A/N: I forgot to mention on the first chapter that a huge thank you goes out to my Beta, Friend, and Fellow Author; Kendrene! Her work is amazing, and she can be found on ArchiveOfOurOwn under the same name. Seriously, go read her stuff.

A/N: There isn't any assault in this chapter, but an Alpha definitely has it on his mind. Just so you are aware.

A/N: This is also going to be 4 chapters. Two of them are sin. You're welcome.

Chapter 2: Protection

Waverly sighed as she puttered around the living room, re-arranging the photos and knick-knacks on the small, scarred mantel that sat above the fireplace. She couldn't seem to stop fidgeting, and she'd already dusted and vacuumed the downstairs twice now. She ignored Wynonna's scowl and Gus' knowing looks.

She sighed and threw herself down on the couch, tucking her chin into her chest. She shifted a few times before Wynonna groaned and set Peacemaker down on the coffee table. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get anything done.

"What, Waverly?" She tried to keep the exasperation out of her voice, as she turned to look at her younger sister, noting the flush in her cheeks and the way her eyes kept bouncing from one object to another in the small living room.

"Nothing," muttered Waverly.

"It's obviously something, Waves, so just fucking spit it out, already!" Wynonna almost growled the last word, but managed to give her younger sister a small smile to soften her words.

"Language!" Gus snapped without looking up from the magazine she was reading. She was entirely too interested in her Field and Stream magazine, but her fingers gripped the edges of the magazine tightly. She'd been supportive of Waverly, when the young girl had come to her and told her that she was ready to go off the suppressants. She sighed quietly, knowing that she wasn't a girl anymore, but a young woman, and frankly, she could have chosen so much worse than Nicole for her first heat. God was she glad that Champ wasn't an Alpha. The older Beta shuddered at the thought of that stupid nitwit trying to knot her niece. She snarled and fisted the magazine.

"Uh, Gus?"

Gus looked up, guiltly, and smiled letting the magazine drop into her lap. She smoothed out the wrinkled edges as best as she could before standing. "I'm going to go make some dinner." She gave Wynonna a meaningful look, and pushed down on her shoulder as she walked by.

Wynonna grunted when she felt Gus push her back into her seat, and she scowled before sighing in defeat. She turned back to Waverly, crossing her arms and staring at the younger girl until she started to squirm. Wynonna smirked. Good to know she still could do that.

But when Waverly looked up at her with wet, brown eyes, all of Wynonna's good humor left in an instant. She scooted over and pulled the younger Earp into her arms. She kissed the top of her head, and smoothed her hair back from her flushed cheeks.

"What's wrong, Waves?" She murmured as she tightened her hold around the younger girl.

Waverly rested her head on Wynonna's thin shoulder, pissed as fat tears dripped down her hot cheeks. This heat! It was making her uncomfortable. Her skin constantly itched, but no amount of scratching would relieve it. And now she was crying! Maybe this had been a stupid idea. She shouldn't have done it. She should have just taken the damn suppressants and ignored how Nicole looked at her, and ignored how her belly would tremble whenever she would see the cop.

She pulled back slightly, enough to give herself room to breathe, but not enough to fully pull out of Wynonna's arms. "Ugh, I'm sorry," she sighed as she tucked her feet up under her and then burrowed deeper into her sister's arms.

Wynonna hesitated for a moment and then grabbed the pillow next to her and put it in her lap, patting it. Once Waverly had scooted down and rested her head on the pillow, Wynonna slowly ran her fingers through the younger girl's hair. Wynonna started to hum under her breath, an old lullaby that reminded her of warm gingersnap and feather light kisses on her pudgy, baby cheeks. She felt that old, dull ache flare in her chest, and she pushed against the memory clouding her mind of a young girl searching desperately for the mother that had simply vanished one morning.

Unbeknownst to Wynonna and Waverly, Gus leaned against the door frame between the living room and kitchen, watching the two girls. It was the lullaby that had brought her partially into the room. And it was the sight of her two nieces both caught in long, distant memories grown as cold as the ashes in the fireplace. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, quietly cursing both Ward and his long-gone wife. She turned abruptly back to the kitchen, pulling out all the ingredients to make Waverly's favorite cookies.

"Will it hurt?"

Wynonna almost missed the soft question, and she winced, suddenly wanting nothing more than to bolt. She hadn't imagined ever having to have this conversation with her sister. Somehow she'd figured Gus would have taken care of this part. She blew out a breath, her bangs fluttering back down to whisper against her forehead, and she glanced around the room while she thought about her answer. She didn't want to frighten Waverly, although the good Lord knew the girl didn't frighten easy. None of the Earps frightened easily, not after all that had happened.

