11. Fen
Never in Fen’s life had he imagined a trip to a Costco would have him fighting for his life…and not in the way poor Deke had. Before they even started shopping, the attendant at the door told Loch his card was expired.
“Why do you even have a Costco card? Are you even thirty? Are you secretly married? You live alone in the middle of the woods.”
“I don’t like your tone,” Loch sniffed, walking to the counter.
The tiny beta behind the counter gave Loch a thorough once-over that had Fen staring daggers before she turned to do whatever she needed to do to make them official. Fen stood, bored, staring longingly at the cafe area where the scent of delicious food beckoned him.
Before he could contemplate slipping away, two flannel-covered arms caged him in, hands braced against the edge of the countertop, Loch’s chest to Fen’s back, his chin resting on Fen’s head. He considered stepping forward to put some distance between them, but then the little bit—beta—was back, her Ariana Grande ponytail swinging like a metronome as she walked.
Fen found himself leaning his weight back against Loch, who took that as an invitation to drop his hands to Fen’s waist, thumbs hooking in his belt loops. When the girl noticed, her face fell, her gaze darting to Fen’s. Whatever his face was doing must have been pretty hair-raising because she dropped the pen in her hand.
Lips pressed against his ear. “Stop terrorizing the teenager.”
“She doesn’t look like any teenager to me,” Fen mumbled.
“Are you jealous, sunshine?” Loch taunted.
Fen rested his head on Loch’s shoulder, placing a tender kiss just beneath his jaw. “Smile at her again and I will punch you in the dick.”
Loch dragged Fen’s hips back, letting him feel that the alpha was half-hard. “Noted.”
Fen didn’t know why he didn’t want Loch smiling at the girl. She was harmless. Just some kid working a part-time job she probably hated to pay for her phone bill, but Fen’s omega didn’t give a shit. He wasn’t usually territorial like this. Not that he’d had much of a chance to be. But…still.
The only logical explanation was that she just…wasn’t one of them. She didn’t belong. Loch was his. His alpha. His pack leader. His. Jesus, he sounded like a lunatic.
“Do you need an extra card, sir? For a mate or spouse or family member?” she asked, batting her lashes at him. She knew Loch wasn’t Fen’s mate. There were no claiming bites. Bitch.
“For my spouse, yes,” Loch said without missing a beat. “Give her your license, sunshine.”
Fen snapped his head around, studying Loch’s utterly indifferent expression. When he realized Fen wasn’t doing what he asked, he nudged him. “Come on, baby. There’s a line.”
Fen fumbled to drag his wallet from his back pocket, handing the girl his license. Loch had to release Fen long enough for her to snap a picture, but the moment she finished, he dragged Fen back into his arms, seemingly having no problem rubbing his dick against Fen’s ass in public. There was no way Loch couldn’t tell it was turning him on.
After what seemed like a century, the girl handed them their cards and sent them on their way. True to his word, Loch then bought Fen a hotdog and fries and even a cherry slurpee. Fen moaned when he took the first bite of his food, realizing how famished he was. He’d skipped breakfast. When he looked up, Loch was staring at him like he was starring in some kind of feeder fetish film.
“Go get something to eat,” Fen demanded, pointing Loch to the counter.
“I’m not hungry,” Loch said, tone pouty.
“Well, you’re freaking me out and I don’t like eating alone. Figure it out.”
Loch gave a long-suffering sigh, then made his way to the counter and bought a slice of pizza, bringing it back to sit across from Fen once more. Fen tried to eat quickly, but each time he glanced up, he would find Loch staring again. When he did, the alpha would duck his head and guiltily take another bite of his pizza, chewing emphatically.
He was an idiot.
But an adorable one.
This whole experience felt surreal, like Fen had slipped into an alternate universe where he was a happily married little trad wife omega doing the weekly shopping with his alpha husband. It was just…odd.
When they finished, standing to go toss their paper plates, Loch caught him from behind once more, this time tipping his face up with one hand to swipe his thumb over something on Fen’s chin.
When Fen frowned, Loch showed him the yellow smear now on the pad of his finger before he sucked it off. “Mustard,” he said, by way of explanation.
