That evening, Aspen joined me up on the terrace, a place I gravitated to more and more over the couple of days. Sometimes, the mansion left me feeling claustrophobic, but I could sense something inside me changing.
An urgency ticked inside me as my heat cycles rolled over me more frequently. Shadow and Aspen took turns staying with me each night, so I didn’t wake up alone, embracing me, which sated me into a peaceful slumber without the need for sex and knotting. Though some nights, I needed my space, and they slept on the floor or outside my room. I adored them for the attention, but my growing heat was scaring me, and visiting the terrace calmed me.
I flopped down on a couch while Aspen got the barbecue fired up. The smell of the steaks left me salivating. Sitting back, I curled my feet up and stared at the sun sliding behind the dark clouds.
Aspen’s blond hair fluttered in the breeze when he kept looking at me over his shoulder as he flipped the meat. Dressed in knee-length shorts and a tee, his muscles were more obvious, every inch of him was firm and strong.
My issue was I was falling head over heels for these Alphas, beyond the heat and our natural calling to one another. When I stared at Aspen, I wondered what it would be like to have a boyfriend like him, to spend the rest of my life with someone who adored everything about you. Men like that were in books and movies, but here I was in a strange paradox of being attracted to my kidnappers and wanting so much more than being boned by them.
“You doing alright?” Aspen turned toward me, and when he took a step in my direction, a sizzling hot storm of pleasure rippled over me. I loved the way his gaze traveled over my shorts and tank top, loved how his eyes smiled at what he saw.
“I’ve never been better,” I explained, pushing aside all other thoughts and my dread because the constant worry wasn’t helping me. “I needed time away. I can’t stop thinking of all the things that could go wrong, or that to remain safe, I’d have to stay in this compound for the rest of my life, never seeing the world beyond the walls again.”
He collapsed down on the couch next to me, making the cushion beneath me bouncing. Reaching over, he clasped my chin with his fingers, angling my head to face him, and his soft stare intensified. My insides melted at his sensuous, gentle touch, which was close to hypnotic. Leaning in closer, I was swallowed by his earthy, fruity scent mixed with his arousal. I breathed it in, not even realizing I was doing it until my nose rubbed across his collarbone.
I held onto him, my fingers digging into his arm, my nerve endings about to burst. There was something utterly intimate but also terrifying about how quickly I lost myself to him.
“This is all temporary, trust me,” he said, a purr hanging off his words as though he was fighting the urge to flip me onto my back and fuck my brains out. The thought sounded incredible.
He pulled back slightly, much to my protest, but he was right. If one of us didn’t stop—it was clear it wouldn’t be me because I was too weak—the meat would burn.
“Yeah,” I murmured, pulling back, acting like I didn’t just sniff him and try to hump him. “And how do you know that?”
“The Mafia won’t spend manpower searching for one Omega for too long, especially when they have more important things to deal with. Give it a while, and things will quiet down. Shadow’s working on getting you a new ID and papers, along with documentation to prove where you came from before we bought you.”
“I really hate that word ‘bought.’” It was a sad reality that Omegas were cornered and couldn’t just meet someone and fall in love normally. I guess the only women who gained such liberty were females who never turned, though I couldn’t exactly say their life was easy.
His features softened, and he kissed my nose. “I know, but we need to appear to be playing by the rules to avoid any suspicion drawn to you. Now, how about you tell me more about what it was like when you lived at the Institute? From what we learned on our trip, everything was aboveboard, and the girls there were treated like goddesses.”
I almost choked on my laughter.
“You’re kidding me, right? When we were young, we slept in dorms, in rows of bunk beds. When we were older we were put into larger rooms, but we still shared four to a room.” I paused, thinking about Frannie with a pang of guilt, and sent out a silent prayer that she was safe. “If Ms. Bakewell didn’t think we should know about something, she makes sure we don’t find out, including what to expect if we turn into an Omega.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“She did it to all of us. And get this, her version of science isn’t what I read about in the books I found outside of the school or in the abandoned parts of the school.” I giggled at the memory of my friends and me sneaking in there to learn about sex and whatever else we could find out. “There aren’t a lot of books left in there now, but we found a few. Some had real science in them, not what she wants us to believe.”
“You’d have been better off in an Omega training academy. Why didn’t they take you to one of those?” Viper’s fingers stroked my arm.
The memory of my time at the Institute leaving me furious at Bakewell.
