Chapter Six #2
A noise behind him startled Grey and he stifled a nervous laugh.
It wasn't often that someone could sneak up behind an Alpha but Matthew had managed it when Grey had been lost in thought.
He turned round and his heart nearly stopped in his chest. Matthew was stood there, all shiny and clean from the shower, draped in his robe that was at least three sizes too big for him, his dark hair tamed by the water, slicked back to reveal his stunning bone structure and beautiful eyes.
Matthew's hands tugged at the robe and Grey fought the urge to go over and pull the younger man into a protective embrace because he looked so vulnerable, not to mention downright delicious.
"Feel better?"
Matthew nodded. "Thanks." He looked away from Grey, a blush burning his pale cheeks. "Sorry about before, I..." Matthew's voice trailed off and he shrugged his shoulder.
"You're in heat." Grey set a cup of tea down in front of Matthew and he looked at it as though it were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.
"I don't usually feel like this with it. It came on suddenly and it seems more intense. I... I feel out of control."
"It's because our scents are compatible.
" Grey shook his head. "It's the same for me.
I've never felt as strongly attracted to someone as I feel toward you.
" Grey turned away and picked up the kettle again, pouring water into his own cup when Matthew didn't respond.
"The weather's pretty rough. It's probably settled in for the night.
Not a great night to be hanging around in the woods. "
"Who are you? My dad?" Matthew's voice held a surly note even though it quivered a little and Grey could see that the omega was shivering again.
"I'm just wondering why you didn't let me know you wanted to come over. I could have picked you up." Grey sipped his tea, leaning against the counter.
Matthew glared at him before lowering his gaze to the floor, his shoulders slumping. "How was I supposed to let you know? It's not like you left me your phone number when you snuck out in the middle of the night."
Grey let what Matthew had just said sink in and he silently cursed at his own stupidity. "Drink some tea and sit by the fire. You need to warm up." Grey pointed to the old leather chair by the fireside.
"Are you always so bossy?"
"I'm an Alpha, so I guess I am." Grey smiled but Matthew just looked dully at him and Grey had to force back the frustrated sigh that almost escaped him.
Grey rubbed a large hand over his jaw as he tried to think of something, anything, to say to put Matthew at ease.
"I was going to phone you tonight. I was stuck in a meeting all morning and then I've been shopping for Christmas presents all afternoon.
I don't know which was worse to be honest."
Silence greeted him and Grey was forced to try again.
"Are you hungry?" Grey asked, resorting to perfect host mode even though it was unnatural as hell to him. Food was always a good place to start, though, he reasoned. Matthew shook his head, clutching the mug of tea and keeping his gaze on the fire, the flames casting a golden glow on his pale skin.
Grey was hungry in more ways than one, but he knew that he could only satisfy one hunger at a time and so he turned to his refrigerator, pulling out a steak.
It was probably rude to eat whilst he had a guest, but his stomach was filled with gnawing pains that he tried to convince himself were all down to hunger, and he needed to do something to distract himself because the presence of Matthew in his cabin was making him distinctly horny.
The omega's sweet, cloying scent was everywhere, pervading every corner of the room.
Grey's stomach lurched again and he felt sweat trickle down his spine as his cock throbbed in need.
Trying to focus, he pulled out a pan and slapped the huge steak in it, turning on the stove, and hearing the satisfying sizzle of the meat as it started to cook. The delicious aroma of the frying steak mingled with Matthew's sublime scent making Grey's mouth water even more.
Matthew moved away from the fire and came to stand by the counter, placing his mug down and watched him cook.
"Smells good." Matthew's voice held a note of wariness, like he knew that he'd backed himself into a corner but was looking for a way out, for a way to engage Grey and start over.
"How'd you like it?" Grey examined the steak and flipped it over.
Matthew shook his head. "It's yours."
Grey added some butter to the pan. "There's another one in the fridge. This one's rare at the moment. Do you need it cooked more?"
"No, I like it bloody." Matthew looked down at the counter, pressing his lips together and Grey felt a tingle light up his body that felt way too dangerous.
Boy after my own heart. Grey swallowed hard, and then pulled a plate toward him, sliding the steak onto the plate and taking a bowl of potatoes from the microwave.
He pushed the food toward Matthew and took the other steak from the fridge.
Matthew looked at the food for precisely two seconds before picking up the fork and digging in.
He made a noise that was pure pleasure and Grey nearly dropped his own steak on the floor.
He risked a quick glance over to the younger man and smiled to himself as he watched Matthew devour the food.
Grey joined Matthew at the counter with his own plate, pulling up a stool. He heaped potatoes on his plate and finally satisfied one of his hungers. He could feel Matthew's eyes on him and looked up.
"Why are you doing this?"
