Chapter 24
Waking Up
Liora
My heat was over. Just like Dr. Nova had promised, it had been shortened. I felt well used, but satisfied when I woke up in Geo's arms, my drool running down his hard pec.
"Ugh, I'm sorry!" I hastily wiped the drool away with my blanket.
Geo chuckled. "Do you think, after all the fluids we've shared, a little saliva would make me take off?"
"I guess not." I swiped at my own face. "I need a shower."
"I take it that's the heat done then?"
"Seems like it." I rolled out my shoulders. "Everything feels normal."
"Good. Let's have a shower and then talk about next steps."
"Next steps?"
"Shower first."
He got up and steered me into the bathroom, turning on the water and adjusting it to the right temperature, steaming hot.
While I stood under the water, letting the heat ease the muscles that ached from overexertion, Geo washed my entire body with lemon scented soap. He even scrubbed my hair and I just stood there, relishing the gentle touches and the expert way he washed me.
"Your turn." I spun and grabbed the soap.
"I'm good, baby. Get dried off and go rest."
I shook my head stubbornly. "Nope. You get what you give."
He was too tall for me to really wash his hair, but I scrubbed the rest of him, paying special attention to his cock and balls.
He hardened slightly in my hand, but it was obvious the past couple of days had been a lot for him too.
Without the heat pheromones, even his body was less responsive right now.
Finally, we dried off and got dressed in the clothes Geo had found outside the door earlier.
There were comfy purple sweatpants and tshirts for me and similar in black for Geo.
They'd even gotten us each underwear, including Geo's signature black briefs.
And nothing was borrowed from the guys. Someone had gone out and bought new clothing for us.
"That was thoughtful," I said, pulling a purple shirt with a unicorn kitty on the front saying "Fuck you."
"It was." Geo sat on the end of the bed and looked at me. "We need to talk. I'm not pressuring you into anything, but you remember when I told you I was your scentmatch?"
"Of course, it was kind of a big moment."
"Okay, good. I want you to know that I'm not going to force a bond on you or make you stay away from your mates."
"Mates?" I spat out. "They threw me away. Rejected me!"
"Right, I know that. And I know you're hurting. But . . . this is going to sound way out of place, is there a chance they're also your scentmatches?"
I froze, glaring at him. How dare he assume that. But it was true, maybe.
"I don't know. The feeling I have with you?
That was the feeling I had with them in the beginning.
But I don't think they feel it at all. When I was here, waiting for them because I needed their presence, needed it physically, they didn't have the same issue.
They could leave for however long and just not come back until they felt like it. " I twisted my hands together.
"Okay. You don't have to make any decisions right now. I hate that they hurt you, but I also don't want you to leave those bonds behind if you might eventually want them back."
I shook my head. "How could I want them back?
No, that's not right. My heart wants them back, but my head does not.
I can never trust them again, Geo. They literally threw me away like garbage.
They signed the paperwork saying they didn't want me anymore.
That was deliberate. If they thought I was their scentmatch, they couldn't do that, could they? "
He sighed. "I don't know the answer to everything, baby."
"Would you walk away from me?" I asked, looking him dead in the eyes.
"No. Not if you let me in. But if you want me to leave, I will force myself to do that. Because what is best for you is the only thing I want for you."
"That's the right answer," I told him, sitting down beside him. His arm went around my shoulders. "I know this is really fast though. I don't mind if you want to go and sort things out, away from the heat pheromones."
"Sweetheart, if I had a choice, I'd never leave this room," he said honestly.
"Well, as long as you were in here. But it's not just sex.
I have this overwhelming need to protect you, to fight off anyone who might want to hurt you, physically or emotionally.
" He looked at the door. "Your old alphas are not leaving.
We'll have to leave if you don't want them interfering in your life. "
"Where do you live?" I asked curiously.
Geo laughed. "In the barracks at work. I never needed a house, so I never bought one or rented."
"Wow. So, my scentmatch is a homeless dude. Good to know," I teased him.
