Chapter 22 Secrets
SECRETS
Ottis flattened his phone against his chest, looking panicked. “You weren’t supposed to see that!”
Technically, Ottis had signed over any privacy he had on his phone. But he was right.
“That wasn’t any of my business,” Doc agreed.
“So you’ll... pretend you never saw it?” Ottis asked hopefully.
The thing was, it explained some of the inconsistencies Doc had noticed about Uriel over the past few months, after the mage had joined their alpha friend group.
Despite his broad shoulders and muscular physique, Uriel was smaller in stature than most other alphas.
There was a sharpness to his jaw that wasn’t common in alphas, and thick lashes on his eyelids.
He leaked from his nipples—but that could be due to some external factors. The scars on his body, too.
Doc was a doctor; noticing bodily anomalies was what he did for a living. Ordinarily, he would not have breathed a word about it.
“I’ve seen cases like his,” he said quietly.
Ottis’ gaze flew to his. “You have?”
“I’ve witnessed some... unusual things on my travels,” Doc said, because he wasn’t sure how much Uriel had told his friends. “So, this is what I’ll do.”
He pulled out his phone, sending a direct message to the mage.
Doc
Hey, I accidentally saw your conversation with Ottis. No judgment from me.
I just wanted you to know that I’ve had patients like you, so if you need any discreet medical help, feel free to get in touch.
There was a long moment of silence while they waited for a reply. Then Doc’s phone buzzed.
Uriel
Thank you. That means a lot to me.
“Aww,” Ottis said, melting into Doc’s side. “That was so nice of you.”
Doc shrugged. “I’m a doctor. I want to help.”
Even then, he couldn’t help feeling proud. He had his omeg—He had... He had Ottis’ approval.
That cheered him up like nothing else did.
“Will you give me a foot rub?”
“Of course,” Doc said, arranging Ottis on the bed.
He began with light touches on Ottis’ foot, rubbing under his toes and between them, fingers kneading firm lines into the arch of Ottis’ foot.
He massaged the ball of it, then back down to Ottis’ heel, going up his ankle to the tangled mess of scars on his calf.
Ottis froze a little. Doc didn’t stop touching him, and eventually, Ottis relaxed.
There was some uneven muscle development in Ottis’ legs because of his limp, and increased muscle strain because he favored his good leg. Slowly, Doc worked through the knots in his muscles, then the rest of his legs, until Ottis melted into a puddle.
“That feels so good,” Ottis whimpered. “Why hasn’t anyone married you yet?”
Doc snorted. “For my hands?”
“Yeah! And your cock.” Ottis paused, then cringed. “Ugh! I can’t believe I just said that.”
“You forgot the free medical services,” Doc said, only for Ottis to pull a pillow over his face.
“Just kill me now,” Ottis moaned.
“Only the little deaths, sweetheart,” Doc said, amused.
“Sorry in advance for all the awkward, terrible things my mouth says.”
“I’m not sorry.” Doc was already thinking up different plans for the nest he wanted to build. Something amazing, worthy of his omega, but he couldn’t take too long because Ottis’ pregnancy would go fast.
Doc kept up his foot massage, kneading long lines up and down Ottis’ legs. He worked loose Ottis’ deep muscles and dropped a kiss on the side of his thigh. “Hey, would you like a canopy over your nest?”
No answer. Only the sound of soft breathing.
When Doc looked over, he found Ottis fast asleep, his mouth hanging open, his hair mussed and his face relaxed.
So perfect.
Doc’s heart skipped again.
Well, there was no better time than the present to work on his nest.
“Consider telling them,” Doc said two weeks later.
Ottis was sitting on a stool up against the wall, his legs swinging above the floor. At Doc’s suggestion, he wrinkled his nose. “They’re going to rain hell on you, Doc. Surely you aren’t that masochistic.”
Doc snorted. “Sweetheart, they’re going to react to the news no matter how far along you are. Worse if they see you swollen with child. Besides, you can’t keep this a secret from your pack forever. At least tell your dads. I’m sure they’d like to know.”
