Chapter 6
Arabella
Isnuggle closer to Alec, breathing in his scent and marking him with mine for good measure. I’m a confusing combination of nervous and excited as we wait for the second man to join us. I’m unsure what sort of alpha someone like Alec would be mated to.
Over the last ten minutes or so, during the doctor’s visit and since she slipped out, my head has cleared a little thanks to Alec’s powerful pheromones working their magic on my raging hormones.
I can tell I don’t have much longer before my heat drags me into a desperate state of need, and everything goes black.
I use that little bit of recovered brain power to try and imagine him. To try and picture Nathan, all while attempting not to stress out too much and send myself back into agony.
It’s hard not to worry about if I'll like him or if he’ll like me. The horrible thought that one of our scents could repulse the other keeps resurfacing despite my best efforts. If Alec’s scent is intoxicating, then surely his mate's will be at least pleasant.
I picture a bunch of different faces, body types, and hair, but none of it feels quite right.
Alec is broad, all muscle, with lightly tanned skin.
His hair’s dark and just long enough to run your hands through, curling a little at the ends.
His eyes are a bright blue that stands out against the rest of his features.
He’s a little older than me, maybe in his early thirties, and he’s all alpha in the best of ways.
I strangely find myself appreciating the things I’d normally pick out when flagging a person as probably being an alpha, usually doing my best to avoid getting too close to them. Omega hormones are a delicate system to balance, and alpha pheromones only make that system harder to manage.
Will Nathan have dark hair too? Will he be as broad, or does someone like Alec prefer someone slimmer? He does seem to enjoy having me in his lap. He wasn’t awkward about carrying and manoeuvring my body around either.
I try not to let my thoughts slip over into wondering about other aspects of their relationship, firmly telling myself it’s none of my business how the two alphas satisfy each other.
The alpha who steps into the room somehow proves all my expectations wrong.
He’s about the same height as Alec, I’d guess, and only slightly less broad. His skin is fairly pale, flushed slightly with exertion, like he’d run here. His features are a contrast to his mate’s, with dark blond hair and light brown eyes.
Those eyes immediately land on the pair of us, and I try not to squirm as he stares. I can’t deny there’s an instant attraction, though. He’s so handsome, much like his mate.
I nibble my lip, nervous for that first whiff of his scent.
Please, let us be compatible.
“This is strange, coming in here and finding you already cosy with the omega,” Nathan blurts, and I cringe in response, dropping my gaze to the floor, hoping he doesn’t think I’m trying to steal his mate away.
I should feel ashamed, lounging sprawled out across the body of someone else’s mate like this.
What am I doing?
Maybe coming to the clinic was a bad idea. I should’ve just suffered through it alone. I was being dramatic earlier. Sure, maybe it felt like I was dying, but that’s highly unlikely. It’s rare for a heat to cause that level of stress on a body. I was just overreacting.
I choke on a sob.
I should—
“Shhh. You’re okay, little omega,” Alec soothes, pulling me tighter and pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “He didn’t mean it in a bad way, sweetheart. It’s just not how this would normally happen.”
I don’t want to think about how this would normally happen.
I don’t want to think about the fact that they have obviously done this for other omegas before.
That this arrangement is simply…some kind of job for them, I suppose.
I’m not entirely sure how it all works, like if they’re volunteers or if they’re employed by the clinics somehow.
All I’m really sure of right now is that I want Alec to stay, no matter how selfish or stupid it is of me to want that.
I ignore the approaching steps until they stop right beside us, slowly turning my head to shyly look at the second alpha.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve thought about my words before I spoke, something Alec likes to hound me about,” Nathan says sincerely. “I’m not upset with you at all, beautiful. I just feel awkward coming in here and disturbing you with another unfamiliar alpha when you already look settled.”
“But…but he’s yours, and I’m just...”
“He’ll still be my mate when your heat is over. I don’t think I could get rid of him if I tried, not after eleven years together. He’s stubborn like that.”
“Eleven years?”
He laughs at the incredulousness of my voice. It’s a nice laugh, warm and low. The sound of it makes my stomach flip, but in a good way.
“Yup. Our scents are pretty well mixed at this point, so if you haven’t found anything off-putting about his, hopefully you’ll like mine just fine. Would you like to scent me now, beautiful?”
“Okay,” I agree, forcing myself to sit upright and stop curling into Alec. He rubs my thigh soothingly as Nathan leans down towards me, and I tilt my head to breathe in the scent right at his neck.
As soon as I take it in, it becomes obvious that there’d been another alpha scent all over Alec.
I hadn’t been able to distinguish between them before; there’s a similarity that had left me believing it was one alpha’s pheromones alone.
While the two are similar, there is still a subtle difference.
One of my hands reaches out on instinct, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him closer as I bury my face against the gland on his neck.
He smells as fucking good as Alec does. I didn’t think that was possible. If I thought I could die happy from breathing Alec in, I was wrong. I want to go with both of them wrapped around me. That’s the only way I’ll die satisfied.
Nathan huffs quietly, but it’s clearly the amused kind of huff as he starts running his fingers gently through my hair while scenting me back.
He suddenly pulls back, staring into my eyes for a moment before looking at his mate with wide eyes.
The only reason I don’t immediately panic and assume rejection is the way his pupils have dilated.
“How the hell have you held back?” he practically hisses through his teeth to Alec. “She smells so—”
“Good? Like honey and the best sort of sex?” Alec finishes for him. His hand pauses, tightening on my upper thigh.
“Fucking yes,” Nathan agrees, then buries his face back into my neck again.
My scent explodes around us, filling the air with my need, and a whimper slips free from my throat.
“It’s nice to meet you too, beautiful. What should I call you?
” Nathan asks with a soft chuckle, but his voice has deepened, rough with his own arousal.
“Anything you want,” I manage to murmur breathlessly as I practically try to climb him like a fucking tree. Fuck, I want to make myself into an Arabella sandwich with these two delicious alphas as the bread.
“Bell,” Alec says, answering his mate’s question for me, then presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Fuck, we should get to the nesting room. I want to be covered in your scents. You smell so incredible together.” His grip on my hips tightens, and I nod my agreement.
Thank fuck for pheromones making my impulse control a little less uptight. I would hate to miss out on this experience because I’m emotionally locked down. My past still has a way of creeping in and trying to ruin everything, despite my best efforts.
If I just let go a little longer, then my heat will do the rest.
I might never experience a moment like this again.
“Bell, you are one of the most beautiful omegas I have ever seen, and I would be honoured to share your heat with you and my mate. Would you like that?” Nathan asks, pressing a tender kiss to the nape of my neck, and I nod eagerly.
“Yes, please.”