Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Knox
I lean against the cold wall near the vending machines, watching the heavy fire doors that lead to the waiting room. My blood is pumping hot and fast, a reaction to the adrenaline of the last few hours and the scent that is currently hijacking my brain.
It’s subtle at first—a whisper of copper and jasmine—but it’s growing stronger. Intensifying with every second that ticks by on the digital clock above me.
The door pushes open, and she steps through.
“Hey,” she says, offering me a weak, tight smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “You survived the waiting room?”
“Barely,” I say, pushing off the wall to go to her. “Are you okay?”
“I think I just need to get some air,” she murmurs, though she doesn’t move toward the exit. She just stands there, hugging her elbows. “It’s getting... loud in there. Jude is with Norah, and everyone is so happy. It’s wonderful, but I feel like I’m vibrating out of my skin.”
She looks like she’s fleeing. Not just the room, but her own skin.
“I’ll come with you,” I say, stepping closer.
She shakes her head, a jerky, frantic motion. “No, I just... I need a minute.”
She turns and walks toward the end of the corridor, heading for the privacy of the stairwell door. But she’s moving too fast, her gait unsteady.
“Wait,” I call out, lengthening my stride to catch up to her. “It’s not safe out there, Amber.”
She ignores me, pushing through the stairwell door. I’m right on her heels.
The stairwell is concrete and echoing, smelling faintly of cigarette smoke. She spins to face me, and the sight of her nearly brings me to my knees.
“Knox,” she breathes, and the sound of my name on her lips is ragged, wrecked. “I... I can’t breathe.”
“What is it? Chérie?” I go to her instantly, my hands hovering over her arms, afraid to touch her. “Is it pain?”
“No,” she whimpers, pressing her forehead against my chest. “Yes. I don’t know. I feel like I’m burning up from the inside out.”
I wrap my arms around her, and the contact is electric. She radiates heat like a furnace. And the smell... Fuck. The smell of her. It was faint earlier, a whisper of copper and jasmine, but now it’s a siren song.
It’s thick and sweet, coating the back of my throat, smelling of slick and desperation and the unmistakable musk of an Omega going into heat.
My cock hardens instantly, a painful throb against my zipper, but I force the instinct down. This isn’t just arousal. She’s in pain. She’s terrified.
“We need help,” I say, looking around the empty corridor we’ve just stepped back into. “Simon. I need Simon.”
I guide her back inside, but she can’t walk straight.
She staggers, her movements jerky and uncoordinated. She fans her face with her hand, her chest heaving.
“It hurts,” she gasps, doubling over slightly, her hand clutching her stomach. “My stomach is cramping. Like... like knives.”
I lead her over to a row of plastic chairs, but she can’t sit still. She paces, back and forth, a trapped animal.
I pull out my phone and dial Wren. She picks up on the first ring.
“Knox? Is everything okay? Is it the baby?”
“No, the baby is fine. It’s Amber,” I say, my voice low and urgent. “I need Simon. Now. The hallway outside Maternity. Don’t bring anyone else.”
“Is it Amber?” Wren asks, her tone shifting instantly to panic.
“Yes. Just bring him. And... tell Dorian to secure the stairwell. We don’t want an audience.”
I hang up and turn back to her. She has slid down the wall to sit on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest, rocking back and forth.
The sight of her on the floor sends a spike of pure terror through me.
This isn’t just a normal heat. This is a crash. Her biology is rebooting, and it’s tearing her apart.
“Knox,” she sobs, looking up at me with eyes swimming with tears. “I feel sick. I feel... hungry, but not for food.”
“I know,” I say, dropping to my knees in front of her. I take her hands. They are burning hot, the skin damp and clammy. “I know.”
The door bursts open two minutes later. Simon runs in, Wren right on his heels. Dorian is behind them, his face grim as he scans the hallway before standing guard near the elevators. Simon is still wearing his scrubs, his hair messy from delivery, but his eyes are sharp, assessing.
He takes one look at Amber, and his face grimaces. “Oh, boy. That’s a hell of a spike.”
He kneels beside me, reaching out to press his fingers to her wrist to check her pulse. Amber flinches, then leans into his touch, seeking relief.
She’s desperate for contact, for something to ground her.
“Her pulse is one-forty,” Simon says, his tone clipped and professional. “Her pupils are blown. Amber, can you look at me? I need you to focus.”
She tries, but she’s shaking so hard her teeth are chattering. “Simon? Make it stop. Please. It feels like my skin is too tight.”
“It’s your biology,” he says gently. “Your body has been suppressed for a long time. With the stress of the day, the adrenaline crash... it’s all coming home to roost.”
He pulls a penlight from his pocket and shines it in her eyes. She tries to bat it away, a low whine escaping her throat.
