Chapter 37 Kady
THIRTY-SEVEN
Kady
After the conversation with the guys, I head up to pack. As soon as the door to Riven’s room closes behind me, I video call the Stella girls group chat. Usually, I’d rather process things alone, but right now, I need my friends to help me unpack everything that just happened.
“Kady?” Delilah’s image flickers onto the screen. She’s sitting up in bed, bleary eyed, her curls wrapped in a gorgeous silk scarf.
“You’re still in bed?” I arch an eyebrow as she props herself up on her cushions. “Usually, you’re pounding dough by now.”
She massages her head with her free hand. “The book club might have gotten a little out of hand last night and ended up in Club Knotty. Never again.”
“Kady!” Sabs shrieks, joining the call. Delilah winces at the sudden, loud noise. “What’s up?”
“Hi guys.” Faye joins the chat then waves her arm at someone off-camera.
“Shh!” Turning her face back to the screen, she shakes her head.
“Sorry, Laz was making silly faces while flipping pancakes.” I hear Cole and Laz arguing in the background as Faye leaves the kitchen.
“I’m going to leave them to it. Hopefully, Cole doesn’t murder him for getting one stuck to the ceiling again. How’s your weekend going, Kady?”
“I’m just packing now.” I pan the phone to show them my clothes strewn over Riven’s bed. “But my dad and Warren just showed up.”
“What?!” Sabs yells.
“Can you keep it down?” Delilah squeezes her eyes shut. “I can hear you from upstairs.”
“Sorry.” Sabs’s grin tells me she isn’t really truly apologetic. “I’ll join you in a sec.”
“What happened with your dad?” Faye asks. “I’m hoping no one ended up in jail this time?”
I hold off on filling them in till they’re all on, chitchatting idly when Sabs hangs up then, seconds later, appears in Delilah’s bed. Delilah grimaces as she sways from side to side while Sabs gets comfy next to her.
“I thought it’d be easier if we were in the same room,” Sabs explains, although from Delilah’s frown, I’m not too sure she’s happy about it. Sabs is the last person you want chatting in your ear when you’re hungover.
“It went better than expected.” I steer us back on topic. “At first, he tried to get me to come back to New York with him, but then I told him that the Valen Pack is my scent match.”
Sabs gasps dramatically. “You did, WHAT?”
Faye beams, and Delilah’s jaw drops.
“Seriously?” Delilah gapes at me. “This isn’t another fake pack situation?”
“Not this time.” I can’t stop myself from smiling. “Obviously, I never wanted to find a scent match, but after spending this weekend with them, I can’t keep fighting our connection. It’s always been there, but I haven’t been able to face it properly… until now.”
“So what does this mean?” Delilah is still squinting slightly, but she’s obviously more alert now. “What’s next?”
“I’m not sure.” I shrug. “We’ll take things slow, and I guess we’ll see what happens when we return to SVU. Ezra has to tell Dean Rivers about us, obviously.”
“I still can’t believe one of your scent matches is my professor.” Faye shakes her head. “There’ll be a lot of broken-hearted Health Botany students when they find out.”
“I never thought I’d see the day when Kady Sinclair admits that scent matches are real.” Delilah tuts. “See? I told you so.”
“You might have been right about that,” I grudgingly admit. “But finding my scent match doesn’t mean my entire life will change. They told me that they’re fine with fitting in with my way of life, going with my preferences, including not bonding.”
“They’d do that?” Faye gapes at me. “Not bond?”
She and her alphas bonded pretty quickly, which is what’s most common when you find your pack. Bonding gives everyone an increased sense of security.
“They’re happy to do whatever I feel comfortable with.”
“I love them already.” Delilah smiles. “We have to meet them soon. Properly.”
“Maybe we can have a homecoming party?” Sabs suggests.
“I’ve only been away a few days.” I chuckle.
“They can come to our place for a game night?” Faye offers. “Laz keeps talking about wanting to have a rematch after what happened at our last Mario Kart competition.”
“Is he still going on about that?” Sabs groans. “He should have had more control of his car. It’s not my fault that I whooshed past him at the last second and pushed him off Rainbow Road.”
“He’s definitely up for another game,” Faye replies before looking over her shoulder. “Between us, he’s been practicing for hours.”
“I’ll have to ask the guys.” I fold my pajamas. “But I’m sure they’d love to come.”
“Games aside,” Delilah twirls her wrist. “How are you doing?”
“Good.” I blow out a loud breath. “I think. It’s a lot to take in all at once, but it feels right.”
Faye smiles knowingly as the door inches open behind her and Ren appears, bringing her a cup of tea. Usually I find it sickening to watch people in love, but it’s cute to see how much the Silverwood Pack dotes on Faye. Is that what my life is going to be like with the Valen Pack?