Fen flushed. “Was that on my face the whole time?”
“Not the whole time,” Loch teased.
He didn’t let go, his arm an iron bar against Fen’s chest as he force-walked him to the trash cans. He could feel other people’s eyes on them, some smirking, some annoyed, some jealous, some finding them cute. When Fen looked around, they didn’t look any different than any other couple in the store. Maybe they looked less like they wanted to kill each other, but that was about it.
They skipped the buggy for the platform cart. It was essentially just a slab on wheels with a handle on one end. Fen let Loch push as he read off the items, crossing them off the list with his pen.
Their first stop was the water aisle. Fen watched as Loch transferred four large cases onto the cart, muscles bulging, testing the seams on his flannel. Why was that so domestically hot?
Fen followed behind sluggishly, suddenly sleepy now that his belly was full. By aisle three, Loch was teasing Fen. “Come on, slowpoke. I should have fed you after shopping.”
“Too many carbs,” Fen whined, lifting his pink hoodie and rubbing his slightly bloated belly. “I’m so bloated. It’s like a food baby.”
Loch’s pupils blew wide, staring hard at Fen’s abdomen, nostrils flared. Fen’s heart took off like a rocket, beating staccato against his ribs as Loch dragged his gaze slowly upwards. Oh, holy fuck. Fen could read every single dirty thought running through Loch’s brain. He sucked in a breath, tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip, both nervous and hard. He dropped his hoodie back into place but it wasn’t quite long enough to do the job.
Fen looked around nervously. Could others in the store smell how turned on he was? How horny they both were? They’d both donned scent blockers before they’d left the house, but if Loch looked at him like that one more time, there was a very good chance Fen was going to ruin his jeans. He couldn’t get him all wet in the middle of a fucking Costco. Who did that? They’d look like deviants. If Fen got booted out of a Costco for lewd behavior, the others would never let him hear the end of it.
He couldn’t stop the yelp that fell from his lips when he was suddenly lifted off his feet. Before his brain could catch up, he found himself deposited on top of the cases of water, his back pressed to the handle where Loch’s hands now sat.
The cart set in motion before Fen could form any sort of protest. Not that he wanted to. The good part was he could focus on the list; the bad part was that he was totally at Loch’s mercy. All he had to do was lean forward just the slightest bit and he could whisper anything he wanted in Fen’s ear. “That better, sunshine?”
Fen shivered. Fine, two could play at that game. He tilted his head so he could nuzzle against Loch’s neck. “Yes, alpha. Thank you, alpha.”
Loch’s dark chuckle held so much dirty promise. “You’re so asking for it, little one.”
“Begging for it, even,” Fen simpered, darting his tongue out to lick Loch’s nose, then quickly righting himself as an elderly couple turned down the aisle. He wanted to kick Loch when he heard him laugh. The couple looked at them fondly, the elderly woman patting Loch on the arm as they passed.
“What’s next?” Loch asked, voice slightly huskier than before.
God, the chokehold this virtual stranger had on him. Fen would let him dick him down right now. Anywhere Loch wanted. The bathroom, the plastic picnic tables at the front of the store, bent over the desk in front of that bimbo behind the counter. Anywhere.
“Pharmacy,” he said, giving him a big fake smile that made Loch roll his eyes.
Loch steered them towards the large section filled with hygiene supplies, vitamins, supplements, and medications. Fen did his best to ignore the way Loch’s fingertips brushed against him accidentally—on purpose—sending little shocks of heat through him, keeping him suspended in this permanent state of semi-aroused.
He ticked off each item on the list: shampoo, conditioner, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, antibiotic ointment, Band-Aids, ace bandages, ice packs, heat packs?—
“What’s next?” Loch asked.
Fen unfolded the paper to see the bottom of the list, his whole body lighting up. “Condoms,” he managed softly.
“Huh?” Loch asked, leaning into his space close enough to feel the heat of his body on his skin. He forced himself not to rub his cheek against the alpha’s in the middle of the store…again.
“Condoms,” he said slightly louder, voice raw.
The cart jerked to a halt, almost sending Fen flying from his perch. “Oh.”
