by E. J. Waugh
However, with an unmated alpha around, he knew immediately when it started.
Panicked and unsure of how to react—or how Jaren might react—Elston hid himself away in his room after leaving the breakfast table as fast as possible and curled in on himself, sweating into the blankets.
Alina came in half an hour or so later with cool water and cloths to drape over Elston’s belly and take the worst of the discomfort away. He allowed her to direct him, because he’d never been good at dealing with it himself, either, and being around an alpha made it much more intense.
After a few hours of whimpering pathetically while Alina tended to him, patient as ever, Elston came to a decision.
“Alina, will you do something for me?” He asked.
“Whatever you like.”
Elston chewed on his lip. He wasn’t sure how to word his request, and he knew it was a delicate one. “I’d like… can you, uh. Can you let Jaren know that I’m in heat and invite him to come to me?”
He blushed deeply even as he said it. He’d had the thought several times in the past week, and while he now recognized that his thinking had been influenced by the oncoming heat, he’d become increasingly attached to the idea of having Jaren as his first alpha. His affection for the older man had only grown with time. It was a lot to ask, but he wouldn’t get it if he didn’t.
Besides, he knew his scent would be uncomfortable for Jaren, as well. There was no reason for both of them to suffer if they didn’t have to.
“Do you think that’s wise?” Alina raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve seen the way he looks at me. I’m not an idiot.” Elston wet his lips. “I won’t hurt him. I’d never hurt him.”
Alina paused in changing over the cloths she’d been periodically replacing on Elston’s skin, and instead wiped him down with one that had been mostly dried by the heat of his body. “All right. I’ll tell him, but I make no promises about whether or not he’ll come.”
“He’ll come,” Elston said with more confidence than he felt. He suddenly worried that he’d misread Jaren, that the other man’s affection for him was fatherly rather than romantic, that he might not want to risk his heart with such a young human who’d already stated his intention to leave.
Elston was no longer sure that he would leave, though. He knew now that Jaren still travelled in the warm months, and fantasized that perhaps he’d go with him. It wasn’t the adventure he’d imagined, but it might even be a better one. All of the exploration without the fear of being alone.
That would depend, though, on Jaren’s response to his invitation.
It seemed like an eternity before there was a knock on the door. Elston’s heart leapt into his throat, and he found himself curling his fingers into the blanket tightly. He wasn’t frightened of Jaren, but he felt it was reasonable to be nervous, all the same.
“May I come in?” Jaren asked through the door. Elston swallowed, trying to get his throat to work and finding, to his dismay, that he couldn’t get it to.
“It’s all right if you’ve changed your mind,” Jaren said, his voice soft. He didn’t sound disappointed. Just tired, which Elston supposed was the result of being alone for as long as he had been.
“Come in,” he managed to croak out. A moment later, the door opened, and Jaren stepped through it.
Elston could only stare at him, unsure what to do. He watched Jaren close the door behind him and approach the bed in silence, wanting to reach out but unable to make himself move.
“Heats are so difficult for unmated omegas,” Jaren said. “May I sit?”
Elston nodded eagerly, and shuffled over on the bed to give him plenty of space. The mattress dipped under Jaren’s weight as he settled on it.
“I haven’t changed my mind,” Elston said, in the hopes of making his intentions clear. Now that he was this close to Jaren again, his body was already reacting. He would have been lying to say it hadn’t reacted before, though. His heat was only amplifying the confusing, awkward feelings he’d been dealing with for the last few weeks.
Jaren put a hand on Elston’s forehead, then ran his fingers slowly through his hair. “There are other way to ease a heat.”
“I know. But this is the one I want.” Elston closed his eyes as Jaren continued to stroke his hair. “You’re the only alpha I’ve ever felt safe around.”
“I would never do you any harm. I would tear out my own heart first.”
“Jaren… I know. I don't think you should be more nervous about this than me.”
“In my defense, it has been longer for me than it has for you.”
