by Eva Lyra
Marcus grunted, closed his eyes and shifted on the bed. No matter what he said, he still wasn’t well. That wound on his leg was nasty, and shifting hadn’t healed it, which was weird. It probably meant Marcus was weak, sick. It made no sense. Marcus was one of the strongest alphas his age Tiberius knew.
But Tiberius had to get back to Reese. He felt it in his bones that he’d stayed away too long, that Reese might be in danger. Reese needed him, and he needed Reese just as much.
Whatever the reason.
***
The moment he left Wolfclaw Manor, the seat of Marcus’s clan, Tiberius drove like a madman back to Howl Academy. He’d told himself he would be calm about it, would have control over this strange urge he’d never had before to be with someone, but it was no use.
He arrived late in the day. The sun was setting far over the mountains, the natural frontier between shifter and witch land. Howl Academy rose like a castle, with watchtowers and bastions, hiding the more modern buildings inside its walls.
He stopped at the gate, flashed the guard his ID, and rolled inside, through the gardens of the Academy. Trees bloomed and birds chirped and students strolled, going from class to class. Small groups stood at building corners, talking animatedly.
Marcus’s fears seemed a million miles away here. Here was everything Tiberius knew, and everything he desired.
Reese.
Parking the Jaguar in his designated spot, he hurried out, glancing around, hoping Reese would materialize in front of him. If wishes were horses...
But no Reese.
Then again, what did he expect? That Reese would be sitting at Tiberius’s parking spot for a week, waiting for him?
Or outside his room?
Yeah, no. Wake up, Ty. This is real life, not a fantasy. You have to look for Reese, find him. Talk.
Or better still, kiss and fuck.
The memory of doing it with Reese, though hazy through layers of rutting dizziness, alcohol and overwhelming excitement, never failed to get him hard, and grinning like a lunatic.
“Hey.” He stopped a beta, a classmate from Military History class that he knew the omega attended. “Have you seen Reese today?”
“Reese?”
“You know him. Cute omega, short dark hair, big blue eyes?”
The beta blinked slowly. “Right... Yeah, I think I saw him at the cafeteria earlier today.”
“Five hours ago, half an hour ago... when?”
“Maybe one hour ago. He might still be there. He was working at the counter.”
Tiberius frowned. “He what?”
“Uh-oh. Not good?” The beta backed away. “Sorry, alpha. Gotta run now.”
Why...? But of course. He’d fired Reese. That had been before they’d spent the night together, and like the idiot Tiberius was, he hadn’t set things right. Reese probably needed the money, something Tiberius never had to think about.
Growling deep in his throat, he set out to find Reese and bring him back to his room where he could show him how things stood.
But when he burst into the omega-beta cafeteria, he realized that things were infinitely worse.
There was Reese, silky dark hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, those lovely eyes wide. And a large alpha was beside him, looming over him, lifting a hand to touch him.
“You!” Tiberius started to run. “Get away from him. Fuck off!”
Reese yelped, stepping back, eyes huge. “Tiberius?”
“In the flesh.” Tiberius Grabbed the alpha’s arm and flung him aside, so angry he felt he could lift cars one-handed. “I said, move the hell away. This is my omega.”
“What are you doing?” Reese whispered.
“He doesn’t work for you,” Tiberius told the alpha whose face was darkening with fury. “So fuck off.”
“He does now. I just hired him. He said yes.”
“Tiberius.” Reese swallowed hard. “Leave it be.”
“Fuck, no. You’re done here.”
“But—”
“You’re my Boi.”
“But you said you didn’t want—”
“You’re mine, Reese.” He grabbed the omega’s hand, his body jolting at the contact of skin on skin. “Mine.”
Reese’s mouth had dropped open. “Are you serious?”
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” the other alpha called out. “All the alphas are after him. He needs protection.”
“Fuck off. He’s mine to protect. Any alpha wanting him will have to go through me.”
The other alpha lifted his hands. “In that case... be my guest.”
Damn right.