There was a knock on the door and my heart fell. My heat had barely ended and they were already here, wanting to talk.
Geo stood, but I put a hand on his chest and went to the door, jerking it open. "What?"
Finn was standing there with some flowers and a box of chocolates. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Fine . . ." I eyed him suspiciously. "Why?"
"We can all tell when your heat is over with the scents here," he told me, giving Geo a nod. "Thought you might like a little treat after going through it all."
I frowned. "What's the catch?"
"No catch. But if you two want to come out of the room, we have a breakfast buffet prepared."
I looked at Geo just as his stomach rumbled.
"Sorry, we can stay here if you like," he offered. But my alpha was hungry and after all the effort he'd just put in with my heat, I couldn't deny him food.
"Let's go." I took the flowers and the chocolates, setting them on the dresser and stepped out of the room with Geo following.
The dining room was set up with one side of the table full of platters of food and the other side was ready to sit, with plates and cutlery and glasses of orange juice. I was suddenly ravenous.
Geo handed me my plate and I started to pile on food.
They'd thought of everything. Bacon, eggs, sausages, assorted fruits, yogurt, pancakes, and toast was all laid out with toppings available.
I grabbed toast with honey and some watermelon, strawberries and blueberries, dumping the berries into a bowl of vanilla yogurt.
Geo took some of everything, piling his plate high with food.
The others came in to fill their plates, too, but Geo had me sitting at the end of the table so he was between me and the pack. I just dug into the food, too hungry to actually deal with them right now.
Geo polished off his plate in record time. I was still working on the yogurt and berries, but Finn encouraged him to go get more food, so he did, leaving me with just a chair between Finn and me.
"Feel better?" Finn asked.
I nodded. "Thank you."
"I know we didn't do heats for the last few eyars you were with us," Mace said, further down the table. "But I remember how hungry everyone was after the fact."
"I remember no one stayed," I said, not even intending to let the words escape. There was a beat of silence.
"We put work over you," he admitted. "And that was an idiot move when we had our perfect omega at home with us. We could have appreciated what we had instead of what we wanted. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to forgive us," Finn put in quickly. "Not right away at least, but we still want you to know how fucking sorry we are."
"But hopefully you can forgive us someday," Aiden added. "I'm so sorry for what we did to you. We thought it was a simple thing, but the repercussions are enormous."
"They are," I said, suddenly losing my appetite. "If you'd rejected me and looked after me, that would have been okay, I think. It's the rejection, plus the abuse I had to deal with. That's the unforgiveable part."
"Does it help that we honestly thought you'd go to a better pack? One that would cherish you like we weren't capable of?"
"Are you my scentmatches?" I asked abruptly. Needing to know.
"Yes." Mace hung his head. "We knew the first moment we saw you in that diner."
"I thought I knew too, but how can a scentmatch . . . a fated bond, end up throwing away their partner? I don't understand."
"We . . . " Aiden started, but then fell silent, not sure how to respond.
"Geo is my scentmatch," I told them. "He feels right. Just like you felt right. I wonder if you can break the bond?"
"We actually did some research on that and it looks like you're stuck with us forever," Finn said with a lopsided smile. "No one has successfully broken a bond based on scentmatches without one of the people dying."
"Yeah, not doing that," Geo muttered, taking his seat beside me again. He put two pieces of baccon on my plate. "Have some fat and protein, you spent a lot."
I nibbled on the bacon and listened as everyone tried to exxplain their thoughts on the bond.
"Did you two bond?" Mace forced out after a minute. He had his eyes on the table, unable to look at us."
"No," I said just as Geo said, "Not yet."
I started to laugh. "Not yet?"
"Next heat, baby. If you'll have me," he promised.
"How will that affect our bond?" Finn mused.
"It shouldn't do anything except add both of us to the bond." Geo cut into a pancake. "Bonds aren't meant to be broken, they're meant to expand and grow."
The others looked relieved to hear it. I wasn't sure I wanted their bonds forever, but it sounded like I had no choice. Just like everything else in the world of omegas.