Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Dorian
The kitchen is quiet in the way houses only get when something seismic has just happened.
Ryker stands near the counter in nothing but a pair of boxers, scratching at the back of his neck like he does when his nerves are shot. Jude’s fridge is open, light spilling onto the tile, illuminating rows of condiments and half-finished takeout containers.
It smells like coffee, sweat, citrus cleaner, and Norah. That part doesn’t stop, not even when she isn’t in the room.
I never thought I would be standing here like this.
I never thought this would be the shape of it.
“Can I get a drink?” I ask, my voice coming out rough.
Ryker glances up at me, eyes still dark, still charged with everything that just happened upstairs. He nods once. “Yeah. Help yourself.”
I open the fridge and grab a bottle of electrolyte water, twisting the cap off with hands that feel faintly unreal. My reflection stares back at me from the stainless steel door.
I look ruined. My headache has stopped, but I have marks on my lower abdomen from where she scratched me as she sucked me off.
I take a long swallow.
That was so unbelievably hot.
Ryker shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “I didn’t think…” He stops, exhales, and rubs his palm over his mouth. “I didn’t think this would ever happen.”
“Neither did I,” I say honestly. There’s no bitterness in it. Just truth.
He hesitates again, then asks, “Have you ever… shared her before?”
The question lands heavy.
“No,” I say. “Never like this.”
He nods, gaze dropping to the floor. “But you’ve talked about it.”
“Yes.”
“With her.”
“Yes. When she’s in heat, she would talk up all these scenarios of it.
I just thought it was all role play and not something that she was serious about.
Normally, she would let me take the lead, but today she was different.
It’s like she was in her full Omega. I’ve never seen her like that, demanding what she wants. It was… fuck.”
“It was so fucking hot.” He voices my exact thought.
Silence stretches between us, thick but not hostile. We are past jealousy right now. Past pride.
What remains is concern and something fragile that feels like trust forming under pressure.
“She’ll be okay?” Ryker asks quietly.
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “She always is. It hits her hard, but she comes back. She just needs support and structure, and a steady supply of orgasms.”
He releases a breath he has clearly been holding. “Good.”
Jude appears in the doorway then.
He is flushed, damp with sweat, chest rising and falling like he just ran a mile. His hair is a mess, his expression wrecked.
I didn’t expect him to be back so soon. We all watch as he walks to the sofa to grab a blanket and cover his somehow still hard cock.
“Is she asleep?” I ask.
“Yeah. I think the number of orgasms she had helped ease her tension. I think two minutes after you two left, my knot already began softening,” he says, turning to face us.
We’re in his kitchen, talking about him fucking my girl. Their girl? Our girl?
Why isn’t this weird?
Why doesn’t this bother me?
“Can we all talk?” he asks.
We nod immediately.
He steps into the kitchen, leaning his hands on the counter for a second like he needs the support. “We need to be on the same page.”
“Yes,” I say. “We do.”
“It’s too late for all the remedies that Miss Thea was talking about, and I don’t know about you guys, but there’s no way I am calling the ER to have her transported when she’s in this state.” There’s a hint of possessiveness in his tone now. “She isn’t leaving this house.”
I nod in agreement. “She’s already in heat. Which means she was already in pre-heat this morning. I knew something was wrong with her, but she told me she was fine.”
Jude’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows thickly. “You fucked her?”
I shake my head. “No. I got stupidly drunk, and she let me spend the night with her. I… kind of figured out that something was already going on between you guys, so…” My words drift away.
“I think we need to deal with the bigger picture here,” Ryker chimes in, swallowing more of his drink before passing it to Jude. “She’s in heat. She wants us here. So, we stay… and we figure things out. Then we can handle the nitty-gritty afterward.”
“We get her through this,” Jude says. “Safely. Together.”
“And you need me,” I add. “I know what she needs. I can help you guys.”
Jude looks at me, eyes steady but raw. “Yes. We do.”
That settles it.
“We should make her something,” I say. “Protein. Something easy to digest. Maybe a sandwich. As long as it doesn’t have any eggs in it, she’ll be okay. Her body will only crave sex, so it’s up to at least one of us to make sure she stays fed and hydrated.”
The two men share a look and then smirk.
“Did I say something funny?” I ask, feeling a little self-conscious.
“No. It’s the eggs thing. She was just telling us this morning that she was feeling a little sick from the smell.” Jude snorts weakly. “Turns out it was a sign.”
Ryker grimaces. “That tracks.”
“It’s part of the cycle,” I explain. “Aversion spikes early. Sweet cravings come later. She’ll want sugar. Fruit. Honey. Bread.”
“So what do we do?” Jude asks.
“I’ll call Chase,” I say. “Tell him to handle demolition for the next few days.”
Ryker nods. “I’ll call Simon and his pack. I know Wren is pregnant, but she can maybe help a little and have someone cover the flower shop. I don’t want Norah’s flowers to all go to waste. Maybe they can put them in storage for her?”
Jude scratches his chest, a nervous habit. “I’ll call Amber. Check in.” Then he turns to me. “It’s my sister. She has my niece… and the dog. They’re driving in the snow, and I want to make sure they got there alright.”
There’s something tight in his voice, but I don’t press.
We move in parallel, phones out, making calls. I leave a brief message with the construction crew, keeping it professional. Ryker steps aside to speak quietly, his voice low but firm. Jude paces while his call goes unanswered.
When we regroup, Ryker says, “Wren’s taking over the shop. She has the spare keys. Simon wants Norah to call as soon as she wakes.”
