Chapter 35
Royce sat up in bed, back against the headboard. Dylan lay with his head in his lap, fast asleep. Royce was enjoying the opportunity to watch Dylan as he rested. Watch over him. Make sure he was okay.
He’d never had a triggered rut before. This rut was different from the ones he had when his suppressant cycle ended. It was more powerful. But not only was his sexual drive much stronger, it was focused almost entirely on making sure Dylan was satisfied. His own needs took a back seat while his body reacted to Dylan’s pheromones, letting him stay hard longer and recover faster. He was glad he was strong and healthy because that strength allowed him to keep going over and over, for as long as Dylan needed him to.
As he sat there, his keen hearing picked up on a noise outside. It sounded like nothing more than an animal passing by, but his Instinct wanted to make sure Dylan was safe and there was no one near their den. He eased from beneath the sleeping omega, replacing his lap with a pillow. Dylan stirred, a frown creasing his forehead, but he quickly fell back into deep sleep.
Royce walked around the cabin, checking again to make sure all the windows were secured. Then he opened the door and stepped outside. After shifting, he patrolled the cabin’s perimeter. There was nothing there to disturb them. He left his mark on a few trees as a warning, then went back inside.
Dylan was still sleeping so Royce shifted back to human form and went into the bathroom. He took a quick shower, then cleaned out the tub so he could run Dylan a bath. When the water was ready, he walked back out to the bedroom. Dylan was finally awake. He lay on his side, slowly tugging at his half-hard cock.
“Hi,” Dylan said, his voice scratchy from sleep.
“Hello.”
Dylan held out his free hand to him. Royce strolled over and took it. He was tempted to get in the bed and give Dylan what he was clearly asking for, but he needed to take care of him with more than sex.
“Come on, it’s bath time.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is. You’ll feel better.”
Dylan groaned as if he’d just been told he had PT at oh-five-hundred, but allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.
“I’ll go as long as you let me walk.”
“Fine. Go ahead.”
Royce walked behind Dylan into the bathroom. When they reached the tub, he scooped him up and slowly lowered him into the steaming water.
“Hey! You said I could walk.”
“You did. Now hush.” Kneeling at the side of the tub, he grabbed the soap and washcloth and soaped the towel up. He started to rub it over Dylan’s chest. But he winced and flinched away.
“Sensitive.”
“Alright.” He set the washcloth aside. Taking the bar of soap, he swiftly rubbed his palms back and forth over it to soap up his hands. When they were covered with suds, he gently rubbed them over Dylan’s body, washing away the sweat, slick, and cum. He soaped up a few more times to make sure he washed him everywhere. Then, cupping water in his hands, he rinsed off the soap.
Dylan sat quietly and let him work, watching him from heavy-lidded eyes. Royce could tell the omega was having another heat wave, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as before. His heat would be ending soon. Once it ended, they would have to leave their den and return to base. Royce felt a pang in his chest at the thought of leaving this space he’d shared with Dylan. But he ignored it. He’d rather enjoy the present without letting worry about the future intrude.
“There. All clean,” he said when he was finished.
Royce stood and so did Dylan. Water sluiced down his firm, muscled body. His eyes were bright and he glowed with health. Royce had never seen anything more gorgeous in his life.
This was his first time seeing an omega in heat. Before, he hadn’t understood why alphas were so protective of their omegas when they neared their heat, snapping at anyone who got close. Now he understood. If anybody were to even look at Dylan right now while he was all flushed and lovely, he’d maul them to death with his claws.
“Thank you for the bath. I do feel better.”
“You’re welcome.”
Royce held Dylan’s hand as he stepped out of the tub onto the floor mat. Dylan stood there calmly, smelling like a delicious dream, and let Royce pat him down with a dry towel.
“You are a wonderful alpha,” Dylan said with a smile. “You’ve taken really good care of me. Much better than I would have done on my own.”
“Thank you.” He couldn’t help but feel proud that Dylan thought he’d done a good job being his heat partner. Royce was discovering so much about what made him an alpha during this time with Dylan. Being an alpha wasn’t only about strength and leadership. It was about care and protecting too.
He wrapped Dylan up in a fresh dry towel and lead him over to the arm chair in the bedroom. “Sit here for a minute while I change the sheets.”
Dylan’s eyes went wide. “My nest!” he protested.
“We can build it again, okay? Just with fresh sheets.”
“Okay,” Dylan pouted but agreed with a nod.
Royce quickly set about stripping the bed down to the mattress and getting clean sheets from the linen closet. Once the bed was made, he beckoned Dylan over to rebuild his nest. They worked on it together, both of them having a good time laughing at Royce’s clueless but helpful assistance.
