5. Jorge
5
Jorge
Mathew’s hand slowly slides over the front of his suit pants, rubbing up and down before he circles his thumb over the head of his dick, which is sticking out over the waist. I can’t keep my eyes off the movements, my cock straining in my jeans, and from Caleb’s pheromones, he’s also noticed it.
“Mathew?” I raise my voice and his eyes shoot to me, like he only now realises we’re here. “While I love your dick as much as you do, I think we should probably finish breakfast before we move onto other things? That way, we don’t get crumbs in uncomfortable places.” I keep my voice light, but the vacant look in his eyes while he was rubbing himself is worrying me.
He stares down, his cheeks pinking, and quickly puts himself away. “Oh. Sorry. I… Sorry.”
What?!
I expected him to make a joke about spunk being a great source of protein or offering to put some of his ‘cream’ in my coffee. I didn’t expect an apology. I didn’t expect him to look so… lost.
“Are you okay?” I sit up straighter, his actions making me worry even more. He’s not one to get lost in thought like that, or apologise for it. That he does means something is seriously wrong.
Mathew shoots me a glare as he stands up. “Do I look like I’m okay?”
He stalks over to the windows, putting his head against the glass as he stares out over the garden, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. “I’m not pregnant. I’m going into heat again.”
Oh, no.
My heart falters and I get up, walking over to him. “Are you sure?” I reach out, putting my hand on his slumped shoulder, wanting to comfort him but also not knowing how to. Fuck.
We always knew there was a strong chance that he wouldn’t get pregnant the first time, or even at all, but this still hurts. Knowing not to expect something and actually not expecting it are two very different things. Hope is a powerful feeling that’s hard to control.
“I don’t think that’s the case.” Caleb’s voice is low, careful.
Mathew turns to him, glaring, his face a mask of pain. “I might not have strong pheromones, but I know what going into heat feels like. I’m going into heat right now.” His voice is harsh, angry, upset.
“Yes. I do believe you’re going into heat.” Caleb stands up, joining us at the windows, surrounding us with his soothing pheromones. “But I don’t believe that means you’re not pregnant. I think you’re going through a secondary heat.”
“A what?” I eye him, not sure if he’s trying to make us feel better or if this is a real thing.
“A secondary heat.” He wraps an arm around Mathew, pulling him closer.
Mathew looks up at him, disbelieving. “And I’ve never heard of this, why?”
“Because it’s not something that happens very often. A secondary heat can happen when a pregnant Omega meets a new scent match in the first couple of weeks of their pregnancy. So that the new Alpha’s pheromones can support them though the pregnancy, which is only possible with bonded Alphas and Omegas. It’s unusual, but happens.”
Mathew doesn’t seem very reassured as he still frowns deeply. “Why do you think it’s that, something rare and unusual, and not just… And not the most logical and common conclusion?”
Caleb’s eyes soften as he tightens his arm around Mathew, sending out more comforting pheromones. “Because you had no signs of going into heat yesterday morning. For how close to it you are now, you should have had symptoms for at least a couple of days. Also, this is too early for a ‘normal’ heat cycle, it takes longer than two weeks between cycles.”
That makes sense, both of those arguments make sense. It is too soon and it’s also coming on too quickly. But also, the answer is too convenient. It’s a convenient answer to keep us calm and not make us worry.
“Are you sure?” I entwine my fingers with Mathew’s, needing to touch him, needing to feel him.
“Pretty sure. I looked into what would happen if a pregnant Omega meets a new scent match and this was one of the top results. If it happens early on in the pregnancy, the Omega will go through a secondary heat so that the Alpha can claim them and support them through it.”
Right. Because that’s what Caleb does, he looks into things, he tries to stay ahead of any potential issues. He looks after us, protects us, makes sure we’re safe at all times.
It could easily feel like he’s controlling or that he does it because he doesn’t think we’re smart enough to do it ourselves. But with him, it feels like he does it because this is what he’s good at and lets us focus on things that we’re better at.
Mathew’s wisteria scent intensifies and I lean closer to him. His heat has started and I want to get as close to him as possible. It feels different from last time, more intense…
“Is it safe?” An important question. I don’t want to accidentally risk anything bad happening just because Mathew went into heat.
“It should be perfectly safe. The doctor didn’t tell us that we couldn’t have sex, so I don’t see how this would be any different.” Caleb laughs softly. “I’m pretty sure that sex is one of the safer things we’ve gotten up to lately.”
Yeah, I guess he’s right about that.