“Because I wasn’t left with the authorities. I was dropped on her doorstep. She didn’t report my existence for a long time, and by then, I’d settled in, so the state didn’t take me away.” I shrugged, not sure what else to say. “I don’t know a lot about the law, but I get a payment from the government every month. She takes most of it for our room and board, but she leaves us a little. The state would take away her operation license if she didn’t leave us a little to get what we absolutely needed throughout the month, like toothpaste and toilet paper, although she sells those to us at a price that is much higher than I saw in the shops I went into.”
“Bitch,” he growled, the bridge of his nose creasing. “This is why you’re never going back there.”
“She’d sell me off to the highest bidder in a heartbeat now that I’ve become an Omega.” Breathing heavily, I shook off the crawling sensation sliding up my back. “I don’t want to talk about me. What about you? I saw in your room that you had hiking boots. So, you like outdoor activities like balloon riding.” I grinned, sticking my tongue out at him playfully.
He leaned in, but I noticed the way he studied my lips as though he contemplated stealing a kiss but he looked over at the grilling meat.
“I dabble in rock climbing, but knowing that you’re afraid of heights, I’m willing to try anything new if you’d join me.”
“What else do you enjoy?”
“Painting.” Redness stained his cheeks. “I don’t show it to anyone, but it’s something that calms me when I can’t get outdoors. I get all in my head some days, and well, painting fixes that. I paint out whatever it is that’s bothering me, and the problem goes away.”
“Really? I want to see them.”
“Maybe soon,” he said, getting to his feet and moving over to check on the meat. “I’m working on something now, and it’s not quite ready.”
Heat came over me so suddenly, it startled me. I lounged back, fanning myself with my hand when Aspen glanced my way.
“Want me to get the fan?”
I shook my head. “The breeze is enough, but I just wish this fever would break already and leave me alone. What I really need are painkillers.”
“Not sure I’d recommend you take anything to mess up with the cycle.”
Unease settled deep in my gut at the thought of us taking those pills at the ball, making me wonder if that had forced my heat cycle to start.
“The other night, Roman, the guy who visited while you and Shadow were away, mentioned something about a delivery of pills to Viper. What was he talking about? I realize I never asked what business you three ran to own such a mansion.”
He made his way back to me.
“Nothing major. Just an import business of all kinds of things. I mostly look after the storage and distribution, while Viper deals with new merchandise.” He spoke quickly, then reached over, his fingers dancing over my arms, distracting me.
“All you need to focus on is lots of rest and sex,” he said with a grin, which left me falling into his azure gaze.
“Of course, you’d say that.”
“It’s been scientifically proven that an Alpha’s knot inside an Omega calms her down and reduces the pain and heat. So maybe that’s all you need?” He playfully lifted his shirt as if he was going to strip.
My eyes were glued to his eight-pack, the smoothness of his chest, and his muscles. God, maybe it was a mistake for him to show any flesh because a trickle of slick spurted into my panties.
“Hey, don’t be cruel. Put that away.”
Awareness must have tugged at him because his demeanor turned to a sex beast before he cleared his throat and pushed his shirt down. His quickened breaths raised the hairs on my arms and made my nipples pebble.
“Is the food ready yet?” Daniel hollered from somewhere in the house.
Aspen grinned at me. “Maybe after lunch, we’ll take a visit to my room.”
There was no joking in his voice, especially not when the bulge in his pants became noticeable.
I smiled, feeling at ease with him, despite my grinding need for sex. It would come back at some point, leaving me a mess as it had when it first started, but for now, the relief seemed to keep the worst of it at bay.
“Will my heat get worse? If I don’t sleep with any of you, I mean?”
“From what Thelma says, it will. You could spike a very dangerous fever if you don’t get any relief. It’s rare, but it can happen. You’ll get more desperate as it progresses.” He admitted with a look that told me he was sorry to say it.
“Damn, I was kind of hoping since I’ve been knotted by two of you already, it would calm it down a little.”
“Once your heat breaks, you should have a long break before it returns.”
“It returns?” My eyes bulged out of my head. “What the hell!”
“It’ll be less intense, but it ensures you are bound with your Alphas. Apparently, it ends once you hit your fifties.” He looked at me with sympathy.
“You mean I have thirty years of this crazy heat and constantly being horny?” I groaned and slid lower on the lounge.
“On the bright side,” he said, scooping the cooked meat onto a large platter. “After your first heat, it’s safe to take suppressants to dilute the intensity, though that reduces the chances of you falling pregnant. Some Omegas like that and use it as birth control.”
Looking at the sky, the darkening clouds brought the promise of an oncoming storm.
