by Emma Knox
My mind started going in other directions, and I firmly pulled it back as I turned to Max for a distraction.
“Why do you think those Betas attacked tonight?” I asked.
Max frowned. “I can't say for sure, but I know there’s been a lot of unrest among the Alphas recently, and it has something to do with the Betas. They may not be the strongest, but you know they have more numbers than the rest of us.”
“I know,” I said with a nod.
A Beta and Beta pairing would result in a Beta shifter, and an Alpha and Omega pairing would result in an Alpha, Beta, or Omega off spring. The odds were in their favor, but they weren’t as strong as Alphas and they weren’t as valuable as an Omega to an Alpha.
“It’s probably a part of the growing outcry for equal treatment by Betas, right?” I asked tentatively. “I’ve heard my Alpha complaining about it before…”
“That’s should be it,” Max agreed. “But no matter how much they feel wronged, doing this is only going to pit Alphas against the Betas. They might have larger numbers, but if the Alphas band together, a lot of blood is going to be shed before anything happens. But there’s no way to know if it’s just some rogue Betas, and how many of them were behind this, from which packs…”
Hearing Max explain it all like that sounded a little depressing, and I wondered why I’d picked this topic out of everything to start with. Things would be explained later on, anyway, there was no reason to look into it further at the moment.
I wracked my mind for other things we could possibly talk about. As we drank, we talked about our lives, our families. And what would happen when we left the cabin tomorrow to head for home. Knowing I would be separated from him soon made my heart ache a bit, but I didn’t let it show.
Chapter 5
Max
After finishing up the beers, with me drinking a lot more than Evan, we decided it would be best to lay down and sleep. Nothing had happened yet, so there probably was no reason to still be so alert. I was going to relax, but only a little. My instincts weren’t that weak, if any danger actually came about, I would be up before it entered the cabin, so I couldn’t relax completely.
“I saw a few other rooms,” I said, getting Evan to stand up and follow me. “I’m sure there’s a bed in here somewhere. Let’s go find it.”
“How are we going to sleep?”
His tone had a forced nonchalance that made me glance over at him. There was a light flush on his face, and his eyes looked slightly glazed from all the alcohol, but they had a strange light in them.
“I was thinking, if it was big enough, we could share it?” I said slowly. “If that’s not okay with you, though, I could head back to the couch…”
“No, no,” Evan said quickly. “I don’t mind sharing.”
He bit down on his lip, ducking his head down, and I grinned at the top of his head. Fuck, he is too cute.
We found the bedroom easy enough. It was smaller than the living room, with only a single window, and the bed. It was a king sized, though, taking up most of the space in the room, so it would probably fit the both of us, even with my taller build.
“Hang on,” I muttered, stepping forward, leaving him leaning against the doorjamb.
The bedroom, just like every other room, had a lot of dust in it. I approached the bed and noted with some relief that it was covered by a sheet. I pulled the sheet off, then patted the mattress beneath it. While the smell wasn’t great, it wasn’t unbearable, either. As for the sheet, I didn’t want to shake it off inside, and there was no way I was stepping out of the cabin, so I just folded it up in my hands and tossed it in one corner.
“Get on the bed first,” I instructed, then stood aside and waited. “On the other side, please.”
It would be best if he slept further from the door.
First, Evan sat down and took off his shoes. He did it easily with one arm, so I didn’t try to help. He kept his other arm curled close against his chest so it wouldn’t move around too much, though it must have still tugged a little because he grimaced a bit. I toed off my shoes and hurried to the bed, but he didn’t seem to need any help as he lay down on his side. His face looked pale once more.
“Are you okay?” I asked gently, already guessing what the answer would be.
He didn’t even answer me, just smiled painfully up at me. That look on his face made my heart ache, and I got onto the bed carefully, then got as close to him as I dared to.
“Are you cold?” he asked, his hand clutching on my jacket.
