Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
Halley
It shouldn’t be possible. I had the shot.
It should’ve covered me until well after my training finished and I’d be able to ride out the week-long frantic need to mate in the safety of my dorm room alone.
With lots and lots of knotting dildos. Perhaps even requesting to be sedated if it was particularly bad.
A deep, rumbling growl drags me back to reality. Blaze is looking at me like I’ve sprouted antlers.
“No, no, this can’t be happening,” I whimper, riding out the cramp rippling through my insides. A desperate, clawing kind of desire shimmies through my limbs and settles in my clenching core.
“Sparkles, are you going into heat?” Blaze squeaks in horror, which on any other occasion would be amusing. Right now, it’s not. I’m terrified too.
The pain hits me hard and I cry out. I curl in on myself tighter, clutching my belly. This is not supposed to be happening. I’m not supposed to be in heat! This wasn’t the plan!
“I don’t know… Blaze, what do I do?”
I have to get somewhere safe. A nest. I need my nest!
Blaze’s breathing is heavy and the puffs of air fan across my face. His eyes are wide and his jaw tight, his nostrils flared as he sucks in lungfuls of my scent. “Fuck, Sparkles. I don’t know what to do with an Omega in heat!”
Heat is such a good word for this. My temperature has gone from zero to boiling so fast. My skin is sizzling, and the uniform suddenly feels like sandpaper as the sweat makes the fabric stick against me.
My lips taste salty as I lick them, trying to make my brain function. A warm haze is settling over me.
Alpha is here. Alpha will take care of me.
Blaze’s Alpha pheromones hang in the air, and I inhale them like I’ve just discovered what oxygen is for. The pain that was in my gut is being replaced by an insatiable hunger that is growing more desperate by the minute.
“Sparkles,” Blaze hisses.
His dilated pupils have engulfed his vibrant ice blue irises.
“Are you still with me? Fuck!”
I feel a stab of guilt that my Alpha is upset with me, but that only makes me feel a desperate need to please him.
I throw myself off the boulder and into his arms, burrowing my face into his neck and lapping at his mating gland desperately.
“Fuuuuuck.”
I moan when the bulge of his erection rubs against me as he shifts his weight. His chest feels so good under my fingertips, and I want to get closer to it, touch more of him, feel his body on top of me, inside me…
The heat between my legs grows to an agonizing pressure. My ruined panties are still balled up in my pocket from my romp with Shade, and my slick flows freely.
Another cramp explodes through me, the pain radiating down the insides of my thighs and spasming in my lower back. My heat has never come on so suddenly or painfully before. Cramping is normal, but it’s never been so severe.
“Please, Blaze,” I plead with my Alpha as I hug him as tight as I can. “Make it better.”
My hands grab at his uniform and I try to shove his jacket off him, but my movements are frantic and desperate and not helping anything at all.
Alpha grumbles, making a low, frustrated noise, and the sound makes my stomach flutter. I want to hear it again.
His hand covers my back, pushing me firmly into his lithe body, encouraging me to lock my ankles behind his back.
“Hold on, Sparkles. I got you.”
He breaks into a run, sprinting towards camp. He navigates the uneven forest floor with ease, his arms keeping me safe.
My body is growing hotter with every second, and I cling onto Blaze for dear life. My Omega is mildly placated by being held by him.
He’s fast, and we make it to camp in just a couple of minutes, despite the uneven terrain and lengthening shadows as the sun disappears beneath the horizon.
There’s a commotion, and he ignores the shouts that follow us as he heads straight into the bunkhouse. The swirl of the squad’s combined scents hit me like a drug. Both stimulating and comforting.
I whine and reach out for Blaze as he sets me onto my bunk. His features are set so seriously, pulled taut with strain that I barely recognize him.
“You’ll— Stay here. I need to get you water, blankets…” Blaze hesitates as his nostrils flare. His black eyes roam over me hungrily before he squeezes them shut and runs his hand over his head, tugging at the white streak in his hair.
He spins and leaves the tent, his movements jerky.
I’m hot. So hot. It’s coming from my core and radiating out. I can’t get a grasp of where I need the relief most. It’s everywhere.
I frantically kick my boots off, then tear at my clothes, seams ripping as I yank my shirt off over my head. Then, realizing that the shirt was gifted from Knox, I scramble to hold it close.
I shudder with relief as the cool evening air chills my sweat-soaked body. The intense heat has caused pink blotches to bloom over my skin, creating a patchwork.
I groan with frustration and sit on the edge of the cot. The fire between my legs has become a burning ache so intense, I can’t bear it any longer.
“Please. Blaze, please!” I yell. I need him so badly it’s going to drive me mad! I reach down to rub the space between my legs, and it only serves to make the pressure grow, not soothe it.
The tent flap flings open and I’m hit by a potent blast of Blaze’s scent. Wildfire and charcoal. It sets my already raging arousal alight. His presence fans the flames to intense heights.
He’s carrying water bottles and towels. He throws them on the floor with a loud thud and immediately turns back around, as if the sight of me has scalded his eyes.
“Alpha! Touch me. Please,” I gasp, the shimmering tinge of an Omega Command slipping from my lips without my permission.
He whips around to look at me, his eyes blazing, and the sound that rips through him is like that of a feral animal.
I slide my hand through my sopping folds, collecting slick, and hold my fingers out for him.
His nostrils flare and he takes a heavy step towards me.