“Mm,” Fen said, swallowing the lump in his throat. “And that’s not all.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say it, so he just showed Loch the typed list, pointing at the four letter word all in caps. LUBE.
“Oh-kay,” Loch finally said, dragging the word out as they made their way to that aisle.
“Um, which one are we supposed to get?” Fen asked awkwardly. “Since, you know, they’re in bulk? It’s not exactly something I need.”
Fen kept looking around covertly, like they were kids buying this stuff at the drugstore for the first time. An alpha/omega couple in the condom aisle wasn’t that abnormal. Nothing screamed committed relationship like two people buying protection in bulk. But an alpha/omega couple buying lube would turn a few heads. An alpha who bottomed? Gasp. Especially with all the discord in politics these days.
“Silicone-based doesn’t dry out so it doesn’t need to be reapplied as often,” Loch said.
“How do you know that?” Fen heard himself blurt.
Loch grinned. “Because I’m not a virgin?”
“So, have you—I mean, do you…” Fen trailed off. “Never mind.”
“No, ask me. What do you want to know?”
“Do you bottom?” Fen asked, hating himself for even caring.
“I have. Why, sunshine? You want to bend me over?” he teased, not even the slightest bit embarrassed.
“Maybe?” Fen muttered.
“You just let me know when you make up your mind and we’ll talk. But, if what you really wanted to know is, have I fucked other omegas…the answer is no.”
“I—That wasn’t what I was thinking at all,” Fen lied.
“Whatever you say, little one.”
Fen grabbed the silicone-based lube and dropped it at his feet, refusing to look back.
Loch leaned forward to nuzzle at Fen’s scent gland.
“We are in public,” Fen hissed, even as his head tilted to give Loch better access.
“And, in about an hour, we’ll be in private,” Loch countered. “You know, in case you wanted to show me how much you don’t need lube?”
Fen tried not to flush even as he shivered. When had anyone ever flirted this hard with him? Ever? “Stop,” he mouthed, but his smile ruined it.
“Is that a no?” Loch murmured.
“No,” Fen admitted softly.
“Is it a yes?” Loch asked, leaning forward to smack a loud kiss on his cheek.
“No,” Fen said, unable to stop his dopey grin. “It’s a ‘we’ll see.’”
Loch smiled in return. God, he had perfect teeth and those lips…it wasn’t fucking fair. “I can live with that.”
As Loch pushed them along the wide aisles, Fen spiraled, playing every moment they’d spent together on a loop, examining them from every angle. Loch teasing him, touching him, playing husband with such ease, Fen almost believed it. Was any of this real? It felt real. It felt right. Sitting across from Loch, watching him eat greasy pizza, felt like the most natural thing in the world. Him pecking Fen’s cheek, tickling him, taunting him…it was everything Fen had never dared to let himself want.
And that freaked him the fuck out.
Partially, because things never really worked out for Fen. His life had been pretty shit. The only reason he was even with Loch—with any of them—was because some monster had killed Josh. The thought had him sucking in a broken breath, tears springing to his eyes just as they hit the cleaning aisle. Every time Fen thought the grief had finally dulled, it came up out of nowhere like a jump scare, robbing him of breath, making his chest tight.
Once more, Loch’s hand cupped Fen’s chin from behind, tipping his face up. He frowned when he saw Fen’s unshed tears. “Hey, what’s wrong? What happened? Are you hurt? Is your food not agreeing with you? Do you want to go home? Did I say something? Do something?”
Loch’s concern only made him feel worse. He hadn’t done anything. He was perfect. Too fucking perfect.
Fen shook his head, words clotting in his throat, as he tried desperately to keep the tears from falling. This was so stupid. “Josh,” he said, voice cracking.
Loch’s face softened, his lips pressing between Fen’s eyes, both hands on his cheeks, thumbs brushing the tears away when he could no longer hold them back. Fen stared at him upside down, miserable. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Why are you sorry?” Loch asked, kissing his face again. “There’s nothing wrong with you, baby. I know it’s hard. Sometimes, it just hits me out of nowhere, too. I know it’s not the same, but you’re not alone. We all miss him. Do you want to go home?”
