The toddler stage was always a trying one, he’d seen it with his sisters, though girls were usually easier, until they got to the teenage years, at least.
“We're hoping we have time to see them through that first stage before I go into heat again. Female shifters don't go into heat until after the baby is weaned but Alicia isn't so sure about Omegas."
And that brought another question to the forefront of his mind. He hesitated before he asked.
“Does that mean Zack and I shouldn’t…”
It took a moment for the others to get his meaning. Ro went a little red but Adam grinned.
“Nope. I asked Alicia after our two were born. She said best to wait a few days until you’re healed up before getting too hot and heavy. That no sex outside heats idea is an old one, it’s outdated. Sex is good for your bond. Especially for you two. I know you and Zack have been apart for a long time. And there are other ways to be close, if you’re impatient.”
Ro had got over his embarrassment and was nodding in agreement.
“We only ever… just that one time,” Matt admitted.
“In that case, if there’s anything you want to know, just ask,” Adam said, catching hold of Noah as he rolled towards the edge of the bed. “We Omegas have to stick together, given how few of us there are.”
“We should form a club,” Ro joked, tickling Xander, the baby squirming and giggling.
Matt grinned at the idea. It was great to have people to talk to who understood, who knew what it was to be an Omega. He knew Adam’s history was grim and Ro’s not much better. In comparison, he’d had a good life. Maybe not the loving family he’d always wanted, but he’d been sheltered and protected and that counted for something.
Xander started to fuss and Ro picked him up, bouncing him gently. At that moment, Seb appeared in the doorway. His eyes were drawn to Ro and Xander. Matthew could see that he liked what he saw, a look of longing gracing his face before he cleared his throat.
“How about some lunch, gentleman?” He stepped into the room, resting a hand on Ro’s shoulder. The Omega looked up at him and Seb leaned down to press a kiss to his mouth. Xander watched wide-eyed before holding both hands up to Seb. Laughing, the Alpha swooped him up. “This young man is going to be a handful. Not even one yet and doesn’t like to be upstaged.”
Xander gurgled happily, pressing his mouth to Seb’s shoulder and biting down.
“He’s teething,” Adam said, by way of apology. “They both are,” he said to Matt, “You have that to look forward to.”
“It’ll be worse when they start shifting,” Seb joked, holding out a hand to help Ro up. “Cubs chew everything at this age.”
The group headed downstairs, Matthew basking in the feeling of being part of something after such a very long time alone.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Matthew wondered about how to broach the subject of he and Zack spending time alone like Adam had suggested. The problem was solved for him when the Alpha went to meet Andrew near the Glenoak border one afternoon.
Zack was gone for hours and the separation had him agitated. His skin itched and he found himself pacing back and forth, rocking Rosie in his arms while he listened for the Alpha’s return. He was relieved when Zack called to say he was coming back. Ro, who’d been keeping him company, offered to take Rosie for a few hours.
“You shouldn’t be this unsettled. He’s only been gone one afternoon. You need some time alone together, to strengthen your bond.”
Matt knew Ro was right. They’d been so focused on Rosie that they hadn’t had any time to themselves.
Zack was back in time to join them for dinner.
"I told Andrew about Morgan and the trafficking. They're going to look into it. Briar Wood wasn't on their radar for trafficked wolves so there may be another ring in operation."
"I'll talk to Ben," Seb added, "he can use his Enforcer contacts to find out more."
Matthew was relieved to hear there'd be people looking into it. If the Enforcers could prove to the Council it was happening, his father couldn't ignore it.
The conversation turned to pleasanter things, Seb and Ro talking about trying to get away for another vacation over the holidays.
During dinner, Matt noticed a few sideways glances from Zack but any time he looked over at him, the Alpha merely smiled. It was a struggle to sit, his body still unsettled by Zack's absence. The Alpha's hand found Matt's on the table, holding it gently as his thumb drew circles across Matt's palm. The touch was maddening, the sensation traveling up his arm as heat pooled in his groin. He pulled his hand away, afraid the others would notice his reaction, but they kept up a steady stream of conversation, seemingly oblivious.
