20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

BLAKE

T he only reason I hadn't smelled Inika from downstairs was that the ventilation system had been ramped up to its maximum setting. It meant the house was cold, but also that fresh air was being cycled through from outside constantly, not giving her scent a single second to linger.

But once we were upstairs, within a few feet of her… The scent of her perfume was undeniable. Not just her regular perfume, either.

The rut was calling to me like a siren song, begging for me to let go of the trappings of civilised society and to fuck her like a wild beast in her nest, the way she needed.

"Don't be offended if she rejects you—" Gerardo began, but before he could even finish that sentence, Inika was launching herself at me. She was wearing the same top and shorts I'd left her in this morning, though instead of hanging loosely off her frame, they were now glued to her skin with sweat.

I caught her easily, lifting her up, but before she could lean in to bury her face at my throat, a muzzle came down between us.

Fuck, they were quick.

I tightened my grip, a purr of reassurance rumbling out of my chest as Inika writhed, trying to escape the muzzle to no avail. It went fiercely against my own instincts not to help her get away from it, but I was holding on to just enough logic and reason to know that it had to be done.

Above all else, I didn't want either of us to walk out of that nest with regrets.

I glanced at Gerardo, who nodded once. "That's a pretty clear-cut acceptance, alpha."

That was all the encouragement I needed.

I took one step towards the spare room—the backup nest—but Inika immediately snarled in protest, tightening her thighs around me and urging me towards her proper nest. Which I supposed wasn't surprising, since we'd already been in there once before.

Gerardo made a sound of discontent. "This is all very unusual. There will need to be a full briefing about this afterwards—"

"That's not the priority right now," Maia snapped, hovering as far away as possible while still having us in her sight line. "You can contact me to arrange a meeting next week."

I couldn't speak, so I was glad that Inika was aware enough of her surroundings to reach for the door handle when we got to her nest so the biometric scanner could pick up her fingerprint.

I carried her inside the moment the door unlocked, and when it shut behind us, I felt like a thousand-pound weight had slipped off my shoulders.

Finally. It was just us.

It wasn't like all the other times I'd taken Inika to bed, though. She wasn't going to drop to her knees now in sweet submission, look up at me and wait for instructions, that was for fucking sure.

Inika wriggled out of my arms, ripping her clothes off her body like they offended her before turning her wild gaze onto my garments. I stripped off quickly and kicked everything aside, not wanting to risk her wrath.

I'd never seen an unmated omega in heat before. She was beautiful, sexy, and a little terrifying.

She herded me towards the nest, which gratifyingly still smelled like me, pushing me down into the centre and beginning the same process of arranging cushions around me as she'd done yesterday. It wasn't quite the same, though. There was more urgency this time. More frustration.

And a fuckton more slick coating my thigh as she straddled it, shamelessly grinding her clit on me with each movement she made.

I wanted to give her words, to encourage her, but I let my hands say what my mouth couldn't, reverently stroking every inch of her body I could reach.

The last thing I remembered before the rut took over was Inika riding my knot, scoring lines into my chest with her nails with each rock of her hips.

I snuck back into the room, freshly hydrated and with another dry protein bar sitting heavily in my stomach, getting reaccustomed to the muzzle as I slipped back into the sticky nest.

Inika immediately reached for me, throwing her leg over my waist and moving like she was going to climb on top of me, before wincing and pulling back, blinking up at me with bloodshot eyes.

The heat had broken.

I held myself still, not entirely sure how this next part was going to go. How cognisant had Inika been that I was the one in her nest?

She reached up with trembling fingers, delicately tracing the outline of the muzzle against my cheek.

As much as I wanted to give Inika time, the unsure look on her face was killing me. I scooped her up into my arms so she was laid on top of me, cuddling her close.

Was she okay? What was she thinking?

We needed to get these fucking muzzles off.

I was more exhausted than I'd ever been in my life, but the prospect of hearing Inika's voice again gave me a sharp shot of energy. I sat up with her on my lap, tugging one of the plum-coloured sheets free and wrapping around her as best I could. Inika helped with clumsy fingers, her head repeatedly lolling back against my shoulder.

I didn't know what happened now. Maybe she'd kick me out with a polite "thank you for your service." Or maybe she'd want me to stay. Either way, I was going to make sure that she got the rest, hydration, and sustenance she needed.

There was no point in me putting clothes on. I'd been wandering out of here—dick and balls on display—for the last five days, whenever my stomach felt like it was consuming itself and I had to eat something. The Prendre team had seen it all at this point.

"Ms Dara," Gerardo said instantly, not looking particularly surprised to see her, which I supposed meant that we were right on schedule. "We're going to release you both now."

He paused, watching me for a moment, presumably to see if I was going to put her down. Which I was not.

Two alphas approached with the small key chip things they inserted to release the muzzle, pulling both of ours off at the same time. The straps had left faint red lines over Inika's cheeks and jaw, and I traced them with my thumb, wanting to soothe them away.

Wasn't I meant to be taking it slow? Feeling out the situation and what Inika even wanted?

