Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day Nick Nelson was born, his mother was overjoyed. Not only had she just given birth to a second beautiful and healthy boy, but the secondary sex testing came back to show that her second born was an omega, just like herself. She was no longer outnumbered by alphas in her family. Even though Nicholas was a boy, he would still be her sweet little omega child, whom she could teach all the ways to be a strong and desirable omega to ensure he would have the best pick to find a good and strong alpha to make his mate.

But as the years passed, Nicholas didn’t grow as most omega children would. He wasn’t lean, slight and pretty. Nicholas grew tall, broad and strong. As he entered adolescence and his peers began going into heats and ruts and were working out how to manage their secondary genders, Nicholas did not. Most people had assumed him to be an alpha, just because of his size and athletic prowess. But when Nick didn’t engage in locker room talk about who the fittest and prettiest omegas at the school were, some of his peers became suspicious.

“Are you a beta then, Nick?” Harry Greene, the obnoxious shit, had asked one day out of the blue, in front of the entire rugby team.

“That would be none of your business Harry!” Nick shot back coolly.

“I mean look at you, captain of the rugby team. All the omega girls should be lining up for you, shouldn’t they? But where are they?”

“Come on Harry, leave him alone.”

“Yeah, like Nick said, it’s none of our business. It’s not cool to speculate about people's gender.” Nick’s friends, Christian and Otis, tried to deflect Harry, but neither of them knew the truth either.

Harry ignored their pleas to stop. “I mean, I know you’re not an omega or I’d have smelt you by now. I have the best nose for sniffing out all the boy omegas trying to hide their gender from everyone. The dirty little sluts can’t resist it when I use my pheromones on them.”

“Harry, that’s enough!” Otis warned.

But Nick had already seen red and punched Harry out cold.

That had been just one of the many incidents that led Nick down a path to where he was today, 23 years old, with no real education or direction in life, working a shitty manual labour job for little better than minimum wage.

Things had not changed all that much over the years. People still assumed he was an alpha. He had no desire to date, but there had been the odd girl interested in him here and there. Whenever they had been an omega, they quickly lost interest when they tried to sniff his scent, but couldn’t smell anything to catch their further attention. It wasn’t unheard of for omegas to date betas or even other omegas, but Nick’s physique seemed to attract the shallowest of omegas, who were always bitterly disappointed he wasn’t the breeding stock they had thought him to be.

In case Nick didn’t feel like enough of a freak, being such a large specimen of a man but not an alpha, he didn’t even feel like a true omega. At the ripe age of 23, he should be settling down and talking about pups with a doting alpha, but he was yet to present.

His parents had spared no cost to get him seen by all the best doctors and secondary sex experts. Whilst late bloomers did exist, it was extremely rare for an omega to not have presented by Nick’s age. No one seemed to have the answers. Nick was warned by his specialist doctor, Dr Anderson, to be prepared and careful, as he could be in danger if his first heat hit him unexpectedly. He was advised to stay living at home where his family could protect him, and if he was to find employment, it should be in a primarily omega and beta dominated field.

Of course, Nick ignored this advice. He was sick of living at home. It was awful whenever his arsehole brother was around, as he would tease him relentlessly not only for being an omega, but a broken one at that. His father was cold and distant towards him, and his mother was overbearingly doting and coddled him to no end, never letting him do things for himself.

So, Nick did what he thought was best and moved away to London, to find himself. The warehouse job may have been fairly brainless work, but it was enough money for Nick to afford his independence. The truth was, he felt completely fine. Sure, his secondary sex had never presented itself, but Nick was fine with that. He was young and strong and he kept himself busy. He had made new friends and even found an amateur rugby team to join. Sure, it was far from the dream life he had once imagined for himself, of being the first omega rugby premiership captain, married to a beautiful and fierce alpha who doubled as his personal manager. But he had a life, and his independence.

And if people assumed him to be an alpha, well he didn’t like it. But at least no one was questioning him, as by his age, most people had their heat and rut cycles under control and were using scent blockers that would hide any pheromones. People could live and function in society with little incident; workplaces had mandatory paid heat and rut leave and no one would generally speculate, so as not to get accused of harassment or discrimination.

That being said, Nick was working in an alpha dominated workplace. Sure, there were a few betas amongst them, but the biggest and strongest of them were all alphas. Except for Nick. He wasn’t the broadest or tallest of the group, but he was one of the strongest, if not the strongest, of them all. Here, he didn’t mind so much that everyone assumed him to be an alpha. He just got on with things. It was slightly irritating when his colleagues would try to set him up with their omega friends or siblings; the last thing Nick wanted was to date an omega. He was barely interested in anyone like that, and while he did admire the burly men and powerful women alphas he had come across since living in London, he had not felt any sort of real attraction to anyone.

After many hours of doing online research and taking quizzes about sexuality, Nick had come to the conclusion that he was asexual and theorised that that was the reason as to why his gender had not presented. This theory had been scoffed at by his parents and medical professionals alike. But none of them had any better answers.

However, everything was about to change. Nick’s world was about to be rocked by a tall, and lean but strong, new employee by the name of Charlie Spring.

Nick would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about the new bloke. On more than one occasion, Nick had caught himself staring at the man’s dark curls or lithe arms. He told himself that he was just impressed by the smaller alpha’s strength, despite his lean physique. Nick believed he was being subtle with his looks but apparently, not quite subtle enough.

“What are you looking at, big boy?” Charlie snapped at Nick after placing down a particularly large box.

“Err, nothing, sorry,” Nick stammered.

Charlie scoffed. “Go on, say what you are thinking then. Nick, is it?”

“Yeah, I’m Nick. Sorry what? What am I thinking?”

“The same thing that most alphas like you think. Am I really an alpha? How am I so strong despite having such scrawny arms? Go on, I know you’re thinking it!”

“I, err, no I wasn’t,” Nick murmured, trying to hold back his own bubbling rage at the insinuation. How dare Charlie? He was the one making assumptions about Nick, not the other way around. “That’s not what I was thinking!” Nick finally snapped.

“No?” Charlie raised an eyebrow at him. “Then why were you staring at my arms for so long?”

“What? I wasn’t!”

“You were! You got the hots for me or something, Alpha? Do you like a bit of alpha on alpha action, Nick?” Charlie’s tone was mocking, his eyes full of disdain.

“Fuck off!” Nick retorted harshly. It wasn’t that Nick had a problem with the idea of two alphas together, he was a progressive guy, neither primary or secondary gender similarities or differences in a relationship bothered him. He wasn’t personally interested either way, but had no problem with who others wanted to love. How dare Charlie insinuate that Nick was judging him as a lesser alpha? What, just because he was a bigger guy, he must be some toxic knothead who looks down on smaller male alphas?

Nick felt his face grow hot. The way Charlie was getting under his skin reminded him of how Harry Greene had made him feel back in secondary. But this was different, Charlie didn't judge him for who he was. He was accusing him of being something he was not.

Nick could handle that people assumed he was an alpha. He was used to brushing off comments about it. But the implication that he would judge a smaller alpha or question his secondary gender, when he wasn’t even an alpha himself, set his temper off.

Nick had to stop himself from yelling at Charlie that he was a judgmental cunt and that Nick wasn’t even an alpha in the first place. But he couldn’t well tell Charlie that he was staring because he was impressed by the strength of the alpha’s lean arms a̶n̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶ s̶h̶i̶n̶i̶n̶e̶s̶s̶ o̶f̶ h̶i̶s̶ o̶n̶y̶x̶ c̶u̶r̶l̶s̶. The last thing he needed was being forced to come out and explain his situation to his colleagues. He had moved to London to escape that part of his life, after all. While he had not directly lied about the state of his secondary gender, it was easier to allow people to think he was an alpha than to explain. It was easier to brush off advances from omegas and suggestions of set ups with omegas than it would be to deflect advances from alphas, if any got it in their heads to try it on with him. He knew things would end badly – probably for them – if they did.

Not to mention, he just felt like a freak.

“Yeah well, of course you’d be offended by that, wouldn’t you?” Charlie’s words snapped Nick out of his inward spiralling. He had lost track of what they were talking about. How had he offended Charlie now?

“I…”

“I bet you’re the kind of alpha that thinks only alphas and omegas should pair up, hey?”

“No.. I…”

“Probably think only male alpha and female omegas should pair up also,” Charlie muttered.

“You know nothing about me, Charlie! Nothing!” Nick yelled. His face burned with rage, he felt dizzy and slightly sick to his stomach.

“Yeah, well, I know enough,” Charlie spat out. “I saw how you looked at me, and I know your type! I’ve dealt with alphas like you before.”

Charlie bared his teeth and Nick couldn’t help notice that he had the pointy canines not all alphas had these days. Some said it was a sign of having strong genes; others said it was a sign of being more animalistic and primitive. Neither theory was founded on hard science.

Nick could hear growling, and it took him a moment to realise the sound was coming from himself. This had never happened to him before. He had felt rage and anger before, he had even acted violently on impulse before, but he had never found himself growling at an adversary before, and certainly never without knowing he was doing it.

The thought occurred to him how ridiculous the situation was. Even if he did want to come out as anything but an alpha, no one would believe him with this sort of behaviour. Nick took hold of Charlie by the scruff of his shirt and Charlie raised his hand about to strike a blow, when they were interrupted by a bang, driving their bodies apart in shock.

Nick looked to see where the sound had come from. Someone had dropped a stack of boxes and was swearing and cursing in frustration. Nick and Charlie glanced at each other one last time, utter shock written all over their faces, before rushing over to help their colleague.

“Are you okay?” Nick asked. It was Tao — the only known omega working for the company. He was pacing back and forth in a bout of panic.

“I’m okay. Fuck, I thought I could handle it. I, err, shit, please don’t tell anyone about this, they already think I can’t hack it.”

“Hey, buddy, it's okay. Look, nothing is broken. Here, we can help you,” Nick reassured the omega. He and Charlie set about helping to collect the fallen boxes and move them to where they needed to go. The whole time, Nick pointedly avoided Charlie’s gaze.

After all was sorted, Tao thanked them both profusely.

“It’s really not a big deal.” Charlie’s voice sounded kind and reassuring. Nick couldn’t help feeling a knot forming in his stomach. He is kind to him because he knows he’s an omega. How would he treat me if he knew what I am?

“Yeah, happy to help, mate. Don’t worry about it,” Nick added, giving the omega a firm pat on the back. Nick could have sworn he heard Charlie let out a snort.

Tao looked at Charlie, then back to Nick with a suspicious expression. “What were you two doing in here anyway?”

“What?!” Nick and Charlie both exclaimed at the exact same time.

“Nothing!”

“Working!”

Tao raised his eyebrows and smirked, “Mmmhmm,” he said, before smiling brightly at the pair and bouncing off to collect more boxes.

What was that all about? Nick thought to himself. He had nearly forgotten about his spat with Charlie, when suddenly Charlie spoke, “Well, the rest of these won't move themselves, will they?”

Nick could have sworn Charlie had a hint of a smile. Maybe he was warming to him after seeing Nick treat an omega with such kindness.

They silently finished up the job. Nick was pretty sure he saw Charlie glancing at him a few times with a curious look, but he didn’t want to read too much into it. Eventually, as they set down the final container, which was so large that it demanded both of their efforts, Charlie spoke. “Do you think he’s single?”

“What? Who?” Nick asked in surprise, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Nick realised who Charlie must have been talking about. Oh.

“The omega, you dipshit!” Charlie shot, but his tone was playful.

“Erm, I have no idea,” Nick responded genuinely.

“You seemed pretty friendly with him. Have you ever hit on him before?” Charlie asked with a suspicious look in his eye.

“Hit on him?! No!” Nick was taken aback by the crude accusation. Even if Nick could be interested in someone, he would never hit on someone. Suddenly realisation dawned on him. Charlie wasn’t asking Nick to cast shade on his character, he was sussing out the competition for if he could make a move on Tao.

Why did that feel so much worse?

What was happening to him?

Why was this alpha making Nick feel this way?

“Well, if you’re not interested, maybe I’ll try my luck, hey?” Charlie smirked as he spoke. Nick had a renewed urge to punch the cheeky fucker in the face.

“Do as you like,” Nick spat. “Doesn’t affect me in the slightest,” he added, before turning around to head to his locker and collect his things to leave.

…

Late that night, Nick could not sleep. He was tossing and turning in his bed, utterly consumed by thoughts of his day.

How could Charlie have made such wild accusations without even having spoken to Nick before? Why did he care so much what that arsehole of an alpha thought of him anyway? And why was the thought of Charlie asking Tao out the thing that was bothering him the most?

Nick felt like his skin was being pricked by a thousand needles, as if there was a fire behind his eyelids. His heart was racing and he began to sweat all over.

Was he unwell?

What was happening to him?

He ripped off the sheets from his bed, but that wasn’t enough, his pyjamas were soaked through with sweat and as he began ripping off his top, that’s when he felt it: a trickle.

Surely not! He must just be sweaty down there too.

A gush.

Oh no!

Nick ripped off his pyjama bottoms and as he did so, a trail of slick came with them. Nick looked down, he was soaked through and hard as a rock.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

No!

No, no, no, no, no!

This cannot be happening! Nick silently pleaded to the night.

Why now?

What to do?

Nick took a deep calming breath. It’s okay. At least, he was in his apartment and not at work or rugby or anywhere out in the open, surrounded by alphas. If anything, he should be relieved, right? Perhaps he was normal after all, just very late blooming. Perhaps his body just wasn’t ready until now.

But what had changed?

This isn’t the time to think about that, Nick chastised himself. What was he supposed to do now? Oh right, Dr Anderson had given him his personal number and told him to call as soon as anything like this happened. That he was a "special case” and that he would want to assure Nick was okay, should anything like this happen.

Nick reached for his phone. With slippery, sweaty fingers, he found the doctor’s number and called.

“Nick, is everything alright?” The doctor’s concerned voice came down the line after a couple of rings.

“Doc,” Nick croaked out, the strain in his voice startling himself, “it’s happening, my heat!”

“Are you safe? Where are you, Nick? I’ll be right there!”

Nick assured the doctor that he was safe and home alone, and gave him his address. Dr Anderson told him he would be there in about an hour. As he hung up the call, a new wave of heat and nausea washed over him. As it began to pass, Nick felt the dampness between his legs increase again as a surge of arousal engulfed him. His cock throbbed painfully, begging for release.

I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try, Nick reasoned. That’s what happens during heats, right? Unbearable horniness and lots of wanking or sex with an alpha, if you were lucky enough to get it.

An alpha.

Nick hadn’t thought about what it might feel like to be with an alpha in years. Early in his youth, he had pondered the idea, but as he grew up and his heats never came, Nick spent less and less time considering finding a mate as an option.

But right now, all he could think about was how badly he needed to come. To come hard and fast. He began stripping his cock rapidly, and it felt good, but wasn’t enough. As a fresh wave of slick escaped him, Nick grew curious. He ran his hand back and gathered some of the sticky substance on his fingers. It felt strangely satisfying as it smoothed over his digits. Nick took his hand to his throbbing member again and by god, that felt good. The sweet and sticky fluid assisted his ministrations as he quickly brought himself crashing over the line.

Fuck! That was intense. Nick steadied his breathing and willed the pounding in his chest to do the same. It wasn’t like Nick never wanked, but when he did it was usually out of boredom or to relieve stress and tension and his mind was generally blank when he self pleasured. Whilst Nick’s thoughts had not been entirely coherent as he quickly brought himself off, a single word and a mysterious pair of blue eyes had appeared in his mind.

Alpha, Alpha, Alpha, Alpha.

Shortly after Nick had come, he felt his pulse go back to something resembling normal and his body began to cool down. A wave of shame washed over Nick as he lay in his cooling sticky mess. He looked at the time; the doctor would not be far away, but Nick still had time to clean up. He got up and stripped the bed of its soiled linen and together with his ruined pyjamas, he threw it in a heap in the corner of his room before jumping in the shower and giving himself the fastest, yet most thorough, scrub of his life.

Nick felt much better after that. He was just getting fresh bedding out of the cupboard when there was a knock at the door.

“Thank you for coming, doctor. Sorry it is so late,” Nick immediately said as he let the man in.

“Don’t be silly, Nick. You are a special case, young man and I am happy to help. How are you feeling? You look…” Dr Anderson raised one eyebrow curiously and raised the back of his hand to Nick’s forehead, “...well.”

“I’m actually feeling okay now,” Nick admitted. “I, err, well after I um…” Nick trailed off, feeling his face flush with embarrassment.

“It’s okay, lad, you can say it. Start at the beginning and tell me everything.”

Nick went on to explain that he had not been able to sleep and how he had first felt hot, then nauseous and suddenly very horny. He told the doctor about how he had released slick for the first time and even, although it mortified him to do so, went so far as to share that he had used the slick to assist his release and how he was feeling much better since then.

Dr Anderson listened intently to every single word. He took notes and pulled thinking faces that began to piss Nick off after some time.

“Well doc,” Nick eventually snapped. “Am I in heat or not? Because I feel fine now!”

The doctor looked at him with what Nick suspected was a well practised compassionate expression as part of his bedside manner. “I don’t think so, Nicholas.”

“What? But I had slick and all.”

“What I mean to say is, yes I think your body is getting ready to fully present, but you are not quite there yet.”

Nick frowned thoughtfully. “But, but don’t omegas usually go into full heat the moment they present?”

“Typically, yes. But a slow lead up is not unheard of either. I suspect things might start and stop for a little while before you go into your first full heat. It’s nothing to worry about. But I suggest you head home to your parents so they can protect you and watch over you as things develop. I will be able to visit regularly to check in on you as well and we will run a few tests and see where we go from there. How does that sound, Nicholas?”

“No,” Nick said with reservation.

“No?” The doctor responded with confusion.

“I’m not going home to my parents!” Nick cried out.

“I really think…”

“You don’t understand, doc! My brother is home for the next few weeks. There is no way I can endure this with him around!” Nick pleaded.

“Ah, I see,” Dr Anderson said, taking a moment to think. “I don’t know much about your family situation, but is your mother not an omega?”

“Yeah, she is.”

“Would she not be understanding of your situation? Could she not ask your brother to stay elsewhere?” he suggested softly.

“I, err, possibly. But, my father and my brother run rings around her, and she is unlikely to be able to convince him to stay away if he catches wind of this. He has always made my life hell and he would not want to pass up this new opportunity to ridicule me.”

“Ah, I’m sorry to hear that, Nicholas. I’m afraid I can’t admit you in the clinic unless you are in full heat either. Although, I suspect you would not be particularly willing to spend potentially weeks in there either.”

“Weeks?!” Nick exclaimed. “It's going to take weeks?”

“Possibly longer. There isn’t really any way to know.”

Nick wanted to scream. He felt like such a fool for being in denial of the inevitable for so long. But he was building a life, he liked his independence here in London. He didn’t want to have to give that up because of some stupid biological fuckery.

“Is there not anything else you can do for me, doctor? I really don’t want to leave London right now. Is there no way to maybe… suppress it for a bit? Just until the end of summer and then I can go home once my brother is away again and ride out the inevitable.”

“I’m not sure that would be a good idea, Nicholas.”

“Well can you not, I don’t know, pump me full of hormones to bring this thing on properly?”

“If that was possible, do you not think that would be something that would have been tried some time ago when you never presented?”

Nick let out an exasperated sigh. He would have to resign himself to returning home, David or no David, and he was going to have to endure it.

“I’ll tell you what, my boy,” Dr Anderson suddenly said, just as Nick was losing all hope. “I will give you some strong suppressants. With any luck, they should hold off the impending heat for the time being. Use this time to get your affairs in order, notify your employer of your situation, and they will have to grant you leave when you need it. Talk to your parents, make them understand if you can. There will be a place for you in the clinic when the time comes, or…” The doctor trailed off and scrunched his face up in thought.

“What?” Nick pleaded impatiently.

“Tell me, Nick, do you think anything triggered this periheat of sorts?”

“Triggered it?”

“I was just thinking, well wondering, perhaps there was maybe a young alpha that may have piqued your interest? No? Perhaps someone you may have developed an attraction to? A special frie…”

“NO!” Nick spat, surprising even himself with the volume of his outburst. “I mean, no, there are no alphas like that in my life,” he added quietly.

“Ah, I see, pity,” the doctor conceded.

“Pity?”

“Well, as you may be aware, an alpha’s pheromones can help an omega through their heat.”

“Yes, I am aware,” Nick mumbled.

“And obviously, when of consenting age, the best treatment for heat is sexual activity, in particular knotting…”

“Yes, yes doctor! I don’t need the birds and the bees talk!” Nick interjected.

“I was just theorising that if there was a special alpha in your life at the moment, that perhaps their company might be the best treatment for your situation. A good, strong and compatible alpha’s pheromones could be the kick your body needs to fully present. I’m sure it would be a much more enjoyable treatment to spend a few days with them than if I was to pump you full of suppressants,” Dr Anderson chuckled.

Nick felt a pain in his jaw and realised he had been gritting his teeth. Where did this doctor get off telling him he needed a good shag to sort himself out? That was not going to happen! There was no one, no alpha in his life he would trust with that!

Nick took a deep breath and steadied himself. “That’s not an option right now.”

“Yes, I see, unfortunate though. We really can’t start you on regular blockers until you have had your first heat though, you understand, Nick? But we can do as you asked. I will give you a shot that should suppress the heat for the time being. But like I said, Nick, it will only last a few weeks. Get your ducks in a row, because this heat is coming one way or another and you don’t want to be in the wrong place when it does.”

…

Dr. Anderson gave Nick an injection of a strong suppressant. He also drew some blood for analysis and, to Nick’s horror, took some samples from his soiled sheets. Nick was given a lecture about being careful and calling the doctor as soon as anything happened. He also gave Nick a letter to give to his employer so that his gender-related leave could be approved whenever he should need it.

Lastly the doctor warned Nick to be careful. If this was actually being triggered by an alpha he was in close proximity to, then the suppressant might not be fully effective and Nick might still be forced into heat, especially if the alpha was highly compatible and was feeling an attraction to him as well.

Nick pushed back any doubt he had that this wasn’t to do with an alpha. It was not! It couldn’t possibly be. He didn’t have attractions to anyone. There was no way that arsehole at work was getting to him, well not like that. It was a coincidence that he had heat symptoms after having an argument with the cocky dick of an alpha.

…

Nick managed to sleep after the doctor's visit. Although he had fitful dreams about being chased by a shadow with piercing blue eyes, through a maze of packing boxes. The next morning, he knew he looked like shit, but Nick did his best to make himself presentable and got himself an extra strong coffee on the way to work. He was determined to avoid Charlie as best he could, or if he couldn’t avoid him, stop himself from being drawn into conversation or conflict with the wiry alpha. A̶n̶d̶ d̶e̶f̶i̶n̶i̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ n̶o̶t̶ s̶t̶a̶r̶e̶ a̶t̶ C̶h̶a̶r̶l̶i̶e̶’s̶ a̶r̶m̶s̶ o̶r̶ h̶a̶i̶r̶ o̶r̶ a̶n̶y̶ o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ b̶o̶d̶y̶ p̶a̶r̶t̶s̶.

When Nick arrived at work, he found to his misfortune he had been assigned to work alongside Charlie again. As they were getting ready Nick had an idea. “Hey Tao, do you mind if we swap assignments for today?”

“Why?” The omega raised his eyebrow suspiciously at him.

“I, err, can you just do me this favour, please! I’ll owe you one!”

“I don’t think the boss will like it, so unless you can give me a good reason, then nope,” He popped the ‘p’ and walked off towards his assignment.

Fuck.

Charlie glared at him as they waited for the shipment to arrive. There was quite often a bit of downtime on these kinds of jobs, depending on when the trucks would show up. Nick tried not to notice, he tried not to look, he tried not to let Charlie get to him but he could feel his eyes peering into his soul and Nick felt his mind cloud with rage.

“What?!” Nick finally snapped, turning his face to meet Charlie’s ugly expression.

“You look like shit,” Charlie completely deadpanned.

“Fuck you, you look like shit,” Nick mumbled back.

“No, like you actually look like you're unwell or something! You better not give me a cold.”

“I, I’m not unwell. I just… didn’t sleep much.”

“Aw, poor baby, I feel so bad for you,” Charlie mocked.

That was it! Nick could not stand for this. This fucking bloke had pushed him too far.
“What is your problem with me, Charlie? Hmm? We literally just met. You know nothing about me, at all! You’ve just made all these assumptions about the kind of person I am and you have no basis for it other than the way I look, which is utterly unfair! I’m not what you think I am, Charlie! I…”

“Shh!” Charlie cut off Nick’s rambling, filling Nick with only more rage. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Charlie spoke again. “Do you smell that?”

Oh god. Oh fuck no. Not now! Nick pleaded with the universe. He looked at Charlie as a wave of panic washed over him. Nick could have sworn he saw Charlie’s eyes flash brightly for a second. Before Nick could spiral any further into his panic, they were interrupted by the sound of beeping as the delivery truck began reversing into the warehouse and Nick and Charlie had to move out of its way.

The rest of their shift went by in a haze. Nick and Charlie didn’t speak for the rest of the day. Nick was sure Charlie was staring at him every time his back was turned. Of course he couldn’t complain as he was doing the same. But each time their eyes met, they both quickly averted them and did not utter a word.

At lunch break, Nick was sitting alone, lost in his thoughts when someone appeared across from him and sat down. Nick looked up to find Tao staring at him with a curious expression.

“What?” This guy has some nerve sitting here after not helping me out today.

“Are you a beta, Nick?”

“What?”

“It’s just, I’ve never smelt you.”

“I, err, I have really good blockers,” Nick stammered.

“Hmm.” Tao looked at him suspiciously. “Not sure it works like that, Nick. I can still catch the scent of most alphas, not yours though.”

Nick opened his mouth to say something, he wasn’t sure what exactly, perhaps he was going to tell Tao to fuck off and mind his own business, perhaps he was going to tell him he shouldn’t make assumptions about other people’s gender, but before he could say anything at all Tao got up out of his seat and said, “You know it’s okay.”

“What?” Nick frowned with confusion. “What’s okay?”

“If you like him. Don’t let what others would think get in the way.”

Before Nick could process what Tao had said, let alone respond, Tao was gone.

If I like him? Like who? What could he possibly mean?

An image of blue eyes flashed through Nick’s mind.

Chapter Text

Charlie Spring had always been small for an alpha. He was born six weeks early to beta parents who had a beta daughter, not yet twelve months old when her baby brother was born. Needless to say, finding out the tiny preemie baby boy was in fact an alpha came as a surprise to the Spring family.

Although it was not unheard of for alphas or omegas to pop up in families after many generations, it still came as a shock when there had not been a single alpha, nor omega, in either of the parents’ lines for at least three generations. Jane and Julio Spring loved their little boy all the same and raised him as they would any other child. But in their hearts, they knew Charlie was a special child. Not just because he was an unexpected alpha, but because he was just different in so many ways.

Being a premature baby, he was a little late on many of his physical milestones. The Springs knew not to worry, but at times it was hard not to compare to how their daughter, Tori, was at the same age, and to brush off comments and “advice” from well meaning family and friends. They knew their little boy would get there in his own time.

But while Charlie was taking his time with learning to walk, he was taking in the world around him. Charlie could speak in full sentences and had learned numbers and letters by 18 months old; he could spell his own name and several other words before he turned two.

Charlie was different and special and exceptionally bright. It came as no surprise when he turned out to be left handed, autistic and gay. Of course he was. Everything was different, everything was special.

But as Charlie grew, it became apparent he was going to be a late bloomer when it came to other physical milestones as well. He had always been on the slight side in general, not just for an alpha. Whilst his parents were not large people either, Charlie was often mistaken for an omega amongst his peers, due to his petite stature and angelic features.

