tie up one of the guys and given him an approving nod. He even watched over the side-by-side while Ronan retrieved the second man.
We’d also received a text stating that there would be extra employees on the farm, in town, and wandering around the island. Supposedly, we were safe now.
Emerald rolled his eyes at that. “The entire island is going to be even more wary of strangers now. Their agents aren’t going to blend in as successfully as they think they will.”
Everyone agreed with him, but it wasn’t worth pointing out at this point.
It was evening now, and I was not only nervous about my coming heat because of everything that had happened today, but also stressed and afraid of what was going to happen after.
We’d just finished a large meal packed with carbs and protein, or at least my three alphas and Emerald had. Now, I was sitting on the couch cuddled in Ainsley’s lap, my legs outstretched into Lohtus’ lap while he rubbed my feet. I was trying not to think about everything that happened today.
My gut told me things weren’t as fine as the agents had said they were, but maybe that was just my heat talking. I’d had two fever spikes since the first, which was a little unusual. My heats had always been extremely predictable. For twenty-four hours, I’d have fever spikes every six hours, then the spikes intensified for the next several days, becoming heat spike that led right into my actual heat. My letdown fevers were a reverse of that. This whole process happened every seven months like clockwork. Seriously, we could set our watches by it.
If my fever spikes were anything to go on, this wasn’t going to be as routine as my usual heats. Unsurprising, really. The surprising part was that I hadn’t gone straight into heat once we got here and I felt safe again. The stress from the torture and shit should have sent me over the edge immediately.
Apparently, this attempted kidnapping was the last straw. My body had been willing to look beyond the first as happenstance, I guessed, but not two major stressors in a short period. That was where it drew the line.
I glanced at the television. The show wasn’t familiar, but I didn’t think Lohtus was super invested in it. It felt like he was here just to lend me support and comfort. Ainsley was playing MahJong on a tablet, and I was periodically helping.
Chewing the inside of my lip, I stared at the screen. It just looked like random shapes, and the longer I looked, the more blurred they became. Except…
I touched the two matching pieces and watched as a little shower of cherry blossoms exploded in celebration when they connected.
Ainsley kissed the side of my head. “Nice catch, beautiful,” he murmured.
Maybe blurry sight was the way to find matches. Did I just unlock something important? I squinted at the screen, seeing if I could force it, but nothing remarkable happened. Ainsley found a couple matches that I hadn’t seen.
Unfortunately, I didn’t unlock some magic superpower.
Closing my eyes, I rested my head on his shoulder and concentrated on the feel of Lohtus’ hands gently digging into my arch, my ankle, and even my toes. Who knew this could be so relaxing? I thought for sure I’d be squirmy and ticklish, but this was soothing.
But with my eyes closed, all I could think about was my upcoming heat and the potential of being split up when it was over. It made a knot in my stomach, and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
With a sigh, I sat up. Both alphas looked at me.
“Just going to the restroom,” I announced as I stretched then got to my feet.
“You’re okay?” Ainsley asked.
I nodded since it was true enough. The things looming in the future weren’t in my control. All I could do was face them when the time came.
Leaving them with a smile, I headed for the downstairs bathroom even though I didn’t actually have to use it. I just wanted to stretch my legs for a minute without anyone worrying that, well, something was wrong. A smile touched my lips as I flicked the light on for the downstairs half bath.
Stepping inside, I shut the door and sat on the closed toilet. Which was counterproductive to stretching my legs. Getting to my feet again, I stared out the small, high window for a few minutes. I could probably get through it if I climbed onto the toilet.
It was sad that I now assessed windows based on whether I could climb out of them.
In the distance, I could see someone riding a horse through the grassy field. Was this one of the new security guys? On the one hand, I understood why they were trying to blend in. On the other, it seemed stupid. Just wear a rifle and let everyone know you were protecting this pack! That would make bad people think twice, wouldn’t it?
After a few minutes, I washed my hands and left the bathroom, shutting the light off behind me. Instead of heading straight back into the family room, I changed direction and made my way to the kitchen for a drink. Leading up to my heat, I tried to drink extra so I’d stay hydrated. It wasn’t just calories that were lost during those days.
The kitchen was empty, though I could see Ronan outside on the deck cleaning the grill. For a minute, I just watched him. His muscles were pronounced through his long-sleeved shirt. All of them. I could probably trace them.
