Kegan knew exactly when his heat shifted from preheat to full on heat. He woke up at one in the morning according to the clock on Calix's nightstand, the numbers all blurred due to the pain he was in.

It felt like when Leon had cut and burned his legs with the wax, only it was happening from the inside out. He groaned in pain, feeling Jade come to the surface and gently take over.

"Let me take over," Jade said soothingly in his mind. "It's going to be alright. I know what to do."

Even though Kegan was able to handle the overwhelming pain, he agreed and allowed Jade to overtake him, eyes shifting from brown to lilac. Kegan could still feel the burning pain of the heat, it felt better to fade into the background and not have to take the wheel.

During his heats, Kegan had always faced them alone, sometimes with other Omegas in the room. He could handle the pain and keep a somewhat level mind, but it helped a little to let Jade take over so Kegan could relax.

For a few minutes, with Jade in control, Kegan felt relaxed and calm despite the twinges of pain in his gut.

That was, until Jade started calling.

"Alpha Calix!" he howled, tipping his head back and howling as well as a human being controlled by a wolf could. "Alpha!"

"Stop it!" Kegan scolded, trying to take control, but Jade pushed him down, continuing his howling and whining. "Stop calling for him!"

"I want my mate," Jade snarled, keeping Kegan from taking back over.

It was difficult, since they were in their human body and Kegan controlled it more often, but Jade managed to keep him from breaking out.

The door to the room opened and Jade purred while Kegan mentally snarled at the sight of Calix.

Calix entered, looking curiously at Kegan. He walked over to the Omega, trying to keep his wolf at bay. The sight of their mate in his bed, covered in his scent, was proving too much for Zakai, who kept trying to order Calix to tackle and scent him thoroughly. 

"What’s wrong?" Calix asked, kneeling at the side of the bed. The last thing he wanted was to crowd Kegan's space.

Kegan just whined, moving over in the nest to make room for the Alpha. "Come lay with me," he pleaded, rolling on his back and revealing his stomach, though it was still covered by clothes.

Calix was confused; he hadn't known Kegan long, and mates or not, his heat shouldn't have this much influence over his actions. Especially since Kegan was blocked and defensive when they had spoken, and it was clear he wouldn't trust easily.

Even so, Calix slowly sat down on the bed, making eye contact with the Omega. He smiled, seeing the lilac eyes when Kegan decided to sit up.

"What's your name?" he asked, knowing that Kegan's wolf was in control.

"Jade," he responded, purring out the words.

Calix hummed, watching the wolf watch him, eyes never moving from his face and body. "How does Kegan feel right now?" he asked, holding out his hand and cupping Jade's chin.

"He's irritated," Jade responded, his eyes fluttering shut as he pushed his face into Calix's palm. "With me."

"Let him come back, please," Calix said, making Jade look down at the bed sadly.

"He won't let me come back out if I go in," Jade whispered, wanting nothing more than to keep Kegan at bay and be with his mate. "Please let me stay."

Calix shook his head. "I'm sorry, pup," he murmured. "If you listen, during the next full moon I'll let Zakai out and you and he can go running."

"What if Kegan doesn't let me?" Jade asked, pleading with Calix, despite the instinctual pull to do whatever his Alpha asked.

"I'll talk with him," Calix promised. "It was nice meeting you, Jade. Zakai has already fallen for you."

Jade purred and closed his eyes, and when they reopened they were back to Kegan's dark brown.

Kegan backed away from Calix cautiously.

The other Omegas in the Red Claw pack always said they had to be locked away during heat because the Alphas couldn't control themselves. Kegan was also aware that his scent was taking over the room and that it was made to attract Alphas. The impact on a mate was tenfold. 

"Am I in your space?" Calix asked, moving to kneel beside the bed so he wasn't overwhelming his mate.

Kegan shrugged. "It's your room so technically it's not even my space," he muttered, wondering when Calix was going to pounce. Even if he couldn't avoid it, he wanted to be prepared.

Calix chuckled, resting his chin on the mattress. "No, it's our space. You're my mate and I want to share space with you and protect you," he explained.

"Are you going to mate with me?" Kegan asked, not looking at the Alpha's eyes.

"During this heat?"

Kegan nodded, biting his lip nervously. His nervousness cut through the smell of his heat, hitting Calix right in the nose.

Calix shook his head. "I want to get to know you first and show you that I'm not like the other Alphas you've been around," he said, looking sorrowfully at Kegan. "Astra told me some of what you said to her. About how you were treated?"

Kegan huffed at that. He really didn't want the Alpha to know about him. Now he had two traitors to deal with.

"What about it?" Kegan spat, his irritation coming out in his tone and making him briefly panic until Calix responded in a soft voice.

"We're not like that here."

Kegan didn't believe him, but he didn't say anything else. Another wave of heat cut through him, but he managed to only wince and ignore it.

Calix noticed and raised an eyebrow. "You're in heat, correct?" he asked.

"Yes," Kegan whispered in pain, laying down and shutting his eyes.

"How are you not wailing in pain? I've heard other Omegas go through it and most of them end up crying in pain," Calix said, worried his Omega might be sick or hurt in some way that managed to make him not feel the severe pain.

Kegan groaned and opened his eyes, the effort to do so tiring him out even more. "I'm fine," he mumbled, grabbing his head which had started to throb. "I'm used to going through heats without an Alpha and if we yelled too loud..."

Calix seemed to understand that expressing the pain would result in punishment in Kegan's old pack, so he didn't question it.

"Have you ever had another Omega in the room to comfort you?"

Kegan shrugged. "There have been some in the room since we all shared one but they rarely comforted me," he mumbled. "They didn't want to smell like heat or else Alphas would go after them."

"You won't get hurt here," Calix said, reaching out and touching Kegan's hair. His wolf began to swoon and get excited when Kegan pushed his head into Calix's hand. "No one will hurt you here."

Kegan nodded, unable to say words. He knew that if he opened his mouth he'd end up whining in pain, and he didn't want to worry Calix more than he already had.

Calix seemed to sense that anyway, soothingly running his fingers through Kegan's hair. His wolf was begging him to pin down their mate and pleasure him, but Calix knew it was too soon. He'd always been proud of the control he had over his wolf and instincts, never having lost control at the scent of heat.

Eventually Kegan drifted off to sleep, and Calix pulled his hand away from the Omega, only for Kegan to whimper in his sleep and seek out the comforting warmth of his mate's hand.

Unable to listen to his mate whine, Calix climbed into the bed and pulled Kegan to his chest, sighing contently when the Omega began to scent him in his sleep, pushing his nose into the crook of Calix's neck.

"I'll protect you," Calix murmured, not caring that Kegan couldn't hear him. "I'll undo all of the pain and damage they've done to you. They'll pay for what they've done."