Appetite for an Alpha (Omega Quadrant #4)

Chapter 9

9

P ierce inhaled again, the aroma of need potent. Two decades without an omega to breed mixed with his desire for Brett made it impossible to fight for long. A switch flipped in his mind, the decision made for him. He succumbed to the primal need. Pierce was no longer in control, more a passenger in his own body.

He tore at the opening of his pants, kicking off his shoes, and was still mostly dressed when he pressed the tip of his hard cock against Brett’s willing hole. Pierce sank in with one thrust, the wet heat of Brett’s body sucking him in deeper. Pierce closed his eyes to the sensation of Brett’s channel clenching his shaft tight, but not for long. The visual of him disappearing inside the man over and over again was too erotic to ignore.

Brett shook with his need, clawing at the sheets as he shoved back and met Pierce thrust for wild thrust. The headboard crashed against the wall each time they slammed together, the sound of it as violent as the pace of their fucking.

His fingertips dug into Brett’s hips as he clung tight, unwilling to let go until he’d fully claimed what was his.

Mine.

He only let go long enough to grasp Brett’s wrists, dragging them together. Brett lifted his ass higher, shifting the angle of penetration. It allowed him fractionally deeper, and he felt the head of his cock pressing against what could only be one thing—a womb. The sensation drove Pierce to the edge, his jaw tensing and body trembling.

“Give me your seed, alpha,” Brett mumbled, his head sideways on the mattress. “Fill my belly with your baby.”

Powerless to hold back, Pierce shoved the head of his cock inside Brett’s womb, his knot swelling as the first jets of cum filled his omega, drawing a roar of pleasure from his lips. Locked together, he released Brett’s wrists and leaned forward as the next eruption bowed his back and tore another roar from his lips.

Brett came, too. The sounds of his cries of gratification mixed with Pierce’s as his body shuddered with release.

Silence followed, except for the sounds of them both desperate for air in their lungs—and the pounding surge of Pierce’s heart in his ears. The innate, beastly side released him temporarily, and he regained a bit of control. He rolled them to the side, the instinct to cuddle Brett roaring in his blood, but he wasn’t sure how the man would react to that.

Still locked by his knot, all Pierce could do was lie there amid the shock of what they’d just done and stare at the back of Brett’s head. A tangle of dark curls he’d wanted to clutch in his hands as he’d fucked the sweet little beta—but Brett was no beta. Had he been an omega pretending to be a beta like Avery? Pierce didn’t think that was the case.

Brett trembled against him. Pierce feared it wasn’t trembling but sobbing. He writhed against Pierce and attempted to pull off—and they both hissed in pain.

Pierce placed a hand to Brett’s hip to still him. “Wait… you can’t move away yet. We’re… locked.”

“What the hell is going on, Pierce?” Brett asked, looking over his shoulder without pinning Pierce with a gaze.

Pierce breathed easier when he saw no tears streaming down the man’s face, but he couldn’t ignore the hint of accusation in Brett’s tone. “You seem to have… gone into heat.”

“Gone into heat?” Brett turned more, trying to get a better look at Pierce, pulling on the knot a bit. “Betas don’t go into heat.”

“You’re not a beta,” Pierce murmured.

“Of course I am! I’ve been a beta my entire life,” Brett spat. He faced forward with a heavy sigh. “I’m not an omega.”

“Brett… I’m currently inside your womb.”

“What?!” Brett looked over his shoulder again and met Pierce’s gaze that time.

Fear and panic shone in Brett’s eyes.

“The head… of an alpha’s cock… wedges inside when he knots,” Pierce muttered, his face warming.

“I don’t need a basic biology lesson,” Brett snapped. “I know that much.” He took a tremulous breath and released it. “You’ve got it wrong. There’s no womb.” He shivered. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m not,” Pierce said, adamant. It might’ve been years since he’d felt one so intimately, but there was no doubt in his mind. “What else would I be feeling right now? I’m inside your womb.”

Brett shook his head, brows furrowed deep. “No.” Tears soon shone in Brett’s eyes, and Pierce’s heart shattered. The sobbing he’d not wanted had come. While it was the situation and their nature—no fault of his own—he felt responsible for those tears.

