Chapter 52
52
DASH
The receptionist is cautious around me as I rap my knuckles against the delivery room door and wait.
She’s nice in an awkward way.
Like she doesn’t necessarily want to be escorting me here but at the same time knows she doesn’t have a choice but to smile and pretend otherwise.
I couldn’t care less about whether she likes me or hates me.
The door pops opens, and I smell Briar before I have a chance to enter the room.
Her perfume is . . .
intense . It’s everywhere, yet not where I need it.
I want it rubbed so deep into my skin that it will linger there for the rest of my life.
My cock hardens, pulsing as I gulp and focus on Clover.
“Where is she?”
“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t allow you in here. Sadie has given me approval to let you in long enough to grab Briar, so do that quickly and then leave. Take her home and care for her. Please. She needs all of you right now,” she says, her stress obvious.
“All I want is Briar. Sadie’s safe with me.”
“I know. I wouldn’t have asked you to come in—alone or with an escort—if I thought differently. But I’m pissed off at all of you. If I knew she was in heat, I wouldn’t have told her about this. Briar shouldn’t have been here tonight.”
I take the hit.
“I know. We all knew that. This clinic is Briar’s life, though. This is everything she loves, and we weren’t going to take that from her.”
“Harbour of Hope used to be everything she loves. It’s not anymore. Now, she has all of you to fill the hole she got used to stuffing full of this place. She deserves more in her life than work and a dream of pack life. Just give her that, alright?”
“We will.”
Slowly, Clover takes a sidestep and leaves an opening for me to come inside.
I chase Briar’s scent and find her sitting on the floor.
The wet spot in the centre of her chest is almost as bad as the gleam on her forehead.
No doubt, she’s sweated through the back of her top as well.
Her hair is frizzed and stuck to her throat as she moans and rolls her head to the side.
I struggle not to choke on the intense mix of scents in the room and, for once, am more than happy to be a beta instead of an alpha.
“Dash?” Briar croaks, straining to open her eyes.
The dullness in them is alarming.
I drop to a squat immediately, cupping her face in my hands and tilting it upright.
She rubs into my touch and moans, a shiver moving down the entire length of her body.
“It’s me, sweetheart. Time to go home.”
“Home,” she repeats softly.
She weighs nothing in my arms when I lift her and look at the hospital bed for the first time.
The omega lying on it is gazing lovingly at the baby in her arms, so exhausted she can hardly keep her eyes open.
The soft words she murmurs are inaudible, but I can guess they’re declarations of love.
Sadie pulls her attention from the baby just long enough to give Briar a worried once-over.
Then, she’s looking at me and pushing forward a silent plea.
Take care of her.
I nod.
Of course.
“Call me when the heat breaks,” Clover says, hovering.
“We will. Thank you for watching over her.”
“I didn’t do much. She was the one who held herself together.”
I lower my lips to Briar’s forehead, meeting skin hot enough it burns.
“That’s my girl.”
“Leave before you lose your chance. And don’t forget to keep her hydrated. She’s going to need a lot of liquids before you even think about getting her into a nest.”
“Water, got it.”
Briar curls against my chest, her body shaking like she’s cold but having the opposite effect.
She perfumes again while bringing her face to my throat and inhaling.
I’m already out the door by the time she starts squirming, legs rubbing tightly together.
“Have the time of your life, Bee!” Clover calls before we get too far.
Briar doesn’t reply.
Her mouth is too busy sucking on my throat.
I tighten my hold on her and ignore the ruthless tug in my chest. It’s unlike anything I’ve felt before.
Like someone’s reached into my chest and started pulling my ribs out one by one.
But the only person who could pull that off is in my arms.
The receptionist tells us goodbye, and then I’m rushing us out the front door.
“The police are already on their way. You’re out of chances.”
There’s a deep snarl that I’ve never heard before.
I freeze, stretching my arms further around Briar until she’s as covered as possible.
Her scent burns, the thick perfume being snuffed out by her instant fear.
She’s in too vulnerable of a place to be here in the middle of a fight right now.
And fuck me, I’m vibrating with the need to protect her from whatever this is.
I recognize the alpha pushing against Duke’s chest, trying to break past him and to where I’m standing.
Thorne’s feral, his eyes narrowed and dark when he spots us.
The curl of his lip forces me back a step.
“Eyes off our omega,” Ronan bites out, a growl rumbling in his chest.
Thorne takes a deep breath instead, making sure to show off the flare of his nostrils as a smirk splits his face.
“You sure she’s yours? From the way she smells right now, she could very well be mine.”
I open my mouth to warn him against continuing but hesitate when Jasper takes a step toward him, already speaking.
“Say that again and the police won’t be needed here.”
Thorne’s eyes flash.
“Sadie doesn’t want me anymore, which means I have no use for her. All I need is to see my daughter. Sweeten the deal right now by giving me some time with Briar.”
Landon moves too quickly for any of us to stop him.
One second, he’s standing beside Ronan, and the next, he’s tearing Thorne from Duke and sending him flying back on his ass.
The weight of his dominance presses down on us like a storm about to break.
My knees grow weak, the desire to submit to him a constant pressure in my mind.
I glance at Jasper and see him tensing his jaw, fingers shaking out at his side.
Ronan’s the only one of us who doesn’t seem affected by the display of dominance.
It makes perfect sense, considering Ronan’s always been equal to Landon.
Briar, on the other hand, whines in my arms and clutches my shirt in a tight grip.
