16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Shade
Halley in heat is nothing like Halley in O-space.
She is not soft, docile, or eager for cuddles. She certainly doesn't want me petting her hair.
"Ow, baby girl. We don't bite Pack Daddy!" I gasp, snapping my hand back.
Halley bares her teeth, and I wonder if maybe sending the Beta with the Omega in heat was a bad idea. It's clear what she needs, and I don't have the equipment.
"Go away, Shade. You're making my heat come faster," she growls from the nest.
Also, my research seems to have lied. Halley is definitely in heat, but she certainly hasn't lost her ability to speak. In fact, I'd say she's almost hyperalert.
"I don't think it works like that," I say.
One of Blaze's spare boots hurtles in my direction. I duck, and it hits the wall with a thump.
It appears my permanent nest permission has officially been revoked.
I don't know what to do. Halley has never behaved this way with me before. Sure, her Omega is violent when using her Omega Command, but the rest of the time, she's an absolute sweetheart to me.
I watch her claw her sweat-soaked shirt and bra off, grunting in frustration before doubling over with a gasp as another cramp rips through her.
She's in pain, and I feel useless.I've done as much as I can outside the nest. I gathered snacks and water, stoked the fire, hand-washed her slick-soaked panties and trousers, and left them to hang in the bathroom to dry. The den is warm, the nest is ready, and the door is locked.
Somewhere beyond the walls, a distant shout carries through the stone, followed by a low, rough snarl that makes Halley’s head jerk toward the door.
The scent of fresh slick fills the air before pain drags her attention back to her own body.
If only she'd let me close. It doesn't have to be sexual. I'm sure a back massage or even a cuddle would be better than being alone.
"You don't have to suffer while we wait for the others. I can help—"
"I'm fine! Doing just peachy."
"Uh-huh. And you're not at all overheating or experiencing cramps?" I raise a brow at her.
"Nope," she says through gritted teeth. "Everything is a perfectly normal temperature and my insides aren't twisting into a tight, hot ball of agony."
"Right, that sounds believable."
"Yep. Totally normal."
None of my research suggested an Omega could fall into a stubborn strop and refuse relief.
Her thighs are shiny with slick as it flows from her uncovered pussy.
I'm trying not to look, but whenever I catch a glimpse, her pussy is swollen and pink.
She hasn't touched it, though. Now and then, she uses the towel I provided to clean herself up, then goes right back to ignoring the way her body is screaming arousal.
Another cramp ripples through her, and her face pinches in pain. The blush on her cheeks stands out vividly against her pain-paled face.
I level her an exasperated look. She's not fooling anyone.
"Okay, so maybe my heat is happening," she sighs.
"You think?" I ask sarcastically.
She pokes her tongue out at me. Even if she's being stubborn and vicious, at least she still has her wits about her to banter.
I'm kicking myself for not having noticed the signs of her heat earlier. Her pheromone levels have been off the scale, and she's been in a state of pre-heat for weeks, just waiting for something to kick-start it.
"But it's such terrible timing!" she cries, flopping backward onto Knox's pillow before curling around it and hugging it tightly to her chest. "Who could have predicted my heat would start at the exact moment Viper murdered the General?"
I purse my lips.
"What?" Halley sits up, cocking her head to the side in a distinctly animalistic movement.
Oh yes, her instincts are racing to the forefront with every passing minute. I wonder whether adding my opinion is a smart move. After all, she's already tried to bite me and strike me with a boot.
I throw caution to the wind and give her my theory. "I think it's safe to assume it was the murder which set off your heat."
Her eyes narrow. "Are you saying I have a kink for murder?"
"No, I'm saying you have a kink for your Alphas doing violent and fucked-up shit," I state plainly.
Halley splutters, her already flushed cheeks puffing out in outrage.
"Come on, baby girl. The facts are clear. How else can you explain choosing Blaze for a mate? I mean, the guy carved your name into his own skin."
Halley opens her mouth to speak, but catches herself and crosses her arms as her lower lip juts in a defiant pout.
I smirk and wink at her. "See? A kink."
