Chapter Four

Finally, after several days in the hospital, bound to the bed except for the few excursions to the bathroom, I was discharged. I was already dressed and sitting in the wheelchair a nurse had brought into the room, demanding I use it until I left hospital property, while the nurse went over the last few notes with my mates.

It was a boring list of what I shouldn’t do, which was basically anything besides staying in bed. No stairs, no being left alone, no greasy foods, no intense exercise. The more she continued to list off my restrictions, the stronger my scent bloomed with my annoyance.

Jackson was behind me, ready to push my chair and stoutly paying attention to every word that left the nurse’s mouth. One of his hands came down onto my shoulder, squeezing in a comforting way. It helped, offering me a distraction to focus on when he started to massage.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been touched so casually. And the arousal that came from feeling the heat of his palm against me was stronger than it probably should have been. Just his touch had my stomach fluttering in anticipation. Then his thumb pressed into my back, pleasure spreading lower to my core, making me moan. My eyes shut and my head fell forward in case he wanted more access.

He chuckled, the deep sound only lasting for a moment.

“Well, I—um—I guess that’s everything,” the nurse stuttered along. “Have a nice rest of your day. I hope you feel better soon, Hannah.”

I waved a hand in some form of goodbye as Jackson lifted his hand off my shoulder to grab the chair’s handles. Turning to look up at him, I pouted at the lack of his touch.

“When we get home,” he promised.

I was pushed toward the elevator, Jackson refusing to enter any of the passing options until the box was completely empty. In the reflection of the metal doors, I stared at my mate. He was obviously handsome with his dark, flawless skin and strong facial composition. It helped that he was bulky in a way that made me think watching him work out would be an arousing experience.

More than just his appearance, he never took his hands off the handles, despite being forced to slightly hunch to reach them. Jackson was a protector. I knew that much just from the last few days of watching him.

We rode down in silence, and when the doors opened, he pushed me through with little effort. Just like they’d planned, a car was out front, the back door open and waiting for us. Sebastian was driving, already back from dropping Han and Zeke off at the house.

“Let me help you in.” Without waiting for a response, Jackson lifted me from the chair like I weighed nothing. His easy strength, and the feeling of being against him, even for just a few moments, was enough to have my body become excited.

My imagination was taking off with ideas of exactly how he could put that strength to good use. Holding me against him as he thrusted into me. His hands around my thighs would help bounce me on his dick. I would’ve bet my life that he was proportional everywhere.

When I was in the car, he tried pulling away, taking his intoxicating scent with him until I reached out, my fingers tightening around his shirt. No way was he leaving me. I needed him to be nearby so I could convince him to fuck me.

“Do you smell that?” His voice was distant, which was weird because I could literally feel him next to me.

“Shit. It’s probably just a spike. We need to get her home.”

“Hear that, omega? We need to get you home—to your nest.”

Nest. Oh, yes, I needed that. Because where I was at was no good. Too much was missing—the proper scents, the right space, and it was too bright, too open. Every blink took effort as I looked at my surroundings trying to figure out what exactly I was seeing. It was all a blur, and I couldn’t figure out why.

A part of me wanted to panic, but I could scent my mates nearby, two of them. I whimpered for them to get closer, relaxing only slightly when I felt the warmth of one against my knee.

When the world finally seemed to come into focus, I realized we were outside. The sun was bright and shining down on us despite the coldness of the air. All of a sudden, Jackson seemed to appear, lifting me up so my side was pressed to his front, one arm around my back, and the other under my knees.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him, nuzzling his throat. Pressed this close to him, the bite of chill in the air disappeared. My feet started kicking as I continued to suck in his crisp, apple scent.

As soon as we were inside, I was basically thrown into a state of euphoria. This—this place smelled of my mates. Each inhale was a mix of the four, somehow distinct, yet managing to blend in a way that settled something deep inside me. Like one scent with several notes all tightly pressed together.

I heard talking, my focus not strong enough to determine their words. Not that I cared. I was as happy as I could be, content to be near my mates. Then the lights seemed to dim—even better. I hadn’t realized my eyes were closed until the brightness behind my eyelids disappeared.

One deep breath. That was all it took for my eyes to open and for me to launch myself from Jackson’s grip, determined to get into my nest.

Home.

Safe.

This was my perfect place.

My mate didn’t immediately release me as I attempted to scramble out of his arms. Once I felt the mattress underneath me, he finally let me go.