While the other alpha kids grew tall and broad and athletic around the time they started presenting, Charlie began catching up in some, but not all ways. When almost all of his year had presented and things started to change socially amongst his peer group, Charlie had eclipsed his father in height. Only Charlie’s closest friends knew his secondary sex status as it was not something people tended to talk about openly until it was inevitable.

Charlie was no longer mistaken for an omega. Most of his peers seemed to believe he was a beta, and he did nothing to quash these theories. Charlie tried to fly under the radar during his secondary school years, but a series of events that lead to Charlie being outed for being gay and relentlessly bullied by other alpha kids gave Charlie a fairly jaded view of alphas in general.

Finishing school with top marks, Charlie set off to London to study at UCL. His parents did their best to support him, but Charlie would also need a part time job. He was not a people person, so working in a coffee shop or any sort of retail or hospitality gig was likely to do his head in. What he really wanted was a job where he could switch off and not have to interact with people so much. When he saw the job advertising for strong fit young people to work moving goods in and out of warehouses, he figured that would be perfect. Of course Charlie didn’t factor in the fact that he would be working with exactly the kind of knothead alphas that he detested.

So here he was, working alongside the worst kind of alpha jock, Nick Nelson. Charlie could tell right away what kind of person Nick was. There was no way a guy built like that didn’t play rugby. Charlie knew he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but Nick reminded him so much of a boy from his past that he simply couldn’t stop that from clouding his judgement.

…

Charlie couldn’t help noticing how awful Nick looked that day. His normally b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶i̶f̶u̶l̶ peach complexion was more grey, and his w̶a̶r̶m̶ h̶o̶n̶e̶y̶-̶b̶r̶o̶w̶n̶ eyes were rimmed red. Charlie reluctantly found himself feeling sorry for the bloke. Perhaps he should try to be a little more friendly this time, seeing how they were apparently destined to be partnered up on assignments.

That’s when he heard Nick pleading with the omega to swap placements with him. The shit! Well fine then, if Nick didn’t want to work with him, Charlie wasn’t going to make any effort to be amicable either.

Charlie found himself staring Nick down as they waited for their shipment of goods to arrive. Nick was clearly trying to avert his gaze but eventually burst out with a “What?!” taking Charlie by surprise.

Charlie quickly recovered to respond coolly, “You look like shit.”

“Fuck you, you look like shit,” Nick mumbled back childishly.

“No, like you actually look like you're unwell or something! You better not give me a cold.”

“I, I’m not unwell. I just… didn’t sleep much.”

Charlie wondered what kept the big boy up at night. Was he shagging some pretty young omega girl? Charlie wondered why his thoughts went there, a̶n̶d̶ w̶h̶y̶ t̶h̶e̶ i̶d̶e̶a̶ b̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶d̶ h̶i̶m̶ s̶o̶ m̶u̶c̶h̶.

“Aw, poor baby, I feel so bad for you,” Charlie couldn’t hide the bitterness in his tone.

Charlie watched as Nick’s face turned red, “What is your problem with me, Charlie? Hmm? We literally just met. You know nothing about me, at all! You’ve just made all these assumptions about the kind of person I am, and you have no basis for it other than the way I look, which is utterly unfair! I’m not what you think I am, Charlie! I…”

Nick rambled on in an utter rage. Charlie was starting to wonder if he had pushed too much. He didn’t want things to come to blows, and potentially lose his new job just because he couldn’t keep his alpha temper under control around complete dickhead alphas like Nick. As Charlie opened his mouth to say something to try and defuse the situation, he was suddenly distracted by a hint of something sweet in the air. A light, yet distinct scent of green apples and honey. If Charlie wasn’t mistaken, there was an omega somewhere nearby. An unmated omega without working scent blockers.

Charlie shushed Nick who stopped raging immediately. “Do you smell that?” he asked. Surely Nick must be able to.

Wherever the omega was, they clearly made themself scarce as the delivery trucks arrived, and the scent was gone.

…

For the rest of their shift both men worked silently. Charlie nearly brought up the scent he had caught a whiff of with Nick a few times, but he wasn’t entirely sure why. Perhaps just to confirm he hadn’t imagined it. Was there someone lurking about? He had wondered if Tao had been nearby at the time. But Charlie was sure he heard that Tao was assigned to one of the sheds on the far side of the property, and Charlie had never caught even a hint of his scent before.

As their shift came to an end for the day, Charlie was pulled into the site manager Mr. Lange’s office. “Seems like you’re settling in quite well then ,Charlie.”

“Ah yeah, I’d say so sir,” Charlie answered, trying to keep the doubt from his voice.

“And none of the other fellas are giving you a hard time? I know you’ve proven you’re a capable strong lad, but I also know how young alpha men can be.”

“No, everyone has been… great,” Charlie responded weakly, trying not to grit his teeth as his mind drifted to a particular alpha that had gotten under his skin.

Mr. Lange didn’t seem to notice Charlie’s lack of enthusiasm, or if he did notice, he didn’t care. “Well that’s good, lad. My door is always open, any questions or concerns feel free to come ask.”

“Thanks boss, will do,” Charlie responded compliantly, hoping he would be able to get away quickly and catch the next train home. As Charlie opened the office door and went to exit the room, the same sweet scent from earlier hit him hard across the face.

Charlie turned back to look at Mr. Lange, and without thinking it through, asked, “How many omegas work here?”

Mr. Lange's eyes went wide, “Now young man, is that really an appropriate question? Not everyone is as open about their secondary status as young alphas such as yourself tend to be. Any omegas under our employment have the right to…”

“Yes, sorry sir, I wasn’t, err. Just sorry. I have to go!” Charlie rushed off before Mr. Lange could say another word.

Charlie circled around the main building trying to catch the scent again.

Why am I doing this?

Charlie questioned himself, knowing full well that following an omega releasing their pheromones could lead him and them into a dangerous situation. But there was something about the scent that was like nothing he had ever experienced. Sure, an unmated omega in heat was like catnip to unmated alphas, but most people were medicated well enough to control themselves as long as they weren’t in direct contact. Charlie had never had any problems controlling his urges outside of his ruts before. Even when his ex had been in heat, Charlie had been able to keep a level enough head to ensure both of their safety.

Charlie thought he had caught a little trace of the scent as he rounded the corner to the locker area, but then it was gone. No one appeared to still be around, how long had he been wandering around the building? So much for catching the earlier train.

Charlie headed to his locker and packed his bag before throwing it on his back to head off for the station. Just as he was about to leave, he heard a little sobbing sound coming from the bathroom.

He could just leave, right? Charlie deliberated. Someone was crying. Was it really his problem? He was new on the job, did he really want to have to deal with some losers' personal problems?

Charlie chastised himself for thinking that way. He wasn’t a bad person. If kind strangers had never helped him… well he didn’t want to think about that right now. Giving up on any hope of getting home before sunset, Charlie pushed the door of the bathroom open and was once again struck by the strongest, headiest, most intoxicating aroma he had smelt in his entire life.

Green apples, honey and cinnamon.

Chapter Text

“Fuck! Shit! Why now?” Nick cried. What was he supposed to do now? How could he possibly get home safely? His pheromones were out of control and he could feel slick leaking through his pants. Not to mention he was hard as a rock.

Call the doctor, he’ll know what to do.

Nick fumbled to find his phone in his jacket pocket. It slipped out of his sweaty hands and fell into the toilet. Fuck! Why?

Nick fished his phone out of the loo. Luckily it was a somewhat waterproof model, but Nick still couldn’t get the screen to turn on with his wet hands. He had used all the toilet paper on the roll so he decided to open the stall and find some more paper, or possibly a hand towel.

Nick took a moment to look at himself in the bathroom mirror. His pupils were like saucers and his face was flushed crimson. He washed his hands and splashed water on his face, willing his body to calm down. With fresh hands, Nick wiped his phone with a paper towel and unlocked his phone, brought up the doctor's number, and pressed dial.

The phone rang out.

He tried again.

Still no answer.

“Fuck!” Nick sobbed. Why didn’t he have a back up plan? Nick brought up a web browser to try and find the number of the doctor’s practice. Just as he started typing in the name, he was hit with an overwhelming cramping sensation in his stomach. He fell to the floor, holding himself tightly and sobbing as it was all he could do in that moment.

…

Nick wasn’t sure what had happened next. He must have passed out. When he woke, the pain was gone and he felt something soft under his head. His body was still on the hard bathroom floor, but he felt calm and peaceful for some reason, and that smell…

What was that smell?

Cucumber, lemon and fresh mint.

Nick was suddenly aware of someone stroking his hair. He managed to slowly open his eyes and looked up to see who was comforting him. His vision was still blurry, and all Nick could make out were a pair of bright blue eyes.

“Alpha,” Nick muttered weakly.

“Shh, you are safe,” a soft voice responded.

Nick couldn’t keep his eyes open, and he slipped back into unconsciousness.

Suddenly, he was being shaken awake.

“Nick, Nick! You need to wake up!” A voice urged him. “You need to talk to me! You’re going into heat! Is there someone I can call?”

Still disoriented, Nick responded, “The doc, he didn’t pick up.”

“Oh-kay,” the voice responded, “Is there anyone else? Do you have an alpha I can call?”

With those words, Nick came to completely. He sat up abruptly and looked at the man sitting on the bathroom floor beside him. The man that had just been cradling his head. The man who had been stroking his hair gently. The ALPHA who had been releasing calming pheromones that made him feel safe and cared for.

The alpha… with bright blue eyes.

“Charlie?” Nick stammered.

“Nick.” Charlie rolled his eyes and huffed.

“I… I…” Nick stammered.

“You’re a bloody idiot, that’s what!” Charlie snapped, the lemon in his scent turning bitter in the air.

“Fuck you!” Nick snapped, noting his own aroma sour, and Charlie’s nose wrinkle in disgust, “It’s not like I meant for this to happen.”

“Well, I should bloody well hope not!” Charlie scoffed, “How did this happen? Surely an omega at your age would have their cycle under control by now.”

“I…” Nick hesitated. No, fuck him. Nick didn’t owe the arrogant arse an explanation. “That’s none of your fucking business!” he spat out instead.

“Fine! I was only trying to help!” Charlie retorted.

Nick went to bite back but stopped himself. Despite Charlie’s chastising, he had helped calm him and the intense cramping in his abdomen had ceased. His inner omega cried for him to submit to the alpha but Nick refused to listen.

They sat uncomfortably on the floor, just staring one another down for an extended moment. Nick noticed Charlie’s eyes shifting back to their usual dull colouring. Charlie shook his head and let out a long sigh.

“Look, you need to get out of here. I can’t stay with you any longer. You sure there is no one I can call?”

Nick shook his head. He was truly fucked. Even if he was able to get hold of the doctor, who knows how long it would take him to get there. He could feel tears pricking at the corner of his eyes and his heart rate starting to quicken.

“Hey, stop that,” Charlie said in a soft voice as Nick felt a wave of calmness wash over him because of a soothing freshness in the air. Charlie took a deep breath and let out a long exhale. He glanced around the bathroom as if he was searching for something, before he gazed back at Nick and shook his head. “Okay, look,” he started with a hint of reservation in his voice, “I can do something to help you, but you’re probably not going to like it.”

What? Was he offering to… surely not. No fucking way!

Nick could feel his pulse begin to race again.

“No, not that!” Charlie shot back, rolling his eyes with disdain. “But so sorry the idea repulses you so much!”

“I… err, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine. You’re not my type either, big boy. I’m not offering to fuck you anyway, so get that idea out of your tiny little brain.”

“Then what?” Nick barked.

Charlie rolled his eyes, hesitating before he finally responded, “I can mark you, with my scent.”

“What?!”

“It would just be temporary, but you should be able to get home without any unwanted advances. No alpha in their right mind will attempt anything with my scent on you. You might want to avoid crowds as much as you can on your commute though.”

“How can I? I have two trains to catch!”

“Well that’s going to be fun for you, isn’t it?”

“Can’t you…” Nick trailed off.

“No!” Charlie practically yelled.

Nick's heart sank.

“No, you don’t understand Nick. It’s going to take all my self control to mark you without... I can’t help you home. I am sorry, but the answer is no.”

“Okay,” Nick conceded. He was still disappointed, but Charlie was already offering to help more than he would have ever imagined.

“Okay.” Charlie stood up and walked over to the basin and ran the tap, splashing water on his face and neck. He turned around to look at Nick, who hauled himself up with a wobble. Charlie rolled his eyes and turned away again. Speaking with his back still turned to Nick he said, “Go clean yourself up as best you can, here.” Charlie took out a wad of paper towel from the holder and handed it to Nick. “It won't be comfortable but you don’t want to leak all over the train.”

Nick winced but accepted the paper towel and locked himself in one of the loo cubicles to sort himself out the best he could. When he opened the door, Charlie was pacing around the room. He looked up at Nick, his eyes were a pale grey and looked fraught with uncertainty.

“Okay, this is what’s going to happen. You are going to stand right there until I finish explaining, then you are going to do exactly as I say when I say “go”, alright?”

Nick nodded.

“I’m going to need verbal confirmation, Omega!”

Charlie’s tone turned commanding and his eyes flashed blue. Nick felt his knees buckle slightly, before he was compelled to respond, “Yes, Alpha.”

“Good. Now in a moment, you are going to move over there.” Charlie pointed to the side of the exit where the door handle was. “Then I will approach. You will lean your head back like this.” Charlie demonstrated, stretching his neck up and leaning his head slightly to the side. “I will come towards you, you will stay perfectly still as I mark you. Then I will step away and you will exit the bathroom. You must walk swiftly, but not run out of the building. Do you understand?”

“Yes…” Nick stammered, “Alpha,” he felt begrudgingly compelled to add. “Stop using your Alpha powers on me!” Nick added angrily.

“I’m not meaning to, Nick! Now shut the fuck up so we can both get out of here, you stupid lump of an omega!” Charlie’s angry voice echoed off the bathroom walls, making Nick want to crumble and submit. He wasn’t going to let Charlie know that though.

Nick grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder and looked at Charlie with utter contempt as he waited for him to say go.

“One last thing, Ome… Nick, you will be compelled to touch me, to beg for me to… well you you know. You need to resist! I am not fucking you here in this bathroom.”

Nick’s jaw hit the floor. This cocky fucking alpha thinks he’s got that sort of power over his senses, does he? Utter bullshit. Nick doesn’t want him, he doesn’t want anyone. Nick felt his body utterly betray him as a fresh wave of slick escaped him, soaking the wad of paper towel and rendering it near useless.

Charlie tutted and rolled his eyes. “You need to get a hold of yourself, Omega.”

“Stop calling me that then!”

“Go fix yourself up again, then head straight for the position when you exit the cubicle. Let’s get this fucking over with!”

Nick wanted to say something snarky back, but Charlie was right. They needed to get out of there. It was getting dark and he needed to get home. At least he would be safe in his apartment.

Nick grabbed some more paper towels, cleaned himself up as much as he could, lined his soaked briefs with a handful more and pulled his trousers up. He slung his bag over his back again, took a deep breath and willed his erection to go away, before opening the cubicle door and swiftly positioning himself by the door as Charlie asked.

Nick closed his eyes tightly as he heard Charlie approach.

Chapter Text

Charlie was really about to do this. This fucking ridiculous omega. Sure, a part of Charlie felt bad for assuming Nick was an alpha, and for being such a cunt to him about it. But he had never heard of an omega being so, well, big. Charlie shoved his regret to one side. He could analyse those feelings later, and give himself a hard time about being someone who should know better than to make assumptions then.

Right now Charlie had to help this poor idiot. He could not live with himself if he let an omega fend for themself in such a vulnerable state. It wasn’t going to be easy though. Charlie knew as soon as he made contact he would have to fight his own urges to take the omega right then and there. Perhaps Nick being such a big strong man would help, assuming he was able to resist his own urges. Perhaps it might prove to be more of a problem if he could not though.

Okay, in and out. Mark him, don’t let him mark you, then shove him out the door. You can do this, Alpha. Charlie mentally prepared himself the best he could.

As soon as his mouth made contact with the omega’s neck, Charlie lost all sense of where he was or what he was supposed to be doing. Nick smelt and tasted like the most delicious apple pie he had ever tasted and Charlie wanted to utterly devour him.

Charlie licked and sucked and nibbled at Nick’s scent gland, embedding his own scent into it, efficiently doing the job he set out to do - and then some. A tiny moan escaped Nick’s mouth, shaking Charlie from his haze.

This needs to stop! He needs to leave before I lose control.

Charlie pulled back, giving Nick his chance to leave. Nick gasped at the lack of contact. Charlie tried to look away, he tried to say leave, instead his gaze fell upon the soft brown eyes with blown out pupils, then down to the pink, plump lips that were wet with saliva.

The two men crashed into each other, their lips meeting in a messy passionate kiss as their arms wrapped around one another’s bodies. Charlie could feel Nick’s hard cock press into his hip as he pressed his own into Nick's thick thigh.

No, this has to stop.

Not here.

Not now!

Charlie managed to extract his hands from Nick’s back, he then pushed Nick’s broad chest back to break their kiss. It took all his strength to say the words, “Stop! No more! You have to go!” but as soon as the words had left his mouth it was back on Nick’s neck, biting and marking the other side of it.

Nick burrowed into Charlie’s neck and began lapping at his scent gland. They were goners, they were utterly fucked in every sense of the word. Charlie felt himself growing painfully hard against Nick’s leg. By god he wanted to get this omega on all fours like there was no tomorrow.

No!

Stop!

The voice of reason was drowning in the sweetest of sticky honey.

Suddenly everything stopped, and Charlie felt a sharp blow to the side of his face.

What was happening? Another blow to the same spot and Charlie staggering back. Was Nick punching him?

The voice of reason screamed this was his chance to let the omega go, but it was once again drowned out - this time by a torrent of rage.

Charlie growled and bared his teeth, he took hold of Nick by the front of his shirt and raised his own fist.

Charlie’s mind was torn in three directions: primal rage and lust were the dominant forces battling it out, as the tiny voice of reason shouted from the side lines to let the omega leave.

Before Charlie could act, he was on the floor in sickening pain.

Nick had kicked him, hard to his manhood. The door slammed as the omega ran out into the main building.

Charlie was in agony, he wanted to scream, be sick or curl up into a ball on the floor and cry. But his rage and his primal hunting instincts took over as the rush of adrenaline entered his system. He leapt to his feet to begin his pursuit.

“I told you not to run!” he bellowed out into the empty building.

With the taste of Nick’s pheromones still lingering on his tongue, Charlie followed his nose through the building.

This is stupid, what are you doing? The tiny voice called from the back of his mind.

What was he going to do if he caught Nick? A part of his stupid alpha brain still saw Nick as another alpha, as a rival. Nick’s act of violence had provoked Charlie’s sense of threat. But the smell in the air, and the taste lingering on his lips, told him a different story. Not to mention the still semi-hard cock in his pants backed up this argument.

However, the scent on the air began to change, the apple no longer sweet but sour, the cinnamon note became strong and spicy, making Charlie’s eyes water and sting.

Nick was frightened.

Charlie stopped still.

A torrent of shame and regret washed over him. What have I done?

You tried to help, came the voice of reason. Charlie let himself crumple to the dark hallway floor. He held his knees against his chest and rooted himself to the ground for as long as it would take until he was sure Nick was long gone.

…

Charlie’s commute home went by in a haze. It wasn’t until he was alone in his apartment that he was able to allow himself to process what had happened. Charlie wondered if it had all been a crazy, messed up dream. How could Nick be an omega? It was almost laughable that a man as strong and built as Nick could be anything but an alpha.

But then who was Charlie to judge? He knew full well that assumptions could be wrong. If it wasn’t for testing at birth, no one would have predicted the skinny kid he was would grow up to become an alpha. Charlie knew he was different, he’d always been different, but tonight, he had behaved like the most primitive of alphas.

Charlie felt too wound up to eat or sleep. His head ached where Nick punched him, and his stomach churned with dread and guilt. Charlie paced around his tiny apartment as different emotions cycled through him. Shame, rage, lust, despair, Charlie willed his mind to stop racing, but thoughts of Nick and the events of the evening ran through his mind on repeat.

He had to do something to settle himself. He decided the best course of action was to have a shower, then a cup of tea and maybe, he would feel up to eating after that. He turned the shower tap on and started to remove his clothing, but as soon as he lifted his shirt and the collar moved up over his face Charlie was overcome.

The scent of Nick was on his shirt. Charlie groaned with want and need as he grabbed the shirt and held it to his face. There it was. The most delicious smell he had ever encountered, preserved on his own piece of clothing. Luckily having enough brainpower left to first turn the shower off, Charlie headed back to his bedroom and stripped off what was remaining of his clothing before diving onto his bed, clutching the shirt tightly in his fist.

Charlie inhaled the delightful scent as he worked his cock over and over. Completely consumed by his lust, Charlie came over and over until he fell asleep naked atop his bed in his own mess, his only covering the shirt over his head.

…

When Charlie woke, cold and sticky in the middle of the night, he was disoriented and confused. He had been dreaming about working in a bakery with a kindly old lady who had a golden retriever puppy. Such a bizarre and wholesome dream to be rudely woken from by his rumbling stomach and uncomfortable body.

Before he could overthink his situation, Charlie went straight to the bathroom and ran the shower. He felt so awful. Trying to keep his mind clear, he cleaned his body and washed his hair as quickly as he could. His curls would be a disaster, but it wasn't like he was going to see anyone for the next few days anyway. Charlie knew he would not have long to clean and eat and send off the necessary messages before he was in the full throes of his rut.

Assuming this was his rut. It was at least two weeks early and didn’t feel quite the same as usual. But Charlie knew, in theory a rut could be set off by an omega’s heat and perhaps Nick had… No, he could not think about Nick right now. Whatever his feelings towards the man, he was clearly a trigger for a world of intense emotions for Charlie, and he needed to keep his mind clear for as long as he could.

Charlie managed to make it out of the shower and dried off without incident. He went to the kitchen with his hair wrapped in a towel, no point in getting dressed as clothes were only going to get in his way shortly.

Charlie sent a text off to his boss to inform him he was taking gender related leave. He then messaged his group chat with his friends, and his mother so that no one would be concerned that he was not responding to messages for the next few days. Luckily, it was summer break so he didn’t have to worry about falling behind in his classes like he tended to when his ruts came during uni term. Charlie managed to consume some toast and a cup of tea before he could feel the heat rising in his body.

Charlie went to his bedroom and stripped the soiled covers off. There was no point in putting new ones on so he simply covered the bed in towels. Charlie couldn’t help feeling a sad longing for an omega to make him a lovely nest. An omega to offer him other sorts of comfort as well during this difficult time. An omega could make this not a difficult time at all.

Charlie spotted his crumpled up shirt amongst the soiled bedding he had chucked to the corner of his room.

No, don’t do it.

Charlie picked it up. The scent was fainter but he could still pick up a trace. Instead of overwhelming him with lust, this time Charlie allowed his mind to wander to thoughts of Nick. Was he okay? Did he make it home safe? Charlie had no way of knowing. He didn’t have Nick's number, or know where he lived, or anyone he could ask about him.

Except maybe Mr. Lange, but if he called work during his own rut leave to ask about another employee, well he wasn’t an idiot, he knew how that would look. No, Charlie would just have to wait out his rut before he could do anything about Nick.

Not that he wanted to do anything! He just wanted to know he was safe. Because he’s actually a decent human being, not a complete piece of shit. No other reason. Any other feelings were just unfortunately timed biological factors. He was simply at the mercy of nature.

There was no way Charlie Spring was actually attracted to Nick Nelson - e̶v̶e̶n̶ i̶f̶ h̶i̶s̶ a̶l̶p̶h̶a̶ h̶a̶d̶ s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ e̶l̶s̶e̶ t̶o̶ s̶a̶y̶ a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶.

Chapter Text

The commute home from work that evening was a nightmare. Nick's narrow escape from Charlie had his heart racing and his body flooding with adrenaline. If only the sheer fear was enough to offset his impending heat. Instead it seemed to exacerbate it, fuel it, excite his every nerve ending.

When Nick was clear of the work site and walking out onto the busy street, he felt a sense of relief. He wasn't yet out of danger, but there was a certain element of safety in a crowd. Nick tried to calm himself, to walk as normally as he could to the train station, but he was uncomfortable and desperate to get home.

Nick tried not to focus on the people around him or the strange looks he got on the underground. He focused on his breathing and on keeping his body from going into overdrive.

The cool mint and lemon zest scent that Charlie had left on his skin pricked and tingled, but as he ran his fingers over his neck Nick felt calmer and more at ease. He tried not to dwell on everything else that had happened that evening, just let the mark soothe him as much as he was able to be soothed in the moment.

It felt like the longest trip home of his life, it was dark when he finally reached his building. Nick let out a sigh of relief as he approached it. Just as he went to open the door he heard a husky voice, “You smell pretty, sweet thing.”

Nick turned around to see a tall dark middle aged man with dark hair walking towards him. Before he could get any closer, Nick flung the door open and ran up three flights of stairs to his apartment. His hands were dripping with sweat as he frantically tried to unlock his door. Eventually, he got the key in the hole and managed to turn it. There was no sight, scent or sound that suggested he was being followed, but all the same, Nick slammed the door behind him and bolted the lock.

Nick was utterly overwhelmed. He slumped to the floor and let out a sob.

How was any of this real??

There was no time to process. As soon as Nick managed to drag himself from the floor, he felt his body flush with a burning heat and his vision began to blur. He rushed to the bathroom and stripped his damp and dirty clothes off, the wads of paper towel stuck to his skin uncomfortably and made his skin raw to pull them away.

Nick ran the shower and cleansed himself of the trying day. Finally he felt a sense of calm as he breathed in the earthy fragrance of his body wash.

What are you doing! You've washed him away!

An angry voice bellowed from the back of his mind.

Nick's inner omega was furious. Now that it no longer lay dormant, Nick could not ignore this part of himself.

You need your alpha! What have you done?

Nick keeled over in pain. A fire burned from within flickering at his insides. Nick reached for the taps, turning the hot tap off and letting the cold water soothe him. As the pain began to subside, Nick turned off the water and exited the shower.

…

The next few days were utter agony for Nick. He was completely overcome by his heat. His inner omega tormented him with shame for not submitting to and allowing h̶i̶s̶ a̶l̶p̶h̶a̶ Charlie to take him when he had the chance. Every time Nick tried to fight back, he was hit by a fresh wave of nausea and agony until he succumbed to the voice and allowed himself to think of nothing but Charlie as he tried to ease his suffering with his hands.

Nick had not been able to tell anyone what was going on. He had been vaguely aware of his phone ringing at one point, but couldn’t do anything about it, as he was fingering himself fervently and seriously considering inserting his whole hand inside himself to ease the desperate need to be filled.

Why wasn’t he prepared for this? What use was Doctor Anderson if he didn’t even provide him with any practical advice for coping with his first heat? Or had Nick been so deep in denial that he overlooked the blatantly obvious. He should have at least had some knotting toys stashed away somewhere, in case of such an emergency. Nick couldn’t help feeling anger towards his mother for not properly preparing him for the inevitable. However, his mind cast back to when she had tried to have these conversations with him as a teen, and he had not taken her seriously. A fresh wave of shame washed over Nick. He was not only a terrible omega, he was a terrible son.

…

Nick was not sure how many days and nights had passed when he woke feeling lighter, the excruciating pain in his abdomen gone, the burning lust dissipated. He did however feel weak, dehydrated, and hungry. Forcing himself to get up, he wobbled, a little giddy and light headed, but able to stand.

His bedding was utterly destroyed. His body was coated in a crust of dried bodily fluids. The inner omega was quiet. Nick felt like shit, but he also felt free. Nick couldn’t help smiling as he looked down at his deflated cock. It was over!

