Chapter 15
Beau
The first thing I learned about Sable in heat was that she tried to stay in control even when her biology demanded surrender.
The second thing was that watching her finally let go was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
We’d stayed with her through the evening as the heat built in waves, each one stronger than the last. Dane had taken the first shift, sitting beside the nest while Sable rode out the initial surges, his calm presence grounding her.
Then Silas, who seemed to instinctively know when she needed touch and when she needed space, his scent-sensitivity guiding him through her fluctuating needs.
Now it was my turn, and the house was thick with her scent. Cedar smoke and autumn rain and something uniquely her, something that bypassed my conscious mind and spoke directly to every alpha instinct I possessed.
I’d brought water and a protein bar, placed them carefully within reach of the nest. She’d eaten earlier, at Silas’s gentle insistence, but heat burned calories fast. She’d need sustained nutrition to make it through.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, taking the water bottle. Her hands were shaking slightly as she drank, and I watched the long line of her throat as she swallowed.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, keeping my distance, giving her space to answer honestly.
“Like I’m being pulled apart from the inside.” She set down the water bottle and wrapped her arms around herself. “Like my body is demanding things my brain isn’t ready for.”
“What’s your brain saying?”
“That this is too fast. That I barely know you. That I should be scared.” She looked at me with those dark amber eyes that saw too much. “But my brain isn’t winning right now.”
“What’s your body saying?”
She was quiet for a moment. “That you smell like safety. That having you here makes the heat more manageable. That maybe I don’t have to do this alone.”
“You don’t have to do anything alone. Not anymore.” I moved slightly closer, still not touching. “Can I ask you something?”
“Okay.”
“When you went through heat before, were you alone?”
She nodded. “Every time. Nathan wouldn’t help during my heats. Said it was beneath an alpha of his station to deal with biological necessities. He’d book me a hotel room, make sure I had supplies, and leave.”
The anger that flared through me was swift and hot. What kind of alpha left their omega to suffer through heat alone? What kind of partner treated biology like an inconvenience instead of an opportunity for bonding?
“That’s not how this works,” I said firmly. “Heat is pack time. When you’re vulnerable and your biology is demanding connection, that’s when the pack proves they care. That’s when we show up.”
“I know. Intellectually, I know that’s how it’s supposed to work.” She pulled her knees to her chest, making herself smaller. “But I’ve never experienced it. Never had anyone actually want to help instead of treating it like a burden.”
“We want to help.” I let that sit between us for a moment. “But we need you to tell us what you need. What helps, what doesn’t, what makes it better or worse.”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve never had someone ask.”
“Then we’ll figure it out together.”
The heat surged again, and I watched her curl forward slightly, breathing through it. Her scent spiked, calling to me with biological imperative, but I stayed where I was. She needed to be in control of this, needed to set the pace.
When the wave passed, she looked at me with eyes that were fever-bright. “I need to shower. I feel like I’m burning up.”
“Let me help,” I said, standing. “Heat makes it hard to stand steady. I don’t want you falling.”
She looked uncertain for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. But just... to make sure I’m safe.”
“Just to make sure you’re safe,” I agreed.
I followed her into the bathroom, giving her space while she adjusted the water temperature. The master bathroom was spacious, with a large walk-in shower that had clearly been designed with function over luxury in mind. Practical, like everything about Dane’s safe house.
“The water’s good,” she said, her back to me. “I should be okay from here.”
“Sable.” I waited until she turned to look at me. “You’re shaking. Let me help.”
She was trembling, I realized. Not just from the heat but from exhaustion and need and trying to hold herself together through sheer willpower.
“I don’t know if I can handle you seeing me like this,” she admitted quietly. “Vulnerable. Needy. Not in control.”
“Then let me prove you can.” I moved closer, keeping my voice gentle. “Let me help you through this wave, and then if you want me to leave, I’ll leave.”
She studied my face for a long moment, then slowly nodded. “Okay.”
She pulled the borrowed shirt over her head, and I caught my breath. She was beautiful. Flushed skin, curves in all the right places, trembling slightly from the intensity of the heat.
“You’re staring,” she said, but there was no heat in it. Just vulnerability.
“Because you’re gorgeous. Because I can’t believe you’re trusting me with this.” I stepped closer. “Come on. Let’s get you in the water.”
