12. Kace
12
KACE
Watching the Omega blossom from timid to passionate with each little kiss we shared? It honestly blew my mind. I didn’t care if Nevin couldn’t reproduce. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I wanted kids. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I wanted a mate, but pups? It’d never really been a pressing factor. I’d have little nieces and nephews running around underfoot before too long, anyhow. That was good enough for me.
Once Nevin realized that I was serious, and that the last thing I expected was for him to somehow “prove himself” by getting pregnant and giving me an heir, it was like a thousand pounds of weight dropped off his delicate shoulders. He became so much lighter, more buoyant. Like he finally felt free to be himself.
Whoever told him that he was worthless? Useless? They deserved to be shot full of silver and left to die a slow and painful death. It pissed me off knowing that Nevin was handed around and used as a broodmare by men he probably hated. Men who only wanted him for one thing.
Was that what he was thinking about, lost in his mind as he paced up and down the narrow hallway, mumbling to himself with his head in his hands? Or was it something else, like the sudden sweetness that clung to his skin like too-ripe fruit? A sweetness that I could smell all the way over here…
I chewed on the inside of my lip as I leaned against the doorjamb in the kitchen, watching Nevin as he wandered up and down, up and down the long hall. He grasped at his hair, tugging and pulling at the silvery-blond curls, until finally I couldn’t handle his dissonance any longer. It was making my chest physically ache to see him all strung out.
“Hey.” Taking a few steps towards him, I reached out and gently grasped Nevin’s arm, tugging him to a stop. He wheeled back with a soft gasp. His nostrils flared and his blue eyes flashed wide as they jerked up to meet mine. Sensing his unease, I immediately let him go, raising my hands in front of me instead, to show that I wasn’t a threat.
“Easy, Nev. It’s okay. Are you alright?” I asked.
“S-Sorry,” he mumbled, rubbing at his temple. “I’m jumpy, I guess.”
And standing this close to him, I knew why—Nevin was coming into heat. I could only imagine all the bad memories that dredged up along with the physical symptoms.
“That’s alright,” I told him. Curling my fingers beneath his chin, I tilted it up so that he was gazing up at me once more. “You know I won’t hurt you, right? I’m here to keep you safe, Nevin. No one’s going to hurt you here. Not this time. I promise.”
His lashes fluttered, but he nodded, ever so slowly. “I… I know. I trust you, Kace, I’m just…” His words petered into a soft whine before he pursed his lips. “Restless, that’s all,” he finally said. I knew that there was far more to it than that, but I left it alone. I didn’t want to poke old wounds, not when he was still so sensitive.
I smiled. “I’m glad you trust me.”
A small smile blipped up one corner of his lips. “Me too. You’re the first Alpha I’ve ever felt safe around. Pretty sad, huh?”
I huffed softly. “Just means that you’ve been around some shitty Alphas in your life. We’ll change that, honey. I promise. Your new life has just begun.”
“Thanks, Kace.” He shuffled his bare feet over the hardwood, then rubbed at the back of his neck. “Um. I think I’m gonna go take a bath and try and unwind a little. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” I told him. “Take all the time you need.”
I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when Nevin scurried off down the hall to seal himself up in the only bathroom this little DIY cottage had to offer. Not because I wanted him to go, but because the saccharine scent of his season was making me almost dizzy—and this was only the beginning. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to survive the next week or so.
Since we shared our first kiss, we’d cuddled and touched and made out, but our hands had never wandered below the belt. Partially because I was afraid of pushing Nevin past what he was comfortable with, but also because I was simply inexperienced.
Nevin was the first person I’d ever kissed. I was still a virgin at twenty-six. Not that there was any shame in that; I’d wanted to save myself for the right guy, and I’d finally found him. My mate. My sweet Omega.
And god, his scent only got sweeter as the day faded into evening. Nevin picked at his dinner, ultimately pushing his plate away half-eaten and claiming his stomach was off. We settled in to watch a movie, but he was a thousand miles away, squirming around the entire time. Meanwhile, my head felt like it’d been tilted on its axis and spun like a basketball. It was such an intoxicating scent, and it was driving my wolf crazy.
So we gave up on the movie and got ready for bed, going through our nightly routine before crawling beneath the sheets. I wrapped my arm around Nevin’s waist to snuggle him closer and he let out a breathy little groan and leaned against me. Still, even in the darkness, he couldn’t seem to get comfortable.
“Nev?” I rubbed my hand over his arm.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
“You don’t have to apologize, honey. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. You need to be able to sleep. I should go sleep on the couch.”
“Nevin, that’s not… You don’t need to sleep on the couch. It’s lumpy as hell. You won’t get any rest.”
“I’m not gonna get any rest anyway,” he said around a sigh of defeat. “I’m burning up, I’m so hot, and ugh, I feel gross. Maybe we shouldn’t sleep together…” The way he said it, it sounded almost like he was worried about what might happen between us if we shared my bed tonight.
I rolled closer to him and cupped his beautiful, fretful face in my hands. “Nev, honey. Relax. I promise you, I’m not going to jump your bones during the night.”
Nevin’s pale skin flushed in the darkness. “Yeah, but I might…” He pulled away from me, kicking out from beneath the covers as he quickly scooted towards the edge of the bed. “I’m going to take a cold shower.” And then sleep on the couch, was what he didn’t say. My chest ached with this strange feeling, like we were on this precipice of something and I needed to make the right decision for us both.
“Would getting off help you settle down?” My voice was quiet, a hush in the silence of night. The darkness of my bedroom stretched around us, but I didn’t miss the sound of Nevin’s breath hitching, or the soft, almost reedy whine that escaped his parted lips.
I had my answer. My Omega needed me.
I took a deep breath. “Come here, honey,” I murmured, reaching out to him. Another soft whimper was followed by the rustling of bedsheets as Nevin crawled back over to me. He plastered himself against me, his body heat radiating off my bare skin. Damn, he really was burning up. “How can I help?”
Nevin squirmed and I could feel his erection through the silken material of his sleep pants, hard and hot and desperate. “I… I need something in my ass. I’m so wet, it’s driving me crazy. W-Will you finger me?” Something in the breathy way the Omega pleaded for it made my cock, which had been an uncomfortable semi since getting in bed, stiffen further.
I bit back my groan. “We’ll work up to it,” I told him. “Kiss me.”