First Street Heat (Beastverse #1)

13. Lilah

13

Lilah

" G uess who's done with school?" I squeal into the receiver as soon as Maggy picks up the phone.

I click the phone to speaker so I can talk to her while I start getting ready for tonight. I received my passing score right after I finished getting lunch, and now I have a couple of hours to kill before the ride-share car comes to pick me up to take me to a charity event that Ian invited me to tonight.

I agreed to go for two reasons, the first being that Ian wouldn't take no for an answer even if I tried, and the second is because I want a night out without having to worry about anything. A nice dinner, free drinks, and some dancing. What more could I ask for? Plus, it can act as my last hoorah before I meet with Scott on Monday to mate.

"Oh my god!" Maggy shrieks on the other end, then yells, "Lilah's finally done with school!"

A deep male's voice yells something back that I can't make out, but Maggy quickly repeats the congratulations Liam is giving me. I was in school for the entirety of our relationship, so he knows how hard I've been working to get my nursing license so I can work at an omega clinic.

As much as I'm happy to mate an alpha, I don't want to be fully dependent on one. Maggy has no such qualms, which Liam loves since he gets to spoil her with all of his money and gifts.

"We should celebrate," Maggy says. "I haven't been up to the city in so long, and this is the perfect excuse."

"Oh please," I beg.

I miss my best friend, especially since she moved two hours away to a slightly smaller city where Liam's friend's startup is. Her dependence on her mate's income means she moves where he needs to be. Not that he wouldn't let her visit me whenever she wants. They've only been together for a year, though, which means they're still pretty needy for one another pretty often.

"I miss hanging out with you."

"Okay." Maggy gets all serious, and I hear a pen click on the other end. "I'm planning a weekend with you, and you can send me your schedule so we can have a whole two days together to celebrate you being an independent omega that doesn't need an alpha."

I snort a laugh at the very apt description that I would usually love, but now I have to tell her that my big plans of being an independent omega seem to have been thwarted by a hot doctor with a beast.

So, while I curl my hair, I tell her all about my time at the heat clinic, how Fenrir wanted to rut me on the spot, Scott putting me in a coma, and everything that's happened since then. Of course, she has all the inappropriate questions that have Liam groaning in discomfort when he accidentally walks into wherever she is and hears the end of one of her questions.

By the time I finish curling my hair, Maggy and Liam by default, now know everything that's happened in the last couple of weeks since my heat started. Maggy keeps telling me how I need to give her all the credit in finding my mate because she pushed me to go for the physical stimulation.

Every time she says the words, I can hear Liam grumble something under his breath until Maggy finally goads him by asking if he's upset because she's been there before they were together. The growl that sounds from his chest tells me that our conversation is over, and I'm not surprised when the line goes dead.

I'm left all on my own until Liam finishes reminding Maggy that she's mated now and can't be talking about alphas that used to help her during her heat.

I'm not surprised when I don't hear back from her by the time the car pulls up outside the apartment complex. I give myself a final look over, put my phone in the small clutch I'm taking with me, and make sure I have a canister of odor neutralizer in case something happens. The one thing I don't want is to perfume out in public.

I don't know who will be at this charity or what it's even for, but I doubt I'd be invited to one attended by mostly alphas when I'm still an unmated omega. If I am, I guess it'd be a great way to throw myself back out into the world where the dynamics aren't so severely separated as they are when I put up my walls.

Either way, a neutralizer is needed just in case perfuming happens. Even one entitled alpha can ruin a whole night by trying to assist with whatever they think has made me perfume. It's easier to be prepared with a neutralizer to spray myself down if it happens. I've been lucky enough to have never needed to use it, but I've seen it happen to other omegas when out partying.

I try to force down the anxiety that has me thinking about all the worst-case scenarios. I want to make a good impression on Ian's mate since I want to be seen as an omega he can trust Ian around. I also need to make sure that I can handle myself out in the real world where the dynamics mingle with one another.

If I do end up mated to Scott and Fenrir, I'll have to go with him to different events he has with his job, and the same for him with mine. Not to mention that he'll have friends and family he'll want me to meet, and I can't do that in any graceful way if I get too inside my head thinking about not being in my safe little apartment complex.

I'm able to calm my breathing by the time the car stops outside a nice looking hotel with small signs directing attendants toward an event for 'The Young Alphas Club.'

I put my face in my hands, making sure not to rub at my makeup, and then let out a weird sound between a sigh and a whine. My hands move around my neck, where I give it a small squeeze to try and relax my tense muscles. One more deep breath, and then I'm putting a smile on my face, trying to force myself to be happy instead of having a small breakdown. Thankfully, Ian is standing right outside the hotel and waves at me in a huge motion as soon as I step out of the car.

