6. Jonah
Chapter 6
Jonah
Big brown eyes stare up at me as lemon pound cake infiltrates every synapse in my brain.
“Hello,” I say lamely as she blinks at me, her pupils wide as Cole scratches his beard. “I’m Jonah. This is Mack,” I say, pointing to my other pack mate.
He’s staring at the Omega in shock, too. While Cole has been the biggest downer to finding an Omega, his brother isn’t that far off from being a pain in my ass, either. I’m not fucking either of them, and they’ve been rather hellbent on us not fucking an Omega together either. It’s been beyond frustrating.
But maybe, just maybe, things are about to change. Maybe this pack isn’t going to fall apart after all.
She waves, and Cole holds his out so she can climb out of the luggage carrier. She stands close to him, her body nearly plastered onto his. But her gaze doesn’t stop flashing between Mack and I.
“You’re safe with us. I have a private vehicle to take us to Heat Haven,” I promise her, trying not to get my hopes too high.
I’ve wanted an Omega so badly, it’s like every instinct to claim and cherish has been riding me so hard I don’t know how to function as of late. But every Omega I brought home didn’t click with Mack or Cole. I didn’t have an instant connection with them either, but I had hoped time would change that. So, I kept our pack profile online in hopes that one day one of the Omegas would catch everyone’s attention. It never happened.
Cole and Mack were hardly even interested in continuing trying to date, in finding our match. Then, in the most shocking turn of events, he calls me in the middle of the workday, telling me we’re about to be a part of an Omega’s heat that he just met. I nearly thought he was fucking with me.
But as I look down at her, I get it. Cole loves to be the hero, and he saved her, making this undeniable connection. I smile to myself, feeling something snap into place for me too.
I don’t really care how it happened. All I care about is that this could be the real deal. Rationally, I know I’m getting way ahead of myself, that I don’t even know the woman before me. But I grew up with the perfect family, I know how much I crave a pack life and an Omega to cherish. I’ve just been trying to get Cole and Mack on the same page just as much as I’ve been hoping for the right Omega to walk into our lives.
She’s stunning, pretty doesn’t even cover it. Then there’s her scent. I see why Cole couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.
She swallows thickly and I swear I can see her pulse picking up at the base of her neck.
“We already have your luggage. Should we get going?” I ask.
She nods as Cole leads her into the black SUV. Mack and I follow. She holds Cole’s hand tightly and I can tell he’s feeling really fucking smug about it.
“I’m guessing you’re unemployed?” I ask Cole, and he rolls his eyes.
I smile and look back at Shiloh. She’s scared, there’s no doubt. But she’s also clearly very brave and holding it together more than most. Of course, she shifts her thighs back and forth and a few noises of discontent slip out of her mouth, but she’s being strong.
There’s so much I want to say and ask, but I know she probably doesn’t have the ability to verbalize most of her thoughts. I have an Omega mother and sister; I’m more than familiar with Omega behavior. So, like I do best, I’ll talk enough for all of us.
“I run my family's operations in Philadelphia, Mack is a streamer. We have a townhome in Rittenhouse Square, an apartment in Manhattan, a property?—”
“Oh my God, Jonah, you sound like an asshole,” Mack says, scrubbing a hand down his face. He smiles over at Shiloh, a real smile, not the fake shit he does for his fans. “We’re well off, but more importantly, we’re decent people. Is this what you want? Because if it’s not, we can tell the driver to take you wherever you want to go.”
Her dark brows furrow, and she shakes her head.
“It’s…yes,” she says, as her forehead flattens out.
“Stop sounding so desperate,” Mack hisses under his breath at me and I sigh.
“Maybe I am desperate. Maybe I don’t care anymore. Do you know how badly I’ve wanted the three of us to agree to an Omega, to actually court someone, not just one single date?” I complain, it slips out and I regret it.
