Chapter 28 Eli
Eli
Thank God for federal holidays.
I kick my front door shut behind me as Lia whimpers against the crook of my neck. Her cheek is pressed into my shoulder.
Every federal holiday, Gloria’s parents take Amber out for the day. They take her to movies and museums and out to eat. They run her to the bone at the park, or if it’s raining, they take her to this trampoline park she adores.
They do whatever they can find to burn her energy down to the bone before bringing her home, and I’m glad today is one of those days. Because Lia’s scent?
It’s ripe.
Overly sweet in a way that clings to the back of my throat and makes something deep in my chest tighten. Memories flood me. Memories of messy heats and messy nests and claiming marks.
This isn’t just a building preheat anymore. I’ve been around enough Omegas in my life to know the difference.
This is morphing into something else.
Something heavier.
Something that might end up sticking around.
“She okay?” I ask Knox as I carry her down the hallway toward my bedroom.
“Burning up,” he says from behind me. “She started leaking in the truck.”
A low whine escapes her as if she heard him, her fingers curling weakly into the front of my shirt.
“I hate this,” she murmurs.
“I know, Alley Cat,” I say quietly. “We’ll get you set up real good, okay?”
Knox’s footsteps veer toward my bathroom before I even reach the bedroom. By the time I get her settled into my bed, I can already hear the rush of water filling the tub.
“Bath’s running,” he says.
“Hot,” Lia whimpers, her head lolling back as she blinks up at the ceiling. “Need it hot.”
Knox and I exchange a look.
He crouches in front of her, his voice gentle. “Did you drink your tea this morning, Sunshine?”
Her brows knit together. “I… don’t remember. I’m sorry. This morning is such a blur… I’m usually not in a kitchen that early.”
“You’re okay. Nothing’s wrong. I’m just asking.”
“The bakery was busy,” she says, her voice barely more than breath. “I just— I don’t—”
“If the whole morning’s a blur for you, then it’s safe to assume you most likely didn’t drink it.” I jam my hand into the pocket of my jeans. “Knox, keep an eye on her. I’m going to call Walker, see where he is.”
“Bath,” she whimpers.
“Let me go check the water level, I’ll be right back,” Knox says.
I dial Walker’s number instead of sending him a text. He answers on the second ring.
“I’m three minutes out from your place. How is she?”
“She didn’t drink the tea Dr. Quinn prescribed her,” I say without preamble. “Knox just got her here from Tansy’s. She’s burning up, Walker. This isn’t normal preheat.”
There’s a pause before I hear the screeching of tires over the phone. “I’ll go talk with Dr. Quinn. What are her symptoms?”
I peek into the bedroom and see Knox helping her out of her clothes. For a moment, all I can do is stare.
He slips her cardigan off, and already her heavy breasts are on display more than they usually are, since she always wears her clothes a bit baggier than most. Her skirt falls to the floor, and my mouth goes dry. Those thighs of hers are so soft and inviting.
I never knew just how pillowy she was underneath her clothing.
“Eli!” Walker barks.
It snaps my attention back to him. “Sweating, but not flushed. She leaked a bit in Knox’s truck. She’s practically begging for a hot bath.”
“She can’t have a hot bath, she’ll pass out.”
“We know. Her scent is also overly sweet, like cinnamon rolls with too much icing. She’s whining, too. A lot. And cramping.”
“Fuck.”
“This shouldn’t be happening,” Lia whimpers. “I should have a few more days.”
I peek back into my bedroom just in time to see Knox sweep her off her feet. His bulk blocks the majority of her naked body, but her legs are on full display and my teeth ache to sink into them.
Focus, Eli. She needs you. “I don’t know if she needs a dose of her tea, or if Dr. Quinn has something else that might work. But she’s insistent that she should have a few more days.”
“I’m pulling into the clinic now.”
“Want me to stay on the phone?”
“Nope. I’ll text when I’m on my way. And Eli?”
“Yeah?”
“Take care of our girl until I can get there. This might be it, and we’ll have to do this by her book if we want to prove ourselves as Alphas of our word.”
I know exactly what he means.
If this is her heat crashing into her, we can’t allow our instincts to get out of control. We’ll have to listen to her and what she needs.
Even if it isn’t what our knots want.
“Read you loud and clear,” I say as I venture back into my room.
“Be there in a few. I’ll text when I’m on my way,” Walker says.
Before the line goes dead.
I jam my phone back into my pocket as I mosey over to the doorway of my bathroom. Knox is kneeling beside the tub, with Lia already submerged into the bubbles.
“It’s not hot,” she whines.
“I know, Sunshine,” Knox says as he pours a cup of water over her shoulder. It breaks my heart to see her shiver. “We can’t have you passing out on us. You can’t get too hot, okay?”
