16. Hailey
Chapter 16
Hailey
W e’ve escaped.
The realization filters through the haze of heat and need that clouds my mind. We made it. We’re alive. The dark van with its guns and threats is gone, reduced to twisted metal behind us. Ren saved us.
Ren.
His scent fills the vehicle—sandalwood and smoke and something distinctly alpha that makes my insides clench with want. I curl tighter into myself on the back seat, pressing my thighs together to stem the ache between them. It doesn’t help. Nothing helps.
The heat is building again, stronger now that the immediate danger has passed. It’s like my body has decided to surrender to the chemicals Heath pumped into me the moment it sensed safety. Slick coats my thighs, pooling beneath me on the leather seats. I should be embarrassed, but I’m beyond that now, beyond anything but this consuming need.
“How are you doing back there?” Ren asks, his voice strained as he glances at me in the rearview mirror. His ice-blue gaze meets mine from his single working eye before returning to the road.
“It hurts,” I whimper, unable to articulate anything more complex. “Ren, please…”
Please what? I don’t even know what I’m asking for. Relief? Him? Both?
“I know, sweetheart,” he says softly. “We’ll be at the cabin soon. Just hold on a little longer.”
His words are meant to comfort, but they only remind me of how far we still have to go. I can’t wait. It’s too much.
The leather upholstery creaks as I press my thighs together. It’s not conscious—just movement, friction, something to take the edge off—but then…
Oh.
Oh God.
I rock forward experimentally, and the raised edge of the seat hits exactly where I need it. A punched-out moan escapes before I can stop it, my hips already moving again with purpose as I turn to stretch my body prone.
The leather creaks as I rock against it, thighs clamping around the raised edge like it’s the only thing anchoring me to reality. My hips move on their own—small, frantic rolls that send bursts of friction through my heated skin. It’s not enough. But I can’t stop.
Ren’s reflection freezes in the rearview mirror. The car swerves slightly before he corrects it.
“ Hailey .”
A warning. A plea.
I bite my lip hard enough to taste copper. “I know—” Another rock forward, the seam of the seat hitting just there. “—but I can’t?—”
A whimper claws up my throat as the pressure builds. The leather is cool against my burning skin, the smell of it, rich and expensive, mixing with my own slick until the entire car reeks of my shame.
Ren’s growl vibrates through the seats. “Fuck. Fuck .” The vehicle accelerates.
He’s not stopping me.
He’s getting us home faster.
He makes another sound, something between a growl and a groan, before he reaches for a phone.
Ren dials, putting the call on speaker as he drives. The ringing echoes through the vehicle, unnaturally loud to my sensitized ears.
“Hello?” The voice on the other end makes me freeze, my hand pausing on its way down to where I was about to bury my fingers inside me. Finn. Sweet, worried Finn. “Who is this? Ren?”
“It’s Ren.” His voice remarkably steady given the circumstances. “I’ve got her, Finn. I’ve got Hailey.”
There’s a sharp intake of breath, then a burst of sound—multiple voices talking over each other in a cacophony of relief and questions.
“Is she okay?”
“Where are you?”
“Let me talk to her!”
I recognize them all—Finn, Stone, and Jax. My pack. My family. Tears spring to my eyes, emotion momentarily overriding lust. They’ve been worried about me. They care .
“One at a time.” Ren glances up at me in the rearview again. “We’re both alive. We’re heading to the cabin in the mountains. Hailey’s…” He hesitates, glancing at me in the mirror one more time. “She’s been drugged. She’s in heat. It’s bad.”
“Heat?” That’s Finn, his concern evident even through the phone. “Fuck! You’re sure it’s not the preheat?”
I whimper at the sound of his voice, more slick gushing between my thighs.
“Yes.” Ren's voice is grim. “Heath’s work. It’s the real thing, and it’s strong.”
“Fuck,” Stone mutters. “We’ll meet you at the cabin. How far out are you?”
“About forty minutes, if the roads are clear.”
Forty minutes. The thought makes me sob, my fingers working desperately between my legs again. I can’t wait forty minutes. I’ll die. I’ll literally die.
“Hailey?” Jax’s voice, more commanding than the others, worried. “Are you there, sweetheart? Talk to us.”