Grey looked at Matthew for a moment, before returning to his food.
He knew he had to tread carefully. As much as he, and his wolf, wanted to take care of Matthew, wanted to claim him and take him right there on the counter to seal the mating bond, Grey could still see the wariness in Matthew's eyes.
"Doing what?"
"This. Being nice to me, taking care of me, when you don't even know me?"
"Because you're my mate. I want to know you. I want to take care of you."
Matthew stiffened and Grey placed his fork down carefully on his plate and tried to think of something to lighten the mood.
"Besides, it's Christmas. Goodwill toward men and all that." Grey got up, his stool scraping harshly on the tiled floor and Matthew flinched.
"Kelvin didn't."
"Kelvin? What about him? What didn't he do?"
Matthew stared at him for a moment before snatching his gaze away, but Grey didn't miss the glitter of tears in the omega's eyes. He watched Matthew struggle to compose himself before he looked around at the sparsely furnished cabin.
"Don't you decorate for the holidays?" Matthew asked.
"I...usually," Grey said, his face clouding a little in confusion at the sudden subject change.
He knew he couldn't force Matthew to talk until he was ready but it didn't stop the frustration he felt.
"This is the first Christmas I've been on my own for a while and I don't know, I guess, I thought it wasn't worth going to the effort just for me.
" Grey realized that he was saying too much, and was worried that Matthew was going to think he was only looking for someone to ease his loneliness over Christmas which would no doubt only add fuel to Matthew's already bad impression of Alphas.
Matthew looked up at him and blinked rapidly as though he were trying to stop himself crying. "I'm sorry for just turning up here."
Grey stopped what he was doing. The sadness in Matthew's voice almost broke his heart and he couldn't stand it.
"What happened, Matthew? Did Kelvin do something to you?
" Grey clutched the edge of the counter, his fingers itching to stroke the omega's face, to soothe the tiredness and the jagged emotions he could see building in Matthew's eyes.
Matthew brought one shoulder up in a half hearted movement, veiling his gaze with thick lashes.
"He's not happy about me being with you.
He called me a slut and told me I couldn't stay in River Mountain.
He made some threats and... Anyway, I'm unemployed and homeless and I didn't have anywhere else to go, so. .."
Anger burned through Grey as he watched Matthew struggle to control himself, looking so lost and lonely, his face showing the kind of pain borne of broken trust and love that had been cruelly tossed away.
Grey was finding it difficult to contain himself.
His wolf whined inside him, clawing and demanding that he get closer to the omega.
"Does Kelvin know you're here?"
Matthew glanced up at him, his face contorting into a scowl.
"Why, are you worried that your precious deal won't happen?
I should have known, you're just like every other Alpha, you only wanted a cheap fuck, the thrill of fucking an omega, but I'm never going to be good enough for you or your pack, am I?
" Matthew's voice was loaded with venom and the atmosphere between them was strained and edgy.
Grey held onto himself with the kind of iron will that only an Alpha had. He wanted Matthew, wanted to take care of him on every level but he knew that if he came on too strong then he would scare him away and lose him forever.
"That's not what I meant. I'm concerned that you got onto pack territory without my security picking you up, which is a major fucking problem.
If Kelvin is so pissed about you being with me then I can't rule out him coming here, and I need to be prepared for that. I'm not going to risk your safety."
"I don't want to cause you any problems. I can probably hitch another ride and-"
"What? You're not going anywhere. Can't you just accept that I want you here and will do anything to have you, to keep you safe?"
Matthew looked uncomfortable and Grey allowed his eyes to travel over the omega's slight frame.
His dark blue robe was hanging off the omega, revealing a creamy expanse of skin near Matthew's throat that Grey wanted to kiss and bite.
He wanted to stake his claim on the omega.
He knew that would be one way to keep Matthew safe from Kelvin, but now probably wasn't the time to present that option.
"Just stay here for now, that's all I ask.
We can work out all the other stuff, but I need to phone one of my betas to get them up to speed, okay?
" Grey didn't want to let Matthew out of his sight but he knew he had to deal with this new problem and he didn't want to cause the omega any further anxiety especially when he was in heat.
"I don't want your pack knowing about me." Matthew placed his hands on the table and Grey could see how badly the omega was shaking.
"They're going to find out about you sooner or later. They'll be able to scent you. Telling them about you will keep you safer, trust me, Matthew. Just stay here with me and let me deal with this."
Matthew stared at Grey for a long moment, his hazel eyes looking troubled. "Kelvin threatened to kill you if I came here. I should go. I'm already causing you trouble."
"You'll never be trouble, not for me, and I can handle Kelvin Patrick." Grey picked up his phone. "Besides, no one should be alone at Christmas."