Page 76 of A Snowy Escape

Bryant

“Wake the fuck up,” Lawson growls, thumping me in the chest. “How the hell can you sleep through Shadow barking at your door for five minutes straight?”

My eyes pop open, and I push up using my forearms. “What’s wrong?”

“Abby is going into heat,” he says, pulling his wet hair up into a messy bun on the back of his head. He secures it with a hair tie and stands, rolling his shoulders back.

“What?” I finally manage to choke out. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine for the moment, but she was burning up when I found her.” Law shakes his head. “I thought a cool shower would help lower her temperature. She acted like I was torturing her.”

“Where is she right now?” I ask, throwing back the blanket.

“In the nest,” he says, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Things got intense…”

“Okay,” I say, trying to read between the lines. Unfortunately, I was asleep sixty seconds ago, and my brain isn’t working at full capacity. “Did the two of you have sex? That’s what she needs, right?”

“She’s going to need pheromones, regular knotting, and a fair amount of our cum, based on how bad the cramps were.” He crosses his arms over his bare chest, and I finally notice he’s only in sweats. It’s hard to be sure, since it’s dark, but they appear to be damp, like he pulled them on in a rush after their shower. “We didn’t have sex. Not exactly. Sexual contact, yes. I’m not sure how long an orgasm will keep her settled.”

“I’ll go check on her right now,” I say, climbing off the bed. “We’re going to have to figure out a sleeping schedule. We can’t leave her without someone awake if she needs to be knotted⁠—”

“Luka locked his door. He slept through my knocking for over a minute. I was about thirty seconds from kicking the damn thing in. I came to get you instead, but I’m going to work on getting him up next.” He bends down and picks something up off the floor before shoving it at me. “Take her temperature and write it down. We need to know what it is between waves. She was burning up when I found her. It was a little better when I tucked her into the bed in the nest, but who knows how long that will last.”

“I’ll make sure I note her temperature,” I say, taking the first-aid kit. “What time is it?”

“A little before five a.m.”

“Maybe you should let Luka sleep until he wakes up on his own,” I suggest, and I’m not just trying to get alone time with Abby. “That way he’ll be well-rested and ready to take over in case one of us needs some sleep later. You can always text him and let him know what’s going on.”

“You don’t think we should all be with her at once?” Lawson asks, scratching his thick beard.

“Let’s see how it goes,” I suggest. “If she needs more than one of us at a time, we can make that happen, but she just agreed to let us court her. Three half-feral alphas hopped up on her pheromones might be overwhelming, especially at first.” I shove the first-aid kit under my arm and grab my phone off the nightstand, unplugging it. “I’ll keep my phone close. If I need backup, I’ll text you immediately.”

“I need to let the dogs out and feed them, but I don’t know how long my instincts will let me be away from her,” Law says.

“Heats last for days,” I remind him. “This is a marathon. We’re going to have to pace ourselves to ensure she won’t suffer with there only being three of us.”

“She won’t suffer if I have to go the next five days without sleep, but I get what you’re saying.” He spins and heads toward the door. “Take her temperature. Try to get her to drink something afterward. She might not be very hungry or thirsty, but it’s our job to make sure she gets enough fluid and calories to sustain her through the heat.”

I flip him off, even though he can’t see it.

Of course he wants me to play bad cop.

Whatever.

The itchy ache under my skin isn’t going to settle until I get my eyes on Abby and verify how she’s doing.

* * *

Abby glares at me as the thermometer does its thing. She could not be cuter, but I think now would be a bad time to tell her that. She seems to be daydreaming about my demise, and I would be worried if I wasn’t holding back a chuckle. It might have something to do with how relieved I am.

Based on what Lawson said, I was concerned about what state she would be in, but when I came into the nest, she was at the head of the mattress, sitting up against the pillows. At first, I couldn’t figure out what she was doing. It quickly became clear she was trying to sniff Lawson’s scent from the T-shirt she was clad in. While it gave me a lovely view of her mostly nude body, I did try to be a gentleman by keeping my gaze locked on her face.

When she pulled the material down enough that I could spot her dark blue eyes, it was the first real breath I’d taken since leaving my room. I’m still not sure if she was blushing because she was caught huffing Law’s T-shirt or if her cheeks were red from running a fever.

I think it was probably some combination of the two, but we’re about to find out for sure.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer.” I bring my hand to cradle her jaw and run my thumb over her cheek.