"You look stunning," Ian says as he runs over to loop his arm in mine and walk me toward the hotel.

"Thank you." I try to match his enthusiasm.

Ian's the most easygoing omega I've ever met. I'm very much one of those omegas who needs the dominance and direction of an alpha. Not in all things, but in a way where I can have him take charge of things, and I don't need to worry at all.

Ian's not like that. I'm pretty sure he likes to take charge just to make his alpha worry and fight.

Ian has his arm wrapped in mine as he drags me through the hotel doors and toward a scowling alpha with his arms crossed in front of his chest, whose eyes immediately soften when they land on Ian. He looks exactly like he did the two times I met him when he picked Ian up from the clinic late at night. He looks stoic, angry, and a little bit like he's ready to fuck. He's an alpha, after all, so he's probably all three of those things.

"Don't let the grumbling deter you from having a good time tonight. He's a softie on the inside, but he knows you're unmated, so he's going to be extra protective. Really, he didn't want me to invite you at all since there are so many alphas, but I may have forgotten this was an alpha charity and then didn't want to uninvite you, so here we are." Ian talks a mile a minute, but it's something I've gotten used to since working with him and hanging out in the break room.

I know this small moment of quiet between us is just him catching his breath before he keeps talking, so I don't say a single word. One full breath later, and he continues. "If you feel uncomfortable, just let Gale or me know, and we'll get you out of here immediately. We can go get drinks or make drinks at my place. Your alpha might hate that, but he doesn't have to know."

"Her alpha?" Gale asks, his head tilting to the side so he can look down at both Ian and me. "You told me she's unmated."

"She is." Ian waves his hand up at his mate without looking at him. "You knew this all already. Lilah's the one who has the hot doctor beast that wants her, and she's playing hard to get."

I want to come up with some kind of smart remark, but as soon as we enter the event room, I'm hit with the smell of pine needles, crackling fire, and toasted sugar. It's faint, so very faint, but it's enough to tell me Scott and Fenrir are here somewhere.

"Wait." Gale grabs Ian's arm and brings him to a stop, which in turn causes me to stop. "This is the omega you were out with that had the beast come pick you up?"

"This is her." Ian beams, but I can't match his energy right now.

In my defense, I'm focusing very hard on not perfuming in front of all of these people as I try to discreetly suck in deep breaths of Scott and Fenrir from the air.

"Which clinic? Which alpha? Did he scent you, too? Why aren't you mated yet?" Gale asks the questions so fast that I'm not even sure I hear them in their entirety, but I pick up enough to understand his meaning. He knows something about Scott and Fenrir, and I have a feeling it's about them being here tonight.

I don't have a chance to answer any of the questions before Gale's head snaps to the side, and his lips pull back into a snarl as a growl bubbles in his chest. It's a soft growl, but it's enough to get Ian's attention and mine since I'm an unmated omega, and he's calling me to heel.

"What's going on?" Ian moves toward Gale, pulling me to the alpha as well. He puts out a hand that Ian takes and pulls us both closer to him. Ian immediately falls into his hold, trusting his alpha to keep him safe.

The problem with him wanting to keep us both safe is that the threat he happens to be worried about is the overwhelming power rippling through the air of a beast being unleashed on an entire event room of alphas.

"I'm getting you both out of here." Gale snarls, his eyes snapping to the ground, neck tilting in a show of submission even though Fenrir isn't near us yet.

If I were to look around, I'm sure I'd see plenty of other alphas doing the same, but right now, I'm too focused on trying to figure out what I need to do to make sure Fenrir doesn't kill anyone or ruin whatever this event is. Ian squeezes my arm tighter, and Gale growls, his eyes snapping up as his lips pull back.

The same force is suffocating all of us, but he's defying it right now. "I'm not letting some alpha with a superiority complex humiliate your friend."

Humiliate? Oh no. I was so entranced with the smell of my mate in the air and the demand for my submission, along with everyone else in the room, that I didn't notice just how affected I was.

A few alphas turn their noses in my direction, the smell of me strong in the air as the neutralizers struggle to keep up with killing my scent and Fenrir's. My face flames in embarrassment as I fumble with my purse and the canister of neutralizer.

Ian sees what I'm doing and tries to help me as he allows Gale to be a wall we hide behind. He shields us from more alphas turning and sniffing in my direction like I actually want them to notice me. I might die of mortification if any of them approach us. Thankfully, the alpha demanding submission and the alpha blocking view of me are enough to keep everyone from propositioning me.

Well, it should be enough, but there always has to be one douchebag.

I pull the canister out of my bag and hold it out to douse myself when a large hand wraps around mine and plucks the neutralizer from my grasp.

"Don't do that, sweetheart." The dark-haired alpha smiles at me like he's trying to be charming instead of being a prick. He's handsome, of course, just like all the other alphas in this place. "You're the best part of the evening so far."