Ottis sagged. “You have a point. It’s just... You’re the one who’s going to suffer. I don’t want to do that to you.”
“I’m the one who knocked you up.”
Even now, that fact sat warmly in his chest like a tiny burning flame. He had put a child into Ottis. Ottis was carrying his dragonet, and scarcely an hour passed without Doc remembering it. These days, he always wanted to touch Ottis’ belly, just to remind himself that this was real.
Doc set down the lumber he had been sawing, crossing the room. As he drew closer, Ottis tipped his face up to give Doc a smile. Doc couldn’t get enough of Ottis’ happiness. It made his instincts snarl possessively, eager to protect.
Of course, there was still the mystery of the men he had taken down outside his lair. But Doc had come no closer to figuring out why they had attacked. Or who had hired them.
He couldn’t ignore the sneaking suspicion that it had to do with Ottis’ ex, the one who had destroyed his leg.
“It’s just one visit,” Doc said. “Let’s get it over with.”
Ottis bit his lip and rubbed his belly. “Fine. But let’s do it at night so we can escape real quick.”
“Want to pick a date for it?”
Ottis grumbled, unlocking his phone. He had access to Doc’s calendar now; it made Doc happy whenever Ottis used the calendar as though it were his own. “What about next Tuesday, 9 PM? Right after dinner so they’re all full and sleepy.”
“You mean so they’ll be slowed down when we escape,” Doc said dryly.
“Yes!” Ottis snickered.
“Sure. Put it on the calendar.”
Ottis tapped on his phone as Doc slipped his fingers under Ottis’ shirt, stroking the fuzzy skin of his belly. There was a faint bump now, a slight roundness. It made Doc’s heart swell every time he touched it.
Then he remembered that Ottis deserved a nest, and he still didn’t have one.
Doc dropped a kiss on Ottis’ head and hurried back to the half-built nest on the floor.
They were in a sunlit room with a balcony overlooking the backyard.
The nest itself was coming along nicely.
A low wall wrapped around a flat wooden base, with lots of storage for snacks and books.
Every few feet, Doc had built a vase for sprigs of wildflowers, and he was planning to add a tall post at each corner to hold up a canopy lined with fairy lights.
He had to make Ottis and Marcie put on hearing protection whenever the hammering and sawing grew too loud for their sensitive ears; they didn’t mind doing it just so they could stick around with him.
The bedding and pillows were in a different room, ready for when the wooden base was complete. Doc couldn’t wait until he could present the finished nest to his omega.
“You look worried,” Ottis said.
“I haven’t built anything in a while. It’s why the nest is taking longer than I anticipated.”
“And you’re making it more fancy than it needs to be.”
Doc puffed out his chest. “It needs to be good enough for you, sweetheart.”
Except Ottis huffed. “I’d be happy with the simplest nest. I’ve never had one before.”
He said it with such sincerity that Doc had to pause, his heart too full.
“Well, this is going to be the best nest you’ve ever had,” Doc grumbled. “It’ll be so amazing that it’ll withstand your pack’s attempts to steal you back.”
Ottis laughed. “It already is.”
But deep down, Doc knew he would only believe it when he saw Ottis stay with his very own eyes.
They arrived at a compromise: No traces of fresh cum on them, so they wouldn’t ruin Doc’s first impression.
“They will know that cum was involved, considering this,” Doc murmured, stroking Ottis’ belly.
“Yeah, but I’d much rather they assume it was just one time.”
“Rather than the reality: you impaled on my cock every day, stretched loose with my cum dripping down your thighs.” Doc grinned when Ottis shivered.
“Begging to be filled over and over, until you’re mindless with pleasure.
Me trying desperately to breed you again.
Going to sleep with you still knotted on me. ”
“They definitely don’t need to know that.” Ottis rolled his eyes, but Doc knew for a fact that Ottis’ hole had squeezed at those words.
“I love how responsive you are for me,” he murmured, catching the way Ottis’ heart skipped at the L-word. His own heart skipped, too. “You’re gorgeous.”
“Well, so are you,” Ottis said gruffly. Doc preened a little. “Keep on flying.”
“Yes, dear,” Doc purred.