“It’s fine,” I said reassuringly. “I usually run hot. I’m actually more worried about you.”
As I said the words, a shiver went through his body, and as I watched, I sighed. I squirmed a little closer, then paused to see Evan’s reaction. He was watching me very carefully, but it wasn’t in dislike. Taking it as silent approval, I moved closer until I could feel his body heat, burning a lot lower than mine. With his injury, he needed plenty of good food and good sleep, and a lot of warmth. I hadn't noticed any other bedding besides that dust covered sheet, so I figured we’d have to huddle up for more warmth.
“I’m going to get closer, don’t freak out, okay?”
His eyes still on me, Evan nodded.
I moved carefully to lie as close to him as possible, so there was only a little space between our bodies. To keep pressure off his injury, I let my arm lay on my side. I thought the proximity might bother him, but Evan just blinked at me and squirmed closer. He ducked his head, tucking himself under my chin as he pressed our bodies close. I had a feeling that if he hadn't injured his arm, he would have hugged his arm around my waist, and I was a little surprised at how much the idea appealed to me.
“Comfortable?” I asked after a while, quietly.
Evan hummed as he nodded his head, rubbing lightly against my chest with his hair tickling my chin.
“It feels nice,” he sighed.
His warm breath washed over my chest through my shirt, and my body stiffened for a moment, before I was able to get myself to calm down. I started having some doubts about how good an idea this was.
A fire would have been nice, I thought to myself wistfully. It also would have meant I didn’t need to keep such close proximity with Evan which, in that moment, I couldn’t think of as something good. But putting on a fire was too risky. I didn’t want anyone that may be lurking outside to know that we were in there. It had been a while, so I could only hope that our trail to the cabin was gone already. Sure, it meant our own people couldn’t find us, but it was a lot better than courting death.
I closed my eyes to try and relax my body enough to fall asleep. No matter what I did, though, it wouldn’t happen. Evan was pressed close enough to me that I could feel his slow breaths and steady heartbeat. If he wasn’t quite there already, he was almost asleep.
It’s definitely not happening for me, though. The thought was rueful, but it was very much true. I’d been close to Omegas before, sure, but I’d never met an Omega whose scent I reacted to as much as I did Evan. We were just lying there, but the proximity of Evan’s body was slowly driving me insane. It was even worse when he breathed against my chest, or his hairs tickled my chin and I was pretty much inhaling his scent more than fresh air at this point.
There was no way my body could withstand so much provocation. He wasn’t doing it deliberately, but every move Evan made my body heat up some more until I couldn’t stand it, and I let out a groan.
We both went still. Shit.
I wanted to explain that I couldn’t help it. It had been such a long while since I last bedded an Omega. Having Evan so close and unknowingly provoking me was dragging my thoughts in that direction. The thought of taking Evan, the Omega I fought to protect today, was making me hard.
Evan looked up at me, and I knew he could feel my arousal against his body by the look in his eye. I felt a little embarrassed that I couldn’t control myself, a slight frown on my face and my lips pressing flat together. I wanted to squir
m back a little so Evan wouldn’t be uncomfortable, but the moment I moved, he did as well, and followed. I froze, my gaze on him heating up with intent.
He couldn’t possible want me…could he?
We stared at each other for a long moment. There was a dark flush on Evan’s face, he was so clearly embarrassed, but he wouldn’t look away. My body was taking it as encouragement, and my cock pulsed where it was pressed against Evan’s abdomen. I could feel his warmth even through our clothes, and I desired it.
After a long moment of deliberation, I decided to go for it. If he didn’t seem repulsed, good. If he didn’t like it…well, I could only back away and leave the room to save the both of us any awkwardness. I could shake the sheet out in a different room and fold it, and hopefully the smell of dust wouldn’t be as strong.
