“He’s locked in his room like a prison. He’s hurting, bad. Can’t answer me. His uncles must have done it.” Teal tugged on the bottom of his shirt as the alpha swore on the other end of the line. “We can deal with those assholes later, but right now, Sorcha needs us, Ronan. He needs…you.”
Teal knew Ronan understood his implication. Everything was about to change.
“I’m on my way.”
***
Teal wrestled with whetherhe should go look for an axe or a crowbar or something potentially useful but ultimately decided to stay near Sorcha.
He pled with the young man to speak to him. But the other omega was too far gone to answer coherently. He could only moan, and Teal fought down a wave of nausea when he thought about the pain Sorcha was enduring.
But Teal kept trying. He talked to Sorcha through the wood. In between offering reassurance that help was on the way, Teal babbled nonsense about Ronan and the boys, about his job and High Court. Anything to remind the man on the other side of the door that he was there. Teal hoped that, even in his haze, Sorcha took some comfort in knowing he wasn’t alone.
After ten minutes, Sorcha whimpered Teal’s name again, a positive sign he was at least partially in his right mind.
Teal texted Niall asking if the beta could keep the boys away from the house for the rest of the day, possibly longer, saying he’d fill him in with more details later.
Niall was eager to help, as always. With Jax away at his job site, Niall said he’d love to take Garin, Kino, and Zayne to a fair nearby, adding that he’d be happy to keep them into the evening. Teal hesitated but eventually agreed. He doubted the boys would be recognized out with their beta nanny.
Twenty minutes after he called Ronan, Teal heard his husband’s truck roll into the driveway. Then the slam of a metal door, followed by the stomp of Ronan’s work boots as he careened through Dale and Abe’s entry.
Teal looked over as Ronan appeared at the top of the stairs.
Lifting his nose into the air, Ronan inhaled. His eyes flashed.
Teal stilled, then nodded.
Ronan’s hands curled into fists, and he straightened to his full, impressive height. Chest heaving, he breathed in and out of his nose like an agitated bull. A low growl rumbled fromhis throat. Teal watched, transfixed, as his husband’s cock grew immediately hard, straining against his jeans.
“Sorcha’s…in…heat,” Ronan gritted out.
Tamping down his own reaction to the alpha, Teal forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. “Yes. And I don’t know how long it’s been. Dale and Abe left a few days ago, so I’m assuming he’s been locked in there at least since then, but I’m not sure when the heat started. He recognized my voice, so that’s a good sign it’s only the first day.”
Although judging by the sounds Sorcha made, Teal guessed he’d been in heat for more than a few hours.
Ronan leaned against the wall, alternately stroking his bulge and pressing the heel of his palm against it. “Gimme…a second…to get control.”
Teal emitted a careful breath. He walked over and placed his palms on Ronan’s shoulders, looking into his eyes. “You’re not going to get control, my love. You know that. And Sorcha’s going to be in real trouble soon if you don’t help him.” He exhaled again, heavier this time. “I think we both know what needs to happen here.”
Another cry rang out behind the bedroom door and Ronan was helpless to stop his answering growl.
“This is…a lot,” Ronan rasped. “I’ve never been with an omega besides you, let alone one in heat.”
Teal slid his hands down Ronan’s front before palming his massive cock through his jeans. “You’re right. It’s a big deal. Not just for us, but for Sorcha. Unfortunately, because of this fucked up situation his uncles created, we don’t have a lot of options. You know about Sorcha’s history with the suppressants. There’s no time here to thoughtfully weigh the pros and cons.”
“If we do this…ifIdo this…it will…change things,” Ronan panted through each word.
Teal ran his fingers along the outline of Ronan’s shaft, gripping the way he knew his alpha liked. “I know that. Of course I do. But the decision was already made for me the minute I called you. I feel…very strongly…about Sorcha. I know you do too. If someone needs to ease his pain, I want it to be you.”
“Fuck!” Ronan cried, and a thousand emotions flickered across his face. Lust remained paramount, but Teal also saw anger and a twinge of helplessness.
Teal fervently wanted to help Sorcha, but he didn’t want to force his husband to be ruled by his baser instincts if that wasn’t what Ronan wanted.
“My love,” Teal offered, “if you would rather turn around and walk out of here, I can get him through for a few hours while you figure something else out. Maybe call a heat service.”
Ronan angled his hips forward, pressing Teal’s hand tighter against his bulge. As his husband’s eyes blazed, Teal assumed he was imagining the possibility of another alpha servicing Sorcha.
Ronan’s already-intense rumbling escalated, pulsing through the hallway. His peppery sage scent grew stronger by the second. Sorcha must have smelled it because his whimpering grew frantic.
