Winter's End

by Rebecca James

  “But only if they administer it to you here. Grey had to argue with Dr. Newman to get her to agree. He absolutely refuses to take you to Cascade City, but he wants you to get better. She finally relented.”

  “When?”

  “They’ll be here tomorrow.”

  Gabriel squeezed his mate with both legs and arms. “Ian, this is wonderful! I can be with you and Grey again during my heats, and we can have more children!”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself, now. Let’s take this a day at a time. I probably shouldn’t have told you, but I wanted to see you happy.”

  “I’m always happy,” Gabriel said.

  Ian slowly shook his head. “No. Don’t think Grey and I haven’t noticed how dejected you are when it comes time for your heats, and then even worse afterward. It’s not like we like it when you have to go through them without us.” His eyes darkened. “It hurts us, Gabriel. But losing you would kill us.”

  “I know that. Knowing you guys hurt makes it even worse.” Gabriel squeezed around Ian’s knot and cock, eliciting a hum of pleasure from the beta, who had rested his face in the crook of Gabriel’s neck.

  Gabriel’s body thrummed with excitement. He was going to get the antidote. He would get better! He had to.

  A burst of slick oozed from his body, leaking from around Ian’s knot onto the ground. Ian drew in a breath and began to shallowly thrust until his knot broke, and Gabriel felt the hot rush of seed inside him. Overcome, he humped his cock against Ian’s stomach until pleasure skated up his back and burst with a rush of scarlet across his vision. Breathing hard, he clutched at his mate, knowing there was something more going on than just an excellent climax.

  “Ian…”

  “Gods, I know, I know,” Ian said, sounding strangled. He pulled away.

  Instead of getting to his feet, Gabriel rolled over onto his knees and presented. “Don’t leave me like this, Ian, it’s been too long!”

  Ian groaned, but said tightly, “I have to get you to the omega den, sweetheart.” He leaned down and pulled at Gabriel’s arm.

  “Ian, I need you. Please. Fuck me again. Just once more, and then we’ll go. Please.”

  Ian managed to get Gabriel to his feet and helped him along the path leading into the forest separating the creek from the compound. Gabriel’s hard cock jutted from his body, dribbling cum, and his legs became wet with slick.

  “Shit, Gabe, if an alpha scents you, it’s going to be bad,” Ian said, walking faster.

  Gabriel knew he wouldn’t be able to resist anyone in this condition. He’d fall to his knees and beg until someone filled his hole, mates or no mates. The thought horrified him, and he was suddenly thankful for Ian’s sensible nature and ability to withstand his allure.

  They walked quickly through the woods, the omega den seeming very far away to Gabriel.

  “Ian.” Gabriel panted from the swell of heat overcoming him. Why was it happening? It wasn’t time. He’d had no warning. “I-I can’t just go out in the open like this. You’ve got to wait until this wave subsides.” He grabbed hold of a tree trunk and held on, leaning his cheek against the rough bark.

  Ian pressed against Gabriel’s back, kissing along the exposed side his face. “Okay, It’s all right. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’m so sorry, Gabriel.” As though it were his fault. “I didn’t know it was time for your heat.”

  Gabriel shook his head. “They’ve been messed up since we stopped going on the moon runs. They aren’t as regular for any of us. I swear I didn’t know it was coming, Ian.” Even as he said the words, he pushed back against his mate, need consuming him. “I want you so bad.”

  Gabriel gasped when Ian’s cock slid past his trembling sphincter and all the way inside him. He hadn’t expected Ian to give in, but as the beta began fucking him hard and fast, making Gabriel have to hold onto the trunk so as not to fall, he forgot everything except the feeling of being taken. His feet came off the ground with every plunge of the beta’s cock, and, oh gods. Something was happening. Gabriel could feel the movement under his skin. He was shifting. And when Ian snarled behind him, he realized his mate was shifting too.

  Suddenly, Gabriel was on all fours on the ground, howling as Ian continued to hump him in wolf form, the sensation much more primal this way. He’d fucked with his mates in wolf form before—usually on moon runs—but it had been a long time. Gabriel whimpered, submitting to Ian’s bite and the knot forcing inside him again. Ian shook him, snarling and growling in a way that made Gabriel shoot his load onto the forest floor.

