Chapter Seventeen
I t started with a flicker. A slow, insidious warmth blooming beneath my skin and spreading like wildfire through my veins.
I sucked in a sharp breath, shattering my careful composure. My skin prickled, too hot, too tight, like my body didn’t belong to me anymore. The air turned thick with scent, and mine was rising, sweet, ripe, needy , curling around the room like smoke.
My hands fumbled at the hem of my shirt, fingers shaking too hard to do anything but clutch. Too slow. Too slow . Panic clawed at my chest as heat roared through me, fever-bright and unrelenting. I bent forward with a cry I barely recognized, a searing pain splintering through my core. Like something inside me had been locked up too long and now it was breaking free, wild and starving.
Hands found my shoulders, both strong and grounding. Anders. His grip was steady, his voice calm, but I could barely register the words. Only fragments: my name, a question, how long?
Not since that night , I wanted to scream. Not since the blood and the broken doors and the heat that had betrayed me. I’d buried it. Drowned it in pills and silence and shame. I'd never let it come again.
But now it was here.
And it hurt . I stood up, reaching out, needing my nest.
Gods, it hurt.
The floor swayed beneath me, legs buckling as Anders pulled me close, half-lifting, half-guiding. Somewhere behind him, Blake’s presence made me want to claw off my skin and give him every inch of it. He was everything. Everything I wanted. Needed .
Zach’s scent taunted me, deep and rich and perfect . It didn’t help. It made everything worse. My body screamed for them, instincts howling like something feral inside me had tasted freedom and would not be caged again.
“Make it stop,” I begged, breath hitching, words breaking apart on my tongue. “Please, make it stop.”
A whimper slipped free, my raw omega rearing her head. I clawed at the buttons of my shirt, couldn’t get them open, couldn’t breathe . Fabric stuck to my skin like it was suffocating me, and every brush of air made my nipples ache, my thighs clench.
The last time it happened, the pain vanished, snuffed out in an instant, like someone had slammed a door on it.
No warning. Just... nothing.
One moment my body was screaming, nerves lit up like fire. Then silence. Cold and total.
Fight or flight, they call it. But I didn't run. I didn't fight.
I froze .
And in that numb, hollow pause, I saw them... my parents. Still and broken, limbs twisted in ways that made little sense, glassy eyes turned skyward but seeing nothing. Eyes that used to shine with laughter, now just wide, empty things, that stared straight through me.
"Here," Anders whispered, and the warmth of his hands on my shoulders made me shudder. The fabric slid down my arms like a surrender, skin bared inch by inch until the cool air kissed it, sending goosebumps skittering across my flesh.
"What—" My voice broke, a sob catching in my throat. "What's happening to me?"
"It's a heat spike," Anders said, his eyes searching mine with a careful intensity. "When was your last heat?"
"Never," I gasped. "I've never... I've always—" But the rest disintegrated in a rush of sensation that crushed my voice flat. My mouth opened, but only a gasp escaped as need seared through me.
Blake’s palm found the bare skin of my back... solid, warm, alpha . His presence hit me like a drug. “Breathe, Summer. You’re safe.”
Safe? I was drowning . My body vibrated with hunger, every cell screaming for touch. I clutched at Blake’s arm like it was the only thing tethering me to sanity. “I don’t have my suppressants,” I rasped. “I can’t, I can’t—”
Zach’s face swam into view, worry shadowed by something else, something hungry and wild. “This is your first?” His voice held a note of awe, like I was some sacred, forbidden thing.
I nodded, clutching at them like a lifeline.
He let out a low whistle, then winced as if realizing how that sounded. "We'd better get you settled, then."
Another spike tore through me, ripping through my insides, and I cried out before I could stop myself.
"Easy," he murmured, guiding me to the bedroom. "We’ve got you. Just hold on."
Their scents curled through the air, forest-soaked pine and cedarwood, chaotic waters surging against me. My thighs clenched, slick already coating them, my body preparing for what my mind couldn’t yet accept.
My skin was on fire, every inch of me screaming for something, anything, to make it stop. I staggered forward, leaning heavily on Anders as Blake and Zach followed close behind.
Blake's voice rumbled over the haze of my thoughts, each word firm and clear. "Summer. Are you sure? Are you ready?"
My gaze locked with his, the question in his eyes more intense than the pain tearing me apart. I opened my mouth, but all that came out was a strangled, desperate sound.
Zach was at my side, his expression shifting from concern to elation in the space of a heartbeat. "She's ready," he declared, swooping in with a grin that lit up his face.
"Zach!" Blake's voice was sharp, a warning that barely registered before I found myself lifted off my feet.
"Come on then," Zach laughed, his arms secure around me as he carried me the last few steps to my room. "Let's go!"
