A desperate keening sound emerged from my throat.
“I won’t leave you, even if my alpha takes hold. Who know what else lives out here? What other dangers that could kill you or worse, take you as theirs,” Alix continued, and I knew that he was right. Sometimes, the female body could go into heat even without the presence of an alpha, and that made my existence here in the forest even more perilous.
Going into estrous in the middle of the wilds was as dangerous as it could get.
Savages survived out here in the wilds, people who’d refused the suppressant long ago and had never come back. If I went into heat without Alix’s protection, I’d be free for them to claim me. In fact, if I went into heat on my own, I’d be out of my mind with arousal and beg anyone to take me just so that I’d experience some form of relief. There was nothing I could do to stop it once the urges took hold.
I could almost hear the ticking of the clock as our bodies began to break down the suppressant already in our system. Alix was much bigger than me. It was more than likely that his kidneys would filter the byproducts of the medication faster than mine. He’d fall prey to his instincts sooner than I would.
I whimpered softly and he knelt in front of me, taking my hands within his. His fingers were warm, while mine felt cool and clammy. He felt like a safe haven, at least for the moment.
“It’s going to be alright. We’ll get through it,” he said gently.
“Easy for you to say,” I scoffed, not wanting to meet his eyes.
“You know this isn’t what I want. Can I get you anything? Are you hungry? I can cook something over a fire for us,” he pressed, clearly trying to do anything in that moment to calm my panicked mind, to distract me.
I shook my head. My appetite had fled, and I started to feel nauseous. The sun beat down on me, high overhead. Just yesterday, I had thought of it as warm and comforting. Now it felt like an ominous sign of what was to come.
I turned away, trying to gauge how much time I had left.
My last dose of an injectable had been the night before, just prior to going to sleep. Already, more than twelve hours had passed. Based on my knowledge, I predicted that it would wear off shortly after sunset this evening. By nightfall, our urges would overcome everything we held dear, and I’d be forced flat on my back with my legs spread, ready to take an alpha’s cock for the first time in my life.
I wanted to cry.
“There’s another evergreen over there. Let’s set up camp inside there and prepare ourselves for what’s to come then,” he suggested with a sort of sad acceptance, standing up and pulling me along with him. He pointed and I saw that there was another ancient tree, just like the one we’d hidden in earlier that day. This one seemed even bigger though.
“We’ll be hidden there from any prying eyes,” he continued.
I nodded, simply going along with him so that I was doing something instead of aimlessly waiting for our animalistic urges to take over once and for all.
“We should gather a few things and bring them inside,” he suggested next and I quietly agreed with him. Together, we started preparations, beginning with the provisions we’d need over the next several days. It was a welcome distraction.
I brought in a few crates of food while he lifted the jugs of water. We worked with each other, moving aside the large tree branches so that we could go inside one by one with the crates of supplies.
The dirt floor was covered in a soft carpet of green moss. The light of the sun gave the shelter just enough light so that I could see the entirety of what was fated to be our home for the immediate future.
I wondered absentmindedly if the moss would feel gentle on my knees.
With a cry, I tried to focus on something else. I opened the crates of food and emptied them and then I took the wooden boxes and arranged them on their sides, creating a shelfing system for our provisions on one side of our hidden den. I organized everything we had—bread, dried meats, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables—into designated sections.
Alix continued to bring in supplies and shortly thereafter brought in our tents and bedding so that we could set up a place to sleep.
“I found one additional crate of pillows and blankets,” he added, and I took them from him. I watched as he brought in one jug of water and then another, placing them to the side of my makeshift pantry. I opened the crate of pillows and sliced the vacuum-packed seal, comforted by the gentle hiss of air as the pillows and blankets expanded to full size. At least we’d be comfortable with all of these.
I began to arrange the bedding on the opposite site of the shelter, laying down thick quilts on the moss and piling pillows on top of one another to create a comfortable place to rest.
And to fuck.
I licked my lips and my stomach rumbled with anxiety, urging me to continue on until our bed was complete. I didn’t want to stop, and I pushed myself to finish what I had started.
Alix watched me, but he didn’t say anything. He knew what I was doing. Already, the drugs were breaking down in my system and like a good little omega, I was beginning to nest. I was building my den and he knew better than to interrupt the process. I’d seen the silver-haired omega do this in the lab, time and time again. Sometimes the alpha would allow her the privilege and other times he didn’t. She always fought hardest against him when he didn’t.
I organized and then rearranged the bedding until I was finally satisfied with my work. It was perfect. I sniffed the air, pleased with the smell of the pine needles, the grass, and the plants surrounding us. The evergreen had provided us with a beautiful shelter, but now I had made it into a home, at least a temporary one, and that seemed to settle my nerves just a little bit.
Eventually, I emerged out of the evergreen to see Alix gathering a rather large pile of wood. I helped him to gather kindling and a few smaller pieces of wood in order to pass the time, but my mind kept wandering to what was going to happen in just a few more hours. I couldn’t stop myself. Even worse, I was beginning to smell him, and he smelled good. Like pure, unadulterated male.
Already, the sun was beginning its downward trek in the sky, marking the coming of my doom. Chewing on my lower lip, I could feel a small simmering of heat beneath my skin and I saw Alix tense, before he shook it off and continued gathering more wood.