7. Saint
Seth was quiet.
No, not quiet. Silent. Saint hadn’t noticed it right away. After he’d carried his mate upstairs from the nest and helped him get cleaned up, he just assumed he would fall asleep. Now, they were both naked on the bed, Seth sprawled on top, but neither of them were sleeping. They weren’t doing anything at all, really. Saint was combing through Seth’s slightly damp hair and Seth occasionally rubbed his cheek on Saint’s chest, scenting him, but other than that…nothing.
Saint had never been so acutely aware of someone else’s silence the way he was with Seth. The longer it went on, the more Saint’s worries grew. If anyone else in the pack had shared space with him in total silence, Saint would have welcomed it. He found making small talk exhausting. A year of living alone in the desert had made him far less tolerant of pleasantries.
They seemed…unnecessary.
Seth was the only exception. His mate was many things, but quiet wasn’t one of them. He had this habit of thinking out loud, talking himself through everyday tasks. All day long, Saint would hear him muttering to himself as he went about whatever menial task he needed to perform, whether it was laundry duties or trying to decipher an ancient Russian text. His mate was never silent.
When Saint had pointed it out, Seth had grown embarrassed, quickly stuttering out an apology and a promise to do better. It was a silly thing to promise. Saint didn’t want Seth’s silence. Saint had never really had much in the way of patience. He’d always been quick tempered, and his PTSD had only made it worse. But he loved Seth’s voice, loved hearing him break down his logic into bite-size pieces. Saint found Seth infinitely fascinating.
It made perfect sense—divine sense even—that his mate would be someone who always filled the long pockets of silence. If not, their children would grow up in a vacuum. Once Saint had explained all this to Seth, he’d relaxed a bit. But it had taken a few days for him to return to his usual chatty self.
Seth and Wolf both gave heavy sighs in tandem.
Sometimes, Saint wondered if Wolf followed Seth around so much so his mate would always have someone to talk to, so he would be less self-conscious. The two did seem to have their own language, a bond that went beyond words. Saint would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little jealous of the wolf.
For a minute, Saint thought Seth would say something, but then…nothing. He hadn’t said a word in over an hour. The longer it went on, the more it started to feel like a wire pulled taut until breaking the silence seemed dangerous, like it might cause that wire to snap. If he was being honest, the quiet was starting to make his skin crawl.
Everyone had gone their separate ways after the phone call. Fen and Ollie had left together, Loch and Deke in tow, suddenly desperate to make a plan to flip Stirling to their side.
Binnie and San had headed towards Binnie’s room, both looking like they had some unfinished business to handle. Saint hoped it ended with a claiming bite and multiple orgasms because Loch wasn’t going to seal their pack until everyone was settled with their mates.
Another five minutes passed before Saint couldn’t take it anymore.
“You sleepy, little one?” he finally asked.
“No,” Seth said, voice small.
Saint waited for him to continue, but he fell quiet once more. Saint frowned. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”
“Just things,” Seth said vaguely but not smelling particularly distressed.
What could have Seth so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t want to voice them out loud? “You’re making me a little nervous.”
Seth tipped his head up to look at Saint in confusion. “Why?”
Saint gave him a soft smile so he didn’t think he was criticizing him. “You’re never this quiet.”
Seth returned his head to Saint’s chest. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around some things.”
Some things? What things? Was Seth having regrets? About him? About them? About what had happened earlier in the nest? Saint’s heartbeat stuttered at the thought that he may have forced him into something he didn’t need or want. He’d been a virgin when they’d mated and now he was having threesomes…foursomes? An orgy? Maybe it was too much for him.
“Is this about what happened earlier?” Saint asked.
Seth pressed a chaste kiss just below Saint’s nipple. “Be more specific.”
Saint swallowed his worry, forcing himself to ask, “With Loch and Fen…Loch and I…”
Seth scoffed. “Am I upset about having two alphas at once while my best friend watched?”
Saint felt his cock stirring at the casual statement. “Yeah, that.”
Seth giggled. “Hardly. I love being the center of attention.” After a moment, he picked up his head to look up at Saint, worry causing creases between his brows. “Wait. Are you?”
Saint’s heart ached at the uncertainty in his voice. “No, baby. Of course not. It was hot. You were beautiful. So good for us.” Seth settled back down, seemingly mollified by his words. But Saint still didn’t know what was wrong.
“What’s on your mind, little one?”
Seth gave another discontented sigh, then laced his fingers together on Saint’s chest, resting his chin there so he could look up at him. “Do you think Ollie’s really pregnant?”
