Page 155 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

“I know,” he said, already lifting her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. “I’ve got you, Omega. You’re safe. You're going to be fine. We’re going to take care of you.”

She sobbed, her breath catching in his collar, every nerve ending singing in pain. “I—it hurts so much—I can’t—I can’t breathe?—”

Ronan growled low in his throat, protective fury vibrating through him as he carried her swiftly toward the exit. The sound of tactical boots surrounded them, a unit of armor-clad guards flanking every corridor they passed.

“Hold on a little longer,” he said, barely above a whisper. “We’re getting you out of here. Just a little longer, Serenity.”

Her body shook uncontrollably. Between the heat, the cold water drenching her, and the sheer exhaustion from being drugged and restrained for so long, she didn’t know how much more she had left to give.

Outside, the night was alive with chaos. The truck intended to transport her to the underground was overturned, tires still spinning. Bodies lay prone nearby, tranquilized or taken out by Ronan’s team.

“Holy fuck,” came a shout. Darius.

“What the hell—she’s in heat?” Lucian’s voice, sharp and panicked, joined next. “I thought you gave her the meds!”

“I did,” Darius snapped. “The stronger dose. They must have?—”

“They injected her with something else,” Ronan said grimly. “It’s the only explanation. That heat? It’s induced. Purposefully accelerated. And they timed it to coincide with a goddamn feral Alpha transport.”

Lucian swore viciously. “Fucking hell. We were two minutes from losing her.”

“I have a location,” Lucian continued, already signaling their convoy. “It’s secure. Reinforced. And… it has a nest. One I’ve been building, just in case.”

Serenity blinked sluggishly. Lucian. Nest. Her body curled tighter in Ronan’s arms.

“You did that for me?” she rasped.

“Always had contingencies,” Lucian muttered. “Didn’t want to need them.”

“Move,” Darius barked at the driver. “Fast as you can. No stops.”

The doors slammed. Engines roared. Tires screeched against asphalt.

Ronan leaned down, brushing wet hair from Serenity’s face. “You’re going to be okay. We’ve got you. Your pack has you now.”

As the clock struck twelve, Serenity’s eyes fluttered shut at last. Safe. Owned. Claimed.

The hunt was over.

She was theirs.

Warmth.That was the first thing she felt.

Not the stifling, fevered burn from before—but a steadier kind of heat, grounded and primal, wrapped around her like an anchor.

Serenity stirred, her body limp against soft cotton sheets, her skin still damp with sweat, her thighs slick and parted as the aching pulse between them returned with renewed urgency. She whimpered, the sound raw and unguarded. Her limbs trembled as her heat flared again, more intense now that the suppressant had been overrun.

She needed.

God, she needed.

The nest beneath her smelled like her pack. Like home. Like moss and cedar and smoke. Lucian's planning had not failed—pillows, blankets, sheets soaked in her Alphas' scents surrounded her in a cocoon meant to comfort. But it wasn’t enough.

Not without them.

A soft sound caught in her throat as her hips rolled instinctively, seeking friction, release, anything. Her hands fisted the sheets. She wanted to cry, to scream, to shatter.

Then—

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