Deciding water and nourishment were most important, Nick poured himself a large drink of water and looked through his cupboards for an easy snack. He could clean up later, first he needed the energy to do so.

As he sat on his kitchen floor sipping water and chewing crackers Nick tried to piece together the events of the last few days. He could remember clearly the encounter with Charlie. Not wanting to linger on that train of thought, he reflected instead on his train ride home and what had transpired once he got home. It was all a blur. How long had it been? How long had he gone without water?

A memory of lapping water like a cat from the running bathroom tap flashed before Nick’s eyes. Perhaps he needed to go back to see his bedroom and bathroom to piece the days back together, as from the looks of it, he hadn’t spent any time out in the kitchen or living room.

Nick entered the bedroom and looked around at the complete mess. It smelled stale and pungent so he cracked a window. Nick saw his discarded phone on the floor and walked over to plug it in. Had he even told anyone what was going on? Would he have a job to go back to?

Nick realised he could hear water running so he stepped into the bathroom. Sure enough, the sink tap was running, just a dribble thankfully. He turned it off and decided a shower was a good idea. A shower, then check his phone before dealing with the bedding situation.

After a long steamy shower, Nick felt much more himself. He pulled on some boxer shorts and a fresh white t-shirt. Ignoring the state of his room, he unplugged his phone from the charger, went out to the living room, and planted himself on his sofa. As Nick unlocked his phone, his stomach rumbled. That would be the next thing he needed to do, order some food. Nick preferred to cook for himself, but he had no energy to do so right now.

After ordering some Thai food, Nick scrolled through his unanswered texts. He had messages from Doctor Anderson telling him to stay put and ride it out. And to contact him as soon as his heat was over. Yeah, you can wait doc, Nick thought to himself. There were a few from his mum wishing him luck and sending him love. An email from his boss saying his leave had been approved and he looks forward to seeing Nick back as soon as possible. Nick didn’t remember contacting Mr. Lange. In fact he didn’t remember contacting anyone. The last message he had was from a delivery company, a notice saying a package had been dropped off at his doorstep.

Just as he was about to get up to check, his doorbell rang. Nick opened the door to see his food order sitting on the doorstep along with a small parcel addressed to him. Nick set out his pad thai, salapao and dumplings on the coffee table, but before he could eat a bite, his curiosity got the better of him. He grabbed the parcel and ripped it open. Nick nearly cried when he saw what was inside.

Chapter Text

Nick was anxious to get back to work. Whilst Doctor Anderson had officially given him the all clear, he had advised Nick not to rush. He told him he should take the full time he was eligible to have off work, but Nick just wanted to get back to a sense of normality.

Normality, would he ever have that again?

Now that he had experienced the full brunt of his first heat, Doctor Anderson felt more comfortable prescribing Nick blockers and suppressants. The suppressants wouldn’t completely stop Nick experiencing his heats, but for most people, they would at least reduce the frequency and intensity. Most omegas would eventually be able to track a consistent cycle by the time they entered adulthood. Of course, Nick’s experience was quite different, but the doctor said he was quietly optimistic that Nick should be able to regulate within a year or two.

A year or two of uncertainty, but at least he now had some idea of what to expect. Doctor Anderson assured Nick that his first heat would be the hardest, especially with no aid at all from an alpha or any toys. Nick had chosen not to share with the doctor about his experience with h̶i̶s̶ the alpha, Charlie.

The scent blockers Nick was prescribed would not only assist in his resilience to alpha pheromones but would shield his scent from alpha detection as well. The doctor had warned they were not always completely effective and that Nick would still need to practise caution in his day to day life and not miss any doses of his medications if they were to be effective. For Nick, it was the last thing the doctor had said that stuck in his head the most:

“Speaking of caution, whilst the suppressants do provide effective birth control, please do encourage your partner, should you find one, to wear a condom as well.”

Nick felt his face turn bright red. He had never been with an alpha before. He had never been with anyone, he had never wanted to be with anyone… before C̶h̶a̶r̶l̶i̶e̶.

…

“Ah Nick, good to have you back,” Mr. Lange said, giving Nick an approving smile. “Now, I see that you had a couple more days in your return window and by law I have to ask if you feel you are fit to return.”

“Yes, sir, I am keen to get back into it,” Nick quickly responded, doing his best to sound as calm and collected as he could muster.

“Good lad,” Mr. Lange responded approvingly.

Nick was relieved to find he had been assigned to team up with Tao and not Charlie. He knew he would have to come face to face with the alpha at some point, but he hoped luck would delay the inevitable as long as possible.

As Nick walked out to await instructions with his colleagues, he was greeted with general ‘hellos’ and ‘welcome backs’. Most people knew not to speculate on why people had time off work, but there was often someone who was less likely to play by the rules and try to stir the pot. No sign of Charlie, not that he cared or anything.

Nick exchanged pleasantries with a few of the blokes before finding Tao and heading over to stand with him. Just as he was about to say hello, he was distracted by a voice, well a name really. “Come on though, Charlie,” the voice rang out as two men approached the group and Nick’s attention was drawn to Mark, one of the older blokes who was clearly trying to convince Charlie to do something. Nick couldn’t help notice the bashful flush to Charlie’s cheeks a̶n̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶ c̶u̶t̶e̶ d̶i̶m̶p̶l̶e̶s̶ as he smiled awkwardly and dismissed whatever Mark was suggesting.

“Sorry, can’t help you there,” Charlie responded. Nick wondered if Charlie was aware of his presence yet as the two men seemed to be walking right towards him as they spoke.

“Oh I see, got yourself a little omega girly at home already, do ya?”

W̶H̶A̶T̶ T̶H̶E̶ F̶U̶C̶K̶?̶!̶

Nick felt his heart begin to race. But why would he even care? He had no right to care. Just at that moment Charlie looked up, and their eyes locked for a moment. Nick could have sworn he saw a flash of bright blue in Charlie’s eyes, but he wasn’t sure if he had imagined it. The moment was over before Nick knew it and Charlie averted his gaze to Mark and said, “No Mark, actually I’m gay. So no omega or otherwise ‘girlies’ for me.”

“Oh, well fair enough then,” Mark responded quickly with an awkward chuckle. “I’ll leave you to it then. What about you, Nick? I can’t convince you to reconsider?”

“Sorry?” What the fuck was this old git on about?

“Or do you prefer your omegas to have willies as well?”

Nick froze to the spot.

“Mark!” A voice rang out. “You can’t say that! Don’t be a dick!”

“Oh shit, yeah, sorry Sean. You lads know I mean no harm. Just having a little laugh with them,” Mark attempted to back track jovially. “Can’t blame a bloke for trying to get his god daughter paired off with a good, strong alpha bloke, can you?”

“No one blames you for that, Mark,” Sean patted Mark on the back affectionately.

“You know she wants to go to university next year,” Mark said mournfully. “Her parents are beside themselves with worry.”

Nick felt sick. What was he saying? That she shouldn’t get to do such things because she’s an omega?

“Would just put everyone’s minds at ease if she was mated, so she could go about her academia and build a career without the hassles that come with being an unattached omega. I know the medications they have these days are a lot improved from back in our day, but they’re still not as effective as being mated, are they?”

Oh.

“Yeah, I hear you pal.” Sean slung an arm over Mark’s shoulder. “We have the same fears for our boy when he gets to that age. It’s been enough of a worry in these early stages, I’m telling you,” Sean chuckled.

Nick didn’t know Sean had an omega son. That was interesting to know.

“We just want what’s best for them, don’t we?” Mark added. “You know she’s as good as set for Oxbridge. It would be awful for something to get in the way of her achieving her dreams.”

Nick watched and listened to the two older men’s conversation, his mind flooding with countless questions. Suddenly, he was snapped out of his reverie by the presence of the supervisor sending each pair off on their assignments.

Nick and Tao worked silently for most of the morning. Nick had tried to make small talk but got little in response from Tao, so he gave up. He didn’t mind not chatting really, but that meant he was left with his thoughts and his thoughts were busy that day.

Eventually, Nick could feel Tao wanted to say something. He kept catching his eye whenever they had to work together to lift something that took two people to move, and Tao seemed to be conflicted as to if he should talk. Eventually, Nick’s curiosity got the better of him.

“What is it? You clearly have something to say to me?” Nick felt a tad foolish at how much he had let his exasperation show.

“I just…” Tao bit his bottom lip and paused for a moment, “they are right, you know.”

“What? Who are?”

“Those old codgers. I don’t much like the way they talk about it, but they are right.”

“Oh,” Nick found himself saying, but no other words would come out. Instead, more questions formed in his head, and he started to feel dizzy and overwhelmed.

Does that mean Tao is mated?

Would he ever be able to just live a normal life now, or would everyone be pressuring him to find a mate?

Was he really in danger? What could happen?

What if his meds stop working?

What if he forgot to take them?

How will his colleagues treat him if they find out he’s an omega?

“Nick?! Nick!” Tao’s voice echoed around the warehouse.

“Sorry, what?” Nick managed to reply, barely aware of his surroundings.

“You kind of spaced out there. Are you okay? You sure you were ready to come back to work so soon…” Tao trailed off.

“I’m fine!” Nick snapped.

Tao clearly knew something, but Nick was in no mood to find out at that moment. His confusion and overwhelm had twisted into a foul mood and Nick was done with feeling vulnerable. He was a man; he was going to man up and swallow these feelings down.

…

By lunch break, Nick was feeling the physical strain on his body. It was a familiar feeling after a long day's work, but he wasn’t usually this exhausted so early in the day. He had lost weight and muscle mass during his heat, but a good few days of solid work and large meals would see him right, he was sure of it.

Nick sat alone as he unpacked his lunch. He cringed at the sad sandwiches he had packed himself and vowed to get back into pre-cooking meals for the work week. He wasn’t interested in engaging with anyone after the morning he’d had. As much as Nick was desperate for a distraction from his spiralling mind, the thought of engaging with another human being with anything that resembled a conversation felt beyond his capacity.

Unfortunately, one of his colleagues didn’t get the silent memo that he didn’t want company. “Hey fellas, we can’t have Nick sitting all by his lonesome on his day back, come on.” Stu, one of the more cocky young alpha men, had urged some of his friends to join him at Nick’s table.

Great. Can I tell them to piss off? Probably shouldn’t.

“So, you were gone for a few days there, Nick. Hope you weren’t unwell?” Stu phrased it like a question but Nick wasn’t going to bite, he simply shook his head. “Was interesting timing really. See the boys and I had a little bet going.”

Oh fuck, Nick’s stomach churned, where was this going? He glanced around and momentarily caught a glimpse of dark curls. Charlie was sitting two tables over, his head turned towards Nick’s table as Stu’s voice rang out louder than necessary.

“William here reckons you were off on your rut with a pretty little omega girl.”

Nick let out a sigh in frustration. Stu was overstepping, it was not cool to speculate on such things behind someone’s back, let alone to their face.

“Whereas Ian here thinks you had a sad little wank party on your own.” Ian averted his eyes from Nick’s gaze as Stu threw him under the bus. Nick was determined not to bite, not to stoop to their level.

“But you know, I’m an observant fellow myself. You might say I have a nose for detail. I couldn’t help noticing that another strapping young alpha had a bit of time off as well. Bit unexpected after only just starting the job a few days prior.”

Nick’s insides twisted, what was Stu implying? Was he about to get outed? Nick was suddenly aware that everyone was staring.

“So, my theory,” Stu said, leaning in close to Nick as if he was going to speak quieter, but still going on at the same volume, “is that you and Charlie over there,” all eyes in the hall turned from Nick to Charlie, “were tag teaming some game omega boy together.”

Chapter Text

“Stuart Johnson!” Mr. Lange’s voice bellowed out, silencing the rabble. “Get out here now!”

The shit-eating grin evaporated from Stu’s face, replaced by a look of utter fear. Nick couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, which despite being barely audible, rang out into the otherwise silent room. Reluctantly, Stu stood up and walked over towards where Mr. Lange was waiting. Tao was beside him, a scowl of disapproval etched onto his features. As Stu approached, he moved over to sit down opposite Nick at his table while Mr. Lange led Stu towards his office.

A few moments passed before anyone in the hall dared to speak.

“Fuuuck,” Ian muttered. “He’s screwed. Stu can’t afford to lose another job. He’s really fucked himself this time.”

“Well, he should have fucking thought of that before shooting his ignorant fucking mouth off, shouldn’t he!”

Nick suppressed a gasp, he had never heard Tao talk with such venom in his tone. There was fire in the small omega’s eyes. Stu’s friends didn’t say anything else to Nick or Tao, but they got up swiftly and relocated to another bench.

The room returned to the usual volume of chatter within a couple of minutes and Nick could tell Tao wanted to say something. He kept opening and closing his mouth, eyebrows furrowed in contemplation.

Eventually, curiosity won out and Nick snapped, “What? You clearly have something on your mind, Tao.”

Tao shook his head and rolled his eyes before letting out a little huff.

“Fine then,” Nick mumbled.

Tao rolled his eyes yet again, before his face softened, “The boss won't stand for it, you know?”

“Yeah.” Nick had no reason to believe otherwise.

“I mean it. Stu’s fucking gone. The boss is…” Tao trailed off.

Nick looked at him with curiosity. Was Tao blushing?

“He’s really good with these things,” Tao mumbled quickly before getting up and leaving the hall.

Curious, Nick thought to himself.

Nick looked at his phone and saw that lunch break was nearly over, so he reluctantly packed up the rest of his food. He’d hoped to be able to eat more, if he was going to regain the weight he had lost during his heat, but the distraction had made him lose his appetite.

After Nick had packed away his things and was heading back for the last few hours of work, his ears pricked up at the sound of Charlie’s voice.

“No, it’s fine really.”

Nick was surprised to hear Tao’s voice in reply, “Yeah well, he’ll be out of here I can assure you. The boss won't take that sort of talk lightly.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks Tao, you’re a good friend.”

Nick’s head spun. Since when were Tao and Charlie friends?

Nick turned around to see both men were looking at him.

“Alright, Nick?” Charlie asked coolly.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Nick bit back before thinking.

“I just thought that…” Charlie started. “You know what, never mind then. See you later, Tao.” Charlie walked away, shaking his head.

…

The rest of the day went by without incident. That evening, Nick still felt ill at ease and he didn’t know what to think about his first day back at work. A lot had changed for Nick in the past few days, but he had hoped that going back to work would feel the same as it always did. As much as Stu’s words had rattled him, it was Charlie’s voice that haunted him.

Nick could not shut the alpha out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried. The taste of his toothpaste reminded him of the sharp mint of Charlie’s scent, the dark velvety material of his sofa covering reminded him of the colour of Charlie’s curls, the crisp cucumber in the thai salad he ate with his dinner reminded him of the calming pheromones Charlie had used when he found Nick… No, don’t go there!

Looking for a distraction, Nick picked up the TV remote. But before he could press the ‘on’ button, his eye was caught by something else. The box that had been delivered to his doorstep during his heat. The box that contained something that may have helped him through those excruciating few days, if only he had known it was lying on his doorstep.

Nick had examined the package thoroughly, but could not determine who had sent it to him. Perhaps it was his mother, or the doctor? But surely, they would have said something, right? Nick pondered asking his mother, but felt the flush of embarrassment when thinking about talking to his mother about a sex toy. It had never been easy having the “talks” with his mother and in part, Nick was thankful that he hadn’t had to go through this stage as a teenager under his parents’ roof.

Nick took out the toy and had a closer look. It was a reasonable size in its dormant state but when Nick flicked the ‘on’ button, it began to vibrate and expand. Nick startled and quickly turned it off. Taking a closer look at the switches, he noticed there were several speed and size settings and one other button at the bottom with a picture of something that looked like…

Oh.

Nick dropped the toy back into the box, his heartbeat racing and his face burning up.

For a moment, Nick was frightened he was once again going into heat. It couldn’t be, not so soon again. Surely, the mere inspection of a knotting dildo would not be enough to… Oh, he wasn't going into heat. He was just aroused.

Nick picked the toy back up and took it to his bedroom.

…

After a little experimenting, Nick managed to get the dildo inside himself. He had never been penetrated by anything other than his fingers before. As much as he had thought about shoving all manner of household items up there during his heat last week, he had managed to resist.

If only I’d checked the fucking doorstep!

It took him some time to adjust, but once his hole had loosened up a little and he had released more slick, d̶e̶f̶i̶n̶i̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ n̶o̶t̶ a̶i̶d̶e̶d̶ b̶y̶ t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶s̶ o̶f̶ a̶ p̶a̶r̶t̶i̶c̶u̶l̶a̶r̶ a̶l̶p̶h̶a̶, Nick was able to move the dildo in and out, experimenting with angles, depth and speed. He did not feel confident enough to switch the toy on, but this was his first experiment and he knew he could build up to it, and that over time, he could get himself ready.

Ready?

For what?

You know what, you know who! His inner omega hissed.

Nick was determined not to listen, not to give in to his primal side. He tried to extract the dildo but as he did so, it scraped against his prostate and a jolt of pleasure shot through his body, a gush of slick escaped him, and an image flashed behind his eyes.

…

Over the next couple of weeks, Nick found some of the normality back he had been hoping for. Some things had definitely changed in his life, but work and his general day-to-day life seemed to settle. He and Charlie had managed to avoid each other, m̶e̶r̶e̶l̶y̶ c̶a̶t̶c̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ s̶t̶o̶l̶e̶n̶ g̶l̶a̶n̶c̶e̶s̶, as they were fortunate enough to not be assigned to work together during this time.

Nick had even reached out to an old friend, who he had heard had recently moved to London, and arranged to catch up with him for drinks after work on Friday. Nick was feeling good about life in general. That was until he was assigned to work a particularly large shipment in a group of four, with Ian, William, and Charlie.

Fuck.

The four men worked in silence for the first few hours. The labour was difficult and Nick could feel his body straining. Life had settled back to as normal as Nick felt he could expect, however regaining his physical strength and stamina was taking far longer than he'd hoped. Perhaps he just needed more time, more protein, more hard work. Many of the boxes were so large and heavy, it took all four men to manoeuvre them.

N̶i̶c̶k̶ d̶e̶f̶i̶n̶i̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ d̶i̶d̶ n̶o̶t̶ f̶e̶e̶l̶ a̶ s̶p̶a̶r̶k̶ o̶f̶ e̶l̶e̶c̶t̶r̶i̶c̶i̶t̶y̶ s̶h̶o̶o̶t̶ t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ h̶i̶s̶ b̶o̶d̶y̶ e̶a̶c̶h̶ t̶i̶m̶e̶ h̶i̶s̶ a̶n̶d̶ C̶h̶a̶r̶l̶i̶e̶'s̶ f̶i̶n̶g̶e̶r̶s̶ b̶r̶u̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ a̶c̶r̶o̶s̶s̶ e̶a̶c̶h̶ o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶’s̶ b̶y̶ a̶c̶c̶i̶d̶e̶n̶t̶.

As Nick was moving one of the boxes that could be individually shifted, he misstepped and tripped, dropping it to the ground. He didn’t think he was hurt but the box made a loud bang and Nick let out an embarrassing cry as he tumbled.

The next thing he knew, Charlie was by his side, peering down at him. “Are you okay?” – was that concern in his voice?

“Yes, I’m fine,” Nick muttered, his pride hurt more than anything.

His inner omega swooned at the alpha’s concern and at the fact that Charlie offered his hand out to help Nick up. But Nick was not going to stand for it.

“I don’t need your help,” he grumbled and attempted to get up off the ground, but couldn’t quite get purchase on the polished concrete floor and slipped again, falling hard on his bum.

Charlie let out a boom of laughter, wounding Nick’s pride further. “Come on, you stubborn oaf, let me help you.”

Nick looked up at Charlie, suddenly feeling very small despite being a good two inches taller than the man. Charlie looked down at him, his features now void of all amusement, replaced by what Nick thought could be pity in his eyes.

Nick wanted to sulk, he wanted to cry, to scream and yell and bury his face in his arms and will the earth to eat him up on the spot. But all he could do was gaze up at the b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶i̶f̶u̶l̶ alpha. Charlie’s expression softened further, he reached out his hand, and whispered, “Please, Omega,” and Nick was certain that his eyes flashed the brightest blue.

Chapter Text

Nick felt all the air vacate his lungs.

Please, Omega.

It wasn’t a command, it was a plea. The bright blue that had flashed only a moment ago was gone. Nick summoned all his strength to swallow down his pride and reached for the alpha’s hand, allowing himself to be helped up.

Nick gasped as the surprisingly strong, smaller man grabbed him by the back of the hand and pulled him up to his feet. As if frozen in time, the two men stood almost nose to nose, their hands still joined as if glued together. Nick wasn’t thinking, his brain was no longer in control, his body was alight with tingling anticipation as he waited helplessly for Charlie to make the next move.

Just as Charlie took in a shaky breath, as Nick watched his lips part, as Nick was certain Charlie was about to say something, do something, they were interrupted by the clunking of footsteps entering the shed.

“These two, fucking at it again!” Ian’s voice echoed off the walls, startling Nick and Charlie apart.

“For fuck’s sake, why don’t you just punch each other and get it out of your systems? Fucking knotheads!” William jeered playfully, as Ian chuckled.

Charlie let out a huff, shook his head, and walked out of the shed. Nick took a moment to steady himself, still reeling from what had just happened– from what nearly just happened. Ian and William continued to snigger and mutter to themselves, not loud enough for Nick to clearly hear what they were saying, as they moved a large box to the far corner of the shed.

He knew he had to get on with his work, so Nick inhaled deeply, and forced his body to move. He picked up the box he had dropped and placed it in its intended spot. As Nick headed back out to see if there were any more boxes that could be one man jobs to move, he noticed Charlie standing outside, staring into space. He wanted to just ignore him, to get on with his task, but his body betrayed him and stepped towards the alpha.

“Um, hey,” Nick muttered lamely.

“Oh, yeah hi,” Charlie replied awkwardly.

They stood in uncomfortable silence for what felt like an eternity. Ian and William paid them no attention as they passed by to collect more boxes.

Eventually, Nick willed himself to say something, anything.

“I’m sorry about…”

“What is up with you?!” Charlie immediately interjected as soon as Nick tried to apologise for dropping the box.

“Wrong with me? Nothing! I just underestimated how heavy that box was,” Nick shot back defensively.

“Not that!” Charlie snapped. “Well, not only that. You clearly aren’t cutting it right now. I’m not one to tell an omega what they can and can’t do, but everyone thinks you’re an alpha, I mean look at you – you look the part of the big strong alpha, more than I do. If you don’t actually have the ability to meet everyone’s expectations of what they think you’re capable of, you need to tell Mr. Lange. He seems like a reasonable guy, I’m sure he’d adjust your workload to better suit your needs.”

Nick simply stared at Charlie, completely flabbergasted. How dare this complete arsehole imply that he needed a reduced workload because he was some weakling omega!!

“I don’t need my fucking workload reduced, you fucking knothead!” Nick spat out. “How dare you imply that… just… fuck you, Charlie! I’m not some weak little omega that needs to be taken care of!”

Nick could feel himself burning up with rage, his breath ragged, his heart racing. He hadn’t even realised how much he was invading Charlie’s space, when Charlie took hold of him by the wrist and squeezed hard.

“Oh yeah? Don’t pretend you wouldn’t crumble if I told you to submit, Omega,” Charlie spoke coolly right against Nick’s cheek. “I don’t know what the fuck is up with you, but if you don’t get your pheromones under control, there is no telling what could happen to you.”

With that, Charlie let go of Nick’s wrist and just left.

…

They worked in silence for the rest of the day. Nick pushed himself to prove he was no weakling. He focused all his attention on his work, so as to not have any more slip-ups that could risk proving Charlie right. When it was finally the end of the day, Nick was keen to get home and have a long shower and an early night a̶n̶d̶ a̶ b̶i̶t̶ m̶o̶r̶e̶ o̶f̶ a̶ p̶l̶a̶y̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶ h̶i̶s̶ n̶e̶w̶ t̶o̶y̶.

As he was getting ready to leave, Mark and Dave approached him with a reluctant-looking Charlie by their side. “We’re heading to the pub for a couple of lagers with a few of the fellas. You in, Nelson?” Dave asked casually.

Not a fucking chance. “Err, I can’t tonight, sorry. Maybe another night.”

“Okay, another time then, I’ll hold you to that, Nick,” Dave said with a wink that gave Nick the creeps.

Nick tried not to meet Charlie’s gaze, but his eyes betrayed him and he could have sworn he saw disappointment flash across the alpha’s face. As he continued to gather his things, Nick couldn’t help but overhear the conversation as the three men walked away:

“Oh yeah, you’d really like him Charlie, I reckon. One of those cute, little ones, he is. Already 20, but doesn’t yet have a mate for some reason,” he heard Mark explaining.

“Hard to believe, he’s as pretty as a picture,” Dave added.

“Exactly. Most of the young alphas around this place are shitbags or complete lads,” Mark said with a chuckle, “I’d ask Nelson over there, but pretty sure he’s only into the ladies.”

What?

Nick looked up at the sound of his name to discover Charlie looking back at him, his cheeks tinged red. Dave and Mark didn’t seem to notice or perhaps care that Nick was still there, as their conversation dragged on.

“Yeah, you’re right there. Most of the young blokes here aren’t worth their salt. Not the sort you want to welcome into your family, that's for sure,” Mark continued.

“Precisely. Well, Charlie-boy?”

Nick couldn’t tear his eyes away. Every fibre of his being needed to know what Charlie was going to say. But Charlie simply stood there, glaring in Nick’s direction.

“Charlie?” Dave pressed. He and Mark suddenly spun around to see what Charlie was looking at, shaking Charlie from his stupor, and causing Nick to avert his gaze.

“Oh, um, maybe. I’ll think about it and let you know,” Charlie responded noncommittally.

“Well, don’t think on it for too long. I can’t imagine there is a big dating pool for you,” Dave said.

At that remark, Nick couldn’t resist looking back over to see Charlie's confused frown.

“S-Sorry?” Charlie stammered.

“Being a gay alpha,” Dave prattled. “I mean there are only so many omega boys out there, aren’t there?”

Nick’s eyes went wide as he saw Charlie’s face shift from confusion to annoyance. Sparing a quick glance Nick’s way, Charlie turned on Dave and said, “I’m not all that bothered, actually. Yeah, I’m gay, I like men. But just because I’m an alpha doesn’t mean I’m only interested in omegas. Maybe tell your nephew thanks, but no thanks.”

With that, Charlie spun on his heels and strode off out of the building, leaving Dave and Mark standing there slack-jawed.

Nick couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he felt a little flurry of butterflies within.

…

Nick lost count of how many times he made himself come that night. He was still not brave enough to use the knotting function on the dildo, but he had tried out several different settings to see which ones he liked the most. He was feeling more and more confident about getting through his next heat home alone with his new best friend. He made a mental note to buy extra batteries next time he went shopping – just in case.

Nick wondered if he should try knotting himself, to see what it was like before he had his next heat. He wasn’t sure if it was something that would feel good when he wasn’t in heat though, and the fear of hurting himself prevented him from trying. There was a part of him that couldn’t help holding onto the idea that his first time being knotted would be with someone special, rather than with a toy.

An alpha to take care of him, to pleasure him, to love him, t̶o̶ b̶r̶e̶e̶d̶ h̶i̶m̶.

Nick squashed that voice down. He cleaned the toy thoroughly and put it away for the night, before fixing himself a late dinner and then readying himself for bed. Nick wanted to be well rested, as he had taken the next morning off work for an appointment with Doctor Anderson. He wanted to show the doctor how well he was doing and to not be asked a thousand questions or even pressured to go home for his next heat.

