by Leta Blake
“Hold yourself open,” he said. Vale gripped beneath his knees, spreading himself wide. His asshole gripped and released greedily, and he begged with every breath.
Jason stroked his cock, eyes raking up and down Vale’s body. “Say it.”
Vale moaned.
“Say it!” Jason ordered again.
“Alpha, with wolf-god’s blessing, knot your omega,” he whispered, invoking words he’d never spoken to any alpha, though some had tried to entice him. They were holy words, the start to the sacred bonding vow.
Jason’s blue eyes glowed possessively and he plunged into Vale again, fucking him hard and fast, face buried in Vale’s neck, muffling his cries. Vale clung desperately as his body was stuffed full of Jason’s cock and then relieved of it, and then stuffed to the brim again. The scent of their union wafted around them in a heady musk.
“Fuck,” Jason whispered, squeezing him so tightly that Vale had a hard time drawing breath. “Fuck…here it comes. Here’s my knot.”
Vale sobbed as he felt the tip of Jason cock press against the mouth of his womb, and then Jason thrust harder, popping the head inside. Orgasm claimed him again and he convulsed hard. “Fill me,” he begged, incoherent and reduced to instinct. “Fill me up!”
Jason threw back his head, a cry of gratification wrenched from him as he came. “Vale!” he shouted, his body twitching and convulsing between Vale’s clinging legs. “Oh, wolf-god, it’s…” Another teeth rattling convulsion gripped him. “It’s too much.”
Shudders clutched him, and then Vale felt it, too—the hard, bulbous knot forming at the base of Jason’s cock, filling him up completely, pushing the last of the slick from his glands. He scrabbled at Jason’s back, lost in pleasure, crooning and crying, his body spasming in bliss as his insides stretched around Jason’s growing knot.
Jason twitched in his arms, lost in ecstasy, his knot stretching Vale open wide and locking them together. “Mine,” he growled by his ear. “My omega, mine.”
Vale squeezed around his knot and Jason howled, biting his shoulder, quivering and shaking as his cock pulsed deep in Vale’s womb. Vale’s eyes rolled up and he nearly lost consciousness as a cascade of orgasms rolled through him again. As he surfaced from the unbearable pleasure, he was sweating, crying, and still coming on Jason’s knot.
A long time passed before Vale fully came out of the haze of bliss, the heat wave past, and the continuous orgasms slowing.
“Perfect, you’re perfect,” Vale whimpered when he could breathe again. He dared to squirm on the knot that held them together, and Jason almost broke the skin on his shoulder when he bit down again, convulsing through another orgasm. “Never been like this. The perfect fit.”
Relaxed and sated for the first time since the first heat wave hit, Vale luxuriated on Jason’s knot, squeezing it, and coming gently on it, never wanting it to soften. “Beautiful.” His mind drifted in the lazy, sweetness of the post-wave ecstasy of a knotted omega. “So beautiful, darling.”
Jason moaned and sobbed gently against his shoulder, overcome. Vale rubbed his back and made soothing sounds, awed at the sweetness and the roughness of the boy who’d claimed him as his own. He kissed his neck gently, whispering, “Just hold me. I’ve got you.”
Jason squeezed him tightly and shuddered again, tears wetting Vale’s neck and shoulder. His heart swelled with tenderness and he whispered words of endearment.
As Jason clung to him. Vale licked his lips, suddenly sure, and whispered the rest of the omega’s sacred words. “We are alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.”
Jason lifted up to gaze down at Vale earnestly, sealing the vow with the alpha’s response. “We are alpha and omega. The everything.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Vale slept deeply, having finally passed out on Jason’s knot as it softened, and after almost an hour of watching him sleep, Jason was famished.
Carefully, he extricated himself from Vale’s grasp and pulled on a pair of Vale’s soft pants. They were a bit short on him, but he wasn’t about to put his bloody clothes back on. Then he chose a blue t-shirt, which fit fairly well. He checked that Vale was still sleeping before he opened the door to their room. There was water, fruit, and a package of cookies, but he was hungry for more. The scent of something spicy and warm wafted up from downstairs and he followed it to the kitchen.