Halley inhales fast, her pupils somehow blowing even wider as her mouth falls open, and a fresh bloom of slick fills the air.
"You need to shut up and go away," she says, frantically scooting back in the nest and averting her eyes. She swipes furiously at sweat beading on her brow.
I sit up straighter, scanning for potential threats. "What's wrong?"
She looks up at the ceiling and licks her lips. "Nothing. It's fine, I just need you to face the corner of the room and never look at me again. Ever."
"What?"
She steals a glance at me, emits a squeak as our eyes connect, and then firmly closes her own.
"Why do you have to look like that?"
"Like what?"
"That! Your smirk and those sexy damn eyes. Stop looking so good!"
I blink. "I… look too good?"
"Yes. It's making things…"
"Yes?"
"…Slippery."
My smirk grows into a full grin.
"You and your stupid face are sabotaging my anti-heat efforts. Go away," she demands through gritted teeth, waving her hands at me to ward me off.
My mere presence arouses her, and while I feel cocky about it, I can't genuinely enjoy the feeling. Her heat is quickening and growing more intolerable with each moment she spends apart from our Alphas.
Her naked body glistens with sweat, and her muscles are bunched from the strain. She can't go on much longer like this, but our girl is stubborn and won't give in to her heat until our Pack is together.
"The others will be here soon," I tell Halley in my gentlest voice.
Her eyes are wild as she watches me from the middle of the nest.
"Don't lie to me," she replies in a low, dangerous tone. Her eyes flash with accusation. "They just threw a live grenade into a fortress of disenfranchised soldiers. That shit is going to take time to sort out."
I grimace in agreement.
Another shout reaches us through the stone. It’s distant, but Halley hears it, and fresh need pours through her scent until my focus slips.
I reach down the bond before she can ask me to.
'How is everything going out there?' I ask down our bond in what I hope is a nonchalant manner, but I know there is a strained edge to my tone.
'Knox has convinced them to not kill us… yet,' Blaze replies, and I can't tell if he sounds relieved or disappointed by the fact that our executions aren't impending. 'Something about the Prime Alphas being allowed to challenge for the right to become the new General.'
I focus and find Knox filled with frustration and tension. I can only imagine the accusations that are flying around that he has to answer, but I trust he has the experience and training to get us out of this mess.
The least I can do is keep things calm and under control here.
Halley rips one of Viper's shirts in two, places a strip on each side of the nest, then sits back to look at it before scowling and hurling both pieces out with a cry of outrage.
I wince, grateful I'm not within striking range.
Yeah, calm and control might be optimistic, but I’ll do my best to soothe Halley. It's fine. Sure, my sweet Omega is a little prickly and bitey, but I'm a soldier. I've faced worse.
I don't share this update with Halley. It will only upset her. I certainly don't add that Viper is probably, at this very moment, narrowly avoiding getting garroted by an angry mob.
If I’m honest, Knox did me a huge favor sending me away with Halley.
There is a significant probability that a loyal soldier of General Stone will attempt to assassinate one of our Pack members in retribution.
As a Beta, my survival rate is lower than the Alphas’.
Halley and I are hopefully safe in the den behind a dense layer of Blaze’s traps and Pack protection.
Even so, it might be hours before they can gain control of the situation.
Halley returns to her anxious nest-building, small whimpers escaping her as she pants through the waves of discomfort that wash over her body.
"If you would just let me into the nest, I could—"
Blaze's other boot comes flying at my head, and I dodge a moment too slow. The laces whip across my face.
"Ow," I pout and rub the sting away. "Rut-dammit, fine. I get it. You want your Alphas, not a knotless Beta."
"Oh screw you, Shade. How dare you think so little of me? That's not it, and you know it." Halley glares at me, her nostrils flaring as sweat rolls down her neck into her cleavage.
I lower myself onto one of the wooden dining chairs, feeling properly scolded. This is no place for my insecurities. "Sorry, I didn't mean that."
