Chapter 24
LAUREL
It was late, almost nine, but Sam would be awake.
I’d put everything on hold the moment I knew I was going into heat, but I couldn’t postpone this phone call.
I was still reasonably sane between heat waves—which might change later—so I’d better sort this out now.
I scrolled to Sam’s number and pressed the call button.
“Hi, Laurel! How are you?” I could hear music thumping in the background. Sam was out having fun, and good for him.
“I’m great. But, um, there’s something we should talk through.”
“Oh. Let me just…” The background noise disappeared as Sam presumably moved to a quieter place. “There. Now I can hear you. Everything okay?”
I stood in the upstairs lounge at the chalet, overlooking the living room area. Monty and Jordy sprawled on the sofa below, tangled in each other. Monty scrolled on his phone, and Jordy had his eyes closed, his head on Monty’s chest, his hand on Monty’s arm where it rested across Jordy’s chest.
My magnificent alphas.
Maybe it was the heat, but they seemed to fill my head the same way they filled my body, overwhelming and unstoppable, and suddenly, everything else seemed unimportant.
“Laurel, are you still there?”
“Yes, sorry.” I had to tear myself away from my men to focus for a minute. “Sam, how much do you know about bear shifters and, um, mating?”
“They find mates for life.”
“Yes. That. And it can be quite sudden.”
“It happened to Calvin, right?”
“Not just Calvin.”
There was a beat of silence. “Laurel, what are you trying to say?”
“We might be dealing with a few PR and management issues in the near future.”
I could practically hear the cogs turning in Sam’s clever head. “Can you be specific?”
“I’m in heat.”
“Oh.” He sucked in a breath. “The guy at the B&B, Montgomery Wolf. Or no! No. The other one. The tattooed bartender. Orson Jordan!”
“Yes.”
For some reason, Sam squealed happily. “Really? The hot bartender?”
“Both.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Sam, I’m mated to both. Monty and Jordy. Two alphas, one little me.”
The pause that followed was longer.
“Oh, sweet heavens,” Sam finally breathed, sounding shaky. He didn’t say anything else, so I babbled on.
“We started hooking up, the three of us together, and I really liked them both, but it was just for fun. Then I moved to the chalet, and I missed them. Yesterday morning, I woke up, and I was in heat.” I paused, waiting for Sam to say something, but he didn’t.
“I needed them both,” I added, feeling like maybe I should explain more.
“It was so clear when the first heat wave came that I needed them both with me. When only Monty was here, half of me was missing. Then they held me between them, and everything just fell into place. So yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s both of them. ”
The silence on the other end of the call stretched.
“Sam, are you there?”
“Yes. Sorry. I’m just surprised. Um. Laurel, are you pregnant?”
“No. I’m not. But I’m inclined to consider it.” It was a lame attempt at a joke that Sam didn’t get at all.
“You are?!” he squeaked.
“No. No. Hunter warned me this could happen. I’m taking contraceptives, and the guys won’t let me forget. I’m not getting knocked up. Not yet, anyway.”
Sam’s loud exhale crackled in the phone. “How do you feel?”
“I know this is crazy, and it’s going to be such a mess when it leaks. But I’m happy. For the first time in ages, I feel genuinely happy. I started playing again last night. It might not become anything, but it was so much fun to hold the guitar again, you know?”
“That’s fantastic, Laurel.”
“But it’s going to be insane, right? Not just the press. I think I’ll want to spend much more time in Beauville than anywhere else. And I don’t know if that’s possible.”
When Sam spoke again, his tone was all business. “You know what, how about you forget about everything until the end of recovery? I know what to do.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Step one, I’m sending security. They will stay at the finished guest cottage and make sure nobody trespasses while you’re spending time with your alphas.”
I was about to argue, but Sam was right. That would be helpful. “Okay.”
“Step two, I’m going to find the best PR crisis agency in the city for this sort of thing and prepare a strategy for when and how you’re going to disclose your relationship status. We’re going to put your guys through media training as soon as possible, so you’d better prepare them for that.”
I wasn’t paying Sam nearly enough. He was a miracle. That brain of his should have been studied because I’d never met anyone so focused and efficient when everyone else was losing their shit. Before I could pronounce my undying devotion to Sam, he plowed on.
“Then I’m going to look into your engagements and plans we have for the upcoming two years and see how much can be done remotely and what requires your presence. You’ll need a small recording studio at the chalet, basic equipment at the very least, but we’ll deal with that later.”
