Chapter 38
Hestia
We return to the living room to find the others making breakfast. It’s strange seeing them with clothes on again.
The mattresses have been cleaned off and stacked against the wall. Orion has me sit on the couch near the fire, where Magnus and Henri are watching the cauldron.
“The food will be done soon. I’m sure you’re hungry,” Henri says, smiling at me.
“It smells good,” I say.
I’m not sure how to behave around them now. Do we just go back to how things were before my heat? Should I address what happened?
I try to act casual like they are, just sitting around relaxing as we often do.
Orion hands me a fruit and nut bar, interrupting my internal panic.
“It’s not much, but it’s a nutritious appetizer,” he says, urging me to eat.
I take it since eating means I don’t have to decide if I’m going to talk about sleeping with my bosses.
Of course, after one bite, I realize I’m starving and wolf it down and chug some water.
So much for being nonchalant.
No one comments on my poor manners. Charm simply refills my glass, and Orion unwraps another fruit bar.
They’ve been taking care of me for days, I don’t know how they’re not sick of it yet.
This time I make myself eat slowly. By the time I’m done, Henri is ready with the stew, so I have another excuse to put off talking about things.
We eat quietly until he asks if I’m ready for a second helping.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make any fresh meals during your heat,” Henri says as he gets me a refill.
I’d kind of mentally landed on pretending my heat never happened.
“Everything was great, don’t worry. Thank you for taking care of me,” I say, blushing as I vividly recall the other things I ate.
I’m sure if I could have survived only on their come, my omega would have been thrilled to do just that.
He hands me my bowl, and I duck my head and focus on my food again.
When I’m done, I play with my hair, tucking it behind my ears and twirling it around my fingers. Anything to avoid thinking about what I know is coming.
“How are you feeling, Hestia?” Orion eventually asks.
“I’m fine, how are you,” I reply automatically, too nervous to think of anything else to say.
He smiles and says, “I’m great. Are you having any post-heat symptoms? Is there anything we should watch out for? I know some omegas have a difficult time afterward.”
“I’m okay, just a little emotional from the hormone fluctuations. I’ll be fine though,” I hastily add.
“Once we get out of here, we’ll take you to the doctor to make sure,” Orion says.
“I’m fine, really. Ready to get back to work.”
“After an unexpected heat and surviving a blizzard, we should make sure your body isn’t overly stressed,” he says.
“It will be a quick checkup. We’ll go with you, so you don’t need to be nervous,” Charm says.
My omega likes their overprotectiveness too much.
I can’t give in to my feelings yet though, it’s not safe while I work under them.
Stupid horny omega and stupid hot bosses who know how to fuck super good.
Either I’m having a hormone swing or I’m getting over the fact that I’ve seen them naked. Now I just want to figure this mess out.
“Besides the doctor, how are we going to handle this?” I say, looking around at them.
“I called dispatch soon after your heat started and let them know what was going on. They knew we would be out of commission for a while. I’m sorry if you wanted to keep this private,” Orion says.
“I don’t mind that they know about my heat leave. I’m just sorry I dragged you into it,” I say.
“We were happy to help,” he says. “I want to mention we’ve been sterilized, so you don’t need to be concerned on that front. And if I can say something on a personal note…”
This is it, we’re going to talk about being scent matches and our future together. My heart is thrumming so fast it feels like there’s a bird fluttering in my chest.
“Our pack was honored you chose us to join you for your heat. However, as your bosses, if you feel uncomfortable working with us after that, we can—”
I cut him off before he finishes.
“No! No, I’m happy to keep working together. It won’t be awkward at all,” I say.
They can’t send me away. They won’t send me away, will they?
I’m nauseous now. I shouldn’t have eaten so much.
“That’s good to hear, I’d love to keep you on the team. We’ll leave the intimacy you granted us during your heat behind us. If you ever feel uncomfortable, please let me know, or you can contact HR of course. We want you to feel safe and would never want to interfere with your career,” Orion says.
His words are so diplomatic. So professional.
So not what my omega wants to hear.
So not what I want to hear either.
Logically, I know I can’t date my bosses, but I still kind of hoped they’d confess their feelings for me and we’d live happily ever after.
But obviously they can’t do that. I wouldn’t be allowed to keep working under them if they did.
It’s probably best to avoid talking about our scent matching too. I doubt HR would allow that loophole.
Just 695 days until I finish my training.
“I love being on this team and I don’t want to leave it. I understand you were just helping me out in an emergency, it wasn’t anything untoward. Thank you again for all of your help,” I say.
There, that was perfectly casual, like I’m not thanking them for knotting me until I pass out.
“So, has the storm stopped? Are we ready to get out of here?” I ask.
“We can head out if you feel up to it. I let dispatch know your heat was over and they coordinated with a neighboring team to pick us up when we’re ready.
If you need more time to rest, we can stay here for a while longer,” Orion says.
“Is there anything else you’d like to discuss about what happened? ”
I hastily convince them we don’t need to keep talking about my heat.
I need to draw a line between us, and if we stay here any longer, I’ll be tempted to ignore the outside world and throw myself at them.
I get Orion to call for our own rescuer team, and we prepare to leave the cabin.
I’m glad I got to kiss Cato before this was over. One last bright spot before it’s back to reality.