“Hate this,” she whimpers. “Hate all of it.”
“I know you do, Alley Cat,” I say from the doorway.
Her eyes are glassy when they flick toward me, her head almost lobbing over her shoulder like it’s too heavy for her to control.
“I feel gross,” she whispers.
I push off the doorframe and make my way for the two of them. I perch on the edge of the tub.
“I know,” I say again, because I don’t know what else to give her.
She closes her eyes and I shoot a look at Knox. His face is as equally worried as I feel, and I start running down plans in my head.
If this is Lia’s heat, and if she wants us to help with it, Amber will need somewhere to go. Or maybe we can take her heat elsewhere and her grandparents can switch out staying at the house until it’s all said and done.
Will she want us to help her with her heat?
I think it’ll break me if she chooses to suffer through it alone.
“Cramp,” she whimpers before she curls up in the tub.
“Don’t fight it, just let it roll through you,” Knox coos as he pours a bit of water on her hair. “We’re right here.”
“Fuck, it hurts.”
I dip my hand into the water and find her leg. I wrap my hand around her calf and squeeze a smidge, just so she knows I’m there.
“Eli,” she whispers.
“I’m right here, Alley Cat. We’ll take this one cramp at a time.”
“What did Walker say?” Knox asks.
“Walker,” she groans. “Where is he? Why isn’t he here? He hates me, doesn’t he?”
The pain in her voice is unmistakable. “He doesn’t hate you, not by a long shot. He’ll be here soon. He’s stopping by Dr. Quinn’s office to see if he’s got anything that might help you.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket just as Knox takes in a breath to respond. I hold up a finger at him before I jam my dry hand into my pocket. The text from Walker is short and sweet. I turn my screen toward Knox so he can read it as well.
Walker: Got a tea already brewed and two pills for her to take. One now, and one later this evening. Doc says the pills should take the edge off. Be there in five.
“Is he coming?” Lia whimpers out.
The sound of her whining digs under my skin. I tuck my phone back into my pocket while giving her calf another little squeeze.
“He’s five minutes away,” I say, keeping my voice low in case her senses are heightened. “He’s got a tea for you to drink, as well as some pills Dr. Quinn wants you to take. Says it should take the edge off.”
“God, I hope so,” Lia groans as she curls into herself.
Knox rolls up the sleeves of his red flannel before jamming his hands through the bubbles and into the bath. Lia turns to her side, her back facing us, and a moan of satisfaction from her lips fills the room.
“That feel better?” Knox asks.
“Harder,” she groans.
I crook an eyebrow. “Knox?”
“Just a lower back massage,” he says as he leans against the tub. Lia moans again, and the sound shoots straight to the tip of my cock. “Hoping it helps with the cramps.”
I glance at the wall clock in my bathroom. Nine hours. That’s how long I’ve got before Amber comes home. I’ve got nine hours to figure out what the hell is happening to my Lia before I have to explain why there’s the sickly-sweet scent of an Omega draped across the house.
Will the smell be too overwhelming for Amber? I know my daughter’s own senses have been heightened lately.
“Eli,” Knox says, his voice a bit firm.
It pulls me out of my head. “Sorry, what was that?”
He gives me a look. “You okay?”
I swallow hard and nod. “Yeah, yeah. Just calculating. What do you need?”
He pulls his hands out of the water. “A break.”
“No, come back,” Lia whines. “Please?”
I’m off the edge of the tub and exchanging places with Knox in a heartbeat. If Lia wants a lower back massage to help with the cramps, then I’ll massage her until my fingers lock up.
My hands slip into the lukewarm bubbles that are already cooling down. She backs her skin against my touch, sighing with relief as my thumbs knead into the small of her back.
“Ooooh, yeah,” she groans. “Right there.”
My cock presses a bit too hard against the zipper of my jeans. “Yes. Be vocal. Tell me what you need.”
“Higher,” she whispers.
I move my fingers until she tells me to stop, and then I continue my kneading. I feel the cramps as they roll through her, the muscles beneath my fingertips rippling like waves thrashing in a storm-laden sea. This is the part of Omega nature I never envied, and yet always admired.
The pain they endure is astounding, and not once do they complain until they’re in full-blown heat.
I long to take the pain away. To be buried inside of her, to fill her up and lock us together with my knot. She needs to be filled, I can smell it in her scent.
Keep it together, Eli. Now’s not the time.
Just as I settle into a rhythm with the massage, my front door slams open. There’s another bang as it closes, and then Walker’s determined footsteps echo across the floor of my house.
“Where are you?” he exclaims.
“In my bathroom!” I call out.
“Walker,” Lia whimpers.