Chapter 12 #2
A few others and I helped Jonah build it a year and a half ago. He wanted to get it done before the baby was born, and while his stubborn determination was admirable, there was no way he was going to do it alone without killing himself, so those who could help came together to do just that.
Now, he and Dot have a beautiful home.
I pause with my hand ready to knock and glance at Wren.
“You might wanna, um… Could you wait to the side for a bit? Jonah’s a territorial sort of alpha,” I say with an awkward grin. “He’s got an omega wife and a little babe.” And he really doesn’t like city people.
Surprise flashes over Wren’s face before he nods and moves back to lean against one of the porch posts.
I knock on the door and wait.
It takes only a moment for steps to come from the inside.
The curtain at the window next to the door twitches before it opens, and Jonah appears, looking around with the exact alert, paranoid expression I expected.
I smile and wave once his eyes land on me.
He disappears from view, but I can hear the deadbolt slide as he unlocks the door.
“Rus,” Jonah says, still sounding a little standoffish. Leaning his muscular shoulder against the side of the door, he pokes his head out into the cold, spotting Wren right away. As observant as always.
“Hey. You three handled the storm alright?” I ask, hoping that starting with the pleasantries—especially talking about his family, the one thing he cares about above all—might soften him up.
He nods. “How ‘bout you? What do you need?” His narrowing eyes move slowly between me and Wren.
“Got a fallen tree. Didn’t hit the house, thank the gods.”
“Praise dualis,” he says, followed by a quick prayer under his breath. Suddenly, like a switch got flipped somewhere within him, his tone softens. “It’s cold. You’re makin’ us lose heat. Come inside to talk.”
I glance at Wren, as if to ask, ‘Him too?’ and Jonah nods again while stepping away for us to pass.
We both shake the snow off our boots and enter.
The inside is as cozy and homey as I remember it, though now even more so with the baby’s toys everywhere.
There are also paintings on the walls—a hobby Jonah is very good at, but doesn’t exactly advertise, most likely because he thinks making art isn’t very alpha-like—as well as knitted tapestries and other trinkets.
Their skinny little cat, whose name I can’t recall, must be hiding somewhere in one of the many homemade towers, nooks, and dens.
It doesn’t escape me how Jonah flares his nostrils while studying Wren.
I should probably start explaining.
“This is Wren. He’s Mrs. Compton’s son. Um, Wren, this is Jonah.”
“Aha,” Jonah says dryly, brows rising in wry interest. He folds his arms over his chest and unabashedly stares at Wren…who stands there with an awkward, uncertain expression, shifting his weight from one hip to another.
“Anyway, he was clearin’ out the house right before the blizzard hit.
Thought he could make it out, but he lost control of his car and nearly rolled down the hill.
He’s been stayin’ with me, obviously, but he’s got a life to get back to in the city, and now that the storm’s over, I figured we should call someone to sort out his ride. ”
“But the phone lines are down,” Jonah concludes.
“Yeah. I was wonderin’ if I could use your satellite phone. You still have it?”
“Sure. Come,” he says, without looking at Wren again, and turns around to lead me somewhere.
I lift my hand briefly to tell Wren to stay, and then follow Jonah.
Unlike my house, this one is separated into rooms by a few more walls.
The entrance and hall have doors leading to the living room and bedroom to the right, with the door to the kitchen and bathroom to the left.
I suspect that once the baby gets a little older, Jonah will need some help with another addition.
We go to the kitchen. Jonah stops at the small, cluttered work area under the window and bends down to rummage through a woven box to pull out the chunky, old-school satellite phone.
Before he hands it to me, he pauses, fixing his gaze on me, suddenly turning all firm and serious. “He reeks of pheromones,” he murmurs, brows low. “So do you. Rut pheromones.”
I swallow the unease clawing at my throat.
“I’m sorry. His rut’s close to bein’ over.
He didn’t expect it to come this early. He was supposed to be in the city already.
You don’t have to worry about Dot or anythin’.
Really. We’ll just make a call— Actually, he needs to make a quick call, too,” I add, hoping I’m not pushing the limits of his hospitality, “and then we’ll be out of your hair. Ah! I almost forgot!”
I pull my backpack off my shoulders and unzip it to take out the two bottles of milk and a couple of apples, placing them on the wooden counter next to us.
