Kaelen was just reviewing the paper's at the table after that sudden call and then she smelled something. The first thing that registered was the scent. It wasn't the artificial, aggressive Heat-Surge from her first night. This was deeper, richer, an intoxicating wave of rain-soaked jasmine and something uniquely, fundamentally Sera that seeped under Kaelen's door and coiled in the air of her bedroom. It was a scent that bypassed logic and went straight to the base of her spine, a primal call that made the Dominion gel on her wrist feel like a pathetic imitation.
Kaelen was out of her bed in an instant, the System's warnings already flashing in her vision Proximity to Omega in Peak Heat. High Risk of Deviation but she ignored them, the alerts drowned out by a surge of pure adrenaline.
She found Sera on the floor of her bedroom, curled into a trembling ball. The air was thick with her pheromones, a sweet, desperate fog. An empty suppressant applicator lay discarded near her hand. She'd tried to fight it and lost.
"Sera?" Kaelen's voice was hoarse.
Sera looked up, her eyes glassy with pain and need, pupils blown wide. She was shaking uncontrollably, sweat dampening her hairline. "Empty..." she gasped, gesturing weakly to the empty medical cooler on her nightstand. "All... empty..."
Of course they are, Kaelen thought with a burst of fury. Her useless uncle probably forgot to reorder them, or worse, Father had it done to keep her dependent, to keep her here.
There was no time to rage. Kaelen acted. "Excuse me. I'm sorry," she whispered, the apology automatic. She slid her arms under Sera, lifting her. Sera was lighter than she expected, and she whimpered at the contact, her head lolling against Kaelen's shoulder, her hot breath fanning against Kaelen's neck. The scent was overwhelming this close, a dizzying, beautiful poison.
She carried her out of the penthouse, into the private elevator, and down to the parking garage. Her mind was a single, focused point: Hospital.
Her driver was already standing by the car, his face a mask of professional neutrality that cracked for a microsecond when he saw his boss carrying a clearly distressed Omega. Kaelen didn't give him time to question. She bundled Sera into the spacious, silent interior of the stretched Mercedes Maybach that has Partition wall between the backseat and the front and slid in beside her.
"St. Jude's Hospital. Now," Kaelen commanded, her voice leaving no room for argument.
The partition between the front and back sealed with a soft thump, granting them a fragile illusion of privacy. The car pulled out into the night.
In the back, Sera was falling apart. The vibrations of the car, the enclosed space, the proximity of an Alpha even a recessive one was pushing her further into the throes of her heat. She was panting, her hands clutching at the leather seats, her body arching against the seatbelt.
"Miss Blackwood," the driver's voice came through the intercom, strained. "There's a heavy traffic jam on the expressway. It's not moving."
Panic, cold and sharp, joined the heat swirling in the car. They were trapped.
"Do your job!" Kaelen snapped, her own control fraying. "Find a way! Make it faster!"
It was then that Sera's hand shot out, grabbing Kaelen's wrist. Her grip was surprisingly strong, fever-hot. "Help me," she begged, her voice a broken thing. Then, with a shocking directness born of pure biological imperative, she dragged Kaelen's hand towards her body, pressing it against the soft swell of her breast.
Kaelen recoiled as if electrocuted, snatching her hand back. "Sera, no"
"Please," Sera sobbed, her body shaking with a fresh wave of agony. "Help me." Her eyes were wild, unfocused, pleading.
System! System, help! How do I do this?! Kaelen screamed in her mind, desperate.
The response was immediate, clinical text in her vision.
Options Available:
-Temporary Bonding Mark. Effective for 24-48 hours. Will suppress symptoms. Will leave visible mark.
-Full Bonding Mark. Permanent. Will suppress symptoms permanently.Warning: Option 2 constitutes a significant plot deviation. Penalty will be severe.
A temporary mark. It was a solution. "You want a temporary mark?" Kaelen asked, her voice shaking.
