Page 84 of Alpha Claimed

"She ate her way through half the candy in the pantry today," said Apollo. "She said it was PMS. So I am assuming she will be having it sometime soon."

"Wait." Cherry's eyes widened, and she looked at Ares. "Where are her pills?"

"Her blockers? I don't think she brought them. There was no need since we'd found each other."

Cherry jumped from the bed. "You're joking. Tell me you're joking. Please."

Ares straightened. "No."

Cherry looked at River and then at Strider, Apollo, Ares, and Bennett. She grabbed her hair.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Oh no. Please no. This is not happening. This is not." Cherry marched up to River and grabbed River's breast.

River whimpered, and her legs moved under the sheets.

Cherry looked at all of them in terror. "Get out," she whispered. "Get out. All of you. Everyone. Get out! Get out now!" The hysterical pitch that Cherry's voice took on made even Strider straighten.

Strider rounded the bed to where Apollo stood. "Highness, we should go."

"Hell no," said Ares. "What's going on."

Cherry stared at him. "Get the hell out of my daughter's room, or so help me, I will kill you with my bare hands."

"Please," said Strider to Ares. "Please let Cherry be with her daughter. Whatever it is, my mate obviously has a very good reason for wanting us all to leave."

Ares looked about to argue, but then he held up a hand. "Five minutes. You get five minutes to do whatever it is you need to do, and then you will tell us what is going on or so help me-"

"Brother, let's not finish that sentence," Apollo said.

Ares looked at him and huffed.

Apollo nodded to Strider even though his wolf snarled and barked at Apollo for leaving.

"Bennett, let's go."

Bennett collected his stuff and walked from the room.

Apollo took one last look at River and then backed out as well. Before he closed the doors, he said, "Five minutes. Then we all want to know what is going on."

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

CHERRY

Cherry stood inside River's bedroom door and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She breathed several times, trying to calm herself and her wolf.

She'd tried. Tried so damn hard to protect her. She'd done everything she could. Everything and still… here they were. And it wasn't the worst-case scenario that Cherry had imagined; it was so much worse.

She wanted to scream. Wanted to grab River and run away with her. Wanted… what was about to happen, not to happen.

Suck it up. You screwed up. Get over it. Move on.

The voice of Cherry's wolf did nothing to soothe Cherry's fears. But then, her wolf never had. Ever since Cherry gave her heart to Strider at sixteen, her wolf had hated her. And then, when she'd met River's dad, her wolf forced her to mate him. And that's when Cherry began to hate her wolf in return. And ever since, Cherry had been torn in two. Never agreeing with her wolf and only letting her wolf out when forced to. The fated mating almost killed Cherry, and she'd sworn never to let that happen to River.

But when River had gone into heat for the first time at the age of twelve, Cherry knew she was an Omega and had become even more determined to make sure River never went through what she had. It's why she'd started River on the blocker pills and descenting spray to begin with. She'd never expected a Lycan to show up, though. And she'd never once thought that River would be a Lycan's Omega. Let alone two.

She sucked in a deep breath, swiped at her eyes, and set her shoulder back. She needed to put on her toughest exterior now and get those two Lycan prince pups to listen to her because if they didn't… it could cost River her life.

Cherry pulledopen River's bedroom doors and stepped into the hall. Both Ares and Apollo stepped up to her, their eyes expectant.