When the nest was ready, they tumbled back into bed. Tangled up in each other, they rolled around, kissing and touching and giving each other gentle love bites. Their writhing served the dual purpose of getting their bodies worked up and transferring their scents onto the sheets.
Royce was reminded that he was still in rut when he licked over his lover’s mating gland. The taste of apples and arousal burst on his tongue and shot straight to his cock, making him instantly stiff. He manhandled Dylan to his front then yanked him up onto all fours.
Dylan squeaked in surprise. “What are you doing?”
“Sssh.” Royce soothed him with a caress to his thigh. “Easy, sweetheart.” With his thumbs, he spread Dylan’s cheeks apart, revealing his entrance to his hungry gaze. That hidden place was soft and pink and glistening with slick. “Pretty,” he whispered. His mouth watered at the sight in front of him, and when he inhaled, the smell of Dylan’s slick had his brain buzzing. He had to taste him.
Royce leaned down and swiped the flat of his tongue over Dylan’s hole. He curled his tongue back into his mouth, savoring the honey sweet taste of slick. “Mmmm. You taste wonderful, sweetheart. Even better than you smell.”
After that first delicious taste, he needed more. Royce buried his face in between his omega’s cheeks, hungrily licking up his slick. As he feasted, he slipped a hand under Dylan to grasp his cock, and started pumping him at the same time he worked him with his tongue.
“Royce!” Dylan cried out his name, wiggling his hips as if he was trying to get away.
Royce clamped his other hand around Dylan’s thigh to hold him still. “Don’t move,” he growled against his ass.
“But I’ll come!”
“That’s what I want you to do.”
Dylan moaned. Instead of trying to get away, he rolled his hips in time with Royce’s strokes on his cock.
The lusty gasps and moans pouring from Dylan’s throat were music to Royce’s ears. His cock pulsed in his grip, signaling that he was about to come. Royce pumped him faster, pushing him toward that climax. It wasn’t long before he came with a keening cry, soaking the clean sheets with his cum. Royce stroked and licked him through it until Dylan’s trembling and moans tapered off to stillness and tired sighs.
Royce pulled back and straightened. The lower half of his face was wet with slick, proof that he’d pleased his lover. He swiped a forearm across his jaw, carelessly wiping some of it away.
Still kneeling on the mattress, Dylan spread his knees wide. Sinking down onto his elbows, he looked back at Royce over his shoulder. He was a picture-perfect vision of tempting omega — lips parted, eyelashes fluttering.
Royce slowly rubbed a thumb over Dylan’s entrance, watching as he shivered in reaction. “You must want something with the way you’re flashing those pretty green eyes at me.”
“Want you. Inside me. Want your knot.”
“All you had to do was ask,” Royce said with a low chuckle. He lined his cock up to that pink hole and pushed inside. The omega’s slick gave him a smooth ride all the way in until he was seated balls deep. Dylan groaned, his eyes drifting shut.
Royce pulled his hips back until only the broad head of his cock was still inside his lover. He paused for a heartbeat, then sank back in with a hard thrust. Gripping Dylan’s waist with both hands, he used the hold to drag him back and forth on his cock. A groan shuddered in his chest. Even after two days of near constant sex, Dylan was still hot and tight on his cock, his inner walls squeezing him just right.
Dylan felt as good as the first time he’d fucked him, but the sex was different now. It was still amazing. But now it wasn’t as frantic. They could slow down and enjoy it instead of desperately rushing to climax.
He purposely hadn’t taken Dylan like this during the early stages of his heat. After reading about the claiming position and mating bites, he’d worried that he might lose control and bite Dylan to claim him as his own if he fucked him like this.
Actually, Dylan should have been wearing a bite guard this entire time. But since this shared heat wasn’t planned, neither of them had one on hand. Thankfully, he’d managed to keep his head. Dylan too, since he hadn’t asked for his bite. But now Royce felt they were lucid enough that they wouldn’t get overwhelmed by heat pheromones and slip up.
Dylan was so wet his slick squelched out onto Royce’s thighs with each thrust in. He didn’t care. Loved it actually. Loved everything about sex with Dylan. Loved the way his heavy balls swung and slapped against the omega’s hair roughened skin. Loved watching his cock slide in and out of him. Loved the pretty sounds Dylan made and his husky whispers asking for more. How stupid he would have been to miss this.
He shifted their positions slightly so that he could lean over Dylan’s back and nuzzle into his throat. Dylan smelled amazing in his heat, the scent of apples sweet and soft. Mouth falling open, Royce licked over his lover’s mating gland. Once. Then again.
“Royce?” Dylan questioned nervously.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Not going to do anything I shouldn’t.”
“Okay,” he said trustingly.