Fen glanced down at the list. They only needed a few more items. “No, it’s okay. I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
Fen took a big breath and let it out, forcing the tension from his shoulders, trying and failing to give Loch a reassuring smile as he nodded. Loch kissed him yet again, like he couldn’t stop himself. Forehead, nose, cheeks…lips. None of them lingered, but the sensation did, leaving a tingling sensation in their wake that made heat gather in Fen’s belly.
Thinking about Loch let Josh float back down to the bottom of Fen’s thoughts, not gone but…out of sight. For now. He didn’t want this to stop. One week of being the center of Loch’s attention and he was addicted. Was he insane? Was he using this as some kind of coping mechanism? He didn’t think so, but did anyone?
“You feel it, too, right?” Fen heard himself say, then snapped his mouth shut.
Fen expected Loch to say, “Feel what?” But instead, his hand curled possessively around Fen’s throat, rough fingertips stroking softly in a caress that made Fen’s nipples harden against the fabric of his hoodie. “Of course, I do.”
“Do you…” He let his sentence die. He didn’t even know what he was asking. “It’s crazy, though, right? We don’t even know each other.”
“It doesn’t feel like that matters,” Loch said, echoing his own thoughts.
Fen chewed on his bottom lip, still not looking at him, just leaning into the fingers at his neck. “Why aren’t you more freaked out?”
“Why aren’t you?” Loch countered.
“I…don’t know. Shouldn’t we, like…take things slow?”
They walked a few more feet in silence before Loch said, “A hundred years ago, I would have seen you around the village, waited until Lupercalia, run you down in the woods, then publicly bred and claimed you. Even if we’d never spoken two words to each other.”
Fuck. “You can’t say that stuff in public,” Fen whined, squirming in his makeshift seat, his ass and thighs…damp.
Loch laughed softly, giving Fen’s neck a tiny squeeze, like an apology. “Love at first sight might not be real, but maybe fated mates are? Look at how everything is lining up perfectly for us. Saint and Seth—tell me they’re not made for each other. Ollie and Deke are giggling and carrying on. And Binnie and San? Come on, when those two finally give in, they might take the whole house down with them.” He let his fingers tighten again, causing Fen to bite back a low moan. “And then there’s us. I knew you were mine the second I caught your scent. You knew it, too.”
Fen went still, looking around the near empty aisle. They were surrounded by paper products.
“Are you confessing to me in the toilet paper aisle?” Fen joked weakly, chest so tight he could barely squeeze air into his lungs.
“Yeah. I’ll confess to you in the parking lot, too, if you want. Or the van. Or the kitchen, or in bed with you underneath me while I fuck you ‘til you cry. Choice is yours.”
Heat flooded Fen’s whole system. Yep, his underwear was ruined. “Jesus, Loch.”
Loch leaned forward, his nose behind Fen’s ear, voice a near animalistic rasp as he said, “Just stating facts, sunshine.”
“Loch,” Fen whined softly.
“What’s wrong?” he teased. “I’m holding back. But if you’re already a mess, why bother, right? I can tell you exactly what I’m thinking. I can tell you how I can smell how wet you are for me. That I can’t stop thinking about how you’ll look naked on all fours for me, ass and thighs drenched, begging for my fingers, my tongue, my knot.”
Fen was trembling now. He couldn’t speak. Loch had rendered him mute.
“I want to take you out to the parking lot right now, lie you down in the back of that ugly ass van, and eat you out until you scream.”
The whimper that fell from Fen’s lips was beyond humiliating.
“Would you like that, sunshine? Want my tongue inside you? Want me to eat you out until my face is dripping with your slick while I finger you open?”
Fen swallowed the lump in his throat. Yes. He wanted that. He wanted that so fucking bad. There was no way anyone in this store probably couldn’t smell how fucking much he wanted that. But he couldn’t say a thing. His brain was static, filled with the sounds of his own ragged breaths.
But Loch wasn’t done.
“What’s wrong, little one? In your bedroom, you said you’d give almost anything to know what I was thinking. You even said you wanted to be alone the first time I fucked you. Have you changed your mind?”
“No,” Fen whispered.