***
“What are you doing?” Reese hissed. “What’s this all about?”
“You’re mine,” Tiberius said again, hauling Reese into the elevator and punching the button for his floor.
“Since when?”
“Since I fucked you.”
Reese shoved at Tiberius, wrenched his arm free when Tiberius let go. “You think we’ll fuck whenever you feel like dropping back, is that it?”
“You were the one who begged for it.”
“What? I was in heat.”
“So, what, are you saying you’ve regretted it?”
“I...” Reese’s eyes were huge, a deer caught in the headlights. “I don’t...”
“You don’t, what?”
“I don’t know.”
Were they going to pretend nothing had happened between them?
Shouldn’t he want it? Wasn’t that what he wanted? Reese was doing what Tiberius should have done. Break this up. Let it go.
Why did it seem wrong, and painful? He wanted Reese, damn it, and not just in bed. He wanted to hold him close, and scent him, bite him. Make him his.
Holy shit.
“You didn’t like it?” Tiberius asked, going for the kill.
Reese’s face was red. “I didn’t say that.”
“So you liked it.”
“Fuck you, Tiberius.”
“I prefer to do the fucking. So, wanna try once more, see if it’s as good as you remember?”
“Tiberius...”
“I told you to call me Ty. Now let’s fuck.”
Chapter Ten: Reese
The fever was back. Or whatever it was that had Reese burning from the inside out. And it only happened when Tiberius was there.
The elevator doors dinged and opened, and Tiberius was hauling him again by the arm toward his room. Reese was breathless, a little dizzy.
Aroused. Horny. Burning with lust. The way the alpha was dragging him along shouldn’t be a turn-on, but it was. It should speak to all the fears Reese had carried inside him since he was a little omega bullied by alphas in school, but it wasn’t.
Because it was Tiberius.
And because he was Reese’s alpha and that aggression got Reese all aroused and ready.
His alpha... He kept feeling that way, but it made no sense. Tiberius hadn’t Claimed him. But Reese kept feeling that it was true. He was in so much trouble...
The moment they entered the room, Tiberius pushed him against the wall and kissed the hell out of him. His taste flooded Reese’s senses. So right. He smelled delicious. When he lifted Reese up easily, Reese wrapped his legs around the alpha’s muscular thighs and he thought he’d come just from the feel of his hard cock pressing through the fabric against the alpha’s huge one.
It was... different from last time. He was desperate then, painfully aroused, and he was desperate now, too, but his head was clear as they kissed and rubbed together. The fog that had been hanging over his brain all week was clearing.
This was what he needed.
Who he needed.
As if reading his mind, Tiberius pulled away from the wall, carrying Reese as if he weighed nothing, and throwing him onto the bed. Before Reese could even curse in shock, his clothes had been ripped off—literally ripped, seams ripping, buttons flying—and Tiberius was shedding his own clothes.
God, the alpha was ser
iously ripped. Muscles rippled in that lickworthy chest as Tiberius leaned over him, his stomach a perfect six-pack. Biceps bulged, and a massive hard-on pressed against Reese’s thigh.
He arched up helplessly. He wanted it, so damn badly. “Ty...”
“Fuck, yeah. I like it when you call me that.” The alpha moved lower to lick Reese’s left nipple, then the right, until they bunched up into tight little nubs.
“Ow... God, yes.” Reese writhed in pain and pleasure. His nipples felt so sensitive. “Ugh...”
Tiberius flicked up a wicked look, and this time he lightly bit one nipple, making Reese cry out. He licked it, soothing, but Reese was almost incoherent with need.
“Please, Ty, please...”
“Want this?” Tiberius rubbed his hot cock against Reese’s thigh again and Reese moaned. “Want it in you?”
“Yes, yes...”
Tiberius’s fingers were between his legs, pushing into him, and it was not enough, but it was good, and Reese keened, rocking, reaching for his hand-on. A big hand slapped his aside. “Mine,” he growled. “You’ll come without touching your cock.”