I try to respond, but all that comes out is a needy whimper. It’s too much—their voices, Ren’s scent, the constant thrum of need pulsing through me.
“She can’t really talk right now,” Ren says tightly. “The heat…it’s consuming her.”
There’s a moment of silence as they process this.
“Ren,” Finn says finally, his voice careful. “You’re driving?”
Something passes over Ren’s face—pain, maybe, or determination. “Yes.”
The line goes silent for a beat. But they don’t mention it. Instead, Jax says, “You’re doing great, brother. Almost home.”
A convoy of police cars and emergency vehicles suddenly races past us, heading in the opposite direction. Sirens are wailing, lights flashing blue and red in the pre-dawn gloom.
Ren’s gaze slides to the side mirror, watching them go.
“That’ll be for Heath’s facility,” Finn says, a note of satisfaction in his voice.
“What?” Ren’s gaze slides to the phone and even with the trauma to his face, I can see his surprise…and his worry. “What are you talking about, Finn?”
Finn breathes out a short breath. “I made sure the location and what’s happening there got to every major news outlet, police department, and federal agency in the region.”
“What?” Ren sounds genuinely shocked. “How…”
“I also set up a phone livestreaming from the property before we left,” Finn continues casually. “It’s all over the internet by now. Their entire operation—the trafficking, the experiments, all of it. It’s out in the open.”
Ren is silent for a moment, processing. Then, “Finn...”
“What?” There’s a hint of defensiveness in Finn’s voice, like he’s expecting criticism.
“You did good,” Ren says simply. “Really good.”
The praise seems to catch Finn off guard. “Oh. Thanks.”
Another wave of heat crashes through me, stronger than the last. I cry out, unable to stop myself, my back arching off the seat.
“Shit,” Jax mutters, picking up on my distress even through the phone. “Ren, I can hear her. If you don’t stop the car right now and help her?—”
“I can’t,” Ren cuts him off. “Not here, not like this. She needs somewhere safe. Clean. Comfortable. And…” He swallows hard, gaze shifting to me for a moment. “And not me.”
Jax makes a sound like he’s losing his patience. “She needs relief . You can smell her, can’t you? How bad it is?”
“Of course, I can,” Ren snaps. “Why do you think I’m driving ninety miles an hour?”
The thought of Ren stopping the car, of him coming to me, touching me, makes me whimper again. Yes. Please. Now.
His gaze meets mine in the mirror, dark with something that might be desire, might be restraint. “We’ll be at the cabin soon,” he promises, as much to me as to the others. “You all should head out. Meet us there.”
“Already on our way,” Stone assures him. “ETA about an hour.”
“Good,” Ren says. “She’ll need all of us.”
The call ends, leaving us in silence broken only by the hum of the engine and my increasingly desperate gasps as I work my fingers faster, chasing a release that seems eternally just out of reach.
“Almost there,” Ren murmurs, his eyes flicking between the road and the mirror. “Just hold on, Hailey.”
But I can’t. I’m burning alive from the inside out. My fingers are soaked with slick, my body aching for something—someone—to fill the emptiness inside me.
“Ren,” I gasp, meeting his gaze in the mirror. “I need… Please… I need…”
“I know what you need,” he says, but his voice is rough with restraint. “But I want to give you better than the back of a stolen SUV.”
“I don’t care,” I plead. “Please. It hurts so much.”
His jaw tightens, his gaze darting to the mirror again to find mine. The conflict in it is clear—duty versus desire, restraint versus need.
“Please,” I whimper again. “Alpha, please.”
The word slips out, and I see something shift in his expression. A hardening of resolve, a softening of restraint.
Without warning, he swerves the vehicle off the main road onto a smaller, unpaved track that winds into the trees. The SUV bounces over the uneven surface, jostling me on the back seat, each movement both agony and ecstasy against my sensitized skin.
He drives a short distance into the forest before stopping; the vehicle hidden from the main road by a thick stand of trees. For a moment, he just sits there, hands still gripping the wheel, breathing hard.
“Ren?” I whisper, uncertain now that we’ve stopped. Has he changed his mind?