“Alpha Blaze! Leave. Now.”
Prime Alpha Knox stands at the entrance of the tent, his red eyes spitting fire. It’s a strong Alpha Command that negates my weak, misguided attempt.
Blaze’s hand clenches and unclenches before he shakes his head as if to clear fog and turns towards the door, bumping his shoulder into Knox’s as he does.
The other man doesn’t move, just stares straight at me with those fire-filled eyes.
At any other time, I would’ve felt chastised. Embarrassed at my compromised appearance. My bra is still on, but my nipples are straining against the fabric. It’s only a matter of time before I take it off.
I maintain his intense eye contact and slip my hand back down between my thighs, and I plunge two fingers into my channel, pumping furiously to get some kind of relief.
“Alpha… Prime Alpha,” I whine.
He swallows and scrubs a hand over his face.
“We have a contingency plan for this, Omega Sparks.”
His body yearns for me. I can see his thick cock twitching in his trousers. I let out another low whimper, my eyes focused on his pulsing rod of flesh.
I’m burning. So hot. It’s all-encompassing.
My pussy clamps down on my fingers, and I try to use my thumb to press into my clit, but it does nothing to calm my desperate need.
Knox’s eyes darken and he lets out a low grunt. He slowly approaches me, and I watch every movement with hunger. Finally, he kneels beside my bed and produces a syringe hidden behind his back.
I flinch away, pulling my hand from my pants and scuttling backwards, instinct telling me not to let whatever foreign substance is in that vial enter my bloodstream.
“Hold still, Omega Sparks. This is an emergency heat suppressant; it’ll stop your heat from progressing and hopefully weaken any Omega Command you make.”
Knox’s hand wraps around my forearm and pulls it towards him. I’m reminded once again of just how physically smaller I am than him. He holds me still even while I tug to get away. The needle pierces my skin and I don’t even feel it. My arm is sparking with electricity where he’s touching me.
It’s over in a flash. The suppressant races through my veins, fighting against my raging hormones.
Knox releases my arm and steps backwards, warily watching me as if I might pounce.
“It’ll take awhile for the suppressant to take effect. Until then, you’re going to have to ride this out on your own.”
The haze of heat recedes briefly as I try to discern what he’s telling me.
Alone? I don’t think I can last another minute with the desperate urges plucking at my nerves. Surely they won’t leave me like this.
“No, please. Don’t leave me, Knox. I need you.” I rise on shaky legs, taking one stumbling step towards him, reaching out.
He’s shaking his head, looking at me with an emotion in his eyes I can’t decipher. “I’m sorry.”
Knox continues to back away. I don’t make it more than four steps before my legs collapse beneath me. I gather the fluttering edges of my O-space, desperately demanding it help me make my Alpha see the mistake he is making.
“Alpha, please, come back.” The Command is weak and futile. My throat feels raw, my skin sizzles, and the emptiness within me feels like a gaping black hole.
Knox shivers, his whole body convulsing as the Command washes over him like a caress. He licks his lips, looking down at me in my vulnerable state, begging him to touch me, and for a second, I think he might break.
He doesn’t. Of course he doesn’t. He’s the poster boy for following protocol. He clears his throat, pulling himself to full height and puffing his muscular chest out.
“Omega, stop. No Alpha is coming. Stay in the tent. Make your nest. You can come out when your heat stops.” The Alpha Command hangs in the air. The compulsion slams down like a wall between us, separated by his dominance and my submission.
I drop my outstretched hand, obeying his command dutifully.
Prime Alpha Knox looks like he wants to say more, but instead he nods resolutely and slips out of the tent.
As I sit on the floor, I wail in agony as though my body is being burned alive.
I scream. I cry and no one comes because I’m alone.
I’m a failure as a soldier, as an Omega, and as a friend.
Soon, the sniffling stops, and the heat is rising again. Slick is leaking down my inner thighs and I know I have to help myself because no one is coming to care for me.
No one has ever cared for me the way I needed them to.
I stumble from bed to bed, indulging in each team member’s unique scent. Burrowing my tear-stained face in their blankets, I inhale like a junkie getting a fix.
I drag their mattresses off the cots and arrange them in the middle of the tent.
A primal need overtakes me and I let my hind-brain take control. I place each blanket and pillow strategically until my senses reassure me that Blaze, Viper, Shade, and Knox are woven into my safe place. My nest isn’t glamorous, but when it’s done, I feel infinitely better.
I just hope it’s enough to get me through however long it takes for the suppressant to do its job. I’ve been told it usually takes a few hours to work, but this time feels different than my other heats, more intense with an almost desperate edge.
It’s because they’re near.
My Omega doesn’t understand why they aren’t here in my nest, helping me through each wave of unbearable pressure spooling in my core.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s not to rely on others. All my life, I’ve had to take care of myself. Know when to work with the system to get what I need, and when to fight like hell against it.
“I’ll survive this. I don’t need them,” I chant to myself like a mantra.
It sounds hollow and needy. I curl up in my pathetic nest of blankets. My core throbs.
“I don’t need them,” I whisper.
I’m slick between my thighs and my clit is a swollen bud of pleasure that my body demands to be touched.
“I don’t need them.”
The cool night air does nothing to lessen my rising fever.
“I don’t need them.”
My Omega claws in my chest, angry and hurt that the males have left me.
A cramp rips through me and I tilt back my head and howl. “Alpha!”