Chapter 14 Red
Chapter fourteen
Red
A bird’s shrill chirp disturbs my sleep, and I roll onto my side with a mutter and pull the covers higher.
But the noises in the room continue: cracking seed, soft footsteps, a conversation muffled by walls.
For a moment I think I’ve fallen asleep on the couch at home, but then the faint ache in my body and a coating of sweat sticking my clothes to my legs registers.
I’m at the Omega Center, and I was having my heat. I flip back the blanket and force my eyes open.
“Hello, Biscuit,” Rickon croons, stroking my forehead. “Take it slow.”
“How long?” I croak, my throat dry.
“You’ve been under for three days. Your temperature dropped a few hours ago, but you might still feel warm.”
That’s an understatement, but I nod and press his hand down harder onto my brow. He feels cool and soft.
“I brought someone to say hello,” he says with forced cheer. “Guess who it is.”
I snort. “I already heard Ozzie cracking seeds from a mile away.”
Rickon laughs. “Fair call. He’s a noisy fellow.”
Holding back a groan, I lever myself upright, and Rickon fluffs pillows at my back to support me. My body tingles, and I’m unsure if my limbs will work properly, but at least my heat isn’t overpowering my senses. I lift my hands and discover a drip line taped to my arm.
Rickon follows my gaze and tenses. “Feeling okay?” he asks, and I know he means from seeing the needle-tip dug into my vein.
I stare at my arm for a minute before answering, “Well, I think I’ve had worse. At least this one’s feeding me.”
Rickon’s gorgeous face softens with a radiant smile. “You’re so brave, my love,” he whispers, leaning in for a kiss. “I’m so proud of you.”
I cling to his shoulders for a moment, gathering my thoughts. Wild Red simmers in the background, fading with every passing moment. I really made it through another heat. “We did it,” I mutter into his collar, gripping his shirt tight.
“Hello!” Ozzie calls brightly. “Shut up! Fuck off. Hello.”
We both laugh, and then Rickon goes and gets Ozzie from his smaller travel cage on the coffee table and brings him over. The bird fluffs out the brilliant green feathers on his wings and shoulders and bobs his orange head. “Hurry up.”
Rickon clicks his tongue as he opens the cage door, and I stick my arm inside. “Hi, ornery little guy,” I say as the parrot’s tiny claws wrap around my finger.
He bobs his head and struts up my arm. “Red, Red, Red,” he chirps by my ear before disappearing under my hair.
I clench my teeth against a rush of emotion. Even if he swears like a trooper, this little bird is a piece of my new life, and for whatever reason, he really likes me. I stroke his smooth feathers, and he nibbles his beak along my hairline in return as I trace back my memory of what happened.
I went into heat; Rickon fucked me while Callisto bound my hands and held me in place. And then Samantha sedated me. With a needle. A quick glance around shows only Rickon in the room with me. Did he find my note? Did he accept my apology? The questions stick in my throat.
Rickon sits down on the bed, one knee up on the covers. “I should ask if you feel in control, but I think I can tell.” He rests one hand on his belly, smiling. “You really are the bravest person in the world, to go through that and stay sane.”
I cock a doubtful gaze in his direction. “Sane is doubtful.”
He chuckles and takes my hand. “Well, I think you did marvelously.” His thumb caresses the back of my hand, massaging away the tension in my soul.
“You’re not mad at me?” I ask. “I think I said some pretty dumb shit.”
Rickon shakes his head. “Of course I never want you to hate me, but—” He pulls out a crinkled sheet of paper and holds it high in the air like a trophy while making trumpet noises. “I got the letter.”
I snort. “You’re an idiot.”
Rickon grins. “An idiot in love.” He lifts my hand and places a kiss on the back.
I swallow around a lump in my throat. “Thank you, alpha.”
“Anything for my omega.” His smile falters, and worry lines press into his brow. “I’m glad you’re okay, but I need to let you know something happened.”
My heart constricts. “What?”
“Callisto heard from the prison that Zack lost his shit and attacked some inmates. He’s been put in solitary confinement for a few days.”
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. “Is he okay?”
Rickon holds his hand up helplessly. “Callisto is trying to see him, but they’re preventing it until his isolation punishment is over. Considering the timeline, we think he felt you . . . well, the heat, and flipped out.”
I slump back against the pillows, careful not to squish Ozzie.
“I’m sorry, Red. Callisto did ask the prison to pass a message to him that the heat was coming, but we don’t think he got it.”
I nod slowly. I’m sure Callisto did everything he could.
