Chapter 27
S omething was wrong. I didn't quite know what, but my stomach was cramping almost non-stop, and my skin was on fire, like there was an itch I couldn't scratch. I had spent my evening cuddling with the guys on the sofa, watching old TV shows, but I just couldn’t get comfortable. My entire body ached in this weird way I didn’t quite understand, and eventually, I just wanted to get away from them so I could try and figure out what was going on with my body.
I left them watching a movie, saying I was going to bed early—alone. They all looked a bit shocked, since I usually curled up in bed with them. We hadn’t really spoken about the nighttime snuggles, but when the urge hit me, I had started crawling into their beds with them. When Dylan asked if I was sure, I nodded, insisting I was fine.
I was not fine. I was falling apart.
Once I was back in my room—which was Carter's old room that still smelled strongly of him—I paced up and down. I couldn’t stand still. I couldn’t be still. I needed to keep moving. My body was craving something, though I couldn’t tell what. Another intense cramp hit my stomach, so strong I doubled over, and I felt a sudden rush of wetness.
What the hell just happened? Had I just wet myself? The thought flashed through my mind as I looked around the room in surprise. My body had done weird things before, but that definitely took the cake. Quickly rushing off to the bathroom, I stripped naked and stepped into the shower, rinsing off my body. I came to a startling realisation as I felt between my legs. I definitely hadn’t wet myself—I was producing slick.
Shit. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. What was I going to do? What could I do? This was a sign I was about to go into heat. I didn’t know much about heats, but I knew that slick was a sign. Now that I thought about it, I remembered that my mother had once mentioned stomach cramps, but she told me that her cramps never got worse because her pack was there to ease her pain. But my cramps had been building for days, and they were only getting worse.
How long do I have? Once I was at the height of a heat, I wouldn’t be able to think lucidly, I wouldn’t be able to control my thoughts and actions. I would be in pain. So much pain. A momentary panic gripped my chest. I had dreaded this day. I didn’t want to go into heat. My body had been keeping me safe by not going into heat, because I knew the moment I did, Alec would attack me. It was my lack of heat that kept me from being sexually abused by that monster in the basement. But now, I was surrounded by a bunch of alphas, and my body felt more secure, and it was deciding that now was the best time to go into heat. If you asked me, it was pretty damn stupid of my body .
I couldn’t access any heat suppressants. I couldn’t do anything. Could I get through a heat alone? Was it safe to lock myself in a room? Running my hand through my hair, I turned off the shower and quickly grabbed a towel to dry off. Part of me wanted to stay in my room. I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening. If I pretended hard enough, surely it would go away. I’d managed to will my body out of heat before; couldn't I simply do that again?
But even as I thought it, I knew it wouldn’t work. Deep down, I felt safe with these alphas. I felt secure when I was around them, I enjoyed their touch. Hell, the kiss I had shared with Carter had been amazing.
Once I had thrown on the first loose tee and boxers I could find, I sat on the edge of the bed, my mind running a mile a minute as I tried to think of my various options. There didn’t seem to be many options at all. I was stuck. I was always stuck!!
An irrational anger gathered in my chest. I shouldn’t be angry towards these alphas. They weren’t to be blamed here, but I was angry at the world. Why couldn’t anything be simple for me? Why couldn’t there be a simple answer? No matter what I did, my mind seemed to jump from one struggle to the next.
I should have been free, happy, and with my family. But, no, I was in a cabin in the middle of the woods, with three alphas who I was potentially falling in love with but were also complete strangers, going into heat, when I couldn’t get any medical attention. I am well and truly on my own.
I was so lost in my thoughts that a knock on the door startled me. "Who's there?" I called out, voice shaky.
“It’s me.” Dylan’s voice rang out, and before I could respond, he opened the door and walked in.
“Hey! I could’ve been changing,” I said, frowning.
He shrugged. “I knew you weren’t.” He stepped closer. “What’s going on? You’ve been acting dead jumpy.” His nostrils flared, eyes widening. “Is that...?”
I nodded and bit my lip. “I think it is.”
He was smelling my slick. His entire body tensed, the vein in his neck throbbing as he held himself back. “Shit. How long has this been coming on?”
“I’m honestly not sure. I only just realised what was happening now. I’ve never...done this before,” I said, tears gathering as I began to hyperventilate.
Dylan walked towards me, kneeling in front of me, his eyes blown wide, his pupils dominating his irises. “Okay, we need to talk to the pack.”
“What use is talking to them?” I cried.