Pierce closed his eyes, shame mounting.

“I have as many questions as you do.” He stared at Brett’s profile in the low light coming from the hallway, guilt making it hard to speak. “I tried to force myself to leave, but your heat triggered my rut.” He closed his eyes. It was hard to look at Brett’s fear and confusion. “I’m sorry.”

Brett didn’t respond to that. He turned, laid his head on the pillow, and grew silent again, which was almost worse than sobbing, in some respect. At least a sob told him what might be going through Brett’s mind. Silence left him guessing. Pierce sensed panic and bewilderment—but he could be confusing his own panic and bewilderment for Brett’s.

Thinking became harder as the alpha sense of protection grew stronger within. Pierce wanted to wrap the man in a tight embrace and whisper that everything would be okay, but he was terrified Brett would push him away if he tried. The fact they both knew what had happened wasn’t okay made it even worse.

“Why isn’t it stopping?” Brett asked, his tone devoid of emotion.

“Why isn’t what stopping?”

“Your knot,” Brett replied, glancing over his shoulder, though he didn’t look at Pierce. “It’s not usually this long before it goes down.”

Pierce couldn’t stop the jealous growl from rising on his lips. The idea that another alpha had touched what was his made him see red for a moment.

What was his? Brett wasn’t his.

Mine whispered through his mind. He shook his head, not needing an inner dialogue making things more confusing.

“How long?” Brett asked, sounding ready to chew his own arm off to get away from Pierce.

“When an alpha is with a beta—the knot doesn’t last as long. There’s no womb to fill. But with an omega…”

“I’m not an omega!” Brett roared.

Pierce held back the argument. It would clearly do no good. Brett was in denial. How he could be in their situation was beyond him, though.

“Could the medication the hospital gave me… cause a weird reaction? Make it seem like I was in heat?”

“I doubt it made you grow a womb,” Pierce murmured.

Brett’s gaze whipped to his. A myriad of emotions came off Brett in waves. The predominant one? Fear. He needed to calm that fear, or they’d get nowhere.

“If you’ve been hiding like Avery, it’s okay. You can tell me. I won’t be angry.”

“I’m not an omega!” Brett bellowed. A lone tear slid down his cheek. “Pierce, I swear I’m not.”

Pierce sensed Brett wasn’t lying—but how had he suddenly gone from beta to omega?

“Pierce, I’m scared,” Brett whispered, trembling. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Come here,” Pierce murmured, wrapping his arms around Brett’s slight body. He pressed a kiss to the top of Brett’s head and sighed with relief when the man melted back against him instead of the fight he’d feared. “Everything’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out.”

Mine.

The inner alpha had already made his claim, but it couldn’t be. Pierce had already had a mate and lost him. A second was impossible. Omegas were too few in number. There weren’t enough for all the alphas in the province as it was. Having two was unfair, even if his first had been ripped from him far too soon.

“I don’t understand this,” Brett said, a sob following. “It’s impossible.”

Hearing his omega’s fear, protective alpha mode kicked into full gear. He nuzzled against his omega’s neck. “We’ll figure it out—but for now, it simply is. There’s no fighting it, baby. You’re in heat.”

“Baby?” Brett asked, stiffening in his arms.

Pierce winced against the hint of rejection. “Sorry… it just… popped out.” He closed his eyes, terrified to say another word and screw things up more.

“It’s not the worst thing I’ve been called in bed,” Brett whispered as he slid his hands over Pierce’s forearm wrapped around him.

Pierce’s eyes flipped open at the clutch of his arm. His omega clinging to him satisfied the innate part of him at his core.

Not my omega.

Well, he is for now. However brief our time together will be.

Pierce had dreamed about them experiencing a heat together. Maybe he was simply experiencing another dream, and he’d soon wake up.

But if it was a dream, Brett wouldn’t be terrified.

He wouldn’t be shaking.

Pierce squeezed Brett tighter. “You’re going to be okay.”

Brett shook his head. “I’m not.”

Pierce questioned why fate had pushed them together. Maybe it hadn’t been fate, but his own damned obstinance. Had he not demanded Brett stay with him, it wouldn’t’ve happened. It was all his fault. Just like the shitty apartment and the reason why Brett hadn’t sought help sooner.

