Quinn kept one eye on Remi and one eye on the shortening queue ahead of her as she waited for her turn to order. She’d given the offer for Remi to come up with her to the kiosk, maybe even place her own order, but the sweet pink that the cold had brought to Remi’s cheeks swiftly drained at the thought of speaking to a human, so Quinn had left her on a bench nearby. She was probably worn out from all the walking anyway, they’d been treading the muddy trails for a couple of hours. Mostly in silence, and most interruptions being a question from Remi on something a human was doing nearby that she found odd.

“What can I get you?” asked the droopy-faced kiosk attendant.

“Two sausage rolls, a hot chocolate, and a water, please.”

The woman pried two sausage rolls from the heated display case with long metal tongs and missed the paper bag a few times trying to get them in. Behind her, a teenager added hot water to paper cups and dished them out from a side window. Quinn had been right not to order a coffee, then.

“Got your tickets for the firework show?”

“Fireworks?” Quinn repeated as she tapped her card on the white plastic payment box.

“They’re putting on a show every other Saturday until Guy Fawkes,” the woman explained. “Tonight is the start, but… I think we know the dog-owners will have something to say about it.” She nodded with raised brows and Quinn mimicked her. “So who knows if they’ll actually get to put the show on all five times.”

“What time does it start?”

“Just after sunset, around six-thirty?”

“Not sure we’re looking to stay that long,” Quinn said, accepting her purchases and tucking them into her elbow. “But thanks for the head’s up.”

The mention of a fireworks show had Remi’s immediate interest. Fireworks weren’t common in packs, especially not beyond sparklers and other small-time items. Loud noises and bright lights scared away prey; it wasn’t worth half an hour of entertainment to lose out on food supplies. Remi puffed cooling breaths onto both her sausage roll and her hot chocolate in a two-beat tempo like a panpipe player while Quinn weighed up their options.

“If we stay, we’ll either have to go back to the car for a couple of hours to stay warm or walk to the other end of the field to the cafe that has indoor seating… but that would mean being in very close proximity to all the humans with the same plan…”

Remi didn’t voice her preference, but Quinn sensed the tensing of muscles that came with the mention of humans.

“Want to stay in the car till the fireworks show?”

The gloves stuffed under Remi’s chin impeded her nod, but Quinn caught it all the same. She shovelled down her own snack and jogged back to the kiosk to buy their tickets. When she returned, Remi was dusting pastry flakes off her dainty fingers.

Within minutes of settling into their seats in the car, and seconds of getting permission to nap in the back, Remi was out cold. It was only for the sake of Remi’s slumber that Quinn forced down her laughter. There really was no time or place that Remi couldn’t sleep.

Sitting and doing nothing was Quinn’s worst nightmare. Sitting and watching Remi sleep was… something Quinn would never admit to. Especially not how much it satisfied something low in her belly to feel the peace rolling from her frame. No bond necessary. However, the urge to curl around the little omega, warm her and protect her, was sending jolts down the muscles of her limbs, pushing her to climb into the back. Quinn muffled a groan under her fist. So stupid. They were in a giant metal container with built-in heating; Remi was already warmed and protected more than Quinn’s body could do so. The primitive instincts that flared in her gut didn’t take logic or common sense into consideration, though. Unless it was her, it wasn’t good enough for her pack.

The sun dragged itself lower in the sky at a torturous speed. But once it had painted the area in an orange glow, Quinn called back to Remi to wake her. It took a few attempts.

Remi was still rubbing at her eyes and snuggling into her clothes while they walked down to the viewing area. There were lots of families and couples crowding the gated space, and Remi instinctively pulled in close to Quinn’s side. Quinn looped an arm round her shoulders and directed her to an emptier patch of grass. In spite of the cold, Remi’s post-nap body was radiating heat, Quinn tried not to feel guilty for stealing it while they waited.

From the first explosion of green light in the sky, it was very clear that Remi had never experienced these kinds of fireworks. The bang sent a shock wave through her and all of her layers. She dove into the unzipped centre of Quinn’s coat, bumping her face against Quinn’s stomach although the obstruction didn’t stop her trying to climb further into Quinn’s clothes.

“Remi?” Quinn yelled over the popping and fizzing. “Do you want to leave?”

No answer, but Remi had squashed herself in against Quinn’s sweater and they would have a tough time trying to squeeze back through the crowds to leave the viewing area, especially as a four-legged hybrid. She pulled both sections of her coat around Remi tighter and zipped them. With a guess as to where Remi’s ears should be under the hat, Quinn tried to cup them with her hands and tucked her woolly head under her chin to block as much of the racket as possible. Tiny hands wriggled round her sides in the now very tight coat and clutched handfuls of sweater at her back.

A heart was hammering against her. She extended a tentative bond offering, like a limp handshake. Not intending to intrude on Remi’s feelings… but concerned. Remi allowed her in at once. She was fine. A little shaken, but soothed in Quinn’s hold. Quinn broke the one-way bond line and turned her attention to the sky.

The show was pretty spectacular. Every colour of the rainbow lit up the sky with crackles and whooshes and bangs that would have exhilarated Quinn as a kid. Now, she was exhilarated by the sensation of an omega pressed to her. And she would die of embarrassment if Remi smelt it.

She could smell Remi, though. Wafting through the wool of her hat came the sweet scent of an unclaimed omega that set Quinn’s mouth watering. Quinn pinched her eyes shut, but without the visual stimulus of the fireworks, she only became more aware of how good Remi smelled. There was nothing in her power that could keep her chin from tilting even further, burying her nose into the hat, searching for more of that heavenly scent. Her arms drew Remi even deeper against her, as though squeezing her hard enough would release more of it.

Disguised beneath the noise of the fireworks and the dark of the night, illuminated only in short flashes, Quinn dragged the hat off and nuzzled her face into the soft flicks of Remi’s hair. Deep inhales set her nose alight. It was so wrong, at least, that was what the logical part of her believed. Unfortunately, her instincts didn’t agree. And Remi didn’t react, locked into Quinn’s coat like a straight jacket. A sharp breath caught in Quinn’s chest. So much more wrong, her brain screamed. Taking advantage of a scared omega, zipping her into her coat so she can’t escape, and… nasally molesting her?

Quinn forced her eyes open and the entire viewing area had been flooded with gold light for a few seconds. The crowd made ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ noises. It almost physically hurt her to return the hat to Remi’s fluffy head, but she did it. The muscles of her stomach were clenching and unclenching at the effort, reminding her that this was not what she really wanted. Remi shouldn’t wear the hat. She should wear nothing at all-

Thank god for the fireworks drowning out Quinn’s long groan, filled with self-hatred. Somewhere, deep inside of her, a slobbering alpha was yelling these intrusive thoughts. It couldn’t be her thinking them. She forced her attention to the lights and the colours and the noise, training herself to take note of everything so that she couldn’t think about the thing she was actually interested in. The small, warm thing pressed against her.

When the show ended, Quinn looped her arms under Remi and waddled them, both in her coat, back to the car at top speed. Beside the door, she yanked down the zipper and Remi flopped free and straight towards the cement of the car park ground. Quinn snatched her back by the armpits, barely keeping her from a cracked head. Remi’s eyes were closed, and her body flaccid.

“R-Remi?” Quinn croaked. She leant in, putting her ear to Remi’s mouth.

A soft snore.

The sigh of relief Quinn let out was half exasperated laughter. She bundled Remi into the back seat and hoped the whole way home that this meant the sniffing incident had gone unnoticed. If Remi gave even a hint of awareness as to what she did, though, she would apologise immediately. That, she promised herself.

It was easier than promising it wouldn’t happen again.