Chapter 8
OLIVER
Had I been drowning myself in work to stop obsessing about Frey? Absolutely. What else was I supposed to do?
My libido was bouncing all over the place, and having to keep one more secret from him didn’t help.
Calvin called to say Laurel Riley had concerts back-to-back in Austria, Switzerland, and Italy and was unavailable until late Monday evening.
Now it was me avoiding Frey because dodging the talk about wicked developers invading Beauville felt a bit too close to lying.
And so, I threw all my time and energy into starting a high school program in Beauville. I needed three key things: a place, funding, and staff. The rest would sort itself out.
Since the learning would be hybrid, there was no need for multiple full-time licensed teachers, but having one would be great.
At the same time, I couldn’t officially recruit until the program was sure to start.
I hoped to avoid the catch-22 by finding someone local with even the slightest interest in pedagogy.
Or a librarian, because a combined space for learning and a library would be a dream come true.
I messaged my Beauville friends, asking if they knew of someone who’d fit the profile. Nobody did, but they all promised to ask around. Sitting in bed at eleven o’clock at night, I compiled the budget and time plan.
Frey was going to think I was a workaholic.
I must have fallen asleep with the laptop on my stomach.
I woke up curled by the headboard, the edge of the computer digging into my temple.
I tapped on the trackpad and winced at the glaring white digits, which told me it was nearly one.
I felt like shit. Aside from the crick in my neck, I was hot all over, sweaty, and my lower back hurt.
Groaning, I put the laptop on the floor—I didn’t have a nightstand yet—and stretched my arms above my head to ease the back pain. Except my stomach cramped up. Had I eaten something bad?
I stumbled into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I used the toilet and took a quick shower. I needed to wake up enough to take stock and decide if I was getting sick or not.
The stomachache disappeared, but the weird tightness in my back remained. What did I expect after falling asleep curled into a pretzel around my computer? I stepped out of the shower and dried myself, then picked up a toothbrush. I’d brush my teeth and go straight back to bed.
As I rinsed the toothbrush, I shifted on my feet, and something smeared between my ass cheeks. Huh? I wriggled my hips experimentally, and more wetness escaped my body. What the hell? I was leaking slick! But I was far from aroused.
I hopped back into the shower and washed my crease. Running my fingers over my hole sent electric pulses through my guts. Confused, I stared at my now-erect cock.
Another cramp hit my insides, but it had nothing to do with an upset stomach. I was starting to feel empty. I’d just washed, but more slick was dripping out of my hole.
Is this… heat?!
Why was I surprised? I’d spent hours in the office with my mate, breathing in his scent. Of course I was going into heat.
Had I ever doubted Frey was my fated? Here was my answer.
My first thought was that I needed to go to him.
But he didn’t know. And I… What would I tell him? How?
And was it really heat? I’d never done this before!
With shaking hands, I dragged old but clean sweats up my legs and fumbled for my phone.
Heat signs, bear shifter omega.
The search results took ages to load. The high-speed internet couldn’t come fast enough, and if anyone ever complained about the dugout again, I’d personally shove their complaint letter down their throat.
The words finally appeared, but the pics were just empty white spaces. I scrolled anyway.
Human first-heat omegas experience a slow buildup, often days before the first heat wave, with changes in their scent and increased libido.
For shifter omegas and shifter mates, the first heat is induced by the mate’s pheromones.
It often comes without any early signs. Symptoms such as excessive slickness, mild aches in the lower back or stomach, and increased body temperature appear mere hours before the first wave.
An unrelenting erection and a feeling of emptiness announce the imminent wave, together with a passionate yearning for one’s mate.
I was yearning, alright. The only clear thought in my head was that I had to go to Frey. I had no idea what to tell him, but I had to be with him.
Clutching the phone in my hand, I slipped into my sneakers.
Seconds later, I jogged down the deserted street and along the road to Frey’s cabin. The longest half mile of my life.
I forbade myself from thinking. I couldn’t. I only had one thing on my mind, and that was getting to Frey as fast as possible. I wasn’t sure if I would throw myself at him and beg him, or if I would yell at him. Maybe both.
Everything would fall into place once I was with him—I was sure of that.
By the time I was nearing his door, my knees were weak and my vision was blurry. Slick smeared between my ass cheeks, and my underbelly felt like a hollow, aching crater. I bent over, trying to catch my breath. Only a few steps, and I’d be with him.