…

The doctor seemed to be impressed enough with how Nick was doing. As long as Nick was taking his medication and taking care of himself and his safety, he saw no real need for Nick to go home for his next heat.

“You should get clearer warning signs, now that you know what to expect. Just don’t be a hero – any cramping, heightened senses, slick production – take your leave and go home.”

Nick nodded to show Doctor Anderson he understood.

“Now, you should be better prepared at home. There is no real way of telling when your next heat will occur, so make sure you have everything that, err, could help make the experience more comfortable for yourself.” The doctor looked a little uncomfortable. Nick wondered if he had these sorts of conversations with patients often. He handed Nick a pamphlet clearly aimed at teenage boy omegas. “Some of this may seem obvious, but there are some good websites and information you might find helpful.”

Nick mumbled a thank you, and went to leave.

“Nicholas,” Doctor Anderson stopped Nick in his tracks, “you really should consider trying to find a mate, now that your heats have started. I can give you the best that medicine has to offer, but a claiming bite from an alpha mate would make a lot of things easier for you.”

Nick opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again quickly when he realised he didn’t know what to say. He simply nodded and left the doctor's surgery in a daze.

An alpha mate would make a lot of things easier.

The doctor's words rang through Nick’s head all day long. He was lucky enough to avoid working with Charlie or anyone who was going to give him grief. Instead, he was assigned a three man job with a quiet beta named James and an older alpha woman named Terry, who was hard of hearing, so she didn’t make much conversation as they worked. Nick was able to get through his shorter work day without a fuss, lost in his thoughts.

When Nick got home that evening, he went through the motions of his routine. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts about his future and reflecting on his past.

On one hand, Nick could see what Doctor Anderson was saying, what it seemed everyone was saying, but on the other, he didn’t want to find a mate. Nick had only just barely entertained the thought of being intimate with someone very recently. Until his unfortunately timed first heat, Nick had not found himself longing for a partner, he had been happy…

Had he been happy?

Or had he just accepted his lot in life and got on with things?

Nick’s mind wandered through his past experiences and all his wants and dreams and how they had shifted over the years. Perhaps he would feel better in the colder months, when the rugby season started up again. Or would rugby not be safe for him anymore? Nick shook his head, nothing had to change if he didn’t want it to.

Nick’s thoughts lead him to his family, what had his parents wanted, hoped for their omega son? He had assumed that his father had not expected much from him, being an alpha. He had an alpha first born to mould in his image, so Stéphane had never shown too much interest in what Nick wanted to do with his life. Not to say he wasn’t loving towards his second born, just not particularly interested in him.

His mother, on the other hand, had tried to share her interests in needle work and interior design when Nick had been young. When it became apparent that Nick was more interested in sports and video games, Sarah had given up and allowed Nick to be himself as much as he could be. All the while keeping a far too close eye on him. Nick had been utterly mortified when once, she had run out onto the field during a rugby match because he had sprained his ankle, crying out “My baby! My Nicky.” Nick could laugh about it now, but the memory did still make him cringe a little.

A pang of guilt gnawed at him for the way he treated his mother at times growing up. She really was a loving parent. It wasn’t Nick’s fault that the only typical omega interest he had was for baking, and that was something he had learned from his paternal grandmother. Before he could dwell any deeper, Nick picked up his phone and called his mother.

“Nicky! It’s been too long since I’ve heard your lovely voice. How are you doing, my love?”

“I’m doing okay, Mum,” Nick responded, trying to sound as genuine as possible.

“I hope this big change hasn’t been too hard on you darling. You know you are always free to come home to us, any time. Your bedroom can be set up for you, no questions asked if you need a space to…”

“Mum, no really! I am fine,” Nick implored. Nick didn’t call his mother to allow himself to be coddled into going back home. He couldn’t think of anything worse than spending his heat in that house. Suddenly, Nick thought of the present he found on his doorstep. His mother had just said that he could have his room set up to accommodate his heat. Did she mean that she’d buy him… Surely not. He had to know.

“Mum, when you heard about my heat…” Nick started, not exactly sure what to say.

“Oh yes darling, Doctor Anderson filled us in right away, said it would be best to keep our distance and let you ride this one out. It wasn’t too hard for you darling? I know how rough those early ones can be, especially if you don’t have an alpha to take good care of you, my love. Speaking of, I don’t suppose there are any nice alpha boys or girls in your life at the moment? Hmm, no one special that could become a special…”

“Muuum!” Nick groaned. He could hear it in his own voice, he sounded like a teenager. “No, there are no special alphas in my life, there is no one special, no one I like.”

“Hmm, okay. Sorry to hear that, Nicky,” Sarah hummed, not sounding entirely convinced, but clearly giving up for now.

“Err, but Mum, I was wondering. Did you… You didn’t send me anything, did you?”

“Send you something? Like what? No, I haven’t sent you anything. Is there something you…”

“No, it’s fine Mum. All good. Um, I just wanted to hear your voice and let you know I’m doing alright. I, err… have to go. Hope you are well. Give my love to Dad.”

“Okay darling, will do,” Sarah said softly. “Oh, and Nicky, I really do hope you find your special someone one day. I know your father and I might not seem like the perfect couple, but meeting him when I did made my life so much easier than it could have been. I am not saying you should settle for any old alpha, but Nicky, I really hope you are at least open to the idea of mating.”

“Mum, I… Okay yes, I am open to the idea.”

“Wonderful. Your father will be so pleased to hear.”

“My father? Since when has Dad ever…”

“Oh darling, he’s been such a worry wart since you presented. I had to talk him out of driving out to London several times, the silly goose.” Sarah’s voice turned to a whisper. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but he is planning to give you a call in the next few days.”

Oh fuck, what on earth could this be?

“He is? What about?”

“Well, let’s just say he works with a lot of interesting men and women of many persuasions and now that you are a… now that you’ve presented, he might be interested in introducing you to…”

“MUM!”

Nick’s head spun. His father suddenly sees value in his second born, does he?

Fuck that!

“Nicholas?”

“Err, sorry Mum, I have to go. Love you!”

Nick hung up the call with haste.

That night, Nick tossed and turned, his thoughts spiralled and his heart raced. When he did sleep, it was fitful and he was constantly waking after having confusing dreams about older men in business suits stroking his arm telling him he’s a good strong boy, or women with giant breasts and long alpha penises that they slung over his shoulder as they whispered in his ear.

Eventually, Nick fell into a deep sleep. No longer tormented by strange dreams, his body relaxed and found rest in the early hours of the morning. Eventually, his dreamless slumber began to stir and Nick was dreaming again. But this wasn’t a bad or anxious dream.

Nick was holding something warm and comforting against his chest. It felt small in his arms and Nick knew it was precious and must be cherished. He looked down, he was holding a bundle of blankets. Nick carefully removed one hand, being sure to secure the warm bundle tight with the other and pulled back the top of the blankets to see what was inside. Looking up at him was a tiny baby, with blonde curls, and bright blue eyes.

Chapter Text

Charlie found himself longing for the uni term to start up again. He felt a pang of envy every time he opened Instagram and saw what his friends and peers were doing during their summers. Meanwhile, he was stuck working a manual labour job. He knew it was worth it, putting in the extra hours while he could, in order to be able to focus on his studies and not stress about finances once term started again. He could then cut back to just a couple of shifts a week and live comfortably enough off the savings he had built up over summer.

The work wasn’t too hard at least. He was happy to give his brain a break, and the limited social interactions were a bonus. Of course, the social interactions he did have, he found draining and irritating. Despite his best efforts to politely decline any invitations to socialise with his colleagues, some of the older men had tried time and time again to get him to go drinking with them. Then, there were the constant requests to set him up on dates with omega friends and family members, and Charlie was becoming tired of it all.

However, the thing Charlie was most d̶r̶e̶a̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ looking forward to was spending less time in the presence of a certain alpha-like omega.

Nick.

Charlie had not stopped thinking about Nick. How could he possibly? It wasn’t every day that you get your rut triggered early by a careless, reckless, b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶i̶f̶u̶l̶, e̶n̶t̶i̶c̶i̶n̶g̶, stupid fucking omega.

What was Nick’s deal anyway? Why was an omega built like a brick shit-house? How had he not learned to manage his heats properly by now? Nick surely had to be a similar age to Charlie’s, perhaps even older. Charlie had heard of omegas getting into trouble when they forgot their medications or if they had health complications that prevented them from working. But Nick had chosen to work in an alpha dominated workplace, surely he wouldn’t have taken such a risk if he knew he could have issues with his pheromones, right?

Charlie wondered if perhaps he should give Nick the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps there was a good explanation for his behaviour. When it came down to it, it wasn’t Charlie’s business. Despite the intimate moment they had shared, they weren’t friends or lovers; they were barely acquaintances and Charlie knew it wasn’t right to pry into Nick’s situation.

However, no matter what Charlie told himself, he couldn’t stop thinking about Nick. Charlie had never had a type, well not really, but he did tend to find many larger alpha men attractive. Even his omega ex had not been the most petite of omegas, although, he had hardly compared to Nick.

Charlie did feel a bit guilty that he had made assumptions about Nick, but he knew full well that omegas could be just as toxic as alphas (or betas for that matter), and vulnerability was not an excuse for being a complete arsehole.

Was Nick an arsehole? Charlie reflected on their interactions and bristled at the memory of his own hostility towards the man. The truth, that Charlie wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself, was that Nick had reminded him of a particular rugby lad from back in his school days. However, did now knowing that Nick was in fact an omega change things?

…

Charlie had gone to work with every intention of being a little less hostile towards Nick, but when he saw that he was assigned to work with him, along with William and Ian who were cronies of the recently fired knothead Stu, Charlie thought it would be best to hold back from any conversation.

His frustrations finally boiled over when Nick made a blunder. Charlie felt the pull of several different emotions overwhelm him – fear for the omega’s safety, anger at his incompetence, and an overwhelming need to protect him which Charlie knew came from his inner alpha.

But despite the tension bubbling over, the presence of the other two people prevented Charlie and Nick from truly having it out. There had been moments, fleeting moments, when he didn’t know if they were about to rip each other’s throats out or tear each other’s clothes off, but the presence of the lurking dickheads William and Ian had prevented either from happening.

William and Ian were complete arses. Charlie knew this from the company they kept in Stu, but he was really seeing it from their own actions. William was clearly an alpha, but Charlie couldn’t be sure about Ian, he could quite easily be a beta like many of the other lads who worked the job. His suspicions were confirmed when he overheard them talking outside.

“Should we put a bet on then?” William asked.

“Yeah, go on, what for?” Ian replied.

“Twenty quid says they get into a brawl by the end of this shift.”

“Hmm, I’ll take that,” Ian responded with an amused tone, “but I’ll raise you a forty if the brawl turns… sexual.”

“Sexual?” William blurted out in surprise. “What makes you think that’s likely to happen? Between two alphas and everything; you’re deranged.”

“Nah, I can see it. It’s sexual tension between them. I mean as a beta I know I have a different perspective on these things, and I don’t know what alpha instinct is like but…” he trailed off, looking around to make sure no one was looking. Charlie ducked back behind a truck so as not to be spotted and listened closer. “A bit of alpha on alpha action…”

“What? As if you’ve ever seen that? What kind of porn have you been watching? It’s not real life you know.”

“Nah, it isn’t but,” Ian went on. “You see, back in my hometown, there was this pretty young omega. It’s a small village, so every unattached alpha was basically chasing her, and she was lapping up all the attention like a little tart. Eventually, she chose this big broad woman with wild long red hair who was just a couple of years older than her. Everyone said it was because she was so big and could protect the little omega, but I reckon the little slut just liked to be thrown about the place. Before they could be mated though, another alpha woman showed up. She was well fit, all tall and lean, with dark hair and massive tits. She declared she should be chosen by the omega and instead of rejecting her because she was already spoken for, the omega said she was confused and needed time to think. As you can imagine, everyone in the village was talking about it. A love triangle between three beautiful women caused quite the stir.”

“Yeah, I can imagine. Why do I feel like I know where this is going?”

Ian chuckled. “So, it happened right out on the street. No idea how it started but they must have run into each other and were laying into one another with their bare fists, full on fighting in the street.”

“Fuuuck.”

“Exactly, they had attracted quite a crowd. The omega girl had been watching at one point, but apparently her parents dragged her away. So, get this, right, eventually the fighting stopped. The redhead had the brunette pinned below her, and they just paused and stared at one another. Next thing anyone knew, they were kissing and humping against each other right there on the ground in front of half the village.”

“What?! No way! What happened next?”

“Not sure, I was only 16 at the time and my father dragged me home. There were lots of different versions of events going around, from they full on fucked on the street to they stopped and went their separate ways. Didn’t really get a straight answer from anyone who actually saw.”

“So… Who won the omega’s affection?”

“Oh, they both did.”

“Both?”

“Yeah, was quite the scandal! They ended up moving away to Brighton together.”

“So, they were like a throuple?” William asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Ian responded. “I wonder if the alphas like full-on knot each other, or if they just tag team the omega?” He sniggered. Charlie felt ill listening to the man’s voice dripping with sleaze.

“You’re a sick fucker, you know that?”

“Yep.”

Charlie didn’t know if he wanted to vomit or punch Ian’s lights out. He wasn’t worth it, the creep. There was no way he was going to be putting on a show for their entertainment. Charlie decided it would be best to just keep his distance from Nick from now on. For both their sakes.

All Charlie wanted to do was get home, have a long shower and order takeaway, but as he was about to head out, he was accosted by two of the older colleagues – Dave and Mark – who were constantly trying to set him up with omega family members. To make matters worse, they simply assumed Charlie was going to come for a drink with them and tried to invite Nick along as well. Charlie breathed a sigh of r̶e̶g̶r̶e̶t̶ relief when Nick declined. However, he did delight in putting Mark and Dave in their place when they made assumptions about who he would or wouldn’t like to date. Mostly because it gave him an out from drinking with them, but if Nick heard him chastise the older blokes for making assumptions, well, Charlie was not mad about that.

Despite his decision to try and avoid Nick as best he could, Charlie’s thoughts were still plagued by thoughts of h̶i̶s̶ the omega. Nick even invaded Charlie’s dreams, sometimes in sexy ways and other times in very confusing, non-sexy ways.

Charlie didn’t have to try and avoid Nick over the next few days. He appeared not to be there the next morning and they were assigned different jobs for the rest of the week. And whilst Charlie had seen him in passing, he never seemed to be taking breaks at the same time. Charlie couldn’t help feeling a pang of disappointment, and something else. His alpha was pining. Charlie tried to suppress it, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the temptation to approach Nick grew unbearable.

Charlie needed to talk to someone. He didn’t have an appointment with his psychologist for another fortnight and didn’t think this was the kind of thing they were able to help him with anyway. He had become closer to Tao at work, and Tao had dropped little comments here and there about not judging books by their covers or giving people a chance. But Charlie knew outright talking to Tao wasn’t right, even if he thought Tao knew something, Charlie would never risk outing someone.

So instead, Charlie called his sister. She might be a beta, like the rest of his family, but she had always been wise and willing to listen.

“Charles.”

“Victoria.”

“What’s up?”

“Just wanted to see how you’ve been, darling sister.”

“Cut the crap, brother. Something is up.”

“How do you…”

“Older sister magic.”

Charlie rolled his eyes knowing full well Tori couldn’t see him, but would know he was doing it anyway.

“Go on, Charlie, I’m listening.”

“So, there is kinda this omega…”

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

Nick found himself growing increasingly jumpy and nervous. What his mother had let slip about his father wanting to introduce him to “interesting men and women” made him feel sick to his stomach. What was Stéphane trying to do? Pimp him off to the highest bidder, secure an alliance by marrying off his omega child? This was not something he had expected. His father had never shown any interest in showing off his omega son in any way before. Nick began to spiral with worry. What would have happened to him if he had presented at the usual age? Would Stéphane have tried to find him a mate right away? Shown him off to his business partners and used him as a tool for his own advantage?

No, his Papa loved him, right? Perhaps he did want what he thought was best for Nick. Perhaps he wanted to find Nick the kind of mate that could improve his standing in the world. But whatever his intentions were, Nick hoped beyond hope that his father would at least ask him first, and allow Nick to make his own choices.

Nick had always felt like an oddity. But now, he was scared he was going to be treated like a sideshow freak: The late-blooming Omega, the Alpha-sized Omega. Should he try to date, would he be fetishised or feared?

Nick shook his head as if to dislodge such foolish thoughts. It didn’t matter. Whatever his father had planned, Nick would simply refuse. Nick wasn’t interested in finding a mate. Now that his heats were here and he had his medication, he would be getting on with the life he had planned for himself.

What did he have planned for his future? Nick had been so focused on gaining his independence that he took the first job willing to hire someone with his limited education, as long as he was strong enough to do the work. But even if he was an alpha, he could not do this job forever. Nick thought about some of the middle aged men at work. The last thing Nick wanted was to end up like one of them.

But what options did he really have? Just as Nick’s mind started wandering to thoughts of his father’s supposed plans, his phone buzzed, startling him. He half expected it to be his father calling, but when he grabbed the phone, he saw he had a message from an old friend.

Sai: Hey mate, it’s been a little while. I’ll be in London on Friday for the weekend. You keen for a catch up?

Sai was one of Nick’s closest friends. Despite now living in different cities and not talking as often as they used to, Sai was one of the few people Nick cared for and trusted wholeheartedly.

Nick responded that he would be delighted to catch up with his old pal, and they organised to get drinks on Friday evening.

…

By the time Friday rolled around, Nick was very much ready for that drink. Although the rest of the week had gone by without any drama, Nick was relieved to have someone he could talk to. Someone who knew about his past but was far enough removed from his life in London, as well as the pressures and difficulties of his family. Someone he could trust.

“Fuck, Nick, that’s a lot!” Sai exclaimed upon hearing Nick’s story; his eyes went wide with shock, yet his tone was sympathetic. “So, do you think it was this alpha, Charlie?”

“What do you mean?” Nick knew what Sai meant, but he needed to hear someone else say it out loud to know it wasn’t the craziest idea.

“Nick, come on. You like him, don’t you? I mean, this has never happened before. You’ve never liked anyone, you’d never presented. It must mean something, right?”

“I, I don’t know though, Sai. Could it not just be poor timing? Like maybe it was going to start randomly anyway, and he just happened to be there,” Nick tried to reason, but even he didn’t sound fully convinced.

“Maybe, but what if it was someone else?” Sai asked.

“What?”

“Could you see yourself being drawn to any of the other alphas in your workplace?”

Nick pulled a face of disgust. Sai raised his eyebrows.

“And you said that before going into heat, you didn’t find yourself attracted to anyone?”

“Yeah…”

“How did you feel about Charlie before?”

“Well, I’d barely met him, but…” Nick paused and thought for a moment, “I felt anger, I felt pissed off by him, he was a complete dick to me, really got under my skin, you know.”

Those bloody eyebrows again.

“Yeah, yeah, I felt… hurt I guess. Like for some reason, I should care about his opinion of me. And even though it was a completely unfounded and unfair opinion, it hurt.”

“I’m sorry mate. But now…” Sai trailed off and frowned thoughtfully. “Now that you’ve had a heat, and the doc thinks you’re going through a delayed, yet normal enough gender presentation, you’re… you know?”

“Yes Sai, I’m fucking horny all the time! Like, I’ve never been like this before. I keep worrying my heat is starting, but it’s not the same feeling and it’s more easily, err, sated.”

Sai grinned cheekily and chuckled.

“Well I’m happy for you, Nick.”

“Shut up, it’s not a good thing.”

“Isn’t it?”

“I was perfectly fine being on my own. Now, I don’t know.”

“You want to find an alpha?”

“Not really.”

“Or just someone you like, no matter their gender, someone nice who makes you happy?”

“I don’t know. Probably not.”

“Do you think about him?”

“Well, he did scent me! It’s kind of hard not to think of him when I…”

Sai raised his hands to his face to hide his grin.

“Err, fuck you. He’s not interested in me anyway. He hates me. He thought I was a total knothead when he thought I was an alpha and now that he knows, he thinks I’m some sort of reckless idiot omega trying to get himself…”

“Nick!” a voice called out, stopping Nick in his rambling tracks. Tao approached, on the arm of a tall, lean beautiful woman. Nick knew not to assume gender, but the delicate features of the woman had Nick guessing she was an omega, like Tao.

“Oh hi,” Nick said awkwardly as Tao walked over to where he and Sai were sitting.

“Nick, this is my partner, Elle. Nick and I work together.”

“Nice to meet you, Nick.”

“You too, Elle.”

“Oh, um, this is my friend Sai, we went to secondary together.”

After some polite small talk, Tao and Elle wished them a good evening and moved on. Nick let out a curious hum as they walked away arm in arm with a matching sway of their hips.

“What?”

“It’s just, did she seem like an omega to you?” Nick asked.

Sai nodded. “Um yeah, they both did.”

“Yeah, he definitely is. But, he said she’s his partner. It’s just that he’s been dropping all these hints that he knows about me. And he’s very heavily implied that he has an alpha partner. Very curious.”

“Curious indeed,” Sai agreed.

Nick continued to drink with Sai until he staggered home after midnight, quite drunk. Not bothering to undress or clean himself up before bed, he simply kicked off his shoes and face planted on his bed, falling dead asleep until late the next morning.

When he woke, Nick felt awful. He wasn’t much of a drinker and always thought he could hold his drink better than he really could. The night before was a bit of a haze, but he was pretty sure nothing too wild had happened. Eventually dragging himself off his bed, Nick made his way out to the kitchen and chugged a large glass of water. His head throbbed and he felt wobbly on his feet, so he found the paracetamol in the top of his cupboard and swallowed some down, gagging as they went down.

Oh fuck!

Nick realised he had not taken his medication yesterday afternoon. He tried not to panic, telling himself that one missed dose wouldn’t matter. He could just spend the weekend at home and by Monday, he would be fine for work.

He took his morning tablets, gagging slightly less than he had on the larger paracetamol tablets, and reached for his phone in the pocket of the trousers he was still wearing. The battery was dead, so he plugged it in and took himself off for a shower.

As Nick let the warm water cleanse him, he tried to piece together the events of the night before. He had opened up to Sai and it had really helped. Sai helped him to see that maybe finally presenting could be a good thing. And that maybe whatever was going on between him and Charlie could be worth exploring. If only Charlie would talk to him. They keep having these little moments, where Nick thinks that maybe Charlie might feel something other than disdain for him. At the very least, Nick knew the omega within him was screaming for him to ask the alpha to spend his next heat with him.

His next heat. Nick shuddered at the thought. There was still no certainty as to when it would happen and Nick felt like he was living on the edge of a knife.

Nick's stomach began to grumble. He felt light headed and dizzy. Not knowing if he was about to faint or vomit, Nick hastily turned off the shower. Before he could hop out, he threw up over the shower wall.

With his last remaining strength Nick rinsed himself and the shower wall off again. Eventually he dragged himself out to get dry and dressed, and was now feeling a little better, but was in desperate need of some fluids and sustenance. Nick didn’t drink often these days, but a full English breakfast was always the hangover cure he craved, so he ordered some groceries to be delivered and put the kettle on to brew the tea.

Nick managed to keep the tea down, even though he had added a tad more sugar than his usual one spoonful.

By the time his food arrived, Nick’s stomach was churning with hunger. He hastily fried up some eggs and bacon before devouring it with a ravenous appetite, then decided to take a nap.

But as he lay there, his mind grew busy, and despite still feeling deathly tired, he could not fall asleep. Nick couldn’t help thinking about how he had seen Tao and that beautiful woman he was with. Elle, did he say her name was? And he called her his partner. Nick couldn’t quite piece everything together with his omega colleague. The man was quite a mystery.

Eventually, Nick’s stomach started to cramp. He tried desperately to sleep off the discomfort, but the cramping worsened. His stomach stirred, and he felt bile rising in his throat. Soon, he couldn’t take it any longer. He got up, ran to the bathroom, and emptied the contents of his stomach in the loo.

Nick spent the rest of the day either in bed or on the sofa. He managed to drink a bit of water and nibble on some plain toast for dinner before taking himself off for an early night, hoping he would feel better the next day. He wasn’t sure why his body reacted so severely to drinking, he wondered if it was a usual omega thing, or perhaps the medication he was taking. But Nick resolved never to drink again.

Sunday was a little easier for Nick. He still felt queasy in the morning so decided not to push himself with too much food or drink anything other than water and a weak black tea. He spent another day taking it easy, rewatching the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films like he used to do when he was home sick from school.

By the time Sunday evening rolled around, Nick was feeling a lot better. As he cooked himself a cheese toastie for dinner, he suddenly realised he hadn’t taken his meds since Friday morning. He had tried to Saturday morning, but brought them back up again. Nick wondered what he should do. He could call in sick to give himself one more day to make sure he was covered. But Nick didn’t want to miss more work, especially when his next heat could hit any day now. Perhaps he could call Doctor Anderson to ask for his advice. Nick knew he should do that. But he thought about how the doctor had stressed taking responsibility for his own wellbeing, how he should not put himself at risk.

Nick decided to Google instead.

Chapter Text

Nick felt fine Monday morning. He decided he was okay to go to work. His research came back inconclusive about whether the medication would have a strong enough effect after a break. There were too many variables, such as time of heat cycle and age of the omega. Ultimately, Nick gave up and decided to see how he felt.

Despite feeling pretty rotten for most of the weekend, Nick had developed a newfound outlook after his long chat with Sai on Friday night. He had realised he wanted something more from life. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he decided to start by listening to himself a little more closely, which now included the ever-present omega within.

The omega wanted one thing more than anything, and Nick was starting to come around to the idea. But he was going to try and play it cool, for now.

The problem was – Nick Nelson did not know how to play it cool.

Nick had never had a crush on anyone before. He had never understood when people talked about feeling butterflies when they were around the person they liked, or feeling sexual desire for someone. Never until now.

Nick was hoping he could have a few days without working in close proximity to Charlie, just to get his nerves together before attempting to approach the man. The plan was to smile and be polite and quiet for a couple of days, give Charlie no reason to get frustrated or angry with him, then try to have a casual conversation with the man and see if there really was a spark between them.

Nick was nervous, but he could do this. He had to know. He had to try. He owed himself that much.

Unfortunately, the plan to keep some distance for a couple of days was foiled when Nick and Charlie were assigned to a big shipment with several other coworkers. Nick was relieved to see Ian and William weren’t part of their group, and that Tao was.

The day started off smoothly enough. Nick was sure he caught Charlie looking at him a couple of times, but he turned away each time, and Nick couldn’t help smiling. The shipment was large but contained small enough stock for the workers to handle boxes individually. Due to this, there was little chatter as each employee went about their work. Nick felt his body fatiguing after the first couple of hours. Perhaps he was still a bit hungover. Regardless, he decided to push through.

Eventually, Nick started to feel ill so he excused himself to the bathroom. Just as he was opening the bathroom door, he came face to face with Charlie.

“Oh, shit sorry,” Nick stammered, attempting to move out of the alpha’s way.

Charlie didn’t move though. He kept one hand on the bathroom door and stared Nick down with an expression Nick couldn’t place. Nick stared right back but there was only so much that he could handle. “Excuse me, I just.”

“Oh, shit, yeah sorry,” Charle stammered, moving aside for Nick. “Err, are you okay Nick? You don’t look too…”

Charlie stopped speaking as Nick brushed past him into the bathroom. Nick tried to get to a stall but suddenly he couldn't bring himself to take another step as his whole body flushed with heat. He turned around as if against his own will to look at the alpha, who was staring at him wide-eyed.

“Nick…”

“Charlie…”

Charlie let out a growl and bared his teeth. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Omega?!” He barked out. “If you want me that badly, you could have asked to buy me dinner first!”