  Ian’s knot broke quickly, and the wolves were free to move.

  They only made it a few more feet before another wave of heat hit Gabriel, this one even stronger, and Ian mounted him again.

  By the time they made it to the clearing, they’d fucked a total of five times.

  Christopher’s eyes widened when he opened the door of the omega den to the scratching of the two wolves. They trotted inside only for Gabriel to whimper, hunch over, and Ian to mount him there in the living room.

  “What’s happening?” Christopher asked, over the sounds of the two wolves frantically copulating, but it was long moments before they could shift and answer.

  “Shit,” Ian swore, lying naked on his back in the floor. Gabriel, sprawled beside him, could only nod.

  “That was so weird. I don’t know what made us shift like that. Chris, can you make a room for Gabe? He’s in heat.”

  “So I gathered,” Christopher said, and headed upstairs.

  Ian’s hand settled on Gabriel’s sweaty back.

  “We are so lucky we made it here without running into an unmated alpha,” he said. “Fuck, I don’t know what happened. I was totally fine until you leaned against that tree, and then the scent of your allure was everywhere, stronger than I’ve ever known it to be. I couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry.”

  “Stop apologizing,” Gabriel said irritably.

  Ian let out a breath. “Okay. Let’s shower. We’re both covered in dirt and leaves.”

  Naked in the shower stall, a warm spray of water hitting them, Ian ran a soapy cloth over Gabriel’s body.

  “Grey’s going to be so angry,” Gabriel said miserably. His heat had gone—completely gone—and the full magnitude of what had happened was hitting him hard.

  “He’ll understand,” Ian said.

  “We lied to him before.” He didn’t have to say what about, Ian knew Gabriel was talking about when they’d fucked during Gabriel’s heat behind Grey’s back. Grey was supposed to have been the one to get their new omega mate with pup the first time—that way the pup first in line at succeeded him as pack leader would be of his blood. But Ian had worried that Grey could be sterile. Looking back, Gabriel still thought the concerns were valid: Grey and Ian had been mated for years and had never conceived a pup, and Grey had fucked Gabriel for months without the omega conceiving. Ian had worried that Grey’s deeply seeded doubts about his worthiness as pack leader would take over if he was unable to get Gabriel pregnant. So they had conspired to see if Ian could. They weren’t positive it would work, as, for all they knew, Ian could be the infertile one and sterile as well.

  And they still didn’t know if Finny was Grey’s or Ian’s, but Grey had found out what they’d done and…that had been a bad time.

  Gabriel felt awful. “He’s going to see this as another betrayal, isn’t he? And it’s all my fault.”

  “Hey, now, you aren’t alone in this,” Ian said sharply.

  Gabriel couldn’t keep the tears at bay and wiped furiously at them with his fingertips.

  Ian turned off the shower and tugged Gabriel so the omega had to look at him. “Stop blaming yourself. Do you hear me? Nothing that happened today was your fault. And the other thing—that was all me. I’m the one who convinced you we should do what we did.”

  Gabriel blinked back his tears as Ian wrapped him in a large, fluffy towel and led him to the couch in front of the fire. After that, the beta brought Gabrie
l a cup of tea.

  “I’m going to go get Grey,” Ian said after pulling on pants and a shirt from the drawer of extra clothes kept in one of the spare rooms. “He’s going to be wondering where we are. I’ll have someone go tell Barry we won’t be coming for the kids until later and to give them lunch if he hasn’t already.”

  Gabriel watched Ian leave before turning to stare miserably into the fire. What would Grey say? He and Ian had fucked during his heat when Gabriel was supposed to be spending them alone in the omega den. They hadn’t done it on purpose, although Gabriel had certainly begged for it after it had started. But they’d done it, and now what would happen? If Ian was sterile, nothing. But they weren’t sure he was sterile. If Gabriel got pregnant, his life would be at risk yet again. He’d fall prey to the debilitating weakness, nausea, and disorientation that had plagued him during his last two pregnancies, and he could get high blood pressure again. He’d put his mates through months of worry. Again.