Afterward, Ro repeated his offer to mind Rosie and Sebastian readily agreed.
“You two need some time together. Don’t worry, Ro and I can manage Rosalie. Besides, you’ll be right upstairs if we need you.”
Matt had expected Zack to protest, but the Alpha didn’t, leading Matthew upstairs by the hand.
“You know, I could really do with a shower,” Zack said as they reached the landing. “Do you want to join me?”
Matt remembered the last time they’d been in a shower together. He’d wanted the Alpha more than anything in that moment and Zack’s rejection had stung. The memory must have been on Zack’s mind too as he tugged Matt closer.
“We could make up for lost time.” His eyes trailed downward as he spoke.
Matthew, mouth dry, could only nod, letting the Alpha lead him into the bathroom. Zack turned on the shower, adjusting the settings.
When Matt went to undo the buttons of his shirt, the Alpha’s hands stopped him, closing over his and gently pushing them away while he backed Matt against the bathroom counter. His own hands replaced Matt’s, undoing button after button, pushing his shirt off his shoulders in one quick movement. He reached for his own t-shirt, shirking it off over his head before his hands reached for Matt again, catching hold of the snap of his jeans. Matt’s hands rested over his, stalling him. “Things are still… different.”
The Alpha nodded in understanding, leaning in to kiss Matt’s neck. “I know. I have healing hands, remember? Trust me.”
Matt did. He gave in, surrendering to the Alpha’s touch as he made quick work of the rest of their clothes. Matt stepped into the shower at Zack’s urging. The warm heat felt wonderful and he spent a moment just enjoying the feel of it on his skin. Then Zack was in the shower, his warm body pressed against Matt’s back. The Alpha’s arms encircled him before his mouth descended on the back of Matt’s neck, pressing kisses to every inch of skin within reach. Matt arched his back when the Alpha’s mouth sucked on a sensitive spot behind his ear. Zack’s thumb dragged a long line across the nape of his neck and it sent a spark of pleasure through him that had him shuddering. The Alpha’s keen senses picked up on this, his mouth following the trail of his thumb, licking and sucking before biting gently.
The spark of pleasure surged and spilled over, heating every inch of Matt’s skin.
“Wow,” Zack whispered.
“Can you feel that too?” Matt panted.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Maybe we should stop this. It isn’t fair to ask you to hold back.”
“I talked to Alicia, she said once the skin is healed, it’s okay so long as we’re gentle.”
Matt turned to look at the Alpha. “You talked to Alicia?”
“She called me after Seb called her.”
The question of why was on his lips when Zack continued. “You know you’re in heat, right?”
Startled, he clung to the Alpha’s broad arms as his legs went weak.
“No, I can’t be…how?” But it explained how he was feeling, too warm and uncomfortable in his own skin. Not to mention desperate to be close to Zack. His first heat had been so quick, overwhelming him in seconds, this was much slower.
Zack nodded against him. “Being reunited after a long separation. Alicia thinks it’s why
you went into labor so soon after I found you. Your body reacting the only way it knew how, trying its best to strengthen our bond, to stop me leaving again.”
Matthew huffed a laugh. “Biology sucks.”
“Not always,” the Alpha replied, pressing his mouth against Matt’s, fingers reaching for the nape of his neck once more. Matt couldn’t restrain his moan as the Alpha’s deft fingers found the sweet spot and pressed down. The sound was swallowed by the Alpha’s mouth on his.
He felt himself harden and knew that Zack, pressed tight against him, felt it too.
“How about we take the edge off?” the Alpha said, snaking one hand down between them. His hand encircled Matt, who couldn’t help bucking against the touch, skin exquisitely sensitive.
When Matt settled against him, the Alpha began to jack him off slowly, applying just enough pressure with each slide of his hand to have Matt on his tiptoes, hands clinging to Zack’s shoulders.
Zack’s other hand worked the sensitive nerve bundle at the back of Matt’s neck, thumb circling, pressing harder and harder.