Zephyr was on Rosen’s shoulders as he stirred a big pot on the stove.
“Hey,” Jason said, pulling at the bottom of his t-shirt hoping he didn’t look ridiculous. “Is that for us?”
“It is indeed,” Rosen said, smiling over his shoulder. “I went to the butcher and cheese shop when the screams started and, by the time I got back, the house wasn’t shaking anymore.” He winked at Jason. “I admit, I wasn’t expecting you to have a great deal of skill, but from what I heard, Vale won’t have any complaints.”
Jason took a seat at the table as Rosen poured a bowl for him. “To be fair, I didn’t do anything special. It was just intense. Together like that, during a heat, for the first time.”
A sad smile crossed Rosen’s lips. “I won’t deny that part of the alpha-omega deal seems beautiful. But as for the rest? Well, listening to Vale this morning and afternoon did away with any notions I’d let myself develop since the last time I sat with him through a heat. No, thank you. I’ll take being a beta anytime. Childless, and without a fairytale mate, sure, but free to choose who I love and fuck.” He frowned when he looked at Jason.
“What?”
“Come here. I know something to help with that.” He pulled Jason toward the cupboards and opened one to reveal a mess of liniments and ointments. He shuffled around inside. “Here.” Then he carefully rubbed a soothing cream over the chafed spots on Jason’s chin and face. “That beard burn is vicious. You should make him shave.”
Jason felt his cheeks go hot but he didn’t say a thing. There was no way he’d make Vale shave. He liked his body hair and loved the scrape of his beard. “My face will toughen up.”
“Maybe. Eventually, you can grow one of your own.” Rosen motioned at his own face. “It’ll be a buffer.”
Jason shrugged and sat down at the table again. Taking a bite of soup, he gathered his courage and asked, “Have you heard from Yosef?”
Rosen sat down across the table. Zephyr meowed and crawled down from his shoulder and settled in his lap. Jason was a tad jealous, he could use some comfort from Zephyr, but he supposed Rosen had been in her life longer, and he deserved her loyalty.
“He called.” Rosen reached out to take hold of Jason’s hand. “The news is cautiously good. Xan was there giving blood when Yosef showed up. Your pater’s fever is stabilized, he hasn’t gone septic after all, and he’s stopped bleeding.” He squeezed Jason’s hand.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“He’s still very sick. Urho thinks his womb is infected. Perilously so.”
Jason dropped the spoon, jerked his hand from Rosen’s, and stood up. “How long will Vale sleep? Could I go home and get back in time?”
“Your pater is resting, Jason, and your father is with him. Yosef said to pass on the message from Yule that he understood why you’d left and he was glad you were gone during the worst of it.”
Jason blinked at that. He’d missed the worst of it? How could anything have been worse than what he’d seen?
“He needs me, though, don’t you think?” Jason asked. “If pater is that sick and his womb is infected, then I should go be with him, at least until Vale wakes up.”
How had he let himself get lost in Vale when his father was suffering and his pater might be dying? He was selfish and stupid and—
“Whatever you’re thinking, dear heart, you must immediately stop.” Rosen tugged him back down into his seat and shoved the bowl of soup his way. “Eat.”
Zephyr leapt from Rosen’s lap, apparently inspired by the smell of the food, and headed over to the corner to pick at her kibble.
“This i
s the way life works. You’re young, so you don’t know that yet. But horrible things happen alongside wonderful things all the time. And if you let the horrible things detract from the wonder of the good things, you’ll never really feel true happiness. You’re allowed this time with Vale.”
Jason didn’t know what to say so he turned back to the soup. It was delicious now that he was paying attention. “Did you make this while we were…?”
“Not from scratch. I bought vegetable soup from Nix & Nots and then added beef from the butcher to make it heartier for you. You’ll both need the energy. When you go back up, you should take a bowl and try to get him to eat.”
Jason knew that, of course. He’d taken classes and his parents had given him the talks. But he just nodded, taking another bite, grateful Rosen cared.