Nick gasped, half in surprise, half in fear. Once again, conflicting emotions whirling within pulled him in different directions. His inner omega was excited and desperate with desire, his heart was shattered at the accusation he was trying to trick Charlie, but his ego was pissed – and his ego won out.

“Want you? I don’t fucking want you!” Nick yelled without care for who else might hear him. “You think I’m fucking doing this on purpose? You really think that little of me? That I would put myself at serious risk like that, just to get the attention of one scrawny, little alpha.”

“Nick I…”

“No Charlie, you don’t know, you don’t have the right to judge me. You have no idea what I’ve…” Nick trailed off, he could feel his heart racing and his body burning up. He felt weak at the knees and his head began to throb.

Charlie stepped towards him. “Nick, I’m… I didn’t mean… I’m sorry.” He reached a hand up Nick’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

Nick let out a small gasp at the contact as their eyes met. Nick watched as Charlie’s soft pale eyes began to grow brighter and brighter until they were no longer grey, but the most vibrant of blue.

Suddenly, Nick’s senses were flooded. First, he felt a strange sense of calmness as a fresh scent of cucumber and mint filled his nostrils. Nick realised he was smiling, and watched as Charlie’s face lit up as well. Charlie’s hand travelled down the length of Nick’s arm slowly until he took hold of Nick’s hand.

“Are you okay?” Charlie asked softly.

Nick closed his eyes for a moment, allowing the calming pheromones to wash over him. “I, I think so,” he murmured. But as Nick opened his eyes to look back at the Alpha, he felt a change in the air.

Charlie’s pupils dilated, his scent turned zesty and citrusy sweet. His grip on Nick’s hand tightened. Nick felt his own heart rate speed up as he tried to pull away but Charlie hung on tight. Nick managed to pull away and Charlie seemed to break from his spell, letting go of Nick’s hand. Nick stepped back a little, trying to put some distance between them.

But then he felt it.

Hot, wet stickiness trickled out of him. Nick let out a whimper of despair. Not again. He was royally fucked. Possibly literally this time.

Charlie sniffed the air. “Nick, you can’t… we can’t… this is foolish.”

“Charlie, please! Please help me,” Nick begged, not entirely sure what he was begging for exactly.

“Stay here.” Charlie commanded. “I’ll get help. Don’t go anywhere.”

“No! Please don’t leave, what if someone else… I can’t… Please don’t leave me.”

Charlie let out a frustrated groan. Nick couldn’t help notice the red tinge to his cheeks, and as his eyes trailed down the Alpha’s body, he could see the bulging in his pants. Nick felt a gush of slick escape him and felt his face grow red with embarrassment at the effect Charlie was having on him.

Charlie quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and typed out a quick message.

“Okay then, Omega.” His voice was cool and calm. Charlie stepped towards Nick. “How is it exactly that you want to get helped?”

Nick didn’t know what to say. His omega screamed inside his head:

Alpha, take me!

But Nick had enough of his faculties left to prevent the words from leaving his mouth.

Charlie stepped towards Nick, backing him towards the bathroom sinks, his eyes flashed brightly, and his smile turned devious as Nick’s heartbeat palpitated and his breathing grew ragged. Nick could feel more slick escape him as he shied away from the alpha approaching.

Charlie reached out and grabbed Nick by the front of his shirt, causing Nick to gasp. “Careful there, don’t want you hurting yourself,” Charlie cooed and Nick realised he was about to bump into the protruding sink basin.

Charlie didn’t let go of the front of Nick’s shirt as he stepped closer. Nick let his bum press against the edge of the sink for support. Charlie moved forward, gripping Nick’s shirt tightly as he leaned in. “I asked you a question, Omega – how can I help you?” Charlie asked cooly, mere centimetres from Nick’s lips.

Nick whimpered involuntarily. He could feel his pants were ruined and likely his trousers too.

Take me Alpha, bend me over and make me yours, right here right now and breed me!

“Scent me,” Nick managed to say, fighting the urge to say more.

Charlie’s face lit up with delight. “Gladly,” he purred as he leaned in and pulled Nick’s shirt to the side, and started pressing the tip of his nose to Nick’s scent gland.

Nick moaned in response, his body tingled with electricity. His whole body lit up with desire as Charlie started licking and nipping at Nick’s neck. “You smell so fucking good,” Charlie murmured into Nick’s skin. “I’ve never tasted anything like you before, I want to eat you whole,” he mused as if he no longer possessed an ounce of restraint.

Nick felt himself grow hard as yet more slick escaped his hole. “I want you to take me, Alpha, take me and devour me.” Nick’s own restraint was completely obliterated.

“Taste me first, my Omega,” Charlie uttered. Nick froze at the words.

My Omega.

Was Charlie claiming him as his own? What was this? So much for the dinner Charlie had wanted to be taken to.

Before he could overthink, Nick let his head fall to Charlie’s neck and began his own scenting. Charlie smelled so divine, so intoxicating – like a gin cocktail, he was so overwhelmingly delicious that Nick nearly lost his footing as he pressed his nose to the gland in the nape of Charlie’s neck.

Before long, the two men were sucking and nipping at each other’s necks, not breaking away, their bodies shifted to press against one another. Nick felt himself slipping deeper and deeper, and he knew it was only a matter of time before things escalated. Then, they would find themselves in a dangerous position, where anyone could walk in on them.

Just as the thought travelled through his mind, leaving again to be replaced with thoughts of how Charlie would feel inside of him, the door to the bathroom swung open. The two men shot apart from one another and looked at the door with shocked expressions.

Charlie let out a relieved sigh. “Oh thank fuck. Took your sweet time!”

It was Tao and Mr Lange.

“Come on, we haven’t got much time. Here, round this way.” Mr Lange led the way, Charlie followed close behind as Tao approached Nick with a large towel and handed it to him.

“You okay?” He asked kindly.

“I…” Nick wanted to say yes, he was okay, as long as he didn’t have to leave Charlie. “I… I don’t know. Thank you for helping.”

“It’s okay. Charlie said you were in trouble. We’ll get you out of here in one of the trucks. You’re going to be okay, Nick,” Tao reassured him.

Nick wrapped the towel around himself to hide the dampness of his trousers and let Tao guide him out the back of the building where one of the smaller delivery trucks was parked.

“Right,” Mr Lange started, “you two in the back.”

“What?!” Nick exclaimed.

“Come on, Nick. You know what is happening right? We can get you to a hotel that specialises in these things. It’s all covered under expenses, so don’t worry about anything. Trust me, you’re not going to want to be alone, not after what we saw going on in the bathroom.”

Nick reluctantly agreed and hopped in the back of the delivery truck with a concerned looking Charlie.

Nick sat against the front wall of the cargo space of the truck. Charlie at first kept his distance, sitting himself to one of the side walls while watching Nick closely.

“Stop it,” Nick said as the truck began to move. “I know what you are doing.”

Charlie had the audacity to look shocked. Did he think Nick was an idiot? He could smell him a mile away, trying to calm Nick with his pheromones.

“Sorry, I was just…” Charlie trailed off. “I can tell you’re scared. We don’t have to if you’d rather be alone?”

Nick tutted and rolled his eyes, but on the inside, he was distraught at the thought of Charlie leaving him. However, Nick was also angry.

“How did you… How could you? It wasn’t your right to tell them!”

“Tell them? You seriously think they didn’t know anything? Come on, Nick! What was I supposed to do? Leave you there alone and in heat? Fuck you for days on end there in the disgusting warehouse bathroom? You asked for my help. This is me helping. If you weren’t such a reckless stupid fucking…”

Charlie was cut off by Nick leaping across the truck and pinning him to the truck floor. “I’m not stupid!” He said, his teeth bared and gritted.

Charlie looked up at him, his pointed canines bared as he snarled. “Then tell me, why does this keep happening?!”

“I…I” Nick stuttered, the rage inside him quickly turning back to fear.

Charlie beneath him sniffed the air, his grip on Nick’s arms loosened and he once again released the calming aroma that filled up Nick’s entire being and brought him back from his spiral towards despair. Nick closed his eyes, allowing the fresh mint and cool cucumber calm his senses.

“It’s okay,” Charlie cooed softly, running his hand up from Nick’s arm to cup the side of his face. “You don’t have to tell me now. We can talk after.”

Nick’s eyes shot open, “After? After what?”

“Oh sweet Omega.” Charlie smiled deviously. “After I fuck you into oblivion for days on end.”

Chapter Text

Nick’s stomach did a backwards somersault, his head spun with delirium, but his omega screamed with delight, as his hole gushed and his cock throbbed with need. He pressed himself down against Charlie. They both let out a moan in unison and found one another’s scent glands, scenting each other as they dry humped on the hard truck floor.

Nick could feel his knees ache, but not as much as his cock ached for release. He pressed hard, rutting fast against Charlie until he could feel himself grow closer. Charlie could clearly pick up on this as Nick’s pants and grunts grew more and more rapid, and the smell from the slick he was releasing filled the truck with its pungency.

“That’s it, good boy, take what you need,” Charlie breathed into Nick’s neck, as he stroked the back of his head with one hand and gripped him tightly on the arse with the other. He pushed Nick against him and met his thrusts with his own rocking motion. “I’m sorry I can’t take proper care of you until we are somewhere safe, but you can come for me, my pet. It will help, I promise.”

With Charlie’s words, Nick let himself go, letting out a cry as his whole body convulsed with pleasure. All too soon, Nick came back to reality. He was slumped over Charlie, who was gently rubbing his back and releasing calming pheromones. Nick could still smell the lick of arousal in Charlie’s aroma despite his clear attempt to hide it. Forcing himself out of Charlie's embrace, Nick sat back. An overwhelming urge to rip off all his awfully sticky and damp clothes took over him as the discomfort from his soiled state really set in.

Charlie clearly picked up on his distress. “I’m sure we aren’t far now. We’ll get you sorted, a nice warm shower will help. We may even get time for you to make a lovely nest for us. Would you like that, my pet?”

Nick’s omega preened at the affectionate address. He wanted to be the alpha’s pet, he wanted to be taken care of by Charlie in every way. But part of Nick was still angry, confused and afraid – not to mention nervous. He had never been intimate with anyone before. What had just happened between them was the furthest he had ever gone. Would his practice with the toy be enough to take the Alpha, like that.

Nick knew he should probably tell Charlie it was his first time. But what would Charlie think? Would he refuse to help him? Would he be angry? But if he kept it from him, would that be worse?

Nick didn’t have long to debate with himself over opening up to Charlie, about his lack of experience, as the truck came to a stop. They waited for what felt like an eternity, just sitting side by side in silence, when finally, there was a banging on the truck roller doors.

“Make sure you are decent.” It was Mr Lange’s voice. “Everything is set for you. We’ve got the key to your room here. You’ll be able to head straight up.”

“Thank you!” Charlie replied loudly. “We’re sorted, you can open up.”

…

Getting to the hotel room was a blur. Nick could feel himself slipping deeper into his heat, losing control of his ability to make decisions or register his surroundings. He simply allowed Charlie to guide him and as soon as they were alone in the hotel room, Nick crumpled to the floor in pain.

Charlie rushed to his side and began stroking the omega’s head, releasing calming pheromones and humming a sweet tune.

“Charlie,” Nick said weakly, looking up at the Alpha, whose eyes flashed bright blue before settling back to the softer, greyer shade.

“What do you need, pet?” Charlie inquired gently.

“It hurts, I need you to make the pain stop.”

“I can do that sweetheart, but let's get you out of these clothes and clean you up first, hey?”

Charlie helped Nick out of his soiled clothes and placed them in the laundry hamper outside the bathroom. He ran a hot shower and helped Nick in.

“Are you going to be okay on your own? I think it’s best we don’t shower together.”

Nick felt a pang of disappointment. Was it too intimate of an act, to shower together? Does the alpha not want to do more than he sees completely necessary with me?

“Stop your fussing in there. I can smell you in the steam. It’s just because if I get in there with you, I might lose control, and it’s not a safe or comfortable place to get knotted, trust me.”

Nick let go of his concerns and let the warm water soothe him. He cleaned his body with the liquid soap, doing his best to get every nook and cranny. He couldn’t help wondering what would happen about bodily functions if this lasted days. What happened during his last heat? Nick tried to think back, but his mind was foggy. As he rubbed the washcloth over his stomach, Nick felt his insides clenching. Of course, he didn’t eat for days last time. Was that going to happen again? At least that would explain why going to the toilet was not an issue while in heat.

Eventually, Charlie returned to the bathroom and asked if he was nearly done. Nick kind of didn’t want to leave the shower, but as nervous as he was, he was excited for what was to come. So he turned off the taps and opened the shower door to find Charlie waiting with a large, white fluffy towel.

Nick couldn’t help smiling at the coy look on Charlie’s face, as he stepped out and allowed the Alpha to wrap him in the towel. “Are you alright to dry yourself? There is a robe out there you can put on. And there are lots of pillows and blankets and a big bed, if you want to get yourself comfortable while I have a quick wash as well.”

Nick simply nodded and left the bathroom. His head was feeling a little clearer after the long, hot shower and he enjoyed the feeling of finally being clean and out of his soiled clothes. For a moment, he worried about what he would wear when they left, however long this was going to take, but he pushed the thought away, knowing that was a future concern.

After rubbing the towel over his body and through his hair to dry off, Nick walked over to the robe lying on the bed and put it on. It fit him quite well and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was meant for Alphas and if there was a smaller robe Charlie would emerge wearing.

Charlie.

Charlie was in the shower in the room next to Nick, naked, cleaning his body, getting ready to… What? Have sex with Nick? Nick, who was a virgin, a barely presented omega. Nick’s nerves took over. He paced around the room, trying to find a way to tell Charlie what this meant to him, what it would mean to him.

Before Nick realised what he was doing, he had built a nest on the bed out of the pillows and blankets he found around the room. He lined the inside of the nest with towels to try and minimise any mess on the bedding, although he suspected it might not be that effective. He stood back and looked at his creation and immediately felt calmer. It looked so cosy and comfortable and Nick suddenly felt weary. So, he dropped his robe and hopped into the nest, snuggling under the blankets and curling into a ball.

…

Nick woke suddenly. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep but he quickly realised he was wet and hard. The cramping had returned but it was dull and less intense than earlier. Nick forced himself to sit up and saw that he wasn’t alone. Charlie was in the room, pacing around, naked. Nick watched him for a moment. Was he? Yes, he was…

Holy fuck!

Nick let out an involuntary gasp at the sight of Charlie stroking his extremely large cock with vigour. The gasp alerted Charlie to his presence.

Charlie looked at him, his eyes wide and slightly glazed over.

“Oh thank fuck, you’re awake,” he breathed out. “I wasn’t sure how much longer I could… doesn’t matter, you’re awake now. Are you ready for me?”

Nick’s insides did backflips as his voice wobbled with nerves. “I, I think so.”

Charlie’s eye cleared and flashed electric blue, no longer returning to their usual grey. They settled on a bright and bold shade that Nick thought was possibly the most beautiful colour he had ever seen. “I am going to need consent, Omega. This is your last chance to say no before my rut takes hold.”

Nick let out a whimper, genuinely concerned for what the next few days would bring.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I will be gentle if you need it. My alpha isn’t a monster, we want to take good care of you.”

Nick swallowed and nodded, “I give my consent, Alpha,” he murmured, lust overtaking fear, or perhaps heightened by it.

Charlie smiled brightly, and for the first time Nick noticed that he had dimples. How had he never seen those before? He really was the most beautiful man he had ever seen. Not that Nick had a habit of noticing beautiful people before now.

“Good boy.” Nick felt a tingle run through his body and his hole released more slick at the praise. His whole body reacting to the approval of the alpha in the room. Charlie’s voice changed to a deeper, more commanding tone, “Now, Omega. Present,” he instructed.

Chapter Text

Nick let out a whimper as he scurried onto his knees and presented himself for Charlie. Charlie couldn’t help but let out a little groan of satisfaction at the sight. As much as the alpha within was delighted, it still chastised Charlie for taking so long to claim this beautiful omega.

We could have been having this for weeks!

Charlie pushed the voice away and with the last of his remaining higher faculties, he took in the sight in front of him as he moved closer. Nick gasped as Charlie hopped onto the bed and into the nest.

“This is a lovely space you have made for us, my pet.” Charlie had noticed the effect the endearment had on Nick. “Such a beautiful nest. Such a clever omega you are.” He hoped that Nick wouldn’t feel patronised by the comment, but judging from the little satisfied sigh he let out, the omega appreciated the praise.

Charlie positioned himself behind the omega and ran his hands over his back and down to his bum. He felt delectably hot to the touch, and the content little purrs coming from the omega told him his caress was welcome. Charlie breathed in the scent of the omega, intoxicating him further with need and lust, but something else as well. Something deeper, an earthy note to the aromatic cinnamon, a heavy fermentation of the apple like a warm spiced cider on Christmas Eve. Charlie wanted to drink him in, take his time with him, and utterly devour the beautiful omega, the beautiful man before him.

Charlie was snapped out of his appreciation by the throb of his needy cock. It was time. Charlie had brought himself to orgasm just once while Nick was sleeping, just to hold himself off from waking him, knowing they both would be coming until they were dry over the next few days.

He was ready. Everything was in place. Water bottles and energy dense snacks by the bed, a large pack of alpha sized condoms and a bottle of lube on the nightstand, a pile of towels stacked at the foot of the bed. Charlie reached for the condoms and placed the pack in the nest. Knowing that they would likely be going through them quickly, he wanted them close at hand so his alpha didn’t get any ideas about forgoing them.

Charlie tore open a condom wrapper with his teeth as his right hand worked its way down Nick’s cleft and his fingers dipped into the delightfully warm and moist cavern between the omega’s cheeks.

Nick moaned and whimpered as Charlie ran the tips of his fingers over his needy hole. Charlie removed his hand to roll the condom down his shaft. Once he was covered, Charlie’s hands went back to Nick’s arse, taking a cheek in each and spreading him apart, taking in the heady, intoxicating aroma. He moved in close to inspect Nick’s pretty pink hole, surrounded by a spattering of soft dark blonde hairs, and wet with slick that continued to escape from it. Charlie could barely stop himself from diving in cock or possibly face first, but he managed to resist.

“Can I taste you?” he murmured.

“What? You, you want to do that?” Nick looked over his shoulder at Charlie with a face of pure surprise.

“Fuck yes,” Charlie implored.

Nick’s eyes widened and then softened again, and he nodded his head before resting it back down on the pillows. Charlie leaned in, taking one last breath to inhale the sweet aroma, before pressing his face into Nick’s arse and running his tongue along the puckering hole, lapping at it with relish.

Charlie could have died a happy man at that moment. Nick tasted amazing on his tongue, his hole continued to bloom as he circled and wiggled inside the tight rim. Nick groaned and gasped as Charlie worked him with his mouth. He wanted to savour the moment but the throbbing in his groin was increasing, the heat rising to his head was getting unbearable, and he knew he needed relief. Charlie was getting so riled up that he knew his knot would be swelling up upon release. He wondered if Nick would mind being knotted so early in their session. On one hand it could make him a little tender for the next round, on the other it would calm his aches and cramps for longer.

Charlie reluctantly extracted his face from Nick’s arse and reached for a small towel to wipe the remnants of slick off his face. He pushed two fingers inside Nick’s hole, causing the omega to cry out. Scissoring them apart, Charlie could tell Nick was completely ready to take him, and more than wet enough, so he could forgo the lube. Charlie ran his slick-smeared fingers over his covered shaft before taking hold of it and positioning himself in close behind the still fully presented omega.

“Are you ready, Omega?” Charlie asked, trying to sound calm and in control.

“Yeah,” came the muffled voice of Nick, whose face was smothered by the bedding.

Without another word, Charlie began to move and Nick’s rim bloomed as Charlie’s tip pressed against it and invited him in. It felt incredible, tight but welcoming. Nick breathed heavily into the pillow, Charlie could see his body heaving as he drew in each staggered breath. There was a little resistance and Nick’s breathing quickened. Charlie rubbed circles into the base of Nick’s back and urged him to relax.

Nick seemed to listen, because soon Charlie felt himself completely sheathed by Nick’s gloriously tight hole. The two men panted as Charlie paused, giving Nick ample time to adjust. His alpha sang to Nick’s omega with waves of calming and arousing pheromones; Nick’s omega replied with a scent of joy and submission.

“Alpha, you’re so big, I feel so full,” Nick murmured, lifting his head to look back at Charlie with wet eyes.

“You’re so hot and tight, Omega, going to make you feel so good,” Charlie replied. “Now be a good boy and put your head back down. Trust me, it will be easier this way. I’m going to make you feel so good, my pet.”

And as Nick’s head rested back down, Charlie let the alpha within take full control. He pulled out of Nick a little more than half way, extracting a gasp from the omega, before thrusting back in, not yet with full power but enough force to cause the omega to cry out.

The next movement was not so restrained, as the alpha began thrusting hard and fast into the omega’s needy hole with a punishing pace. He leaned over the omega, one hand placed on his shoulder and the other gripping Nick by the waist, he fucked him hard and fast causing Nick to pant and grunt on each deep thrust. A tiny voice in the back of Charlie’s mind questioned if Nick was enjoying this as much as he was, but the alpha insisted the omega was getting what he wanted without question.

Soon, Nick’s grunts turned guttural and he began to cry out, “Alpha, Alpha, oh fuck, I’m so close fuck, fuck, fuck!” before clenching around Charlie and letting out a strangled cry.

The tightness of Nick squeezing around him as he came brought Charlie close, but not quite over the line. He could feel his knot beginning to swell as he grew closer. Nick started whimpering with overstimulation, but Charlie knew omegas were built to withstand it and often came more than once during a round, so he didn’t let up despite Nick’s whimpers.

“Alpha, Alpha, what is happening?” Nick questioned desperately, tucking his head under himself and arching forward. “Are you getting bigger? It’s so much. It’s, it…”

Charlie’s alpha, desperate to please the omega, allowed Charlie to pause and check. “It’s my knot, sweet thing. Are you going to take it?”

“I, I…” Nick stammered. “Yes, Alpha. I want your knot.”

With the omega’s permission, the alpha took the reins, leaning over the helpless form below him and pressing him hard into the bed with one hand. With his other hand, Charlie took hold of his head and gripped into his hair as he fucked his swelling knot into the tight rim over and over. The omega whimpered and cried as he took the pounding. Finally, with one last series of brutal blows Charlie came hard, letting out a primal growl as he pushed himself in hard and deep, filling the condom and allowing his knot to reach full capacity safely within the omega’s twitching hole.

Nick let out a primal cry of his own, tightening and twitching as he came, messing the bed beneath his flattened body.

Charlie felt as if the life had momentarily gone out of his body. He was limp atop the larger man, the only firm part of his body still swollen and deeply embedded inside Nick. Charlie quickly regained his faculties as he realised Nick was sobbing.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Nick didn’t respond. Fuck! Have I hurt him?

“Nick?! Please answer me. Did I hurt you? Are you okay?”

“I, I…” Nick sobbed, “It hurts, it’s too much, Charlie. The sex was really, really good. But the knot, it’s so fucking intense! I, I, I’m going to come.” Nick let out a strangled cry and clamped down hard on Charlie’s inflated knot causing Charlie to twitch and stiffen. Charlie gave a little involuntary thrust of his hips and released a further load into the already at capacity condom deep inside Nick’s hole.

“Shit! Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Nick sobbed in reply. “I think it’s starting to feel a little less intense now.”

“Oh-kay, good. Just try and relax. Would you like to shuffle to our sides?”

“Um, okay. But, carefully please,” Nick responded quietly.

Charlie very cautiously shifted with Nick, doing his best not to pull or push his knot on Nick’s rim as they shuffled. Just as they were nearly in position, Charlie’s leg cramped and he made a small but sudden movement. Nick let out a hiss and then a groan.

“Sorry. Leg cramp. All good now. You can rest back on my shoulder if you like.”

Nick didn’t say anything, he simply leant back as Charlie suggested. Charlie rested his chin in the nape of Nick’s neck and focused on steadying his own breath and releasing his calming pheromones to settle the agitated omega.

Soon, Charlie felt Nick relax and his breathing evened out. Charlie stroked Nick’s hair and allowed himself to drift off to sleep as well.

When Charlie woke a little while later, he realised Nick was whimpering. At first he wasn’t sure if Nick was even awake but when he reached back and grabbed Charlie’s hip, digging his fingers in to get Charlie’s attention, Charlie realised something was wrong.

“Nick, what’s the matter?” Charlie asked, failing to entirely hide the frustration from his own voice.

“You’re… It’s still in there!” Nick admonished.

Charlie let out a sigh, “Well yes. We were only asleep for a few minutes, pet. It shouldn’t take too much longer.” Charlie tried to show care and calmness for the omega’s sake but he was feeling overwhelmed by the situation himself. Charlie couldn’t deny he and Nick had some serious chemical attraction, but Nick’s unpredictable behaviour vexed Charlie to no end.

Nick bristled and Charlie wondered if the ‘pet’ endearment was not welcome in this moment of clarity. Charlie put all his efforts into calming the omega. Nick seemed to settle before he spoke. “Does… Will it always take this long? And… It won't hurt every time, will it?”

Charlie frowned with confusion, thankful that Nick couldn’t see his face and read his expressions. Had Nick not been knotted before? How old was Nick, he had to be close to Charlie’s own age, right?

“It’s not like you’ve never done this before, right?” Charlie enquired.

For such a large man, Nick’s voice came out very small, “I… no… I haven’t. This is my first time.”

“Being knotted?”

“Anything, any of it, all of it.”

“You… you’d never, you were a…” Charlie spluttered, his head starting to spin.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who should be sorry. Did I hurt you? Are you hurting? It will go down soon I promise.”

“No, well yes, but I’m okay. It was super intense, but after I came again I felt a bit better. I just panicked because I fell asleep and when I woke I thought it wouldn’t, you wouldn’t… and yeah,” Nick rambled, awkwardly. Charlie stroked his hand down Nick’s side in gentle sweeping motions, trying to pour in his care and affection for the omega with each touch. Nick took in a deep, shaky breath. “Now I know that, it’s, you know, fine and everything, it feels kind of nice actually. I feel weirdly complete.”

Charlie found himself smiling at this confession. “I know it’s a lot. I’m glad you are feeling a bit better.” Charlie felt Nick’s body relax a little more. “Gotta love them knotting hormones,” he laughed, causing a vibration within Nick and Nick to whimper as the knot tugged at his hole.

“Sorry.”

“You say that too much.”

“So do you, maybe we should ban it.”

Both men giggled again, causing Nick to hiss and gasp at the tug.

“Will it always feel this intense?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie said honestly. He had been with an omega before but they had never discussed their feelings, physical or otherwise as openly as Nick seemed to be able to do. Charlie was beginning to understand that Nick wasn’t just some reckless, strangely burly omega trying to play tough like a typical knothead alpha might.

Nick turned his neck to look at Charlie’s face, Charlie leaned back and turned his own head so their eyes could meet.

“Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you kiss me?”

“Yeah,” Charlie uttered, leaning in at the awkward angle to meet Nick’s lips with his own in a sweet, soft kiss. As much as he wanted to deepen the kiss, this would have to do for now. When they broke apart, Nick smiled warmly and Charlie found his own face light up with affection. As he did so, he felt his knot deflating and slipping from Nick’s warm embrace. He quickly pushed Nick forwards and grabbed the overfilled condom at the base and fully pulled out.

Ah, shit. It was broken.

Chapter Text

“Err, Nick.” Charlie held up the condom that was spilling come and slick all over his hand and the bedding.

“Is that?” Nick stammered.