With a snarl of irritation, she sits back on her haunches and smooths her damp hair out of her eyes. "Please understand that it has to be the whole Pack or nothing. I can't… we made a promise that this would be the moment our Pack becomes official. I'm going to wait for them as long as it takes."
Fuck, this sucks in a very specific and terrible way.
We were ecstatic about officially mating and claiming Halley as our Omega. I was eager to become the Pack I've read about in the ancient records. And here we are, with our Omega ripe and ready, and the timing couldn't be worse.
I'm impressed by her restraint. She's irritable and throwing boots at me, but our girl needs her Alphas. This will be unlike any other heat she's had. Her body knows she belongs to a Pack and is preparing for four mates. Without us all together and whole, she'll never settle.
Since she came back from her trip to the other side, Halley has been different. She has an emotional stability to her that wasn’t there before, and through the bond, her resilience feels stronger than ever.
I’m seeing that restraint now, playing out in the worst possible circumstances, because her body is begging for relief and she’s still forcing herself to wait for all of us.
I watch as she resumes messing around with her nest, pacing back and forth while she flips pillows over and searches for the perfect spot without finding it. She screams in dissatisfaction and tears a pillow in two, sending stuffing floating across the nest.
"Would you just—" I start and then stop myself. If I'm feeling frustrated, then she must be feeling it tenfold. I try again. "What can I do to help, baby girl? I hate seeing you distressed."
It's an understatement. Her stifling scent, almost choking in its intensity, has taken on a sharp edge that makes both my cock hard and my instincts nervous.
It makes me want to fix it.
But I cannot fix a heat with snacks and a positive attitude. Not when her body is screaming for knots and her inner Omega is convinced she’s been abandoned by her Pack when she needs them most.
I can’t play Daddy with her either. This behavior is different from when she’s being a brat. Previously, her defiance has come from a playful side. In those situations, I can make her eat, drink, sleep, or orgasm, because she wants me to play along with her game.
This isn't a game. Halley isn't playing.
Through the bond, I reach for the steady weight of Knox.
'Sitrep, Boss. How close are you?' I push the question down the link, keeping my tone careful and steady, like I’m not one wrong word away from catching a third boot to the face.
Knox doesn't reply immediately, and I focus on his emotions. Tension fills him, and his patience is running thin, but there is also a glimmer of satisfaction. He's accomplished what he set out to do.
I'm surprised, but I shouldn't be. Our Prime on a mission is effective. And with the added incentive of an Omega in heat, nothing could have stopped him.
'Wrapping up now,' he replies. 'Keep her in the den. Some of the muppets out here have caught her scent.'
Ah, that's where the satisfaction is coming from. He's cracking heads and taking names. I suppose for an Alpha, there is no greater gratification than defending his Omega from a perceived rival Alpha.
The Pack will be returning with a surplus of adrenaline and raging possessiveness. I'm not sure how this is going to go. Last time Halley was in heat, it turned the three Alphas into rut-fueled, knotheaded maniacs.
I watch as Halley tears through another shirt, ripping it with her teeth and snarling in frustration.
Okay, so there will probably be four heads filled with the need for knots.
Rut-dammit. It's going to be an explosion of instincts and irrationality, isn't it? The scientist in me weeps. I miss logic.
"They’re coming. Almost there, baby girl."
Halley’s head snaps up.
Relief flickers across her features before another cramp twists through her, and she hisses, doubling over. She grips the edge of the nest until her knuckles go white, shoulders trembling with the effort of holding herself together.
Halley’s lip curls, and she says between hitching breaths, "At this point, they're going to have to beg to get into my nest."
I should probably warn the others that they’re not coming back to a mewling Omega desperate for their touch. They’re coming back to Halley with sweat on her skin, slick on her thighs, and vengeance in her eyes.
I rub at the still stinging place where the bootlaces whipped my face and decide against a warning.
It's only fair. Their stupid, possessive Alpha instincts caused the mess that made Halley wait. Viper may have been the one who snapped the General’s neck, but I'm not stupid enough to believe Knox and Blaze weren't seconds away from doing it themselves.
Now they get to deal with the consequences.
I wish them luck. They’re going to need it.