Elston laughed, looking up at Jaren again. At the same time, he felt a rush of warmth between his legs. Jaren’s nostrils flared briefly, but otherwise, he barely reacted.
The level of restraint he was showing might have made Elston worry that he wasn’t interested, but he already knew that wasn’t true. Instead, it made him feel like he’d made the right decision. Jaren wouldn’t take anything not freely given, and that made him perfect.
“Will you let me see you?” Jaren asked. Elston didn’t need to hesitate. He wriggled his way out from under the blanket he’d been curled up in and sat back on his haunches with his legs spread wide, letting Jaren see his naked body without impediment. He could feel the glistening wetness on his thighs, and normally he would have been embarrassed, but the way Jaren looked at him wiped away all traces of self-consciousness.
Elston had never been able to imagine what it would be like to be so sincerely wanted. Not wanted as a prize or a warm body, but wanted as a person.
“I think you know that you’re very beautiful, but I’d like to say it anyway,” Jaren shuffled closer to him on the bed. “May I touch?”
Biting his lip, Elston nodded. He gasped when Jaren’s fingers made contact with the sensitive skin of his thigh, and squirmed as Jaren trailed them up further.
“So pretty.” Jaren smiled. “But you are in need, and I should see to that.”
This was the moment Elston had been waiting for, and his stomach clenched with nervousness. He knew that Jaren would never hurt him, but he was a large man, and a dragon, and Elston assumed that would translate into a larger knot. What if it did hurt? What if Jaren didn’t fit?
Except Jaren wasn’t moving to undress. Instead, he shifted closer to Elston, and continued to move his fingers up the inside of his thigh. Jaren paused at the entrance to Elston’s body, barely brushing against his skin.
Elston’s eyes fluttered closed as he held his breath in anticipation, ready to welcome someone else inside him for the first time. He nodded, though he wasn’t sure if Jaren was waiting for permission.
Elston moaned lowly as Jaren pressed two fingers inside him, lifting himself up to give Jaren better access. He opened his eyes to see Jaren watching him intently, his focus on the task at hand intense.
“I thought.” Elston swallowed, dragging in a deep, shuddering breath. “I thought you were going to…”
“After you’ve come at least once, and only then if you still want to,” Jaren said. “You are new to this, and I would not shove a full-sized dragon cock inside you without being sure you were ready for it.”
Elston had never heard Jaren speak so frankly before, and the tips of his ears burned with a blush that was one part awkwardness, ten parts arousal. He allowed Jaren to move him, laying down on the bed under him and keeping his legs spread, lifting his hips when Jaren grabbed a pillow and pushed it under him.
“This will not solve your heat, but it will ease it,” Jaren said. Elston could already feel it working, the ache he was used to between his legs fading, the urgency and fever beginning to abate. He rocked against Jaren’s hand, biting down on his lip again as Jaren’s thumb brushed over his own small, but highly sensitive cock.
Pressure built in his thighs and low in his belly, the familiar precursor to an orgasm, but more intense than Elston had ever managed with his own fumbling. Jaren was experienced, and his reach was better, and beside
s that, he had wonderful alpha pheromones that Elston’s senses could bathe in.
“It’s all right,” Jaren assured him. “I’ve got you.”
The pressure that had been building in Elston burst all at once, making him cry out at the sensation in a way he’d never done before. Jaren continued to move his fingers inside him, drawing his pleasure out as he bucked against his hand, trying to chase the feeling in the hopes that it would last a little longer.
It was a relief in terms of the symptoms of heat, but Elston only needed Jaren more, now. As soon as Jaren’s hand moved away from him, he rolled over and lifted his hips, presenting himself unmistakably. He’d always been afraid of the idea of complete submission to an alpha like this, but he trusted Jaren. Jaren would only take what was being offered.
“Please,” Elston begged when Jaren didn’t immediately cover him. To his relief, he could hear the sound of fabric shifting, and a moment later, was pulled over onto his side, tight against Jaren’s body.
“Are you sure?” Jaren asked, fulfilling all of Elston’s expectations of him.