Yet, had he not demanded Brett stay, who would’ve been the one to fill his shoes? The memory of Avery saying Brett loved another crossed his mind. He hadn’t even thought of the other man in the heat of the moment. He’d stolen something from another alpha—and neither of them would ever forgive him for what he’d done.

He’d never forgive himself.

Pierce’s knot eased, and he gently withdrew. Brett rolled to face Pierce instead of clawing his way out of bed, as expected.

“I’m not saying that I’m an omega… but could whatever this is be why I’ve been in pain all these months?”

“All these months?”

Brett flinched.

“How long?” Pierce demanded, forgetting thoughts of the other man. His primary concern was Brett.

“It started about… six or seven months ago,” Brett admitted after a few seconds of silence.

“What?” Annoyance caused Pierce to clench his jaw. The thought that Brett had been suffering for months twisted in his gut—suffering that might’ve been avoided had the guy spoken up.

“The cramps were barely noticeable at first,” Brett said in a rush. “They weren’t as painful, either. They might’ve started earlier than that—I’m not completely sure. About six months ago, I realized they kept… returning.” Brett shook his head. “I’d have a mild cramp every once in a while. Nothing major. It lasted seconds. They started coming more often as the months passed. Then… they grew stronger… until they turned painful just recently. I started having them multiple times a day, every day. It became hard to sleep. Hard to eat.” He closed his eyes. “I’m exhausted, Pierce.”

“You could’ve sought treatment months ago,” Pierce said before remembering money had been the barrier. “I wish you’d said something. I would’ve taken you to see a doctor immediately, instead of letting you endure it for so long. I know you said you didn’t want to be indebted to me—but—I’m gutted imagining you suffering for that long without a single word to anyone.”

“Would anything have changed if I’d spoken up sooner? I was just at the hospital. They took blood. Did tests. They said nothing about omegas or wombs—or anything like that.” Brett’s expression suddenly changed, his head tilting to the side.

“What?”

“After I’d gotten the GI diagnosis, the doctor said it would be another hour while they gave me IV fluids. I asked him if someone could send word out to you that I was okay and it was almost over. The doctor asked me if you were my alpha, and I was confused by the question—like, dude, I’m a beta. What are you even talking about? I was so tired, it didn’t completely register, and I didn’t push.”

“I knew I should’ve gone back,” Pierce growled. “I think he assumed you knew you were an omega,” Pierce said, shaking his head, ignoring the roar of mine in his head. He lay there a few minutes, replaying the moments they’d arrived in silence. “Now that I think about it… the triage nurse asked if I was your mate. Not your husband, but your mate. I was so worried about you, it didn’t connect for me, either.” He sighed, pissed he’d overlooked that question. “No wonder they didn’t find anything. They were oblivious to the fucking problem.” He sighed. “I should’ve demanded more answers before we left.”

Brett met his gaze. “They couldn’t legally tell you anything, Pierce.”

Because he’s not my omega.

No matter how many times he told himself that Brett wasn’t his, he couldn’t convince the inner alpha that was true.

Brett sat up and searched the nightstand. “Have you seen my phone?”

“I saw it in the office and meant to bring it up,” Pierce said. “I can go down and grab it if you need it.”

“Can I borrow yours? I just want to see if there’s anything online that might explain what’s going on.”

He dug into his pocket and handed his over after unlocking it.

Brett’s fingers went into hyperdrive, typing so fast they were a blur. Pierce wasn’t sure what Brett was searching for, but he lay there fascinated, watching the light of his cell wash over Brett’s handsome face. It allowed him another moment to stare—a moment that could very well be his last.

Brett’s fingers stopped, and his eyes moved back and forth as he read something over the screen. He stiffened, shaking his head.

“What?” Pierce asked, rising on one elbow.

Brett handed the phone over, his hand trembling. Pierce lifted it and read over the news article on the screen.