“Brought this in case you needed more. And as thanks. Figured I was already coming here, so I might as well…”
Jonah stares at me in that unreadable, firm way of his for a moment.
Then he makes some sort of grunt and rubs his eyes while handing me the phone.
“Appreciate you lookin’ out. But I wasn’t worried about Dot.
I was meanin’ that I was worried about you,” he says, his tone a little softer and his gaze darting away with unusual lack of confidence.
“Oh.”
A protective, stereotypical alpha to his core, huh? No matter who the omega in front of him is.
I laugh at the absurdity of it, even though I already know his reaction will be the exact glare he gives me. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. We handled it like adults. Consensually.”
Jonah purses his lips. “Mhm. Good.” He then bends down and plops out a thick, old-looking phone book.
He starts browsing through it. It’s full of taped notes, business cards, and random scribbles.
Finally, he sets his finger next to one of the numbers.
“Andy Johnson. That’s the guy you wanna get in touch with.
Real reliable. Should help you out with the car. ”
Even as I flash him a grateful nod, I have to smirk. Jonah is such a strange man… I can tell that he has a good heart, though. I bet that when he and Dot are alone, he melts into a soft, caring teddy bear who would do anything for her.
I give ‘Johnson & Tyre’ a call. Andy’s pretty busy, unsurprisingly, and the past days’ weather isn’t exactly making it easy to access the mountain, but he promises to be with us by the end of tomorrow.
A part of me purrs, delighted to have Wren for one more day.
When that’s done, I call him in. Jonah stares at him like a guard dog the moment Wren appears in the door to the kitchen, and I barely hold in a chuckle.
“You can call Dex now. You brought the note with her number, right?” Wren digs it out of his pocket in response before nervously glancing in Jonah’s direction. “Cool. We’ll…give you some privacy, hm?” I say, questioningly turning to Jonah.
“Sure,” he grunts and heads out.
Wren seems to appreciate the gesture. I figure that since Dex knows about his issues, the call will most likely be pretty intense. He smiles as I pass, briefly touching my arm. “Thank you,” he whispers, taking the phone from me. “I’ll be quick.”
“Take your time. The tow truck should be in to help with your car tomorrow.”
I close the kitchen door behind us. Jonah isn’t in the hallway when I turn. The door into the bedroom, the furthest one from the entrance, is open, and I hear voices coming from there—Dot’s in particular.
“Russell? Oh. Rus! Come on in.” Her voice lowers.
“I want to thank him for the things he brought,” she says in a hushed tone, probably in response to Jonah.
When I enter, she sits on the bed with the baby in her arms, nursing with a scarf placed over her chest. Jonah stands guard in the corner of the room, close enough to rest his hand on Dot’s shoulder.
I might be an omega, but I’m still a man, and he’s nothing if not intensely protective. To a ridiculous degree, considering he knows women don’t interest me in the slightest.
“I’m so glad to see you, Rus! This storm has felt endless,” she says with a sigh of relief.
Clearly, the cabin fever is catching up to everybody.
“Jonah won’t let us out yet, but hopefully tomorrow.
He’ll most likely shovel half the forest clean by then.
The weather looks so lovely. I pray it lasts! ”
I sit at the end of the bed, smiling at her sweetness. I wouldn’t admit it in front of Wren, but the walk here tired me out a little. Walking in heavy snow and plowing it out of the way isn’t fun. At least Wren was mostly able to just follow the path I made for him.
“The snow would probably be up to your waist if you went out right now. I haven’t seen this much in years. But yeah, the sun feels great after nothin’ but gray skies for so many days.”
“Some sun will do us good,” Dot agrees, rocking the baby gently while she nurses under the cover.
“Thank you for the milk and apples. Jonah said you brought ‘em with you. You really didn’t have to. We still have plenty.” Her eyes dart briefly downward, and the joy in her voice tells me my hunch is correct.
“Everything’s flowing again?”
A smile spreads on her face, even if Jonah frowns slightly next to her. “Yes! Thank the dualis. Your,” she pauses, her gaze softening in a bashful way, “advice…proved very helpful.”
I smirk. “Glad to hear that. As long as the babe has what she needs to be happy, that’s all that matters.”
“I’m nursing without trouble now. There’s no better feeling than knowing she’s being nurtured by a part of me. It’s really so wonderful. Thank you for your help, Rus.”