“Can you give her something?” I ask, my Alpha instincts screaming for me to fix this. “A suppressant? Anything to slow this down?”
Simon shakes his head, closing the light.
“No. Absolutely not. Her heart rate is too erratic and her blood pressure is spiking. Giving her a hormonal suppressant now could stop her heart. Her system is too fragile. It’s been years, Knox.
This isn’t just a heat; it’s a biological reset. It’s going to hit her hard.”
“She can’t go through this alone,” I growl. “And she can’t stay here.”
“No,” Simon agrees. “She needs her Alphas. She needs to be knotted, and soon, or the pain is going to get worse. The cramps are her body demanding what it needs. If you don’t give it to her, she’s going to go into shock.”
The door opens again, and Jude slips in. He closes it behind him, his face grave. He sees us on the floor, Amber shaking like a leaf, and his jaw tightens.
“What’s happening?”
“She’s in heat,” I say, not taking my eyes off her. “We need to get her home.”
“Is Maisie...?” Amber whispers, her voice breaking. “Where is she?”
“Right here,” a small voice says.
Maisie peeks around Jude’s legs. She’s holding her stuffed rabbit, looking sleepy but worried. Her eyes go wide when she sees her mother on the floor.
Amber cries out, a sound of pure distress. She tries to cover her face, ashamed. “No. Not here. I don’t want her to see me like this. Jude, get her out. Please.”
Jude steps forward immediately, scooping Maisie up into his arms. “Hey, bug. Mommy isn’t feeling well. Remember how Rosie was sleeping when we saw her?”
“Uh-huh,” Maisie says, rubbing her eyes, staring at her mom.
“We’re going to go to my house,” Jude tells her, his voice steady and calm, shielding her view of Amber. “You’re going to have a sleepover with Uncle Jude and Aunt Norah and the new baby. Mommy is going to go with Knox and Eli and Fallon to the doctors to get some medicine.”
“Medicine?” Maisie asks.
“Big girl medicine,” Jude lies smoothly. He looks at me over Maisie’s head. “I’ve got her. Don’t worry about a thing. Ryker is with the car. We’ll keep her safe. You just focus on Amber.”
Amber reaches out a trembling hand toward her daughter. Jude steps close enough for Amber to touch Maisie’s shoe.
“Be good, baby,” Amber sobs. “I love you. Mommy loves you so much.”
“I love you, Mommy,” Maisie says, waving.
Jude doesn’t wait. He carries her out, the door clicking shut behind him. Dorian gives me a nod and follows them, ensuring the path is clear.
“Okay,” Simon says, standing up. He offers me a hand to help Amber up. “Take her home. Keep her hydrated. If her fever goes over one-oh-four, you call me. But mostly... just let nature take its course. She’s going to be insatiable, Knox. She won’t be herself.”
“I can handle her,” I say, lifting Amber into my arms. She wraps her legs around my waist, burying her face in my neck, her teeth scraping my skin. She’s trying to bite me, mark me, driven by an instinct she can’t control.
“I know you can,” Simon says. “Go. Before she screams.”
We move fast. Eli and Fallon are waiting by the truck, the engine already running.
“Wren texted us,” Fallon explains, jumping into the passenger seat. “She told us to get the car ready.”
Eli doesn’t hesitate. He climbs into the back seat with her, pulling her from my arms as I slide into the driver’s seat and slam the door.
“Drive,” Eli commands.
I gun the engine and peel out of the parking lot.
The drive to the warehouse is a blur of streetlights and shadows. It’s only five minutes, but it feels like an hour.
The cab of the truck fills with her scent so thickly it’s suffocating. It’s a physical weight, pressing against my chest, making it hard to breathe.
From the back seat, I can hear her whimpers, the wet, slick sounds of her moving restlessly, and Eli’s low, rumbling voice trying to soothe her.
“Breathe, Amber,” Eli says. “Just breathe. We’re almost home.”
“It burns,” she cries out, a high, thin sound. “Eli, please... touch me.”
“I am touching you,” he says gently, but I hear the strain in his voice.
“No, more. I need... inside. Something inside.”
I grip the steering wheel until my knuckles crack. Every instinct I have is screaming to stop the truck and climb into the back seat with them.
I want to tear her clothes off and bury myself inside her until the heat breaks. The Alpha in me is riding the edge of control, furious at the delay, furious at the traffic lights that turn red, forcing me to stop.
At one light, I glance in the rearview mirror.
Amber is sprawled across Eli’s lap. Her sweater is pushed up, her skin flushed dark pink. She is grinding down on Eli’s thigh, desperate for friction, her head thrown back.
Eli has his hands in her hair, whispering to her, his own jaw tight with restraint. He looks tortured.