She decided to settle for the blunt truth. "Yup. But if Nicole is any kind of decent Alpha, she'll make sure the pain fades quickly." She grit her teeth silently promising all sorts of vengeance on Nicole if she didn't see Waverly properly through her heat.

"You don't have to do this, Waves." She angled her head downwards, trying to see into the younger Earp's face, but she couldn't quite see her eyes from her angle. She rubbed her fingertips against the younger girl's skull, smiling when Waverly purred.

"Yeah, I do. I want to." Waverly shifted, pushing her head back into Wynonna's stomach, enjoying the way the older Earp scratched her skull. She vaguely remembered other fingers doing the same once upon a long time ago.

"The suppressants aren't working as well anymore." Waverly gave a little shrug, "it is just a matter of time, and this way I control it, and I'm not at the mercy of some random Alpha."

Wynonna bit her lip, nodding silently. It actually made sense. Not all the Alphas could be trusted in this town. She snorted. Hell most of them couldn't be trusted. If Waverly's suppressants unexpectedly failed while she was in town...she snarled at the thought. This way, Nicole would see her through her heat, and most likely would the rest of the heats. The more times that Nicole was with Waverly during her heat, the more unappealing Waverly would smell as her heats approached. She grudgingly admitted it was a good plan. A solid plan.

Wynonna sighed and shifted slightly, stretching her legs. "You know how female Alphas change, right?" She sighed in relief when Waverly snorted and nodded her head. "Well, you've been with Champ," she curled her lip in disgust, "so you aren't exactly unprepared."

She squeezed Waverly's head lightly so the younger girl twisted and looked up at her. She smirked down at her,"but female Alphas have a lot more stamina than Beta males." She chuckled when Waverly blushed.

"Thank God for that," muttered Waverly. Champ might have been the star in the rodeo, but in bed he had a few shortcomings. Literally.

"You really like her, huh?"

Waverly bit her lip and nodded her head. She looked up at Wynonna again, a small smile flirting with the edges of her mouth. Her eyes softened as she murmured, "She is so confident, but not cocky like most Alphas. Like...she knows who she is. She has nothing to prove." Waverly sighed again, the smile blooming across her face, "And when she looks at me…."

Wynonna waited, smiling slightly at the look of quiet awe on Waverly's face. Her eyes were soft, almost dreamy, and it caused a slight pang in the older sister's heart. Her little sister was all grown up, and finally in love, even if she didn't realize it yet. And she'd missed out on so much of Waverly's life. She swallowed the bitter regret, silently vowing that she was never going to leave again.

"You chose good, Waverly. It will be fine. She's an Alpha, but more importantly she's Nicole, and she will know what to do."

They stayed there on the couch a while longer, neither saying anything, just enjoying the quiet peaceful moment between sisters, until the smell of freshly baked cookies roused them from the couch. They ate too many cookies, chugging cold glasses of milk and teasing each other incessantly until Gus drove them out of the kitchen.

Not long after, Gus headed home, and Wynonna went into town to see Dolls. Dusk was falling, and Waverly stood in the living room at the window, one slim hand holding back the curtain. She hated to admit it, but she didn't like to be at the homestead alone when night was moving swiftly across the valley. She gripped the curtain then let it slip through her fingers with a sigh.

She turned back to the couch, scowling as she rubbed her cheeks. She was flushed and had a low fever, and her skin still itched. And she'd been more than a few issues with her underwear becoming a little wetter than she would like, and it was only Wednesday night. She sighed knowing she was in for a long night as she slowly approached her heat. She made her way into the kitchen to make the tea that Gus had left her. It would help with the fever, and hopefully she'd be able to sleep. She stood silently in the kitchen watching the tea slowly steep, unaware of the shadows creeping outside the rings of light cast by the porch lights. But someone else saw.

She stepped out of the shadows of the barn behind the three men. She was surprised it had taken them this long to show up. She'd been sure they would have come last night. She cocked her gun, and her lips twisted in satisfaction when she saw them freeze in place with their hands in the air. "You, boys, seem to be lost," she stated quietly, her voice deceptively soft and calm. One of the Alphas snorted and started to lower his hands and turn towards the distinctly feminine voice behind him.

"Do it. Drop your hands. I dare you," she snarled, the growl building in her chest. Her hand shook slightly, and she took a deep breath, grimacing at the stench of aroused Alpha and unwashed bodies. What was it with all the male Alphas in this town? Did none of them believe in even basic hygiene?!

