Beg Me Like You Mean It, Captain

I slumped back against the pillow, the sudden absence of his heat leaving me feeling exposed and shivering in the drafty cabin air.

He didn’t even look back as he strolled over to his own bed, tossing the tuck-shop bag onto the small table with a careless shrug.

​"Rest, Evans," he repeated, his voice light, as if he hadn’t just systematically dismantled my dignity. "I’ll wake you when it’s time to face the rest."

​I stared at the ceiling, my limbs feeling like lead. Could I sleep? The very idea seemed impossible. My skin was still humming from his touch, the spot on my neck where his thumb had traced a line feeling like it was on fire.

The scent of frozen pine was everywhere—on the bedsheets, in the air, clinging to my clothes. It was a suffocating reminder of the leash he’d just snapped around my neck.

​But despite that, there was no denying that I was exhausted.

Against my will, the sheer, bone-deep exhaustion of the heat and the morning’s drills began to override my panic. My breathing began to slow, the tension in my jaw finally bleeding away as the darkness pulled me under.

I fell asleep.

But it felt like a short nap because the next moment after I shut my eyes, a rough hand shook my shoulder and brought me back to reality.

​"Wake up, Cap. The team’s probably already halfway through their first plate."

​I bolted upright, my heart hammering. For a second, I forgot where I was, until the sight of Reid standing over me—fully dressed in his Serpents parka, looking fresh and annoyingly composed—brought it all crashing back.

​"Wash your face," he ordered, gesturing toward the bathroom. "You look like hell, and your scent is starting to leak. We need to fix it before we go out there."

​I didn’t argue. I got up, though a bit shaky, and walked towards the bathroom with Reid watching my every step.

In the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face, staring at the stranger in the mirror.

My eyes were a little too bright, my lips swollen. I looked... handled. I looked like a mess. But I had to put on my bright persona in order to face the team.

When I came back out, Reid didn’t waste time. He didn’t even give me time to react and stepped into my space, his hand moving to the nape of my neck.

He leaned in, his nose brushing the sensitive skin of my scent gland, and let out a heavy, deliberate puff of pheromones that were hardly visible to the eyes but thoroughly felt by an Alpha and Omega. Especially an Omega.

​I shuddered, my knees buckling as his pheromones washed over me, effectively burying the sweet, tell-tale orchid scent of my heat.

​"There," he whispered, pulling back with that same snobbish tilt to his head. "Now you smell like me."

He was right.

There was no part of me that smelled like orchids. And while this was even more suspicious and easy to get our teammates guessing, it was far better than having them suspicious about my own identity.

I could just gloss it off that I don’t smell anything since I’m a Beta and the reason his scent must be all over me is because we tackled in the cabin.

Still, I felt nervous and a little uneasy.

​Walking into the lodge felt like stepping onto thin ice. The air inside was thick with the smell of roasted meat and the loud, aggressive chatter of nineteen Alphas.

Every nerve in my body was on edge; I was hyper-aware of the fact that I was literally wearing Reid’s signature like a cloak.

​"Hey! Cap’s alive!" Miller shouted from the long center table, causing a dozen heads to turn.

​I forced a tight, ’Understanding Captain’ smile, sliding into a seat. Reid didn’t sit across from me; he sat right next to me, his sturdy shoulder brushing mine as he reached for a water pitcher.

It was a tactical move, keeping his scent concentrated around me to baffle anyone else’s nose. This way, they can’t tell if it’s coming from me or him.

He’s so clever it pisses me off.

​"You look a little better, Kain," Russo said, leaning over his plate of steak and potatoes. He looked me over with genuine concern. "That altitude still hitting you hard? You were white as a sheet earlier."

​"Yeah," I rasped, my throat feeling dry. I took a quick sip of water, trying to keep my hand from trembling. "Just a bit of a headache. I think the nap helped."

​"You still look a bit flushed," Miller added, squinting at me. He leaned in a fraction, his nostrils flaring as he caught a whiff of the air around us. I felt my stomach drop into my shoes. "Man, what is that? You smell like you fell face-first into a pine thicket."

​At the sound of that, my heart stopped. I could feel the heat rising to my face, and I desperately fought the urge to pull my collar up. Beside me, Reid didn’t miss a beat. He stabbed a piece of meat with his fork, leaning back casually.

​"That’d be me," Reid said, his voice smooth and bored. "Since the Captain was ’incapacitated,’ I had to do the gear check in that cramped equipment shed. My bag leaked some of that high-concentrate pine grip spray all over the place. I’ve been stuck in this cabin with him for two hours—now the whole room smells like a Christmas tree."

​Russo laughed, shaking his head. "Classic rookie. Keep your gear tight, McCoy. You’re giving the Cap a second headache with that stench."

​"I’ll be more mindful," Reid smirked, the word ’mindful’ sounding like a private joke directed straight at me.

​I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, my chest tight. I picked at my food, unable to eat a single bite, feeling Reid’s leg press firmly against mine under the table. It was a silent, sturdy reminder: he had saved me from the questions, but the price was that I was now entirely within his grasp.

​I was safe for the moment, but the way Reid was looking at me told me he was already thinking about what would happen once we were back behind that cabin door.

His gaze made it hard for me to swallow but I ate anyway. I needed the strength.