But when I look over at Shiloh, she doesn’t seem to judge me. If anything, she likes my words. So much so she seems to fight against her seatbelt. Everything I said was the truth, wholeheartedly. I hate to admit I wondered if Cole, Mack, and I would ever really work as a pack if we didn’t get this resolved. I’ve been patient, because I know they didn’t have the same upbringing as me. I’d continued to hope that the right Omega would find us and be the glue that holds us all together. Something tells me that this beautiful woman sitting across from me could absolutely be that glue.
I sound deranged, but I don't give a shit. It’s a deep rooted feeling in my gut. She could be it. She could be everything.
“We’ll be there shortly,” Cole promises her.
She glares at him and he smiles, as do I. Now I get it. It’s more than a damsel in distress. She didn’t try to impress him. It didn’t feel forced or like she’s being someone she’s not. Hell, going into heat, any semblance of trying to hide your true self goes out the window.
My mom has no issue talking openly about her experiences as an Omega, and thankfully, I’ve been spared with my little sister not having hit that milestone just yet.
“I wonder what nests they’ll have on such short notice,” I say, and it piques her interest immediately. “What do you like, little Shiloh? Soft and pretty?” I ask, from seeing her bright floral luggage.
Her pupils dilate, and she nods eagerly. I may already be thinking about how I could build the perfect nest back home, it’s the room I’ve kept empty for the future. I wonder how she would decorate it.
God, I’m so fucked.
“If they don’t have anything you like, I’ll pay whatever it takes to get what you want brought in by the end of the day,” I promise her, as the scent of lemon has us all shifting in our seats.
Do I like her getting turned on by my money, by my influence? Guilty as charged.
“Anything you want, it’s yours, in or out of heat,” I say.
Her scent is choking me, making my mouth water as Cole snaps his fingers.
“Enough Jonah, Christ. We need to get her to Heat Haven, stop riling her up.”
I narrow my eyes at him.
“Tell me, Cole. Did you rile her up on that long flight from California?”
He glares right back at me as Mack sighs out his irritation.
“Shiloh, I wish I could tell you they aren’t usually like this, but they are. They’re insufferable, just so you know what you’re getting into here,” Mack says.
Cole and I both turn our glares at him.
When I stop and look back at Shiloh, I swear tears are forming in her eyes, and I glance over at Cole, waving my hand in her direction.
Cole grips her thigh and squeezes.
“Almost there, sweetheart. We’ll take care of you.”
Music to my desperate Alpha ears.
The driver drops us off at the entrance to Heat Haven, and we grab Shiloh’s things along with our own that we packed as we walk toward the entrance.
I never thought I would find myself behind the doors of Heat Haven, but it feels like some sort of cosmic circumstance. It’s like the universe put this woman on Cole’s plane and landed us here. It’s a gift I’m not going to take lightly. The universe always has a way of giving you exactly what you need and I wonder if Shiloh could be the missing piece we’ve all been looking for.
“I called not that long ago,” Cole says to the woman.
The Beta working the front desk smiles. “Cole Mackardy?” she asks.
“That’s us,” I say, and she looks at Shiloh with a sympathetic smile.
“I can take your luggage and phones. If you need to check your devices, just ask a moderator or come down to customer service and they’ll give you space to do so,” she says.
We all hand our phones and luggage over. She tags them as ours, including Shiloh’s.
“Head to level four. Your moderator, Kevin, will be waiting for you.”
Cole ushers Shiloh to the elevator, a tight grip on her hand. As soon as we enter, she turns to me and grabs the sleeve of my suit jacket, rubbing the material between her two fingers. I let her, and do my best not to engage.
As soon as we’re in a nest, then I can say and do whatever I want. But right now, it’s about getting her consent and having everything appropriately set up.
An older Beta man with graying hair and wire-frame glasses is waiting for us. The moment he sees Shiloh, his face drops.
“Please, follow me,” he says sternly, with no introduction.
I glance cautiously over to my pack mates, but we do as we’re told and follow the moderator to the desired room. It’s set up as a more casual medical room. There are enough seats for all of us. Shiloh takes the exam table while Cole stands next to her holding her hand.
Kevin grabs a younger man with a slim build and shaggy blond hair in a white jacket and he’s quickly looking over the Omega in question.