"Close your eyes, all of you, and turn around very, very slowly." She waited for them to comply and then took her phone out of her pocket, quickly taking a series of photos. And when one of them was stupid enough to try and open his eyes, she slammed the but of her gun into his forehead. She smiled in satisfaction when he fell to the ground with a whine, his hands covering his head. She licked her lips at the sight of the blood dripping from between his thick, dirty fingers.

"I have your photos. I know who you are. If I ever see you on this land again…" she let her voice trail off, but the menacing growl ripping from her chest made them cower slightly. "Tell your idiot friends that Waverly Earp is off limits. Now get out of here."

She waited in the shadows for long minutes after she'd sent them scampering off down the road. She listened to the night breeze, the chirping of crickets, the gurgle of a sluggish stream that ran behind the homestead. And she breathed in the faintest wisps of clover and mint. Waverly's heat was growing stronger, and she felt the irresistible pull of the younger girl. She felt the pressure in her lower belly again, and she sighed as she instinctively clenched her thighs together. She shook her head, and slipped deeper into the shadows, walking a large perimeter to ensure that nothing else was waiting out in the dark. She was the only predator left on the homestead.

Waverly groaned as she slowly, almost painfully dragged herself out of bed the next morning, hours later than normal. Her mouth was dry, and her tongue felt swollen. Her head thumped so hard, she whimpered when she finally managed to get to her feet. She literally had the hangover from hell, except she hadn't had any alcohol in days. She whimpered again, her hands shaking slightly as she made her way into the bathroom. She grasped the edges of the chipped porcelain sink and leaned in to look at herself in the mirror. She gasped slightly at the disheveled face that stared back at her in silent stupidification.

Her pupils were slightly dilated, and her face was flushed and sweaty. Her hair was sticking to her face and neck, and she grimaced at the wet, heavy feel of it. She pulled the collar of her shirt down, noticing that the flush also spread down into her chest. She shifted, immediately feeling a small flush between her legs. She groaned half in arousal, half in annoyance. She clenched her thighs together, and barely resisted the urge to slip her hand down between them. Again. She'd already done that three times last night. She straightened, stiffening her spine. A cold shower it would be then.

When Waverly finally made it downstairs, she ignored the food Gus had left, her stomach a little too queasy. She grabbed her jacket and stepped out on the porch almost tripping over the bundle that had been placed on the mat in front of the door. She chewed on her bottom lip, looking around but seeing no one. This was the second package to be placed on her doorstep. The first package had showed up Wednesday morning: a small box of truffle chocolates. She squatted down and gently picked up the large bundle of wildflowers that had been wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a leather string. She looked around one more time, her gaze lingering on the barn for some reason, but nothing appeared out of place.

Once inside, she carefully unwrapped the flowers, smiling when she recognized the Mountain Clover, Purple Mint, Poorman's Weatherglass, Crested Anoda, Rockcress, and Indian Paintbrush. She found an old mason drawer in the cabinet, and after carefully washing it and filling it with clean water, she set the flowers in it. She idly re-arranged the flowers, a small smile on her face. She knew for a fact that the only florist in town didn't carry all of these flowers. No, someone had gone to the trouble of going out and picking these flowers. She hummed quietly, unable to contain her bubbling joy, knowing only one person who would think to do such a thing. The same person who had left the chocolates. She picked up the phone.

Nicole yawned loudly, her jaw creaking slightly as she dropped the phone back into its cradle. Her jaw ached from gritting her teeth in an effort not to yawn, but she didn't want Waverly to question why she was so tired. She hadn't gotten much sleep the last two nights as she did perimeter checks every hour both nights. Thankfully, no one else had tried to disturb the homestead, and Wynonna had eventually returned home in the very early morning hours. She wondered if she should put a bug in Wynonna's ear about the Alphas who might pose a threat to Waverly.

She groaned in frustration and rubbed her forehead. Telling Wynonna would probably only result in catastrophe. She could easily picture the older Earp rounding up the Alphas and reigning hell and brimstone down on their ugly heads. She could feel the first signs of a headache scritching inside her skull above her eyebrows as she contemplated what to do. She couldn't afford for Wynonna to wreak havoc on the town. She sighed as she looked up at the clock and groaned when she saw it was only 11:00 am. She still had another seven hours to go. She sighed again as she got up and pocketed her keys. It was time to do another round. She'd increased her walks through the town since yesterday, wanting to make sure that the Alphas saw her, and more importantly that she saw them. She figured she'd stop at Shorty's and get a Red Bull before heading over to speak to Dolls. She figured it would be safe to drop a bug in his ear.