He turns then, gaze meeting mine directly for the first time since we got into the vehicle. The raw need I see there matches my own, making my breath cease in my chest.
“You don’t have to beg me for anything,” he says, his voice low and intense. “Ever. Do you understand?”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
He exits the driver’s door and circles to the back of the vehicle. When he opens the rear door, I’m hit with the full force of his scent—no longer filtered from the front seat, but immediate and overwhelming. My body responds instantly, another gush of slick soaking the seat beneath me.
He climbs into the back, moving slowly, as if afraid of startling me. But I’m beyond fear, beyond anything but the desperate need for him to touch me.
“Ren,” I plead, reaching for him.
“Shh,” he soothes, gently taking my hands in his. “I’ve got you now. I’m going to help you, okay?”
I nod frantically, beyond words.
With careful hands, he guides me to lie back on the seat, positioning himself between my spread thighs. The sight of him there, his broad shoulders framed by my legs, his eyes dark with desire, is almost enough to send me over the edge.
“So beautiful,” he murmurs, his gaze traveling over me with reverence. “Even like this—especially like this—you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Under different circumstances, I might have blushed at his words. Now, they only stoke the fire inside me higher.
“Please,” I whisper, beyond pride. “I need you to touch me.”
He bends, pressing a gentle kiss to the inside of my thigh. “I’m going to take care of you,” he promises. “Just let go, Hailey. Let me help you.”
The first touch of his tongue against my core makes me cry out, my back arching off the seat. It’s like an electric current to every nerve ending, pleasure so intense it borders on pain. He groans against me, the vibration adding another layer of sensation.
“Sweet,” he murmurs, his breath hot against my sensitive flesh. “So fucking sweet.”
His hands grip my thighs, holding me steady as he works me with his mouth, his tongue circling my clit in precise, relentless motions. I feel myself climbing, pleasure building faster than I thought possible.
“That’s it,” he encourages between licks. “Let go for me, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”
The orgasm hits me like a bullet train, crashing over me with an intensity that steals my breath. My body convulses, pleasure radiating outward from where his mouth is still working me, prolonging the sensations until I’m gasping, tears streaming down my face.
But even as the orgasm subsides, the heat remains. The ache inside me, momentarily dulled, comes roaring back with renewed intensity. I need more. I need him.
“Ren,” I sob, reaching for him. “Please. Inside. I need you inside me.”
He raises his head, his mouth glistening with my arousal, his eyes nearly consumed with desire. For a moment, I think he might refuse, might insist on waiting until we reach the cabin. But then he meets my gaze, sees the desperation there, and something in him seems to break.
“Yes,” he breathes, more to himself than to me. “Yes.”
His hands move to his belt, unfastening it with quick, efficient movements. I watch, transfixed, as he sheds his pants and underwear, his cock springing free—hard, thick, and already leaking at the tip.
Alpha. My alpha.
He positions himself above me, bracing his weight on his forearms, his face inches from mine. “Are you sure?” he asks, his voice strained with the effort of restraint. “In your right mind, would you want this? Want me?”
The question cuts through some of the heat-haze, surprising me with its vulnerability. Even now, even like this, he’s giving me a choice?
“Yes,” I tell him, reaching up to cup his face. “Always you, Ren. Y…you’re mine, too.”
Something shifts in his expression—relief, joy, and beneath it all, a fierce possessiveness that makes my heart race.
“Yes,” he growls, and then he’s pushing inside me, filling me in one agonizingly slow thrust that has us both gasping.
The sensation is beyond anything I could have imagined—the stretch, the fullness, the rightness of him inside me. It’s like my body was made for this, for him. The heat that’s been tormenting me seems to crystallize, focusing entirely on the points where our bodies connect.
“Fuck,” he groans, his forehead dropping to rest against mine. “You feel… God, Hailey, you feel incredible.”
He begins to move, slow at first, each thrust deep and grinding. I wrap my legs around his waist, urging him closer, deeper, more.
“Please,” I gasp, not even sure what else I’m asking for. “Please, Ren.”
He seems to understand, increasing his pace, his hips driving into mine with more force. The vehicle rocks with our movements, the sound of skin against skin mingling with our harsh breathing and desperate moans.