Feeling a ping of strange, unusual emotion I can’t quite understand, I quickly smile in response to her. Jealousy? I hold my breath, shocked at my own reaction. I don’t ever feel like this. Or imagine experiencing it. But her words, they make me…
“Sorry?” I hear from the hallway. “Um, anyone?”
Jonah tenses, so I jump up on my feet.
“Comin’!” I holler at Wren. “I think he’s done with his call. We better get back to the house. Thanks again for letting us use your phone. I hope the weather stays decent. Come to the store when the roads are safer.”
I leave the room to join up with Wren, who quickly hands Jonah the satellite phone. He still acts distant and short with him, but actually manages to put on a decently friendly expression for a moment. Something akin to a smile, I suppose. Better than nothing.
“Everything okay?” I ask Wren as soon as we step outside. The stark contrast of the toasty indoors and the crisp, fresh air hits me as it fills my lungs.
Wren doesn’t look upset or stressed, only a little tense. “Yeah. She was…freaking out. Mostly angry at me for not checking the weather. Then angry at herself for not checking the weather. But it’s all right. She’s happy I’m safe.”
Good. I’m glad.
“Ready to head back?” I ask.
Wren turns to me, taking the first step off the porch.
“I hope I didn’t make things awkward with your neighbors.
He was sending his pheromones out like a snake spraying venom,” he notes with an amused grimace.
“Not that I blame him. My rut still isn’t over, so I imagine I’m giving off more than I realize.
I could sense his omega’s pheromones, too.
Pretty strongly. I guess we weren’t the only ones spending this isolation entertaining ourselves with the… carnal sort of fun.”
“It ain’t too bad. Not like you can help it,” I say, briefly studying his body as he walks in front of me.
“And don’t worry about Jonah. It’s just how he is.
He was a bit concerned about you takin’ advantage of me, though,” I note, still amused, once we’re walking down the path leading from the house.
Wren sharply turns to me with a shocked grin. “He was?!” I’m glad he finds it funny, too. At least until his face falls. “I…didn’t, right?”
I groan. “Haven’t we gone through this already?”
Wren makes a disgruntled sound, followed by an awkward laugh. “Alright, alright… I take it back.”
“You’re right about one thing—your pheromones are still pretty intense,” I say hesitantly, gaze fixed on my feet. I sense his eyes on me immediately. “Do you still feel it?”
“Sex doesn’t consume my every other thought anymore, if that’s what you’re asking.
The shoveling we did and all this walking have definitely helped to get some energy out of my system, but, uhm…
yeah, the urge is still there,” he says, his voice going gravelly and low at the end. He gulps loudly and clears his throat.
Smiling to myself, I lick my lips. Suddenly, I feel hot in all these layers.
“Since we have another day at least to waste, would you like to…try and, you know…shake things up a bit when we get back?” I say, hearing the tension in my own voice.
When I look up, his wide, intense gaze already waits for me.
We both slow our gait. Wren swallows again before exhaling slowly, the air in front of him clouding white as he does.
“Oh? What did you…have in mind?” His tone is easygoing and innocently curious, but there’s a fire smoldering underneath those words.
“After you knotted me for like the third time, you kept talking about how good my cock would feel inside you,” I say in the most firm voice I can muster, even as my cheeks tingle with heat.
The aura around Wren intensifies. “You remember that,” he mumbles, looking away for a moment with the cutest little flash of embarrassment. “I barely knew what I was saying at that point. I was so—”
“And you said you were with alphas and stuff…”
“You said alphas found you intimidating. Did you top others before?” He continues the conversation cautiously, clearly trying to tamp down his excitement, though his voice keeps going lower and lower, the desire inevitably shining through.
“I used to quite a bit. Yeah.”
Wren stops abruptly, making me do the same. I wonder if I hit some kind of sore spot, but when I see his face, it sends a jolt of pleasure right to my cock. The only way to describe it is…dirty.
There are dirty, filthy things on his mind as he looks at me, his pink tongue licking the corner of his mouth.
“We better hurry,” he says, the lust now audibly pulling at his strings. “And you better think of something we can use as lube.”
Excitement surges through me. If I learned anything while serving, it’s how to be resourceful.
“Don’t you worry. We’ll figure somethin’ out.”