by Athena Blaez
Taking The Omega’s Heat
Athena Blaez
Contents
Taking The Omega’s Heat
1. Wyatt
2. Gage
3. Wyatt
4. Gage
5. Wyatt
6. Gage
7. Wyatt
8. Gage
9. Wyatt
10. Gage
11. Wyatt
12. Gage
13. Wyatt
Epilogue – Wyatt
About the Author
Taking The Omega’s Heat
Athena Blaez
Copyright © 2017 by Athena Blaez
Editing by Picky Cat Proofreading & Copyediting
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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1
Wyatt
DENIED.
Wyatt felt his entire body tense up as he read the rejection again. This was the second time he applied for a visa to leave the country on vacation.
This was the second time they denied it.
At least this time, they gave a reason in the explanation section.
Pursuant to requirements of the host country, all omegas must not be in their heat cycle while on the island. This is for the safety of all guests, human and nonhuman. Please consider reapplying at another time.
Wyatt had done the math. His heat would be finished by the time the flight was scheduled to leave. Sure it was pushing the envelope but he’d been planning this vacation for months. He was positive he timed it right.
His shop, Flowers Inc., would enter a slow month after the June wedding season. There was nothing on the books for the month of July. This was the perfect time for a vacation. Ever since starting his shop, Wyatt had not taken any time off. Now with Jason working with him, he felt comfortable leaving the operations to the other omega for a week.
Counting up the days until his heat put him right on schedule, although he had almost no wiggle room.
Only now they won’t grant him a travel visa at all.
He scrunched up the note in his fist and waved it in the air in frustration.
“That bad, huh?” Jason came around the corner from the storeroom with a funeral blanket. He draped it on the counter and chased Wyatt’s fist before prying the wrinkled notice out of his hand.
Smoothing it out, Jason adjusted his glasses and peered at it. “Jesus, again?”
Wyatt waved in impotent fury at the page and stormed off to clean the refrigerated display doors.
“Wyatt, I ask this in the most respectful terms possible, are you absolutely sure that your calculations are right, that you won’t be in heat for the trip?”
“Almost one hundred percent positive, yes. But,” Wyatt sighed in defeat, “I will admit that it will be cutting it really close.”
Jason strolled over to where Wyatt absently wiped at the same spot and gently took the towel and glass cleaner from him. “Well, the blood tests that predict that sort of thing are fairly accurate as well. And heats have been known to not go according to plan. It’s like a law of the karmic universe or something.”
Wyatt frowned. “I know. My last heat was started late and lasted longer than it normally did. When I first planned this trip, the timing was right.”
“Can’t you reschedule your reservation? I mean, you’re the boss here; you can take your vacation whenever you like. I can look after the place. And if I really need help, I’ll call my brother. He isn’t much of a flower person but he can hold down the counter and the phones while I handle the arrangements.”
“Unfortunately, I got the resort reservations through one of those sites that guarantee low prices. The downside to that is there is no wiggle room. I go or I lose my deposit.” Wyatt leaned against the door, the cool of the glass seeping through his shirt. His heat symptoms were starting to manifest. That was a good sign because it meant that he had calculated right.
But that wasn’t good enough for the visa board that approved overseas travel for omegas.
Damn his genetics. Being a werewolf had advantages in current society, but they were still rare enough that the government, in its infinite wisdom, felt like they needed special precautions in place to keep everyone safe.
To Wyatt it felt more like they wanted to keep omega wolves down, and the omegas lived with it. At least prejudice wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
Maybe it was fear of the Alphas that kept government officials in line.
Jason nudged at Wyatt. “There is an option you haven’t explored.”
“Don’t give me hope if there is none, Jason. I will have to fire you.”
“I’m serious. Have you considered auctioning off your heat? There are plenty of Alphas who want to knot with no strings attached. They’ll pay plenty for it, and if you do it in time, you can probably afford to have another blood test done and get it expedited before the trip.”
Wyatt’s mouth fell open. He did not just hear that, especially coming from straight-laced Jason. “Is that experience talking?”
Jason shrugged. “Sure. I needed fast cash to get into my new apartment. They were asking first, last and a hefty deposit. I was short the deposit, so I hunted down an Alpha who wanted a heat to knot and we worked out a deal.”
“Are you kidding me?” Wyatt laughed in disbelief. Now his image of Jason being this pristine, virginal omega was completely blown. “That’s like…” he leaned in and whispered, “prostitution.”
“I guess maybe if you want to see it that way. But there are no laws on the books against it. Not for wolves.” Jason patted Wyatt on the arm again. “Give it some thought. I’ll call the Olsens about the casket blanket.”
After Jason moved off, Wyatt just stared after him, trying to process that.
What he said was true. There were no laws against it.
But was that what Wyatt really wanted to do? It just made the whole thing sordid and he enjoyed his disillusionment that sex might actually have meaning between two people.
