by L. C. Davis
Yuri considered that in silence and once again, the walls were up and as impenetrable as ever. "I see," he said quietly, buttoning his shirt.
Benjamin stood to his feet and reached to help Yuri to his. "I should get you back home," he murmured. "It's going to be a long couple of days."
Chapter 8
YURI
The days of Yuri's heat passed arduously. It was a fact of life that was treated clinically and callously in most of the packs he had lived in. At Ice Canyon, an unmated omega in heat was kept away from the alphas and lived in relative isolation until it passed. The other omegas complained, but that isolation had felt like a sanctuary after the torturous experience Devon had turned his heats into in the Winter Crest Pack.
The Cold Water Pack was a different experience entirely. Life went on as usual, and Yuri wasn't treated any differently than he had been before. He was allowed to explore the house freely, but something told him he wouldn't be allowed out if he tried to go. It was the fact that Sue had asked if he needed anything at the store rather than asking if he'd like to go with her, coupled with Benjamin's absence that made him suspect he was being subtly sheltered. In fact, Yuri hadn't seen an unmated beta or alpha since his return.
Life in Cold Water was sleepy and calm enough under normal circumstances, but by the last day of his heat, Yuri found that boredom could cause more suffering than the biological need the doctor's pills had only partially suppressed. The fact that Benjamin was often in his thoughts at once soothed and enraged him.
It was just a chemical reaction, he told himself. Benjamin was the only unmated alpha in the entire pack. It was only natural that he, as an unmated omega, would respond to him in a certain way. Never mind the fact that he had never longed for an alpha's touch during any of his previous heats. Benjamin's touch had awakened something in him, some itch that had only been partially scratched and was set on driving him wild. It wasn't just the alpha's touch that he missed, but his voice. The low, rich tones of it that might have been relaxing enough to put Yuri asleep, if every word out of the alpha's mouth wasn't so bewildering.
After a week of the most inexplicable kind of suffering, Yuri woke and realized his heat had passed. His relief was profound, especially since that meant that he could begin putting his observations to use. He already had an escape plan formulated, although if he was being honest, the security of the Cold Water Pack hardly warranted one. There were no locks on the outside of his door, and as far as he could tell, Sue and Lita didn't have a curfew. He had seen omegas walking around town unaccompanied. It was almost like Cold Water really was just a village rather than a prison like every other pack Yuri had known.
After showering and changing, Yuri ventured his way down the stairs only to find the usually pristine family home in a state of relative chaos. There were cardboard boxes everywhere, filled with clothes and other items. They seemed to be organized by some system Yuri wasn't aware of, and when he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Lita sifting through a box of toys.
"Oh, hey," she said, glancing up. "I see you're feeling better."
Yuri blushed a little, wandering over to her. "Yeah. What's all this?"
"It's for a charity drive," she explained. "The Mountain Ridge Alpha's mate runs a sanctuary for runaway omegas and their pups, and the Council is asking every pack to collect donations."
"Mountain Ridge?" Yuri's heart skipped a little. It was the one Federation pack he had known by name as a pup and one that the Arctic wolves murmured in fear and reverence. That mega pack was associated with many things in Yuri's mind, but charity wasn't one of them. He vaguely remembered Gerald saying something about sending him there a few years back, but that plan had fallen through like so many of the Alpha's other desperate attempts to pawn him off. By that point, Yuri had earned quite the reputation.
"Yeah. They're part of the Council now," she explained once she seemed to read his confusion. "Things have changed a lot in the last few years."
"I see that," Yuri murmured. "This sanctuary...what is it?"
"It's for omegas who run away from their packs for one reason or another," she said, tossing a small plastic car into one of the boxes.
"From Council packs?"
Lita hesitated. "I guess, but I don't think that's ever happened. I don't know too much about it, to be honest. I'm just helping out with the drive."
"Can I help?"
"Thanks, but I'm almost finished here. I'm sure Ben would like to see you, though." She grinned.
Yuri hesitated. "Where is he?"
"He's out in the garage," she said, nodding towards the kitchen.