  Something else occurred to Gabriel. If he had gotten pregnant, he wouldn’t be able to take the antidote. Fuck.

  A long time passed. Other than asking him if he needed anything and bringing him some clothes, Christopher left Gabriel to his thoughts. What was taking his mates so long? Their house wasn’t far from the omega den. He felt sure Ian was breaking the news to Grey, sparing Gabriel from having to witness the alpha’s disappointment and anger.

  Gabriel drank his tea, watching the fire and waiting, listening hard for footfalls outside.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Ian

  Gabriel wasn’t the only one who felt he kept failing his mates. Ian should have been able to withstand Gabriel’s allure when the omega had unexpectedly gone into heat during their outing. He had been doing fine until suddenly he’d felt as though if he didn’t sink his cock into the omega right that minute, he would die on the spot. He’d never lost control like that. With a sinking feeling, he realized the humans could have affected more than just the omegas and Christopher. Had Ian been poisoned? Was that why he couldn’t conceive or sire a child? Was he now losing his ability to control himself around omegas? The thought was terrifying. And what else could the nefarious substance from the darts be responsible for? A beta had recently miscarried, something so rare in werewolves, no one knew if he would be able to conceive again.

  As Ian approached their house in the trees, his cock plumped as he remembered the sex with Gabriel in the woods. It had been primal, their hunger for one another voracious. But it might not even matter. If Ian couldn’t sire children, there’d been no harm done. Knowing how displeased Grey would be, it was tempting not to tell him.

  But Ian knew he couldn’t lie to his mate again. He’d caused a big enough rift between them the last time, hurting Gabriel in the process, and was lucky that he and Grey had been able to put it behind them. Grey had seen Ian’s fears about the pack alpha’s fecundity as a betrayal, something which hadn’t even occurred to the beta. But it should have. Grey was a proud leader, and having his mate, someone he had trusted for a long time, doubt he could produce children had been a massive blow to the pack alpha’s ego.

  “Grey!” Ian called when he entered their house, having left Gabriel warming by the fire in the omega den. There was no reason to cause the omega more stress by having him witness Grey’s reaction. Ian wasn’t sure how his alpha mate was going to take the news, but it could be explosive.

  The pack alpha appeared from the hallway wearing blue jeans, a flannel shirt, and boots, his long, black hair tied back with a leather thong.

  “There you are,” he said to Ian. “Where are Gabe and the pups?”

  “The pups are still at the nursery, and Gabriel’s at the omega den.”

  Grey frowned. “I thought we were going to have lunch together.”

  “Something happened.”

  Paling, Grey started toward him. “Gabriel?”

  Ian held up a hand. He hadn’t meant to worry Grey. “He’s fine. Everyone’s fine. But I need to talk to you before we go see Gabe. Let’s sit down.” Ian led the way to the living room, and when he and Grey were both seated on the couch, he looked into Grey’s concerned blue eyes.

  “Ian,” Grey prompted gruffly.

  “Sorry.” Ian took a breath. “Gabriel and I were sitting by the creek in the sun, talking. We were about to get up and go for the kids so we could meet you for lunch, and, well, one thing led to another, and we had sex.”

  Grey frowned. “Okay. So?”

  “Immediately afterward, Gabe unexpectedly went into heat. We started for the omega den, but his heat was getting more and more strong. I’d never been affected that strongly by the allure. Gabriel stopped to lean against a tree and rest, and suddenly, I couldn’t control myself. I mounted him, Grey. And he shifted, and so did I without meaning to. After that I was too far gone to stop. We fucked again and again. I finally managed to get us to the omega den, but even then we couldn’t stop until his heat subsided completely. Just stopped as quickly as it had come.”

  Silence hung in the air while Ian watched Grey’s face. He’d never been afraid of his mate, but alphas sometimes lost control when it came to their omegas. The alpha’s jaw had firmed and his eyes had narrowed, but he appeared to be in control.

  “I’m sorry,” Ian said. “We never thought Gabriel would go into heat today. He said the omegas’ cycles have been off since you put a stop to their participating in the moon runs. He swore he didn’t know it was coming on, and I believe him. I expected more of myself though. I should have been able to get him to safety without mounting him. I don’t know what came over me.”

