Page 78 of Alpha Awakened

Hazard choked back the protest that wanted to come out of his mouth. He nodded once and spun on his heel to walk away.

When he reached the barracks, he stormed inside and slammed the door shut behind him. His emotions were running high, pulsing hot, ready to explode. He was annoyed at himself for even approaching Ice. Pissed that he was about to have an unscheduled heat. Irritated that it was coming up so fucking fast, robbing him of the time he needed to prepare for it.

Major Ortiz was sitting at her usual spot at the kitchen table. She looked up at his noisy arrival.

“You smell pissed off. Everything okay?”

Hazard bit back a growl. “Not really. I need to let you know that I’m going to miss training for the next couple of days and I’ll be unavailable if any missions come up. I’m about to have an unscheduled heat.”

“Ah. Okay then. No need to be upset. We all have to miss trainings and ops when necessary.”

“True. But what if we get a solid lead on Cortez while I’m out of commission?”

“The rest of us will handle it.”

This time Hazard did growl. “I wanted to be there when we took Cortez down.”

“Don’t borrow trouble, Corporal. We may not hear anything from him for another few weeks.” She was quiet for a moment before she asked him another question. “But that’s not the only reason you’re upset, is it?”

Hazard sighed. “No, Major. It’s not. But I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Understood. Are you going to the omega building for the duration?”

“Not if I don’t have to. Since I barely have any time to prepare myself for this one, I’ll feel better if I’m in my own space and nest. If that’s alright.”

Ortiz nodded. “It’s fine. The bedroom doors have scent seals so the smell of your heat won’t bother us. You’ll just have to make sure that you don’t come out for any reason.”

Some of Hazard’s agitation eased now that he had permission to stay in the barracks. He wouldn’t have to go to an unfamiliar location when he was at his most vulnerable. “Thanks, Major. I appreciate it. I’ll head to the store to pick up what I need and when I get back, I’ll lock myself in my room until it’s over.”

* * *

Sam felt for Hazard. As an alpha, she didn’t know exactly what he was going through right now. Alphas in rut didn’t have the same experiences and instinctual drives as an omega in heat. But she did know what it was like to want to be with someone and be unable to do so.

She knew her team and what was going on with them. It was easy to figure out from Hazard’s upset what happened. Hazard had asked Ice to share his heat and Ice had rejected him. This had to be a painful situation for them both. But since doling out relationship advice wasn’t in her nature or her job description, there was nothing she could do to help them.

She went back to working on the supply request forms. Five minutes later, the door opened again and Ice walked in.

“Exactly the man I was hoping to see,” she said.

Ice came over to join her in the kitchen. He took off the wolf mask, but as always left on the balaclava. It had been a while since she’d seen his face. A year at least.

“Yes, Major?”

“You know about Hazard. That he’s about to go into heat.”

A stiff nod preceded Ice’s verbal answer.

“Yes. I was the one who informed him it was approaching.”

That was interesting. She didn’t mention that however. “And so I’m clear, you two have decided not to spend this heat together.”

“That’s correct.”

She appreciated that Ice didn’t insult her intelligence by insisting there was no reason for her to ask that question. “Well then. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to spend the next couple of days somewhere outside our barracks.”

Ice tilted his head to the side in question. “Why?”

“Because Hazard asked for permission to spend his heat here and I granted it.”