“Zack,” Matt cried, resting his forehead against the Alpha’s shoulder as the strong hands worked him over, pleasure growing as each moment passed. He shouted something unintelligible as he came, long and hard, before murmuring “Alpha” with a sigh as his body sank bonelessly into Zack’s embrace.
Zack helped Matt to bed once they’d cleaned up in the shower. They lay side by side, hips touching. The Omega had been a little dazed in the shower but now he was watching Zack, eyes heavy with lust. He slid down the bed until he was face to face with the Alpha’s groin. Zack was almost hard just from their proximity alone.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking the edge off,” Matt replied, echoing Zack’s early words. He leaned forward, one hand braced on Zack’s hip, the other taking hold of Zack’s cock. He gazed at Zack from under thick eyelashes then bent down and took Zack into his mouth.
Zack groaned and shuddered as Matt swallowed him deeper. Stretching one arm down, he let his hand tangle in Matt’s hair, feeling the soft strands beneath his fingers as Matt’s head bobbed up and down. The heat of Matt’s mouth and the friction felt amazing.
Matt seemed intent and eager, keeping up a steady pressure with his hand as his mouth worked its magic. Zack’s hand tightened on Matt’s hair in warning. “Wait, Matt, I’m…”
The Omega pulled away, a little breathless when he spoke.
“Should I finish or do you want…”
Zack could see the need in Matt’s eyes. He was in heat, his body craving the Alpha’s. There was only one true way to satisfy that.
He answered with action rather that words, tugging Matthew up and guiding his knees to straddle his hips. Matt’s hand reached down to take hold of him again and guided him inside, the Omega’s eyes fluttering closed.
Zack rested his hands on Matt’s hips. The Omega opened his eyes, gaze filled with need.
“I won’t last long,” Zack cautioned, his voice cracking. He was already at the edge. Matt braced himself against Zack as he started to move, raising his hips until just the tip remained inside him, then sinking back down. He repeated the movement, faster and faster, tightening his knees around Zack’s hips.
Zack watched Matt’s face, the Omega’s eyes were closed, his face and lips flushed, his mouth parted as he panted with each thrust. Zack couldn’t hold himself still, thrusting up to meet him. The Omega clenched around him and it threw him over the edge, his body stilling as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over him. He drew Matthew’s upper body down, the Omega caught up in his own pleasure. He rolled, laying Matt face down on the bed. When he pressed his mouth to the back of Matt’s neck, the Omega’s hands reached for him.
“Yes. I want this. Please, Zack.”
That was all the encouragement the Alpha needed to bite down. Matthew arched his back, a second orgasm hitting him as he shuddered hard in Zack’s arms.
Sated, they lay close, bodies overlapping. Their bond, so faint and intangible before, surged between them.
“An ending worthy of a fairytale, huh?” Zack asked when he got his breath back.
Matt didn’t reply, just pushed closer, pressing a kiss to Zack's cheek.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The second morning of his heat, they came down to join Seb and Ro for breakfast. Alicia called by, setting down a small paper bag next to him. He looked up at her questioningly.
“Birth control. If you decide you don’t want another baby right away.”
Matt picked up the bag. His memory of the long, lonely pregnancy, not to mention the painful and frightening birth, were still very fresh in his mind. Maybe in the future, when he was ready… when they were ready. He looked to Zack for reassurance that this was the right choice. The Alpha, rocking a fussy Rosie, gave him a measured look then nodded. Alicia took him aside to give the injection.
Returning to the kitchen, he took Rosie from Zack. She helped dampen his heat a little, giving him more space to think beyond how delicious Zack smelled.
“I was thinking Seb and I would take Rosie over to Ben and Adam’s place this morning,” Ro suggested. “Give you and Zack the morning to yourselves.”
Matt felt a pang of guilt that they were essentially kicking the Pack’s leaders out of their own house, alongside their newborn, but Sebastian didn’t seem to mind at all.
“How did Pack’s manage back when Omegas were commonplace?” he wondered aloud.
