Page 94 of Follow Your Instincts

“Look at me, love,” Lachlan said, gently turning my face to his. “One day, I am going to bite you and claim you as mine. But I don’t want that to be during your first heat, when you’re still getting to know us. I want you to make sure we’re what you want.”

“And to be sure that I’m whatyouwant,” I said miserably.

Lachlan cursed softly and dug his fingers into my hair, cradling my skull. I felt entirely at his mercy. “Maggie, I have no doubts that you are the right Omega for this pack. If I could bite you right now without feeling like an absolute bastard, I would. And I think I speak for the whole pack when I say that.”

“Damn right,” Ben said.

“Absolutely,” Lucas agreed.

Soren was nodding, too.

“So no, we don’t have a single doubt about you. But we want to giveyoua choice. Do you understand?” he said, brushing a thumb across my cheekbone. I could see his sincerity in his intense gaze. I nodded.

“Good,” he said, then crushed his mouth to mine. I gasped and opened my lips for him to sweep his tongue in to claim me. After a moment, we broke apart. “And if you have any more doubts about how I feel, I fully intend to get rid of them duringyour heat.”

“Okay,” I squeaked, then groaned as another cramp hit.

We all settled back into the couch, and I lay my head in Lucas’s lap and my feet in Soren’s, who’d reclaimed his spot. Ben rested his head back on the couch, and I started to play with the silky strands of his hair until he started purring again.

“Like a kitten,” I teased.

“There’s a joke here somewhere about licking up allyourcream, but I’m too comfortable to strain myself finding it,” he retorted.

I looked up at Lucas. He smiled down at me, the lamplight throwing his cheekbones into sharp relief. He was so beautiful. I didn’t know how to ask if he’d be okay with my heat, how he would feel, without revealing too much without his permission.

As if he could read my mind, Lucas cleared his throat. “I should probably get this out in the open,” he said, more awkward than usual.

“Oh god, do you have an even weirder fetish than Soren?” Ben joked.

Lucas gave a strangled chuckle. “Um, well, I have the opposite of a fetish? I guess?” He took a breath. “I’m ace.”

No one said anything for a moment. “What the hell are you talking about?” Ben asked.

“Asexual,” I said softly and squeezed Lucas’s hand.

“Oh,” Ben said softly. “Well, that explains why you never really date.”

Lucas nodded. “Sorry I didn’t say anything before.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Lachlan said. “It seems like you and Maggie are already on the same page.”

“Yeah, we talked about it. But I’m going to be feeling things out during the heat. Whatever Maggie needs, I’m here for it. That’s my main focus, always,” he said, and his voice was back to its normal quiet confidence. Tears burned in my eyes again at the look he gave me. It was like devotion.

“Can everyone please stop making Maggie cry?” Ben asked in mock outrage.

It was getting late and my cramps hadn’t subsided. I was exhausted and wrung out from the pain. Ben put on a movie, and I started to drift off, surrounded by Lucas’s soothing purr and the intermingled scent of my pack. I could hear them talking quietly as I fell asleep, but somehow a bit of my terror had worn off. My heat had seemed like the obstacle standing in the way of the rest of my life, but I trusted them to get me safely to the other side.

Chapter 36

Soren

Iwoke up to Maggie crawling into my lap. We were still on the couch downstairs, and the clock said it was just after one in the morning. We’d fallen asleep with a shitty sitcom on low volume in the background.

“Maggie? You alright?”

“I’m hot,” she said. She straddled me and wrapped her arms loosely around my neck. I could feel the heat coming off her, especially where she pressed her hips against mine. She nuzzled at my collarbone.

I gripped her waist. Her heat had finally arrived. Pride thundered through me that she’d come to me first, and I planned to take full advantage of that fact.

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