She was so pretty though. And her skin was so soft.

"Ms Dara?" Gerardo asked. "May I?"

She wordlessly stuck out her arm, still staring up at me, and it took me a moment to realise that he was pumping a syringe into her upper arm. Right, the postcoital contraception shot.

We were each handed water bottles, and I watched to make sure Inika drank at least half of hers before taking a sip of my own.

"Right, is everyone okay?" Gerardo asked in his military-style voice. "We've got a cooler of supplies here if you're going to head back into the nest to recover."

"I'm doing well," Inika said.

Her voice . There it was. I'd missed it so much. It didn't sound as full and vibrant as it usually did, but she had been moaning and whining through a muzzle for five days with very little sleep.

"Blake? Are you okay?"

"Of course."

"Let's nap in my nest," she said decisively, giving me an exhausted smile. I tucked the sheet a little tighter around her, carefully accepting the cooler that Gerardo handed me. If any of these alphas saw so much as a hint of her naked flesh, I might have to gouge out their eyeballs. "Thank you for everything. You guys can head out now, if you'd like," Inika added, as I carried her away, not giving them a chance to respond.

"It's okay if you want me to leave, princess. I won't be offended."

Inika glanced at me sharply. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

"Noted."

I did my best to suppress a smile. Sweet, relaxed, submissive Inika had completely left the building during her heat. There'd been no hesitation in demanding what she wanted, nor in letting me know with a dainty omega growl when I was taking too long to deliver.

Apparently, she was still feeling a little fired up. It was sexy as fuck. If my dick was capable of functioning, it'd be standing at attention.

Inika buzzed us into the room, and we both froze as the door sealed shut behind us, a shiver seeming to pass from her body to mine at the thick scent of us that permeated the room. It was… indescribable. My cock stirred valiantly, before retreating again. I needed a nap and something other than a protein bar in my stomach before I could even consider that.

I set Inika down on her feet and carried the cooler over to the small side table and chairs by the covered window. It was better than protein bars, but not by much. Grilled chicken. Grilled vegetables. Omelette. Avocado slices.

"Are you not allowed fun food post-heat?" I groused, opening the containers and setting them out on the tables.

Inika laughed, accepting the electrolyte drink I handed her. "Prendre always provides recovery foods. But I usually ask Graeme to send up something I actually want after I've slept for a bit."

"Oh yeah. With the alpha?" I asked, as casually as I could manage.

Inika raised an eyebrow at me. "No. Not with the alpha. This part I usually do on my own."

I hummed like that wasn't a massive relief, patting my thigh to encourage her to come and sit down. She dropped into my lap with a dramatic sigh, though, she somehow managed to make it look graceful.

"Drink some more," I ordered, nudging the bottle in her hand before making her a plate of tasteless nutrition.

"Been reading up on omega management?" Inika teased.

I snorted. "Actually, Leo—my twin—gave me a crash course on the drive over to your house. It didn't even occur to me to ask him, but I guess when it came to Ella, Freya's mum, he'd tried really hard to be a good mate."

Inika gave my hand a gentle squeeze, not offering me any useless platitudes which I appreciated. My complicated relationship with my brother was something I'd have to come to terms with on my own, but for the first time it seemed possible that we'd find common ground. Or maybe it was just the happy post-heat hormones making me see the world through rose-tinted glasses. Who knows if Leo had actually kept his word while I was away?

I was going to have to confront that, but I had some questions I needed to ask here first.

"What happens now?" I asked, nudging the bottle again.

Her lips twitched as she lifted it up, taking a sip. "What do you want to happen?"

Surely, it couldn't be that simple?

"I want to keep you."

Inika's expression didn't give much away, but her scent did. She liked that idea. I might have expired on the spot if she hadn't.

"You don't want a mate," she pointed out, her voice a little less certain this time.

I banded my arms tightly around her waist, keeping her close. "I didn't want a mate until I met you. I didn't see how I could make room for someone in my life until I saw you in it. To be honest, my family gave me a bit of a kick up the arse on that front. Maybe I was making sacrifices that no one had asked me to make."

"I'd never want to take you away from Freya, or the rest of your family," Inika said solemnly. "I adore Freya."

"She adores you too." I hesitated, rubbing my thumb restlessly over her thigh. "There's still… I don't know. Everything else, princess. We come from different worlds."

"So we do."

"I'm never going to fit in your world, Inika."

She leaned in to kiss my cheek. "I don't even fit in my world. And I won't fit entirely into yours either. But—perhaps I'm being naive—I kind of feel like if we have each other, we could tackle anything."

Inika adjusted her position so she could tuck her face into the crook of my neck. "I'm not saying it'll all be smooth sailing, but I am saying that it will be worth it."

"I think so too," I murmured, scarcely daring to breathe, afraid that this moment would slip between my fingers. "I love you. I think I have for awhile now."

"Oh, I know I've loved you for awhile, Blake Alwis." Inika nuzzled into my skin, sticky and sweaty and perfect. "We're going to be good together, right?"

"We're going to be amazing, princess."