Latency Widespread Across Palatinate

Once considered rare, cases of latency have been on a dramatic rise—not just here in Alexandria, but all over the continent. What used to be a handful of cases in decades past has exploded into hundreds over the last decade. What is latency? A latent alpha/omega often lives into his twenties or even thirties, with everyone assuming he’s a beta—until his alpha/omega traits begin to appear. Initial research claims that for some, the change comes on suddenly, however others take months or even years to develop. While there doesn’t seem to be any set parameters for how this change occurs, there is one thing the doctors researching latency can agree on. It’s often triggered by proximity to the latent alpha/omega’s fated mate but can also be activated by being in close contact with omegas of heat age.

We spoke to local physician, Dr. Jules Benton, who has become something of an expert in latency over the last few years and asked his opinion. “I believe it to be a natural response to the reducing numbers of omegas in our society. Yes, alpha latency cases are rising, too, but their numbers are nowhere near the meteoric levels of the latent omega. I believe there might be hundreds of latent omegas right here in Alexandria, just waiting for their moment to blossom.”

This raises concerns for the protection of these latent omegas. Without prior knowledge of their latency, these beta-turned-omegas won’t be medicated against heats and could easily be claimed if in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just months ago, there was a reported case of an omega going into heat in the middle of the Alpha Quad. He was claimed by two alphas out on the streets, in full view of those passing by. It was first assumed the omega was following in the footsteps of Avery James and only pretending to be a beta, but Dr. Benton disagrees.

“I examined this omega myself and it was a case of latency,” Dr. Benton claimed. “He had no idea what he truly was—and the resulting heat was devastating to him, especially given the heartbreaking way it occurred. To add the insult that he was somehow to blame only makes the injury worse. My team and I are working on a way to test betas for latency, as are other doctors in neighboring provinces. Hopefully, one of us will be successful, and soon—so no other latent omega has to experience something as appalling.”

Pierce lowered the phone and lifted his gaze—sensing that was exactly what was happening to Brett in that moment. Had their experience been as appalling as the omega mentioned in the story? It hadn’t been for him, but he wasn’t sure Brett would agree. “I remember hearing about that omega claimed on the streets here in the AQ. I feel bad that I assumed the worst, like most did.”

“Is that what this could be?” Brett asked. “Am I a… latent omega?”

Pierce nodded. “It sounds possible.” He re-read the doctor’s name. “Dr. Benton is here in Alexandria. We should reach out and get you an appointment to be seen.”

Brett nodded, silent.

“Oh, so now you don’t fight me about going to the doctor, hmm?” Pierce asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Brett met his gaze, eyes bright. “I’m too tired—and scared—to fight you this time.”

Pierce held Brett’s gaze, clenching his fists to prevent himself from dragging his omega into his arms and holding tight. Brett was fragile, and any misstep could prove their undoing. They weren’t lovers, not truly, nor were they more than boss and employee. Brett might not want his comforting again.

“I swear I didn’t know, Pierce.” Tears shone in Brett’s eyes. “ I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” Pierce dropped the phone to the bed and drew Brett closer, ignoring the doubts. He nuzzled his omega’s cheek. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t know.”

“I forced you into a rut. I forced you to have sex with me.”

Pierce leaned back so he could look into Brett’s face. “Hey, hey, hey … stop that. You have nothing to be sorry about. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. No way you wanted an old man in your bed, quelling your first heat.” His thoughts returned to the other man. The one Brett was in love with. The one that wasn’t him. “Your boss, at that.” He dragged in a breath, feeling almost ill. He didn’t want to let go, but he had to. “Hopefully you’re not pregnant and I haven’t ruined you for your alpha.”

Mine.

Pierce was captured by Brett’s panicked gaze.

“You’re… not my alpha?”

Pierce narrowed his eyes, the reaction—and question—unexpected. “Brett, I’m nearly old enough to be your father. You probably have an alpha closer to your own age.” He hated saying Brett wasn’t his, but he needed to face facts. He couldn’t have what wasn’t his. “I hear there’s someone you have feelings for. If he’s an alpha, maybe he triggered your omega side to emerge.”

“Who told you I had feelings for someone?”

“Avery,” Pierce murmured. “He mentioned you… were in love with someone… when I went to him for help getting you to see a doctor.”

Brett held his gaze, silent.

