Page 161 of The Case of the Missing Love Stone

Roman’s hand pauses against Scarlet’s foot. “Yes.”

“I left both of you while she was in heat.”

“You came back.”

“I should never have gone.”

Roman leans closer, careful not to jostle Scarlet. “You can’t be everywhere, Wes.”

“I can be where she is.”

“She needs a pack, not a guard posted over her bed.”

“I can be both.”

“You can.” Roman lays his palm against the back of my neck. “You also have to let us hold you when it becomes too much.”

My purr stutters.

His thumb strokes beneath my hair.

Scarlet shifts between us. A small breath leaves her, followed by a broken sound that cuts through me cleanly. Her fingers close around my shirt.

“Sweetheart.”

Her face turns toward my chest. Then she sobs.

The first cry bends her whole body. I gather her closer, one arm beneath her legs and the other across her back, while Roman moves against her other side. His hand cups the back of her head.

Scarlet cries without restraint. The sound pours out of her in raw, shaking waves. Tears soak through my shirt. Her scent floods the nest with fear, exhaustion, and grief, sharpened by the last traces of a heat that asked more from her than anybody should have to give.

I purr harder. Roman joins me.

Our frequencies fill the room, mine low and heavy, his warmer and steadier around the edges. Scarlet curls tighter on my lap until she is pressed between us. She gasps. “I don’t understand it.”

Roman strokes her hair away from her wet face. “The call?”

“My grandmother.” She drags in air but loses it to another sob. “The map. The release path. She wrote warnings everywhere, but she never wrote what I’m supposed to do.”

“You don’t have to solve it tonight,” I tell her.

“The Love Stone is gone. People are sick. Someone keeps coming to my house.” Her nails catch in my shirt. “My heat was terrifying.”

My body locks around her, and Scarlet lifts her face. Tears cling to her lashes and track over flushed cheeks.

“I’ve had awful heats before, fifteen of them. I know how bad they can get.” Her voice breaks. “This one was worse, but you were there. Both of you were there. Even when I couldn’t recognize Roman, I knew someone had me. I was never alone.”

Roman’s purr catches, and she grabs for him. He takes her hand and presses it against his chest. “You had us, love.”

“I always had to survive them by myself.” Her lower lip trembles. “This time, I didn’t. You fed me, held me, and kept me safe, and now I want one goddamn minute to be an omega who gets to rest after a heat.”

“You get more than a minute,” I say.

“I don’t think the world is going to give it to me.”

“The world doesn’t decide what you get from us.”

She looks at me. I wipe the tears from beneath her eyes with my thumb. “You can come apart in my arms whenever you need to, my little omega. I will hold every piece until you’re ready for them again.”