“I made enough for a couple of meals. And I’ll come back tomorrow with a casserole and some sides to hold you over. In the meantime, I’m going to head on home.” His lips quirked up.
“But what if…”
Rosen shook his head. “You’re going to be all right, Jason. And hopefully so will Miner. Urho is staying at your house until the danger has passed.” Rosen rose from the table to refill Jason’s empty bowl. “It was smart of you to think of him. Not many know, but Urho has a lot of experience in the field of omega health. After Riki died, he couldn’t stand the lack of immediacy in his research at the university. He wanted to do something to help people in crisis. I think he saw it as penance for a crime he didn’t commit.”
“What sort of crime?”
“Failing to save Riki’s life.”
Jason thought of Vale and knew immediately if something had happened to him, something awful, he’d blame himself, too. Just like he knew Father would blame himself if Pater died. “Urho’s a good man.”
Rosen’s dark eyebrows lifted. “Yes, he is. Annoying, but good.” He smiled at Jason. “After Riki, Urho started volunteering his retired military medical skills to help the poor. Of course, one of the greatest dangers poor omegas face is childbirth. So he’s handled a lot of births, along with miscarriages.” He chose his next words carefully. “And rumor has it, maybe he’s done a bit more at times, too, when an omega really needed it.”
The oblique reference to Vale’s past sent a sad shiver through Jason. He’d do anything to be able to turn back time and take those events out of Vale’s history. Not because he wanted children, but because he hated that Vale had suffered so much, and that he’d blamed himself and felt so alone.
“I know about that,” Jason said. “Vale told me.”
“Good. I’m glad he isn’t hiding it from you anymore.” Rosen sighed. “Vale doesn’t know that Yosef and I know what Urho did for him. He believes we think it was a stranger. But I think the time for keeping things from each other is past. We all know the truth.”
Jason nodded. “I’m grateful Urho came when I called him. I didn’t know what else to do.” He flashed back to the panic he’d felt seeing his pater in agony.
“Urho is a sanctimonious jerk sometimes, but, like you said, he’s a good man and a good doctor.”
Jason finished eating, and Rosen showed him where Vale kept the silverware and plates. “So you can prepare things for yourself.” He pressed a fresh bowl of soup into Jason’s hands, a little less full than what he’d given Jason “Now take that up. He’ll be waking before long.”
Zephyr followed Jason from the room and he had to be careful not to stumble over her on the stairs. She hissed when he wouldn’t allow her into Vale’s room.
“We need privacy,” he whispered to her.
She stared at him and then turned, tail in the air, to show him her ass. He chuckled.
“Sorry. It’s just for a few days. After that…”
But the future was another scary thing he couldn’t control, so Jason pushed that thought aside, too, and opened the door.
Vale sat up slowly, like his muscles ached and his ass was sore.
“You feeling all right?” Jason asked. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Vale puffed air through his lips. “Hardly, darling. I’ll be ready for you again before we know it.” He blinked as Jason climbed into bed with a bowl of soup. “What’s this? Rosen made it?”
“He did.”
“Maybe we should hire a beta cook for heats,” Vale murmured, letting Jason feed him a spoonful. “Not to stay in, of course, but to prepare things to eat in advance.”
His heart fluttered hopefully. “If you’re planning for future heats with me, are you going to sign the contract now?”
Vale shrugged. “Maybe. Do we need one? Legally, everything that’s mine is yours anyway. And the rest is details.”
“Do you not want to contract with me? Truly?”
Vale’s dark lashes touched his cheekbones. “If we don’t contract, you could still take a surrogate and—”
“Stop, Vale.” Jason held out another scoop of soup. “Eat more and then we’ll talk.”
Vale took several more proffered spoonfuls and then scooted back. “Enough.”
Jason didn’t argue. Omegas were notoriously hard to feed during heat so their colons could be put to a use better than elimination. “Listen carefully, now. I will never take a surrogate. Do you understand?”
“You are a stubborn man, Jason Sabel,” Vale said with a dark glance through his lashes.