Her perfume blows away her fear, leaving the air full of sweet, ripe lemons.
My cock aches in response to her change in scent.
Landon bends forward over Thorne and brings his foot to his arm, pressing when he tries to scramble back to his feet.
He applies pressure to get Thorne’s complete focus.
“I know it was you who broke into her place because you wanted more information on Sadie. Your stink was all over the place; I just couldn’t place it until right now.” He presses down harder, and Thorne cries out in pain.
“Desperation has never smelled more like fear than right now. But you’re going to get real familiar with the latter if you ever say her name again.”
“What kind of a pack lets their omega out of their sight when she’s in heat?” Thorne sneers, tugging his arm but failing to get it out from beneath Landon’s foot.
“The kind of pack who loves her enough to want her to keep ownership of her decisions, even when she’s in heat. The kind who loves her in a way you’d ever understand,” I declare.
Briar touches my face, stroking my chin and lips with gentle fingers.
Her breaths are strained when I stare at her and let her see how honest my words were.
How overdue they were.
She should have heard them from me weeks ago.
Back when I met her for the first time and ignored the instincts that told me exactly who she was to me.
My scent match. The woman I’ve been fated to be with.
My one in a billion.
Her blue eyes shine, a brief break of clarity appearing.
“I’m ready, Dash. For all of you. Completely. Take me home.”
“Step back, Landon. The team has this. It’s our job,” Duke says.
It’s impossible to look away from Briar.
“I’ll bring the car around to the front,” Jasper says tightly.
Someone sucks in a loud breath, and I assume it’s Thorne.
“I could press charges for my injuries.”
“Go for it. My lawyers will eat you for lunch,” Landon sneers.
“Though, you’ll be too busy in prison to do anything to anyone. Once you’re arrested for breaking the restraining order multiple times, there won’t be a chance in hell of you seeing anyone inside of that clinic ever again.”
“I have a right to know my daughter,” Thorne argues.
Feet scuff on the pavement, and finally, I look away from Briar to see Duke hauling Thorne to his feet and restraining his hands behind his back with zip ties.
“You have a right to nothing anymore,” the security lead says while pulling the zip ties tighter than he probably needs to.
Briar’s whine shoots from us to the rest of the pack.
“Landon.”
“Haven.” He abandons everything other than her.
I hand her over to him without hesitation.
Once she’s in his arms, he relaxes enough to snap back into himself.
He carries her away from everyone else, kissing her hair, flushed cheeks, and damp forehead.
She sighs contently before tightening in pain.
“We need to go,” Jasper shouts from the street.
The SUV is there with all the windows still down and the back door already open for Briar.
Landon doesn’t keep us here for a moment longer.
Ronan and I jog after him when he starts down the sidewalk and helps Briar into the vehicle.
Once she’s tucked safely between him and me, Ronan climbs behind the wheel.
Jasper takes shotgun and cranks the A/C.
Landon struggles to buckle her seat belt when she starts trying to climb into my lap.
A high-pitched noise rips out of her when she palms my crotch, the full length of me hard and sensitive.
Our pack leader huffs before releasing the seat belt and instead holds her waist and guides her onto my thighs.
“Drive carefully, Ronan,” he warns, voice low and tight with arousal.
Dark brown eyes watch us in the rear-view mirror.
“I’ve got it.”
“What do you need, Briar?” I ask, flattening my palm to the middle of her back.
The fabric is scorching hot and wet, a reminder that we need to get her home as soon as possible.
“You, Dash. I need your cock.”
I shake my head, a heavy sense of dread toppling over me.
“I don’t have a knot.”
“You won’t need one. I’ll help,” Landon puts in from beside us.
His massive shoulders press into mine from his new position on the seat Briar’s abandoned.
Lemon drowns me, and I take more of it into my lungs with greedy inhales.
“Let her ride you, Dash. Trust me,” he adds.
Briar presses forward on her knees before grinding hard against my cock, using it to get herself off.
“Yes. Trust him.”
“Lean back, Briar,” Landon rasps.
She listens without hesitation.
Arching back, she grips my knees and lets her head hang between her shoulders.
Landon starts guiding the scrub pants down her hips and to her knees before going back for her panties.
The thick black material is typical for heat underwear.
They’re almost clinical.
Yet, they look unbelievably sexy on her.
With a bit of struggle, Landon gets her out of her pants, leaving her bare from the waist down.
A low, painful noise trickles into the back seat.
Jasper’s twisted in his seat to watch.
“Help him get his cock out, Briar,” Landon says, pulling her hair behind her shoulder.
When his lips meet her throat, she shakes and moans.
Thick lashes flutter over bright blue eyes as her fingers fumble with my slacks.
They’re already wet with precum and the slick sliding steadily down the inside of her thighs.
“I need to taste her, Landon,” Ronan says, panting.
Briar tugs harder at my pants in response to his voice and the desperation thick in it.
Landon curls a finger beneath Briar’s chin and guides her face toward his.
Her eyes open as she attempts to focus on him.
“Hear that? Ronan wants to taste your pussy, baby. Should I help him out?”
I help her with my pants, needing them off just as badly.
Landon’s feeding into the desire throbbing inside the SUV, and fuck if it isn’t making everything ten times hotter.
I’m going to paint the outside of her pussy with cum before I get so much as a touch of the inside.
My pants get bunched mid-thigh, and then she’s taking me into her hand, nodding at Landon, giving him all the approval he needs.
“Please. Let him taste.”