CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Lyla
I wasn’t going to say I regretted my decision to make the trek to the Big Sisters’ building, but I totally regretted it.
My face felt as if it had a layer of ice on it with mini daggers stabbing into my flesh, and I couldn’t even feel my feet and hands.
My legs ached from trudging through the deep snow.
Every inch of skin was covered except a slit between my scarf and hat for me to see.
Despite the gray sky, it was bright outside.
Everything was so white and it all blurred together to make one Arctic wonderland.
A few times, I thought I might not be able to find the right street even if it was just five blocks from Primrose House.
I held onto the straps of my backpack. Jason and Ozzi insisted they be the ones to pull the sleds with the presents on them.
I carried the emergency kit with a blanket, small shovel, hand warmers, a flare gun, water, and food.
It was nothing compared to what they were hauling, but it felt like it weighed a ton.
The Alphas marched forth without complaint. Jason led the way and Ozzi followed behind me. My hunky Christmas elves.
Me, I was about to become Frostina the snow woman. I wanted to curl up into a ball and forget about my aching body. Not even the extra warmth my body was producing because of my heat was helping.
Just when I was about to shout that we should turn around and go back home, I spotted the corner of the Big Sisters’ building. The distinctive red of the brick peeking out from beneath layers of snow was like a beacon. I stumbled forward, increasing my pace.
Almost there. So close.
My snowshoe flipped to one side, and I started to topple into a snowbank. Ozzi was suddenly beside me, his arm around my waist. He helped me steady myself. Our gazes locked. His intense dark eyes held me just as tightly as his arms.
A pang sharp as the icy chill on my face dug at my abdomen. Images of him fucking me doggy style right here in the snow flashed through my mind.
“Yes! Right now!” I was shouting before I even realized it. Time to bury my head in the snow and wish I’d never been born.
Ozzi furrowed his brows and cocked his head.
Quick, Lyla! Think of a way to save face. I jerked my arm up to point at the building. “That’s Big Sisters right there. Yay!”
Jason was already walking around to the front entrance.
Ozzi nodded and walked beside me the rest of the way.
Every step, I could feel him beside me. His big, hard body strained as he pulled the sled and made his muscles tighten and flex.
At least that’s what I imagined was going on beneath his coat and layers of clothes.
We rounded the corner to the doors, and inside the nook where they sat, there was relief from the pounding wind.
The building had once been a general store big as two houses and an upstairs for storage.
It sat empty for twenty years after the store clothes, and then in the 1990s, it was a dance studio.
They’d redone the interior beautifully, so when it was finally passed on to the Big Sisters organization, they had a gorgeous homebase for the region.
With as many volunteers that helped with the club, the best way to have us go in and out was to put a keypad lock on the entrance.
I put in the code and the locks snapped back so I could push open the big metal door.
I held it open for Jason and Ozzi to come through, and shut it immediately so as not to let any of the heat out.
Taking off my gloves, I then pulled down my scarf and pushed back my hood to rub my hands on my face. It was difficult to discern if my hands or my face was colder, but the prickles of feeling coming back to both of them erupted under my skin.
“Woo!” Jason’s exclamation echoed in the empty building. “That was invigorating! I can’t remember the last time we went snowshoeing.”
“I think it was three years ago after that one big snow in March. We walked to work that way.” Ozzi unzipped his coat to reveal the dark green sweater with several Santas in a row across the chest. I’d given each of the Alphas a sweater I’d made for my brothers to wear.
Jason’s was red and patterned with tree ornaments.
“Oh yeah. We pulled a twenty-four hour shift because no one else could get in.” Jason peeled off his hat and coat and draped them over the back of a chair. “So where do we put the presents, Lyla?”
They’d walked to work in a snowstorm and stayed for over twenty-four hours?
These Alphas were superheroes. Why did their dedication make them so much sexier?
Like they weren’t already immensely droolworthy.