“Yeah.” Charlie walked over to the bin near the kitchenette and placed the ruined condom in it. He started gathering soiled blankets and towels from around Nick and placing fresh towels into the nest.

“Oh. Um, well apparently my meds work as birth control, but I kind of stuffed them up recently, so I don’t know.” Nick looked down as he spoke, his face flushing all over.

Charlie bit his bottom lip and took a moment before responding. “Well, we can keep using the condoms and hopefully, no more will break. But don’t panic, I am on contraceptives as well and have had a negative STI screening since my last partner. I guess if you haven’t…” Charlie cut himself off. There was no need for him to comment on Nick being a virgin.

Nick curled himself into a ball. “Okay,” he responded weakly.

Charlie cautiously approached Nick. He reached out to tenderly stroke his shoulder and smiled softly down at the omega, who looked up at him through wet eyes. “Did you want to take another shower?” Charlie suggested gently. “You should have some snacks and water as well. This will only be a short respite, and we may not get many more until we are nearing the end.”

Nick peered up at Charlie with concern written on his face. “How long is it going to go on for?”

Charlie couldn’t help the intrusive thought that Nick was unhappy to be here with him for his heat and wanted it to be over as soon as possible. He bit back the impulse to snap defensively at Nick, and steadied himself before he spoke. Unfortunately, his anxiety managed to escape through his scent, as Nick’s nose twitched and he ducked his head submissively at the alpha, as if on instinct.

Charlie shook away his insecurities and took a deep breath. Clearly, the omega wanted to cooperate and didn’t want to be alone. They could sort out the details of what they now meant to each other later.

“It will take at least another two days, Nick. I’m sorry. It might take more,” he said softly, as he picked up a bottle of water and handed it to Nick. Nick took the water and sat up a little more to drink from it before offering it back to Charlie, who took a big gulp.

Nick looked down at his own naked body. “I’ll go freshen up while I can, I guess,” he said. Charlie moved for him to get past.

“Nick.” Charlie stopped the naked omega before he could enter the bathroom. “Here, eat this first. You might not get a chance to eat when you return.”

Nick took the energy bar, but didn’t open it. He looked at Charlie with a questioning look.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, I… what if… how does, you know…” Nick stammered, beginning to release a sour stench of stress.

“Omega! What is the matter?” Charlie asked with a commanding tone, hoping it would help the omega find the courage to speak plainly. He softened his tone when he saw the fear in Nick’s eyes. “There isn’t anything you can’t ask me.”

Nick screwed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before blurting out, “I am worried about bodily functions if I eat. But also I lost a lot of muscle mass that I still haven’t regained since my last heat, so I don’t want to starve myself but I don’t want to get…” Nick opened his eyes and looked at Charlie pleadingly, before a bashful smile twisted at the corner of his mouth, “Don’t make me say it, please.”

Charlie had to suppress a laugh. “Nick, a tiny snack here and there isn’t going to make you need to go. Eventually, we won't get any reprieves until towards the end. Any water we manage to drink will leave our bodies through other fluids. And yes, we are going to be very hungry and thirsty by the end of this. Our bodies have a pretty good way of working these things out, I’ve not ever heard of poop being a problem during a heat before, so don’t stress about it.”

Nick cringed when Charlie said ‘poop’, but he smiled and nodded, before unwrapping the snack and taking a big bite.

As Nick showered, Charlie gave himself a quick once over with a damp towel. He doubted he would get a chance to shower after the omega and didn’t want to risk entering the bathroom at the same time. The hotel was specifically designed to cater to heat/rut cycles, but Charlie wondered if any of the more expensive rooms were equipped with two bathrooms.

Charlie decided to rest while he waited for Nick to return. He couldn’t help smiling as he climbed back into the well made, yet slightly messed up, nest Nick had built for them. There was something special about getting to experience an omega’s first time, it wasn’t something he had thought about until now though. He just wished he’d known it was Nick’s first time beforehand, rather than finding out when he had already knotted him.

Charlie was still so perplexed by the omega. He still had so many questions on his mind, but Charlie knew he couldn’t press Nick for answers during his heat, so he tried to push them aside for later. Just as Charlie’s mind started to relax, he felt his own urges rising once again. Charlie knew from experience he was going to be lost to the alpha for some time as soon as he took hold. He just hoped Nick was prepared for it and that he was able to allow himself to surrender to his omega’s needs.

Nick returned from the bathroom, completely naked. “I’m really wet and not from the shower, I mean… I need it… you again. Are you ready? I really need you. Please!” Nick stammered urgently.

Charlie looked up as Nick approached the nest. Nick grinned sheepishly down at him as he saw Charlie lying back, naked and standing to attention.

“Yes, I am more than ready, my pet,” he cooed, before adding, “why don’t you come here and take it yourself this time?” Charlie patted his thigh, encouraging Nick to come mount him.

Nick’s eyes went wide and he hesitated for a moment. “I, I can do that?”

“Of course you can. You can have whatever you like, sweetness.”

Nick smiled with delight, before clambering over Charlie and awkwardly positioning himself. Charlie cooed encouragingly as Nick tried to line his hole up with Charlie’s cock. Charlie reached around to help everything in position. It took a little bit of manoeuvring, but soon Nick’s warm heat was sliding down Charlie’s hard member and they were both sighing with relief.

“Oh fuck, condom!” Charlie suddenly realised.

“Oh!” Nick blurted out. Charlie tried to push Nick off, but Nick pushed back down, “Wait. How effective is alpha birth control?”

“Nick…”

“Charlie, we’ve got this far, you feel so good like this. Do you think maybe?”

Charlie’s resolve was gone. He let out a growl, before propping himself up to wrap his arms around the omega’s neck, bringing him into a desperate kiss. Nick kissed back with passion, and soon he started rocking against Charlie.

Nick shifted so he had both legs bent and leaned forward to be able to bounce up and down on Charle’s cock as they kissed. They panted and moaned into each other’s mouths as they fucked. Charlie met Nick’s little bobbing motions with his own small thrusts up and soon, they were moving in synchronisation as they chased their pleasure. Charlie slipped a hand between them and took hold of Nick’s cock, stroking it in time with their movements.

“Mmm, that feels so good,” Nick muttered against Charlie’s lips.

“Yeah?” Charlie checked. “Feels good? Are you going to come for me, my sweet Omega? I want to make you come over and over on my cock as I fill you up.”

As if he had uttered the magic words, Nick let out a cry and Charlie felt him pulsing in his hand as he clenched around him. Charlie let out his own cry, as Nick’s hole milked out his own orgasm. They took a moment, still connected, foreheads pressed together to recover from their bliss.

“It’s not…” Nick suddenly said.

“Oh, it won't every time, my pet.”

“Oh.” Nick almost sounded disappointed.

Charlie chuckled. “Do you want my knot again, Omega? Do you need me to give it to you?”

Nick bit his bottom lip, looking delightfully coy as he nodded. Charlie felt his heart do a little flutter at the effect he was having on this man.

“Well, let's see what we can do about that.” Charlie felt a little pang of guilt at how relieved he was not to have to fuss with condoms now. He flipped their position without leaving Nick’s warm embrace. Charlie grabbed hold of Nick’s calves, bent him in half and began thrusting hard and fast into him.

…

The second time Charlie knotted Nick, they both sighed with relief as they came down from Charlie’s second and Nick’s third orgasm of this round. “It feels different this time,” Nick hummed into Charlie’s shoulder.

“Good different, or…?”

“Yeah, good different. Because I knew what to expect.”

“Well that’s good. I didn’t like you being distressed last time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not this again.”

They both giggled, which made Nick wince.

“Sorry!” Charlie blurted out, causing a renewed round of giggles and hisses from Nick as the knot pulled on his hole.

“Is it weird that it hurts and feels good? Like, it’s a good pain. Does that make me strange?”

Charlie bit his lip and thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. I could be all ‘omegas are meant to, built to, etc.’ but I think that’s bullshit.”

Nick’s eyes went wide before a confused frown creased across his face.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are obviously some biological factors involved, but well, I think we are all just built differently. We are who we are, and some of us like different things. There is nothing wrong with liking a bit of pain. There is also nothing wrong with hating the pain and not wanting to experience it. If you said you never wanted to do this again, I would totally understand. I’d…” Charlie trailed off, feeling his face flush with embarrassment.

“Charlie?”

“Oh, I’d… I’d still want to be here, with you. To help you through your heat, without knotting you or even fucking you if you didn’t want it. I, that is my alpha, just wants to help.”

Nick just looked at him blankly.

“What?” Charlie probed.

“I, er, nothing, just thanks. That’s really nice.”

“Shut up.”

They both burst into giggles and as they did, Charlie’s partially deflated knot tugged on Nick’s stretched hole.

“Oh fuck,” Nick moaned, “God, do that again.”

Charlie grinned with delight, “Yeah? Like this?” He retracted just slightly, stretching Nick’s rim with the knot before thrusting back in hard.

“Oh fuck, Alpha yes, more, fuck me!” Nick pleaded.

Charlie allowed the alpha to take hold as the omega whined and begged to be filled and knotted over and over until they both fell asleep from exhaustion.

When Charlie woke, light was shining through the gaps in the blinds. They must have slept for at least some of the night. The bed was a mess of sticky, crusted blankets and towels. He did his best to extract as many of them as he could without waking Nick. Charlie reached for more towels from the pile he had made earlier, but it was starting to run low. He thought about looking for more but didn’t think he should leave the nest at this stage. If the omega woke to find him gone, Nick could get quite distressed.

Instead, Charlie leaned out and picked up a bottle of water to take a drink. As he did, Nick began to stir. “Alpha,” he mumbled.

“I’m here, my omega. I am right here.”

“Need you Alpha.” Charlie wasn’t sure if Nick was talking in his sleep or if he was just deep in his heat and ready for more.

“You’ve got me, Omega,” Charlie cooed, laying back down to snuggle against the larger man.

Charlie placed a hand on Nick’s hip, his warm skin felt so smooth and soft on such a delicate part of his body. Nick sighed and shivered at the contact. Charlie could see Nick was hard and leaking, and he longed to taste the precome dripping from his tip.

“Want to taste you, Omega,” Charlie rumbled, realising his rut was deepening.

Nick simply made a sweet little omega whine, indicating to Charlie that he was deep into his heat. Charlie ran his tongue over the tip of Nick's cock, extracting the most beautiful little whimpers and moans from the omega. He worked him over with his hand and mouth, until Nick was shooting down Charlie’s hungry throat.

It wasn’t enough for Nick, though. “More,” he whimpered, “Alpha fill me, I need it.”

Charlie didn’t waste any time. He probed an exploratory finger in Nick’s hole, finding it wet and pliant, ready to be filled over and over for the full day as he expected.

ART

Chapter Text

Nick started to feel the haze lifting, he was unsure how long it had been. His body felt sore all over, but in a weird way the ache felt good. He had just woken from what felt like a deep slumber. Charlie was curled around him, holding him across the chest tightly. Nick could hear his deep breathing and figured he must still be asleep.

Nick managed to extract himself from the sleeping alpha and the ruined nest. He staggered to the bathroom and inspected himself in the mirror. He looked like shit. His hair was greasy and sticking out at all angles. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin looked dry. Then there was the rest of his body, which was covered in crusted fluids, hundreds of tiny bruises, scratches and bite marks. Nick reached for his neck instinctively. It felt strangely smooth. Nick examined it with his fingers and leaned into the mirror to get a closer look. There were no bite marks there. Instead of relief that Charlie had not claimed him in the throes of passion when they were both lost to their instincts, Nick was flooded with a different emotion.

Unable to help himself, he let out a little sob.

Why doesn’t he want me? The omega cried.

Nick took a deep steadying breath. Don’t be ridiculous, he told the inner voice, you don’t want to be claimed by him. Not now.

Nick’s rational mind could not ignore the pull he had towards Charlie. But he was also aware that they barely knew one another, and he had no idea of Charlie’s actual intentions towards him.

Not to mention, they hated each other’s guts. Didn’t they? Perhaps not at this point but Nick was pretty sure Charlie still thought he was an idiot.

But there was no silencing the omega within, who pined for his alpha. Nick rolled his tired eyes at himself in the mirror. “He’s just in the other room,” Nick spoke softly into the mirror. “You can wait.”

Nick greedily slurped water from the basin tap, splashing cold water onto his face as he did. Then with the last of his strength, he forced himself into the shower and washed away the congealed mess covering him, the warm water soothing his aches all over.

Nick thought his cycle must be coming to an end. He was definitely feeling more aware of his rational mind. He wondered how many days it had been. Nick reached behind to clean his most intimate body part. He pulled his cheeks apart to let the warm water soothe and cleanse his raw hole. How many times did he knot me? Nick tried to think back, but it was all just a blur.

The water felt good, but Nick thought he should clean properly. So with soapy fingers, he found his hole and gave it a gentle swipe. Of course that felt too good. It stung a little from overuse, but Nick felt himself quickly slicken and his cock began to twitch. He wasn’t done yet. Nick sped through the rest of his shower and dried himself off hastily.

Returning to the bedroom, he found Charlie sitting on the edge of the bed drinking a bottle of water.

“Ah, there you are,” he said, a small smile twisting at the corner of his mouth. The smile quickly disappeared as Charlie’s eyes ran down Nick’s naked body, lingering on his hard cock and back up to his pleading face.

“Oh, I guess I don’t have time for a wash myself,” he said, sniffing the air.

Nick simply shook his head in desperation.

Charlie grabbed the top layer of soiled towels from the ruined nest and chucked them across the room. He picked up the last of the unused towels and hastily draped them on the bed. Nick fought the urge to neaten the nest, his omega whining in his head. Charlie held out an arm towards the bed for Nick.

Nick clambered on as his instinct took hold again. He just wanted to be filled and knotted a̶n̶d̶ c̶l̶a̶i̶m̶e̶d̶ a̶n̶d̶ b̶r̶e̶d̶, so without a second thought, Nick presented to the alpha.

Charlie let out a little “Oh,” in a surprised tone. “It’s like that, is it?”

“Just fuck me already, Alpha!” Nick spat out in frustration. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him, but he was once again battling with mixed emotions tearing him in different directions. The only cure to his torment was the alpha’s cock, embedded deep within him.

Charlie moved over, slower than Nick could stand. He whined needily as Charlie tutted and told him to be patient. Finally, Nick could feel Charlie behind him, but infuriatingly not yet touching him. Nick wiggled his bum, mewling needily, slick spilling out from the desperate anticipation.

“Wait, Omega!” Charlie barked, giving Nick’s cheek a hard slap. The sting sent shockwaves through Nick’s body. He let out a wanton moan that made Charlie chuckle deviously. “Oh, you like that, do you?” Nick simply hummed into the bedding. “Well?” Charlie gave the exact same spot two quick but firm slaps, before running his hand over the smarting skin gently. “I asked you a question, Omega.” Charlie punctuated his request for a response with another sharp blow.

“Yes!” Nick’s cry was muffled as he pressed his face into the bedding. “Yes I like it, but please, please fill me already!” he pleaded.

Charlie probed Nick’s tender hole with an exploratory finger, then added another and scissored them apart. It felt good but not enough. “More,” Nick whined.

“So, fucking, needy,” Charlie chastised, slapping Nick’s other cheek with his free hand. “Fine, I’ll give you what you want. Sure you can still take it? You’re very red back here.” There was a hint of concern in Charlie’s commanding tone.

Maybe he does care for me?

“Yes! I can take it. Fuck me already.”

Charlie extracted his fingers swiftly, letting out a appreciative moan, “Fuck, you taste good,” he murmured, a sucking sound told Nick that Charlie had sucked his fingers clean. Charlie’s tip teased Nick’s rim for just a moment before he pushed in hard, all the way to the hilt, leaving Nick short for breath and seeing stars.

Nick cried out as his orgasm hit him hard and by surprise. Charlie chuckled, before slapping his arse, “You really are a needy little slut for me, aren’t you?” he purred into Nick’s ear.

Nick whimpered, the overstimulation caused by Charlie leaning in and tickling against his prostate was nearly unbearable. Charlie’s teasing words nearly sent him over the edge again. Why do I like to be spoken to that way? Nick wondered. A nagging thought at the back of his mind told him that Charlie was just giving him this out of pity.

“Well, needy little omegas get what they want, don’t they?” Charlie’s voice sounded strange, as he started pounding into Nick. “I’ve given and given you what you wanted for days on end. But it’s not enough, is it? You still want more. You are going to be limping and leaking my spend for days. If you dare go back to work, everyone will smell me on you. Everyone will know you are…” Charlie stopped mid sentence.

What?

His?

Was Charlie going to say “mine”?

There was no more talk. Charlie let loose at a punishing pace, fucking harder into Nick than he could almost take in his fucked out hole. Charlie cried out and Nick could feel the come flooding his insides. Charlie’s body crumpled over Nick’s back and the alpha drew in deep breaths. But when his knot didn’t swell, he took no time at all before he began fucking hard and fast back into the omega.

Nick could feel the come and slick running down his legs. He wondered if this had been what it was like all the other times, when he was deeper in his heat. This was definitely different for him. He was more aware of everything. His senses were set alight. He was in touch with every part of his body, from the ache in his back to the tingling in his toes. Nick wondered if this was what Charlie’s alpha was like. Charlie had said his alpha only wants to please Nick’s omega. Was this what he thought he wanted? Needed? Or was this more the aggressive side of Charlie?

Is Charlie taking out his frustrations with me on my hole?

Why does that do it for me?

Charlie’s breaths grew ragged, he slowed his pace but thrust in deeper with each blow. Nick cried out with pleasure and pain, as Charlie began delivering hard blows to his red raw arsecheek with the palm of his hand.

Charlie began muttering, “You will take my knot, you will take my come, you will submit, you fucking ridiculous omega!”

Nick moaned and grunted, he needed Charlie’s knot desperately. He needed Charlie, no, the Alpha, so badly, it hurt. “Fuck me, fill me up with come, knot me,” Nick babbled, “breed me Alpha, knot me, bite me and…” claim me, the words died on Nick’s lips as Charlie cried out, releasing inside him as his knot inflated. Charlie leaned forward over Nick’s hunched body and Nick felt a sharp pain in the side of his upper back as he came hard.

…

Neither man spoke as they lay attached together in the most, yet least intimate way. Nick felt exhausted. Not just physically, but emotionally. He shifted his legs out to lay flat on his stomach, trying not to react as the knot inside him tugged on his hole. Charlie moved with him and rested atop him. Nick found the weight of the smaller man somewhat comforting, but it wasn’t enough to soothe the ache in his heart.

At some point, Nick must have drifted off to sleep. When he woke, Charlie was licking the back of his neck and panting rapidly.

“Alpha?” Nick murmured weakly.

“Thank fuck you’re awake,” Charlie groaned. “Need you! Can you take it?”

Nick realised Charlie was still hard inside him, knot deflated but cock twitching.

Of course he could take it. That’s what he was built for, right?

Nick was sure his heat was coming to an end. But there was no telling when Charlie’s rut would end and Nick was determined to help him through to the end. It was hardly an unenjoyable experience, being with Charlie like this. And despite knowing Charlie didn’t care for him as his alpha cared for Nick’s omega, Nick took solace in the remaining time they would have together.

“Yes. I…” Nick gripped the bedding below him. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to think. He just wanted to feel something other than the emotional turmoil inside. “Just fuck me like this. Take what you need, Alpha. I am yo… I can take it all.”

Charlie made a peculiar sigh, as Nick couldn’t see his face he had no idea what the alpha was thinking. Charlie didn’t say a word. He simply kissed the dip between Nick’s shoulderblades gently before repositioning himself and fucking into Nick.

Nick could be fucked like this all day. The position was just so deliciously deep. Something about Charlie just taking what he needed as Nick lay there and submitted, made Nick’s brain go fizzy. He wasn’t going to come like this but he didn’t care. He was probably dry anyway by this point, although the slick still seemed to be flowing enough to continue to forgo the lube. Nick wondered how many times Charlie had come inside him. Would he really be leaking for days? Did Charlie mean what he said about other people smelling Charlie on him?

Then the other thoughts began to creep into his head. The thoughts he had banished from his mind from right near the start. What if he got pregnant? Nick’s mind spiralled. How had he been so stupid? Why had he taken such a stupid risk? What was he even doing? Nick held in his sobs as he felt hot tears run down his cheeks.

Nick wasn’t sure how long it had been. Minutes, hours possibly. Finally, Charlie let out a series of grunts and a final deep thrust before Nick felt him pulsing inside. No knot though. Charlie collapsed over him. He buried his face into the nape of Nick’s neck and licked at Nick’s gland before suddenly lifting up, then gently pulling out to lay beside Nick, who was still sobbing with his face down into the bedding.

“Hey, Nick,” Charlie said gently. “Look at me please, Omega.”

Nick rolled to his side to face Charlie, but averted his eyes.

“Hey, my pet, did I hurt you?” Charlie cooed softly.

Nick looked at the alpha, Charlie’s hair was wild and he had similar dark circles under his eyes to Nick’s, but his expression looked sincere. “No, you didn’t,” Nick sobbed.

“Come here.” Charlie opened his arms and Nick allowed his head to be cradled in the alpha’s arms as he breathed in the calming pheromones and felt his body relax.

…

Charlie insisted he was fine and that he could manage the last stage of his rut on his own. Nick disagreed and assured him he was happy to help him with the final few releases.

Nick couldn’t bring himself to allow Charlie to look him in the eye though. Despite his request they did it in missionary, Nick insisted from behind was best for him. Truth was, he couldn’t bear to look at the alpha for fear he would fall deeper for him, and be even more distraught at the end.

As Charlie came for the last time, he pulled out and flopped onto his back. Nick rolled over to look at him. He was smiling dopily and Nick couldn’t help his own mouth twitching at the corners.

“Well, I’m glad the laundry is covered in the hotel fee,” he chuckled. “And even more glad that work is covering that cost.”

Nick snorted. “Kind of can’t believe that.”

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty common though. They would have insurance for that sort of thing. Better than getting sued for gender discrimination.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Nick scrunched his face as he looked around the ruined bedroom, thinking about the poor sod whose job it was to clean these places. “What do we do now? What about our clothes?”

“Oh, I put them in the hamper and put it out for laundering. We can call for them now if you like?”

Nick nodded. “Can you? I am going to shower.”

Charlie nodded, he looked like he wanted to say something else but then just agreed to call for their clothes.

After they were both cleaned up and dressed, they stood awkwardly by the door.

“Did you…”

“I’m just going…”

They blurted out at the same time.

“Sorry,” they both spluttered, before erupting into a fit of giggles.

“I think I’m tired. Going to go sleep for a month,” Nick joked.

Charlie looked a little taken aback, “I was just going to say you’re probably starving. Did you want to maybe go get something to eat first?”

“I think I’ll just order some pizza when I’m home. But thanks.”

“Okay, sure.”

Did Charlie actually look disappointed? Was there some hope? If he still wanted to be around Nick after, for food, then maybe? Nick shot down the idea. Knowing it would do him no good to get his hopes up too high.

“Okay, well see you at work, I guess,” Nick said, as casually as he could manage.

“Yeah, in a few days, right?” Charlie sounded concerned.

Nick bit back the urge to snap back that he was fine. He tried for humour instead. “Yeah, of course. Don’t want everyone smelling you on me, now do we?”

“Nick, that’s not… I didn’t mean…”

“I know Charlie. I will be fine. Couple days of food and rest. See you in a bit.” Nick walked away, managing to resist the desperate urge to look back at Charlie.

Chapter Text

When Charlie returned to work two days later, he didn’t expect to see Nick back until at least the next day, perhaps even later. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt towards the omega, but he still had a lot of questions. Charlie hoped Nick would be receptive to meeting him for lunch, or perhaps dinner after work sometime soon, but he didn’t want to push him too early.

Charlie had decided giving Nick space after their shared heat/rut experience would be for the best. It would give them both time to process what had happened, and when they did speak, hopefully they could do so with a clear head.

Charlie still felt a little cross with Nick about the whole thing. However, if he was completely honest with himself, he was more mad at himself. Perhaps it was just the alpha, who clearly felt a strong sense of… duty… care… compassion… desire… l̶o̶v̶e̶ towards the omega, but Charlie could not deny he was still drawn to Nick. Perhaps he had always been and his past experiences with men had clouded his judgement towards the large omega.

Nick wasn’t like any omega Charlie had ever met. Nick was not like any man Charlie had ever met.

Nick looked at him sheepishly as Charlie approached him by his locker.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

There was an awkward pause for a beat. Charlie couldn’t help but notice the way Nick grabbed the back of his neck and how his face flushed ever so slightly. He wanted to run the back of his fingers over those freckled rosy cheeks, to tell Nick he’s been thinking about him, that he’s been missing him since they parted.

Charlie wanted to ask Nick how he was. “I didn’t expect you to be back at work so soon,” is what came out of his mouth.

“What? Why?” Nick looked taken aback. “I’m fine. I’m not some fragile…”

“No! That’s not what I… I just…” Charlie stammered. “I meant to say, how are you?”

“I’m fine,” Nick responded coolly. “I just have to…” Nick pointed towards Mr Lange’s office, closed his locker and walked away, leaving Charlie reeling.

Fuck! Charlie felt like they were back to square one.

Charlie turned and headed towards his own locker, but he was intercepted by a concerned looking omega, Tao.

“Everything okay, Charlie? You don’t look well. You sure you should be back at work today?” There was concern in Tao’s voice but with a hint of something else that Charlie couldn’t quite place.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Tao. Thanks for your concern. It’s not me you should be concerned about. Has, has he spoken to you about, you know?” Charlie knew he was fishing, that Tao wasn’t likely to give him much if Nick had confided in him, but it was worth a shot.

“Charlie.” Tao raised an eyebrow, before knitting the pair. “It’s not my place to say anything, even if he had talked to me.”

“I know, I just…”

“However,” Tao interjected. “I think you should talk. Both of you, really talk. I know a lot has happened between the two of you, but I don’t think either of you really understand one another.”

Charlie wasn’t sure what Tao meant, but he clearly knew something that Charlie didn’t.

“Tao, I…”

“Just talk to him, Charlie, and listen!”

“But, what if he doesn’t want to talk to me?” Charlie pleaded.

“Charlie, come on.” Tao rolled his pale amber eyes, and stepped a little closer. “What kind of alpha are you?” he teased with a playful smirk.

Charlie scoffed and rolled his icy grey eyes. “An alpha who’s trying to be respectful, not a complete knothead.”

Tao smiled softly, “I know, and I think deep down he knows that. He wants to talk to you, Charlie. I’m sure he does.”

Charlie felt a slight sting behind his eyes as he fought back a s̶o̶b̶ snarl. “But has he actually said he does? He, just…”

Charlie was cut off by a group of their colleagues talking loudly as they entered the locker area. Tao used the distraction to scurry off and Charlie suddenly realised what the time was, so he rushed to get himself ready.

As he waited outside with the rest of the workers for the supervisor, Charlie noticed Nick arrive, looking glassy eyed. He was joined by Mr Lange, who gave him a soft smile and then walked over to another group of men and chatted quietly to them. He then worked his way around the group, greeting several of the employees in a way that he often did, but today seemed a little more rigid and performative. Charlie couldn’t help notice Tao twitching nervously beside him. When Mr Lange got to where Charlie was standing, he turned his attention towards him.

“Ah Charlie, welcome back.”

“Thank you sir.”

“I was hoping to have a word in my office before you start the day. I’m sure the supervisor can catch you up a bit later. If you don’t mind.”

“Ah, yes sir,” Charlie replied awkwardly. It wasn’t a weird request considering he had been away for several days. But Charlie couldn’t help feeling the discomfort coming off his boss. He knew it would be uncomfortable facing the man after all that had gone down a week prior. But something about the way Mr Lange looked at him made Charlie worry he was in trouble.

