Page 71 of A Snowy Escape

Shadow follows her.

Okay, that’s my sign to get myself together.

I take off after them and let myself into Abby’s room.

The scent hits me first, making my mouth water.

Raspberry and lemon.

It’s so thick, it has to qualify as a perfume rather than simple pheromones. If I was more coherent, I’d be alarmed. Omegas perfume in the days and weeks leading up to and throughout heats.

Echo sits next to the bed with her head resting on the mattress. She whines, nuzzling her nose to Abby’s cheek. Shadow comes to a stop next to the bed, and his front paws land on the blanket as he sniffs around.

“I don’t feel good. Just sleep.” Abby groans, rolling to face away from the edge.

“Come on,” I whisper, patting my thigh. They both ignore me, and I growl the command.

Shadow pulls his paws down with no hesitation while Echo sniffs the sheets where Abby just was.

“Lie down,” I tell Shadow, pointing at the space right in front of the door.

I cross the room as the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Every cell in my body screams to find the omega. There’s no doubt in my mind, she’s either in pre-heat or fully there.

This could go so badly.

We haven’t had the chance to really get to know one another, and we haven’t had any of the important conversations. I don’t know if she takes suppressants or if this was something she knew was coming.

Meeting compatible alphas can cause suppressants to fail. It can also hurry along a heat that wasn’t supposed to hit for weeks or even months, according to what we learned in my alpha-and-omega-dynamics class.

Shit.

That was more than ten years ago.

It might be closer to twelve or thirteen.

Dammit, I’m getting old.

“Hey, you gotta give me some space,” I say to Echo, burying my hand in the fur of her neck. Her head flies back, and she nips at me but doesn’t follow through with a full bite. “Okay, that was my fault. I know you’re riled. You have to move, so I can help.” I take a few steps back and call her again, this time using, “Heel.” It tells her I want her at my left side. Echo looks at me but doesn’t move. “Jesus, you are stubborn. I promise, I’m going to take care of your mom. You just have to give me some room.” I growl the command again, forcing every ounce of my alpha bark into my words. “Heel, Echo.”

She finally comes to stand at my side, looking up at me like she knows she’s supposed to. I make my way over to Shadow and tell Echo to lie down before backing away with my hands raised to let her know I’m serious about her staying put.

I get back to the bed and kneel on the edge, leaning over Abby and pulling the hair back from her face. The backs of my fingers brush her skin, and I hiss.

“Jesus Christ, sweetheart,” I whisper as my eyes widen. “I need you to wake up for me.”

She groans, and her legs twitch under the blanket.

Shit.

That’s another thing.

I should get the covers off her as soon as possible, but I don’t want to shock her system. I’ve had the flu before. I know what it’s like to run a fever but be freezing. It’s almost physically painful to get out from under the covers.

“Come on, Abby,” I murmur, keeping my tone low and soothing. “You’re burning up. I need you to roll over and talk to me.”

“Law?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Echo came and got me. She was worried about you.”