"So why should I be noticing Waverly?" Dolls stared at Nicole, face blank as usual, arms crossed casually in front of him, back straight. And as usual, he gave no indication of what he was thinking, and Nicole could feel her frustration growing.

"No, not NOTICING her!" Nicole all but growled at the taller Alpha. She raised a hand to the bridge of her nose rubbing it again, as she could feel the headache pounding harder behind her eyes. Were all male Alphas this annoying or just the ones in Purgatory? She wanted to snarl at him, but knew it would be a dangerous move. Dolls was probably the strongest Alpha in Purgatory and one of the smartest. Besides, she needed him.

Only one of Dolls' eyebrows twitched, but it was just enough to give away his surprise at the anger he could feel simmering around the female Alpha like cloud growing more rancid by the moment. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the smell and stepped back. He walked over to the mini fridge, fishing a cold can of Red Bull out. The grimace on Nicole's face was all too familiar, and judging by the sharp light in her eyes, she was also battling a migraine. A migraine brought on by an Omega in heat.

Interesting. Very interesting indeed.

Nicole thankfully accepted the Red Bull, popping the tab and downing it all in two gulps. She smiled sheepishly at Dolls, who just flicked his eyebrows at her, and then gestured to one of the chairs at the table. She sat down, her arms braced on the table, slumping over slightly. She pulled her sunglasses off the top of her hat, almost groaning in immediate relief now that her eyes were partially protected from the glare of the naked lightbulbs in the room.

He sat down, leaning back casually in his chair. He slid his fingers into his pockets and tipped his chair back slightly. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Nicole shook her head briefly, "There's a lot of Alphas in town."

Dolls nodded slowly drawing out the one word, "Yeeeeees." He waited for her to continue, noting the fidgeting, and the almost nervous tapping of her fingertips on the empty can of Red Bull.

"Anyone give you anything for that migraine?"

She snapped her head up in surprise, and he gave her a slightly amused but knowing smile. Well as much as Dolls ever smiled, it was more of a twitch at one corner of his mouth. She shook her head and shrugged, "I took some ibuprofen."

He snorted and let the front legs of his chair fall to the floor with a thump. He got up and walked over to his bag rummaging through it until he found a non-descript bottle of pills. He sat back down and held the bottle up to her. "These will help." But he held them out of reach as Nicole went to snatch them from him. "Uh uh UH."

He jiggled the bottle in front of her, waiting for her to sit back with a huff. He popped open the cap and shook out too brown pills. "So, I'm going to give you these, and while we wait for them to kick in, you can tell me all about how you became scent bonded to Waverly Earp, the only Earp Omega in three generations, and what you're going to do about it."

Nicole sat there, mouth hanging open, before shaking her head ruefully. She grimaced and accepted the pills, dry swallowing them quickly, before launching into her tale of how Waverly had come to her, and the Alphas who were showing too much interest in her.

Thursday night. Nicole sighed as she leaned against the frame of the window in the barn. She was so glad it was almost over. She was exhausted but she had tomorrow off and could sleep before meeting Waverly. Dolls had agreed to keep an eye out tomorrow during the day, and tomorrow night….well, she would be with Waverly, and hopefully stinking the place up with so many Alpha pheromones that it would keep the rest at bay. She shivered at the thought of what it would be like to finally be with Waverly.

She'd wanted the youngest Earp since the moment she'd seen her. And her attraction towards the girl had grown despite knowing that Waverly was with Champ. Her lips curled in a silent snarl at the thought of the Beta boy strutting around as if he'd owned Waverly, as if her were her Alpha. She wondered idly if he'd even known that she was an Omega. Not that it would have mattered, as a Beta, he wasn't equipped really or built to help an Omega through their heat. She smiled at the pleasant burn she felt in her stomach at the thought that she was better equipped to do it. But he didn't matter anymore. Waverly didn't want him, she wanted her. Nicole.

She sighed again and leaned her head against the frame. She missed the younger Earp. She hadn't seen her since Tuesday except from afar. It wasn't unusual for them to cross paths every day as Waverly and Wynonna were always in an out of the department to see Dolls. And Waverly always stopped and said hello to Nicole, and sometimes she brought her apple pie and cappuccino.

She rubbed her hand lightly across her chest, and then slipped her hand under the collar of her shirt and lightly tapped her palm against her heart in a soft, steady rhythm. It was an old habit she'd picked up as a child. She found it soothing for some reason, perhaps reassuring herself that her heart still beat in her chest. It was childish, but she felt her anxiety slowly start to melt away.