On the other hand, it might allow him to go on vacation.
He had to think this over.
“I can’t even believe I am even talking about this,” Wyatt said as he walked along with his friend, Noah. Noah Turner was one of his best friends from the time they were pups together. Wyatt shifted grocery bags from hand to hand as he maneuvered into Noah’s apartment building and they both made their way to the elevator.
“I would say I can’t believe you would consider it either, but not because I disapprove.”
Wyatt pushed the floor button when they were both in the elevator car. “You don’t disapprove?”
“No, I think Jason’s got the right idea. Wyatt, you can be such a prude sometimes. We can’t even pretend we are like humans. Our instincts are a little different, our morals and ethics tend more towards pack activity and acceptance. No one would look down on you if you did this. You’re entitled to this vacation. How long have you had the shop open?”
“Three years.”
“And not once have you taken any substantial time off.” Noah shook his head when Wyatt started to protest. “Enforced holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving don’t count. Even when you aren’t working, you are. You need the downtime, my friend. I can see the cracks.”
Wyatt leaned against the elevator wall and let his head thump rhythmically. “I really do need this vacation.”
&n
bsp; “So if you are opposed to selling your heat, why not head down to a bar where Alphas hang and pick one up. They’ll still want to bang you, whether they pay or not. In either case, you get your heat taken care of, and I’ll even chip in to get the expedited test done again.”
The door dinged open and Noah led the way down the hall towards his apartment.
“Why do you wait so long to get food?” Wyatt asked as he trudged along behind. The plastic bags’ handles were starting to cut into his hands and make them ache.
“Lazy. Busy. Pick one. Set them down here, I gotta find my keys.”
Gratefully, Wyatt set them down and flexed his fingers while Noah dug in his pockets for his keys.
From behind them, the second elevator dinged and the door rattled open.
Immediately, Wyatt was overcome with the scent of an Alpha. He didn’t need to see the Alpha; his presence was strong and almost dizzying. Wyatt blinked away the spots that appeared in front of his eyes.
The sound of a deep voice, even talking in hushed tones, sent frissons of desire down Wyatt’s spine. It took all of his willpower to fight the compulsion to turn and face the Alpha. He fought the desire to drop to his knees to worship the man and beg him to knot. The instinct to mate was overwhelming. He caught himself against the wall as he focused to stay on his feet.
Piercing through the heat haze was a higher male voice, giggling. Giggling for God’s sake. Wyatt didn’t think anyone could giggle that cutely.
As the voices passed, Wyatt risked a look out of the corner of his eye.
A mixture of relief and disappointment washed over him when he realized the two were together.
There was a part of him that immediately judged the omega, who was hanging all over the Alpha as they both continued to stagger down the hall. That omega wasn’t good enough for the Alpha. Wyatt had no immediate rationale for even thinking that. It was just what he felt.
As if someone had called the Alpha’s name, the large man turned and stared back at Wyatt. His large brown eyes spoke of having seen things Wyatt could only dream of. They were feral, primal, and dug deep into his soul in a visceral way that frightened and intrigued Wyatt at the same time.
It didn’t take a genius to recognize a true pack Alpha wolf and not the pretender Alphas that had become gentrified. He was wild, feral, primal.
They stood there, locked together by their mutual gaze before the omega tugged on the Alpha and cooed at him, slowly breaking the spell and leaving Wyatt in danger of losing the strength in his legs.
That had never happened to Wyatt before. He didn’t even know what that was.
“Wyatt, are you okay?”
Noah’s voice broke through the fog. Wyatt shook his head to clear it. “Yeah. I think so.”
“You look pale. Get inside and get some water. I’ll bring the food in.”
He wasn’t going to fight his friend on that. Wyatt was afraid that he would face-plant right on the floor if he didn’t sit down.
“Who was that?” he asked quietly as Noah shut and locked the front door.
Lugging bags between the foyer and the kitchen, Noah shrugged. “The omega just moved in a few weeks ago. We haven’t talked much. I have no idea who the Alpha was but he’s not a regular around here. He looks familiar, though.”
Wyatt followed Noah into the kitchen to get the water. He gulped it down noisily. “That was so weird.”
“Not all that weird. It was clear there was a connection. Too bad he was with the omega. You could have easily gotten through your heat with him and be on your way to sunny Mexico in two weeks.”
Maybe Noah’s encouragement of hunting up an Alpha and asking to have his heat taken care of by knotting wasn’t such a bad idea. “Please,” Wyatt said with exasperation, “I wouldn’t even know where to find an Alpha to help.”
“That’s the easy part,” Noah said, handing Wyatt the cereal to put on top of the fridge. “Head down to Jinx’s. It’s not too far from here. Alphas hang out there all the time. There’s bound to be one who will accommodate your needs.”
“God, Noah,” Wyatt whined, “you make it sound so sordid.”
