Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHERRY

C herry stood inside River's bedroom door and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She breathed several times, trying to calm herself and her wolf.

She'd tried. Tried so damn hard to protect her. She'd done everything she could. Everything and still… here they were. And it wasn't the worst-case scenario that Cherry had imagined; it was so much worse.

She wanted to scream. Wanted to grab River and run away with her. Wanted… what was about to happen, not to happen.

Suck it up. You screwed up. Get over it. Move on.

The voice of Cherry's wolf did nothing to soothe Cherry's fears. But then, her wolf never had. Ever since Cherry gave her heart to Strider at sixteen, her wolf had hated her. And then, when she'd met River's dad, her wolf forced her to mate him. And that's when Cherry began to hate her wolf in return. And ever since, Cherry had been torn in two. Never agreeing with her wolf and only letting her wolf out when forced to. The fated mating almost killed Cherry, and she'd sworn never to let that happen to River.

But when River had gone into heat for the first time at the age of twelve, Cherry knew she was an Omega and had become even more determined to make sure River never went through what she had. It's why she'd started River on the blocker pills and descenting spray to begin with. She'd never expected a Lycan to show up, though. And she'd never once thought that River would be a Lycan's Omega. Let alone two.

She sucked in a deep breath, swiped at her eyes, and set her shoulder back. She needed to put on her toughest exterior now and get those two Lycan prince pups to listen to her because if they didn't… it could cost River her life.

Cherry pulled open River's bedroom doors and stepped into the hall. Both Ares and Apollo stepped up to her, their eyes expectant.

Cherry's gaze shifted to Strider, who gave her a reassuring nod.

Tell them. Tell them you failed.

Shut up!

Her wolf chuffed.

"Well," Ares demanded.

"I need to apologize," said Cherry.

"Damn right," said Ares. "You have no right to-"

"Not for that dipshit. I have to apologize for being so stupid as to think that my daughter could get through this life without me having to tell her every little thing and hold her freaking hand."

Ares and Apollo shared a look.

"What are you talking about?" asked Apollo.

Cherry looked at him. Though she didn't like either twin, Apollo at least seemed to have his crap together better than Ares. However, if Cherry had to choose one of them for River, it would have been Ares because at least she knew Ares was capable of keeping River safe.

"The pills. The ones that River takes."

"The blockers?"

Cherry nodded. "They aren't normal blockers. I had them specially made for River because she's an Omega. Specially designed to… block everything."

"Yeah, she told me. She didn't even meet her wolf until Titan arrived." Ares shook his head. "I don't understand. What does that have to do with River being sick?"

Apollo's eyes widened. "Shit. You don't mean-"

"Yeah." Cherry nodded. "She's going into heat."

Ares opened his mouth and then shut it again and turned away.

"Oh no." Strider stepped toward Cherry, but she shook her head to stop him.

She couldn't take his comfort. Not now that she'd messed up so bad. If he showed her an ounce of affection, she would break down in front of her would-be sons-in-law, and that could not happen. Not if she needed to convince them of what needed to happen next.

"What happens now?" asked Apollo.

"Now you send all of your unmated men out of the estate. I don't care how loyal they are to you. Because she isn't mated, her scent will drive all of them into a frenzy."

"That explains a lot," said Ares.

Apollo nodded. "We will have them out tonight."

Cherry nodded. "In the next hour would be best."

Ares looked at the door behind Cherry. "What about River? What do we do for her?"

"You? Well, you and your brother will be taking those big dicks you keep swinging around and put them to use easing her heat."

Ares spun around, and both brothers blinked.

"I'm sorry," said Apollo. "Did you say both of us?"

"I did."

"Hell no," said Ares. "There is no way-"

"Look," said Cherry. "I attended to our Luna when she went into heat once. Our Alpha was gone on pack business when it happened. I thought she'd die from the way her temperature rose. She clawed at her skin until she drew blood because the pain was so bad, and trust me, we bought her every toy we could find. Nothing worked. Nothing but sex with her mate. And even then, that took a couple days to pass with him servicing her. And she was mated already. I have no idea what will happen to River because she isn't mated yet. All I know is that the two of you are going to have to suck it up and take care of her until this passes."

"No," said Ares. "No way am I going to let him touch her, let alone get in bed with my mate."

"You think I want your manicured nails and two-thousand-dollar suited ass anywhere near my mate?" Apollo retorted. "I'd rather die fighting you for her than know you'd touched one silken strand of her hair."

Ares took a step toward Apollo and growled. Apollo rose to the challenge, and his eyes went black.

"Stop it," Cherry yelled. "Believe me when I say I know how it feels to share the one you love with someone else. It's hard. Harder than anything else you will ever do in your life. But if you care for her, if you love her, you will put that aside and do this. For her. It's the only way."

Cherry looked between the brothers and, for a moment, was afraid she would have to physically stop them from killing one another. Tension crackled in the air, and no one moved. Finally, Ares spoke.