Jason put the bowl on the nightstand and then moved to a comfortable place on the pillow, gazing warmly at Vale’s vulnerable expression. “Did you really think you’d scare me away with your confession?”
Vale rubbed at his beard, reminding Jason of the chafing on his own chin. It burned despite the ointment Rosen had rubbed on it. “I had hoped so, yes.”
“Why? Is being with me so terrible? An hour ago, you were sobbing about the perfection of my knot.”
Vale rolled his eyes, a fond smile on his lips. “You’re an asshole.”
Jason grinned. “No, you are.”
“I think we’ve had this conversation before.”
“And it ended with you begging me to fuck you. I suspect this one will end the same way.” Jason puffed up.
“You’re awfully proud of yourself, aren’t you?” Vale asked.
“Making my omega cry with joy before he came so hard he passed out? Yes, I’m proud. I’m downright egotistical about it. I’m going take out an ad in the newspaper to announce it to the world and paint a big sign by the side of the busiest road in the Calitan section of town.”
Vale giggled and it sent a ripple of joy up Jason’s spine. “You silly, beautiful boy.”
Jason cuddled Vale closer. “Vale, I need to tell you how sorry I am.”
“For what?”
“I should have told you immediately, as soon as you told me, that what happened to you during that rebound heat wasn’t your fault.”
“It was my fault. If I hadn’t—”
“What happened to you wasn’t your fault,” Jason said again, authority filling his tone. “I want you to let that guilt go now. Do you understand?”
Vale swallowed hard. “Yes.”
Jason kissed his mouth softly. “Also, thank you for telling me. That’s what I should have said that first day. But I was an idiot and did everything all wrong. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry I told you the way I did.”
“You were scared,” Jason said, softly.
“Yes,” Vale admitted, his fingers digging into Jason’s forearms. “But you deserve the best, Jason. You deserve better than—”
“We’re Érosgápe. You are my best.”
Vale lowered his gaze and nodded, and a tear slipped from his eyes. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Jason kissed his forehead. “It was our first fight, that’s all. I’m sure we’ll have others.”
“Wolf-god, I hope not.”
“So you will contract with me, then?”
Vale lifted his eyes, bright with wonder. “I want that so much.”
Jason kissed h
im until they were breathless. Then he pulled back and said, “Have you ever…I was wondering…during heat, have you tried…”
“Don’t be shy with me now. I know what a filthy boy you are.”
Jason cleared his throat. “Have you ever been fisted? I read at school that it can feel almost like a knot and that during heat some omegas are able to take a hand with some pretty amazing outcomes.”
Vale shook his head. “I’ve never had anyone try that. Most alphas just want to get their knot and—” He broke off, frowning and shaking his head.
“It’s just a thought.”
Vale kissed him again, touching his face tenderly. “A generous thought. All about my pleasure instead of yours.”
Jason shrugged. “I like to watch you come.”
Vale shifted on the sheets, his body lithe and long, the tattoos glowing against his hair-scattered, flushed skin. “I’m not against trying it.” Then Vale’s brows crinkled and he sat up more fully. “What happened to your face?”
“You kissed me raw,” Jason teased.
“No.” He touched the bruise on Jason’s jaw. “Who hit you?”
“Oh!” He’d nearly forgotten about Monhundy and those jerks. So much had happened since. “I was with Xan and…” he rolled his eyes. “It’s hard to explain.”
“I’m not sure I like this best friend of yours if he’s hitting you. Maybe I’ll punch him in the face to demonstrate my friendship as well.”
Jason’s heart glowed warm. Poor Xan, he’d probably be laid out flat by Vale if he ever followed through on that threat. “No, Xan didn’t hit me. I was in a coffee shop with Xan and…” He groaned. “Unfortunately, it’s a long story and honestly, I’m not sure we have time for it before the next wave of your heat comes.”
Vale frowned. “All right. If you want to tell me about it later, that’s fine.” He curled up against Jason’s chest, and played with Jason’s nipples. Jason shivered as he tweaked them, and drew circles with his fingertips.