Mathew takes a deep breath, meeting my gaze as he relaxes more. “I guess I’ve been worrying too much. It’s just…”
“We all worry.” I give him a soft kiss. “This is our first pregnancy and our pack is very new. I think it’s normal to worry in situations like this.” Then I pointedly look at Caleb. “He’s been such a mother hen ever since you two went into heat. I’m pretty sure he’s seen plenty of pregnant Omegas, and he still worries like this.”
Caleb laughs as he gives me a mock-glare. “None of those were the pregnancies of my Omegas. It’s very different when it’s your own mates.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I smile.
Mathew slides from between us, more at ease, no longer so stressed. “I guess I should finish my breakfast, or Vera will start to worry again.” He sits back down behind his desk and looks at his plate.
What was originally scrambled eggs on toast with grilled tomatoes and mushrooms is now an undefinable mess. He’d been picking at it and cutting it and moving it around, but didn’t eat any and now it looks a lot less appealing.
“Do you want me to ask Eli to make you a new plate?” I reach out, almost grabbing it, but Mathew pulls it closer to him, out of my reach.
“No, it’s fine. It won’t taste any worse, it just stopped looking nice.” He jabs his spoon into the mess and shoves it into his mouth, chewing slowly. “See? Still tastes fine.” He grins.
“Good.” I lean to him, drawn in by his scent. “I think I know what I’ll have for a morning snack once you’re done with all of that.”
He laughs, making my heart flutter and making me want to reach out and kiss him silly. His smile turns warm as he glances at the door. “You might want to check on the other two first. If I’m going into heat again, Vera probably is too, and you know what she’s like once the heat hits. She’s going to need to eat something before it happens.”
Oh, right. Vera must be hungry after everything that happened last night and she didn’t eat that much at dinner to begin with.
I look at Caleb, who has returned to his own breakfast. “Should I check on them?”
He lets out a low and mellow laugh. “I don’t know why you’re asking me. They’re as much your mates as mine.”
“I know. It’s just...” When it comes to Vera, I tend to default to checking in with Caleb first. He’s her first Alpha and they’ve been together for years. It feels strange to not defer to him and just do whatever, like I do with Mathew. With Vera, it’s... It’s different.
She’s my Omega, as much as Mathew is, so there’s no real reason for what I do, but I also feel it’s more correct, more polite.
I think we all defer to Caleb in our own ways.
Vera does it because she’s known him the longest and when she’s unsure or not feeling well, she always looks for him first. Mathew does it, probably because Caleb is one of his Alphas but also because he clearly respects the man, Caleb has taken over most of Mathew’s personal security and he feels safe around him. I do because...
I do it because I respect him. And because he’s usually the one who keeps the clearest head. He’s also the one who knows what it’s like to live with a bonded Omega and tends to know the best things to do in situations that are brand new to me.
Also, because he’s fucking scary when he gets angry… If I manage to truly anger him, he could kill me without even blinking and I don’t want to risk that.
“Jorge?” Caleb calls after me. “See if Eli has some of those yogurt squeezy things. If Mathew is this affected, Vera and Riley might not be in any state to leave the nest right now. It would be best if they could eat a full breakfast, but if not, those things are better than nothing.”
Oh, right. Yes. That makes a lot of sense.
“Will do.” I glance at Mathew, who’s chewing away on his breakfast, though the flush on his skin is getting deeper and he seems to be lost in thought again. Luckily, they seem happier than before, if his grin is anything to go by.
Another heat. But this time it’s with three Alphas and two Omegas.
That’s going to be interesting.
I open the door to the kitchen, finding Eli sitting at the back, Derrick at his side, who is intently looking at his tablet, mumbling to himself.
“Hi!” Eli stands up, wiping his hands on a towel. “Do you need a second round? I can fry you up some more eggs, but I’m afraid it will be without tomatoes or mushrooms, I’ve ran out of those and the delivery won’t be in for another hour or two.”
“No. Thanks. Do you have some of those squeezy yogurt things left? The ones we had when Mathew and Vera were in heat?” It was the easiest way to get something in them that was more substantial than cooled fruit and it didn’t make a mess.
“Yeah, sure.” Eli opens one of the large fridges and hands me one. “Anything else?”
“Another one?” I grin.
“You know it’s much easier to just have a bowl of the stuff, right?” He hands me a second one.
“They’re not for me. We think Mathew and Vera have gone into heat again and Vera and Riley haven’t had breakfast yet. They’ve also not been out of the nest yet...” I sigh. “So, ehhh... We might not be needing any meals for the next few days. But things that they can eat while they’re in the nest would be great.”
“I’ll prepare a few things.” Eli smiles. “You go be with your mates.” He pushes me out of the kitchen.
I stare at the two pouches in my hands. This isn’t enough energy for them if Vera is already in heat. But it’s better than nothing.
Right.
Let’s see if Caleb’s prediction is correct.