Yuri sighed and summoned what was left of his dignity to approach the alpha. He opened the door in the back of the kitchen and found that Benjamin was there, just as Lita had promised. What she hadn't warned him of was the fact that the alpha was shirtless, covered in grease and leaning over the hood of his mother's truck. Then again, no amount of preparation could have rendered Yuri immune to that sight. He just hoped it wasn't enough to trigger another heat.
Benjamin looked up and an easy smile spread across his face. He wiped his brow and took off his dirty gloves, setting them aside as he rose to greet the omega. "Hey there. I see you're feeling better."
"That seems to be the word for it around here," Yuri murmured, folding his arms since he found himself suddenly unsure of where to put his hands. Definitely not where they wanted to go. His wandering eyes were giving him enough trouble.
Benjamin cleared his throat. "So, mom and dad said you seem to be settling in okay."
"It's nice here." That much was the truth, at least. Cold Water was the nicest prison Yuri had ever been in, but it was a prison to him nonetheless.
"I'm glad you like it." There was sincerity in those words and in the Alpha's gaze that Yuri couldn't quite bring himself to understand. Benjamin's phone buzzed in his pocket, erasing the silence between them. "Sorry," he muttered, glancing at his screen before answering. "Hey, mom. What's up?"
Benjamin listened in silence for a moment and frowned. "More tests? Can't they do those here?" He paused. "Huh. Yeah, sure, stay as long as you need. There's no reason for you to drive all the way back this late."
Yuri listened and tried to pretend like he wasn't, exploring the garage. The shelves were neatly organized and, just like the rest of the pack, everything seemed to have its place. Everything and everyone, with one notable exception.
"Yeah, love you, too. Take care."
By the time Yuri looked up, Benjamin was slipping his phone back into his pocket. "So, I guess my parents are staying in the city for the night. Since I'm not much of a cook, how about we go see if Lita's feeling up to pizza?"
"Sounds good," said Yuri, desperate to avoid being alone with the alpha. For once, his hesitation was at least as much because he didn't trust himself.
Lita was still in the living room when they returned inside. Benjamin seemed to disappear, but a moment later, he emerged with washed hands and a clean shirt. "Lita, mom and dad are staying the night in the city," he called, walking out into the living room to survey the explosion of boxes. "Wow, you made quick work of the donations."
"Thanks," Lita said brightly, pulling her hair back into a neater ponytail. "Why aren't they coming back tonight?"
Benjamin was silent for a moment and Yuri could tell the look of understanding that passed between them wasn't meant for him to see. "Oh," she murmured, like he'd said something Yuri just hadn't caught.
"What do you want on your pizza? Or are you still doing that silly no-carb thing?"
She rolled her eyes. "It's no refined sugar, and I'm going out with Karen."
Benjamin frowned and Yuri couldn't help but notice the look of panic on his face as he looked between the two omegas. "Can't you, uh, do that another night?"
"No, the entire committee that put this together is going out to celebrate," she said, gesturing to the boxes. "Angel Teak is coming and everything."
"Angel? As in the Mountain
Ridge Alpha's mate, Angel?"
"The one who runs the sanctuary?" Yuri put in, the wheels in his mind churning.
"That would be the one," she said, folding her arms with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Guess you two are just going to have to have dinner alone."
Benjamin scowled at her, but it was a harmless look compared to the one he had given Wayne. "Just don't stay out too late. You know how mom is."
"I won't," she said, leaning up to kiss his cheek before grabbing a sweater hanging on the rack by the door. "Have fun!"
Yuri didn't know quite what to make of the little lilt in her voice, but he was too preoccupied with the plan distilling in his mind to think much of it. Benjamin sighed, turning to face him. Yuri noticed with great interest that the alpha seemed at least as wary of being alone with him. "So," he said with a vaguely nervous grin. "What do you like on your pizza?"
Chapter 9
YURI
Being alone with Benjamin didn't trigger the same fear response in Yuri that being alone with other alphas had, but it was far more awkward than he had expected. He had barely touched the first slice of his pineapple pizza, and save for a lighthearted joke about his choice in toppings being an affront to the culinary arts, the conversation had fallen flat.
