Page 43 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

“I’m not sure, Care Bear,” Warrick admitted, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and hugging me to his side. “The way he reacted to you perfuming makes that seem likely. I know I said there aren’t triggers, but it’s common knowledge that when Alphas find their scent match, it can trigger an Omega to go into heat and the Alphas to experience rut. Some say it’s nature’s way to ensure the bonding will happen while everyone is lost to their base needs.”

I looked up at Warrick, concerned. “I’ve heard from other Omegas going through a heat without an Alpha is torture. They claim to have medication to help, but it doesn’t always work. If Yun is in rut and chooses to face it alone, will it be awful for him?”

“Not as awful as he would feel if anything happened to you,” Warrick murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “The guys are with him, and they will know how to help. This isn’t the first time we’ve been through this, but I will say Yun is one who doesn’t have rut happen often.”

He might be telling me things would be fine with his words, but the tone of his voice said something different. I chose to trust my pack—they’d been together longer and knew what needed to be done. However, it firmed my resolve to figure a way to make it safer for me to be intimate with my Alphas. Sex was an important dynamic in any relationship, but with Alphas and Omegas, it was a necessity.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Warrick announced, leaping to his feet. “Why don’t we unpack some of these boxes and start getting you settled in? You’re gonna need to find pajamas to sleep in eventually, so why not now?”

“What if I just sleep naked?” I asked, trying to keep an innocent expression on my face.

Warrick’s eyes almost bugged out of his head as he coughed from practically swallowing his tongue, making me burst into laughter. “Bailey-Rose, you sassy minx. Don’t say things like that unless you really mean it,” he chided.

I fluttered my lashes at him as I stood, then brushed past him, running my hand across his chest. “Who says I didn’t mean it?”

“Holy shit, I’m in trouble,” Warrick muttered, running his hands through his hair as I giggled to myself all the way to the closet.

After an hour, Vili and Gareth joined us in our quest to get the basics put away. I’d handled the boxes with my undergarments, not wanting to push Warrick further than I already had. He needed a full five minutes after that sleeping-naked comment before he felt safe enough to be in the confined space of the closet.

“Is Yun okay?” I asked.

Vili gave me a bright smile and nodded. “Yes, he and Ulysses are making dinner. Yun just needed fresh air… our pretty lady’s scent was too enticing.”

“So he’s not in rut?” I pressed.

“Well…” Gareth started then paused as he pulled down a box from the stack. “He might have if he didn’t take a suppressant. We’re having him be cautious for now since we all know that while drugs are helpful in these situations, they don’t always work as expected. Giving him some time to clear his head and the meds to kick in is just being cautious.”

Frowning, I hung up the dress I’d pulled out. “Why would he need to take anything? Would it be bad for him to go into rut?”

They all stopped what they were doing and looked at each other as if unsure who should answer the question. The task seemed to fall to Gareth since he was the one who faced me while the other two took backup positions. I didn’t like that at all. It made me feel like whatever I was about to be told was going to piss me off or scare me.

“You asked me before if going through rut would be painful for the Alpha if he couldn’t act on the urge to mate. Physically, it wouldn’t cause harm, well… other than feeling like you have massive amounts of adrenaline pumping through your veins telling your brain there is something out there that desperately needs your protection. Now that we have you, our sole focus during rut would be to make sure you are always within our sights. Even better would be having you close enough to touch at a moment’s notice,” Gareth shared, reaching out to take my hand as if to prove what that would be like.

“Okay, that all makes sense, but I get the feeling that’s not all of it,” I reasoned.

Gareth took a second to wet his lips before continuing, shifting from foot to foot, “No, that isn’t all of it. Generally, Alphas who are lost in the rush of rut tend to devolve slightly and become aggressive toward those who they feel threaten their pack or Omega. What Yun-Sun is worried about and why he’s refusing to allow the rut to take hold is the need to dominate and breed. I’m not saying any harm would come to you or that any of us would ever put you in a situation where you’d feel forced or taken advantage of. Our fear is lost in that state of mind… would we notice if you were in medical distress? If the worst happened and you needed help, no one outside the pack would ever be allowed in the house. Our job as your Alphas is to keep your care and safety at the top of our list. Right now, there are just too many unknowns.”

Shocked by this answer, I didn’t know what to say at first, but an idea popped into my head. Without saying a word, I exited the closet and hurried to the bedroom door. I wasn’t sure if they would try to stop me, so I wasn’t taking any chances. As quickly as I could, I made it down the first flight of stairs and was just about to start on the second when an arm wrapped around my waist.

I’d been thwarted.

A squeak escaped me as I was scooped up and found Vili was my captor. Surprised, I didn’t even argue as he started to carry me back toward my room. Shaking my head clear, I found my voice and two thoughts to rub together.

“Vili, wait,” I blurted. “Please take me down to the kitchen along with the others so we can talk this out as a family.”

Vili peered at me, his disapproval made more pronounced with the way his glasses had slid down his nose. “Bailey-Rose.”

He almost never used my name, so I knew this was probably going to be a losing battle.

“We do this for you, to keep safe, not upset you,” Vili pointed out. “Yun ask for time, make sure medicine working before he see you.”

“But it’s been an hour. Does the medication take that long to take effect?” I challenged.

His gaze seemed to be staring into my soul as I waited for his answer, “I will do this for you, kitten. But only if you promise to leave if I say so and go right to the nest. Deal?”

My objective wasn’t to upset or make things harder for Yun—quite the opposite. The idea I had would help twofold if, by some luck, what I needed was possible.

I nodded my agreement, but Vili clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “Use words, kitten.”