Chapter Twenty
Ash
I walk the halls the same way I used to walk patrol in enemy territory.
Calm. Controlled.
Ready to snap someone’s neck if they looked at me funny.
Only now, the enemies are expensive wallpaper, and the only thing firing is my patience.
This place is a goddamn castle. Vaulted ceilings. Stone floors polished like a Bond villain’s ego. Lucian's family probably commissioned the whole estate with phrases like fortress aesthetic and make it intimidating enough to scare off God.
I hit the west wing and round the corner into the library - because of course Lucian has a two-story library stocked with books no one reads.
Dark oak. Rich leather. Shelves tall enough to kill someone if they fall.
It smells like dust, dominance, and generational wealth.
Kai’s draped across a couch, Theo’s pacing like someone forgot to plug him in overnight, and Lucian’s at the bar pouring whiskey like it’s the only thing keeping his inner demon sedated.
They look up the second I enter.
Theo’s the first to speak. “Well?”
I scan the room. “She’s asking for us.”
Kai whistles. “All of us?”
“She didn’t give a guest list. Just said she didn’t want to be alone.” I shrug. “Could be all of us. Could be me. Could be the fucking furniture.”
Lucian scoffs. “Absolutely not.”
I blink. “Come again?”
“No one’s going in there,” he repeats, like we’re supposed to forget the last forty-eight hours of Lucian’s Doorside Heat Vigil.
Theo frowns. “She asked, Lucian.”
“Of course she did. She’s in heat,” Lucian snaps. “She’d ask a houseplant if it exhaled the right scent.”
Kai raises a brow. “To be fair, I’ve met a few charismatic ferns.”
Lucian turns on him so fast I’m honestly impressed Kai doesn’t flinch. “ Right . Because we all know you’d hump a fucking fern if it looked at you for long enough.”
Kai grins. “What can I say? I’m friendly.”
“The point ,” Lucian grits, bringing the conversation back on track, “is that we’re not making it worse.”
“She knows what she’s saying,” I bite out. “She was calm. Lucid. Rational.”
“She was crying slick,” Lucian counters.
“Yeah. And?”
He gestures like I’ve just proven his point.
Theo steps in, gentle but firm.
“Lucian. She doesn’t need a lecture. She needs support. Physical. Emotional. Comfort.”
Lucian laughs dryly. “Perfect. Let’s all gather ‘round, sing lullabies, and swaddle her like a burrito.”
Kai perks up from his half-sprawl across the armchair like he’s been waiting all day for this opening.
“Listen, I’m always down for an alpha cuddle pile. I’ll bring snacks. We can all touch pecs. It’ll be beautiful. Real growth moment.”
“Don’t start about fucking growth again, Reed,” Lucian snaps, turning on him with enough disdain to curdle milk. “I’ve listened to you circle like a dog in heat for two days straight and somehow managed not to throw you through a window. Yet. But you are testing me. ”
Kai stands, stretching with theatrical laziness.
“Surprised you could hear anything, what with all that whispering through the door. What was that about? Erotic audiobook practice? Or were you just narrating her heat like some fucked-up nature documentary?”
Lucian’s voice drops to a low, vicious murmur. “ Careful .”
“Oh no. Not Careful . ” Kai raises his brows. “ I’m shaking in my extremely well-fitted boots.”
“I’m not going to tell you again,” Lucian growls. “You think this is a joke?”
“Are you for real? Everything about this is a joke.” Kai gestures to the room. “You, me, this ridiculous tension-fest of a man cave. We’re two alphas stuck in a deadlock over one omega who’s literally asking us not to make it weird. The whole thing is one big, fucked-up joke.”
“I’m not making it weird, ” Lucian bites. “I’m keeping her safe . You? You’re circling the situation like you think it’s a casual hookup and not a biological minefield.”
“And you’re acting like she’s your personal property. Newsflash, Vale: this isn’t a private dick-measuring contest, no matter how hard yours might be pressed to your inseam right now.”
Lucian steps forward, eyes dark. “Say that again.”
