44. Chapter Forty-Four
Clothes, notebooks, specimen vials, and insect nets are spread across the bed in careful piles. Sophie and I move around the small dorm room at a snail’s pace, folding shirts and sorting supplies for the rainforest trip.
The chill from outside presses against the window, testing our insulation for the first time since we moved in. Yet, the air in here feels hotter than it should. A fine sheen of sweat gathers on my forehead and the back of my neck. I feel flushed and slightly dizzy, but I try to ignore it.
Sophie notices immediately. She comments only a little at first. “You’re sweating quite a bit, Elodie. The room isn’t even that warm.” Then her tone shifts with growing concern. “Are you feeling alright?”
I brush it off and keep folding another shirt.
“I’m fine. It’s probably just the excitement about the trip finally catching up to me.
” My movements feel slower than usual, but I focus on listing trip details out loud to distract us both.
“I need to make sure I have enough pinning boards and enough vials for the specimens. The humidity will be intense, so extra desiccant packets are important too.”
We chat easily about the trip for a few more minutes. Sophie asks about the equipment list and whether I remembered the extra magnifying loupes. I answer her questions about class and try to keep my voice even.
The fragile hope I have been holding onto flickers again in my chest. I’ve kept away from the pack, hoping that heat spikes will stop completely. Maybe distance is all I needed to protect this one thing that still feels like mine.
Sophie’s hands slow. She sets down the shirt she was folding and watches me more closely now. The playful energy she usually brings to our conversations has faded. Her green eyes stay on me, deadly serious, as the silence between us grows heavier than before.
“Elodie, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go on the trip right now.”
The words land between us with sudden, terrible weight. I stop folding and look up at her, my heart giving a hard thud against my ribs.
“No,” I say immediately, the response coming out fierce and sharp. “I will not be held back by my designation. I have worked too hard for this. This is my chance to prove I can have both my work and my life. I am not letting my biology take this away from me.”
Sophie’s green eyes soften with worry, but she doesn’t back down.
“I know how much this means to you. But you’re already sweating more than you should be and you look flushed.
The risks out there are real. The heat, the humidity, being so far from help.
At least call the pack and talk to them about it.
They care about you. They would want to know. ”
My throat tightens. I look down at the half folded shirt in my hands.
“I’ve been avoiding their messages since the dinner the other night,” I admit, my voice coming out tight.
“I know it’s not their fault. My body is the one doing this…
but being near them feels like a constant reminder of everything my biology might steal from me.
Every text, every call, makes it harder to pretend I can still have this. ”
The conversation grows more heated as Sophie steps closer. “Elodie, they would want to help you, not control you. You can’t keep avoiding them forever. They’re your pack. I know that you’re still courting, but you know better than anyone that they’re yours.”
I shake my head, stubborn heat rising in my chest along with the fever. “I need to do this on my own. I need to prove I can.”
The air between us feels thick now, charged with worry and determination. Sophie watches me with growing concern, her honey lavender scent wrapping around me in support even as she disagrees.
“I can handle this,” I insist, the words coming out sharper than I intend. “I just need to get on the plane and put some distance between me and—”
A sudden heat surges through me like a tide of fire, rolling up from my core and flooding every inch of my skin. My vision blurs at the edges, the room tilting sharply as fresh sweat breaks out across my forehead and trickles down my spine.
Sophie’s voice rises with worry. “Elodie, you’re burning up. This isn’t normal. You need to call the pack right now.”
I try to argue one last time, clinging to the words that have kept me going for days. “I can handle this. I just need to get on the plane. Distance will fix it. I’ll be fine once I’m away from them.” The words slur slightly on my tongue, thick and heavy, as if my mouth no longer belongs to me.
The world tilts harder. My knees buckle. I feel myself falling, but Sophie catches me before I hit the floor, guiding me to the bed but we don’t get that far. Her arms wrap around me and she lowers me carefully to the carpet. Panic sharpens her voice.
“Elodie? Elodie, stay with me. I’m calling them. It’ll be OK, I’m calling Alex right now.”
Her fingers fumble with her phone. I hear the faint ring through the haze, then Alex’s soothing voice on the other end.
Sophie’s words tumble out fast and urgent. “She’s having a heat spike. It’s bad. She needs her apex. Please, Alex, she needs you.”
I try to speak, to tell them I’m OK, but the darkness pulls me under for a terrifying minute. The last thing I feel is Sophie’s hand checking my pulse and the distant sound of Alex’s voice promising they’re already on their way.
The call with Sophie ends but I’m already moving. My phone slides back into my pocket before Chase and I even reach the front door. Every apex instinct I possess roars to life with a single, deafening demand.
Get to Elodie. Get her safe. Get her home. Get her to her nest.
I keep my voice as calm as I can. “We’re taking the truck. I’m driving.”
Chase is right beside me, matching my stride with no hesitation. His jaw is locked tight, his massive frame radiating the same protective urgency I feel. We move like we’ve trained for this moment, even though we never have. Not like this.
Inside, my instincts are louder than they’ve ever been. This spike is serious, I could hear it in Sophie’s panicked voice when she said Elodie passed out. If I’m being honest it sounds less like a spike and more like a full on heat.
The guilt from our conversation the other night still sits heavy in my chest, but I shove it down hard. I don’t have time for guilt.
We reach the truck in seconds. I slide behind the wheel while Chase climbs into the passenger seat. The engine roars to life before our doors are fully closed. I reverse out of the driveway with controlled precision, hands unshakable on the wheel even as my blood burns with the need to reach her.
“Call Jamie,” I say, voice level. “Tell him exactly what we need at the house. I’ll call Adrian.”
