Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Axel
This is it. The start of our first heat together.
I can’t wait to have this experience with Mandy and Chase. The way we work together now will be a deciding factor in whether Mandy joins our pack.
Not that I have any doubt she will. We’re scent-matched, and while that isn’t everything, it means we’re fated to be together. Now that she and Chase have worked through their shit, there doesn’t seem to be anything standing in our way.
We exit the old Victorian manor; Mandy tucked under my arm and nuzzling against my chest as we walk to the car.
I toss the keys to Chase and help Mandy into the backseat as he starts the engine.
She whines as I buckle her in. Her skin is hot and covered in goosebumps. She’s closing in on her heat, alright.
I climb in next to her, wrapping her back in my embrace. She makes a keening sound, one that triggers a purr to rumble in my chest, offering my sweet omega the comfort she needs. Soon this won’t be enough. Once she starts cramping, she’ll need more than my purr. But for now, it seems to soothe her.
“You want to go to your house, Dee? Use your nest?” Chase asks, glancing back at us in the rearview mirror, his eyes on her long enough to catch her nod before returning his attention back to the road.
“Is there anything we need to stop and get along the way?”
“Umm,” she says, before burying her face in my chest. There’s hesitation in her voice that I haven’t heard before, and it worries me slightly.
“What’s wrong, Mally? Do we not have time to stop?” I ask, my voice full of concern.
Mandy peeks up at me, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling.
Her pink curls are a wild mess—half wet and half dry—but I’ve never seen her look more beautiful.
Every single piece of her, inside and out, is a stunningly unique work of art combined to perfectly shape the missing piece to our puzzle. I can’t wait to make her mine.
“No, no, I’m fine. I’m happy you guys are here. I’m actually looking forward to my heat. And I think we have time to stop, but I don’t want anything new. I’d like some stuff with both your scents on it.”
“Done,” Chase says, making a turn that will lead us to our apartment instead of Mandy’s.
A few minutes later we’re pulling into the underground parking garage and bundling Mandy into the elevator to take her up to our floor.
As her sweet scent fills the elevator, Chase and I exchange a look.
Her perfume is clearly announcing she’s in heat.
We’re lucky there aren’t any unattached alphas around.
We might have a fight on our hands if there were.
We reach our apartment without incident.
The elevator stopped once for a pickup, but the second the doors slid open, Chase let out a growl so full of dominance and possession that the poor waiting beta’s eyes widened and they stepped so far back they bumped into the wall behind them.
Safe to say, they didn’t get in the lift with us.
“Run wild, Dee. Take whatever you need,” Chase says as he unlocks our apartment door. Mandy looks absolutely ecstatic, if not a little wild, with the offer. She takes off down the hall. I’m not sure what she’s searching for, except that it needs to have our scent.
“Dee?” I ask Chase as I move to the living room. There are a couple of pillows on the couch that both of us use often enough that both of our scents would be on them. And they’re soft and fluffy, with no scratchy tags or zips in sight. Hopefully, our omega will like them.
“It’s what I used to call her before everything happened,” he says with a shrug. “It felt right to use it again once we started to move forward.”
I nod. That makes sense to me. These two have a history I wasn’t a part of. But I’m glad I get to be a part of their future. Clapping him on the back, I say, “I’m glad you could work through the past and look to the future. The three of us feels right to me. I’m looking forward to what’s next.”
“Me too.”
The Chase I’m looking at now is a brighter, lighter, happier version of the boy I met back at the training academy. It’s like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders and he can breathe again. It makes me ridiculously happy to see him like this.
Mandy reappears before us, her arms piled high with what appears to be a mix of bedsheets and dirty laundry.
I’ve read about omegas hoarding their alphas' things, including dirty laundry, around the time of their heat. I hadn’t realized quite how serious that was.
“You ready, Mally?” I ask as she approaches, a sheepish look on her face. Chase takes the bundle from her hands, and I hold out the pillows for her to take. “We can take these too. Did you get everything you wanted?”
She takes the pillow, bringing it to her nose and inhaling deeply before rubbing the material against her cheek.
“Purrrrfect,” she breathes. “Let’s go.”
The trip to her apartment is as uneventful as the visit to ours. The second she unlocks the door, she makes a beeline for her nest.
Chase and I follow quickly on her heels, ready to do whatever it is she needs us to do while she nests.
We both pause in the doorway to her nest, waiting for her to invite us in. I’ve been here before, but a nest is an omega’s precious space.
“What are you doing?” she asks, turning to face us from the center of her nest. She’s already disposed of the satin pajamas I bought her and is completely nude once more.
There’s a tug of disappointment in my chest. I didn’t get to tear them off of her like I promised to.
Oh well, there’ll be plenty of time for shenanigans over the coming days.
“Get in here,” Mandy demands, and we both obey instantly. Alphas may bark, but omegas can bite. “Make yourselves useful. Chase, I need this fridge stocked with cucumber water and Choc Ice Up&Go’s. There’s a box of them in my linen closet. Axel, pass me those pillows.”
“Up&Go’s?” Chase asks, bewildered and looking at me. I shrug. I’m not sure what they are either.
“Australian breakfast drinks. I get them online. They’re in the closet.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mandy actually snarls, and Chase glances at me, his eyes wide.
“Do as she says,” I whisper to him. “Quickly.”
I grab the pillows and hand them to Mandy. She’s fussing around in the center of her nest, organizing her pillows and blankets. I’m not sure what to do at this moment. She might have invited us in, but I feel like touching her nest before she’s ready might cross the line.
“Your nest looks great, Mally. You’re doing such a great job.”
“It’s missing something,” she whines, spinning in a circle and surveying her creation before stopping and facing me. “Your shirt.”
“You want my shirt?” I say, tugging it up and over my head without a second thought. “Here.”
She smiles and digs around, finding the perfect spot for it. When Chase returns, she requests his shirt too, then spends some time plumping and perfecting her nest.
“Ow,” she cries suddenly, bending over double and clutching her stomach.
She's cramping, which means her heat is officially about to begin. It might be sooner than any of us expected, but I’ve never been more ready.
It’s go time, baby.