  Grey let out a breath and stood. “I suppose he’s sitting at the omega den worrying, so let’s get over there. We can talk on the way.”

  Ian got to his feet. Putting a hand on Grey’s arm, he stopped the alpha as Grey was about to walk away. “He’s not the only one worried. Are we okay, Grey? I hope you know I wouldn’t put our mate’s life in jeopardy if I could help it.”

  Grey’s face softened. He opened his arms, and Ian gratefully sank into them.

  “Of course I know that. I am worried, however. And this puts a crimp in our plans for tomorrow.” Taking Ian’s hand, they left the house.

  As they made their way to the omega den, Grey barely acknowledged greetings from pack members who passed by, which was unusual. Ian made sure to nod and smile at each of them to ease their concern.

  Christopher let them in and then went upstairs. When Ian turned back to the room after having shut the door, Grey was already pulling Gabriel into his arms.

  “Are you all right?” he heard Grey mumble into Gabriel’s hair.

  Gabriel nodded, looking worriedly over Grey’s shoulder at Ian.

  “It wasn’t Ian’s fault. He tried hard. The heat was just so strong, and I couldn’t help shifting. Now it’s completely gone. I’m sorry. I don’t want you to think I did it to get my way.”

  Grey stepped back and cupped Gabriel’s cheek. “Hush, now. Ian already explained it to me.”

  “You aren’t angry?” Gabriel asked. Ian could see the tremors running through Gabriel’s body. Ian knew the omega’s fear came from his worry that Grey felt they’d betrayed him again.

  Grey sighed. “A little, but not at you.”

  Gabriel started to say something, but Grey cut him off. “I’m not angry at Ian, either. I’m upset with the circumstances, I guess. This just makes me wonder if the humans have done more damage than we’d thought.”

  “I wonder that too,” Ian said. “I told Gabriel about Dr. Newman coming tomorrow. We can tell her about it then.”

  Gabriel pulled back from Grey and grasped the alpha’s muscular arm. “Thank you, Grey. Thank you for asking them to come here and give me the antidote.”

  Grey closed his eyes a moment before opening them and sighing. “I don’t know if it matters now, Gabe. It might not be safe.”

  “You know it’s unlikely Ian got me pregnant,” Gabriel said. When Grey didn’t answer, Gabr
iel looked to Ian for help. Ian didn’t know what to say. It was unlikely, but did they want to risk Gabriel’s health? And possibly an unborn pup?

  “We don’t know Finny isn’t Ian’s,” Grey said.

  “Dr. Newman could tell us. She told us Forrest was yours.”

  “But she can’t guarantee Ian didn’t get you pregnant this time.”

  Gabriel huffed and ran his fingers through his long hair, which he’d taken out of its braid before getting into the shower with Ian earlier. Ian was suddenly struck by how lovely the omega was and how very much Ian loved him. Reaching for Gabriel’s hand, Ian tried to soothe him.

  “Everything’s going to be okay, Gabe,” Ian said softly.

  Gabriel shook his head, tears turning his eyes ocean blue. A different blue than Grey’s, but both so lovely.

  “You don’t know that. I shouldn’t have gone with you today.”

  “Of course you should have. You didn’t know you’d go into heat.”

  “But I knew my heats weren’t stable.” His lower lip trembled, and Ian couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him, wanting to comfort.

  “So you’re supposed to sit around and do nothing all the time? That’s no way to live,” he said.

  Grey encompassed both his mates in his arms. “Ian’s right. We’re fine. No more blaming yourself, Gabriel. Instead of worrying, we’ll see what Dr. Newman has to say. For now, let’s get the pups and go home.”

  After calling goodbye to Christopher, the trio left the small house and set out in the direction of the nursery. Ian could tell Gabriel was still troubled. He squeezed the omega’s hand.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking, Gabe.”

  Gabriel worried his bottom lip with his teeth before surprising Ian by saying, “What are the other pack members going to say about Dr. Newman coming here again? Some weren’t happy about it the last time.”

  Grey put his arm around Gabriel as they walked. “Let me worry about that.”

  A sob escaped the omega’s throat. “I don’t want what happened to my old pack to happen here.”