Saint blinked down at him stupidly. Of all the things he thought might be on his mate’s mind, that one hadn’t occurred to him. Maybe it should have. It probably should have. The claiming bite gave him some intuition when it came to Seth’s feelings but not enough. Not even alpha instincts could combat Saint’s broken brain. He just didn’t pick up on things like he used to. Not since he’d been back, anyway.
“I don’t know,” Saint answered honestly. “He seemed pretty resigned to it, but that’s just how Ollie is. He’ll have a contingency plan and ten backup plans that account for every eventuality. It’s how he calms himself.”
Seth nodded, his chin bumping against his fingers each time. “Yeah.”
“Are you upset about Ollie being pregnant?” Saint asked.
Seth shook his head. “No,” he said with zero conviction behind it.
Saint smiled down at him, booping his nose. “That didn’t sound super convincing. What’s really going on in there?” he asked, tapping Seth’s forehead gently.
“Do you think I’m pregnant?” he asked, blushing to the tips of his ears.
Ah…that was what this was about.
“I don’t know. You wouldn’t be far enough along for your scent to change or for there to be a heartbeat,” he said carefully.
“Do you think it’s possible?”
Saint frowned. “Of course, it’s possible. You were in heat. I think it’s safe to say you were thoroughly bred. You never started your birth control. Obviously, the chances would be better if I had been in rut as well, but it’s still possible.”
Seth let his hands fall to the mattress, rubbing his face against Saint’s chest, scenting him again.
Saint stroked Seth’s round cheek. “Are you going to be sad if Ollie’s pregnant and you’re not?”
Seth shook his head.
Saint wasn’t sure if he meant it or not. He knew Seth wanted a baby. Saint wanted one, too, if he was being honest. If someone had told him he’d want to be a father six months ago, he would have laughed in their face, but it was true. He wanted Seth to have his babies, despite Saint’s fears he’d be a horrible father. At least in a pack, his kids would have others to turn to if Saint was bad at it.
He looked down at Seth. “I can go off the suppressants in a month or so if this one didn’t take. I haven’t been off them in a long time. I’m…a little worried I might hurt you, but we can talk about it with Loch, have a plan in place like Fen did. That would increase our chances since it would likely trigger your heat again.”
He was rambling now, wanting to say whatever it was Seth needed to hear.
“I’m really not upset,” Seth assured him with a sad smile. “Mostly, I’m just worried.”
“Worried?”
Seth nodded. “For Ollie.”
Saint studied Seth’s face. “What do you mean?”
Seth shifted, moving until he could bury his face in Saint’s throat, rubbing his cheek over his scent gland. “What if they find out?” he said, voice muffled, vibrating against Saint’s skin. “About Deke, I mean. What he can do. Do governments really just snatch people up and perform experiments on them? Would they really take Ollie and his baby? Would they take Deke and Loch? All of us?”
“We won’t let that happen,” Saint said.
“How can we be sure?” Seth asked, shaking his head. “He’s going to need medical care. Who can we trust for that? I don’t trust anybody outside of this pack.”
“All we can do is keep moving forward and deal with the problems as they arise. Stressing about what might happen isn’t good for you, baby.”
Seth burrowed deeper against his throat.“If I’m not pregnant, maybe I should just stay that way for a while. If Ollie is having a baby, he’s going to need all the help he can get. He’s putting on a brave front, but I can see how stressed he is. He’d never tell Deke because he knows how guilty he already feels, but Ollie’s scared.”
Saint buried his nose in Seth’s hair, inhaling the scent of apples. “How do you know that?”
“I can just…tell. I can smell it on him. He masks it well, but omegas are just in tune with other omegas. We can smell things alphas can’t. I think it’s a throwback defense mechanism. A way for us to communicate through chemo signals. I just want to be able to take care of him. If I was pregnant, I wouldn’t be able to help as much physically.”
“Help what, little one?” Saint asked, unsure what Seth was getting at.
Seth pulled himself from his hiding spot to look at Saint like he was crazy. “Protect him. We’re all going to have to protect him.”
Saint wrapped his arms around him, then rolled them, pinning Seth beneath him. “You’re so sweet.”
“Yeah?” Seth asked, his fingers tracing over the three scars on Saint’s cheek.
Saint grabbed his wrist, then kissed his fingertips. “The sweetest.”
“Prove it,” Seth whispered.
Saint brushed his lips over his softly. Once, then again. “Your body’s been through a lot today.”
“I’m not asking you to fuck me. Just…touch me…kiss me.”
Saint rumbled low in his chest. “I can do that.”
Seth wrapped his arms around Saint’s neck, then pulled him in, their lips slotting together perfectly. The kiss was wet…messy…perfect.
Seth made a needy little noise that went straight to Saint’s cock, his small hands kneading along Saint’s back, his legs wrapping around his waist. No matter how hard Saint tried to keep it light, to take it slow, it was impossible. He couldn’t kiss Seth and not want. He couldn’t kiss him and not be greedy.