Chase nods once, already pulling out his phone. His pine and musk scent fills the cab, thick with the same fierce protectiveness I feel. We are moving as one, as a pack, ready to bring our omega home.
The guilt still lingers in the back of my mind, but I push it aside. Right now, only one thing matters.
Getting to Elodie.
I keep one hand on the wheel and dial Adrian on speaker the second we hit the main road. The truck cab fills with the low ringtone for only two seconds before he picks up.
“Alex,” he says, voice already sharp and focused. “I heard from Sophie. How bad is it?”
“Bad enough that we’re on our way to get her now,” I answer, keeping my tone level even as my instincts push harder.
“Contact Professor Okonkwo immediately. Tell her Elodie will not be going on the rainforest trip. Medical emergency. Keep it professional and brief. No details beyond that. We will handle the rest once she is home. It doesn’t sound like a spike, Adrian. ”
Adrian doesn’t hesitate. His calm, analytical tone is exactly what I need right now. “Already pulling up her contact. I will call her the moment we hang up. She will understand. Elodie’s safety comes first.”
The relief of having him on it is immediate. Adrian always handles the logical, operational parts of pack life with the same efficiency he brings to his lab work. I trust him completely.
At the same time, Chase is already on his own call in the passenger seat. His deep voice rumbles through the truck as he rattles off a rapid list to Jamie.
“Extra cooling cloths, the softest blankets we have, more electrolyte water. Grab the lavender spray she likes and anything that smells like us. Make sure the nest is ready and the room is dark. We’ll bring her straight there.”
I feel the weight of canceling the trip settle heavy in my chest. She worked so hard for that spot.
She wanted it so badly. The guilt from our conversation the other night still sits there too, constantly replaying.
I know we were right to worry about the risk, but that doesn’t make it easier to be the one taking this away from her.
I push the guilt down again. There will be time for feelings later. Right now, we need to focus.
Chase ends his call with Jamie and glances at me. His jaw is still tight, but his voice is collected when he speaks. “House will be ready by the time we get back. Jamie is already heading to the store.”
I nod once, eyes fixed on the road ahead. “Good. We’re almost there.”
The truck eats up the distance between us and our omega, and every mile feels both too long and too short. My instincts roar louder with each passing second, but my hands stay calm on the wheel. I am her apex. I will get her home.
We pull up in front of Elodie’s dorm building and Chase is out of the truck before the engine fully stops.
I’m right behind him, his big frame moving with the same urgent purpose.
The RA at the front desk starts to protest the second we push through the doors, but one look at Chase’s size and my authoritative stare is enough to make the beta step aside quickly.
Sophie’s already waiting at the door to their room. She yanks it open the moment she sees us, relief flooding her face. “Thank God you’re here.”
I step inside and my gaze lands on Elodie immediately. She’s on the floor, pale and trembling, curled in on herself. Her cat is right there with her, the little gray tabby pressed close to her side as if standing guard.
The sight of the cat stops me for half a second. Mittens? The same stray Chase was feeding all last year? The same one he worried over when it disappeared? It hits me all at once. Mittens became Noodle. And now this cat is watching over our omega like it knows exactly what she needs.
The realization is insane and strangely right at the same time, but there’s no time to dwell on it.
Elodie looks up at us, her blue eyes glassy with pain. “Go away,” she whispers, voice weak but stubborn. “I don’t need you here. I can handle thi—”
The words barely leave her mouth before a heat cramp hits. She doubles over with a sharp gasp, arms wrapping tight around her middle as her body seizes. The scent of her blooms stronger in the small room, sweet and desperate, and my instincts surge forward like a wave I can’t hold back.
Chase and I drop down beside her at the same time. I reach for her first, one hand unwavering on her back while the other brushes damp hair from her forehead. “We love you,” I tell her, voice low and steadfast. “We are here. We want to protect you. Let us help you through this, sweetheart.”
Chase’s big hand rests carefully on her knee, his touch grounding despite his size. “We’ve got you, Elodie. You don’t have to do this alone.”
She trembles between us, caught between the pain and the fight she is still trying to win. Noodle stays pressed against her side, purring loudly as if she understands more than any of us ever could.
Elodie’s tears come fast now, silent at first and then with broken sounds that twist something deep inside my chest. She curls tighter on the floor, arms wrapped around herself as if she can hold the pain back by sheer will.
Sophie kneels beside us, voice unyielding but kind. “You need to go with them, Elodie. They can help you. Please let them take you home.”
Elodie hesitates for one long second, then reaches out with trembling hands and scoops Noodle into her arms, giving me a small nod.
The little gray tabby cuddles against her chest, purring steadily as if this is exactly where she belongs.
Mittens. My mind still stumbles over that every time I look at her.
Chase’s old stray is now our omega’s guardian.
Chase moves quietly and lifts Elodie’s packed trip bag from the bed, deftly slinging the strap over his shoulder. I turn to Sophie and meet her eyes.
“Thank you,” I say, meaning every word. “For calling us. For staying with her.”
She nods, eyes bright with worry and relief at the same time. “Just keep her safe.”
We guide Elodie out to the truck together. She doesn’t fight us anymore, but her steps are unsteady. Chase opens the back door and I help her settle into the middle of the seat. She curls up immediately, Noodle still tight in her arms, and whispers in a small, exhausted voice, “I want to be alone.”
Another cramp hits her before she can say anything else. She winces hard, breath catching as she presses her face into Noodle’s fur.
I meet Chase’s eyes as I slide behind the wheel. The same heavy worry I feel is mirrored right back at me. He gives one short nod, jaw tight, and climbs into the passenger seat.
I start the engine and pull away from campus, the weight of everything we’re carrying sitting solid and certain behind us on the back seat of our truck.
How did we mess this up so badly?