Sera shook her head violently, a flicker of her conscious mind breaking through the haze. "No... you can't... I have a... swimsuit shooting tomorrow..." The words were a ragged whisper. Even in this state, the actress was fighting for her career, for the last shred of her independence. She couldn't have a visible mark.
Her hands flailed, desperate, before one found Kaelen's again and guided it down, past her abdomen, towards the waistband of her thin sleep shorts. "Just... just... touch me," she pleaded, her voice cracking with a shame that was utterly eclipsed by the biological torment. "There..."
Kaelen's brain short-circuited. This was so far beyond anything she was prepared for. The System offered marks, not... this.
Sera looked at her, her expression a devastating mix of utter desperation and silent permission. She gave a tiny, jerky nod.
Kaelen had no choice. The traffic wasn't moving. Sera was suffering. This was the only way.
She took a shaky breath. "Driver," she said, her voice miraculously steady. "Eyes on the road. Turn off the intercom and she closed off the curtains on the Partition wall"
The light on the intercom died, plunging them into a more profound silence, broken only by Sera's ragged breathing.
"Are you sure?" Kaelen asked one last time.
Sera answered by pressing her hips forward, a silent, urgent plea.
Gently, carefully, Kaelen slipped her hand under the elastic band. Sera was burning hot, soaked. She reached down, sliding her hand along Sera's abdomen before cupping her wet center. Her fingers parted the soft folds, gently rubbing the wet and hot gap, occasionally grazing the sensitive bud. Sera flinched at the initial contact, a gasp escaping her lips, but then she stilled, her entire body tensed in anticipation.
What was the next step again?
Kaelen pressed her lips together, finding the steadily flowing entrance. After coating her fingers thoroughly in the wetness, she carefully eased just the tip of one finger inside.
Sera let out a muffled groan, instinctively tightening her arms around Kaelen's neck.
Looking up, Kaelen saw the girl's face flushed, brow slightly furrowed, but not appearing to be in pain. In fact, her hips had begun to move almost imperceptibly, seeking friction.
Feeling reassured, Kaelen refrained from pushing deeper, opting to shallowly thrust in and out of the entrance. Even though the temperature was only slightly warm for a human, it felt quite hot to her. Especially the heat inside Sera, stickily enveloping her finger, made her feel like she was melting.
Kaelen's forehead gradually broke out in sweat, her clothes clinging tightly to her wet skin. She exhaled slowly, her movements drawing out more and more of Sera's essence, coating the girl's thighs in a glistening sheen under the passing city lights.
After several dozen such gentle thrusts, Sera's breathing grew heavier, her body writhing with increasing urgency, rubbing against Kaelen's palm with increasing need.
A faint wet sound came from their intertwined bodies as Sera closed her eyes, trembling in Kaelen's arm, a rosy flush spreading from the corners of her misty eyes. Kaelen pressed her hand against the girl's slender back, drawing her close. She withdrew her fingertip from the increasingly tight hole to pinch lightly at the slippery clit.
A tearful cry immediately escaped Sera's lips as she curled inward. Her abdomen clenched as she shuddered, releasing a gush of wetness. The thick, cloying scent of her heat began to recede, replaced by a sated, exhausted warmth. Her breathing slowed, deepening into sleep.
The crisis was over. For now.
Kaelen slowly withdrew her hand, her fingers trembling. She felt dizzy, her own skin buzzing with the echo of what she'd just done.
Just then, the car began to move again, the traffic finally clearing. They arrived at the hospital emergency entrance a few minutes later, the transition from illicit backseat intimacy to sterile, fluorescent lighting feeling like moving between two different worlds.
Orderlies rushed out with a gurney. Kaelen gave them a clipped, Alpha-order explanation about a "suppressant complication." As they loaded a now-limp and drowsy Sera onto the gurney, Kaelen stood by the car, her hand still tingling, the scent of Sera's heat clinging to her clothes and skin, and the ghost of her pleasure echoing in the silent luxury of the Maybach. The -90% in her vision flickered, unstable, as the world snapped back into a focus that felt permanently, irrevocably altered.