Page 9 of Sincerely, Pack Pucked
Iclosed the door to my dorm room and let out a breath, resting my back against the door. I had scurried across campus at a breakneck speed to get back to the safety of my dorm.
Holy fudge muffins, the things he had done to me… they felt otherworldly. The alpha who smelled like strawberry jam had come out of nowhere, but my God, he had smelledgood.
My omega instincts, though buried deep, had gone absolutely haywire when he appeared. He’d probably made my heat spike ten times worse, but considering he helped me, I couldn’t be mad.
I knew orgasms—heck, orgasms and I were well acquainted, thanks to my small collection of vibrators—but the things he had done to me were something else entirely.
Usually, once my heats started, I wouldn’t have any lucid periods at all, but I felt shockingly clear-minded. Maybe real knots were the way to go during heats. Unfortunately, real knots were attached to real alphas, and I hadn’t exactly had the best experience when dealing with those particular creatures.
Then again, a university campus did tend to attract truly pompous idiots who were utterly full of themselves. During my first semester, I made some tentative efforts to dip my toes intothe dating pool, but quickly decided it wasn’t for me. Alphas were so… loud and bold, and I preferred a more calm-and-collected approach. It was easy to feel overwhelmed.
Maybe after university, I had told myself.
But Strawberry Alpha had me thinking that waiting wasn’t the best idea.
Raking a hand through my hair, I looked around my tiny apartment. My heat had come on so fast that I’d had none of my usual time to prepare. I had no idea how long I had until I was lost in the heat haze again, with no break until the heat was over.
The first thing I needed to do was pull all my extra nesting supplies out of the closet. My nest was usually jam-packed, but during heats, I liked being smothered in blankets and pillows. I would make a cocoon of soft and comfortable items and bury myself in it for the duration.
Padding over to my closet, I reached for the large plastic totes of surplus nesting supplies, taking the items out and tossing them onto my nest. I would make it all nice and comfortable later once I was sure everything else was set up.
I could nest in a haze, but I couldn’t go out and get supplies. I was on the clock.
Next—snacks and bottles of water. I was terrible at eating while in heat, so I usually set up several bottles of water and candy bars next to the nest. Protein bars would probably be a better option, but they tasted like chalk to me.
Opening my cabinets in my small kitchenette, I rummaged through my meager groceries. All I had was some dried pasta and a few cans of beans. I was a mood eater, so I never kept that much in my pantry, often opting to go out and buy ingredients.
I needed to go grocery shopping.
For a moment, I thought about staying home, that would be safer for sure, but I had made myself sick during one of my first heats on campus because I forgot to eat. By the time my heat wasover, I was physically exhausted and struggled to crawl out of my nest.
There was a small grocery store on campus, and they stocked everything I needed, including my favorite candy bars.
Jumping into the shower, I rinsed my body and threw on some clean clothes. I couldn’t go out smelling like heat and cum; that would just be asking for attention that I most certainly did not want. I needed to get in and out of the store without being noticed.
Despite how uncomfortably warm I was starting to feel, I pulled on my favorite hoodie and headed for the little wicker basket near the door.
Descenter. Ugh, I hated the stuff. It reeked of chemicals and made my skin itchy, but I didn’t feel like advertising to everyone I came across that I was going into heat and had already been knotted once.
Once I was sure I had thoroughly sprayed myself, I grabbed a few tote bags and left my little sanctuary, locking the door behind me.
My body ached, but I survived the fifteen-minute walk to the store. It was a pretty outing, the path followed a canal, flanked by a canopy of trees. The Avalon University campus was a truly stunning place, and I’d fallen in love with it the first time I saw it on a trip to check out the local universities.
Usually, I would stop to admire the plant life, but I was in too much of a hurry. Keeping my head down, I rushed into the store, grabbed one of the wire baskets and headed straight to the candy bar aisle.
Grabbing several of my favorite sugary confections, I threw them, along with the most tolerable of protein bars and some energy drinks, into the basket with a triumphant smile before turning and heading to grab a few bottles of water.
It probably only took me a few minutes to gather everything I needed before heading toward the checkout.
As I passed the produce section, a short, blond alpha eyed me, his gaze a little too intent for my liking.
You’re imagining it. You drowned yourself in descenter,I scolded myself. I was being paranoid.
As I loaded my items onto the conveyor belt, I became aware of a presence behind me with a scent so potent, so powerfully alpha, that I almost whined.
Coffee.
I loved coffee. I needed it to function. I probably had an addiction, but no matter how hard I tried to cut down and drink more tea, I would always go back to my beloved coffee.