I stripped off my own shirt, leaving my jeans on despite the discomfort, and guided her into the shower. The warm water cascaded over both of us, and she gasped as it hit her overheated skin.
“Better?” I asked.
“A little. But the heat’s still building.” She leaned against the tile wall, breathing hard. “It’s not enough. The water’s not enough.”
“What do you need?”
“I don’t know. Touch, maybe? Everything feels too intense and not enough at the same time.”
I reached for the soap, lathering my hands. “May I?”
She nodded, and I began washing her carefully. Starting with her shoulders, working down her arms, feeling the tension in her muscles. She was wound so tight, fighting the heat instead of surrendering to it.
“You’re allowed to let go,” I murmured as my soapy hands moved to her back. “You don’t have to stay in control all the time.”
“I don’t know how to not be in control.”
“Then I’ll show you.” My hands moved lower, massaging the tension from her lower back, feeling her start to relax into my touch. “Just focus on what feels good.”
The heat surged again, and she gasped, pressing back against my hands. “Beau, I need...”
“Tell me what you need.”
“More. Touch me more. Everywhere.”
I turned her to face me, and the look in her dark amber eyes was pure need. Heat and desire and trust all tangled together. She was giving me permission, offering herself, choosing to be vulnerable.
“Everywhere?” I asked, my voice dropping lower.
“Everywhere.”
My soapy hands moved to her breasts, cupping the weight of them, thumbs brushing over nipples that were already tight with arousal. She arched into my touch with a soft moan that made my alpha growl with satisfaction.
“Good?” I asked.
“So good. Don’t stop.”
I didn’t stop. I explored her body with careful attention, learning what made her gasp, what made her arch, what made her moan my name. The water cascaded over both of us while I proved with touch that she was wanted, desired, perfect exactly as she was.
When my hand drifted between her thighs, she spread her legs slightly, giving me access. Giving me permission.
“May I?” I asked, fingers hovering.
“Yes. Please. God, please, Beau.”
I touched her carefully, finding her slick and ready, her body responding to the heat and to our connection. She was burning up from the inside, biology demanding satisfaction, and I was going to give her exactly what she needed.
“You’re so wet,” I murmured against her ear, my fingers exploring gently. “So ready. Is this from the heat or from wanting me?”
“Both,” she gasped, her hands gripping my shoulders for balance. “Both. I want you so much it scares me.”
“Don’t be scared.” I found the bundle of nerves that made her cry out, circling it with gentle pressure. “I’ve got you. Just let yourself feel.”
I worked her carefully, building her pleasure with deliberate attention.
Watching her face, reading her reactions, adjusting my touch based on what made her respond.
This wasn’t about my pleasure. This was about proving to her that heat with a pack was different.
That being cared for, being touched with genuine concern for her satisfaction, was what she deserved.
“That’s it,” I encouraged as she started to climb toward release. “Let go, Sable. Let me make you feel good.”
“I can’t... it’s too much...”
“You can. I’ve got you. You’re safe with me.”
Her orgasm hit her hard, making her cry out and sag against me. I held her steady, supporting her weight, working her through the waves of pleasure until she was trembling and gasping in my arms.
“Beautiful,” I murmured, pressing kisses to her wet hair. “That was beautiful.”
“I’ve never...” she gasped against my chest. “It’s never felt like that before.”
“That’s because you’ve never had someone actually focused on your pleasure.” I reached past her to shut off the water. “Come on. Let’s get you dried off and back to the nest.”
I wrapped her in a towel and dried her carefully, then found Dane’s shirt and helped her back into it. She was still trembling slightly, but the edge of desperation had eased. The wave had passed, at least for now.
“Thank you,” she said quietly as we walked back to the bedroom.
“For what?”
“For making that feel like care instead of obligation. For seeing me at my most vulnerable and not running.”
“I’m not running,” I promised. “Not now, not ever.”
When we reached the bedroom, Silas was waiting by the door and Dane was standing near the window. They both looked at me, questions in their eyes.
“She’s okay,” I said. “But her scent...”
That’s when it hit them. Now that she was clean, now that she’d had release and her body had responded to touch, her scent had fully bloomed. Cedar smoke and autumn rain and something that called to pack on a primal level.
Silas inhaled sharply. “Oh fuck. That’s...”