“Perhaps you should call him? He should be here with you, not me. Another wave might start any second.” Pierce released Brett and scooted off the bed. He shoved his cock back into his pants and turned to Brett. “There’s no way you can leave the apartment in this condition. He can come here, and I’ll go get a room for the night so you two can have privacy.” He nodded to his phone, still on the bed. “Call him.”

Brett chuckled, the sound more sorrowful than joy-filled. He stared down at the sex-twisted sheets a moment before lifting his gaze to Pierce. “He’s already here.”

Pierce’s gaze flicked to Brett. He struggled to breathe, his ears ringing. Pierce crawled back onto the bed while Brett hid his gaze. Brett was never shy, yet it was clear he worried about Pierce’s reaction. He chucked a finger under Brett’s chin and forced the omega to look at him. “What did you say?”

Brett shuddered, a tear sliding down his cheek. “He’s… already here.”

Pierce held Brett’s stare, eyes widening. His mouth dropped open. There was no way what he was experiencing was real. It had to be another dream. He pinched his arm hard, but nothing happened. The same young man looked at him with quiet anticipation, tears glistening in those gorgeous blue eyes.

“It’s you. In case that wasn’t clear enough,” Brett whispered.

The shock that Brett’s confession was real was enough to shut Pierce’s brain down for a few seconds.

A hurt expression crossed Brett’s face before he slid toward the opposite side of the bed. Before his omega could get too far, Pierce quickly dragged the man into his arms. He tucked Brett’s head under his chin. His dazed mind hadn’t quite caught up to his mouth yet and even if it had, he wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t fuck things up.

Years of wanting… wishing… longing… and assuming they could never be…

Brett was in love with him?

“Can you please say something? Anything?” Brett asked before a tremor ran through him.

“I don’t want to say the wrong thing,” Pierce murmured.

Brett pushed away from him, wide-eyed and pale. “If you don’t have the same feelings, tell me. I don’t need you to lie out of some sense of pity for my situation. This is hard enough to deal with right now without that.”

Pierce caressed Brett’s lower lip with his thumb. “That’s not what I meant.” He was already fucking things up in an attempt not to. “I just…” How hard had it been for Brett to fess up about his feelings? Pierce owed him the same. “Your admission short-circuited my brain. I needed a minute to reboot.”

Brett searched his face, frowning slightly.

“I’ve had feelings for you, too… for a long time. I never, ever expected those feelings to be reciprocated, so I ignored them. Shoved them down deep as far as they would go.”

Brett’s eyes grew wider.

“I’ve felt a magnetic pull toward you. I think I sensed something from the very start, but I didn’t quite understand. Not until later. After you’d worked here for a couple of years.” Pierce chuckled mirthlessly. “Strip poker was quite eye-opening. Everything changed after that night. You had me right, too. I was jealous as hell.”

The corners of Brett’s mouth curled upward ever so faintly.

“Of Grandy, by the way. If that wasn’t clear,” he whispered with a half-smile. “I hated that he saw you like that when I wanted you to be all mine.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Brett whispered.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Pierce asked.

Brett scoffed. He slid his hand onto Pierce’s chest. “So, you’re saying we’ve wasted the past three years or more?”

“No,” Pierce said. “I don’t think either of us was ready for this—though, I can’t say we’re exactly ready for it now, either. I’m waiting to wake up from a dream any second and be left heartbroken like every other time.”

“Every other time?” Brett asked. He cocked his head to the side. “You’ve dreamed about me?”

Pierce inwardly flinched. The second it had come out of his mouth, he’d hoped his slip hadn’t been caught, but of course Brett hadn’t missed a thing. “I have. Oddly enough, they were often of you being in the role of omega. Maybe my innate alpha sensed who you were and tried to tell me all along.”

“In the role of omega? What’s that? Cooking and cleaning your house?” Brett asked, one brow rising higher.

“No,” Pierce murmured, unwilling to answer what his dreams had consisted of.

“Explain to me what an omega role is, then. I’m curious.”

Pierce shook his head, hearing the tone in Brett’s voice that told him he was walking close to dangerous territory. “Let it go.”

“Under you?” Brett asked, his voice barely a whisper. His head fell back, and Pierce sensed another wave was soon upon them. “Taking you into my body? Is that where an omega belongs?”

“Something like that,” Pierce replied, reveling in Brett’s lust.

