Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Neveah
It’s been a few days since we christened Sage’s new nest, and I suspect her heat will be arriving soon.
The call to the omega safety hotline went well, and I’m proud of how she spoke up for herself.
Unfortunately, as soon as I hung up the phone, she started shaking uncontrollably and then burst into tears.
I did my best to soothe and reassure her, but ultimately it was a surprise snack from Brooks that snapped her out of it.
Her mood has been more erratic lately, swinging from sweet and cuddly to irritated to distressed at the drop of a hat.
We haven’t talked about expectations as a pack yet, and although we need to, I think she’d do better with a one-on-one conversation first. I snag the gift I didn’t get a chance to give her yet before seeking her out, finding her curled up on the couch with Riley’s tablet.
I set it next to the couch before rounding to stand in front of her.
“Can I sit with you?” I ask, placing a cup of iced lemonade on the coffee table for her.
“Sure!” She leans forward, creating a spot behind her, and I wedge myself in, barely sitting my ass down before she leans back and snuggles into me. I wrap my arms around her with a smile.
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh, Riley said he still wants me to help with his room. So I’m looking at interior design stuff for inspiration.”
“I love that. You did such an incredible job with the nest, we might need to put you to work on other parts of the house at some point.”
“Really?” She twists to face me. “You’d trust me with that?”
“Of course. Also,” I pause, pulling out the massive gift box. “I have something for you.”
“A present?” Her eyes light up and she straightens, scooting forward.
I place it on the floor in front of her, and she leans over to carefully unwrap it. I smile at how cute she is, and then she lifts the lid off the box to peer inside.
Her lips form a perfect O as she reaches down, sinking her hands into the plush blanket. I spotted a gift section when we were at the nesting store, and I snuck away to special order this for her. It finally arrived yesterday.
“Ooooh,” she breathes. “So soft!”
She tugs the sparkling, emerald green blanket up to her lap, then gasps when she sees the details. Her fingers trace over the letters embroidered in silk thread.
“Pack Lavender,” she whispers. Then she flings it over her head, wrapping herself tight as she balls her hands, tugging fistfuls of the fabric up to her nose.
“Oh my god,” she moans. “It smells like all of us! How did you do this?”
I grin and tug my bundled omega into my lap, sitting her sideways and resting my temple on the crown of her head.
“There was a gift section at the nest store. I ordered it, then ambushed the other two for their scents last night.”
Sage continues to stare at the blanket, then turns big brown doe eyes up to me in wonder.
“I love it,” she says, voice soft. Her fingers peek out to trace the lavender flowers embroidered on the corner, and then she sticks her nose into it again, huffing a deep breath.
We snuggle for a few minutes, then I drop a kiss on the top of her head before bringing up the subject we’ve all been avoiding.
“Can we talk about your upcoming heat?”
Sage tenses in my arms, as I expected her to, and I rev my purr to life in my chest. It helps relax her, and she sinks back into me. My protective instincts settle, my heart content with her tucked against me.
“I guess we probably should,” she says.
“I don’t mean this in a bad way, I just want to understand. Why don’t you want to talk about it?”
She’s quiet for a few moments before answering.
“I don’t know what to expect. I’ve only ever had heats with Josh and—” she cuts herself off, then changes direction. “I’m scared. I liked what we did the other night, but heat is different. It hurts.”
“It shouldn’t hurt if we’re doing it right,” I murmur, stroking a hand through her mass of wavy brown hair, teasing out a few knots with my fingers. I can’t believe how long it is, and I have no idea how she puts up with it in this summer heat.
“It…” she frowns, turning to look at me. “What do you mean?”
Wait, what? What does she mean what do I mean?
“Sage,” I start, choosing my words carefully. “Are you telling me that they didn’t give you what you needed during your heats?”
She frowns, but doesn’t answer. Does she not know what she needs? How is that possible?
“Let’s back up for a second. Can you tell me more about what a heat was like with Josh?”
“You don’t want to hear it,” she says, glancing away.
“No, but I think I need to. For all of us.” I give her an encouraging squeeze. “There’s nothing you can say that will change how I feel about you. You’re not getting rid of me at this point, Sweetling.”
That brings a tiny quirk to her lips, and she sighs before speaking.
“Josh and whatever friends he invited, they’d… fuck me,” she stumbles over the words, and my purr tries to turn to a growl when I hear them.
I force my muscles to relax and my purr to soften.
“But they only did what they wanted, when they wanted. Most of the time I was on my own. If I asked for things, they wouldn’t do it until I was crying. They said they had to wait until I really needed it otherwise my heat wouldn’t ever end.”
This time the growl punches through, and Sage’s wide eyes dart to mine.
“I’m not mad at you, sweet omega.” I tuck her back into me, tightening my hold as my alpha instincts yank on the thread that prevents me from going feral. I take a deep breath, sinking my nose into her hair and huffing her lavender scent like it’ll keep me sane.
Hopefully, it will.
“I’m ready to tear out the throats of whatever alphas thought it was okay to torture an omega during her most vulnerable moments.”