“Yes,” Elston breathed. Once he’d said it, he didn’t have to wait long. Jaren lifted his thigh with ease, and then pressed the blunt head of his cock against Elston’s opening.
Elston shut his eyes as Jaren pushed inside, but found them open wide again, unintentionally, as Jaren’s cock slid in ridge by ridge. Elston wished then that he’d seen it before it was inside him, but he’d have a chance to look at it later. The sensation was overwhelming at first, too much information clouding Elston’s mind, but then he began to feel the shape of it, expanding in steps and pressing against every sensitive spot inside his body.
Jaren paused then, giving them both a moment to catch their breath. Only a moment, though, before he began to rock his hips gently, barely moving more than the give of Elston’s body allowed without producing friction.
It was comforting, which was the last thing Elston had expected it to be. Jaren grabbed for the pillow from before and shoved it between Elston’s knees to keep his thighs apart, moving his now-free hand between his legs to play with the rest of him. Omega bodies were different from alpha ones, but no less sensitive for it. Some people even believed that omegas were more sensitive than alphas when they were aroused, but there was no real way to prove it.
Elston suspected that Jaren was one of those who believed it, though. He closed his eyes again as he got used to Jaren’s rhythm, sighing as the other man dropped a kiss on his shoulder. He wanted to kiss Jaren properly, but it was impossible in this position.
It could wait. He would be able to kiss Jaren later, when the frenzy of heat was over.
Already, Elston could feel another orgasm building. This one was less urgent, less desperate, but steadily making him tense again, ready for a second release.
Jaren’s thrusts were changing, as well. The slow, rhythmic movements had become jerky and hard, though Elston wasn’t about to complain. If anything, he would have liked Jaren to be rougher, more forceful. However, Jaren’s fear of hurting him was sensible, as Elston could feel that the widest part of him was stretching him to the limit, his body burning where they were joined. It wasn’t quite painful, but any more would be too much.
One particularly hard thrust took Elston by surprise, throwing him over the edge all of a sudden and whiting out his vision temporarily, so that when he came to his senses he had to blink a few times to see clearly. He heard low, constant moaning, and took a moment to realize it was himself, reacting to Jaren’s sped up thrusts, the way the ridges of his cock were expanding inside him.
Elston expected a roar as Jaren came, but instead heard a sharp intake of breath and felt Jaren spill inside him, mixing their fluids together. Jaren thrust several times, panting harshly before finally going still. His cock swelled, though not quite in the same way Elston understood a human alpha’s would. He could feel distinct ridges pressing into him, locking Jaren in place.
The fever of his heat broke so quickly he found himself shivering. Jaren made a soft, sympathetic noise, and pulled the discarded blanket over both of them. He kissed the back of Elston’s neck softly.
“I am going to fall asleep immediately,” Jaren said.
Elston would have replied, but he’d already passed out himself.
Chapter Ten
Jaren woke to find himself still curled around Elston, cradling his body close.
He wondered if he’d made a mistake. Elston was so impossibly young, and while he’d been enthusiastic earlier, Jaren didn't expect him to want what he himself wanted. Or, indeed, to understand the depth of Jaren's feelings for him.
There would be no long romance, no eventual mating. Elston would leave on the other side of the winter, though Jaren hoped he would look back fondly on him. Perhaps he’d come back when he was done seeing the world, though perhaps he’d find someone else before then.
If he did come back, he’d find himself welcomed with open arms. Jaren already realized that Elston would be the love of this age for him.
That was too great a burden for such a young person to bear unwillingly. Elston was clever enough to understand the full weight of it, so Jaren had to protect him. Even at the cost of his own heart.
Elston shifted in his sleep, rolling over to curl up against Jaren's chest. The pain of inevitably losing him would be worth even these few moments of joy, and Jaren meant to make the most of them.
He played idly with Elston's hair, running his fingers through the soft strands. Jaren could feel Elston beginning to wake, and wanted him to be comforted when he did. Elston had dealt with enough alphas in his life who hadn't cared about his feelings, and Jaren refused to seem like one of them for even a moment.