Seth let him lead.
“So good for me. My pretty little mate. I can’t get enough of you,” Saint praised, then knotted his fingers in Seth’s hair, tipping his head so he could deepen their kiss.
His omega immediately melted, mouth opening beneath his easily, letting Saint lick inside.
“Fuck, you’re so perfect.”
Seth whined in response, canting his hips upwards. Saint groaned at the feel of Seth’s hard little cock pressed against his own, unable to stop himself from grinding down.
When Seth whimpered, Saint bit at his lips, panting out, “I want you so badly. All the time. I can’t get enough of you. Your pretty face, your hot little body, they way you whine when I’m on top of you. Fuck, baby. You make me feral.”
“Stop talking like that,” Seth whined, the scent of apples thick in the air. “You’re making me ruin this comforter.”
“Am I making you wet, baby?” Saint teased, kissing over his mating mark. Seth pouted prettily, refusing to answer. “You can’t hide it. I can smell how wet you are for me. I want to taste you.”
Seth’s lids fluttered. “What?”
Saint gripped his jaw, holding his gaze. “I want you to sit on my face. I want to drown in your slick. I want to feel you cum on my tongue.”
Seth’s whole body flushed at Saint’s words. “I-I can’t.”
“You can,” Saint growled. “And you will.”
Seth shivered, his pupils blown wide. His little omega was so predictable. He loved being bossed around in the bedroom. “Is that an order from my alpha?”
Saint bit his chin, his jaw. “Mm, you gonna be a good little omega and obey your alpha?” he teased, biting the shell of Seth’s ear.
Seth gnawed at his bottom lip, like he was contemplating his options. Finally, he said, “Well, if I don’t have any other choice…”
“None at all,” Saint agreed, rolling onto his back. “Come sit on alpha’s face.”
“Oh, my God. Don’t say it like that,” Seth wailed.
Saint chuckled. “Like what? How can I romantically ask you to ride my tongue?”
Seth rolled his eyes, his cheeks pink, but he got to his knees, then hesitated. “Are you sure? I’m like…” He dropped his voice to a near whisper. “Drenched.”
Saint snarled, nostrils flaring as Seth bit back a nervous giggle. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s dangerous to taunt an alpha, sweetheart?”
Seth looked down. His thighs were wet, his little cock red and leaking. “It’s…embarrassing.”
Saint snorted. “It’s hot. Stop stalling and come here.”
Seth made one more noise of protest, then put a leg over so he was hovering above Saint’s face, facing the headboard. Saint turned his head, running his tongue from Seth’s thigh to his balls, the taste of apples exploding on his tongue. “Oh, fuck. Come here, little one.”
He didn’t wait for Seth to comply, just spread him open and tugged him down until his nose pressed against his perineum and his tongue pressed against his rim. Seth’s cry of surprise quickly turned into a low moan.
He could feel the tension in the omega’s thighs, like he was still hovering, afraid Saint might suffocate between his legs. Saint would happily drown there, listening to Seth’s desperate little noises as he passed.
Saint spread him wider, easily working his tongue past his softened entrance, fucking it inside.
Seth cried out, his little hand knotted in Saint’s hair, the other sounding like it hit the headboard. “Oh, my God.”
Saint smiled, working his tongue deeper with each thrust. It didn’t take long before Seth was grinding down on his face, trying to push the muscle deeper inside, his thighs gripping tightly on either side of his head. He bet Seth looked so pretty like this. He could picture him with his head tossed back, lips parted. The thought made him groan, which only made Seth squirm more, which made Saint groan again. They were caught in a feedback loop of pleasure.
“Can I touch myself?” Seth cried, circling his hips, his fingers spasming in Saint’s hair.
Saint pulled away, pressing kisses to his cheeks and around his hole. “Yeah, baby. Make yourself feel good. Just use me. I want to feel it when you cum on my tongue.”
Seth sobbed, then the wet sound of him stroking himself filled the room. Fuck. Saint was met with a fresh flood of apples as he worked his tongue back inside. He was drenched, his whole face covered in his mate’s slick. Saint couldn’t see Seth touching himself, but he could feel the muscle contracting around his tongue.
Saint’s own cock was rock hard, throbbing against his belly, but this wasn’t about him. He could tell how close Seth was to his release by the way his hips moved faster, and he lost any sense of embarrassment, literally grinding himself down on Saint’s face, his whines getting higher and higher.
“Oh. Oh, fuck, alpha. I’m-I’m… nnghhh .” Seth’s sudden babble was the only warning Saint had before he came, his whole body clenching. Saint continued to lick over him until Seth pulled off. He collapsed beside him, then rolled onto his side.