“Okay,” Kai nods. “You’re territorial, you're condescending, and honestly? You might be in love with the door at this point.”
Theo exhales hard, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“We’re not doing this. You two aren’t posturing your way into a solution.”
Lucian doesn’t even look at him. “ He’s not going in there.”
Kai spreads his arms. “So you get to have your tragic door-fuck fantasy, but the rest of us are a threat?”
“It’s different .”
Kai leans in, smug and relentless. “She doesn’t want you, Vale. Not only you. She’s reaching for us. All of us. And that’s what’s really pissing you off, isn’t it?”
“Kai,” Theo says.
“What? It's true! He was all about that whole whisper-through-the-door intimacy bullshit last night, but now, suddenly, it’s too dangerous for anyone to go in?”
“Right,” Lucian’s lip curls. “Because if it isn’t clear enough, Reed - I don’t share.”
That stops the room.
“Then what are you doing, Lucian?” Theo asks.
The silence that follows is long and drawn-out.
I finally step in, voice level. “Look, we don’t have time for a dick-swinging contest.”
“And this ,” Kai says, gesturing vaguely, “is why I vote we rebrand from ‘protective pack of responsible alphas’ to ‘sad boy band with boundary issues.’”
Lucian looks ready to kill.
“She doesn’t need us ,” he bites out. “She needs me. You’re all just in the way.”
Theo straightens, voice sharp now. “She needs comfort. Support. Stability . Not some alpha war fantasy with you on a fucking throne.”
“She chose us,” I add, eyes cutting to Lucian. “She said it herself. She doesn’t want to be alone. She wants someone with her. Not a savior, not a dictator, just - someone .”
Kai shrugs, turning his gaze to Lucian.
“Guess that rules you out.”
Lucian’s jaw clenches so hard I hear it click.
I swear to God, if they start growling next, I’m putting both of them in time-out.
“And if one of you breaks? If one of you gives in, rut hits, and she spirals - who’s accountable then?” Lucian fires out to the room. “Who wants to be the one who marks her because your self-control’s shit?”
“Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” Kai comments. “I’ve never
marked anyone - and trust me, I’ve had some very enthusiastic partners.”
Theo lifts both hands. “We’ll take shifts. We can monitor. We’ll keep our hands to ourselves unless she asks. We'll give her space -”
“ Space ,” Lucian mutters. “Sure. Because that’s exactly what omega heat cycles are known for. Calm, rational, space. ”
“Coming from the guy who’s been parked outside her door like a feral gargoyle?” Kai snorts.
Lucian snaps toward him. “You want to see feral?”
“Guys,” I bark. “ Enough. We’re not solving anything by tearing each other’s throats out. She’s in pain. And she asked. She asked me. ”
My statement is followed by another period of silence before Lucian finally sets his glass down.
“Fuck this,” he hisses through his teeth, moving to stand. “One of you goes in. One . And the rest stay the fuck out of my way.”
Theo’s jaw ticks. “Fine. Agreed.”
Kai claps. “Great! We’re voting! Who’s bringing snacks? No? Just vibes? Cool.”
I step forward. “I’m going.”
Lucian doesn’t argue. He just seethes.
Good . Let him.
She asked - didn't beg, didn't plea, but asked - and this time, I’m not going to stand on the other side of the door like some broody alpha-shaped statue pretending not to be three seconds from exploding.
Time to go hold her -
Before one of these idiots decides to bring a fern.
*
The corridor’s quiet when I reach the isolation wing.
Not peaceful quiet - just the kind that screams something’s waiting to go wrong.
I press my palm to the black panel like I watched Lucian do, and the door hisses open like I’ve just accessed a top-secret government bunker.
Because apparently, that’s what this place is now. Not a house, but a heat-safe panic room from hell.
The steel door unseals with a low, hydraulic sigh -
And then the air hits me like a truck.
Jesus.
She’s everywhere. Not just in the air, but in the fucking walls . On the floor. On the ceiling, probably.
Pine and citrus and slick - like someone bottled up alpha ruin and sprayed it through the vents.
I step inside, and I don’t see her at first.
I see the chaos.