Yuri had hoped that his reaction to the alpha was solely a response born of the cocktail of hormones and emotional need that came with heat, but while the edges of that all-encompassing lust had been sanded down by sobriety, it was still there. It flared whenever he caught himself staring at Benjamin a little too long, or whenever he let himself take any but the shallowest of breaths, filling his nostrils with the alpha's soothing but masculine scent.
What was wrong with him? Yuri had always taken pride in not being like the other omegas who fawned in an alpha's presence, but his wolf was proving that it didn't share his appreciation for things like decency and modesty. All it wanted was for the alpha to take them into his arms the way he had at the beach and finish what he had started. Yuri held fast to his humanity and his resolve, but the leash was slipping...
"A movie."
Yuri looked over at Benjamin, taken off-guard by the sudden proclamation. "A what?"
"We could watch a movie," Benjamin said, as if he had just come up with the solution to a problem he had been considering for ages.
"Oh," Yuri said, glancing at the TV across from the couch. It was seldom used in the Stillwater home, unless Heinrich was watching the morning news or Sue had on a talk show while she made dinner. "Sure, that sounds nice."
Yuri watched Benjamin scroll through a list of genres on the screen and his eagerness made the omega question whether the alpha was just as in need of a distraction as he was.
"What would you like to watch?" Benjamin asked.
"I don't watch movies often," Yuri admitted. "Anything you like."
Benjamin scrolled a bit further and seemed to hit a button at random. He leaned back and focused intently on the screen like he was incapable of turning his neck.
Yuri decided to follow his lead. After the credits rolled, the opening shot of a desert landscape cued him off to the film's genre. "You like westerns?"
"Huh?" Benjamin squinted at the screen and gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, yeah. I guess so."
Yuri found himself more intrigued by the alpha's strange behavior than what was on the screen, but he gradually became engrossed by the storyline. The main character was an old, no-nonsense sheriff who had never wanted the job in the first place but had a hard time finding an honest man to take his place. When a young man involved in a stagecoach robbery gone awry ended up in the town seeking sanctuary, the sheriff took pity on him and let him stay on the condition that he worked to collect bounties and earn his keep. Yuri could relate to the young outlaw's feelings of being a stranger in a strange land, but the sheriff's kindness was as much of a mystery to him as anything. He worried at his bottom lip and leaned in, finding himself drawn in when a shootout had the sheriff in a corner, wounded and at the mercy of his enemies and his tentative ally. The outlaw had a choice: Betray the man who had saved him or face the band of robbers who had abandoned him...
A low, pleasant sound drew Yuri's attention and he realized it was Benjamin's laugh. The alpha was watching him closely, a faint smile of amusement on his lips. "What is it?" asked Yuri.
"You're just cute when you're focused on something." Benjamin cleared his throat and stood. "I'm gonna go grab a drink, don't pause it. You want anything from the kitchen?"
Yuri shook his head and turned back to the movie, but his own troubles were suddenly at the forefront of his mind. He knew what he had to do. He had been waiting for a chance to run away ever since he had arrived in Cold Water. No, ever since those Federation soldiers had pulled him from the rubble as a pup and taken him away from his homeland and the ruins that had once been his pack. This was his chance, and likely the only one he would ever have. As far as he could tell, there were no walls around the Cold Water village to keep its occupants inside. Of course, there didn't seem to be any reason they would want to escape.
After all, the pack had been created as a home, not a prison. Benjamin and Heinrich gave their subordinates no reason to want to leave, so escape would be easy if Yuri played his cards right. With Sue and Heinrich gone, it would never be easier. The fact that the Mountain Ridge omega was there that night was nothing short of fate's intervention, Yuri was sure of it. The answer to the prayer that had been in his heart ever since he was young. Benjamin was the only thing standing between him and the freedom he had craved for so long, and while he was certainly no match for the alpha's strength, he had other advantages.
Yuri struggled to ignore the pang of guilt that wrenched his stomach at the thought of using those advantages against Benjamin. The alpha returned with two glasses of juice and offered him one. Yuri smiled and took a sip, but the sugary drink did nothing to ease the dryness in his throat.
