12. Chapter Eleven #2
He left me on the bed as he hurried into his own clothes, the ones he’d worn the day my heat started.
He’d taken me while still wearing them. A blush bloomed on my cheeks as he sniffed it, making sure others wouldn’t scent me on him.
“I sadly don’t own anything you can borrow,” I said, clutching my belly, as a sharp pain tore through me.
“We’ll just head to my room before we go to the kitchen,” he said, frowning at me. “Are you in pain?”
My hand stilled on my stomach, the pain still there. “I don’t want to be a burden—”
“Don’t,” Hal growled, already at my side. “What do you need?”
“You,” I whispered. “I need you, Hal.”
“How do you need me?” he asked, now kneeling in front of me, rubbing my thighs in soothing movements.
“I just need you to touch me, I think.”
He took my hand in his, and relief poured through me as his skin touched mine. “Better?” he asked, his eyes worried.
“Better,” I breathed shakily, feeling the need to be held, to be carried again, but there was no way I could ask that of him. As it turned out, I didn’t have to.
“That won’t do,” Hal mumbled as he stood. Then, like I was a child, he promptly picked me up and adjusted me in his hold. “Is this alright?” he asked against my temple. “Do you feel better now?” I nodded, my throat thick with emotion.
Dressed in only his pants, Hal left my room, with me in his arms, my legs around his middle.
His big hands cradled my butt, with my hands linked around his neck.
I loved that I still got to touch him like this.
We passed a few servants on the way, but I didn’t even bother looking their way.
I was too damn happy to care about their reaction.
We made a quick stop in Hal’s room for a shirt and some shoes, and once he was properly dressed, we were off again.
Stefano froze mid-movement at the stove as Hal carried me into the kitchen, announcing, “One starving omega coming up!” The soup Stefano was stirring dripped onto the floor as he continued to gape at us.
I shrugged at him, then squealed as Hal turned around the large table and placed me on the huge kitchen island.
“Is that chicken soup?” Hal licked his lips, and Stefano nodded as he slowly gathered himself.
“I see the heat is over,” Stefano lifted a brow at me, and I blushed.
“Yes,” Hal replied, and I noticed the warmth and pride in his voice. Then his eyes found mine. “You good there, sweetness? I’ll grab us some soup, and then I’ll be right back.”
I just nodded at him, dumbfounded. Sweetness.
I’d thought the endearment had been merely heat talk, but now Hal had called me that in front of Stefano like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Pressing a quick kiss to my forehead, Hal then let go of me and went to the cabinet in search of some bowls.
I missed his touch instantly. The calm it brought was addictive.
The reassurance. As long as he held me in his arms, I could convince myself that he was truly mine.
That the heat had meant as much to him as it had to me, and that it hadn’t been a mere impulse, driven by raw instinct, when he’d burst into my room.
“This looks yummy!” Hal beamed at me as Stefano poured steaming hot soup into a bowl. “This’ll fix your tummy ache in no time, Briar.” He leaned conspiratorially against Stefano. “Briar woke up with a slight stomachache.”
“Did he now?” Stefano chuckled, and I was torn between hiding under the floorboards and basking in Hal’s clear adoration. “In case it continues, I have some herbs that’ll work wonders.”
“Really? You hear that, Briar?” Hal smiled widely. He spoke way too loudly, as if I were in another room and not a few meters away.
“Yes,” I whispered, my eyes glued to Hal’s lips.
I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to know how his lips felt, how they tasted, when I wasn’t in heat.
I’d been so out of it most of the time, but as I sat here on the kitchen island, it came back to me in glimpses.
How Hal had felt inside me, and how we’d moved so effortlessly like we were one being.
The almost reverent care he’d treated me with.
It had awakened something inside me, a hunger almost, a famished little creature that just wanted more.
Soon Hal was beside me again. “Here we go.” Placing the bowls on the table, he lifted me from the kitchen island and sat down on a chair with me in his lap. Stefano shook his head again and chuckled under his breath.
“I can sit in my own chair,” I piped up, because how was Hal supposed to eat with me on his lap?