My head was spinning. “Oh fuck, Sam. I don’t know where to start.”
“Nowhere. You’re doing nothing, understand?
The only thing you have to do is block Ulrich’s number until the end of recovery.
That’s your only task, and I’ll follow up on that in a couple of hours.
I’ll be fielding Ulrich’s calls, and I’ll tell him you’re unavailable.
He must go through me. Every day, I’m going to send you a message with a basic update to let you know that everything in the outside world is fine, so you don’t have to worry, okay?
I’m not going to disturb you in any other way.
When you’ve recovered, you call me, and we take it from there. ”
“Sam, I love you.”
He chuckled. “I know.”
“Do you, though?”
“It’s fine, Laurel. Go be with your men.”
He didn’t understand. “Sam, listen, I just really need you to know that I…appreciate you. I can be such a brat and a total asshole, but I really fucking appreciate the hell out of you. So if I ever made you feel like I didn’t give a shit about you…
I haven’t asked you how you’re doing! I’m sorry. I…”
“Laurel. You’re in heat. And you just found out you’re going to spend the rest of your life with two bears from Nowhereville. It’s okay to focus on yourself, don’t you think? I got you covered.”
The rest of my life. Fuck.
I spluttered out a laugh. “Nowhereville? Really?”
I’d fallen in love with my little Nowhereville. It was the best place on earth.
“I’m amazed that your location still hasn’t leaked. Beauville is the definition of nowhere.” He had a point.
“Thank you, Sam. Really.”
“I like you, you know,” Sam said. “I’m happy for you.”
My eyes prickled. Damn, the heat was making me emotional.
“Have you at least enjoyed your stay at Green Peaks?” I croaked.
“Oh yeah. I might have sampled a bear shifter or two myself.”
“Have you?”
“Just to know what the fuss is all about.”
I snickered. “Good for you, Sam.”
“Now, go.”
“Going. Blocking Ulrich.”
“Good. Enjoy your heat, Laurel.”
I found my manager’s number in my contacts and blocked it. Then I slipped the phone into the pocket of my bathrobe and moved to glance into the living room.
Jordy had his head tilted up, and Monty was leaning down to kiss him on the lips.
Yeah, the upcoming months would be total mayhem.
But as I watched them together, so peaceful and sweet, a sense of complete and absolute rightness hugged me.
The kiss they shared, the tender smile on Jordy’s face, the stroke of Monty’s hand over Jordy’s pec… I was so in love with how they were together.
My first heat wave had brought fear and pain.
My alphas had soothed me, but some of the tension and uneasiness lingered.
The second wave had erased it. I really did need them both, and now that I had both of their knots imprinted inside me, the omega in me, the primitive creature who seemed to only live from one climax to another, was content.
Maybe it was a bear-shifter thing, or the combined pheromones of two alphas instead of one, but the things happening to my body were a real trip.
The area around my hips felt mellow, as if my very joints were loosening, and my lower stomach had a distinct curve to it over my enlarged womb.
My hole leaked slick constantly, the rim puffy and relaxed.
I liked that my body was getting ready. Since Jordy had mentioned the possibility, I kept thinking about it. Taking them both at once should seem impossible. Instead, I knew it was something my body had to do. A natural next step.
Would I be able to do it already?
Resisting the urge to run to Jordy and Monty, I took another shower.
My inner thighs were covered with drying slick, and it was getting itchy.
As I stood under the spray, I pushed a couple of fingers inside me.
It was so easy. I added a third. Then I angled my hips and spread my legs wider.
Four. I tried parting them, widening my rim further. Like a damned rubber band.
Damn, my hole was getting huge. The realization sent a shock of arousal through me. Oh yeah. I’d be nothing but a big fucking hole for my alphas and their fat cocks.
This heat was a trip.
My legs were unsteady as I quickly dried myself and threw the bathrobe over my shoulders. I hurried downstairs and paused by the edge of the living room area.
My men were kissing, eyes closed, arms wrapped around each other… Watching them, I was so ridiculously giddy.
And horny.
The third wave arrived with barely any buildup.
Breathing harshly through my open mouth, I ate them up with my eyes as I loosened my robe and stroked my cock.
With my other hand, I tweaked my nipple.
I wouldn’t be able to wait long, but I just wanted a few heartbeats to take them in.
How Jordy’s fingers tightened in Monty’s hair, the soft groan rumbling through Monty’s chest, their beards scraping together. The immense bulge in Monty’s pants.
Jordy noticed me first. He broke the kiss and looked me up and down.