"She has a mate," Ian states.

Gale turns and snarls at him, his own alpha pheromones coming forth as he tries to come to my defense. His scent is smothered by Fenrir's, which only has me perfuming again as another wave of heat rolls through my body.

"No mark, no mate," the younger alpha says as he steps closer to me.

He shoulders Ian out of the way and makes Gale have to decide which of us he wants to protect first. Of course, he goes to his mate. It's the obvious choice, but it leaves me defenseless for a moment as I try to fend off the alpha, thinking he's entitled to my entertaining him.

"Who are you responding to, pretty girl?"

"Not you," I say through clenched teeth.

I'm silently begging Fenrir to ease off his pheromones so I don't perfume again with this stranger an inch away from me. He wants to be the one making me make a fool of myself as though it's an excuse to proposition me and get his dick wet. I'm not that lucky, though, and another wave of Fenrir's dominance washes over the venue.

The alphas tense even more. Most drop their eyes to the floor and refuse to lift them. Even the one in front of me does for a moment until my body betrays me and sends out another reaction to my mate.

"How many other omegas do you think are perfuming for him?" the younger alpha asks as he crowds around me even more. "He's probably doing this so we can all have a little fun. You can be my fun, right omega?"

" No, she can't. "

It's not Gale who wraps a hand around the younger alpha's throat and throws him to the ground. No, it's Fenrir in all his rage and all his power. His teeth are barred, hands fisted, and eyes hard as he gives my body a once over and then drags the other alpha by his suit jacket.

" Make sure she gets her odor neutralizer, " he growls more than speaks as he passes Ian and Gale. They immediately do as he says and pick up the canister that fell from the younger alpha's hands when he was thrown to the ground.

Another woman comes running up as Ian works on covering my body with the odor suppressant. She has a full canister with her and an angry looking alpha behind her. She gives me a soft smile as she starts spraying me down in the spots where I'm still stinking up the place while her alpha speaks with Gale, who seems to know him.

"Where did the beast go?"

"Outside, I think," Gale says.

His growl replaced with a purr as he tries to soothe a shaking Ian, who's trying to tell me how sorry he is for putting me in this position. He tells me that he didn't know it would be like this, and every other event he's been to with Gale has never been like this. I want to tell him it's okay and not his fault, but I'm shaken, considering I just perfumed for hundreds of people because of my mate.

"I'm fine," I tell Ian. The canister sputters the last bit of its contents, and I tuck it into my purse. "Seriously, I'll be fine."

"I'm getting my mate out of here." Gale gives me a once over and then looks at the omega woman helping me. "Can you and Sam make sure she's safe?"

"Of course," the woman says, a smile tugging at her lips as she turns to face me. "She's family. We watch out for our family."

"Lilah?" Ian says my name like a question, and I answer with a soft nod. His alpha wants to get him out of the venue since he's still freaking out over what happened, even though it all happened to me. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah, of course." I nod again.

Even if I don't message him tonight, I'll talk to him about it when I start working at the clinic. I'm sure it'll be a funny story by then and less a traumatic event that's causing me embarrassment and him to blame himself for what happened.

I'm fine. No one touched me. No one assaulted me. I'm a bit embarrassed because everyone near us witnessed me perfume for my mate as he forced them to look at the ground and bare their necks to him. I guess the stories about beasts being able to command entire rooms of people weren't so exaggerated after all.

"I'm so sorry, Lilah," Ian says one final time.

Gale all but forces him out of the ballroom and out into the hotel lobby. His purring never ceases. It's the only thing he can do to keep his mate from freaking out, which is probably the only thing keeping him from freaking out as well.

It's kind of sweet how much Gale cares for Ian. It'd be even cuter if it didn't come at the complete and total dismissal of me still being trapped at this event without any protection except for a tiny omega woman smiling and cheerily spraying me with more spray. I might be freaking out more, but she hasn't even dropped her smile once. She seems more than happy with the events of the evening so far.

"I'm sorry," I say, trying to keep my breathing even so I don't burst out in tears of shame and embarrassment. I'm forcing myself not to cry. If I start, I might not stop, and I'm not about to perfume and cry in front of all these people. One humiliation is enough for me.

"Oh, no, none of that." The omega grabs my hand tightly and starts dragging me through the venue until we enter a dark space through a random door. "I'm Janie, by the way. I don't know how much Scott or Fenrir have told you about his family, but I'm his brother's mate."

I sniffle softly, tears starting to prick my lower lashes now that I'm alone and in a somewhat dark space. I barely even register what she's said until I replay the words back in my head. Scott and Fenrr's brother's mate. Wait?

"Oh god." I let out a sob that has Janie wrapping her arms around me and rubbing my back.