“Want me to keep going?” Loch crooned.
“Yes,” Fen gasped, then shook his head. “N-No. No. Not here. Please. I’ve already slicked through my jeans. Also, I’m pretty sure our friends aren’t going to be super excited about me dripping all over their water bottles.”
Loch chuckled. “Oh, that’s not true. I think anyone in our pack would be happy to taste you in any way you allowed.”
Another desperate cry fell from his lips as Fen’s shifted uncomfortably, his dick so hard his zipper was digging into it. “Loch,” he whined. “Stop…”
Loch buried his face in Fen’s scent gland, sucking in his scent with a groan. “Okay, baby. No more.” Fen’s shoulders sagged. “At least until we get home.”
Fen made a beleaguered sound, covering his face with his palms.
After a minute of pulling himself together, Fen couldn’t help but ask, “Would that bother you?”
“What?” Lock said, dropping a huge thing of paper towels at Fen’s feet.
Fen looked around, making sure nobody would hear him. “If…others in the pack—are we a pack?—if they wanted me…that way?”
Loch shook his head. “Not if it didn’t bother you. You’re mine first, of course, but sharing strengthens pack bonds. You know that. Look how close you and Seth are. Have you and San…”
Fen’s cheeks turned pink. “Not…really? Sometimes, he watches. Last time, he got himself off while we did. Normally, Seth and I just make out, sometimes rub off on each other.”
“Fuck, that’s hot,” Loch muttered. Fen smiled at Loch’s desperate tone. “Would it bother you if I fucked other pack members?”
Fen frowned, contemplating it. Would it bother him to see Loch fucking someone else? Knotting someone else? He tried to picture it, Loch dragging Seth down on his knot while he and Fen made out, while one of the others stuffed Fen full of their fingers, their cock... He didn’t feel jealous. Just horny. Not at all like when that girl had looked at Loch. “No. Not as long as you’re mine first, too.”
Loch shrugged. “You’d never have to wonder if you let me claim you. You’d look so fucking hot with my mark right here.” He brushed over Fen’s scent gland.
Fen sucked in a sharp breath. “Jesus, you really are confessing in the toilet paper aisle. A claiming bite is permanent.”
“So is knocking you up,” Loch said like they were discussing dinner plans. “But the second I saw your rounded little belly all bloated from french fries, I wanted to keep you on my knot until it took. So…I’m all in. But if you need some time to get there, it”s fine. We’ve got nothing but time. If this is too much for you right now, we’ll just focus on revenge. I’ll be here whenever you decide you want me.”
That was the problem. Fen wanted him right now. Literally, right now. He would probably let him knot and claim him right there next to the Kleenex and the four-ply if he asked him to. That was the problem.
“I can hear you panicking, sunshine. Just relax. Everything’s fine. Let’s get this shopping done so we can get out of here before you make a mess so big I won’t be able to ignore my instincts anymore.”
“I don’t even know how I’m going to get out of this store now,” he admitted in an embarrassed whisper.
Suddenly, warmth surrounded his shoulders, and a kiss landed on his head once more. “Just wrap this around your waist as you stand. Nobody will know.”
Loch’s flannel. A different flannel than the one Fen stole. The one he slept with at night. He glanced back at Loch, getting a sneak peek at thick biceps and muscular forearms from under the sleeves of his t-shirt. “Won’t you be cold?”
“Don’t worry about me, sunshine. You come first.”
Why did it feel like everything Loch said was now dripping with sexual innuendo?
He needed his people. Seth and San would know what to do or at least what Fen should think. Deke would empathize even if he didn’t quite understand. He took a deep breath and blew it out.
Yeah, okay.
Fen just had to make it home without the sexiest alpha he’d ever seen mounting him publicly in a Costco parking lot. An alpha who wanted to mate him and claim him and breed him. Literally. One who had gotten him so worked up he was having to do the walk of shame out of a place that sold wholesale televisions.
No, he could do this. He had to do this. It wasn’t that hard. Just don’t fuck him.
No problem.
No problem at all.
“Sure you don’t want to take me up on my van offer? Just to take the edge off, sunshine?”
Fuck.