My first instinct is to berate myself for failure, but then another thought strikes me, and I close my eyes.
“I made the right call then. Imagine what he might’ve done if the heat went on for three whole days.
At least he can’t hurt himself in solitary. ”
Rickon groans and curls around my feet until he’s lying down, resting his head on my leg. “Totally. He didn’t kill anyone, but he broke a few bones—theirs, not his own. Callisto says this might delay getting him out because they can’t cite good behavior now.”
In so many ways, this helplessness feels the same as my heat, trapping me in a body that’s useless when I need it most. I clench my fists and knock them together.
“Should I try breaking him out again?” I mutter, even though I know I can’t.
I’m still not sure how Callisto weaseled me out of the last charges.
“They know who you are now,” Rickon warns, squeezing my leg. “The same trick won’t work twice. Let Callisto handle this one. He really is good at what he does.” He squirms a little, and then flops onto his back. “Um, Red?”
I skim my hands through his silky platinum hair, teasing the strands with gentle tugs. “Yes, alpha?”
“So, right after you passed out, and I was still pretty worked up . . . um, Callisto and I kinda made out.”
My breath hitches. “For real?”
“Yeah. Like, maybe a base more than making out?” He groans and presses his face into my leg. “I dunno what to say, but I didn’t want to hide it from you. And now I can’t even fucking face him.”
I scrape my fingers gently along his scalp, feeling his sadness as my own. “Why, my love?”
He sighs heavily. “Well, he happened upon my bond mark, and kinda flipped out and said some stupid stuff. I was in the middle of telling him to leave when I felt Zack fritz.”
I press my lips together, sorting through my tangled thoughts.
For Rickon, making love with his crush would be a dream come true, but possibly a nightmare as well since we aren’t a pack.
I want Rickon to be happy and I’d never stand in his way, but can they have a relationship at this distance?
It wouldn’t be the sort Rickon’s been dreaming about.
It’s no surprise the lawyer got upset. Of course Callisto would take issue with his best friend bonding the wild alpha.
Zack threw Calli out of our pack, and I didn’t stop him.
More than that, I felt relieved not to have to accept the lawyer with all the emotional guilt attached.
And since then, I think we’ve become friends, which is special in its own way.
Even if I do miss him like a hole in my heart.
And now, when it seems too late, Rickon’s gotten a bittersweet taste of his wish—the one he had to say goodbye to when Callisto got kicked out. What a mess.
Rickon tightens his hands around my leg, quivering faintly. “Are you mad?” he whispers.
“I’m not upset with you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I tell Rickon, tickling my fingers down his neck.
“Callisto’s gonna be part of our life, one way or another.
And honestly, I don’t even know how to feel about him now.
He’s my alpha, and a part of me wants him no matter what.
Like, being sandwiched between you two in heat, that was so sexy it nearly broke my mind. ”
Rickon chuckles. “Yeah, it was.”
I coax Ozzie out onto my shoulder and lean back, closing my eyes against the bright sunlight.
“Yeah, I think . . . I think Callisto’s changed a bit.
The apartment gift and the court cases were all mind-blowing, but it’s more that he’s giving us his time now, don’t you think?
And Zack’s changing too.” I stop, letting the possibilities fall into the silence.
“Yeah, he has changed,” Rickon muses. “The fact he’s even looking my way means he’s viewing the world differently. But he did say some shit about Zack I didn’t appreciate while he was upset.”
I lean over and hug Rickon’s head, dropping a kiss on his fair hair. “To be fair, everyone but us two would have some shit to say about Zack.”
Rickon snorts. “Yeah. But he also cut me pretty deep. Thing is, I’ve never felt like less of an alpha to Calli, but he was saying I couldn’t handle the bond and stuff . . .”
“I’m sorry, Rickon.” I hold my alpha close. “Maybe with all the heat pheromones he wasn’t thinking clearly. Remember, I said a bunch of shit I didn’t mean.” I tap a fingernail on his head. “Maybe Callisto needs to write a letter too.”
Rickon chuckles dryly. “Like passing notes back in high school.”
“Yeah.” I grin with him and rock him gently. At least he’s cheered up for now.
When Zack threw Callisto out, it felt final, but I’m slowly learning that everything changes. My omega instincts say our pack hasn’t reached its final form yet, but only time will tell.
“How about we just focus on getting Zack out of prison?” I tell my alpha. Bunching a lock of my long hair together, I tickle his ear, and he slaps me away with a laugh. “That’s enough trouble for now, right?”
“Words of wisdom,” he says, sitting upright. “You seem to have a bit more spark now.”