The nest was its own room. Draping from the ceiling were large pieces of fabric helping to make the room feel more closed. Every inch of the floor had a slight give of the mattress. Several rows of pillows were on the floor, pressed against the three walls and making the center of the nest feel closed in. Nicely folded near the base of the pillows were a bunch of blankets, all of them sarapes or at least similar in texture.

Laying down, feeling the give of the mattress under my head, was such a relief to finally be able to lie on my back. Under me, I felt the bizarre squares of the mattress gently cradling my body. No matter which way I turned, or squirmed, I was supported and comfortable and I was never going to leave.

A knock caught my attention. I had just enough strength to lift my head.

Zeke. His scent drifted toward me from the other door before my eyes fully focused on him. He had taken off most of his clothes, leaving him in just some tight-fitting boxers. The darkness of his brown skin seemed to lighten around his stomach and thighs, though he was still darker than any tanned white.

“Can I come into your nest, Hannah?”

I gasped, sitting up so quickly my head seemed to spin. That sounded like a wonderful idea. “Yes.”

He chuckled, getting down onto his hands and knees to crawl into the nest with me. Watching his shoulders work, seeing his thighs flex, it was like he was seducing me just by walking—crawling—existing.

“Like what you see?” he asked.

I groaned, nodding my head, not even denying it.

He came to lay beside me, on his side with his head propped up on his hand. I didn’t even think before I reached out to touch him, running my fingers over his heated chest. Under his baggy clothes, my mate was toned. The divide between his pecs with a slight smattering of hair, his stomach with the light markings of his abdominal muscles, and of course, the deep V of his hips disappearing under his boxers. He oozed sexual appeal.

One moment, I was just tracing him with my touch, the next I was pushing him back, crawling over him until my legs were on either side of his body. My center was directly over his boxers, so I could feel the thickness of him.

“Hannah—”

My name on his lips was like a beckoning call. I leaned forward, pressing our chests together until I reached his mouth, needing to taste him.

He groaned against my lips as I kissed him. I felt his hands come to my hips, pressing me harder against him as he sat up, never pulling his mouth from mine. Our heads almost touched the hanging fabrics, but I didn’t care. My attention was on exploring his mouth, my hands on the back of his neck to keep him where I wanted.

At some point I had to pull away to breathe. Each inhale was full of our mixed scents—lavender and berry and arousal.

He leaned back in first, his fingers tightening around my waist as his tongue traced my lips, then went inside to play with my own. I felt him hardening even further against me, like a tease of what I could enjoy if he wasn’t wearing underwear.

Then his lips moved, kissing down my jaw toward my neck, sucking on the skin like he wanted to mark me with a hickey. I never would’ve thought my neck was so erotic, yet I leaned my head more to the side, giving him more access.

When his lips moved lower, one of his hands moved to pull down my collar, giving him more access to my skin. I felt his tongue trace the bone there, moving toward the little dent at the base of my throat. He groaned, the sound vibrating from his lips, against my own skin, and exciting something deep in my core.

I started moving my hips, first forward and back, sliding down his hidden length, feeling how good it was to have pressure where I was starting to feel empty.

Then one of his hands moved between our bodies, stopping my movement when I had just started to feel the sparks of pleasure.

“Be good, omega,” Zeke growled. “I’m going to give you pleasure.”

I stuck my bottom lip out in a pout. What was that supposed to mean? I was always good. Like a fucking fairy and sweeter than chocolate that was melting on your fingers before you even lifted it to your tongue.

Any retort I had died on my lips when I felt Zeke’s hand touch me. Not around my waist, or near my hip. Under my clothes. Over my center. Swiping through the dripping slick that I naturally produced buckets of every time I got aroused.

He didn’t hesitate, shoving two fingers inside my core. Even with all the lubrication from my slick, his two fingers were still a stretch—the best kind in the world.

With the way his hand was positioned, the tightness from my clothes, each thrust with his fingers had the heel of his palm pressing against my clit.

I was trying to get words out, any words, praising him, begging for more, but I couldn’t think past the pleasure. My thighs slammed down in opposition with his hand, increasing my desire even as my muscles began to ache. Only, the burn somehow made it better.

Zeke’s free arm wrapped more tightly around my back, drawing me even closer to him. All the pleasure had me leaning my head against his shoulder, needing a break to breathe even though my movements never stopped.

I was planting kisses anywhere I could reach. His shoulder, his neck, his collarbone.

Throughout every part of my body, my pulse was pounding. Sweat was trickling down the sides of my head. We were both panting, breathing in each other’s air. Even my stomach was tightening with my nearing orgasm.