“Aw, look!” Sabs points. “You’re blushing!”
I wave her away as heat creeps up my chest. “No, I’m not.”
“Quit teasing, Sabs. You’ll understand when you meet your match,” Ren tells her over Faye’s shoulder, bending down to kiss her head.
“Whatever, nerd brain.” Sabs scoffs. “But seriously, I can’t wait to see you, Kady. We’ve missed you, and it’s been weird without Larry skulking around.”
“He doesn’t skulk,” I refute.
Delilah and Sabs murmur something that I don't quite catch, likely a sarcastic insult.
“And if you must know, Larry’s being treated like a king here,” I add. “The guys don’t see why you have a problem with him. He’s an angel with them.”
“Well, now we know it’s true love if they like Larry,” Sabs says.
Love? No one said anything about love. Is love what I’m feeling? I undo the top button on my blouse. Has it suddenly gotten hotter in here, or did telling the girls my news just get under my skin?
“Anyway, I better go.” I decide I need to hang up before Sabs asks me any more questions I’m not ready to answer. “I’ll see you tonight.”
My three best friends wave before disconnecting. I fold my clothes carefully to smooth out the creases before gently placing them into my suitcase.
“Ouch!” I keel over, clutching my stomach and lurching forward, feeling as if I’ve been jabbed by a hot poker.
The intensity takes me off guard, making me grit my teeth. A wave of nausea rolls over me as realization hits.
“No,” I chastise myself, hoping that I can somehow think my way out of this. Mindset is everything. At least that’s what Delilah says. “This isn’t happening. Not now. I refuse.”
We’ve just figured everything out. We’re courting, but we’ll take things slow so we can keep getting to know each other. Clearly, my body has other ideas. It seems that finally accepting that the Valen Pack is my match has had an unintended consequence.
Unable to continue packing, I sink to my knees, starting to count backwards from one hundred in my head, hoping that I can somehow stop my body from succumbing to its natural instincts.
I throw my neatly folded clothes around, digging around for my emergency pack of heat patches. I tear at the box, a brick of unease dropping to the bottom of my gut when I find it’s empty.
“Kady?” I jump at the soft knock on the door. “Can I come in? I need to get a book.”
I let out a strangled sound that he must take as a yes, because he steps inside. As soon as he sees me, his entire body tenses, and his nostrils flare as my perfume fills the room. Seeing my Viking alpha with hulking shoulders filling the doorway sets every nerve ending in my body on fire.
“Kady, are you…?” Riven swallows hard, his pupils eating the blue of his irises.
“Going into heat?” I wince from the pain, slightly breathless. “Yep, I think so.”
He clears his throat. “I should tell the others to stop packing.”
“No!” I jump up and grab his wrist, throwing myself at him. I wrap my arms around him, clinging onto him like a koala while nuzzling into his chest. His calming presence is exactly what I need. “It may be a false alarm.”
Riven inhales deeply, his voice scratchy as he strokes my head, holding me close. “It doesn’t smell like a false alarm to me.”
“I can’t believe this is happening right now,” I groan. “Everything was going so well.”
“Don’t worry.” He pats my back. “It’ll be okay. Hale will know what to do.”
“I don’t want Hale.” I snuggle into him. “Right now, I want you.”
“Me?” He blanches, pulling back. “But I don’t know what I’m—”
I cut off his sentence with a kiss. Riven may not have a lot of experience with omegas, but he’s an alpha, and instincts count for a lot.
His long fingers weave through my hair as he kisses me back. I slide my hands under his shirt, pawing at his rippling back muscles like a feral cat.
“Can we…?” He pulls back, leaving my lips tingling and chest heaving. “Slow down?”
His rejection stings. Usually, I wouldn’t react to a comment like that but, right now, my impending heat has stripped away all my defenses and dropped my guard. My lower lip trembles uncontrollably as my vulnerability slips through. “You don’t want to—”
“No!” He pulls me back to him. “Of course, I want to. I want to more than anything.” Even with his voice steeped in shyness, his touch erases my worries. “I’d like to savor this moment a little longer, if we can?”
His mouth brushes against mine, bringing a tender calmness to counter my frenzied panic, grounding me further.
He wants me. Thank fuck. I snuggle into him, wishing I could bury myself under his skin.
Riven isn’t like the others. He’s who I need right now.
During this early stage of heat, he will keep me from spiraling into a tailspin.
He gestures to his bed. “Should we…?”
I grab his hand to pull him down onto his comfortable mattress. I climb onto his lap, wrapping my legs around him, resisting the urge to grind against the hard bulge in his pants… For now.