Slowly, I lowered my head toward his. Evan’s eyes held my gaze, and he didn’t try to back away, or shift his eyes. When the tip of my nose touched his, his eyes fluttered shut, and he leaned in a little. Sucking in a harsh breath, I tilted my head and pressed my lips on his, my own eyes closing. I wanted to be gentle, but I couldn’t help that first touch being a little rough.
Evan was smaller than me, and felt soft against me, but he wasn’t that soft. Before I could pull back to try again, he made a sound in the back of his throat and pushed back, readily accepting my advance. Knowing he wanted me back just made my body even hotter.
I want to get even closer.
The thought went through my mind, but there was no easy way to do it, not with Evan injured. I felt frustration and anger, and wished I could have been there to kill that second Beta that attacked him before it got even closer. If I hadn't wasted so much time before going to look for him, I might have been there to help.
There was nothing I could do about it now, but if we were really going to do this, I had to be careful with his arm. The rest of him…I absolutely had to ravish.
I broke off the kiss when we both needed to catch our breath, and our eyes opened and our gazes met at the same time.
“Evan,” I whispered. “Are you sure you want this?”
His face burned, but he nodded his head firmly, confirming his decision for me.
“Okay. Then…tell me if anything hurts, okay?”
I got another nod.
I took in a deep breath, then released it. I still felt worried about his injury, but as long as I held some control…
“Roll onto your back,” instructed, nudging slightly on his shoulder. “Try to go slow so you don’t hurt yourself.”
He moved under my supervision, until I had him lying on his back, with his arm pressed against the bed. Thinking that much would have to do for the moment, I rolled over so I was on top of Evan with my knees on either sides of his thighs. He looked up at me, biting his lower lip, his eyes shining. It wasn’t a look I could resist, and I ducked down to press my lips against his in another kiss.
As much as I wanted to go faster, I knew it wasn’t the best idea. I kept the kiss slow and soft, my hands moving all over his body, exploring. Evan made little sounds in the back of his throat, his body squirming under me, and I did my best to keep him still with one hand on his shoulder, and my knees hugging his thighs.
“Don’t move,” I breathed out against his lips.
Evan complied for about a second before he was trying to move again. His uninjured arm had already wrapped around my waist, his fingers digging into my back as he kept trying to squirm closer.
My chest rumbled with a sound of approval. As much as I didn’t want him moving for his own sake, that he was so eager for me was stroking my Alpha ego. After all, I wanted him just as badly. If the circumstance had been normal, we would have been in my own bedroom, and I would have been inside him already.
I brought my hands to the neck of his shirt. He still had his bow tie on, and I undid it for him. Like that suddenly brought back his awareness, his own hand took hold of my tie and worked it off me, then attacked my buttons. He was only using one hand, though, and he wasn’t getting anywhere, making him frustrated, to the point that he bit my lip.
My whole body froze, and as it did, so did Evan’s. My breath hitched, and a spasm worked through my body. The bite hadn't been that painful, but it was definitely hard to ignore, and I pulled back to stare at the little Omega lying under me. He had his eyes opened wide, his mouth parted, lips wet and swollen from the kiss, taking in air. He looked as surprised as I did. And then, I growled.
“Are you seriously trying to provoke me?” my voice was low and gravelly, it sounded nothing like me at all.
Evan, seeming to realize he’d unlocked something he shouldn’t have, bit his own lip, his whole body trembling slightly. I let out a growl, my eyes dropping to where his teeth were biting down on his lip, so hard I thought he might hurt himself. Immediately, he released his lip, licking his tongue over it. Seeing that, my cock twitched, and my body rose to a fever pitch.
Shit.
All shifters, to a certain extent, and more for some than others, were pretty obsessed with biting. Most Alphas did it when they mated, actually. Because a bite could be seen as a mark of the Alpha’s possession, and what Alpha wasn’t possessive of their territories and their lovers? I’d never felt the burning need to mark someone. Until now.
I was doing my best to hold back already, but that bite from Evan was making that impossible for me. Going against my instincts wasn’t something I was particularly strong at.
