11. Chapter 9
“She’s in heat. Come back home.”
Those words sliced right through me as I gripped the wheel and raced home.
Wylder’s family left this cabin for him years ago, and we used it occasionally if one of us needed to be away from everything. When I left that morning, I wasn’t trying to run away. If I was, I wouldn’t go to a place we all knew so well.
I just needed… space.
From the second she stepped into the house, her scent took over. I couldn’t think anymore. My skin stretched over my bones, making me uncomfortable with my own decisions.
I couldn’t hold any hope in my heart anymore. It hurt to try, and that sunshine of a girl was all hope. So, I didn’t follow my instincts. Instead, I let fear get the best of me.
She was gorgeous, bright, and the definition of happiness. All that was denied to us twenty years ago was standing in my kitchen, and instead of grabbing it, I ran.
Like a coward, I left her there. I showed how much I didn’t want her in my house, when in reality, she owned every single thing to my name. She owned me completely.
And now, she was in heat, and I wasn’t there.
“Fuck!” I cursed when I realized it would take me at least an hour to reach home. To reach her.
I never considered myself dumb, and yet when it mattered, I was the dumbest of them all. I left my omega thinking I disliked her. I left before her first heat.
I fucking left, and now, I had major groveling to do.
It was almost two in the morning when I reached home, my hands shaking with pent-up energy. I barely parked, hopping out of my truck and beelining for the front door.
The scene waiting for me was something out of my dreams.
Julia was spread out, naked, golden thick thighs, damp hair sticking to her forehead, perky tits out. Theo was beside her, helping her drink from a bottle of water while Wylder, the lucky bastard, was eating her out in the middle of our living room.
I swallowed dryly and tried to reach them quietly, but her eyes found me after just one step.
She moved her head away from the bottle and, with a raspy voice, said, “I’m sorry.”
Why was she sorry? I squeezed my eyes shut and went to her, hoping she wouldn’t freak out if I touched her.
Theo got out of the way, and I kneeled close, bringing her back to my chest. “Why are you sorry, sunshine?”
“You hate me, don’t you? You shouldn’t see me like this.” She turned completely to me, watching me with those big brown eyes. She was so perfect, so small and gorgeous.
I brought her closer, and Wylder stepped away from between her legs. She came willingly when I held her under her knees and hauled her completely onto my lap.
“I don’t hate you,” I told her.
“You don’t like me.”
“I like you,” I insisted.
She chuckled, not believing me for a second. “This feels odd, doesn’t it?” Julia whispered. “This whole situation. I don’t understand what’s happening. I’m so confused, I’m so warm…”
I brought my hand up to her forehead to find she was burning up. I focused my gaze on Theo and Wylder.
“You haven’t knotted her.”
They both shook their heads, but I needed no confirmation. Julia was parched, burning up, and restless in my arms. Most of all, she looked confused.
“She doesn’t know,” Theo said. “We couldn’t—”
I looked down at the girl on my lap, and I understood what he meant.
Our whole lives, we knew we were going to find our omega. We were waiting to mate, to meet the one, but we never thought it was going to be someone who had no idea she was an omega.
Julia looked genuinely confused by her body’s reaction, and I could bet she knew nothing about knotting. While I was annoyed, they left her suffering, but I could understand their hesitation.
“Can I wash you, sunshine?” I asked softly while I kissed her temple.
Her reply was a whimper while she looped her hands around my neck, a sweet sign of submission and trust.
Why did I ever doubt she was ours when we fit like this?
I kept her close to my chest as I marched up the stairs.
“Clean up a room,” I told the other two.
A room. Not her rightful room, because I let my demons speak louder.
There was no point in dwelling on my mistakes, so I brought her to my private bathroom and sat her on the edge of the bath. While I gathered a clean towel and soap, I turned on the faucet and let warm water trickle down.
“Why did you leave, Noah?” she asked.
“Because I’m stupid.” I set the towel on the rack and the soap to the side, avoiding her gaze.
“You hate me that much? You couldn’t stay in the same house as me for one day?”
I sighed and kneeled in front of her, taking her beautiful face between my palms. “I don’t hate you. Don’t say that, sunshine.”
She licked her lips, watching me with suspicion. “I missed you, you know? Even if you hated me, I missed you.”
“I missed you the second I left, and I’m going to earn your forgiveness.”
She said nothing to that but let me put her in the bath once it was ready. She didn’t fuss when I brought her a luffa and the soap and helped her clean, nor did she argue when I started washing her hair with my shampoo.