“Now what are you talking about, silly omega?” Hal cooed, adjusting me in his lap. “Don’t you feel more comfortable here?”
“Yes,” I admitted, blushing. I did love sitting in his lap. His body was so big and warm, like my own personal furnace.
Hal tipped my chin with his hand, and his velvety-brown eyes locked onto mine. “Then that’s where you belong, Briar.”
“Okay,” I croaked. I’d never belonged anywhere, but I did feel at home in his arms.
“Good. Now let’s eat.”
I reached for my spoon, but Hal snatched it right before my eyes. Dipping it into the soup, he then held it in front of my lips. “Here you go.”
“I…” I gaped at the spoon and the large hand holding it. Was Hal going to feed me? “I can eat myself.”
Hal shook his head, laughing all low in his throat. “Now, there you go again, being all cute and silly. Who just went through a strenuous heat?”
“Me?”
Hal nodded solemnly. “And who has been eating nothing but grapes for over a week?”
I blushed under his scrutinizing stare. “Also me.”
“Exactly. Now open up.”
Giving in, I opened my mouth, then closed it around the spoon. My eyes fluttered closed as I tasted the creamy soup, contentment filling my body.
“Good?” Hal asked. I nodded, then licked my lips. “More?”
“Yes, please.”
His gaze softened as he fed me more soup. When I was halfway through the bowl, loud chatter invaded the room, and soon Nial and another servant entered. As soon as Nial saw me, cuddled up in Hal’s lap, his eyes narrowed with resentment, and I suddenly felt cold to the bones.
“Well, isn’t this cozy?” Nial smiled. “I heard you were unwell, Briar?” he cooed, but I heard the fakeness in his voice. “All better now?”
“Briar was in heat,” Hal grunted, locking his arms around me protectively. Then, directed at me, his voice changed, spilling over with tenderness. “Are you cold, sweetness?”
The smile froze on Nial’s lips, then something flashed in his eyes.
“I’ll be in heat again soon. Perhaps…” He came closer, standing right next to Hal.
If he touched my alpha, I swore to all the gods that I was going to claw his damn eyes out.
“Perhaps you wouldn’t mind offering your services again, Alpha Hal,” Nial purred.
Services?! Services?! Fuck his eyes, I wanted to rip his entire head off. How dare he? Like Hal was just a breeder, some unimportant alpha, and not everything.
Hal sighed, then tugged me closer against him. “I would mind, actually, and I’m sure Briar would, too, wouldn’t you, sweetness?”
I choked up, unable to speak, so I just nodded.
“But—”
“Now, if you don’t have anything better to do, then perhaps you could move my wardrobe and toiletries into Briar’s room? I shall be staying with my omega from now on. He needs me.”
My omega? Did my jaw just hit the floor because it sure felt like it did?
I nearly tumbled to the floor while a pathetic sound flew from Nial’s mouth. My omega. A snort sounded from Stefano.
Nial recovered, shooting daggers at me, but I only had eyes for the huge alpha who’d just claimed me in public. “I’m… I’m your omega?” I whispered, fisting the collar of his shirt, and there it was again, that needy little creature that lived inside me. “Really?”
Fondness and surprise pooled in Hal’s eyes, every trace of annoyance gone. “Of course you are, silly.” He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss against the tip of my nose. “Did you think you’d get rid of me this easily?”
I swallowed. “No, but I didn’t…” I shook my head, fighting back the tears.
“You didn’t what, sweetness?”
“I wasn’t… sure if you wanted to keep me,” I whispered, letting out the ugly truth.
Hal’s eyes filled with sorrow, like he understood better than anyone what I meant.
And, of course, he did. He, too, had once been unwanted and abandoned.
His body remembered that feeling because it never went away. It lived permanently inside you.
“Of course I want to keep you, Briar. You are mine, aren’t you? My omega. Mine to—” His voice broke, his eyes becoming watery. “To love? If you’ll have me.”
“I do!” I blurted, then buried my face against his chest, breathing him in.
He smelled like summer fields after a rain shower.
Like sunshine and warm hay. Like everything that was good and safe in this world.
I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
I was his. There was no doubt in my heart.