6. Leo
Chapter 6
I sigh, flipping over for what feels like the hundredth time. We have practice again in the morning, and I should really get a good night's rest. I had shit sleep the night before from partying when we should've just kept it chill after moving into this place.
Reaching for my phone, I check the time. If I fall asleep now, I can still get a solid four hours before we have to be up and at the rink. My gaze drifts to my notifications. A part of me keeps hoping there will be a text there.
Why?
She's just a neighbor, and even if she's an omega, there's no reason for my mind to be this obsessed with her. But from the second I saw her, there's been this pull.
Go outside and see if she's smoking again. Talk to her.
I shut my eyes as my inner alpha growls at me. It's gotten uppity before when I've helped random omegas through a one-off heat. Meaning, we don't plan on bonding, we just help each other get off. It's pretty commonplace. There's always a chance that you'll find a scent-matched omega doing that, but since I presented as an alpha at seventeen, I've yet to meet an omega that comes close.
Now, playing for the NABHL, there's no time for one-off heats. It's not just one night, it's a whole week. And there's no way I can take that kind of time off. Sleeping with betas is okay, but I haven't had the desire to do that in a few years.
I should've gotten laid during the off-season, so I wouldn't be so antsy now. We still have practice during the off-season, but it's not as frequent as it is right now, not while we're getting ready for our first game. There's no chance in hell I'll have time to get laid now.
With a huff, I turn over again and shut my eyes. I lay there for a few seconds, trying to will myself to relax enough to fall asleep.
Go outside.
I growl. "Fuck! Fine." Tossing off my covers, I get up. We have a balcony, but my urge is to go downstairs.
Sliding my feet into slippers, I forego a jacket and make my way to the front door. The second I turn the lock, I wince at how loud it is. Maverick's soft snoring stops as he sits up. "What's going on?"
I stiffen and glance over my shoulder at him. "Just need some fresh air. Go back to sleep, Mav."
"Why are you going out that way? Go out on the balcony."
Continuing to open the door, I shake my head. "I want to go for a walk. Don't worry. I won't be gone long, my mind is just spinning."
Not giving him another chance to talk me out of it or whatever, I head out the door and take the stairs two at a time before I push open the entrance to the building. My alpha feels like it's going to rip out of my skin.
The cold air of late Fall hits me in the face, and I take a deep breath in. Something sweet but also metallic hits my nose, followed by the slight herb and skunk-like scent of weed.
My head whips to the right, and there she is. Instead of sitting on the wall of her patio, she's leaning against it. A joint between her fingers as she stares back at me. Next to her on the wall are two more joints and a lighter.
Something in her violet eyes makes all the hairs stand up all over my body. It's as if I'm staring at her inner omega, and I see it now. How did I ever think she was beta? It's obvious she's an omega.
She tugs at her black turtleneck, and there's a hesitation in her shoulders, but she offers a small wave.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I try to rein in my alpha, which wants to bound over to her and ask her a hundred questions, possibly nuzzling up to her. But logically, I know that can't happen. There's social etiquette. I'm not a caveman.
I approach her. "Evening. May I join you?"
She takes a drag before offering me one of her joints. Was she expecting me? Possibly more than just me, since there's another joint there as well. My heartbeat thunders in my ears, and I step even closer and take it from her.
"Thanks."
She nods.
More sweetness wafts toward me, but the scent of copper pennies slightly covers it up. I want to take in more of the sweetness. Jenson is probably right that she had been using a spray the other night. She smells like she did then, but it's an hour or so old, so it's not as strong as it was last night.
She smiles at me, and there it is again, the flicker of her omega in her eyes. I don't feel like I'm fully dealing with her right now, but I'm not in full control either. "This may sound weird, but I had an intense pull to come out here, and then here you are."
A soft smile curls her lips, and she signs, "I couldn't sleep either. I kept thinking about you." She offers me the lighter, and I feel like I'm grinning like a fool.