"Shh," she murmurs as I continue to cry. "You're fine. You're safe."

"I just made a fool of myself," I cry against her shoulder, not caring that my makeup is probably staining her dress right now. She doesn't seem like she cares much, either.

"You did not," she chides me like I'm being scolded for ruining whatever event this is. "If anything, you gave an excuse for how Fenrir's behaving. He's the one making a fool of himself. He made three other omegas perfume, so don't you fret what happened to you."

"Three others?" I cry harder, even more, embarrassed that I'm just one of four needy omegas who all perfumed for the same alpha.

"He demanded submission from everyone," Janie says softly as she continues to rub my back. "Can't be surprised when more than one omega responds to that much dominance. I just wanted to let you know that you weren't alone in how you reacted."

"He could have any of them," I whine, my tears starting to fade as anger starts to take its place. "He did this and made a fool of me, and he could have his choice of any of those omegas."

"Oh." Janie pulls away from me, her eyes hardening as she purses her lips. "First of all, Fenrir is smitten with you, Scott is too, but Fenny only talks about you when he's out. Second of all, we're getting out of here. I'll tell Sam we need a girl's night instead of being around a whole bunch of alphas."

"Girl's night?" I wipe at my eyes, trusting this omega I just met more than I probably should.

"Me, you, and Sarah." She wraps an arm in mine and starts moving us through the darkened part of the venue. "I'll text Sam right now, and he can let Fen and Scott know. They'll be here all night, so we don't need to worry about them bothering us."

"I need to tell," I stop myself, not wanting to tell Janie that I want to let Fenrir and Scott know I wasn't here with anyone else. I wasn't here looking for another alpha. I just wanted to go out with my friend, and then all of this happened. She seems to already understand, though, because she offers me a soft, nonjudgemental smile and nods.

"Sam will take care of all of it," she says gently, pushing open the backdoor where a car is idling and waiting for us.

Panic pinches my stomach for a moment right before another young woman with the same dark eyes and sandy hair as Scott jumps from the driver's seat and smiles brightly at us.

"You have to spray down before you get in." She gives us both pointed looks. "You both smell like Fenrir and Scott, and I'm not trying to have that smell in my car for years."

I take a quick whiff of my dress, not really smelling what she is, but I do as she says and don't make a peep when she rolls the windows down when we both get in the car. I pull my phone out of my clutch as Janie and Sarah both decide that we're going to Janie's house to drink and try to suppress the embarrassing memories of the night. I have one message from Ian.

Ian: I am so sorry. If I had known it was going to be like that, I would've just had Gale drop us off at an omega club.

Lilah: It's fine. I'm fine. I'm going out with a couple of women, so if I don't make it to my first day of work, know that you also got me kidnapped and murdered.

Ian: Don't joke like that.

Ian: Gale wants to know if Scott's beast is the one you scent-matched.

Ian: I told him it was, but he won't believe me until you confirm. He thinks I'm being a brat. Can you believe that?

Lilah: You? A brat? What?

Lilah: And yes, I scent matched Scott and Fenrir. Hopefully, that's enough confirmation for your mate.

Ian: I've never been a brat a day in my life.

Lilah: Yeah, yeah whatever. How does Gale even know Scott anyway?

Ian: He knows Sam, but anyone who knows Sam knows his brother.

Ian: Oh, I have to go. Gale is still a little high-strung, and we made it back home.

Ian: We're talking about this the next time you show up at work, and you better have a bite in your neck!

Lilah: After tonight, we'll see. I'll see you at work. Be nice to your alpha.

I throw my phone in my clutch, lean my head back against the seat, and let out a laugh that feels genuine. It fades, and a deep sigh takes its place, filling the quiet air.

"Yeah," Sarah says as she looks at me from the rearview mirror, "Fenrir makes us all feel like that sometimes. We'll make up for what an ass he is."

"Why are you two doing this?" I ask, realizing that I basically let two strangers kidnap me from an event where I only knew two people. Not to mention, no one knows where we're going except for my kidnappers.

Stupid decisions. I haven't been making very many good ones recently.

"You're our sister," Sarah says as though it's the obvious answer. "I expect the same treatment when I'm having bad days."

"A kidnapping?" I ask, trying to infuse some humor into my voice.

"With shots." She wiggles her brows, a smile pulling at her lips. "The boys are staying at Sam and Janie's so we can get trashed and shit talk Fenrir and Scott all night in their own home."

"That sounds nice." I lean my head back again, letting my eyes close and a small smile play on my lips.

Sure, I wish I didn't have to make a fool of myself and panic my friend to get to Scott's house, but things could be worse. He could have made me perfume, panicked my friend, and rejected me again. At least this way, I'm closer to weaseling myself into his life forever.