“I can see how they might be a lifesaver, but everyone knows taking them supports the mafia and their crimes.” Said me, the person who had convinced my two friends to take masking pills to make us appear more like Omegas so we could get into the Glass Slipper Ball. We’d bought them from the dodgiest man on the street, who clearly worked for one of the mafia families, and he tried so hard to peddle us different drugs to get us hooked, no doubt.
“Yeah, a lot of Omegas take them, though they aren’t supposed to, according to the government.”
“Of course not, then the government can’t control and sell Omegas or make asshole Alphas happy who want their Omegas as nymphomaniacs. I don’t want to be like that or take illegal drugs. I’ve seen a few girls at the Institute overdose on them and end up in the hospital.”
Aspen nodded his agreement, then said, “Food is ready. Grab a plate and help yourself.”
As if on cue, the raucous sound of voices came from behind me, and I twisted my head to find Shadow and Daniel joining us. No sign of Viper yet. Maybe it was best to focus on food and allow my hormones to regroup and my desires to calm.
The day wore on and turned into night. The guys settled in the entertainment room downstairs to talk about urgent business matters while I went up to my new room on the third floor. My mind was whirling with doubt, fear, and so many unknowns about this pack, who I placed my life in their hands. Part of me wanted to run from all the dangers around me, to hide in another country where no one could track me down, except it wasn’t exactly easy for an Omega going into heat to go anywhere without detection.
With each passing second, a new wave of arousal and purring sent me into a new spark of heat, but this seemed different. I craved the Alphas’ smells all over me, to feel like I was drowning in their scents. I couldn’t even explain the desperate need that choked me. I could barely breathe with the need, yet I couldn’t bring myself to burst into their room like a needy Omega and rub my body against them. It would end up in an orgy.
Goosebumps danced up my arms the more I paced in the hallway when the solution came to me in a flash. It was so simple, I almost laughed at myself for not doing it earlier.
Running down the corridor and into the first bedroom, which happened to be Aspen’s, I threw myself toward his clothes strewn on the bed. Lifting the shirt he’d been wearing earlier to my nose, I drew in a sharp breath, and my stomach trembled from the musky-sweet scent of his desire. The smell enveloped my senses.
I grabbed the cover from his bed, tore it off, then brought them back to my room and decided the bed could do with more. Going into the next rooms, I fetch more items from Shadow’s and Viper’s rooms. I was like a mad woman, running back and forth. I was even muttering to myself as I nudged piles of clothes and blankets into a thickly layered nest on my bed.
Crawling into the nest, the scenes were so sexy, so overpowering, my body hummed, and I purred. I shifted and rolled around on them, yet it wasn’t enough. Something was missing.
I turned sharply when my door opened, and Viper strode in.
“Trinity? What’s going on? I saw you darting from my room into yours.” He eyed my nest, made of cushions, blankets, and the Alphas’ clothes.
“Nothing, nothing, just…building. I need more.” I pushed my hair out of my face, my cheeks hot. Putting my hands down on my hips, I looked at what I’d created so far. It was… a mess. If I had more, I could build a small mountain and crawl into the middle of it to feel secure and embraced.
“You’re so adorable creating your nest,” he purred and shut the door. “Do you want me to go get more of my clothes and blankets?”
“Do you have more that has your scent on it and hasn’t been cleaned?” I demanded, looking back at the mess on the floor around my bed. Tears stung my eyes as I looked back at him, and the ache in my gut deepened. “Do you?”
“Not a lot, but I can wear them and rub them on me for you, honey.” He walked to me slowly, his hands out. “Or better yet, how about I climb in there with you and take care of you?”
He cupped the sides of my face, and suddenly, his lips were on mine. The soothing kiss, his intoxicating scent, and the hunger burning inside me curled around me like a warm coat. That was what I needed… an Alpha in the nest with me.
“You’ll help me, right?” I was out of my mind with need, anxiety, and confusion as my urge to build became more powerful with every second that passed. Yet my lips tingled with his taste and how I needed more.
I was frantic, filled with an energy I didn’t understand, and was almost afraid of my behavior.
“Breathe, sweetheart,” Viper suggested, his thumbs stroking across my cheeks. “I’m going to make all the pain go away. I promise.”
Picking things up again, I moved them around, trying to make a circle that would hold my pack once we were all on the bed. It wasn’t working and looked more like a garbage heap. I sank to my knees, crying with frustration.
Viper gathered me into his arms and let me sob into his shirt as he carried me back to my bed.
“I know exactly what you need, Omega, and I’m going to give it to you,” he whispered.
I lifted my head, surprised by his offer, seeing he’d been the most reluctant to be with me, but after our night on the terrace, he’d changed and treated me differently.
“Please, I can barely stand it.” My response came out on a purr.