I knew she had better products than mine, but I was scared of going for them and giving her time to change her mind.
If she asked for Theo or Wylder to wash her instead, it was going to break me.
“Can I rinse it?” I whispered after applying the shampoo.
She gave me a shy nod, cheeks rosy. The bath must be working, cooling off the heat, because she was shy once again.
I took a glass I kept beside the sink and dunked in the water as I brought it up to rinse up the suds.
“Noah…” Her voice was small.
“Yes.”
“What is happening? Why do I feel like this?”
It wasn’t an easy question, and I wasn’t ready to explain it alone. So, I kept rinsing her hair as I said, “I’ll tell you in a minute.”
“Do you know why I feel like this?”
“Like what, sunshine?”
“Like I’m going to explode if you don’t get into this bath with me. My whole body needs you. I start and end with you three.”
I kissed the crown of her head, hiding a smile. I’d waited my whole life to be wanted like this.
“I know why.”
“It is normal? Is this what a crush feels like?”
I chuckled. “You think this is a crush?”
“I don’t know. I never liked someone before.”
“No one?” I asked, just to be sure.
“No one ever,” she confirmed.
“You never had a boyfriend?”
“I didn’t say that.” She blushed. “I just… It wasn’t like this.”
I fought the urge to ask more about this boyfriend and instead concentrated on the confession that she felt strongly about us, too.
Once she was clean, I helped her out of the bath and put my t-shirt over her head. She piled her hair in a messy bun and followed me to my bedroom, where we found the other two waiting.
“Sit here.” I brought her to the middle of the bed. “Water?”
She nodded, and Theo handed her a glass. We looked at each other as she drank, not sure how to start. She might feel okay for a few minutes after the bath, but that wasn’t going to last.
She needed to be knotted, and soon.
“Jules, have your parents ever talked about…” Theo started “Omegas and alphas?”
“Alphas?” she smiled over the rim of the cup. “Like wolves?”
“Yes.” Wylder nodded at the same time that I said, “No.”
“Were they only… them? A couple?” I asked.
She snorted, clearly finding the whole line of questioning funny.
“Yeah, my mom and dad were a couple. Just them. What’s going on?”
She looked at us three, from Theo to Wylder and, finally, to me. She was waiting for us, for the truth, for an explanation of why everything was suddenly so intense.
“Some people are born an alpha, other betas, and some omegas,” Wylder started.
“Like a personality trait?” she asked.
I made a throaty sound as Wylder shrugged. “Sure, that too.”
“That too?”
“It’s biological, Jules,” Theo intervened.
“We’re alphas,” Wylder told her. “And you’re our omega.”
She furrowed her brows. “Again, like a personality thing?”
“It’s not like a test you take online,” Theo replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I told you, it’s biological. Every alpha knows they will find their omega one day. We’re made to mate her. But we thought she was here, in the town.”
“That’s why you’re in heat right now,” I interrupted. “You found us, and your body is reacting.”
“Oh my God.” She laughed, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest. “You are insane. I’m not in heat!”
“How you explain this whole thing, then?” Wylder challenged.
“I don’t know. I’m in lust or whatever. You guys are hot. Jesus, Theo and Wylder took turns going down on me. Of course I got a little crazy, but I’m okay now. I’m not in heat. I’m not an omega.”
“You’re our omega,” I corrected.
“You’re insane.”
“Explain it then, sweetheart,” Wylder mocked. “And don’t tell me it’s just lust.” He cut her off before she opened her mouth. “I can smell your pussy from here, even after the bath. I’m pretty sure if I reach under that t-shirt, I’m going to find you dripping wet.”
Julia swallowed a lump in her throat, and if it wasn’t for her scent all over my room, just her eyes would be enough to tell the tale.
“Jules, sit down,” Theo commanded, rubbing a hand over his beard. “It’s difficult for us too. We never imagined we would have to explain what being an omega means.”
“Oh, I’m sorry if this is an inconvenience to you,” she mocked.
“If you just listen…”
“No.” She shook her head. “No.”
“The mountain was calling you,” Wylder pushed. “You said so yourself—the mountain called you. You knew you had to be here. You found us against all odds, and now, your body is burning up. You are soaking wet for us three. You need to be knotted.”
Her face closed in a tortured expression, and I knew we lost her. Her eyebrows furrowed as her luscious mouth closed in a thin line. Whatever Wylder said was too much for her, and before I could repair his mistakes, she turned on her heels and left.