Lucian’s perfectly sterilized security chamber now looks like the inside of a pillow fort built during a breakdown.
Blankets are draped across furniture like she fought a couch and won. Cushions everywhere. Someone’s hoodie shaped into a pillow. The armchair’s been dragged closer to the bed like it did something wrong and now has to apologize.
And there she is.
In the center of the disaster, looking like the cover model of Omega Meltdown Monthly.
Kneeling on the bed. My flannel shirt barely hanging on her, cheeks flushed, thighs soaked, and eyes glassy like she hasn’t blinked in a week.
And my shirt - my shirt - has never been so lucky.
She turns toward me, and the moment her eyes land on mine, I feel it - the bond we don’t have yet, but might as well. That primal, invisible tether between an alpha and something that belongs .
Her relief slams into me like a wave.
“Ash.” Her voice cracks, hoarse and broken and grateful. “You came.”
“Yeah.” I nod once, swallowing hard. My body is taut, every muscle tight with the effort not to react - not to touch. “You asked.”
She sags like I just gave her the antidote to something.
I take a slow step forward. The door seals behind me with a hiss, and her scent coils tighter around me like a noose.
I try to ignore the way her slick glistens in the soft light.
I fail.
Lucian’s shirt is on the floor like it insulted her. The robe’s half-hanging off the bed. My shirt is the only survivor.
And fuck me, she looks perfect in it.
Too big, slipping off one shoulder. Sleeves rolled. Fabric clinging to the slick between her thighs like it was made to fit there.
My throat tightens. My body roars mine .
But it’s the nest that hits me hardest.
“ You made this? ” I ask, gesturing at the chaos surrounding her.
Her brows twitch, unsure. “ What? ”
“ This. ” I nod at the cushions, the blankets, the chair now serving emotional support duty. “ Your nest. ”
She looks around like she’s just noticed it for the first time and isn’t sure if she should apologize.
“I didn’t like the room before,” she mutters. “I needed it to feel… safe.”
“You did good,” I say, dead serious. “Strong nest. Structurally sound. Pillow to blanket ratio is optimal. I’ve seen tactical bivouacs less secure.”
Something flickers in her expression. It's almost a smile.
“You did real good, sweetheart.”
Her eyes shine. Briefly. “I didn’t think…” Her voice wobbles. “I didn’t think you’d come back.”
I cross the room slowly. “I told you I would.”
“I thought maybe Lucian…” she trails off, fingers tightening in the bedsheet. “Maybe he wouldn’t let you.”
I snort. “Lucian can eat a brick.”
That earns me a real smile. Small. Fragile.
But I’ll take it.
“You okay?” I ask, trying not to sound like I’m on the verge of strangling my own instincts just to stay calm.
She laughs. Sort of.
More like a sound that got halfway to laughter and gave up.
“No. But I am now.”
I stop a foot from the bed.
Her hands are shaking in her lap. My hands are fists, every part of me screaming to close the distance.
“Tell me what you need, sweetheart,” I murmur. “Anything. I’ll give it.”
She hesitates.
Her thighs shift, flexing, trying to relieve pressure that can’t be helped.
“I want -” she stops. Licks her lips. Tries again. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
“You won’t be.”
“Just… stay,” she whispers. “Hold me. Please.”
That’s it.
I’m done.
I toe off my boots, peel off my sweatshirt, and climb into her little chaos fortress like I’m approaching a live grenade.
She doesn’t wait. She climbs into my lap like she’s been waiting her whole life to do it.
She tucks herself against my chest, hands grabbing at me like she’s worried I’ll vanish. Her breath ghosts over my throat, hot and frantic, and even though my entire body is locked up like a loaded gun, I wrap my arms around her.
Her breath catches, then evens out. I press my lips to the top of her head.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur.
Her answer is quiet, muffled against my skin. “ I know. ”
And yeah, every part of me is screaming for more. Screaming to scent her, pin her, fuck her full and make it stick.
But I don’t.
Because this?
This is the job. The mission.
And she chose me to see her through it.
So I stay. Even if it kills me.
(Which, honestly - it just might.)