Chapter Six
After a long, hot shower, Grey still couldn't shake off the uneasiness he felt at how insecure Matthew had been despite his best efforts to reassure him.
He tried to block out the crippling fear that he might lose his mate before he had even had the chance to claim him.
He sighed, trying to put the fear out of his mind.
He knew wolves had been driven mad by it and he wasn't going to succumb to it.
The other feelings that Matthew's scent had stirred up inside him couldn't be ignored, either, and despite fucking Matthew thoroughly twice last night, Grey still had an aching hard on that wouldn't go away.
He'd already jerked off hard and fast in the shower to try to take off the edge off his arousal, but it was still there, threading heat up and down his spine, pooling low in his belly, gnawing at him until he felt like he would go insane if he didn't come again, preferably whilst his cock was buried deep inside Matthew's gorgeous tight ass.
He dried off and pulled on a pair of jeans, then padded downstairs.
He opened the front door and gazed out on the winter wonderland that greeted him.
The snow was deep and pure, untouched, like a thick, soft carpet that just begged to be walked on.
He tried to see through the swirling snowfall, tried to see deep into the forest, as though it held the answers to all of his problems, but there was nothing there, just the cold, frozen bleakness of the weather as it settled in for the night, sparkling and beautiful, but deadly all the same.
He was just about to close the door when a brittle snapping sound made him stop and the hair on the back of his neck stood up as someone stepped out from the trees.
A familiar sweet scent suddenly slammed into Grey, and he let out a low growl, his wolf writhing inside him painfully, as he saw Matthew's slight figure take a stumbling step onto the expanse of driven snow, sinking into it as he collapsed, falling flat on his face.
Matthew lay there, unmoving and Grey ran out into the snow, not even feeling how his jeans clung to his legs with the freezing cold snow and how his bare skin grew numb.
Grey reached Matthew and bent down, touching him carefully, feeling his soaking wet clothes and the coldness of Matthew's body. His familiar scent drifted up to Grey, intoxicating and sweet, and Grey trembled as his body reacted violently.
"Shit," Grey muttered to himself, as the scent swamped every one of his senses.
He picked up Matthew without thinking about it further, roughly adjusting the lifeless body in his arms, and strode toward his cabin, his bare feet sinking into the deep snow.
All he wanted to do was care for his mate and claim him as his own.
His chest almost burst with the sudden overwhelming emotions building up within him, emotions that it was pointless to try to deny.
Matthew stirred and began to struggle in his arms, but Grey's strength kept him in place. He looked down at the younger man in his arms, his breath hitching at the beauty he saw there in Matthew's fragile bone structure and pale, winter skin.
Grey's jaw set into a grim line. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. We need to get you warmed up."
When he reached his cabin, he stepped inside the hall, feeling the warmth envelope him, and he reluctantly released Matthew, placing him carefully down on the floor, all the while watching him for signs that he was going to collapse again.
He could see that Matthew's clothes were completely soaked through and that his skin was tinged blue.
Grey thanked God that he had found the omega before he had succumbed to the elements.
He couldn't understand how Matthew had gotten onto pack territory undetected and had been allowed to wander around in the freezing temperatures until he collapsed.
Anger burned low in his stomach and he tried to swallow it down as it rose like acid in his chest. He would have to deal with whoever was supposed to be on security detail later, right now he had to tend to his mate.
Uncomfortable emotions assaulted him again and mixed with the alluring scent of the omega before him, they made for a dangerous combination that threatened to overwhelm him.
He acknowledged that he was already thinking of Matthew as his mate, even though he hadn't claimed him yet, and despite Matthew being uneasy with the idea of commitment, Grey had already made up his mind to claim Matthew the first chance he got.
He bit down on a curse as he fought against the desire to default to his baser instincts and claim the omega right there so that Matthew would never be put in a position of danger again.
Grey blew out a breath and told himself to calm down.
