Chapter 61
Chad sat down next to Topher and handed him a Coke, wincing as a shot of pain made its way up from his hole. Peter had fucked him without any prep, and though it had felt great at the time, his ass was crying out for a donut pillow.
“So you just left?” Topher asked, sounding incredulous. Chad nodded.
“What was I supposed to do? I don’t mind letting him take charge, but he made it sound like I was supposed to be his full-time submissive. We’ve only had sex twice. It shouldn’t be this serious.”
“But he’s your mate,” Topher said, popping open his Coke and taking a sip without looking away from Chad’s face. “I mean, I only saw the two of you together for like ten seconds, but it’s totally obvious.”
“What?” Chad couldn’t quite get himself to process what Topher was saying. It was too ridiculous.
“Thing about it,” Topher said, leaning in. “Were you ever attracted to an alpha before you met Tank?”
Chad shook his head. He’d never had anything so much as a stray thought about another alpha in that way.
“And are you attracted to other alphas now?”
Again Chad shook his head.
“See, this is typical: intense initial attraction, immediate desire to form a claiming bond… you have all the signs.”
“But mates aren’t a real thing!” Chad objected after several seconds in which he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Topher scoffed.
“No, true mates aren’t a thing. It’s been pretty well established that some people match up on a pheromone level and that that’s where the whole true mates thing comes from.”
“So I don’t have to be with him,” Chad said, the mention of mates and how right it felt making him panic. Topher grinned and shook his head.
“No, of course not. It just means that you’ll have a real easy time of it sexually if you do decide to go for it.”
“How do you know all this?” Chad popped open his own Coke and considered Topher’s face. If this was all off some random internet site then he was going to kick his ass.
“I took biological psychology class when I was an undergrad. There’s been a ton of research on this, but it’s not really mainstream. A lot of alpha groups try to discredit it.”
“Why? Isn’t it good to know how it works?” Chad didn’t really follow alpha politics. All he knew was that being an alpha was a huge advantage, and he liked it that way.
“Well, maybe, except sometimes alphas can match with an omega. A lot of people don’t like thinking that you can be mates with one of them.”
Chad shrugged. So what if you were mates with your omega? They were yours to do with as you pleased.
“What do you think I should do?” he asked Topher, putting his feet up on the coffee table and looking up at the ceiling. He was so confused.
“Run away while you still can?” Topher said, sounding like he was only half joking. Chad looked at him, and he shrugged. “What can I say? He’s the scariest dude I’ve ever met. Why would you want to be in a relationship where you’re the bitch?”
Chad frowned, offended. Submitting to Peter didn’t make him a bitch.
“Watch it,” he warned. “I may not be able to take on Peter, but you’re no problem.”
Topher just nodded, not at all intimidated. “That’s my point. You’re a dominant guy—way above average. But with Peter you’re basically a beta. Can you really live the rest of your life with someone who outranks you that much?”
Chad opened his mouth to reply, but then he didn’t say anything. He was surprised that his initial impulse was to answer yes to Topher’s question.
“I don’t know,” he said at last, feeling overwhelmed and confused.
“Well, something tells me Tank isn’t going to give you a lot of space to think about it.”
Chad bit his bottom lip. The look on Peter’s face when Chad left had been shocked—like he couldn’t believe that Chad wasn’t just caving. Chad had the feeling that once Peter decided how he felt and how he was going to react, he was going to be in trouble.
Still, Chad couldn’t bring himself to be scared of Peter. He knew on an intellectual level that Peter was scary as hell, but he didn’t feel it.
“Let’s talk about something else,” Chad said, choosing to put his head in the sand—at least for the moment. “How’s it going with the hunt for an internship?”
“I have interviews tomorrow and next week, but there’s a lot of competition. I’m just hoping for the best at this point.”
“Tomorrow? That’s soon. Are you prepared?”
“Mostly. If you want to help me out I’ve got flashcards I need to quiz myself on.”
Chad grinned. He hadn’t seen a flashcard since high school, and even then he hadn’t used one. Topher was such a nerd.
“As long as you don’t expect me to know anything, I’m happy to help,” Chad said, smiling.
***