“They were much more spread out. Usually only one or two bonded Omega in a pack at most, alongside any children. Three bonded Omega together at the one time would have been a very unusual arrangement,” Sebastian said.
“How many more do you think there are?” Zack said.
“Omegas? Very hard to know. There may be other Packs hiding their Omega’s status, like Briar Wood. And there are most likely a few Omega within rogue communities though Fenrir’s Warriors haven’t located any, and they’ve been looking.”
“What does it mean for the future, that Omegas are back?” Matthew asked.
“Maybe your Father has it right. It’s a sign that things among the Packs are getting better,” Zack said.
“I would like to believe that,” Seb commented, “but all indications are to the contrary. Tensions are mounting and Fenrir’s Warriors are building to something.”
“Then maybe it’s not a sign that things are better, maybe it’s giving us a chance to make things better,” Matt said. “My grandmother told me that before Omega numbers declined and alliances broke down, Omegas were cherished, they didn’t bond for trade but for love. And trade still happened because of the strong connections formed between Packs through those bonds.”
“I like that idea. We’re a sign of hope, an inducement to make the right decisions,” Ro said.
“Let’s hope someone listens,” Seb added with a sigh.
Only two days later and his heat was fast fading. He was torn between disappointment and relief. It had been awkward, given where they were, but he’d cherished the intimacy with Zack, their every kiss and touch drawing them closer together, giving their bond strength.
A cry from Rosie roused him that morning but before he could get up, Zack’s arm fell across him, pinning him to the bed as the Alpha leaned over and placed a kiss behind his ear.
“I’ve got her.”
“That’s a hungry cry. I think I might be more equipped to handle that than you,” he joked.
“Well, when you put it like that,” the Alpha said, climbing out of bed and reaching for Rosie where she lay in her crib. She stopped fussing as he picked her up. He turned towards the bed and Matthew was struck by the picture in front of him. The strong, tanned, muscular Alpha cradling the tiny baby in his arms. His family.
Zack’s phone rang, disturbing the moment, and Matt took Rosie from him as he answered it.
“Hello? Oh, hey, Andrew…”
The call was quick.
“Okay, see you then.”
Zack turned back to him, looking surprised.
“The FW are on their way here. They’re ready to move us.”
“Already?” Matthew had been sure it would take longer.
“There’s a lot of murmurings among Briar Wood and Bear Lake. It seems they know we’re here. The longer we stay, the more likely we’ll bring trouble down on Glenoak. The FW are our best chance of staying safe.”
Matthew climbed out of bed, holding Rosie close. “Then we’d better be ready when they get here.”
Zack jogged downstairs to give Seb and Ro the news. Matt dressed and followed more slowly with Rosie.
When he reached the kitchen, Zack and Sebastian were arguing, Ro standing off to the side, watching with concern.
“We don’t know the FW’s endgame, Zack, or their true motivations. They’re spoiling for a fight. Do you want to be in the middle of that?”
“I worked with them for months, Seb. They did more to protect vulnerable wolves in that time than the Packs have done in years. They’re the solution to all the problems the Packs are creating. They’re taking in bitten wolves that the Packs are ignoring, even when their own wolves are responsible for creating them.”
“They’re building an army! They're training warriors. You don’t do that if your plan is peace.”
“We’ll never reach Eagle Creek or Gray Valley through talking alone. You know that, you’ve tried. They’re corrupt to their core, from whatever happened in that northern Pack they came from. They only respond to strength.”
Ro interjected. “Maybe if you met with James, Seb, face to face? Heard from him what his plans were? Ben trusts him. And when Eagle Creek tried to get to me after we’d bonded, James stood side by side with me to fight them off. If all he really wanted was power and control, and he plans to get that through violence alone, then he has a strange way of going about it.”
Ro had met James but Seb hadn’t? Matt could see that being another reason Sebastian wasn’t too keen on the man. A strange Alpha interacting with your bonded mate was a sure way to cause tension, even if it had been well meant.
The Alpha's Wish: Lost Omegas Book Three: A M/M Shifter Romance Page 14