“Sorry,” Evan murmured quietly.
I exhaled, letting the breath out slowly and forcing my body to relax just a little.
“It’s fine,” I said reassuringly. “You don’t need to apologize.”
Even as I spoke, though, I was undoing his shirt. I didn’t try to hide it and he didn’t seem like he particularly minded it, either. Once I had all his buttons off, I spread his shirt open, but didn’t dare try to take it off. I ducked my head down to his neck, unable to help myself, and bit down. I had enough control back that the bite was shallow, there probably wouldn’t even be marks. The temptation to bite down harder until I tasted blood was there, and I just barely held it back, pulling away before finding another spot to bite.
Just like that, I littered his entire torso with light bite marks of my teeth. I wasn’t just doing it randomly, either, making sure I had free room to work with, and paying special attentions to the points that made him squirm or moan. He particularly liked it when I sucked on and bit at his nipples, so I did that excessively, making sure the marks around his nipples would be very visible. There shouldn’t be any reason for someone to see his bare chest anyway, right?
“Max,” Evan gasped, his free hand buried in my hair and tugging it a little. “Please. I need more.”
I knew the more he wanted, but I didn’t rush. This round of foreplay had several reasons, so there was no way I was going to skip this part. For one thing, it would make Evan’s body soften. As a male Omega, as long as I prepared him well, it would be a lot easier for him to take me in than if he was, say, a Beta or an Alpha.
Another reason, was for myself. I knew how easy it would be for me to be overcome in the middle of passion, to do something I shouldn’t and cause harm instead of give pleasure. The moment I chose to start this, I was wishing that I would get more than just this one night with Evan, and if I was going to convince him to be with me even after all this, then I needed to leave a very good impression.
Still, I wasn’t going to leave him wanting. It wouldn’t matter if he came a few times before we got to the main event, anyway. With a shifter’s constitution, he wouldn’t lack the stamina to keep going. So, after giving a last lick to both his nipples, that had him whimpering and squirming some more, I moved my lips lower. I placed kisses on the way, pausing by his navel to dip my tongue in, tickling a bit. His thighs went taut under me, wanting to curl up, but I held both his legs down. I’d found something else amusing to play, and I did until Evan was a bigger mess.
I pulled back as I broug
ht my hands to undo Evan’s belt. And then I undid his fly and slowly tugged the pants off, then set them off to the side. I bit around his thighs and the spot just above his crotch. His erection bobbed temptingly so close to my face, but it was too easy to bypass, knowing there was plenty more to come.
I teased Evan’s body, until I couldn’t stand to anymore. He looked surprised when I tried to get him to roll over on all fours. He inhaled a sharp breath as he moved, but once he settled, he seemed to be okay. I moved to kneel behind Evan, and looked down only to see I was still fully dressed, besides a few buttons on my shirt missing. I smiled sardonically to myself, then wrapped my hands around Evan’s waist.
“Do you still want to continue?” I asked with all seriousness.
Chapter 6
Evan
Max really intends to take me.
By this point, it should have been obvious, but once he actually moved me onto my knees and went behind me, it hit me.
My body started trembling.
I can't believe I’m about to have Max enter me!
Max wasn’t the first Alpha to ever have any interest in me, not that it happened that often, though. He was definitely the only one to ever get this far, though, and I knew my face was burning, my heart beating fast and hard in anticipation.
When there was no movement for a long while, I looked over my shoulder. The position was a little embarrassing, I’d never had to do anything like this for someone before so I didn’t know how to react to it. Max had a strange look on his face, and I thought he looked a little strained.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
He met my eyes and smiled, trying to look gentle, but not quite hitting the mark.
“You haven’t answered me. Do you still want to continue?”
My mind blanked. Had he asked a question like that? Maybe I was too lost in my own head to hear it before. My face feeling like it was about to blow off from all the heat, I nodded my head rapidly.