“Fuck me,” Reese breathed, “please, Ty...”
“What you do to me,” the alpha whispered, and then he was guiding his cock into Reese. It was shocking, just like the last time, how big it was.
And how Reese opened up to accommodate that girth, the big head breaching him, that hard length pushing deep into him.
Oh God. All words deserted him. Last time, he had to have Tiberius’s cock inside him. It had been a terrible, aching need.
Now it was pure pleasure, rising higher and higher with each thrust and push, until Reese was moaning loudly and rocking his hips, gripping the alpha’s shoulders and knowing he was about to have a shattering orgasm that would break him apart.
“Ty... Oh fuck!” Reese arched back as he came, his cock jerking between them, spraying his chest with jets of cum. “Oh...”
“Yeah, baby. You’re so hot.” Tiberius was still fucking him through the orgasm, making him whimper, sending more waves of pleasure through him. “Beautiful. Want you so fucking bad. Damn...”
And incredibly, Reese’s cock was still half-hard, the need still there. “Ty.” He moaned, rocking with the alpha’s thrusts. “Oh shit...”
“You can come again,” Tiberius growled. “I know it. I want you to.”
And it was as if that command was all Reese’s body needed as he got fully hard again, groaning and shuddering. “God...”
“That’s it.” Tiberius’s thrusts were becoming erratic. He was close to coming, for sure, his cock huge inside Reese, hot like fire, hard like steel. “Come with me. Come with me, Reese. Come now.”
Every command tightened the knot of desire inside Reese more, until he was moaning brokenly and coming again, his hole clenching hard, his cock spilling.
“Oh, fuck yeah...” And then Tiberius was coming, too, groaning Reese’s name, shooting deep inside Reese.
Whatever happened... sex with the alpha was mind-blowing. The fact that he’d been the one and only guy Reese had ever had sex with was relevant, probably—but who cared? Reese couldn’t bring himself to give a damn right now.
But... what would happen next?
***
“What are you thinking?” Tiberius murmured.
Reese looked up into the alpha’s face. He never thought alphas were much for cuddling, but the way Tiberius was holding him... “Just thinking about my studies,” he lied. “I’m behind, and need to study harder.”
Tiberius hummed, as if in agreement, but didn’t release Reese. Those muscular arms around him felt less like a cage and more like an embrace. They made Reese felt protected, cared for.
“How about you?”
Tiberius frowned. “I’m thinking about you,” he said.
“Really?”
“Yeah.” The frown melted away. “You don’t believe me? I’ve been thinking about you every day.”
Reese swallowed hard. “I find it hard to believe. After all, you left without a word. After firing me. And fucking me. I thought you didn’t want to see me again.”
“I’m sorry,” the alpha said quietly. “My friend Marcus had an accident. He called and I drove over to his family manor to look after him. his family... they aren’t there. I wanted to call you but realized I didn’t have your number. You’re nowhere to be found online. Why aren’t you online, Reese?”
“I just don’t want to be found online.” He shrugged.
“Why, Reese?”
“Do I need a reason?” Reese whispered, his heart pounding. He had to change the topic. “So what happened to your friend?”
“He’s an idiot. Went and got himself got in a bear trap, in a park on the frontier with the human lands.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah.”
“Is he okay?”
“He will be. I dunno. I left him home alone to come find you. I was scared... damn scared that something might happen to you. And I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
Holy shit. He had done that for Reese. Leaving his injured friend behind to come find Reese.
“Reese?”
Reese reached up and stroked the alpha’s cheek, the strong jawline. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, either.”
“I thought by the time I come back, an alpha might have taken you.”
“Against my will?”
“Maybe. I couldn’t stand the thought,” Tiberius said earnestly, dark eyes intense.
“You were jealous?”
“And worried. Alphas can’t always control themselves around pretty omegas.”
“You think I’m pretty?”
Tiberius blinked. “Are you fucking with me? You’re the prettiest omega I’ve ever seen. The prettiest boy ever.”