Matthew needed someone to care for him, not for him to go all Alpha on him and claim him whether he wanted Grey or not.
Grey turned away, trying to catch his breath.
He already knew he was lost where Matthew was concerned but he had to try to stay in control.
He was an Alpha for God's sake, but he felt like he was being turned inside out by the sight of Matthew standing trembling in his hallway.
The scent of the omega was smothering his senses until he could barely think straight.
Matthew groaned softly and Grey saw him look cautiously at him from underneath his messy dark hair.
Grey's heart ached just looking at him. Feelings of love and lust nearly floored Grey and he had to work hard to contain his wolf as it struggled to get out, desperate to comfort its mate.
"We need to get you warm and dry before you freeze to death." Grey's voice sounded rough to his own ears and he cleared his throat. "What were you doing, wandering around here in this weather?"
Matthew's hazel eyes slowly dipped down to take in Grey's bare feet and soaking jeans, before sliding back up to Grey's muscular, broad, bare chest. His eyes widened and he looked away, pressing his pale pink lips together, a visible shudder running through his body.
"I..." Matthew's eyelashes fluttered and he looked up coyly at Grey.
"You said you wanted me. I wanted to see how much you meant it. "
"And you thought nearly killing yourself from hypothermia would be a good way of doing that?" Grey asked, his voice a little ragged.
"I just needed to see you." Matthew bit his bottom lip before running it through his teeth. He reached forward and brushed his fingers over one of Grey's nipples. "Don't you want to see me?"
Grey's breath hitched in his throat. "Of course I do." He sucked in an unsteady breath as Matthew twisted one of his nipples between his fingers. "You should take a shower and get into some dry clothes, I-"
Matthew shook his head tightly and Grey blew out a breath of frustration.
He could sense that Matthew was in heat but he was wary of making the wrong move.
Matthew was insecure and he didn't want to do anything that would hurt the omega, and that included responding to Matthew's heat in the way he wanted to, by ripping the omega's clothes off and fucking him senseless, claiming his mate in every way possible, right there in the hall.
"Do you want a drink? I can make tea or.
.." Grey's voice trailed off. He removed Matthew's hand from his chest and stepped away, walking through the living room into the kitchen area.
He watched as Matthew hesitated before following him into the warm kitchen.
Matthew snapped his gaze up to Grey's face, his hazel eyes clashing with Gray's golden ones and tension simmered between them before Grey turned to the stove.
He fiddled with the kettle, not wanting to do anything that was going to spook Matthew, despite the fact that his wolf was practically tearing him apart inside to do everything he could to care for the omega.
"The shower's through there," Grey indicated the corridor off the kitchen, "there's towels and my robe on the back of the door. Why don't you take a shower whilst I change into some dry clothes and then I'll make you some tea?"
Matthew chewed on his pouty bottom lip and Grey felt heat spark and burn low in his belly, his cock throbbing in response.
"Don't you want me?" Matthew asked, rubbing his thumb along his bottom lip and fixing Grey with a lustful look.
"You know I do," Grey growled, "but I also don't want you to pass out in my kitchen because you decided to take a moonlit stroll in the snow. Get in the damn shower!"
"Fine." Matthew's voice sounded dull and defeated, but he walked out of the kitchen and Grey heard the bathroom door slam and the lock slide home.
Grey quickly ran up to his bedroom and changed into a dry pair of jeans and threw on a shirt.
When he returned to the kitchen, he heard the shower running and finally allowed himself to breathe.
He rubbed his face with his big hands, trying to figure out what the hell was going on and what he was going to do.
He knew what he wanted to do, but he told his wolf to calm the hell down, because despite the fact that Matthew was in heat, he also knew that Matthew had expressed doubts about being his mate and Grey was only too aware that if he knotted in Matthew tonight it would be next to impossible to stop himself claiming the omega as his mate.
He had no idea if Matthew felt the same way about him and he didn't want to do anything that would hurt him, especially whilst he was in heat.