It didn't matter that Benjamin was kind or good, he told himself. It certainly didn't matter that he was handsome. He wanted Yuri now, but what would happen when the thrill of conquest had passed? Surely he wouldn't be as kind then. Yuri could either let his chance at freedom slip away or grasp at the hope that the illusion would last forever and spend his whole life waiting for it to crumble.
"How'd the sheriff fare in the shootout?" Benjamin asked, sitting next to him.
Yuri leaned in and kissed him. The alpha froze but it didn't take long for him to return the kiss, winding his arms around Yuri's waist to pull him in closer. He broke the kiss suddenly, his face etched with confusion. "But you're not in heat."
"I noticed," Yuri murmured, wrapping his arms around the alpha's neck to kiss him again. He moved to straddle Benjamin's lap and smiled against his lips when he realized the other man was already at full attention. He looked down, cupping Benjamin's hard jaw in his hands, allowing himself a moment to explore his features fully. The alpha was handsome. Even more so than Devon, and his features still had that boy-next-door charm that had been marred by the other alpha's perpetual smugness. Benjamin didn't smirk, he smiled, and his gaze didn't ogle so much as it explored with reverence and tenderness that made Yuri's pulse quicken and his resolve weaken.
It was in that moment, as the alpha's lips found his and his hands explored Yuri's body with a gentle yet claiming touch, that Yuri knew seducing Benjamin was about more than just getting out of Cold Water. It was about getting the alpha out of his head before he could settle in his heart. Yuri knew once that happened, there would be no running from it. Not from Benjamin, not from his pack and certainly not from the dangerous illusion of safety and belonging they both dangled in front of him.
Yuri allowed Benjamin to place him against the couch pillows, settling on top of him carefully. As the alpha looked him over, he kissed and touched every part of the omega he had just observed. Yuri shivered at his touch and marveled at his own virginal reactions. Benjamin was capable of stirring the most bizarre sensations. At best, he had onl
y ever endured another alpha's touch with tolerance, never longed for more of it.
"You're so beautiful," Benjamin murmured. Yuri had heard the words before, once or twice, from a particularly indulgent alpha in the throes of passion, but he had never believed them. Benjamin made the temptation too great. Something flickered in his eyes, some hesitation that turned his touch cold and Yuri found himself willing to do anything to turn the heat back on. "This is dangerous, heat or not."
"Why?" Yuri pressed, sitting up and feeling as if he was connected to Benjamin by some invisible string that tugged whenever the alpha moved.
Benjamin's gaze swept over him, his eyes darkened. "We're alone."
"Isn't that the point?" Yuri asked with a playful smile. "I'm not in heat. What's the problem?"
Benjamin hesitated. "I haven't marked you yet. Then there's the ceremony..."
Yuri sighed, realizing that words were going to be far less effective than touch. He kissed Benjamin again and let his hand drift down the hard lines of the alpha's chest and stomach, trailing along his waistband. The response was immediate. Benjamin growled a little, whether in frustration or desperation Yuri couldn't be sure, and swept the omega into his arms.
"Where are we going?" asked Yuri.
"If this night goes the way I'm afraid it will, I at least don't want your first time to be on the couch," he muttered, carrying Yuri up the stairs.
Yuri's heart lurched and he buried his face in Benjamin's neck to hide his alarm. So that was it. Benjamin did think he was a virgin. A pure, untouched omega who still had some claim to virtue to be protected. That explained everything and it only confirmed for him that he was making the right decision by leaving. Telling Benjamin the truth could only end in disappointment for them both. Better to be a hundred miles away before that happened.
Benjamin opened the door to Yuri's bedroom and locked it before placing the omega on his bed, giving himself a moment to pause. Yuri couldn't tell if Benjamin was arguing with himself or simply condemning himself for the temptation he had already decided to give in to, but he crawled to the edge of the bed and slowly began to unbutton the other man's shirt to help him along in the process either way. The flesh he unveiled was smooth and hard and Yuri couldn't help but marvel at its sculpture. His hands traveled down the alpha's chest and soon his lips were pressed against the sensitive flesh just above the waistband of those jeans that hung just low enough to reveal the cut of his Apollo's belt. When the rest of him was exposed, every inch was just as perfect as those tightly fitted jeans promised.