"Me? Not Jenson? He's the one that gets the most chicks." I shut my eyes. Why did I say that? Of all the things I could say, why did it have to be that?
I light the joint and take a drag, giving me something to focus on besides being awkward as fuck.
The sweet scent takes on a floral note, like when certain trees blossom in the spring, but I can't put my finger on what kind of tree it is. It's not cherry blossom, I know that much.
I edge a little closer, and that's when it hits me: I never put on my pheromone blocker balm. I should go back upstairs and put it on, or things could get real hairy, real fast with how damn good she smells.
She blows out some smoke and uses a finger in a come-hither motion, using her arms to push herself up on the wall, making herself taller. It's now I notice she's no longer wearing the turtleneck, and her bare neck is exposed, ready for me to press my nose into.
My dick becomes painfully hard in my gray sweatpants, and I can't help but groan. I give in to the impulse and get as close to her as I can; the wall acts as a partial barrier. Leaning down, I nuzzle her scent gland on the right side of her neck, and I swear I buck against the concrete of the wall.
Our omega.
She's here, in front of me. We can stop searching. I can have her forever.
A rooster crows in the background, and I frown as a heavy fuzziness enters my mind.
All at once, I’m yanked out of the dream as my eyes snap open. I’m met by the white wall of my room, and my dick feels like it’s about to explode with how hard it is.
I reach over and shut off my alarm, groaning as I flip onto my back and shove the blanket down enough to get under the band of my sweatpants and free my dick.
Fuck.
I even knotted in my sleep. Sure, I get morning wood like any other guy, but I haven’t knotted in my sleep since I first presented as an Alpha and was still a virgin. How the hell was that just a dream? It felt so real.
Spitting into my palm, I grip my knot, squeezing it hard before moving up to pump my shaft. Her violet eyes, the soft curve of her lips, the delicate line of her neck, and the way she smelled—all of it keeps spinning around in my head.
I reach down with my other hand to cup my balls, then go back to my knot, squeezing it again. I can’t stop imagining her climbing that wall and turning around to present herself, her bare ass and pussy slick and dripping, whining for me to fill her with my cock.
God, how good it would feel to be inside her. I bet she’d wrap around me like a glove, taking my knot all the way, letting me fuck her until she comes hard and begs for more.
A groan slips out, and I bite my lip to stifle it as I come harder and faster than I have in a long time. If she were really here, I’d hold out, but I needed it so bad it hurt.
Cum spills from the tip as my shaft and balls jerk with the force. My back arches off the bed, and all I can think about is how much I wish I could bury myself in her for real.
I keep squeezing my knot until it starts to go down, then grab some tissues from beside the bed to clean up the mess. Normally, I’d jack off in the shower, but there’s no way I’m stepping out of my room with a rager like this. My pack mates would never let me live it down.
Why is the downstairs neighbor affecting me so much? I won't admit it to the others, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. It's been like that since the night before.
Could she be our omega? Or is that just my wishful thinking? I've always thought about having a scent-matched omega, but the odds aren't in our favor for that. If we want to settle down with an omega, it'll likely have to be a non-scent-matched one. That's just how it is for the majority of us who want it but never find it. Settling is the only option.
All cleaned up, I get up and groan. All my muscles are stiff from the kind of dream I had. My body isn't happy that none of that was real. Had my alarm not taken me out of the moment, there's a strong chance I would've woken up in a rut state. I've semi-rutted during my one-off heats, but I don't think I've ever lost myself entirely over to my inner alpha.
The thought of that scares me a little, being that out of control. What if I hurt someone? It's on the news all the time, alphas who lose all control and hurt omegas.
I make a beeline for the bathroom, claiming it before the others. I won't be long, but I need to get clean after that fitful night of sleep.
I can't help but wonder what she's up to right now. Because of that, I turn the water to ice cold. There's no way I can keep thinking about her all day. She'll affect how I perform during practice. I'll just have to hope whatever urge this is goes away. We have a game next week against the Vipers, and my mind should only focus on that for now.