He wouldn’t bite Dylan. But he needed another taste. He licked the swollen gland again. Then he went a step further, sucking it into his mouth and flicking it with his tongue. Dylan moaned, a shiver running through his entire body.
“You like that?” Royce asked after he took his mouth away from Dylan’s throat.
“Yes. Do it again.”
“You know that’s dangerous.”
“I trust you.”
“Do you?” he asked as he continued fucking Dylan with slow, lazy thrusts.
“Mmmm-hmmm.”
Dylan tilted his head to the side, granting Royce easier access.
It was truly risky behavior for an alpha to have his teeth near an omega’s mating gland during sex. But Dylan trusted him. And he wanted his mouth on that sweet patch of skin, even knowing he couldn’t bite it.
He dragged Dylan up until they were settled on their knees, Dylan’s back pressed to his chest. Royce lowered his head and sucked on Dylan’s mating gland again. When Dylan moaned, he sucked harder. Hard enough to leave a mark. With Dylan’s breathy moans in his ears and his luscious taste in his mouth, Royce’s knot started to swell.
“Yes, Royce,” Dylan whispered.
Royce spread a palm against Dylan’s stomach, his other hand coming up to grip his shoulder. He held Dylan tight, trapping him in his embrace. His Instinct suddenly whispered in the back of his mind. The tone was sly. Persuasive. Claim him .
He wanted to. His fangs ached to bite into the swollen mating gland on Dylan’s neck. But he couldn’t. He growled in frustration, and his slow, easy thrusts gave way to hard, deep fucking. Their lower halves crashed together again and again, while Dylan desperately moaned and sobbed in his arms.
“Please! Please!”
Royce scraped his canines over the gland in his mouth, not breaking the skin, but letting Dylan feel his teeth.
Dylan gasped. He reached up to grab onto Royce’s hair and hold him pressed to his throat.
“Do that again.”
Fuck. They were playing with fire. But Royce gave the omega what he wanted. He dragged his fangs over the gland again, pressing down just enough to give a hint of a bite. The move teased Dylan, but it worked Royce up too.
Claim him . His Instinct whispered again.
He would. He would knot him and bite him because Dylan was his .
By now his knot was nearly fully swollen. He had to push a little harder each time to get in and out of Dylan’s tight passage. When his balls drew up tight and he was ready to come, he slammed his hips forward one last time, burying himself deep.
When the first pulse of his orgasm hit, he started to bite down with Dylan’s mating gland still in his mouth. He had just enough clarity to realize what he was about to do. At the last second, he yanked his mouth to the side, biting down on Dylan’s shoulder instead. His canines broke skin and blood seeped onto his tongue.
Dylan yelled at the bite. He climaxed too, cum arcing from his cock in a pearly stream, body jerking from the force of it. His entrance clamped down hard around Royce’s knot and his inner muscles started to rhythmically squeeze his cock.
Royce took his mouth from Dylan’s shoulder. He let his head drop back with a deep groan. It felt as if Dylan was milking his knot, pulling his orgasm from his body.
“What... is happening?” Royce asked. Whatever it was, it felt amazing. But it was definitely something different and unexpected.
“I—.” Dylan cleared his throat and started again. “I think I locked on you. It’s called an omega lock.”
“An omega lock?” Royce groaned again. The pulsing squeezing massaged his knot and all the way up his shaft.
“Yeah. I’ve never done this before. Didn’t even think an omega lock was real. I’m uh... Mmmm.” His voice broke on a moan before he continued. “I’m still coming too. A prolonged orgasm happens with an omega lock.”
He brought his head back up to look over Dylan’s shoulder and down at his cock. A steady stream of cum flowed from the slit, dripping onto the bed.
“Didn’t see that in the manual,” he muttered into the soft hair at the nape of Dylan’s neck.
“Manual?”
Royce kissed his ear. “Don’t worry about it.”
He eased them down onto their sides. If they were going to be locked and knotted for a while, they might as well get comfortable. They lay there, both in the grips of a slow, powerful orgasm. Royce continued to come in steady pulses, so much cum his balls should have been drained dry by now. But somehow, they still felt heavy and full.
Royce tucked a finger beneath Dylan’s chin and guided him to look back over his shoulder. “You okay?” he asked softly.
Dylan nodded. “Mmmm-hmm.”
“Good.” Royce leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Feeling drugged with pleasure, they lazily kissed as they waited for their bodies to relax.
Royce’s knot went down first. But he wasn’t going anywhere until Dylan’s muscles loosened their hold on him.
After long minutes, the rhythmic squeezing stopped. A second later, Dylan’s inner muscles released their lock on his shaft. Royce was free but he didn’t want to pull out of his lover. He wanted to stay inside him forever. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
With a sigh of regret, he carefully pulled out. Curious, he cupped one ass cheek and pushed up, exposing Dylan’s puffy hole so he could see what he’d left behind. As he watched, a copious amount of cum and slick leaked out of him, spilling across his thigh and onto the bed. What a beautiful mess.
