Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Dustin
I rock Solana back and forth in my arms, trying to soothe her as she attempts to explain something through sobs that are tearing my heart apart.
The words come out jumbled and broken, interrupted by gasps and cries of pain that make my Alpha instincts roar with the need to fix this, to make it better somehow.
But I can't pick out heads or tails of what she's trying to tell me, unable to put together coherent sentences from the fragments she's managing to get out between the sobbing.
What I do know is that she's not screaming anymore, which feels like a small victory. But her slick is soaking into my pants, absolutely drenching the fabric until I can feel it against my skin. She needs relief and she needs it desperately.
My cock is already responding to her scent, hardening in my jeans despite the inappropriate timing, but I force myself to ignore it. This isn't about me or my needs. This is about Solana and whatever hell she's going through right now.
Fragments of her words start to penetrate through the panic, catching my attention in ways that make my blood run cold.
Sedate. Doesn't want to hurt. Medicine. The pieces are coming together to form a picture I really don't like, a clearer understanding of how her heats must have gone at Harmony House.
Of course, they wouldn't have let Alphas take care of their Omegas during their heat. That would require acknowledging that Omegas have needs beyond what suppressants and institutional care can provide. That would mean admitting that their whole system is fundamentally broken.
But this is so much worse than just denying her access to Alphas.
They were drugging her into unconsciousness, medicating away something that should be natural and beautiful, turning it into a medical event that required sedation.
The thought makes me want to drive back to Harmony House right now and burn the whole place to the ground.
A growl rumbles from my chest before I can stop it, the sound vibrating against Solana where she's pressed against me.
I look up to see Kade standing a few feet away from us, just inside the bedroom doorway.
He looks pissed as fuck, his arms folded across his chest and his jaw clenched so tight I can see the muscle jumping beneath his skin.
His eyes are dark with rage, that dangerous kind of anger that usually precedes violence.
Someone's getting a fucking earful after this, consequences be damned.
I know Kade well enough to recognize that look, to understand that he's already planning exactly what he's going to say and to who.
Harmony House might think they're untouchable with their government contracts and legal protections, but they've never dealt with Kade when someone he cares about has been hurt.
Right now though, I know I don't have the control needed to help Solana properly.
My emotions are too close to the surface, rage and protectiveness mixing with arousal in ways that make it hard to think straight.
And more than that, I know I'm going to get all the words jumbled up if I try to explain anything.
I'm good at a lot of things but delicate conversations requiring precision and care aren't my strong suit, especially not when I'm this worked up.
So I wait for Kade to direct, trusting him to know what Solana needs better than I do in this moment.
He's always been better at reading situations, at knowing exactly what to say to make things better.
I just hold her and rock her gently, trying to provide whatever comfort I can while we wait for Kade to take charge.
Kade gestures to the nest in the corner and I carefully stand, cradling Solana against my chest as I carry her over to the carefully constructed pile of pillows and blankets.
She whimpers when I move, a sound of distress pulling from her throat.
I settle into the middle of the nest, arranging us so she's still cradled in my lap with her face still pressed into my neck.
Kade follows us, kicking off his shoes first, then hooking his thumbs into his sweatpants and pulls them down.
His boxers follow immediately after, leaving him completely naked as he steps out of the pooled fabric.
My breath catches in my throat because even after years together, the sight of him like this still affects me.
He's all smooth dark skin and defined muscle, his cock already half-hard and impressive even in its current state.
He moves into the nest with us, settling beside me before reaching for Solana.
I hand her over reluctantly, immediately missing her weight and warmth but knowing that Kade is what she needs right now.
She stuffs her face into his neck the same way she did with me, seeking comfort in his scent.
But even as she presses close, her hips are moving restlessly against him, seeking friction or relief or something her body knows she needs even if her mind doesn't understand it yet.
"Take me somewhere to sedate me," she cries against his skin, the words muffled but still clear enough to hear. "Please, I don't want to hurt like this."
Kade gently pulls her back, his hands coming up to frame her face. One hand cups her cheek, his thumb stroking across her skin in a soothing gesture. "Sweetheart, did no one ever explain to you what a heat really is?"
Solana frowns, confusion cutting through the panic and pain on her face. The question seems to catch her off guard, like she can't understand why he's asking instead of immediately taking her to get medication.