Maybe they didn’t exist and they actually were elves sent by Santa to help me through Christmas.
Emberlee would say that Lord of the Rings elves were the hottest, but if Ozzi and Jason put on tights and wore curly boots and hats with jingle bells, oh fuck, I’d come on the spot!
I flicked on the main floor lights and spread my arms to direct them to a seating area in the big open room where the trees were set up. “Welcome to the Big Sisters’ Winter Wonderland.”
There were three trees standing and waiting to be lit up.
It was like I could hear them calling to me to plug in their lights.
I hurried over and turned on the biggest one first. It was green and stood eight feet tall.
The other two were shorter at six feet—a white one and a pink one—but each one was so pretty.
“The girls decorated the trees themselves. We had a party with cookies and cider and sang Christmas songs. It was so much fun.” Many of the girls didn’t have festive households and so this meant a lot to them.
There were a few that probably wouldn’t get a visit from Santa as their families couldn’t afford it.
Miss Eloise made sure every single kid had a gift.
It was the least I could do to make certain they were delivered on time.
“Oh man, I like the white tree. It has ninjas and samurais all over it.” Jason grinned as he looked at the handmade ornaments.
“It’s some anime that’s very popular right now.
I can’t remember the name, but the girls love it.
” My hands and face felt like they were raked with hot coals which meant the blood was flowing through my extremities again.
“Okay, so the red gift bags are for the youngest girls, the green bags are for the tweens, and the silver bags are for the teens. We’ll sort them by groups under each tree, and since the tweens are the largest group, they can be in the center. ”
Like good Santa’s helpers, we went to work opening the trash bags and putting the presents under the trees. Jason peeked in the bags and marveled at all the stuff that was in them. “There’s so much! Does Eloise pay for this all herself?”
“No, a lot of it is donated. She might buy a few things to make sure every girl has enough, but things like the hats and mittens, she and I made most of them this year. We tried to teach Emberlee and Mariska how to knit, but they’re hopeless when it comes to such things.
” I missed my friends. Neither of them had answered most of my texts, and we hadn’t had a group chat since Emberlee went home for the holidays and Mariska got involved with the Silver Tree Farm pack.
My eyes went blurry as tears burned in the corners.
The last thing I needed to do was start crying.
“Eloise will be okay.” Ozzi placed a hand on my shoulder. Just a simple and innocent gesture, but the warmth from his touch went right to my pussy. I clutched my thighs together as a wanton ache wracked my body.
Oh no. The last thing I needed was to be begging to be knotted in the Big Sisters’ building.
I smiled at him and nodded. “Of course she will.” I hopped away from him and headed toward the bathroom. “I’m just going to take a potty break and then we can head over to the post office.”
Chipper and casual, and then once the door to the bathroom closed, I leaned against it, panting with my heart racing. Oh fuck, I wasn’t going to make it back home.
Unzipping my snowsuit, I yanked my arms out and plucked my sweater, trying to get some air under all four layers. I swallowed a whimper as another heat pang clutched me and had me sinking to the floor.
While girls who were Betas and Omegas belonged to the club, this wasn’t a place for Omegas in heat. I didn’t want to be the person who ruined this safe space. Not that I’d tell anyone, but I would know. And I was terrible at keeping secrets.
I was so screwed.
My body temperature was rising, making me forget I’d ever been freezing in the snow not fifteen minutes ago. I swiped perspiration from my face and tried to practice some meditative breathing. If I didn’t think about Alphas, then maybe I wouldn’t get worse.
Not imagining Jason’s ripped abs or sinful mouth. No way were Ozzi’s predatory dark eyes and sharp jawline on my mind. Four hands on me, kisses to end worlds, thick knots throbbing…
I pressed a hand to my mouth to muffle a cry as I shuddered from another bolt of pain. What the hell was I going to do? Tell Jason to eat me out in the snow? It was starting to seem like a reasonable plan.
A knock at the door made me jump.
