Page 161 of Power Shift

“Did she text? I need to call her back. It’s about Sadie.”

“Is it Thorne again?” I ask, rubbing her lower back.

She shakes her head and tries to take the phone from Landon. He lifts it out of her grasp and starts thumbing through the notifications.

“You’re in heat, Briar. Sadie isn’t your concern right now. We need to focus on getting out of the arena before another wave comes. It might not be so easily curable next time,” he says.

“That’s not your choice to make. Sadie is my patient and friend. I can handle myself long enough to make sure she gets the delivery she wants, heat or not,” Briar snaps.

Unease splashes over me. “You aren’t talking about going in for a delivery while you’re in heat, love.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” She pushes up onto her hands and lets loose an angry moan when my knot tugs at her entrance. “I’m going to do my job. Now, tell me if she’s in labour.”

Landon looks at me, a silent battle waging in his eyes. It goes against our instincts to allow her to do this. To put herself in a potentially dangerous situation when there’s an alternative. But isn’t that what we said we’d never do? Stopping her from her work right now would be a slap in her face after promising that we wouldn’t take her job away.

Andallowingher to do anything isn’t the kind of alpha I want to be.

Landon seems to read every one of those thoughts before I have a chance to speak them aloud. His jaw pulses when he hands her phone over.

Her eyes water as she takes it from him and glances between the two of us. Emotions are running high right now, but I know her gratefulness has nothing to do with the spike of hormones.

“It’s our job to protect you always. Heat or not. So, if you’re going, so are we. And if it gets to be too much, we’re taking you out of there whether you want us to or not,” Landon declares.

She nods, sniffing when he wipes her cheeks free of tears. “Thank you.”

I just hope that while I know we made the right call for our relationship with her that it won’t turn around to bite us later.

50

BRIAR

I’m meltingfrom the inside out.

That’s the only appropriate way to describe the heat that’s smothering me the longer I go without a knot locked inside of me and a pair of teeth buried in my throat. The guys have all the windows rolled down in the SUV, but not even the evening air is helping.

I’m positive they knew that going into this drive. Still, they kept it to themselves when I demanded they roll them down the moment we got out of the parking garage.

Jasper’s behind the wheel while Landon fiddles anxiously with the directions on the GPS. I can’t focus on what they’re whispering to one another, and fuck me, I don’t care.

Not when Ronan’s palm is searing into my thigh, anchored there like the cruellest form of torture. I swallow for the thousandth time to try and bring some moisture back to my mouth and throat before groaning at the strength of the cramp that rocks through me.

They’ve grown in intensity and are no longer centralized in my stomach. Now, they spear outward and pierce meeverywhere, mostly between my legs, before fading. The relief lasts only a few minutes. By the time I’ve gotten myself under control again, another strikes. Even with Jasper’s cum inside of me and pooling in the cheap panties I slipped on before heading to the game.

I never thought to bring a backup pair or thicker ones meant for a heat. Now, I’m left heading into my place of work with soiled panties, perfume that won’t disappear, and my pack’s last name on my back. If I didn’t own half of Harbour of Hope, I’d be fired on the spot.

With a tight exhale, I reach forward and grab the back of Landon’s seat. The moisture sticking to my forehead gets wiped away with a soft fabric while I grit my teeth.

“What can we do to help you?” Dash asks, pressing the extra shirt from his duffle bag against the back of my neck.

“Just get me to the clinic. I’m worried out of my mind for Sadie.”

Jasper clenches the steering wheel, knuckles blanching. “Are you sure it’s safe to take you there like this?”

“Don’t turn against me now, Jasper,” I hiss.

Dash uses one of his extra shirts to rub my forehead again. “He’s not, Bright Eyes. We’re just concerned.”

“I’ll live. Clover said she’s already seven centimetres dilated. She has supplies for me there. Some heat panties and ice packs, at least.”

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