I all but fell against his front door and banged on it with both fists. When I heard no noise from inside, I banged again.
Warmth seeped through my sweats and ran down my inner thighs.
Liquid warmth. Oh Lord . My legs wouldn’t hold me up for much longer.
Around my hips and pelvis, I felt the weakest, as if my very bones were melting.
I’d done my best to ignore what was happening to my private parts as I’d been running, but now…
My inner muscles didn’t work. I couldn’t clench my hole shut. It itched and ached, craving friction in the most primitive way. And my cock and balls were so swollen it hurt.
“Frey!” I smacked my palm against the solid wood.
The door opened, and I lost my balance.
I collapsed against Frey’s chest. His broad, furry, naked chest. I pressed my face against his pec and inhaled.
Earth and forest and blueberries . I gulped down his scent like it was my only life source. But the more I breathed in, the emptier I felt. My loose hole twitched, and my hard cock jerked.
Fuuuck . I dug my nails into his skin and let out a sob.
“Oliver? Christ, Oliver? What’s…”
Then he must have smelled me.
A filthy curse fell from his lips, and his arms locked around me. I gazed up into his stormy face. He’d never looked so handsome. The love I felt for him crashed down on me, and my chest tightened. My voice came out all choked up when I spoke.
“I swear, if you reject me again, I’m going to…”
But he put a hand on my cheek, his thumb just by the corner of my lips, and I forgot what I was going to threaten him with. His wide brown eyes were full of want.
“You’re in heat,” he breathed.
“Duh. Your fault.”
“Oliver…” He brushed his thumb over my lips, and a shudder went through me. Another gush of fluid left my body and soaked my sweats.
“Fucking kiss me already,” I demanded.
Not my finest moment, but Frey listened.
Finally.
He gripped the back of my head, his fingers curling in my hair, and the next second, his mouth collided with mine. I had no idea what I was doing, none, but I opened for him on instinct, and wow, I loved what his taste did to me.
A kiss.
My first kiss. It was wet, dirty, and impeccable. His short beard tickled my cheeks, and his tongue stroked mine, insistent and demanding. I did my best to keep up, but the omega in me just wanted to be taken .
We both made a sound, my desperate moan and his groan clashing and bouncing off the walls.
The door clicked shut as he pressed me against it. I tried to find purchase on his shoulders and arms, to pull myself somehow closer even as we were plastered together. I wanted to climb up his body and merge myself with him in any way possible.
He wore nothing but loose pajama pants, and I felt his cock, hard and huge, against my stomach. Mindless, I rubbed myself against it. I needed that . God, I needed it.
His hands covered the bare skin on my ass, and I cried out. My sweats pooled around my feet. He squeezed my ass cheeks and kneaded them, greedy and possessive, and his fingers brushed so close to where I needed him. I lifted my leg, straining higher.
I was empty. So empty.
“Empty… please…”
Did I say it out loud?
Frey picked me up by my thighs, spreading my legs in the process, and I felt cold air on the slippery skin in my crease. Even inside me. My ass must have been wide open.
He turned, and my back hit a wall.
I needed him in me. I sucked on his tongue, whimpering.
And then…
The pressure in my hole took me by surprise, even as it felt completely natural.
I gasped, staring at him.
His eyebrows were knitted together, and his eyes were black with what looked like fury. But I knew he wasn’t angry. It was the same fierce desire I felt. He adjusted his grip on me, and something on the wall behind me dug into my shoulder blade, but I couldn’t care less.
Nothing mattered but the blunt cockhead widening my hole, finding its way into me.
Frey’s burning gaze never left my face. His nostrils flared, and his lips curled, revealing clenched teeth. Quiet growls reverberated through his chest. He looked wild and dangerous, and my body responded by bathing his cockhead in a flood of slick.
I’d never seen anything more gorgeous than Frey’s features distorted by the passion he felt for me .
He wanted me just as much as I wanted him.
The fullness grew, inching higher up, as my body sank lower. He was thicker than anything I’d ever had in me, but I was so slippery and loose, he glided in with no resistance.
Our gazes locked; Frey slowly lowered my body onto his cock. A blink, a relieved exhale. He licked his lips, then stared at mine.
“Frey.” Did I want to tell him something? “Theodore… Teddy…” I tried the name on my tongue, but then I lost myself in his eyes.