He took one look at Saint then burst out laughing. “Oh, my God,” he said, his face turning bright red. “You’re….” He covered his face with his hands. “That’s so embarrassing.”
Saint grinned, waiting for Seth to drop his hands again before sticking his tongue out and licking around his mouth. He was coated in his mate’s slick and he loved it.
Seth’s gaze dropped to where Saint’s cock was still lying neglected, precum oozing onto his belly. “Can I…help with that?”
Saint shook his head. “You’ve done enough today, baby.”
Seth bit his lip then moved closer, running his tongue over Saint’s cheek, tasting himself there, pulling another groan from Saint, his cock kicking in interest.
“Then can I watch?” he asked.
Saint’s brow went up. “Watch…”
Seth blushed. “Can I watch while you get yourself off…alpha?”
Once more, his cock kicked. “You’re a menace.”
“Is that a yes?” Seth asked, smiling like he’d won the lottery.
“Yes,” Saint managed.
Before he could even guess his next move, Seth scurried down the bed, forcing himself between Saint’s thighs, then hovering on his knees over him. He met his gaze, then opened his mouth, licking over the head of his cock before sticking out his tongue, saliva pooling, then dripping down his shaft.
Saint cursed, his hand wrapping around himself, spreading Seth’s spit before he started to stroke himself slowly. He’d never had anyone just watch him jerk off before.
Seth was breathing heavier than he was, lips parted, tongue caught between his teeth. “You’re so big.”
“Yeah?” he rasped, working himself faster, tightening his grip.
“Mm,” Seth whined. “You feel so good when you’re splitting me open. Feel so full when you fuck me. You get so deep.”
“Fuck, baby. You’re always so tight around me. Your little hole is always milking every drop from me. So greedy.”
Seth keened, squeezing his thighs together like he might get turned on again just from watching Saint. His omega was so pretty. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. He’d never thought he’d have someone as beautiful as Seth.
His hands squeezed Saint’s thighs, raking blunt nails down his skin, making those same needy little sounds like watching him get off was just as sexy as getting off himself.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to make you ride me,” Saint said between gritted teeth. “Gonna make you take it all then watch your little tummy bulge so you can see just how deep you take me.”
“Alpha,” Seth whimpered.
Pleasure shocked through Saint, the coil in his core tightening. He was so close…so close..
Seth caught his gaze. “Come in my mouth, alpha. I want it.”
Christ.
“Fuck, baby,” Saint panted. “Open up?”
Seth did as he was told, sticking his tongue out just as Saint came, his release coating his mate’s lips, tongue and chin. He couldn’t stop the moan that left him, his vision going white as he hit a near euphoric peak, working himself through it until he grew sensitive.
Seth took him in hand, closing his mouth over his now soft cock, sucking him clean until he shivered. When he pulled off with a wet pop, he sat back on his knees, swiping his fingers through the mess on his face, making eye contact as he sucked them clean.
Seth gave him his widest doe eyes. “Did I do good, alpha?” he simpered.
Saint gaped at him, then huffed out a laugh before tackling him and taking him to the mattress, digging his fingers into his ribs while he released peals of laughter. “You’re lethal. Absolutely lethal.”
“Stop. Stop. Stop,” Seth squealed. “I’m gonna pee.”
Saint finally relented, both of them panting and laughing just a little. He gathered the omega into his arms, squishing him beneath him.
“Alpha?”
Saint looked down at him, bracing his forearms on either side of his head. “Yeah, little one?”
“You know I love you, right?”
Saint’s heart did a weird thing, making him catch his breath. He gave a jerky nod, trying not to trip over his own tongue as he said, “I love you, too. More than I ever thought possible.”
Seth beamed at him, like he hadn’t expected that answer. Before Saint could think too much about why, the omega’s phone pinged with a text alert.
Seth frowned, grabbing it and opening it.
“What’s going on?” Saint asked.
Seth wiggled out from under him, grunting as he shoved the alpha off him. He went to the dresser—Saint’s side of the dresser—and began digging through his clothes.
“Omega business,” he said, pulling on Saint’s olive green hoodie and a pair of black sweatpants that pooled around his ankles.
“What does that mean?” Saint pressed.
Seth shoved his feet into his fuzzy ducky slippers. “Ollie needs us.”
“For what?”
Seth stopped and turned to face him, arms crossed. “ Omega. Business. ”
“Okay, fine, have your little omega secrets,” Saint said, shaking his head.
Wolf rose from his bed in the corner and stretched, following Seth to the door. “Hey, where are you going, traitor?”
Saint swore the wolf rolled his eyes at him before following Seth out the door.
What the fuck was omega business, anyway?