Chapter 60
THEO
I’ve surely broken every traffic regulation and speed limit out there in order to get to Wren. After barely stopping to collect Renfro from his meeting with Murphy to go over game tapes—he practically had to vault into a moving vehicle—we’ve managed to get her back to the house.
Whether we’re in one piece or not is a concern for later.
Much later.
Nothing is going to erase the scene of Wren writhing in my back seat, whimpering in pain. No matter that Renfro was holding her tight and keeping her pressed against his chest, her little noises were frantic, her peach scent tinged with everything from lust to agony to fear.
As we’re getting her out of the vehicle, Palamo pulls up barely seconds behind us. In all honesty, he looks wrecked, and I don’t blame him.
“Straight to her nest.” I issue the direction, even if I feel like I’m barely keeping it together myself.
We knew this was coming, and yet nothing adequately prepared us for this moment.
Wren’s endocrine system is in complete overload.
I’ve lain awake in bed at night, reading articles on my phone until the words all blur together and form a blob on the screen.
I’ve listened to podcasts hosted by Omegas focused on heat cycles and techniques for heat-focused care while I’ve been working out.
These past weeks have been no different from training for a cup championship or building up to a grand final.
We’ve developed a plan, mapped everything out, and all we’ve gotta do is execute the play.
As of today, I feel like I’ve got a fairly good grasp on the physical aspects—the painful cramps eased only by knotting, how she’ll go through major light sensitivity, and the feverish temperatures her body will endure—but am I prepared for everything else that comes with my girl going into heat for the first time?
My girl smells mouthwatering, that much is true.
All my Alpha instincts have sharpened, like a switch has flipped inside my brain, turning me into a finely tuned version of myself I’m unfamiliar with.
That peachy scent perfuming in thick, rolling waves and coming from the slick coating her inner thighs is enough to leave me fumbling through the simplest of acts.
All the blood in my body progressively flowing south, leaving me struggling to focus on not simply flooring the gas and driving like we’re in the final lap of an F1 championship.
As soon as she was within close enough proximity to catch a hint of her smell and heat hormones, my body has primed itself for the tasks I need to complete. Touch. Claim. Rut.
Ace Palamo is one strong motherfucker, because I genuinely don’t know how he could be balls deep inside her channel and still manage to hold himself back from knotting her.
I know I told him over the phone that he couldn’t, but if our positions had been reversed, I can’t honestly say I would have listened to a single word. There’s every chance I would have been knot-deep and pumping my cum into her at the first sniff of being in heat.
We get inside the house, and Renfro carries her straight to her nest. Fuck.
My chest tightens. This is actually happening right now.
We need to get her settled, but other than buying certain things online and having them delivered here, Wren hasn’t made it her own.
To my knowledge, she hasn’t been in here, so now I’m terrified she’s gonna hate everything about it.
I’ve tried to spend as much time in here as possible, aired the room out frequently, and left enough of my scent to hopefully cover anything she might react adversely to.
But I’m second-guessing my efforts.
This is more stressful than lacing up my boots as Captain before a big game.
“It’s okay, Bambi. We’re all here,” Renfro croons softly, taking Wren down to the mattress sunk into the floor. “Your Alphas are here to take care of you.”
Everything has been prepared ahead of time. The bedding is fresh. Waterproof, velour blankets, cloud-like pillows, blackout curtains, warm fairy lights… it certainly looks the part. Cozy and feminine, uncluttered and calming, softly lit and enclosed.
Very much Wren on every level. Or, at least, I hope so. I’ve been making calculated guesses for the most part.
“So…” Renfro looks between me and Palamo for help. His big hands are occupied helping our girl out of her clothes, while he lifts his eyebrows at us in question. “Game plan, Brennan?”
I realize we’re two Alphas, standing around, too stunned to move.
“Well, first, enough with the locker room last names bullshit. This is our girl’s heat, not the middle of a fucking rugby match.”
The other two slowly nod.
“Second, we know that this is a full heat. It’s gonna be a few days. I would imagine we can expect, since it’s her first time, that it could be up to five days long.”
“Shit,” Renfro—no, Connor, whispers.