“That’s good,” I say. “I’ll need to step out tomorrow morning. Just a few hours. I need to at least check in with my mom’s doctor.”
Jude looks up immediately. “Oh, what happened?”
“She’s recovering from surgery. She’ll be okay.”
“I had no idea she had a surgery,” Ryker says.
Something in my chest tightens at that. Norah kept my secret.
I want to march right into that bedroom and kiss her. She knew how important it was for my mother to keep this a secret, and she did.
I’m so fucking grateful.
“It happened just the other day. I’ve been checking up on her, and it has been going better so far,” I explain.
“Glad to hear that,” Ryker says.
“Amber didn’t answer,” Jude says. “I left a voicemail.”
They exchange looks, then nod. “Let’s get her snacks ready,” Ryker says.
We turn toward the counter.
Footsteps sound behind us.
Bare.
Soft.
We all turn at once.
Norah stands in the doorway.
Naked.
Unselfconscious. Disoriented. Beautiful in a way that hurts.
Her hair falls loose around her shoulders. Her skin glows warm and flushed. Her eyes are heavy-lidded, searching the room like she’s orienting herself after a long dream.
“You left,” she whispers. The words slice straight through me.
“No,” I say immediately, stepping toward her. “We’re right here.”
Her gaze locks onto mine, relief flickering across her face before her knees wobble. Ryker moves at the same time I do, steadying her from the side.
“I thought…” she murmurs, frowning. “I thought you were gone.”
“Not a chance,” Jude says softly.
She exhales, melting into us, fingers curling into my wrist like an anchor.
She’s so warm.
So real.
So here.
And I know, with absolute certainty, that whatever comes next, whatever shape this takes, there’s no going back to the way things were before.
Not for any of us.
I’m standing close enough to feel the heat rolling off her when Jude moves first.
He does it gently, like instinct has taken over where thought would fail him. He wraps the blanket around her shoulders, tucking it in so it covers her bare skin without making her feel trapped.
His hands linger for half a second at her upper arms, thumbs brushing slow circles, before he steps away.
“Okay,” he murmurs. “I’m going to grab something more comfortable.”
He disappears down the hall and comes back a moment later in low-hanging sweats, barefoot. He looks more like himself now, less frantic, but his eyes never leave her.
Ryker exhales and finally seems to remember how to breathe. He heads for the sink, washing his hands with methodical care, as if the repetition might help him sort himself out.
I watch the muscles in his back flex and release, the way his jaw tightens, then eases.
Norah sways slightly where she stands, the blanket slipping at one shoulder. I step in without thinking and guide her onto the couch.
She curls into me immediately, knees drawing up, her head finding the space just under my collarbone like it belongs there.
Her scent is everywhere. Warm. Sweet. Too much and never enough all at once.
Jude crouches in front of her, voice soft but focused. “How are you feeling right now?”
She blinks slowly, processing the question. “Hot,” she admits. “And tired. And… fuzzy.”
“That makes sense,” he replies. “Anything hurting?”
“No.” She shifts closer to me, fingers curling into the fabric of my boxers. “Just a little sore from being knotted.”
I press my palm to her back, broad and warm, letting her feel me there. Ryker turns from the sink and starts pulling ingredients from the fridge.
“I’m making you a sandwich,” he says, tone calm, practical. “Turkey. Cheese. Bread. Any objections?”
She smiles faintly. “You’re very bossy.”
“You’re one to talk, sweetheart. Eat first,” he replies. “Tease later.”
Her smile widens, then softens as she exhales and sinks deeper into my chest. I can feel her heartbeat through her palm when she presses it flat against me.
“I didn’t mean to drag you into this,” she says quietly, the words muffled against my skin.
I lift her hand and press it fully over my heart, fingers folding around hers. “You didn’t drag me anywhere. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Her eyes lift to mine, glossy but present. “You don’t have to stay.”
“I do,” I say. “I want to.”
Jude straightens and looks between us. “We’re not going anywhere. But we need you to talk to us.”
She nods slowly. “I know I’m in heat.”
Ryker glances over his shoulder, sandwich half assembled. “Thank you for saying it.”
She swallows. “It feels different this time. Louder. Like everything is turned up too high.”
“That happens,” I tell her. “Especially when you’re stressed. Or when your suppressants aren’t doing their job.”
“I forgot to take them,” she admits. “Just once or twice. I was thinking of changing up my prescription. I thought I had a handle on this—I didn’t think it would hit this fast.”
Jude’s expression tightens, but his voice stays gentle. “Okay. That helps us understand.”
Ryker brings the sandwich over and sets it on the coffee table within her reach. “Eat a few bites. We’ll take this one step at a time.”
She hesitates, then takes it, chewing slowly. Color returns to her cheeks as she eats, her body relaxing by degrees against mine.
“We’re going to handle this how you want,” Jude says. “As long as you tell us what you need.”
She nods again, more firmly this time. “I will.”
Ryker sits on the edge of the chair across from us, elbows on his knees. “We’ll rotate. No one gets overwhelmed. No one does anything you don’t ask for.”
“And if you change your mind,” Jude adds, “you say the word. We stop.”
She leans back just enough to look at all three of us. Her gaze is clear now, even if her body still hums with restless energy. “I trust you.”
The room goes quiet with the weight of that.
She finishes the sandwich slowly, then sighs and settles fully into my lap, cheek pressed to my chest, blanket pulled up to her chin. Her breathing evens out, heavy with exhaustion and heat.
I kiss the top of her head.
Ryker watches us with something like awe in his eyes. Jude reaches out and tucks the blanket more securely around her legs.
We’re not rushing this. We’re here. We’ll get her through it.