Page 31 of Raging Heat

12

Vera

It’sthe fourth or fifth day of my heat, I’m not entirely sure, everything is a blur.But it seems to be finally subsiding as my body doesn’t feel like it’s on fire anymore and my mind is much clearer.

I slowly climb from between Jorge and Caleb, looking around for Mathew, but not finding him in the nest.That’s strange.

His scent is only weak.How long has he been gone?

I slip between the curtains that separate the nest from the rest of the room and go into the bedroom.Then I hear it, the running shower.

With a sneaky smile, I cross over to the bathroom and open the door.

I’m immediately greeted with hot steam from the shower and a sight to behold.Mathew is leaning against the wall in the shower, letting the hot water spill down his back, creating tempting streams of water that I want to follow with my fingers.

Without thinking, I reach out, and the moment I touch him, he spins around and grabs my wrist, pulling it up as he pushes me against the wall, his eyes wild, unseeing.

I let out a startled sound as I hit my head against the wall from the force, and that seems to snap him out of it.

“Fuck.Vera.I’m so sorry.”He wraps me in his arms, pulling me close, cradling the back of my head in his hand.“I’m so sorry.I didn’t realise you were here.”

What’s going on?What’s going on in his head to get him this wound up?

“Are you okay?”I’ve not seen him this on edge since the day we first met.

He slowly nods, but keeps me against him, so I can’t see his face.“I’ll be fine.”His heart is racing, his breaths short and choppy.

It’s then that I notice something, or, more precisely, Idon’tnotice something.“Your pheromones are gone.”

“Yeah.I think they just… They probably only come out when they’re really high.I think?”He pulls me tighter against him, his voice breaking slightly.“I don’t know.I thought that maybe they’d be back to normal after I’d gone into heat.But now… They’re still messed up.”

I break from his grip, looking up at him, noticing the pain in his gaze.“Does it really matter that much?”Is that’s what’s got him this upset?His pheromones?

He pulls at one of his lip rings with his teeth, closing his eyes.“I like smelling your pheromones, I want to… I want to share mine too.”

“But Icansmell them.Not all the time, but that makes it extra special when I do.”I reach up, carefully touching his face, pulling him down for a soft kiss.“Plus, wouldn’t it be very impractical for your job if you suddenly start spreading Omega pheromones around when everyone out there thinks you’re an Alpha?”

He snorts, grinning, the haunted look in his eyes fading.“I’d love to see their faces when they realise they’ve been getting their asses handed to them by an Omega.When they realise they’ve been getting outsmarted by an Omega for the last decade.”

Then he kisses me, back to his normal self.“And my pheromones won’t matter anyway.If I’m pregnant, it’ll become clear that I’m an Omega really soon anyway.It’s kind of hard to hide a belly in a fitted suit.”

“That too.”I look at him.“Are you okay, though?”

He nods, more at ease now.“Yeah, I’m okay.There were just a lot of changes at once and I’ve had to take off work for a couple of days and I have no idea how Derrick or Timothy explained why I couldn’t show up for meetings.It’s a mess and I don’t even know where to start.”

“Simple.”I shrug.

This is something I’ve got experience with from the Omega side of things and that plenty of Alphas and Betas have to deal with every day.

I take his hands, putting them against my cheeks as I smile up at him.“Your adorable Omega unexpectedly went into heat.You’ve not been together for very long and it’s the first time it happened, so you didn’t get a chance to plan for it.Pretty sure that’s easy to accept for them and the truth.”

He nods slowly.“I guess.”

“And they’ll probably want to celebrate with you instead of complaining that their meeting had to move.At least, that’s how people seem to react when Alphas or Betas have to take time off because of their Omega.”

He lets out a soft laugh as he leans his forehead against mine.“You’re probably right.And how are you so clear already?My head is still fuzzy and I feel wrung out, mentally.”

“Because this wasn’t my first heat in a decade.I have more experience with it.Honestly, that’s about it.You get used to the feeling when you do it more often.”I grab the shampoo.“Though, the icky-sticky feeling at the end doesn’t get much better.You just learn to ignore it better until you can take a shower.”

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