“Royce?”
Royce dragged his eyes up to meet Dylan’s. “Yeah?”
“I think we’re going to have to change the sheets again.”
Royce laughed. “Yeah. I think so too.”
* * *
Their third afternoon at the cabin, Dylan’s heat was at its end. His face was no longer as flushed, his eyes clear instead of glassy. They’d even managed to leave the nest. They were on the couch, both naked, Hazard sitting on Royce’s lap with his feet up on the cushions.
“How are you feeling?” Royce asked him.
Dylan rolled his shoulders. “I don’t feel that overwhelming urge to have sex but I’m still restless.”
“You need a run while you’re shifted to burn off that lingering energy. We both do.” He’d read in the heat book that shifting and running at least once was vital during a heat.
“I’d like that.”
“Let’s go then. He tapped Dylan lightly on the thigh as a signal to get up. They rose and went out onto the front porch.
Royce cupped the back of Dylan’s head, nails lightly scratching at his nape. Dylan’s eyes drifted to half-mast and he swayed toward him.
“Feel good?”
Dylan opened his eyes and looked directly at him when he answered.
“Feels amazing.”
Making Dylan feel good gave him a bone-deep sense of satisfaction. He couldn’t be anything but glad that he’d brought Dylan here to share his heat with him. “We’ll run, come back and take a hot bath, then relax until you’re ready to return to base. Okay?”
* * *
Dylan nodded. A run in wolf form was exactly what he needed. “Okay.”
Royce stepped off the porch and shifted first. After the flash of light, a huge, pure white wolf stood in the clearing.
Dylan walked down the steps and over to the white wolf. His dark eyes were a soft contrast against the white of his fur. Dylan reached out and ran his hand through the fur around Royce’s neck. “You’re beautiful. But I see why you don’t shift on night missions. You’d stand out like a Lite Brite.”
Wolf Royce huffed and butted his head against his stomach. Hurry up , he ordered through their telepathic link.
Dylan was shocked at how clear he heard Royce. It was as if he’d spoken aloud in his human voice. Putting his surprise aside for later, Dylan shifted too. On all fours, his vantage point of the world was different. But his senses were all even sharper than they were in human form. As he breathed in the scents of the forest, he let the wolf side of him take over.
In their wolf forms, Royce was even bigger than him. Long, powerful limbs. Body solid with muscle. If they were both to sit on their haunches, Dylan would comfortably fit under Royce’s chin with room to spare.
Together they ran into the forest. The wind rushed through his fur. Crisp, fallen leaves crackled under their paws. It was glorious and freeing. Feeling happy and playful, Hazard tackled Royce. He tangled their legs together, which caused Royce to trip and stumble.
Royce quickly got all four paws under him again. He looked back at Dylan.
Dylan could read his expression even before he heard his wolf voice in his head.
What are you doing?
In answer, Dylan butted his head against his side, then darted a few paces away. He stopped and pranced in place, mouth hanging open with excited pants. His stance and movements sent out a clear message: Play with me!
However, Royce didn’t move so Dylan tried again. His belly nearly touching the ground, he sidled in close, then stretched up and nipped at Royce’s ear.
Royce let out a low growl and took a step forward.
Dylan tossed his head and raced off. Royce was close behind him. His stride might be longer than Dylan’s but Dylan was fast. An omega trait he was glad of as they sprinted through the forest. He managed to stay just out of reach. But he wanted to play which meant he’d have to be caught.
After giving Royce a good chase, he let himself stumble over a tree root. The break in his stride gave Royce enough time to catch up. Royce pounced on him and they rolled on the forest floor, tussling, and nipping at each other. Back on their feet, they continued to playfully snarl and snap as they wrestled. Royce got his teeth into the scruff of Dylan’s neck and lightly shook him.
Dylan conceded victory. He went still and whined.
Royce let him go. Circling around to stand in front of him, he gave Dylan a superior look.
Dylan bowed in submission to the bigger wolf. But then he raised his head and got a good look at Royce. He mentally laughed at all the dirt, twigs, and leaves that soiled the alpha’s white fur after their tussle.
Your fault I’m dirty.
Sorry.
No, you’re not.
Nope. But you had fun, right?
I did.
Good . Dylan moved in close and rubbed the top of his head under Royce’s chin.
Royce chuffed. Let’s go .
They trotted back toward the cabin, shoulder to shoulder. Occasionally Dylan would try to trip up Royce again, only to be brought back in line with another bite to his scruff.
It was the best wolf run of his life.