She hoped tonight would be quiet. She'd smelled Alpha stink again last night on one of her rounds. But the smell hadn't been particularly potent, and had been confined to a small area far back down the road beyond the fence. She guessed that he had been more curious than anything, but she'd made sure to alter her rounds so that they weren't in a set pattern.

She rubbed at her tired eyes, relieved that at the migraine was mostly manageable at this point. She had two more of the pills to take tomorrow, but by tomorrow night it wouldn't matter. The migraine would be gone. Scent bonded. She chuckled under her breath. She didn't even know that was a thing. She'd read about it, but always thought it was a fanciful notion that an Alpha and Omega could become so drawn to each other, and so drawn to their scents, that they would temporarily mark each other by scent. Apparently it didn't have as much affect on Omegas, they generally dealt with issues of flushed skin across their chests and bellies; but Alphas tended to be more susceptible to it often becoming anxious and suffering migraines.

The bond was temporary and without a mating bond to bolster the scent bond, it would fade after a few days or weeks, but it would be an annoyance at the very least to suffer through it, painful at the most, as was her case. She smiled. It was worth it. Knowing that she'd managed to forge such a bond with Waverly made the pain of being apart from her worth it. And soon, she'd be with her.

She drummed her fingers on the broken sill, as she leaned her head on the frame. She looked out the small window, wondering if Waverly would appear again in the kitchen window like she'd done the last two nights. The kitchen light cast a glow across the dried grass and dirt around the house, but the glow didn't quite reach the barn. But the glow of light was soft, almost comforting, and it reminded Nicole of Waverly. If Waverly were light, perhaps she would be the glow across the ground leading the way home.

She felt a gentle ache thrum in her chest at the thought of the sweet young woman. And if anyone else had been in the barn with her, they would have seen how her dark eyes softened immeasurably, and the worry lines around her lips disappeared. They would have seen the way her eyes fluttered closed as a gentle smile played about her lips, only for her eyes to snap open again and peer anxiously out the window, hoping for a glimpse of the other girl.

Nicole sighed and shifted slightly, craning her neck to relieve the tense muscles. She froze when she saw her appear in the kitchen window. She was staring right at her, but Nicole knew that she couldn't see her. The glow from the kitchen light cast a halo around the Omega, and Nicole was sure she was seeing eternity. Her breath hitched hard in her chest, and she felt her eyes burn with wet salt. She sighed quietly, "Oh, Waverly."

Waverly stood there under the naked bulb in the kitchen staring out at the barn. No one was there, she was sure of it. She was sure of it. She bit her lip and sighed, turning her attention back to her tea cup. She stared idly at it for a moment, before bringing it to her lips and inhaling deeply. She wrinkled her nose at the slightly bitter smell. Maybe she needed to add more honey. She would be glad when she could stop drinking it, but for now, it was helping with the itching and the flush that had spread down to her belly.

It wasn't so much a rash, but seemed more of a rosy glow. She'd been more than a little surprised when Wynonna had chortled in glee and told her it meant she was scent bonded. Thankfully, Gus, had swatted Wynonna with the wooden spoon, and that had stopped all future teasing, except Wynonna kept wiggling her eyebrows at her. Gus had explained it, and Waverly had been more than a little embarrassed at the realization that she was the one who'd forged the connection in those few brief moments in the precinct with Nicole. Apparently a scent bond could only form if the Omega initiated it, and truly wanted a bonding. She smiled in mild amusement and then shook her head. It had certainly been eye-opening to realize that her Omega had wanted Nicole that much.

She blushed at the thought of the tall, beautiful cop who looked at her like she'd hung the moon and fashioned the stars themselves. Waverly was a lot of things, but blind wasn't one of them. She knew Nicole had wanted her, but she was just starting to realize that she too wanted Nicole. And not just for this heat.

She smiled and washed the empty cup, setting it on the empty dish rack to dry. She started to turn to head upstairs, but she stopped and slowly turned around. She stood up on her tiptoes and glanced out at the barn again. She placed her palm against the window, and held it there for a moment, before letting her weight drop back on her heels. It was a foolish sentiment. No one was in the barn. She turned and made her way up to her room to hopefully fall into a restless sleep dreaming about a tall, beautiful Alpha who whispered her name.

Nicole thought her heart would burst when she saw the slim hand press against the kitchen window. She squinted her eyes, just enough to make out the hand, and she pressed her own palm against the barn window. She knew Waverly couldn't see her, but she couldn't stop the giggle that erupted from her chest, or the goofy smile that flashed across her face. Waverly might not be able to see her, but she knew something was out and about.

Thoughts?