"There is no way in hell I'm getting into bed with him."

Cherry fought back an audible sigh. "Don't be stupid. River would never want that. You'll have to take turns."

"And how do we decide who goes first?" Apollo's eyes turned back to their natural color.

Cherry looked at him. "You'll go first."

"I found her first. She chose me first," said Ares.

"Unclench for a minute and let me finish," Cherry shot back. "Apollo will need to be with her first because he is the oldest and first in line for the throne. It only makes sense."

Ares went to protest, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"Do you ever shut that giant trap of yours?" She continued. "Second, because Apollo will be gentler with her. She's gonna need that in the beginning. But after the first twenty-four hours, she won't want gentle anymore. She's going to… want more. Need more. And I get the feeling you will be the one to help with that, Ares."

Again, silence stretched out for a long, tense minute as her words sunk in.

"Is there anything else we should know?" Ares tore his gaze from Apollo to look at her.

"I'm pretty sure both of you know how this works. I don't have to draw diagrams or anything, do I?"

"No," they both said.

"So are you suggesting that I just sit in my room, smelling River and hearing her have sex with Apollo for twenty-four hours?" Ares asked.

Cherry shrugged. "If you're into that kind of thing, go for it. Personally, I would get a hotel and wait until we call you."

Ares shook his head. "I don't like it. What if it goes wrong?"

"What, you think I don't know how to make love to River?" Apollo snorted. "You may think me an idiot, but I promise you I will give River everything she needs."

"If you could do that, she wouldn't need me to come in and finish her off, would she?"

Apollo growled.

"Knock it off," Cherry yelled. "You two either want to help her, or you don't. This macho I-hate-my-brother bullshit needs to stop. If it doesn't and you two can't figure this out, River will pay. So are you two gonna Lycan up and do what you are meant to do, or are you going to pussy out and make her suffer?"

The two brothers stared at each other without speaking for several seconds.

"Just because you get to have her first doesn't mean she's yours," said Ares. "The only reason I'm even considering this is because it's what she needs."

"And the only reason I'm even considering letting you lay a finger on her is because I love her more than I hate you," Apollo responded.

"Good," said Cherry. "Then it's settled. Now, you two get the other males out of here and close all the doors and windows. We need to contain her scent as much as possible. You never know who could smell it and come knocking, and we don't need rogues rushing this estate with your guards gone. And get some rest. You're both gonna need it." Cherry turned to leave but stopped. "Lastly, don't even think about going in her room because I'll be back in ten minutes with a blanket and pillow camped out on the other side of that bedroom door. And I will not hesitate to stab anyone who tries to come in uninvited. She needs to sleep, too. Got it?"

Without waiting for a reply, Cherry walked toward Strider, who lifted himself off the wall and followed her down the hallway to a back staircase, where she ascended to an upper floor. She walked to the third door and shoved it open before doubling over and letting the tears flow.

The door closed quietly behind her, and then Strider's warm hand pressed into her back. Cherry let out all of the tears she'd held back and then ran to the bed and grabbed a giant pillow. Plunging her face into it, she screamed as hard as she could. She screamed a second time and then a third before stopping and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Weak. Unfit .

How could she have been so stupid? How could she have not anticipated something like this happening? Why didn't she have a contingency plan?

Because River wasn't supposed to be a Lycan king's mate, that's why. Because she was supposed to just take her pills and stay under the radar. How was Cherry to know the pills wouldn't work on Alpha Lycans?

A minute passed, and Strider sat beside her and took the pillow from her face.

He pulled her into his strong arms, and her wolf grumbled.

"It's not your fault," Strider soothed.

"Isn't it?"

"You can't fight nature. She is what she is, just as you are what you are. You staved it off as long as you could, but this was always going to happen at some point. The pills couldn't last forever. Or she would forget to take them. Or run out. She had to go into heat sometime."

"I should have told her the truth. I should have told her what the pills did. Then maybe-"

"It's too late for that, Love. You did what you thought best."

"But I was wrong."

Strider lifted her chin to look into his soft, gray eyes.

"You can't be right all the time." He kissed her.

A flutter raced through Cherry's belly like it always did when Strider kissed her. The way it had since she was sixteen years old, skinny dipping with him at the lake under the moonlight. He still had the same beautiful, soft brown eyes and shaggy hair now tinged with streaks of gray, but she didn't care. He was the only one who understood what she'd been through because he'd been through it, too. The only one who loved her despite her faults. The only one who knew the real her- not the mother, not the enforcer, but the woman she wished she'd become.

He was hers, and she was his. Always had been, always would be.

He went to break the kiss, but she pulled his lips back to hers. She needed him.

Her wolf snarled.

Shut it, bitch. You had your mate. This one is mine.

Cherry broke the kiss and pushed Strider back on the bed. She pulled off his classic rock band t-shirt. The sight of his lean, muscular body never stopped being her favorite sight.

Cherry smiled. Her love. Her wolf. Her mate.

He always knew just what she needed.