The Heat
Vera
When I arrived home, I cleaned the house on all fours, my hands scrubbing until they were raw.
I wanted to rearrange everything, drag all of my blankets, pillows, and laundry into the center of the room—to build the nest I was never allowed growing up.
The same rule Amos enforced. But I didn’t.
I kept scrubbing, trying to wash away the need. I focused on the manual labor.
My body was sore. I scrubbed until my mind went numb.
When Dane’s text came in, I wanted to call him and apologize for leaving.
But the broken part of me whispered I’d fucked up, promised the Alpha was mad enough to hate me.
My phone dinged on the kitchen counter. My knees and back protested as I stood. The screen lit up.
Uriel: Are you free, Omega?
My heart hurt. He’d been so good to me, and the look on his face when I saw him last cut deep. Uriel made me feel good. I shouldn’t go to him when I’ve got two other Alphas on my mind.
Me: Yes. Your place?
Uriel: No, I have family in town. Meet me at The Heat. I’ll send you the room number when I have it. Is that okay?
Me: Yes, that works.
I slid my phone into my back pocket and surveyed the kitchen one more time.
It was cleaner than it had been in years, but it still wasn’t good enough.
I didn’t know what was wrong with me–I just needed everything to be perfect.
My heart wanted me to go back, but I couldn’t make right with the lie Dane had told.
They were both in on it. Kade could have told me about Dahlia, but only Dane’s feelings mattered.
I needed time, and maybe Uriel could give me that.
After a shower, I packed my overnight bag.
I paused in the doorway. I looked over my shoulder to where the bottle of suppressants gathered dust on my nightstand.
I hadn’t taken them for years, but with all this exposure to Alphas, and the hot way I’d been feeling, it was better safe than sorry.
I rushed over, snatched the bottle, and threw it in my overnight bag.
I couldn’t face my Mother’s questions, not when I was already vibrating with a fever.
On my way out, my phone dinged with another message from Uriel: Room #802.
I swerved one too many times on my way to The Heat. Every bump in the road made my skin prickle. Dane’s stolen hoodie was my only solace. I pulled the collar up to my nose, inhaling whiffs of his scent. Campfire and pine. The only thing keeping the panic at bay.
When I pulled into the parking lot of The Heat, a dull ache throbbed between my thighs. I fell out of the car, my legs feeling like lead. I needed to be inside a dark room with warm blankets and the Alpha who promised to meet me here. He’d make me feel better.
I smoothed my hair with trembling hands, trying to look like a woman who belonged in a lobby smelling of expensive orchids and polished brass instead of a runaway Omega ready to hump the nearest Alpha.
The concierge, a blonde in a red uniform, greeted me when I got to the hotel.
Did I have a sign on my forehead that said I was here for a hookup?
She handed me my key and showed me to my room.
When she disappeared into the elevator, I stood outside Room #802.
The hall was silent and posh. Like every other time in my life, I didn’t belong here.
I tapped the door with the key until it beeped.
The air-conditioning hit me as I stepped through the doorway.
I dropped my overnight bag by the closet, knocking on the bathroom door as I passed.
I reached into the side pocket, my fingers trembling as they closed around the bottle of suppressants.
I didn’t just feel warm; a fever clawed through my veins and soon they felt as if they would burst. A thick, humid weight clung to my skin, smelling far too sweet. I could smell myself.
I snagged a bottle of water off the pristine counter. I twisted the cap, my palms were so damp, I almost lost my grip. Just two, I told myself. Enough to kill the fog.
But as I tilted the bottle, a wave of dizziness washed over me. My hand jerked. The plastic container hit the edge of the nightstand with a hollow thud, and dozens of small white pills skittered across the carpet and the rumpled duvet.
“Vera?”
I spun around, my pulse pounding. Uriel stood by the door, his eyes narrowed as he took me in. He looked… hungry.