“It’s the call of the wild, Wyatt. There’s no shame in indulging it and moving on.”
“Do you?” Wyatt turned a careful gaze on his friend.
“Do I what?”
“Go there and do that?”
Noah laughed. “Sure. My career is on a sharp trajectory up, man. I can’t afford to be waylaid by a distracting heat. I get my itch scratched, the Alpha does his Alpha thing, and we both go our separate ways happy.”
A part of Wyatt balked at the concept of sex for sex’s sake. It wasn’t what he wanted for his life.
But neither was the idea of eating the cost of a vacation he couldn’t take all that appealing either. That would put him several thousand in the hole at a time when he could least afford to do so.
“I need to sleep on this.”
“Best plan.” Noah patted Wyatt’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s pop a movie in and order take out.”
“Yeah.”
Jinx’s….
The scent of that Alpha lingered for far too long.
2
Gage
Gage blinked away the still-slightly-drunk disorientation when he roused awake. The morning light from the window streamed in, making it hot. The omega—Ryan, Brian, Bran, Band-Aid, whatever—was passed out on his arm. Not that he could feel it; his arm had gone numb from the weight of the omega’s head. Sweat stuck their skin together and dried come on his stomach was itchy.
In essence, everything about the situation was growing more uncomfortable by the minute.
He glanced at the peacefully sleeping omega. Ryan-Brian-Bran-Band-Aid wasn’t coyote ugly but Gage remembered him being far cuter the night before. Or what he thought he remembered.
Truth be known, the night before had been a bit of a blur. It started out with drinking body shots down at Jinx’s and then…shit if he could remember.
What he could remember was a vague dissatisfaction once they got to the omega’s apartment. It started the moment the door shut. He remembered feeling that he didn’t need to be in that apartment, with this omega. He chalked it up to the alcohol and carried on.
Something hung along the fringes of his consciousness as he stared up at the ceiling, trying to put a word to his unease he felt.
The sex with Ryan-Brian-Bran-Band-Aid certainly wasn’t anything memorable. Sure, Gage had been drunk but he hadn’t been that drunk. He couldn’t remember names, or the time, or really what day it was, but sex was that one thing that Gage loved more than anything else. Getting his nut off was his number one priority. With as many pretty omegas as he could bed.
That was what he lived for. That was what he strove for, namely because it poked the old-fogey pack elders in the eye with all their tradition shit.
Find a mate, have pups, produce an heir, act right, live like this…blahblahblah.
It was all bullshit. Gage may be the clan Alpha, but he didn’t have to like all these damn rules and restrictions. The government was starting to relax their regulation of pack activity. It was time for pack dynamics to move into the twenty-first century, too; show the city wolves what it was like to have a pack to their back.
Gage could do that if the old beards would let him. Since they liked to constantly challenge him, Gage did what he did best.
Bucked convention. Spit in the eye of tradition. Fuck them. Fuck everyone. Especially that last part.
Unfortunately, it tended to land him in situations like this; sleeping in a bed that was too lumpy, with an omega who didn’t ring his chimes, in a room that was too hot for comfort, for sex that just was passable.
Of course! That was his problem.
The sex hadn’t been enough for him to thoroughly enjoy it. It was just okay and that left him unsatisfied.
And irritated.
The ringtone of his second-in-command droned softly from somewhere at the foot of the
bed. The omega hadn’t stirred and seemed to get heavier when Gage tried to disengage to reach his jeans.
With a foot, he hooked his pants and dragged them up the bed far enough he could get to his phone. He briefly flirted with the idea of just letting it go to voicemail but Aaron was one of those persistent seconds who would continue until Gage actually answered.
“Aaron,” he said quietly into the phone. “You haven’t missed your calling to be truly irritating.”
“Good morning to you too, sunshine. Where the fuck are you?”
“I haven’t even had breakfast and I’m getting the third degree. Right now, I’m in bed with an omega and contemplating breakfast.”
“I do not need a blow-by-blow of your sexual activity, Gage.”
“That’s not—” Gage sighed heavily. “What do you want?”
“Well, for starters I’m looking for my Alpha who, by the way, had an appointment this morning with the president of Star Bank about moving some pack assets.”
Shit. Gage had forgotten about that. “I’m not going to make it.”
“I figured that, which is why I rescheduled for tomorrow. And you will be there.”
“Giving the orders now?” Gage slowly eased away from the sticky, clingy body to get his clothing and head for the bathroom so he could dress, hopefully without waking the omega. Maybe he could even get out of the apartment so he didn’t have to deal with all that awkward ‘call me sometime’ bullshit. “Are you vying for my position?”
“Are you kidding me?” Aaron laughed in Gage’s ear. “I have far more power as your second than I ever could being in charge.”
“I hate you,” Gage groused. The buckle of his belt hit the sink counter and it echoed sharply in the bathroom.