“Oh.” Heat suffused Reese’s face. “Shit. I mean...Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” And Tiberius kissed him, and again. “God, when you blush like that...”
“What?”
“You’re hot.”
“Yeah, I feel warm.” Reese made as if to withdraw his hand from Tiberius’s face to touch his own, but Tiberius turned his head and kissed Reese’s palm. “Oh.”
His hand tingled.
Pleasure shot straight to his cock.
“You’re sexy, Reese,” the alpha said, his breath tickling Reese’s palm, “and I want you back in my service. I’m not letting any other alpha put his hands on you, got it?”
“Got it,” Reese whispered, and thought his heart might burst with excitement.
Why was he so excited? Tiberius was just being a typical, jealous caveman alpha, annoyed at the prospect of anyone else touching him. Fact was, Tiberius hadn’t promised anything, hadn’t implied anything else except that he desired Reese.
Desire. Pure carnal want and need.
But Reese’s heart was foolish, imagining things, feeling things it had no business feeling, and he couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on his lips as he closed his eyes and fell asleep in his alpha’s arms.
Chapter Eleven: Tiberius
Waking up with Reese in his arms felt like a dream. Warm and drowsy, content, he gazed down at the dark, tousled head, and smiled.
Their legs were tangled together. He was sticky in places, and his arm under Reese was numb, but he had no intention of moving.
He felt right for the first time in... forever. He hadn’t realized that he’d been missing something, but having that slender body in his arms, seeing the slight frown on that fair face, smelling that incredible scent his omega gave off...
God, he smelled so damn good that Tiberius had to swallow a groan not to wake him up. His morning wood was insistent, twitching against his stomach, hard and wet. He’d been dreaming, he remembered now, of fucking Reese in every possible position.
He stroked a strand of dark hair out of Reese’s face. Why did he feel like that? So... protective. Enchanted.
Besotted, indeed. Marcus was right.
And he had no idea why. Was Reese still in heat? His scent was different, with an undertone Tiberius couldn’t place. It was familiar, somehow, reminding him of something he thought he ought to know—and exciting, getting his pulse racing. Was it because they’d fucked? Was it another phase of Reese’s heat?
He wanted to talk to someone, ask questions, someone who knew about such things. His father was of course out of the question...
“Mm...” Reese stirred, blinking long, dark lashes and Tiberius found his gaze caught by the sight. That soft mouth. Those cheeks, flushed with the warmth of sleep. The arch of Reese’s neck, the smooth expanse of his chest. “Morning.”
He wanted him. Would he ever stop wanting him? How the hell long did heats last? Maybe Tiberius was in a rut, too. He’d heard of alphas getting into a rut over an omega, unable to quench their desire for weeks. Nobody knew exactly why that happened. Sometimes it was just biology, chemistry. Sometimes it was more.
More... Maybe like the strange way he was feeling...
Reese shifted, breaking through his thoughts. He moaned, and Tiberius felt the omega’s slender erection rubbing against his leg.
He grinned. Rut or not, heat or not, he couldn’t wait to spend more time with Reese, touch him and taste him everywhere. In fact...
Extracting the sleepy omega from his arms, Tiberius scooted on his knees and spread the omega’s legs. He was pretty there, too—that flushed, slim cock, those neat hairless balls, his slick opening between smooth thighs.
He was pretty all over.
So damn sexy.
“Ty?” Reese murmured, his voice still heavy with sleep. “What...?”
Settling down, Tiberius took Reese’s cock into his mouth, rewarded with a breathless cry and a snap of his omega’s hips. He sucked him in all the way, swallowing his sweetness, and grabbed those strong but slim thighs to keep Reese from moving too much as he teased his cock with his tongue.
Reese was moaning louder now, leaning back on his hands, trembling. A glance up showed him that his omega’s eyes were closed, his mouth open as he panted, his chest heaving. It all made Tiberius’s blood run hotter, his cock leak on the sheets. He’d make him come, and then he’d fuck him, make him come again.