“We need to figure out what’s best, and it's best we do that as a team,” he said firmly. His eyes darted to mine, almost apologetically. “Holy fuck, your scent…”
“I’m sorry?—”
“Don’t apologise. It’s a fucking fantastic scent, but we need to go and talk about this. Come on,” he said, shaking his head and offering his hand.
I took it gingerly, even the casual touch of his hand making my heart rate ricochet though my chest. Would he take his shirt off if I asked? I would very much enjoy some topless alpha cuddles. A deeper primal part of me screamed for it.
“Okay, let's do this,” I said, following him. I held my breath as we padded down the hall into the living area.
Carter turned with a smile when he saw us approaching. “Hey, Juniper. You joining us again? Were you unable to sleep?” he asked, turning back to the TV. When I didn’t respond, he looked back with concern in his eyes. “Juniper?”
“We need to talk,” Dylan said. “Juniper appears to be going into heat.”
That caught their attention. Asher and Carter both whipped around to look at us, their mouths agape. Their nostrils flared as they both took deep inhales, probably catching a slight hint of what I was going through.
“Oh shit,” Carter muttered.
I giggled ruefully. “Yeah, that was my reaction.”
Asher stood. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know what I can do. I’ve never gone through a heat, and I don't really know what it entails. Or how… I mean, my mother mentioned some things, but not that much. I was too young for details. I’m pretty sure my mother would have given me a more in-depth talk closer to the time when it would be relevant.”
Asher nodded. “Well, honestly, there aren’t many options. Normally, I’d suggest taking you to a doctor and getting you some heat suppressants, but we’re kinda stuck here. I don’t have anything I could give you. Your only choices are to ride it out alone or...” He trailed off.
“We can help,” Dylan interrupted.
I turned to look at Dylan, hopefully. Is he suggesting what I think he’s suggesting?
“We can’t take advantage of her while she is going through a heat,” Carter snapped.
“And leaving her alone would be cruel,” Asher countered. “I don’t want to scare you, Juniper, but going through a heat alone is dangerous, especially your first one. Your first heats can be brutal, and you can have heart or breathing complications.”
I bit my lip as tears welled up again. “I don’t want to force you guys to do something you don’t want to.”
Asher’s eyes softened and his mouth dropped open. “I can assure you right now, it’s not about any of us not wanting to. It’s about what’s right. You’re not lucid during a heat, you can’t consent.”
“Well, I’m lucid now,” I said. “And I think I consent, if you guys want to. But I understand if you don’t want to. I mean, I’m just a stranger who barged into your lives.”
Dylan wrapped me in his arms, brushing away my tears.
“I think I want to do this,” I said. “But you guys need to decide. If you want to do it, because, realistically, if I choose to go through this alone...how would it work?”
Carter’s jaw clenched. “We’d have to lock you in your room. Or you would have to lock yourself in your room. We’d have to leave food for you. We couldn’t be near you. An omega’s heat is a powerful call. We wouldn’t be able to deny you.”
Asher added, “We wouldn’t even be able to stay in the cabin. We’d have to leave you alone entirely.”
“How can we make sure she’s eating or taking care of herself?” Dylan asked. “Omegas are notorious for needing care while going through heats. It would be cruel to leave her on her own.”
“I agree, but what choice do we have here?” Carter said.
I growled. “We could just...fuck. It’s just a heat. You know? We have fucks, we have fun, we do the thing, and we have the sex.” My voice trailed off and, next to me, Dylan bit his lip. I probably wasn't doing a very good job at seducing them, but I had more pressing issues in mind, like the insane cramping pain ripping through my stomach.
Asher’s gaze sharpened. “Juniper, have you ever had sex?”
I bit my lip and shook my head. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply. Was the idea of me being a virgin that daunting?
“It’s just a bit of skin,” I muttered. “It’s no big deal.”
Dylan growled. “It is a big deal, and you need to make this choice for you .”
“Well, I have made my choice. If you guys want to, I also want to have a heat with you guys. I’m not under any illusions that this means we are going to be together forever and everything is going to be perfect. We can go through the heat without bonding, right?” I asked.
The alphas exchanged looks and nodded. “It’s difficult, but we can do it. We have self-restraint in that department,” Dylan said.
“Good. If we can just go through the heat, have sex, do the knotting thing, and then we can go back to normal after,” I said, biting my lip.
Carter glanced at his pack mates. “Well, in that case, I speak for all of us and say we’re in,” he said. “But you have a decision to make.”
“I already made my decision,” I said, angrily stomping my foot.
Asher chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think that is the decision he is talking about, sweetheart.”
I frowned. “Then, what decision?”
Dylan smirked. “Which one of us do you want to fuck first?”