Page 80 of Mating With My Grumpy Alphas
"Was that what you needed to know?" I asked, voice rougher than I'd intended.
"That was exactly it," she said, and the certainty in her voice made something settle in my chest.
"Good," I said, pressing my forehead against hers. "Because there's a lot more where that came from."
"I'm counting on it," she said, and the promise in her voice made my alpha instincts purr with satisfaction.
We spent the rest of the morning in the barn, ostensibly organizing her photography equipment even though we’d already done it ten times over, but really just learning how to be close to each other without the weight of uncertainty between us. She showed me how to properly clean camera lenses. I explained the difference between metric and standard socket wrenches.
It was domestic and comfortable and charged with the kind of anticipation that made every casual touch feel significant. When she handed me tools, her fingers would linger on mine. When I needed to reach around her for something, I'd let my body press against hers just long enough to feel her intake of breath.
By lunch time, her scent had deepened even further, and I could see the first real signs of heat approaching in the way she moved. More fluid, more aware of her body in space. The restless energy that meant her omega instincts were starting to take over.
"I should probably find Elias," she said as we headed back toward the house. "I think I need to talk to him about timing."
"Want me to come with you?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. Some conversations needed to happen privately first.
"Not yet," she said, but she squeezed my hand as she said it. "But soon. I want all of you involved when it's time."
"We'll be here," I promised. "Whatever you need, whenever you need it."
She smiled at that, bright and genuine and full of anticipation rather than fear. It was a beautiful thing to see, and I knew I'd do whatever it took to make sure she never had to be afraid of her own biology again.
As I watched her walk into the house to find Elias, the broken coffee mug handle still warm in my pocket, I realized that sometimes the most important moments started with the smallest broken things. And sometimes, if you were careful enough and patient enough, you could build something beautiful from the pieces.
Chapter 29
Elias
The afternoon light filtering through the cabin windows had that golden quality that photographers loved, and I found myself thinking about Willa as I measured herbs for her heat support tea blend in Wes's kitchen. She'd disappeared into the barn with Rhett an hour ago, and when they'd returned, her scent had carried the unmistakable markers of emotional breakthrough and physical intimacy.
Her heat would start tomorrow. Maybe tonight if the stress of preparation and the intimacy of being around receptive alphas accelerated her cycle, which happened more often than most people realized. I'd seen all the signs during our consultation earlier that morning. The restless energy, the way she kept touching her neck and wrists, the increasing intensity of her natural scent signature.
Most importantly, I'd seen the trust in her eyes when she'd asked me to explain what it would be like with pack support. Not the biology she already knew too well, but the emotionalsafety we could provide. How different heat could feel when it was anticipated with joy rather than dreaded. The ways we could support her through vulnerability instead of exploiting it.
"I want to be ready," she'd said, curled in the window seat of what was now our shared living space. "I want to know what to expect so I can make good choices."
That level of self-awareness and preparation wasn't common among omegas who'd experienced heat trauma. Most preferred to avoid thinking about it until the last possible moment. But Willa had been different. Methodical. Determined to reclaim her own experience.
Wes appeared in the kitchen doorway with the careful expression he wore when he was trying not to let his emotions show.
"How'd it go?" he asked without preamble, though we both knew he was referring to both my consultation with Willa and whatever had happened in the barn.
"Good," I said, continuing to measure dried raspberry leaf into my mixing bowl. "She's ready. Physically and emotionally."
"And the timing?"
"Tomorrow morning, most likely. Tonight if her anxiety spikes or if she gets too much alpha attention." I looked up at him meaningfully. "How was Rhett when they came back from the barn?"
Wes's mouth quirked up at the corner. "Smug. And reeking of satisfied alpha pheromones."
"Kissing?"
"That would be my guess."
I nodded, adding that information to my mental calculations. Physical intimacy often accelerated heat onset, especially when it was chosen rather than endured. After last night's revelations and the emotional breakthrough with Rhett this afternoon,Willa's body was responding exactly as it should - with anticipation rather than dread.
"She ask for anything specific?" Wes asked, moving to lean against the counter in that casual way that meant he was more anxious than he wanted to admit.