…

“I’m sorry to have to approach you like that, Charlie. I was actually hoping we could have our catch up later today. But, I thought it best to check in as soon as possible. I know you said in your email you’re fit to return to work, but I need to ask if you are sure you are feeling up to it.”

“Oh, yes sir. Absolutely, fit as ever,” Charlie tried to reassure best he could.

“Good to hear son, good to hear,” Mr Lange replied jovially, before shifting to a more serious tone. “Now I know the, erm, events of last week came about in less than stellar circumstances.”

Charlie felt his heart rate increase as he tried to keep his face neutral and his breathing even. He simply nodded.

“And look, not only is it none of my business, but it’s hardly appropriate to ask about your, err, situation with the omega. But we need to go over a few things. You see there is a procedure I need to follow, for insurance purposes, boxes that need ticking and so on. You understand?”

Charlie let out a tiny sigh of relief. “Yes sir, of course.”

They went over the details of the events that had led to Charlie spending Nick’s heat with him in the specialised hotel. It was all fairly straightforward until Mr Lange paused his questions and frowned at the papers in front of him.

“Charlie, now, these next questions are going to be a little more personal. If you would feel more comfortable with someone from HR in the room I would understand, but unfortunately they need to be asked.”

Charlie took a deep breath. The last thing he wanted was another person in the room. Mr Lange and Tao were the only people that he was aware of knowing about him and Nick, he was hoping it would stay that way as long as possible.

“I’m okay, thank you. Please go ahead,” he said stoically.

“Right, yes well… Firstly, what is the nature of your and Mr Nelson’s relationship?”

“Um… well, I guess…” Charlie stammered. He had no idea.

Friends?

Colleagues?

Acquaintances?

Rivals?

Enemies?

Lovers?

The boss could clearly see that Charlie was struggling. “Look, Charlie, I shouldn’t say this but, I think the two of you need to talk. Nick was…” Mr Lange stopped as if trying to avoid sharing more than he should. “I think you should talk to each other. I’m not saying you need to get your stories straight, just that, well, you both seem like nice young men. I personally don’t see anything untoward going on here. I don’t want to be led to any misunderstandings about the situation.” He gave Charlie a stern look that made Charlie think of his own father’s face when Charlie had not completed an assignment on time back in secondary.

“Yes, I understand. I will talk to him,” Charlie said with conviction. “If he will talk to me,” he added in a smaller voice.

Mr Lange gave Charlie a sympathetic smile and nodded. “I know you will do the right thing, Charlie.”

Charlie hesitated for a moment, unsure what the right thing was anymore. He thanked the boss and headed out to find the supervisor and joined his assigned team.

Charlie was half relieved, half disappointed to find out he was not assigned to work with Nick. He was, however, on a team with Tao and wondered if this had been arranged deliberately by Mr Lange. There was definitely some sort of rapport between the quiet omega and the firm but fair, mature alpha boss.

As Charlie expected, Tao was quietly working as the rest of the team chatted away. It wasn’t a bad group of workers, so Charlie wasn’t too worried about anyone asking inappropriate questions about his whereabouts for the past week. He knew people had to be suspicious. It was the second time Nick and he had been off on gender leave at the same time. Not that their colleagues would know it was gender leave, but assumptions were surely made. Luckily after the example that was made of Stu, no one was likely to say anything. At least not to Charlie or Nick’s faces anyway.

Charlie set about moving the stock from the truck into the storage sheds as they had been assigned to do. It was a big job that would take the group most of the day, but the boxes were small and light and each person could carry one or more boxes at a time.

It wasn’t until Charlie stopped for a drink break after a couple of hours of work that Tao approached him.

“How did it go?”

“Sorry? Oh.” Charlie realised that Tao ment the meeting with the boss. “Fine, I think. He also said I need to talk to him. Apparently we need to get our story straight.” Charlie chuckled awkwardly. “Not that he said that in so many words,” Charlie added quickly, not wanting to imply Mr Lange was being inappropriate.

“Well?” Tao said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well what? I’ve hardly had a chance to approach Nick since then, have I?” Charlie snapped in a desperate whisper. “I’ll ask him, properly, after work. But, I’m not going to force him to talk to me.”

Tao smirked and tilted his head to one side before giving Charlie a knowing look.

“What?” Charlie questioned. “You would have me use my alpha voice on him, would you? I’m surprised you of all people would…”

“Don’t assume anything about me, Charlie Spring,” Tao shot back with a mischievous glint in his eye. “It’s a bad habit of yours, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“Making assumptions about people.”

Charlie shook his head in defeat. “I want to make things right. I really do.”

Tao patted Charlie’s shoulder. “I know you do.”

“But, I’m not going to force him to talk to me.”

Tao smiled and nodded. “I’m not suggesting you do, Charlie,” he said as they started heading back to work. Charlie could have sworn he heard the omega mutter, “even though he’d probably like it,” under his breath but he decided to ignore it.

Chapter Text

Nick had every intention of staying home from work for longer, but to his delighted surprise, he was feeling strong again after a couple of days spent resting and recovering from his heat. It felt so different from last time. The first heat had been both physically and emotionally distressing. As a result, he had felt weaker for weeks after. This time, well some emotional complexities aside, he was feeling good.

However, the anxious bubble that was rising inside him threatened to burst his contentment. Nick knew there were some things he would need to deal with before he could even think about work or seeing Charlie again. As soon as he arrived home from the hotel, he did what he knew was the right thing – call Doctor Anderson.

The doctor gave Nick a stern talking to about taking better care with his medication, not forgoing contraception simply because it doesn’t feel as good, and also informed him that alpha contraception was reasonably effective but should not be relied upon alone. He then asked Nick to come in to see him the next day, so he could give him a shot of a strong after cycle contraception. He of course got another lecture about taking care of himself and a general check up. The doctor told him that he would not be able to give him the shot every cycle and that he would need to have an open discussion with his alpha about their plans.

His alpha.

Did he have an alpha? Would Charlie want to do this with him again? Or was he just helping him out in a difficult situation?

Doctor Anderson did seem pleased for Nick. Nick didn’t want to say that he wasn’t actually sure this meant he did have a secure relationship with an alpha. Maybe Charlie would be that for him, if he asked. But bile rose in his stomach at the thought of asking for that from him. For a loveless match, for protection, to sate their primal needs. Loveless on one side at least. Not that Nick thought he loved Charlie, just that he thought he would love him, given the chance.

Nick returned to work earlier than he expected to, simply because he felt well enough to do so, n̶o̶t̶ b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ h̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶ a̶n̶x̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ t̶o̶ s̶e̶e̶ C̶h̶a̶r̶l̶i̶e̶. He arrived early, as requested by Mr Lange, so he could have a word with him. Nick knew Charlie was likely to be back at work also, but he wasn’t completely prepared for the backflip his stomach did when he saw the alpha approach him at his locker.

“I didn’t expect you to be back at work so soon.”

“What? Why?” Nick snapped back, feeling his blood pressure rising. “I’m fine. I’m not some fragile…”

“No! That’s not what I…” Charlie interrupted with a stammer. “I just… I meant to say, how are you?” Nick wondered if his own cheeks were as visibly red as Charlie’s. Maybe Charlie was just trying to be friendly? Could Nick let himself hope that there was a chance Charlie had approached him because he genuinely cared for him, not just out of instinctual duty?

“I’m fine,” Nick responded in a vain attempt to keep his voice level. All of his being was screaming in his head to talk to Charlie, to touch his arm, and to ask him how he was doing. But now wasn’t the time, he was running late to have his meeting with Mr Lange and he had to leave. “I just have to…” Nick pointed towards Mr Lange’s office, closed his locker and walked away, his pulse ringing loudly in his ears.

Mr Lange asked Nick how he was doing and if he needed any accommodations for his return to work. Nick thanked him, but told him he was fine and didn’t need to be treated any differently just because he’s an omega.

Apparently, paperwork had to be submitted for insurance purposes. Nick felt his stomach knot at the idea of his accidental heat being documented in workplace files. Mr Lange assured him that apart from himself, no one else would know the identity of the omega and alpha involved. He was asked a few basic questions about when and where the incident occurred and who was there at the time. Nick answered as accurately as he could remember. Mr Lange paused, looking at the form for a painfully long moment before looking back at Nick.

“Now, there are a few more things I need to ask you. However, it’s getting late and the supervisor will be allocating jobs in a couple of minutes, so I think you should get out there so you have a smooth transition back. We can pick this up later.”

He gave Nick a warm smile before saying something Nick found surprising, “It’s not weak to ask for help if you need it, Nick. I have never thought less of anyone for their secondary, or their primary sex or gender. I know you may think we prefer to hire alpha and beta men here, but that’s not the case. Perhaps we could do better to create a working environment that more women and omegas would feel comfortable in. When it comes down to it, I prefer hard workers who don’t give anyone any trouble. Those things are more important than brute strength alone. I would rather have a hundred Taos than twelve Stuarts working for me.”

…

After a long and busy first day back, Nick was well and truly ready to head home and collapse. As exhausted as he was, Nick couldn’t help but hold onto the hope that Charlie might approach him again after work. He didn’t see him in the locker area as he was collecting his bag and getting ready to leave. Nick had just about given up hope of getting one last glimpse of the alpha for the day, but was trying to reassure the noisy omega within that they would see him the following day and have plenty of chances to talk then, when Charlie suddenly appeared beside him.

“Hi,” he said softly, before biting his bottom lip and looking at Nick with wide, hopeful eyes.

Nick bit back a smile. He really was adorable; Nick had never met an alpha like him. Well, that went without saying, no alpha had ever made Nick feel anything like Charlie did. But also, Charlie was just different. Not to say he didn’t have an arrogant and hotheaded side like most alphas. But as Nick looked into those big grey eyes, he found himself transfixed for a moment. As the grey grew brighter and bluer, Nick finally found his voice. “Hi,” he replied airily.

Charlie then had the audacity to giggle. A sound that simultaneously broke Nick from his daze and made his body tingle with a thousand fluttering butterflies. Nick felt his face grow red, but he also found himself smiling.

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but Nick interrupted. “Are you hungry? Did you want to eat?”

Charlie looked taken aback. “I, err yeah, I could eat.”

Nick felt the red of his cheeks grow darker. “I, I mean did you want to go get some dinner… with me?”

Charlie’s face lit up. “Yeah.”

As the two men started to head out of the near empty building, Nick’s eye was caught by some movement down the hall towards Mr Lange’s office. He turned his head to see who was there and froze on the spot with surprise.

“What?” Charlie said, looking at Nick with confusion.

“Shh, look!” Nick whispered, pointing down the hall as he dragged Charlie back.

The two men peered around the corner to see two other men. In a passionate embrace.

Nick looked at Charlie who tilted his head and screwed up his face with confusion. “Is that?”

“Yeah.”

“And.”

“Yeah.”

Charlie smiled brightly at Nick. “Well that’s a surprise. But good for them.”

Nick frowned and thought for a moment. “Yeah, I suppose.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow. “You know something, don’t you?”

“Shh, come on, let’s get out of here before they see us. I’ll tell you what I know over dinner.”

Chapter Text

“So you’re telling me Tao has an omega girlfriend?!” Charlie exclaimed, taking Nick by surprise with the volume at which he spoke.

“I mean, he said she was his partner. This tall beautiful woman definitely looked like an omega. Not that I’m assuming, but my friend Sai, he’s an alpha, agreed she had omega vibes.”

Charlie’s face dropped and he started fidgeting with the corner of the tablecloth on the restaurant table. Charlie had suggested they go for Chinese food, and Nick knew of this cute little restaurant not far from his flat. He had hoped they would talk, really talk. About them, if there was a them, but so far the conversation had been dominated by their curious discovery before leaving work.

“Your friend?” Charlie said quietly, a question in his tone.

Nick couldn’t help smiling. Was Charlie jealous? “Yeah, an old friend from school. Just a friend.”

Charlie gave a small smile. “Okay,” he muttered, before changing the subject back, “But hasn’t Tao talked about his Alpha before? Like when we saw them tonight, I just assumed that meant that… but gender aside, if he has a partner that isn’t… then that means… are they?”

“Having an affair?” Nick offered.

“Yeah.”

“I guess so. I mean, I would never have picked him for the type,” Nick mused. None of it made much sense to him.

“Tao?”

“Well, either of them really.”

“Yeah. Come to think of it, Mr Lange has pretty strong feelings about protecting and empowering omegas. I can’t see him taking advantage of one. Pretty sure he said something about being mated. Has he ever mentioned having a spouse to you?”

Nick thought for a moment. He couldn’t recall Mr Lange saying anything specific about having a partner. He shrugged and shook his head.

Charlie chuckled. “Well, what a fucking mystery.”

Nick giggled in agreement. “Not something I expected to see this evening, that’s for sure.”

There was a pause in the conversation as Nick and Charlie just looked at each other with silly smiles on their faces. Eventually, Charlie’s smile turned cheeky and he spoke. “So…”

“So?” Nick tilted his head and squinted his eyes, returning Charlie's cheeky grin.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry, Nick,” Charlie said mournfully, the smile replaced by a raw sincerity in his eyes.

“Sorry? What for?” Nick responded with panicked confusion. What was Charlie going to say? That he couldn’t be with him? That spending their cycle together had been a mistake and he regretted it?

“I’ve been such a, well, a fucking knothead.” He let out a humourless laugh. “I let my preconceptions get in the way of really seeing you. I made really wrong judgments about you and it made me behave like a complete arse. I should have treated you better. And I am so sorry. I understand if you don’t want to see me again, but if there is any chance we could…”

“Charlie!” Nick interrupted. Charlie looked back at Nick with wide, glassy eyes. “It’s okay, I, I was a dick too. I’ve been, well pretending, I mean I never said I was an alpha when people assumed, but I didn’t correct them either. You see, I… Oh god, where do I even start?”

Charlie smiled coyly. “How about… Can I ask some questions?”

Nick sighed quietly in relief. “Yeah.”

Charlie looked away and scrunched his brow thoughtfully for a moment before turning his gaze back to Nick. “So, well I guess I’m just a bit confused how it all happened? Can you tell me why? Like do you have a condition, or your meds weren’t working, or were you just…” Charlie cut himself off quickly.

“What? Being careless? Trying to seduce you?” Nick shot back, his temper threatening to boil over. He swallowed it back down, taking a deep, calming breath. “No.”

“No,” Charlie repeated neutrally.

“I… Well,” Nick took another deep breath and braced himself. Here it went, he was going to tell Charlie everything. “You see, I grew up knowing I was going to present as an omega one day, but it never happened. I just went through primary puberty and grew big and strong like a beta or alpha male might. By the time I reached adulthood, I thought maybe it would never happen.” Nick paused and let out a dry chuckle. “My mum was so disappointed. She loved me all the same, but she loved the idea of having an omega child like herself. I guess I didn’t turn out how she expected.”

Charlie smiled encouragingly and nodded for Nick to continue.

“It wasn’t like I hadn’t been tested. I see this specialist doctor regularly, he said in rare cases this can happen, but it was most likely my cycle would come eventually. However I, well, I had this other theory, about myself.” Nick picked up the remnants of a spring roll from his plate and started peeling at the pastry nervously. “You see I…” Nick closed his eyes and steadied himself. Why was this so hard to say out loud? “I thought my heats didn’t present because I wasn’t attracted to anyone. I was completely asexual and by some miracle I had been spared having to endure succumbing to my primal instincts.” As the last words flew out of his mouth, Nick opened his eyes to see Charlie’s widen with horror.

“You, you’re ace? You don’t, you didn’t want to… Nick, I am SO sorry. I didn’t know I, I would never have… You should have said something, I could have…” he stammered, his eyes quickly misting over with fresh tears.

Nick reached across the table and took Charlie’s hand in his. “Charlie, no, no listen to me. It’s okay, it’s all okay. I thought it, that is, I used to think these things about myself—that I don’t experience that kind of attraction— before.”

“Before?” Charlie sniffed.

“Before I met you.” This was it, all or nothing, Nick decided. “I am sure of it. It wasn’t that I didn’t want anyone, it was just that you're the only person I've wanted. Like my body and soul were waiting for you and only you. You, you infuriating alpha, you triggered my very being to come to life. My omega yearns for your alpha, as…” Nick’s eyes met Charlie’s shining deep blue orbs. “As I yearn for you.”

Charlie’s face lit up. “You yearn for me?”

Nick flushed, “I know it sounds…”

“Nick?”

“Charlie?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Nick smiled and nodded eagerly. Both men moved in closer, leaning across the small table between them and met in the middle for a light brush of their lips. “Charlie,” Nick whispered as they parted from their all too short kiss.

“Nick,” Charlie responded in an equally soft tone.

“Will you come home with me?” Nick asked quietly, but boldly.

Charlie grinned back at him. “Of course.”

Chapter Text

As soon as the door shut behind them, Nick and Charlie were unable to hold back. Nick found himself pressed against the back of the door as Charlie attached his face with a kiss so deep and passionate, Nick felt like he was going to be completely consumed by him. And that was exactly what he wanted. He pulled Charlie impossibly close, holding him hard against his body, willing their bodies to become one.

Eventually, Charlie pulled back and looked into Nick’s eyes. His pupils were blown wide, and his irises were glowing in the brightest blue Nick had ever seen. “This okay?” Charlie asked.

“So okay,” Nick confirmed.

“Bedroom?” Charlie asked, looking behind himself at Nick’s flat for the first time.

“This way.” Nick took Charlie’s hand and led him towards his room. When they got there the thought occurred to Nick that they were both likely sweaty and dirty from the day of work, not to mention the delicious meal they had enjoyed together sat heavy in Nick’s stomach.

He must have let his hesitation show on his face. “We don’t have to do anything,” Charlie assured him, looking at Nick with care and affection.

“No, I want to, just, I feel a little gross from work, and I… do you think we could um… like not do the...”

Charlie’s face lit up with an amused smile, “Nick, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Would it be okay if I made a suggestion?”

Nick took in a stifled breath. “Yeah,” he replied in a small voice.

Charlie reached out his hand and took hold of Nick’s, stepping closer to him to speak softly into his ear. “How about we shower together? It’s something I wanted to do when we were in the hotel, but I didn’t think it would have been a good idea then. We can take things slow, no pressure for anything else. I just want to get to know you, Nick.”

Nick simply smiled and nodded.

They headed to the bathroom and quickly undressed. Soon, they were under the steamy warm water, their bodies pressed together in the close proximity. It didn’t take long before they were panting and rutting against one another with their soapy bodies, hands tangled in each other’s hair and lips nipping and sucking on each other’s neck and shoulders. Soon Nick found himself coming undone, Charlie following close behind him.

“Wow, that was…”

“Intense, yeah,” Charlie agreed with a grin.

“We didn’t even…”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I was pretty turned on. Your scent is stronger in the steam.”

…

After cleaning off properly, Nick found Charlie a fresh towel. They headed to the bedroom to dry off and Nick offered Charlie some spare clothes, but giggled and commented that they might be a bit big on him.

“Do you mind?”

“What?”

“If we forgo clothes for a little while,” Charlie suggested with a cheeky wink.

Nick felt himself getting flustered. He wasn’t sure he could cope with being in the presence of naked Charlie for too long. At least not while he was in his right mind anyway.

“Oh-kay, but can we?” Nick gestured at his bed. Charlie smiled and nodded and they hopped onto the bed, pulled the duvet over their laps and sat up against the headboard.

“So…”

“So?”

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

As Charlie smiled brightly at him from the other side of the bed, Nick couldn’t help giggling.

“I really do want to talk, Nick, about a lot of things. I feel like you answered all my questions, I really should let you ask me anything you want to know, or at least explain myself somewhat.”

Nick’s heart swelled, this was really happening, Charlie and he were, what? Making a go of this? Seeing where things went? At the very least, opening up and being vulnerable with one another and putting their cards on the table. Nick really wanted to hear Charlie out, and he would, but right now, he had him naked in his bed. Despite coming in the shower only a few minutes ago, Nick could feel himself growing hard again, and, oh fuck, wet…

Nick leaned out of the bed, grabbed the towel he had dried himself with and placed it under his bum, where a wet patch had begun to form.

“Are you… oh.” Charlie halted when he noticed what Nick was doing.

“Shit, sorry, I…” Nick spluttered.

“Nick, look at me,” Charlie implored. Nick forced himself to meet Charlie’s eyes with his own and found nothing but care and acceptance. “Don’t be sorry. It’s normal, natural and, well…” Charlie threw back the covers to show his own hard cock. “You are so fucking hot, Nick, and you smell so good. We don’t have to do anything else tonight, but if you’ll let me, I’d like to take care of you.”

Nick felt his face grow hot. More slick escaped him and suddenly the idea of full sex was starting to feel more appealing. But he could wait. They could find other ways to explore each other in the meantime. Nick looked at Charlie’s impressive alpha sized cock and licked his lips. “I want to… can I taste you?”

“Fuck yes!” Charlie responded with enthusiasm. “Oh, I have an idea actually,” he added quickly. “Can I do you at the same time?”

“Like a 69? Is that a real thing?” Nick asked, covering his face with embarrassment at his lack of experience.

Rather than laugh at or mock him, Charlie simply shrugged. “Worth giving it a try, right?”

Nick beamed. “Yeah, okay then. Oh, err, but no butt stuff tonight, please. Another time soon but not tonight.”

Charlie nodded. “Yes, okay.”

They shuffled down the bed a little, before moving in close to kiss. Charlie reached his hand down and took hold of Nick’s cock and began stroking him slowly. “You feel so good in my hand, Nick. You have such a lovely cock.”

Nick’s omega preened, but Nick felt a sting of embarrassment. “Do I? It’s nothing compared to your great big alpha cock.”

Charlie let out a little snigger but there was no malice in it. “I’m glad you like my big alpha cock. My alpha cock liked filling your tight wet omega hole, over and over last week.”

Nick took in a quick laboured breath as arousal flooded his body.

“But I like your pretty, not so little omega cock so much, that I want to taste it so bad, and one day,” Charlie moved right in close to breathe the next words into Nick’s ear, “one day soon, I want you to fuck me with it.”

Nick leaned back to look into Charlie’s eyes. “Really?” he asked with surprise.

“Yeah. Why the fuck not? I like it. There is nothing to say alphas can’t like to receive anal. Just need to use lube and it takes a little while to open me up. If you wanted to, that is.”

“Oh, I hadn't thought about it,” Nick admitted honestly. Was it weird that he hadn’t? He hadn’t really spent a great deal of time thinking about sex until the last couple of months. Even then, most of his thoughts had simply been about getting railed and knotted repeatedly due to the storm of hormones raging within him. But right now, despite being in quite a state of arousal, Nick knew he was in his right mind. The omega within was content to linger in its corner deep inside, and allow Nick to take the reins while he was in such proximity to his alpha. Nick wondered if Charlie’s inner alpha felt the same. “I think I’d like to try everything with you, one day.” Nick admitted with a smile.

Charlie beamed back at him. “I can’t wait to try everything with you. But right now I really want that pretty cock of yours in my mouth. Do you want to try this?”

“Okay.”

Charlie swung his body around and pulled back the covers. Awkwardly, the two men positioned themselves and shuffled close enough to take the other’s cock into their mouths. The dual sensation of Charlie’s warm wet mouth upon him, and the feel and taste of him heavy on his tongue set Nick alight. It didn’t take long before he was moaning around Charlie’s cock and coming hard down his throat. Charlie released Nick’s sensitive cock from his mouth, but Nick didn’t relent despite being spent. He doubled down his efforts, using his hands to work the base and his mouth to suck and lick Charlie’s tip. Before long, Charlie was crying out Nick’s name and shooting into his eager mouth.

…

“So, did you want to ask me anything specific, before I share some things with you?” Charlie asked. After cleaning up again, Nick had insisted that Charlie stay the night so they could talk. Now that they had got this far, there was no way he was letting Charlie out of his sight until he absolutely had to. His inner omega was quietly content being in such close proximity to his alpha, especially after spending a few days apart following their time together in the hotel. So they once again sat up against the headboard of Nick’s bed.

Nick took a moment to think. “How about you start and I’ll let you know if I think of anything.”

“Okay.” Charlie nodded, before biting his lip and looking contemplative. “The thing is where to start?” He let out a small awkward laugh. Nick reached over and placed his hand on Charlie’s shoulder.

“Why not start at the beginning?”

Charlie smiled and nodded. “Okay. So I guess in some ways I’m a bit like you.” Nick raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say anything to interrupt. “In the sense that no one expected me to have the secondary gender I ended up with and in the sense that I was a late bloomer. Not as late as you obviously, but late in the sense that most of my adolescent growth spurts had not been boosted by alpha hormones, and I ended up being on the slighter side for an alpha.

“It was questioned if the sex testing at birth was correct. Not only was I not presenting when most alphas and omegas were, but I come from a long line of betas. But sure enough, in my late teens, I got my first rut.” Charlie smiled but Nick could tell it was a forced expression.

“So, being a smaller, yet to present alpha, I kind of just let everyone think I was a beta. Until one day my friends and I were overheard talking and well, it came out that I’m gay. I guess most people don’t realise that betas can be gay, and that secondary gender doesn’t determine one's sexuality. Well, I guess a lot of alphas try to tell themselves they aren’t gay or bi or whatever for liking male omegas.

“But anyway, of course all these rumours were going around about me, that I was some sort of freak or a closet omega and ashamed to show who I really was. I ended up telling people I was actually an alpha and that was laughed at as well. Because as if a scrawny guy with beta parents could possibly be an alpha.

“But then everything changed. Changed because of one person. One of the older alpha boys, Max. He was captain of the school rugby team actually.”

Nick’s eyes went wide. Some things were starting to make sense but he was eager to learn more. The look on Charlie’s face told him it wasn’t a happy story to tell.

“Max was lovely, at first, got all the bullying to stop and really took me under his wing. At first, I didn’t know why he looked out for me, but he just seemed so kind and caring. And yes, of course he was gorgeous, and of course I was completely in love with him from day one.”

Charlie paused and frowned. He looked down at his hands that were gripping the duvet tightly. Nick reached over and placed his hands on Charlie’s, feeling the tension slowly release as they let go. Charlie linked his fingers through Nick’s and looked up at him and smiled.

“Did, did he hurt you?” Nick asked, the words catching in his throat.

Charlie sighed, “Yes, but not in the way you might expect. So it was very clear that I had no chance with him. He was super popular with the omegas, and even went so far as to tell me he wasn’t gay and only liked girl omegas. But he was an ally and thought it was wrong that I was being bullied and people should be allowed to love whoever they love.”

Nick scrunched his face in confusion, no longer having any idea where Charlie was going with this story now.

“Obviously it didn’t stop me hoping. Like, why did he always want me around? Why did he invite me to play video games at his house all the time? Why did he continue to keep me by his side, despite all his friends openly questioning his obsession with me? And I was sure I caught him staring at me on several occasions. It was like all these little moments that gave me flickers of hope.”

“Anyway, please remember I was like 15 at the time and did not get my first rut until I was almost 18. My popularity had skyrocketed since Max and I started hanging out. People were actually believing I was an alpha, because Max said so and I was treated like his honorary little brother essentially. That’s when something else changed; I started getting noticed by omegas.”

“Oh,” Nick found himself saying out loud, not entirely sure why.

“Yeah,” Charlie went on. “So even though everyone knew I was gay, that didn’t stop some of the girl omegas in my year trying to get my attention. I doubt they were actually interested in me, more in the popularity and the close proximity to Max and the older alpha boys in his circle.”

Charlie stopped and bit his lip, before taking a deep breath.