The nest cradled me like it had been waiting. Familiar blankets tangled with a new scent, thick and intoxicating, once mine, now theirs . My body arched into the bedding, a new wave building just beneath my skin.
“Fuck,” Zach muttered, inhaling deeply. “You smell like heaven dipped in sin,” he growled. "Think I might just die."
I let out a ragged laugh, my teeth biting into my bottom lip. “Get in line.”
"Now that's more like it," Zach grinned, already tugging at his shirt and singing under his breath. Then he looked at me, his eyes narrowed. “But wait... are you ready, princess?” he asked.
I nodded, my heart racing as they surrounded me. It was too much, not enough, a whirlwind that swept me up and held me suspended in unbearable tension. Their presence wrapped around me like a second skin, thick and warm.
Blake stayed close, crouching beside me, hand warm against my cheek. “Zach, slow down. She’s still catching up.”
Anders echoed the sentiment with a look, brushing damp strands of hair from my eyes. "It's a lot to take in. We know."
A moment of stillness, a few breaths, and then another spasm cut my thought short, a white-hot lash searing through my core. I curled into a cocoon, gasping, my nails digging crescents into my palms. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I could feel the insidious pull of my omega nature, begging for more of my alphas' touch.
" Please! Make it stop!"
"Okay, okay!" Zach said, holding his hands up in mock surrender before scooping me up again.
He swept me off the bed and spun me around, a whirlwind of motion that left me dizzy with need and laughter. "I told you I might die," he said, dropping me back into my nest and collapsing beside me, his touch as light as his mood was heavy.
"You won't die," I said, barely recognizing my voice, thick with desperation. "But I might if you don't hurry."
Anders knelt beside me, taking my hand in his. The contact sent a shiver up my spine.
Blake’s thumb brushed my lower lip. “Then let us take care of our Omega, then.”
They moved in unison. Anders lit candles, their flickering glow softening the room. Blake stripped slow and deliberate. I moaned at the sight of him, heat flaring under my skin at the sight of muscle and power laid bare.
I reached hungrily at Zach’s belt, but he batted me away with a chuckle. “Keen little Omega.”
I pouted. Then another wave crashed over me, sharp as broken glass, and he didn’t joke again. He kissed me, rough and demanding, his tongue a forceful presence in my mouth, a fiery brand of ownership. My fingers curled into fists, fighting the urge to tear his clothes off. The only thing louder than my pulse was the gnawing need roaring inside me. But I panted, panted into his mouth as he continued the kiss, unbuckling his trousers at the same time.
Blake crawled onto the bed beside me. I reached out and grabbed at his naked body. His cock twitching for my touch. “Not yet, sweetheart,” he smiled. “It’s my turn first.” Within moments, his mouth crashed down onto my breast, suckling my nipple into his mouth, teasing, taunting it with his tongue. The sensitivity of it sent groans rippling through my body. I pushed into him, needing more.
Anders growled, and I shivered in anticipation as he made his way between my thighs, kissing them and pulling my pants off, revealing my lace underwear. “So wet,” he growled. “You’ve been holding this in too long.”
He gripped the thin fabric, shredding it under his grasp with a soft sigh. Cold air kissed my soaked folds, and I cried out, arching my back.
His tongue found my clit, and I shattered.
A scream, raw and untamed, tore from my throat. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, grinding against him as he devoured me. Blake's mouth closed around my nipple, his tongue flicking, sucking, until I was thrashing between them.
“Mmm,” Anders purred against my core. “Good girl. You taste as sweet as sugar.”
My hips rocked, body surging up to meet his mouth, desperate for more. The sound of him drinking from me only added to the intense, erotic experience.
With each stroke, he teased me to the edge, his rhythm hypnotizing my body as I screamed out for more. Anders pulled back, placing butterfly kisses up my stomach and to my nipple, sucking so hard my toes curled.
“ My turn,” Blake said, sliding between my thighs. I could feel the heavy heat of him, his hot pulsating cock pressed against me, teasing. I whimpered, the need spiraling out of control.
“Please,” I gasped. “Fill me. Knot me.” My fingers gripped the blankets, curling them up into my fists. “Knot! NOW!”
His grin vanished, and he growled, his body vibrating with its own needs. He pushed in slowly at first, filling me, stretch by delicious stretch, and I moaned so loud it echoed off the walls.
“More,” I begged, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. “Don’t stop.”
Zach knelt behind me, his hands on my shoulders, kissing my neck as Blake rocked into me. Anders lay beside me, whispering praise, stroking my hair, brushing kisses against my temple as the heat tore me apart and remade me all at once.
“More,” I said, arching. Blake thrust himself deeper into me, and I screamed.