With a grin, I turned away and opened the fridge. I wasn’t craving anything particular which meant I should just take some water. That was the most hydrating liquid, after all. Even with my decision made, I stared into the fridge.
Maybe it was the cold air, or maybe my body was just out of whack right now. With a frustrated sigh, I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on the cool of the fridge.
Suddenly, I realized that this wasn’t just a fever spike as it should be. The pang in my gut said I was already diving right into heat spikes. A quiet whimper fell from my lips as I clung to the fridge door with one hand while the other wrapped around my stomach.
“No,” I whispered. “I don’t want you yet!”
My body obviously didn’t care what I wanted. It had its own agenda. I gritted my teeth as the need in me turned into a dull throb. Was it just my imagination, or did it feel stronger than the usual first heat spikes?
“Talya?”
At the sound of Ronan’s voice, I jumped and spun around. The world shifted as the edges of my vision darkened. His hands gripped my shoulders to steady me, which was fortunate. The ache in my core was making me dizzy, and I was desperately fighting off a very needy whimper right now.
“Do you want me to bring you to Colby? Or can I help you?”
It took me several tries to blink through the fog. The longer my need went unanswered, the more irritated and needy I’d become. My breaths were loud to my own ears as I stared up into his dark eyes.
“You,” I whispered. I couldn’t wait for Colby. I didn’t know where he was.
Ronan pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, letting his warm lips rest there as he dropped his hand between my legs and rubbed me through my leggings. His touch was expert, even through my pants.
Then again, I could just be heat-horny, but I was going to choose to think he was an expert.
My legs shook as he touched me.
“Come here,” he murmured. I whined pathetically when he removed his hand. In the next breath, he had my pants and underwear off and my bare ass on the cold stone countertop. Before I could protest, Ronan had me on my back with my legs spread and his mouth on my pussy.
I gasped. Somewhere in my rattled brain I noted that I wasn’t just heat-horny. He knew right where the clit was, and his tongue went to fucking town.
Though I tried to be quiet, there was no way the entire house missed my first orgasm, not with the way I screamed my pleasure and begged for more. One orgasm was never going to be enough, though that first was almost always immediate as soon as I was fed some meager offering of pleasure.
Then his fingers joined in, pressing inside my needy pussy and rubbing me like he’d done this a thousand times before. He’d memorized my body, what I liked and the kind of pleasure I needed.
I gripped his hair with all the strength I had as I covered his face in my juices until eventually, I went limp. The air around me suddenly felt icy, and I shivered when Ronan pulled his mouth from me. His fingers remained inside, gently rubbing me, while his thumb replaced his tongue on my clit.
Another shiver raced down my spine at the sight of his slicked-up face. The heat on my skin was probably just as potent as my perfume filling the air right now. Ronan licked his lips as he looked at me. “Need another one, my sweet omega?” he asked. His voice was deep, husky.
Swallowing, I shook my head. “No. Thank you.”
Oh god, did I just thank him?! And now I was horrified.
Slowly, he pulled his hand from me. I watched, hypnotized and slightly turned on, as he licked his fingers. His dark gaze remained locked on mine.
Holy fuck, this man was sex on a damn platter. Or something.
Quietly, without looking away for more than a second, Ronan found a clean dish cloth and gently washed me up. He helped me to my feet and redressed my lower half while my jello legs threatened to give out, then he scooped me into his arms.
Silently, he brought me into the living room where I’d been with Ainsley and Lohtus, both of whom were right where I’d left them. Ronan set me back in Ainsley’s lap and brought my legs up so my feet were in Lohtus’ lap, as if he’d known exactly how we were sitting before.
Then he left.
My breathing still felt stuttered as I tried to calm my heart. Lohtus watched me, his hands hovering just over my feet. My cheeks heated again.
“You didn’t have to—” he began, but I shook my head.
“I didn’t. I was getting a drink and… yeah,” I said.
Lohtus nodded, then his hands returned to massaging my feet. I looked at Ainsley sheepishly, but he just smiled and kissed my lips lightly.
Ronan came back into the room a minute later. He draped a blanket over me and firmly tucked me in before handing me a bottle of water. He pressed his lips to mine. “Beautiful,” he murmured.
I flushed again as he once more left the room. Chuckling, Ainsley went back to holding me tightly while he played MahJong.