“I’m Dr. Pete Goss, and I’ll be helping you with admission today. These types of situations happen but aren’t as common. Since none of you have files at Heat Haven, we’re going to have to do things a little differently. Shiloh, I fear this is going to be unpleasant, but we need consent,” he says, grabbing something from a container.
“What’s that?” I ask as he shakes the canister.
“Heatoxone. It should help give us at least twenty minutes of lucidity to get her informed consent and explain the process.”
“Will it hurt her?”
“It’s unpleasant for a moment, since her body is already in progressive heat, but it shouldn’t last long.”
“Do you have to?” I ask. The idea of her being in pain in order to be here with us sounds wrong.
“Unfortunately, we have no other choice. Informed consent is the most important thing to Heat Haven, along with Omega safety.”
“Speaking of which,” Kevin says, handing us each a tablet. “These are your consent forms. The most important things to note are in yellow. There’s no bonding permitted on the facility. If you don’t think you’re capable of this, a mouth guard can be issued. You will be watched by a moderator for the entirety of the Omega’s heat for safety. All food and beverage is provided by Heat Haven, however, upon request and additional payment, anything can be added. We will still be testing for STIs. Pete will administer those to all of you before the Heatoxone kicks in. There are also imperative health questions about your health at the bottom of the form.”
I scroll down to the bottom of the document, not giving a shit if I’m signing away a kidney as I sign my name and begin filling out the questions.
“Alright, Shiloh, deep breath,” the doctor says.
She follows his direction, and he places the drug into her nose and pushes. The interaction is instantaneous as she cries out, scratching her neck.
Her breathing is labored for a moment until it mellows out and she looks at the moderator while Dr. Goss opens containers, swabbing each of our cheeks.
“Hello Shiloh, are you here on your own free will?” Kevin asks.
I want to punch him in the face for the question, but I get it.
“Yes,” she says, glancing over at Mack and I, her blush is radiant.
“You have not been coerced in any way to have your heat with these men?”
Her brows furrow as she looks at the moderator. “No, not at all.”
“You’re giving your informed consent to have your heat at Heat Haven and to have each of these individuals here to service your heat.”
“Yes,” she says easily and the blood in my veins pumps wildly.
This is really happening.
“Are you on an active form of birth control and does it need to be maintained during your visit at Heat Haven?”
“IUD,” she says easily.
“Are there any medical conditions Heat Haven needs to be aware of?”
“No,” she replies, and relief fills me that they asked all these questions. I understand the importance of it all now.
“Are there any sexual, physical, or emotional acts that are a hard limit for you?” Kevin asks, clearly not fucking around with the questions.
She clears her throat, letting go of Cole’s hand as she wraps her arms around herself.
“I don’t want to be left alone at all during my heat.”
“We would never,” I chime in, not even realizing it.
She turns and smiles at me.
“Hi, I know I didn’t say it before, and that we don’t have much time. But I want to thank all of you for being willing to help me out. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise. It means a lot to me,” Shiloh says.
“We’re here. You won’t be alone,” Mack says.
She blushes when she looks at him, which makes sense. He’s the pretty one.
“Sorry to interrupt, we don’t have much time,” Kevin interrupts, not looking too sorry about it.
I glare at him, even though I know he’s just doing his job.
“Shiloh, it’s very important to know if you have any other hard limits.”
She clears her throat. “Anal knotting and restraints…not during my heat,” she says shyly.
“If at any time a member of your heat does something you don’t like, just notify your moderator. When we take you to your nest, I’ll show you the panic button. With the short timeframe, we only have one nest left. The Lunar Suite. I’ll take you all there now while we wait for your test results.”
Cole helps her get off the table as we follow Kevin to the suite in question.
Knowing this is probably my only chance to talk to her in a lucid state, I lean forward and whisper in her ear as we walk.
“Just know I plan on taking you somewhere far nicer for our actual first date.”
It’s a gamble. She could only see us as Alphas to use for a heat. But when she grins up at me, a strong sense of hope licks up my spine.