"It's just your biology," Kade continues. "A reset of sorts. And with your mates or your Alphas, it's a way to bring you closer. To bond and connect in ways that aren't possible outside of heat."
I know that's not exactly a factual explanation.
Heats are more complicated than that, involving hormones and fertility cycles and biological imperatives that go beyond simple bonding.
But it'll do for now. Solana doesn't need a biology lesson.
She needs reassurance that what's happening to her isn't wrong or dangerous.
"No," Solana shakes her head, her hands clutching at Kade's shoulders. "It's painful and I need to be sedated and... please, you don't understand. It hurts so much and the medication is the only thing that makes it stop."
Kade shakes his head firmly, his expression softening even as I can see the rage still burning in his eyes.
That anger isn't directed at her though.
It's for the people who convinced her that this natural process required drugging her into unconsciousness.
"It can be pleasurable, just like this morning.
But you need more than just touch or sex. You need a knot. An Alpha's knot."
Solana's breathing picks up, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Kade moves his hand from her chin to her shoulder, his touch still gentle. Then his hand slides down her arm in a slow caress, Solana wiggling on his lap before gasping sharply.
"See?" Kade's voice carries satisfaction mixed with tenderness. "Your body recognizes mine as what it needs. A heat is supposed to be a joining in the right circumstances, something you look forward to."
She winces, clinging to him as a cramp tears through her. "You can stop the pain with a knot?"
Kade nods, his hands moving to her waist and holding her steady. "I can."
"Promise me it won't hurt." Her voice breaks on the words, desperation and fear mixing together.
I hate hearing that. The plea in her voice, the genuine terror that taking a knot will cause her pain. It makes me wonder if someone hurt her, if one of those encounters at Harmony House went wrong in ways she hasn't told us about yet.
Or maybe someone just described knotting in ways designed to scare her, to make her think it was violent or damaging. Either way, the fact that she's asking for promises that it won't hurt tells me everything I need to know about how thoroughly Harmony House fucked her up.
"I promise," Kade says firmly, his eyes locked on hers. "Can you trust me to make you feel good?"
Solana nods through tears, her whole body trembling in his arms. "Yes. Yes, I trust you."
Kade slowly lifts her to her feet, his hands on her waist as he helps her stand in the nest. She's unsteady, swaying slightly to the right, but he keeps her upright as one of his hands moves beneath her nightgown to her panties.
"Can I take these off?" he asks, checking for her consent.
She nods frantically, her hands coming up to grip his shoulders for balance.
He works them down slowly, careful not to let her fall as she steps out of them.
Throwing them off to the side, Kade pulls her back down onto his lap, positioning her so she's straddling him with her knees on either side of his hips.
"Use me," he says simply, his hands still firmly on her waist but not directing her movement.
Solana looks at him with wide, confused eyes. "I don't know..."
"Your body will tell you what you need," Kade explains. "But I want you to find what feels good and then tell me what to do. Tell your Alpha what you need."
The instruction hangs in the air between them, giving Solana control over this in a way she's clearly never had before. I watch from my position in the nest, seeing the war playing out across her face, instinct fighting against years of conditioning.
Her hips move experimentally, grinding down against Kade's lap. Even from where I'm sitting, I can see the way his cock twitches at the contact, responding to the heat of her and the slick coating both of them now. Solana gasps at the sensation, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment.
"That's it, sunshine," Kade encourages, his voice dropping into that low register that makes both of us shiver. "Just like that. What feels good?"
She rocks against him again, seeking friction. Her breathing grows heavier, small sounds escaping her throat that are less pain and more pleasure. The cramps must still be there, the need for a knot building with every passing second, but she's finding relief in the movement.
"More," she whimpers, her hands tightening on his shoulders. "I need more but I don't know how..."
"Tell me what you want," Kade prompts gently. "Use your words, sweetheart. What does your body need?"
I can see her struggling to articulate it, to put words to needs that are purely instinctual. "Inside," she finally gasps out, her hips moving restlessly. "I need you inside me. Please, Alpha."
The title falls from her lips so naturally, her Omega taking over and recognizing Kade for what he is. My chest swells with pride and affection watching her finally accept what we've known since the moment I first caught her scent—she's ours, and we're hers.
Kade's hands tighten on her waist, his control visibly fraying at the edges. "Good girl. Such a good girl for telling me what you need."