“Yeah.” I drag a hand through my hair, mind spinning through what needs to happen.
Slow cooker recipes are ready to reheat out of the freezer, and we’ve already got a fridge stocked full of meal prep containers, thanks to these two motherfuckers eating like horses on a normal day.
But we’re going to have to swap out with nest-shifts in order to top those up.
“What about today’s captain’s run?” Ace asks.
“Gonna have to both lie your asses off.” I swallow and start unbuttoning my shirt. “Something that took you both out at the same time? Food poisoning?”
“That’s for sure getting us benched,” Connor says quietly, all while he assists Wren in her single-minded goal of getting him naked, too. Her whines sound more pained, and I can see her hair at her forehead and nape becoming damp.
“You might be able to tag team in and out, but yeah, you can’t both go at the same time. She’s going to need all of us to get through this.”
Both of them have the same expression. The moment it finally sinks in—that they’ve never had to make such an important choice where rugby is concerned—it plays out across their faces.
I’ve already been through that stomach drop moment of realizing I had no choice but to step away from the game.
I’ve already had years to come to terms with finding a passion that could sustain me outside of my identity as a professional rugby player.
These two are in the prime of their playing careers, and I know it will be terrifying to have that cold dousing of reality thrown in their faces.
“What’s more important right now?” My jaw tightens, and I finish stripping off.
Wren’s skin is obviously flushed, even in the dim lighting, and she’s so worked up, I know we need to quit talking and start doing what needs to be done.
As I climb into the nest, I reach for her, and she comes eagerly.
“Such a perfect Omega, aren’t you, baby.
” I brush both palms over her hair, partly to stroke her and let her feel my touch, partly to check her temperature.
She’s clammy and a little shaky. I really wish I’d had a chance to get some extra fluids into her before the heat cycle completely took over, but I’ve got plenty of rehydration gels and shakes stashed in here.
There’s a whole pantry built into one wall beside the en suite, which is a starting point at least.
Wren straddles me, dragging her pussy down my stomach, and I give her a heated look.
“Is my Omega marking her Alpha?” She bites her lip and nods with a sly glint to her lust-fueled expression.
“Are you gonna cover me in all that pretty slick, my birdie girl? Are you gonna show me how drenched your sweet little cunt is?” Wren moans and braces both hands against my chest, grinding over my lower stomach, as my dick throbs and twitches and fills.
Every shift of her hips and ass brushes up against my cock, and I stifle a choked noise.
Connor has his phone in hand, buck naked beside me. He starts texting, presumably to let Coach and Murphy know he’s calling out sick. Except Ace steps in and speaks up before he can hit send.
“Don’t say you’re sick.” His tattooed hand grips his own phone a little tighter. “Tell them you’ve strained a muscle or need to ice a sprain. Stick with something that only needs a short recovery. I’ll stand down for this match, I’m still on Coach’s watch list after that head knock anyway.”
“But you’ve been cleared to play?”
He shrugs. “Makes sense out of the two of us.”
The glow from Connor’s phone illuminates the spot where she’s dragging her needy, hot cunt all over me, sending a roar of renewed need straight to my dick.
Precum starts leaking freely, but I’m desperately trying to hold off as long as possible, while we’re still able to snatch a few final minutes of coherent conversation.
Except that’s when I see it… my eyes snag on a sight I’m unprepared for.
“Ace.” A quiet growl tears from me as I do my best not to startle Wren. “Planning on talking about this?” My palms skate up the outside of her thighs and loosely settle over her hips.
I’m immediately looking her over, checking every inch of her naked form to the best of my ability through the dim lighting. “What did you do to her?”
Bruises. She’s got bruises already forming on her soft skin. All in the shape of fingerprints.
Atlas Palamo might be a top player on my team’s roster, but seeing how rough he’s been with her after barely a few minutes left alone… the first time they’ve… her first experience in a heat…
“Nothing she didn’t want me to do,” he grunts, cutting off my spinning thoughts and Alpha instinct. A thunderbolt drive to tackle him to the floor and make my ground rules extremely fucking clear where all things Wren are concerned.