“Lyla? Are you all right?” Jason. I whined at the sound of his voice. “Lyla!” The knob rattled as he attempted to open the door. “I’m going to bust down the door!”
“Jason!” Ozzi called from somewhere farther back.
“Don’t!” I squeaked, and before he could break anything, I opened the door and leaned against the frame. Tears dripped off my cheeks as I attempted to stand, but my legs shook too much. “I need you to get me back home. It hurts so much!”
Jason didn’t pause. He scooped me up like I was a lanky cat and rushed to the kitchen area. “Oz, clear off the table. We’ll lay her out there—”
“No!” Oh God! Not on the table where so many girls ate food and played games. “I will not desecrate the surface with my heat!”
“What?” Jason stopped and blinked, his chest heaving. I could hear his heart thumping as loud as mine.
“She said no to the table.” Ozzi was marching toward the sitting area. “I’m going to gather the cushions and make a mattress.”
“No.” My cry was dampened as I pressed my face against Jason’s chest. Mm, he smelled so good. Fresh and woodsy and so deliciously Alpha. I had to wait before I could taste him again, though. “Bring me home. It’s wrong to do anything here.”
Jason kissed the top of my head. “Baby, you aren’t going to make it home.”
Ozzi came over and brushed my hair back from my face, tenderly touching my forehead and cheeks.
“You’re feverish. Jason’s right. You need to be relieved right now.
” His eyes darkened further, and his earthy scent mingled with Jason’s.
They smelled of the coziest of dens, of warmth, of home. “What’s upstairs?”
Did he just ask me something? God, both these Alphas were so gorgeous. How lucky would I be if I could convince both of them—
“Lyla,” Ozzi said my name with tender urgency. “Stay with us. What’s upstairs?”
“Offices, storage.” I didn’t know what else. I rarely spent any time up there.
“None of the girls go up there?” Ozzi asked.
“No.” Why did he ask that? Couldn’t he do something better with that sexy mouth of his? I reached for him but he was trotting toward the stairs.
“Follow me.” Ozzi disappeared from sight and lights turned on upstairs.
Jason swiftly followed, jiggling me a little on the stairs. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. We’ll make it all better.”
Pain twisted in my guts. Nothing could make this better. It was the end of me! “Take me home.”
We got to the second floor and passed an office with three desks and a storage room full of boxes. Several things scraped across the floor from the opposite end of the hall.
“In here!” Ozzi sounded too far away, but Jason wasn’t. Why was he wearing a coat? Too many layers. I tugged at Jason’s coat as he rushed down the corridor.
“Wait one more minute, gorgeous, and then you can have me.” Jason brought me into a room where one of the overhead lights was flickering. There were more boxes, but mostly stacked chairs. Right, chairs used for big meetings and events.
The room had once been a dance room because one wall was lined with mirrors and had a barre along it. Ozzi had cleared off a table and spread the blanket from my backpack on it. “Let’s get her out of those clothes.”
I didn’t even protest. My several layers were strangling me, making it hard to breathe.
The two of them worked like a single unit. Ozzi had my boots off just as Jason pulled off my snowsuit. Socks and pants and sweater and thermals. I still felt so damn hot.
I needed to be naked faster. I had to have these Alphas touching my bare skin, pressing their bodies to mine, filling me with their thick cocks.
Glimpsing myself in the mirror, I didn’t recognize the Omega I saw. Wild eyes, flushed skin, breasts topped with hard nipples ready to pop out of my bra. Between two Alphas who were yanking off the rest of my clothes. On a table in a room lined with mirrors like it was some kinky sex thing.
What was more was that I liked it. I not only liked it, it turned something on inside of me. Made me feel strong, beautiful, and free. A rush far more powerful than waking up Christmas morning and seeing all the presents waiting to be opened under the tree.
And there was nothing more that I liked than tearing off the paper of prettily wrapped gifts. I had two such presents in my arm's reach right now.