“You smell… gods, Vera,” he murmured as he stepped toward me.
“Do I?” my voice cracked. I looked down at the white pills lost in the carpet—the mess I’d made of my only safety net.
I was losing control. “Something’s wrong with me.
I haven’t had to take these pills in years, but I brought them just in case.
I just need a second.” My knees gave out.
I sank onto the edge of the bed, my hands pressed into the bed as the stray pills rolled to the floor.
Uriel didn’t stay by the door. He crossed the room in two strides, his shadow looming over me.
He was dressed in a thick maroon sweater.
Underneath, the collar of a white linen shirt peeked out, crisp and clean.
He wore dark trousers that fell perfectly over polished leather boots.
He was stability, warmth, and safety. As he reached out, the soft sleeve of his sweater brushed against my heated skin, and the itch of the fever quieted.
His hand was hot as he cupped my jaw, and then his scent hit me.
Vanilla and sandalwood. Grounding. Right.
My eyes flew open, locking onto his. The fog of heat parted, and his pupils dilated, nostrils flaring. He smelled it too. He always had. The way our scents tangled, merged, fit.
“Mate,” I breathed, the word foreign on my tongue.
Uriel’s jaw clenched. “Vera—”
“You’re mine,” I whispered, pulling him between my thighs. The heat roared back, but now it had a target. Not any Alpha. My Alpha. One of them. Us.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “I didn’t want it to happen like this. Not when you’re—”
“Don’t.” I yanked him closer, my nails digging into his sweater. “Don’t you dare.”
“You’re going into heat, Vera. I think it’s too late to take those,” he motioned behind me to the pills.
“It shouldn’t be possible,” I murmured.
“Sorry to say this, baby, but it is. I’m barely holding back,” he groaned, his brows pinched like he was in pain.
“Then don’t,” I said as I grabbed his hand and dragged my tongue up his wrist.
“Fuck. I don’t even know if you’re in your right mind, right now,” he groaned as I sucked on his finger.
“I missed you so much. I want to believe this is what you want, but I need to know. I need to hear it.” His free hand pushed my hair back and behind my ear.
“I want you,” I breathed.
He closed the distance, his mouth claiming mine.
His touch grounded me. When his hand slid up my thigh, bunching the hem of Dane’s stolen hoodie, I let out a broken moan.
I’d wormed back into the fleece after my shower, wearing nothing but the oversized garment and a sliver of lace.
The rough fabric teased my bare skin, but his touch was the cure.
He pushed me back against the pillows, his weight pressing me into the mattress—and the pills rolled to my skin.
“I don’t deserve you, and I don’t know if I’m enough, but fuck I want to be,” he growled.
“There’s no deserving, Uri. If anyone is undeserving, it’s me. I hurt you last time… I’m sorry. It hurt me too. I didn’t know you were mine. I’m broken—was broken. I couldn’t scent you.”
“I know. You don’t have to explain. I didn’t want to push you… I figured you’d come back,” he said as his fingers rubbed my swollen heat.
“Yes,” I moaned. “I know now.”
I fumbled with his pants, unzipping and pulling out his cock. He twitched under my touch.
“Wait,” he got up, his cock hard and in my face. I leaned forward and sucked on the tip as he stared in the direction of the door.
“So good,” I murmured as I licked up his length.
Later, I would make sense of Uriel and the men I left behind, but right now, I needed to be filled.
“Shit,” he groaned, tilting his head back as I sucked him.
A heavy thud echoed from the hallway, followed by the sound of splintering wood. The door didn’t open; it was torn from the hinges. Uriel pulled away from my lips as he rushed to block me.
Dane stood on the threshold, his chest heaving, his eyes a piercing grey. My heart dropped as I fought the need to run into his arms. Behind him, Kade leaned against the doorframe, a smirk playing on his lips as he lifted his nose, scenting the air.
“Another dead fuck,” he laughed as he dragged his thumb across his throat.