The climax started in my core, reaching up and squeezing every muscle in my lower abdomen before tightening its hold around my lungs, forcing my scream to be quiet as the bliss wrecked every part of me. My head fell back, exposing my throat to my alpha in an ultimate sign of trust.

Until I realized that I couldn’t seem to inhale. Immediately, my head sprang upward, banging my chin against my mate’s head who’d been leaning down to kiss my neck.

“Shit. Fuck. Hannah, you okay, babe?”

Zeke lifted his head, and I watched his eyes basically bulge as he stared at me. I knew my mouth was open, attempting to suck in any air I could manage, but my lungs weren’t listening to me. My head was starting to become heavy on my neck, even as my thoughts were becoming harder to hold onto.

Then, Zeke started yelling. First the names of the other alphas then for them to call help as he moved me so I was lying on the mattress, on my side. I tried reaching for him, but he was too busy slamming a hand against my back, the other holding my shoulder steady.

Han was the first to arrive, just moments before Sebastian and Jackson.

Another set of hands started on my chest, rubbing circles, while someone else started pressing against my stomach. Blackness began creeping in at the edges of my vision before my neck was twisted at an awkward angle, and I was staring at Jackson.

“Breathe. Now.” His alpha command rushed through me, and I finally managed to gasp in air, choking on the cold and dry feeling of it along my throat.

I heard Seb announce that he was getting me some water and then I was unceremoniously rolled onto my back as I sucked in lungsful of air.

“What the hell?” Han asked.

Zeke ran a hand over his head, his short hair not giving him anything to yank or pull on. He looked panicked—his eyes large, easily showing the whites, and his cheeks flushed with a slight red that was reaching down his throat. Even his chest was raising and falling a few inches with every heavy breath.

Trying to push my way to a sitting position was harder than it should be with Jackson attempting to forcefully push me back down. I swatted his hands away, glaring at the male before he finally let me up.

“She just stopped breathing,” Zeke said. Then he turned his attention to me, glaring at me. “What the fuck, Hannah?”

I threw myself toward him, wrapping my arms around his neck and inhaling his scent right at his neck where it seemed to be the strongest. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled against his skin. His arms tightened around me so tightly that I could barely take a full breath, but I wasn’t going to admit that.

“I’m sorry.” Over and over again I apologized.

“You scared the shit out of me.”

I felt the tears as they dropped off my nose and onto Zeke’s chest. He was just barely rocking his body back and forth, taking me with him as he tried to soothe me. It was hard to feel comforted though when I could still scent the fear radiating from his skin.

“Here, princess, have something to drink.” Sebastian ran a hand over my head, at least partially since I still had stitches on the back. The glass he offered had a lid with a straw, something I was grateful for since we were still in my nest and the fact that my hand shook when I reached out for it.

The ice-cold water was delicious, and I gulped probably half of it down before I came up for air.

“Now,” Sebastian said, “what happened?”

Still on Zeke’s lap, I leaned back and admitted, “He was fingering me, and when I came, I forgot how to breathe.”

For a long minute, no one spoke. And then the alphas burst out laughing. Zeke didn’t, but he did seem to lose some of his tension, his shoulders relaxing as a small smile tugged at his lips. When he rested his head on my shoulder, I ran my hands up and down his back, comforting him while also enjoying the freedom to touch him.

“You’re okay?” Zeke whispered, barely loud enough to hear over the others’ laughter.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t do that again.”

That comment managed to get a chuckle out of me. Zeke lifted his head, moving in slowly to give me a soft kiss.

I sighed when he pulled away, completely content. “I think I had a small heat spike.”

I hadn’t noticed how fuzzy my thoughts had become until then. No longer completely blinded by any thoughts except being in my nest, it was obvious what had happened.

Sebastian nodded. “I’ll call the hospital and ask about precautions.”

There was nothing that could be done to stop my heat from coming. Suppressants only worked on heat symptoms—the biggest being pregnancy. If there had been something that stopped or even postponed my heats, I would’ve taken it.

“Do that,” Jackson said, “then we’ll have a proper pack meeting.”

“Pack meeting?” I asked.

“We know you, rebel. But you don’t know us. Until your memory comes back, we need to make sure you’re feeling safe here. Like we did when we first started courting you.”

It felt awkward, like this place was and wasn’t my home simultaneously. But I knew their effort was with the best intentions. So I tried to shove down my irritation, making sure my scent didn’t bloom with it, and agreed.