I feel myself building toward another orgasm, this one deeper, more intense than the first. Ren must sense it, because he slides a hand between us, his thumb finding my clit and circling it in time with his thrusts.
“Come for me again,” he whispers. “Let me feel you come around me.”
The command, coupled with the dual stimulation, sends me hurtling over the edge. I cry out his name as I come, my body clenching around him, pulling him deeper.
He follows me moments later, his rhythm faltering as he groans, his release filling me in hot pulses. The sensation triggers another smaller climax that has me clinging to him, my nails digging into his shoulders as wave after wave of pleasure crashes through me.
For several minutes, we lie tangled together, breathing hard, neither willing to break the connection. I can feel his heart pounding against my chest, his breath warm against my neck. The heat that’s been consuming me has receded, not gone but dulled to a manageable ache rather than the all-consuming fire it was before.
“Thank you,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to his temple. “I needed that so badly.”
He raises his head to look at me, his expression tender in a way I’ve never seen before. “I should be thanking you,” he says softly. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this. Wanted you.”
The admission makes my heart flutter. “Really?”
He nods, tracing my cheek with gentle fingers. “Since the moment I smelled you in Finn’s nest. Smelled you on him . I was…just afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of everything,” he admits. “Of feeling this way again. Of hurting you. Of not being able to protect you.”
I lean up to kiss him, soft and sweet. “You did protect me. You saved me.”
He returns the kiss, his lips lingering on mine. “I always will,” he promises. “As long as you want me to.”
“Always,” I tell him simply. “I want you always.”
Something like wonder crosses his face, as if he can’t quite believe what he’s hearing. Then he kisses me again, deeper this time, pouring everything he can’t say into the connection of our lips.
Too soon, he pulls back with a reluctant sigh. “We should go,” he says. “We need to get to the cabin and…” He glances down at where we’re still joined. “We both need a proper bed and a shower before the next wave hits.”
The reminder that this is just a temporary reprieve, that the heat will return, should terrify me. But with Ren looking at me like I’m the most precious thing in the world, I’m not even mildly afraid.
“Okay,” I agree. “But can we…after?”
His smile is slow and full of promise. “As many times as you need,” he assures me. “I’m not going anywhere.” But there’s a flicker. A flicker of something I can’t quite decipher in his eyes. Does he regret it? Regret being with me?
Achingly slowly, he withdraws from me, both of us gasping at the sensation. He helps me clean up as best we can, then pulls his pants back on.
“Better?” he asks, smoothing my hair back from my face.
I nod, although I already miss the feel of him inside me. That endless need is still lurking.
Ren seems to read my thoughts. “The cabin’s not far,” he promises. “Fifteen more minutes, tops. And I’ll get you in a proper bed, with everything you need.”
“I already have everything I need,” I tell him. Honestly.
His expression softens, something vulnerable and hopeful in his gaze. “Hailey, when this is over—when the heat has passed and you’re thinking clearly again—I want you to know that nothing changes for me. How I feel, what I want…it’ll be the same.”
I understand what he’s saying—that this isn’t just the heat for him, that he’ll still want me when the drugs have cleared my system. But why is he telling me that? As if he doesn’t expect the same from me.
“For me too,” I assure him. “This just…accelerated things. And…I’m happy. It’s made me admit what I already knew. That I’m yours, Ren. Theirs. I think I have been since the moment we met.”
He pulls me into his arms, holding me close for a long moment. We stay like that, wrapped in each other, until a distant siren reminds us of the world beyond this vehicle, of the dangers we’ve escaped and those that might still be coming.
Ren helps me into the front passenger seat this time, keeping me close beside him before he slides behind the wheel. His hands are steadier now, his eyes clear and focused as he steers us back onto the main road.
As we drive the remaining distance to the cabin, his hand finds mine across the console, our fingers intertwining. The simple connection grounds me, anchors me against the heat that’s already beginning to build again in my blood.
I look over at him—face bruised, knuckles split, that stubborn jaw clenched tight even now. Any omega would kill to have an alpha who fights like he does. Who bleeds like he does.
But he’s not theirs.
He’s mine.