Elston hummed as he woke, stretching his limbs and then burying his head against Jaren's neck. “Good morning,” he mumbled.
“Good evening,” Jaren responded.
“Oh.” Elston turned his head away from Jaren's neck to look over at the window, where the last rays of sunlight were fading over the horizon. “I guess I didn’t sleep all day, then.”
“No. It’s only been a few hours. But you’re welcome to go back to sleep.”
“I'm awake.” Elston yawned, then laughed at himself. “Mostly. But also starving.”
“Then we must feed you. I suppose you’d prefer that Alina didn't see you like this?”
“I don’t mind. She’s seen me naked before. I’d like to wash first, though.”
Jaren nodded. “Then you wash, and I’ll have her bring you something in the meantime.” Jaren sat up to climb out of the bed. He’d pulled off most of his clothes while Elston had been sleeping, overheated by the warmth of his body even as it cooled. It had been a long time since he’d shared a bed with a human, and he’d forgotten how hot they ran.
“Aren’t you going to eat with me?” Elston asked. “I thought…”
Jaren paused in pulling his tunic over his head. “Go on,” he encouraged.
“No, it’s all right. I was wrong.” Elston looked down at his lap, hair falling around his face.
Heart sinking fast, Jaren sat back down on the bed. “I’ve upset you,” he said. “I’d like to know how, so I can fix it.”
“I…” Elston looked up. “I guess I thought… I mean, it’s fine, I’m grateful for the help and I’ll always be glad that you were my first, but I thought this was the start of something, not the whole of it.”
“Is that what you want?” Jaren was afraid to accept what he was hearing. The idea that Elston might have meant for this to be more than convenient had crossed his mind, but he’d forced himself to discard it in order to avoid getting his hopes up.
Perhaps he hadn’t given Elston enough credit for understanding the true weight of his actions. Now that Jaren had this final, unexpected piece of the puzzle, he wondered if Elston had been hiding his own growing affection, as well.
“Yes. I know I ran from one alpha and said I didn’t want to belong to anyone, but it’s not… I’d
never belong to you, not the way I would to an alpha back home. You treat me like an equal. No one’s ever done that before. I don’t know for sure what I want in the future and I’m not asking you to mate with me right now, but I want more. More of the same.”
“I worship the ground you walk on,” Jaren said softly. Though he wasn’t prone to saying things like that aloud, he thought Elston needed to hear it. Needed to understand how deep Jaren’s feelings ran, and how much they’d grown in their time together.
Elston blushed to the tips of his ears. “So you’ll eat with me?”
“I was only trying to give you space. Dragons guard the things they hold dear with a ferocity that most humans find objectionable. I have tried to be better than my jealous nature, but there is a part of me that would prefer you were never out of my sight again. I would smother you if I was allowed to.”
Elston made a soft, sympathetic noise and shuffled closer to Jaren, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. “Then you should trust me to tell you if I need space, and honor it if I say I do. But eating together isn't going to make me feel smothered.”
Jaren wanted to object, to tell Elston that he couldn't possibly know what it was like, but he stopped himself. Perhaps Elston couldn't know, but Jaren couldn't know how Elston would react, either.
It was unfair to assume that he knew better than Elston what he wanted. No amount of wisdom, knowledge, or time lived could tell Jaren what was in the heart of another person.
“You're right,” Jaren said. “Of course.”
“You'll find I often am.” Elston grinned, showing his true age again. Young humans, in Jaren's experience, had a wonderful way of being very serious one moment and switching to playful the next.
It made Jaren feel younger, too, which was quite a feat at his age. Humans, for all their faults, were truly magical creatures.
“I didn’t ask how you were feeling,” Jaren said, realizing belatedly that he’d gotten side-tracked.
“My heat broke. Thank you,” Elston responded. “I feel sore, but not in an unpleasant way. It’s nice, actually. I expected more pain.”