Brett lowered his hand, moving closer and closer to Pierce’s thickening cock. Pierce’s lids narrowed as he watched heat blossoming in Brett’s eyes.

“Did you fuck me in these dreams?”

“I did,” Pierce whispered. “Often.”

“Is my place under you, my alpha?” Brett asked, his eyes growing darker as the pupils dilated. Another wave of heat was mere minutes away—and the need to rut already brewed within.

“Yes,” Pierce replied. He slid a hand to the back of Brett’s head and sank his fingers through those curls he’d neglected to pull their first round. “Under, over, beside… I’ll take you every way I can get you.”

“What else did we do in these dreams of yours?” Brett asked.

Your belly was full of my babies. Pierce wouldn’t say that. Not when Brett had just had the news of his omeganess tossed in his lap—although, they had no birth control. There was a chance Brett was already pregnant. He didn’t have any condoms, though they were easy to forget in the haze of a heat even if he did.

“It’s coming again, isn’t it?” Brett asked, his voice low as he unzipped Pierce’s pants.

“It is,” Pierce said. He pressed his lips to Brett’s. “Don’t be scared. I’m going to take care of you, baby.”

Brett’s back arched, his lids dropping. “I’m not scared anymore…”

“Once your heat is over, we’ll find the doctor—but for now, we’ll go through this together if that’s what you want.”

“I want.”

Pierce pressed his lips to Brett’s, groaning at the feel of willing flesh.

“Oh gods,” Brett whispered as they broke apart. “A heat lasts for days…”

“It’s your first, so maybe not. We’re in virgin territory here, babe.” First heats were often off schedule and milder—but those were often experienced by teens, not a grown man. He had no idea if it would be days or simply hours.

“Virgin?” Brett asked before chuckling. “Would a virgin want to do this?”

He captured Pierce’s face with both hands and kissed the breath out of both of them. Pierce chuckled after, not wanting to disappoint Brett by saying many omegas, virgin or not, would yearn for an alpha’s kisses—and more. Shame didn’t appear in the midst of most heats.

Brett tugged down the waistband of Pierce’s pants. “You need to be naked.”

Pierce smiled, the need to rut growing stronger with every passing second. Lust enveloped them. “Do I? You didn’t think it was hot that I barely had time to get my clothes off before I needed to be inside you?”

Brett grinned. “It was hot… but now I wanna see everything.”

Pierce rose from the bed when all he wanted was to get closer to Brett, not move farther away. He undid the tiny buttons at his wrists so he could remove his shirt. Clearly, he was taking too long. Brett climbed from the bed and dragged his pants and briefs down to his ankles, kneeling at his feet with a wicked smile. He cradled the side of his omega’s face, wishing he could shove his cock between those impressive lips.

He'd save that for another time. He needed back inside his omega too desperately. Pierce lifted his feet from the pile around them and slid his shirt off his shoulders. It fluttered to the floor to join the rest of his clothing. Without more than a second passing, he dragged Brett back into bed and pinned his omega under him. “Ready for round two?”

“Yeah.” Brett shuddered under him. “I’ll say that I don’t like the whole out of control bit so much. I prefer to drive this train.” His back arched, and a moan rose from his lips. “Pierce?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“We’re okay… right?”

“Of course,” Pierce whispered. “We’re more than okay.”

Pierce captured Brett’s head, sliding his fingers along the back and forcing his omega’s lips to his. He claimed Brett’s mouth, the hunger rising even higher knowing they both cared for one another.

He broke from Brett’s lips, drawing in air before descending for another. Brett rolled them and pushed Pierce back, flat on the bed, and straddled him. He slid along Pierce’s thickening cock, instinctively spreading his slick over the girth. He rolled his hips, working himself down Pierce’s length before rising slightly and reaching back. Grasping the root of Pierce’s cock, he impaled himself, sliding down the full length, inch by inch, until he was stretched full.

“Claim me, my alpha …” Brett smiled, the expression tinged by lust. “Make me yours.”

Pierce grasped Brett’s hips and returned the smile. “You didn’t even have to ask.” He kissed Brett’s lips. “You’re already mine.”

Brett chuckled before lifting off Pierce’s cock and sliding all the way back down.