“But then there was a boy, an omega boy named Ben. He was in the year ahead of me and was not like any of the boys I usually liked, nothing like Max. But he was pretty and had this really cool hair that used to fall in front of his eyes and he’d do this cute little head flick to… yeah but anyway.” Charlie laughed awkwardly.

“He seemed to really like me. Like, he approached me and was really forward. I was kind of in shock when it happened. One minute we were talking and the next thing I knew, he was kissing me, and I didn’t even know his name.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, it was pretty exciting at the time, but if I think about it now, it was wrong of him not to ask permission first. But I didn’t care back then. A boy liked me, a cute boy. We spent all our time together, kissing in the library, in the music block, even going so far as to hang out at each other’s places and make out in our bedrooms, parents none the wiser of what was going on. But then things started getting heavy. Ben wanted to do more and I wasn’t ready. He wanted me to spend his heat with him, which would have been impossible as we were both very underage and I was not yet physically ready to help him, even if we could spend the time together. We fought about it a few times, but he seemed to forget about it and things went back to normal.

“As I had a boyfriend, with whom I spent all my time, I completely neglected my friendships, even Max. He seemed really stoked for me at first, but then he stopped replying to my messages when I failed to meet up with him because I was too busy snogging Ben behind the gym and lost track of time.

“So, I don’t know if he did it out of spite. Or if… well I don’t know what either of their intentions were. But I knew Ben was going to be away from school for a few days as his heat was due soon. I was going to miss him, but thought it would be a good chance to catch up with my friends and try to be a bit more social than I had been since getting together with Ben. But when I went to find Max, his friends told me he was on gender leave. Which surprised me as he had told me he had been through his initial ruts and was on effective suppressants, so in theory shouldn’t still need gender leave from school.

“I tried not to overthink it. But as the days passed and both Ben and Max weren’t there I couldn’t help thinking…”

“They didn’t?!” Nick exclaimed.

Charlie let out a humourless laugh. “Got it in one. Apparently it had been going on for a while. Max had been pursuing Ben behind my back. When they came back to school, they were mated.”

“Oh my god, Charlie, that is awful.” Nick pulled Charlie into his arms and squeezed him tight. “Thank you for telling me that. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“S’okay,” Charlie said, muffled into Nick’s shoulder. Nick loosened his grip and pulled back to look at Charlie.

“I see now why you dislike big sporty alpha-like lads,” Nick half teased.

Charlie smiled and shook his head. “It wasn’t so much that, although it did hurt at the time, it’s what happened next that really hurt.”

“There is more?”

“Yes, unfortunately. So apparently, Max was away on some rugby trip or something like that. I was doing my best just to keep to myself and fly under the radar after everything that had happened. But it turned out Ben wasn’t done with me. I have no idea if he did it on purpose or if it was just bad timing, but he cornered me in the library, after school, in heat.”

“What?!”

“I, I know what you are thinking, but… you are nothing like him, Nick! He, he was very forceful, and surprisingly strong for a much smaller omega than yourself. He thought he could use his pheromones on me, even if he was already mated and I wasn’t yet mature. When that didn’t work he got violent, as if that was somehow supposed to get me to fuck him. I only just managed to get away from him when he was distracted by voices nearby. Could have been worse if we had actually been interrupted. I doubt anyone would have taken my side.

“I have no idea if Ben ever told Max, but he never spoke to me again and stood by as the bullying got so much worse. The rugby lads were the worst of them, called me runt and faggot and all sorts of awful names.”

“Oh Charlie,” Nick sobbed and pulled Charlie back into him. “Why do people suck so much?”

“I don’t know.”

“I hope they are miserable together.”

Charlie laughed, a real laugh this time.

Chapter Text

When Charlie woke the next morning, he found himself alone in Nick’s bed. Memories of the night before came flooding in and he smiled to himself. They were going to make a go of this. Finally, he understood this incredible omega that had been driving him wild for weeks. Now they understood each other and could allow themselves to stop fighting the magnetic pull they had to one another.

Reaching for his phone to check the time, Charlie let out a groan. He was going to have to wear yesterday's clothes to work, and they were going to be late if he didn’t get up right away. Where was Nick anyway? Just as the question entered his mind, Nick returned to the bedroom dressed in boxers and a loose fitting t-shirt, two steaming mugs of tea in his hands.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said, setting one of the mugs down beside Charlie and taking a sip from the other. “But I kind of rang in sick, for both of us today.”

“For both of us?! Won’t that sound a bit…”

“Well yes, but he clearly already knows, Mr Lange. I was only calling for me. Was going to suggest you do the same, even though it would seem a bit dodgy, but you know also understandable, as we both might have found our first day back a bit rough. Well anyway, when I said I wasn’t feeling up to coming in today he said, ‘I take it that means Mr Spring will also be absent today’. I didn’t know what to say, but he laughed and said to tell you it’s fine and…” Nick chuckled awkwardly.

“And what?”

Nick’s face flushed with crimson. “And to enjoy ourselves.”

“Oh, he did not, the dirty fucker,” Charlie laughed.

“He did!” Nick also laughed.

Nick placed down his own drink and shuffled into the bed beside Charlie. He was looking fresh, hair damp from the shower. Charlie took him in fondly. More and more, he could see how pretty Nick was. Sure he was big, muscular and masculine, but his face had soft rounded features and long fair eyelashes that framed his honey coloured eyes beautifully.

“You’re staring,” Nick teased.

“You’re beautiful.”

“Shut up.”

“But you are, and…” Charlie sniffed the air, knowing all of their blockers would have worn off by now, “you smell so good.”

“Well I did have a shower.”

“No, it’s your pheromones, they are so much stronger this morning.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I mean not like when you were in heat, but it’s nice, I can tell you are happy.”

Nick smiled brightly. “I am happy. You smell good too.” Nick moved a little closer and burrowed his nose into Charlie’s neck.

“Can you tell I’m happy as well?” Charlie hummed.

“I think so.”

“Can you tell something else?”

“I think so.” Nick grinned as he lifted his head and kissed Charlie lightly on the lips. “Why don’t you go freshen up, and when you come back, I’ll be ready for you.”

Charlie suppressed the growl that wanted to escape him. He felt his cock twitch. And they had the whole day to enjoy themselves.

“Nick, do you have condoms?” Charlie whispered against Nick’s lips.

“No.”

Charlie let out a groan in frustration.

“I’m not in heat, and the effects of the contraceptive my doctor gave me would still be in effect, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Charlie.”

“Nick.”

“I just need you to fuck me already.”

“Okay, okay, needy Omega! I’ll be right back.” Charlie gave Nick one last little peck on his lips before scurrying off to the bathroom for a quick shower and to clean his teeth.

When Charlie left the bathroom, a wave of the most delicious scent filled his nostrils. It was the distinctly sweet apple pie scent that was so uniquely Nick, but now it had a deeper, more complex quality. Charlie felt like he could smell the blossoms that became the apples and their nectar that was turned to honey. Like he could smell the forest air where the cinnamon grew. He followed his nose to the bedroom where his eyes were met by the most enticing image he had ever seen.

Nick was on his back on the bed, legs bent and spread. One hand was stroking his cock slowly, the other working his hole open.

“Fuck, you’re so hot,” Charlie moaned as he approached the bed. “And god, you smell impossibly good. Like the most amazing apple pie. I just want to eat you up.”

Nick stopped what he was doing and sat up. He was flushed pink all over, his pupils dilated and mouth hanging wide. “I wanted to be ready for you, Alpha,” he said in a low and sultry tone. “I want you to fuck me like you did in the hotel.”

Charlie giggled at that. “I can try.”

Nick went to turn over to present, but Charlie stopped him by grabbing him firmly by the bicep and pushing him down on his back. Nick let out a little gasp as Charlie moved in and kissed him hard on the lips. Nick kissed back with vigour, moaning as Charlie’s tongue caressed his own, then whimpering as Charlie broke the kiss. He moved down Nick’s neck, kissing and nipping down to his broad chest. Charlie hadn’t noticed until now that Nick had no chest hair. “So smooth,” he mumbled as he ran his hand over the expanse of skin.

“Is it?” Nick looked down with a surprised expression. “Oh, I used to have a little bit of hair. I guess my hormones have changed my body.”

“Interesting. I guess omegas are less hairy in general.”

“Weird. I’m not going to lose all of it, am I? Like down there?”

Charlie suppressed a giggle at Nick’s reaction. “I doubt it. But body hair or not, you are beautiful all over.”

“Okay.” Nick didn’t sound convinced.

It started to dawn on Charlie what Nick might be worried about. “Nick, you know I’m gay right?”

“Yeah, what’s that got to…”

“I think you are the most beautiful man I have ever met — but also, you are big and strong and masculine. Being softer, smoother, and…” Charlie ran his hand down Nick’s side then back to grip his buttocks firmly before pressing two fingers against Nick’s hole, “wetter, doesn’t make you any less manly.”

Nick let out a strangled growl. “Charlie, Alpha,” he uttered as if he knew no other words.

Charlie reconnected their lips as he began gently working his fingers into Nick’s responsive hole. “Please,” Nick moaned into Charlie’s mouth as Charlie began thrusting, adding a third finger and increasing the stretch “Alpha, please.”

Knowing what Nick needed, Charlie extracted his hand and pushed himself up. He hopped off the bed and looked down at Nick with hunger. “Okay then Omega, present!” he commanded, smiling devilishly as the desperate omega scrambled to his knees and assumed the position.

Charlie could see Nick was so ready for him. He was literally dripping with anticipation. But by fuck, he smelled so good. Charlie could not resist. He had to taste him. Nick was quivering with anticipation as Charlie approached, but then let out a surprised yelp as Charlie’s tongue connected with his hole. Charlie lapped away as Nick bloomed for him, sweet tasting slick overpowering his senses. Nick squirmed and moaned and pushed back against his face.

Eventually, Nick began to beg. “Alpha, I can’t take it, please. I need your cock, please Alpha, please.”

Charlie moved his face from Nick’s arse and wiped it on a towel. “Sorry to keep you waiting, my omega. You just taste so good. Are you ready for my cock, my pet?”

Nick whimpered and shivered. “Yes!” he practically yelled.

Slowly, Charlie pressed his cock against Nick’s entrance. Nick clearly had run out of patience and started pushing back, taking Charlie inside him, quick and deep. Charlie knew he could have stopped him, could have teased him, made the omega wait and beg for more. But he let him take what he needed. Nick’s arse was flush against Charlie’s body, he only held still there for a moment before he was bouncing back and forth, fucking himself on Charlie’s cock.

“Fuck you feel amazing, Omega. God, you look so good, fucking yourself on me like this. I could watch you do this all day.”

“Alpha, please,” Nick moaned.

“Please what?” Charlie cooed, rubbing the palm of his hand over Nick’s firm bum.

“Please give it to me. I want more. I want it harder.”

“Oh, do you now?”

“Alpha! Please!”

“I would do anything for you, Omega. But I will do this with pleasure.”

Charlie stilled Nick’s movements by grabbing his hips. He placed a hand on the small of Nick’s back and pushed him down. “Are you ready, my pet?”

“So ready!”

…

Several hours and countless orgasms later, Charlie lay resting against Nick’s chest, rubbing gentle circles around his tender nipples.

“Charlie, what would you do if I got pregnant?” Nick asked after a long silence, taking Charlie by surprise.

“Oh, um… Well I would support you, of course. I mean, it wouldn’t be easy. But I guess we’d work it out. Would your family help out? I’m sure mine would to some extent, although my mother would kill me first.” Charlie let out an uncomfortable laugh.

“Really?” Nick gawped.

“What?”

“You’d, you’d want to have the baby? You wouldn’t make me, you know…”

“Oh, well, I can’t MAKE you do anything, Nick.”

“HA, I think you just proved…”

“Nick!” Charlie groaned. “You know what I mean. I would never make you do anything you didn’t want to do. You know that, right?”

“I think I am starting to learn that,” Nick responded softly.

“Would you want to keep it?”

“Well, I don’t know. I would have to see how I felt, if it happened. I mean our job isn’t the best for a pregnant person, and I doubt we could manage on just your income. So yeah, we would need family help.”

Charlie sat up and looked at Nick sheepishly. He suddenly realised that Nick didn’t know he was a student. “The thing is Nick, I won’t be working much, once summer is over. Just a couple of shifts a week. I mean, I know it’s not likely you’re actually pregnant right now; but if I was going to, you know, provide, I would want to finish my degree, to give us and the baby the best chances in life.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. Of course you are.” Nick sounded a bit taken aback. Charlie could smell anxiety rising in his body. “I’m such an idiot. Of course a smart alpha like you would be a uni student and just doing this shitty job to earn a little money over summer.”

“Nick, hey, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. And there was no way anyone should have assumed that about me. There is nothing wrong with our job, even if it’s not something either of us should do long term.” Charlie squeezed Nick’s leg and smiled softly.

Nick’s face twisted with different emotions, eventually landing on amusement. “Well yeah, don’t want to end up looking like Dave or Mark, do we?” he laughed.

“Exactly,” Charlie giggled.

“So, what do you study?”

“English Lit, I want to be a writer maybe, or like work in publishing, something like that.”

“That’s really cool. You must be really smart.”

Charlie blushed, “Yeah I guess so. What about you, Nick? Did you have any plans beyond our current vocation?”

Nick let out a long sigh. “Honestly, no. I was just so focused on getting away from my situation at home that I took the first job I could get and worked as hard as I could to build something that resembled my own independent life. I didn’t even think about sharing that with anyone, until now. I, I don’t know if I was happy, exactly, but somewhat at peace with my situation. Until I met you that is.”

“Sorry to have burst your bubble,” Charlie giggled.

Nick smiled warmly. “It’s okay. Was going to happen anyway. My family has started interfering again. My Dad wants to get me married off, now I’ve presented. I’m sure once I tell them I’m seeing someone, Mum will get him to back off. I, I think I want to be happy, now. I think I, we can be, can’t we?”

Charlie felt warmth spread throughout his body. “Yeah, I think we can!”

“I really like you, Charlie.”

“You like me?”

“Wasn’t that obvious? Do you like me?”

Charlie smirked. “I don’t know.”

Nick’s mouth went wide. “You don’t know!” he exclaimed.

“Well, I think I might be falling in love with you, actually.”

Chapter Text

“You, you’re falling in love with me?” Nick stammered, utterly overwhelmed by Charlie’s confession.

“Yes. Too soon?” Charlie asked with a nervous stutter.

“I, I…” Nick paused to think. “Not long ago we hated each other.”

Charlie chuckled. “I guess we did. But maybe those strong feelings we felt weren’t hate. Maybe we were drawn to each other, and we just didn’t know how to process our feelings. Maybe we were just…” Charlie frowned thoughtfully for a moment.

“Angry with ourselves?” Nick suggested.

“Yeah, something like that. But as much as I didn’t want to admit it to myself at the time, my alpha has always wanted your omega. You have no idea how hard it was to ignore him.”

Nick burst out with laughter. “I’m fairly sure I have a pretty good idea. If only we had listened to them sooner.” Nick felt a sudden pang of regret. It must have shown on his face as Charlie took hold of his hand and shifted round to look him right in the eye.

“We know now though. We can trust them now, right?”

“Yes,” Nick breathed softly. “What is your alpha telling you now?”

“Hmm, he’s telling me he wants to make you our mate. He, we want to claim you.”

All the air went out of Nick’s lungs. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You, you… do you really want that?”

“If you do, then yeah. But if you’re not ready, or if you never want to, then I’m okay with that too. I just want to be with you, Nick.”

“I do want that.”

Charlie’s eyes began to glow with excitement. Nick made a mental note to ask Charlie about them some other time.

“Can we… are you up to trying?”

“What, right now? Don’t we need to be in our heats and ruts?” Nick wondered.

“Probably, but there’s no harm in trying.”

Nick giggled. “Okay, you’ve got to fuck me while you bite me, right?”

“Don’t know, but I want to.” Charlie bit his lip and looked at Nick through his long eyelashes. Nick could hardly comprehend saying no to Charlie when he looked at him like that.

“Me too. What if it doesn’t work?”

Charlie smirked at that. “Then I will happily try it over and over again with you.”

“Oh fuck yes.”

…

Nick saw stars as Charlie’s teeth sank into his mating gland just at the moment he could feel him pulsing inside him. Nick felt himself tip over the edge, lost to the intense pain and pleasure. He wasn’t sure if he slipped out of consciousness for a brief moment but next thing he knew, Charlie was licking at his wound.

Nick could still feel Charlie inside him, but as he was not in rut he couldn’t knot him, and Nick longed for the sensation. “Do you think it worked?” he asked.

Charlie lifted his head to meet Nick’s eyes, his mouth rimmed red from the bite. “I don’t know. Maybe you should bite me as well?”

“Is that a thing?” Nick had heard of omegas returning the mating bite, but he didn’t know if it had any actual effect.

“I read once that an alpha’s claim is more likely to be successful if the bite is returned.”

“Okay, I can try. My teeth aren’t as sharp as yours though. It might hurt a bit.”

“I can take it.”

The sound Charlie made as Nick sunk his teeth in hard into Charlie’s mating gland was so loud, Nick nearly stopped before he broke the skin. It wasn’t as deep a bite as the one on his own neck, but he had managed to draw blood and cleaned the wound as Charlie had done.

When Nick was done, Charlie finally pulled out and flopped beside Nick on the bed. They lay there for a long moment before eventually Charlie spoke.

“Fuck, I’m hungry.”

Nick laughed, “Yeah me too. We’ve been at it all day and haven’t eaten.”

Charlie sat up and looked down at Nick with a cheeky smile. “Well no regrets, but can we order some food now?”

Nick sat up, returning Charlie’s smile. “No,” he said with a cheeky wink.

“No?” Charlie exclaimed with surprise.

“I want to cook for you. Is that okay?”

Charlie smiled warmly. “Nick, I would be honoured if you cooked for me,” he said with sincerity, before the cheeky smile returned. “Unless you are terrible at it.”

Nick scoffed in faux indignation. “I’ll have you know I am an excellent cook. Taught by my French grandmother, actually.” Nick paused and scrunched up his face as something from his childhood came back to him.

“What is it?” Charlie said softly, moving closer to place a hand on Nick’s knee.

“I wanted to be a chef. When I was a kid! I wanted to be a pastry chef, Charlie!” Nick practically yelled with excitement.

“Nick!” Charlie laughed warmly. “You can do that. Why don’t you look into culinary schools?”

Nick’s entire body tingled with excitement. For the first time since he was a young child, Nick truly believed that he could do anything. “I think I will.”

…

“So we should probably actually go to work today, right?” Charlie sighed.

“Ahhh,” Nick groaned. “Yeah, we probably should.”

Charlie bit his lip as his eyes darted to the attempted mating mark on Nick’s neck. “Do you think everyone will know?”

“Um, yeah! I mean some will, probably. Is that a problem for you?” Nick asked nervously.

“No! Not at all!” Charlie replied quickly, before adding more nervously, “Err, if it’s not for you, that is.”

Nick felt his heart do a little flutter. The thought of people finding out was scary, but Charlie wanting people to know about them caused a smile to spread across his face.

Charlie’s face lit up and his eyes shone, not the bright blue of his excitement, but a deeper shade of rich blue. “Well then, should we, like, tell people then?”

Nick’s heart skipped a beat. “You really want to?”

“Well, it’s a bigger thing for you, right? That is, if you want to come out as an omega. Which obviously you don’t have to. That is none of anyone’s business.”

“No, Charlie, I, I want to come out. I think it’s time. I don’t care what anyone thinks, but I want people to know that you’re my alpha, and I’m your omega.”

“Yeah, I want that too. So we’re gonna tell people?”

“Yeah.”

…

“Nelson, what’s that?” Ian called out so loud that all the eyes in the yard turned to them. “I knew it!” he said, turning and pointing at William. “I told you, didn’t I?”

“Come on Ian, you know it’s not cool to be talking about these things. Remember what happened to Stu?” William cautioned in a hushed tone.

“No, it’s fine,” Nick responded, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could manage. Nick raised his hand up to get the group's attention. “Yes it’s a bite mark, an alpha’s bite mark. I, well we don’t think it officially, like, worked properly this time but, yeah, surprise, I’m an omega.”

“You what?” Ian and William exclaimed at the same time.

“I thought, well…” Ian stammered.

“You thought there was some hot alpha on alpha action going on?” Charlie said as he walked over and wrapped his arm around Nick’s middle.

“I… I,” Ian babbled, before shutting his mouth entirely.

“While there is nothing wrong with alphas dating each other, you don’t have to be gross about it either. And all of you,” Charlie raised his voice, looking around at the group of about 30 workers. “It’s rude to make assumptions about people.” Charlie then smiled and turned to face Nick. “And I am sorry for doing so, my love.” Charlie pulled Nick into his arms and whispered in his ear, “My Omega.”

Nick shivered at Charlie’s words. He lifted his head from Charlie's shoulder, brushed his lips against Charlie’s cheek and breathily uttered the word “Alpha” into his skin.

The two men were startled apart at the sound of a throat being cleared. Mr Lange was standing before the group, waiting to speak with the employees. Once again, Tao seemed to appear right at the same moment. He had a strangely satisfied look on his face.

The group were assigned their jobs for the day. Nick was a little sad that he and Charlie wouldn’t be working together, however he realised it was probably for the best. But Nick had been assigned to work alongside Tao and was equal parts excited and nervous to talk to the other omega. Charlie gave him a little wink and a nod as they departed for their assignments.

…

There was an air of awkward silence for the first couple of hours of work. Nick did feel a sense of relief that he had not been assigned a light duty. He had been pushing himself hard and by the damp state of Tao’s shirt, he had been doing the same. As they paused for a drink after moving a particularly large and heavy box, Nick took the opportunity to break the ice.

“So, um…” he stammered awkwardly, trying to find the words to broach the subject.

Tao side eyed him, amusement written on his face. “You don’t have to tell me anything Nick. I mean you don’t owe me an explanation just because I helped you.” Tao absentmindedly rubbed the side of his neck as he spoke, drawing Nick’s eye to what he now understood was Tao’s own mating bite.

“Oh, err, yeah, no of course. I should thank you though. For helping me. And Charlie. If it wasn’t for you and Mr Lange, we’d have been…”

“Fucked?” Tao raised an amused eyebrow.

Nick grabbed the back of his neck nervously, “Well, err, yeah.”

Tao giggled and Nick couldn’t help the impulse to wipe the smug look off his face.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Tao frowned and crossed his arms before nodding for Nick to go on.

“So, you introduced me to your girlfriend, Elle? When I saw you the other week?”

Tao nodded, giving Nick a suspicious expression but not saying anything.

“Well, I, it’s not that I assume to know anything, about anyone, like I know how people can be presumptuous and get things really wrong.”

“What? Because you think she’s an omega?”

“Oh, um maybe, I don’t want to assume, it’s not that though. It’s, well, I…” Nick paused to steady himself. He had gotten this far. Tao deserved to know the truth. “It’s just that Charlie and I kinda saw you, with someone else.”

Tao’s eyes went wide and his face flushed red. “Ah,” he said, then his face started to relax into a soft smile. “Okay, you saw us. I hope you can be discreet, you know, seeing how we were for you.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. I mean, we have no plans of telling anyone.”

“Yeah, it’s not, like, against the rules as such, just wouldn’t look good for the boss, you know. I’m only working for the summer anyway, just a few more weeks until I go back to uni.”

Nick nodded. “I get it, but does your girlfriend know? Like, I’m not going to out you but cheating isn’t cool either.”

Tao started laughing.

“What? What have I missed?”

“My girlfriend knows. She more than knows. Mr Lange he’s, he’s our alpha.”

Nick felt like his brain exploded with this new information, Our alpha. “You mean, like the three of you…”

“Yeah, she’s my omega and I am hers and we are his and he is our alpha.” Tao shrugged. “It’s not that hard to get, is it?”

Nick took a deep gulp of his water. “No, not at all.”

“Come on,” Tao said with a laugh as he patted Nick on the back. “We’ve lingered too long, let's get back into it.” As Tao started to walk towards the truck he suddenly looked back at Nick with a mischievous glint in his eye. “How was it though, Nick? Much better to have the real thing right?”

“The real…” Nick muttered in confusion. He glared at Tao who gave him a cheeky wink.

“I mean it’s a good model, not cheap, but they haven’t invented one with the pheromones built in yet,” he laughed.

Finally the penny dropped. That cheeky fucker, Nick thought to himself, but decided not to give Tao the satisfaction of a response. He was grateful, but he was also not going to talk about his sex life – solo or otherwise – with his colleague, even if he did now consider him a loyal friend. Nick could not wait for the day to end. All he could think about was telling Charlie all he had learned today.

…

Just as the last of the boxes were stacked and Nick started heading towards the main building to finish off for the day, he felt his phone ringing. It wasn’t until he saw who was calling that he remembered he had been expecting a call.

Nick took a deep breath and reluctantly answered the call. “Hi Dad.”

“Nicholas, my son, how are you?”

“Yeah, I’m really good actually, Dad.”

“Ah, that is good news. Listen my boy, I wanted to have you home on the weekend. Do you think you can find the time off work?”

“Um, sure Dad. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Great, great. I have someone I want to introduce you to actually.”

Fuck.

“Err, Dad I’m not interested in being set up with anyone sorry. In fact I’ve actually…”

“No, no my boy,” Stéphane interrupted. “You misunderstand. I was thinking about this need of yours for independence, and now that the doctor seems happy that things are settling down for you in the, err, heat department…”

Nick wondered if the sound of him rolling his eyes could be heard down the line.

“Well I thought it was high time you started thinking seriously about a career.”

Nick’s jaw hit the floor. He was sure his father had been trying to find him an alpha to marry him off to now that he had presented, not find him a job.

“Oh.”

“And seeing how you threw your education out the window…”

Oh here we go.

“Your mother and I have been racking our brains about what you could possibly do with yourself, rather than breaking your back at that manual labour job.”

“Dad, it’s fine really.”

“Then one of my clients, beta, but a lovely man.” Nick rolled his eyes at his fathers casual sexism, “he brought along these lovely pastries to one of our meetings and started telling me about how his wife runs this highly successful chain of bakeries.”

“Bakeries?”

“Yes, bakeries. You know, nothing fancy like a parisian boulangerie, but very nice nonetheless. Anyway, I remembered how as a wee boy, you liked to bake with my dear Maman, rest her soul,” Stéphane said solemnly, before suddenly chuckling. “I also remember how much it used to tick your mother right off. She could never get you interested in all her omega-ly hobbies, complaining that all you wanted to do was kick balls around like some alpha boy, yet here you were in the kitchen with your grand-mère like a good little omega.”

“Dad!” Nick groaned. “You can’t talk like that.”

“What?” Stéphane sounded confused by Nick’s protest, making Nick question the merits of arguing with someone of his father’s generation about gender stereotypes. He didn’t have long to ponder these things as Stéphane went on, barely missing a beat. “Well the point is. She is keen to meet with you. See if you are suited to a baker's apprenticeship. Apparently, they have a few of their bakeries around London, so unless you wanted to come home to us, you could stay in that shitting little apartment of yours.”

“An apprenticeship? Yeah, okay, I can meet with her.”

“Fantastic!” Nick’s father cried jovially down the line.

“Oh, one more thing Dad. If I am coming home this weekend, do you mind if I bring someone with me?”

…

“So, like, all three of them?” Charlie pulled a confused face. As they walked to the train station Nick filled Charlie in on all the information he had learned that day.

“Yeah, sounds like they’re all happy with the arrangement.” Nick shrugged.

Charlie smiled mischievously. “Do you think they all, you know, at the same time, or like take turns?”

“Charlie! I don’t want to think about it, honestly.”

Charlie laughed heartily. “Really, so you don’t want to add a third to our mating then?” He raised a teasing eyebrow.

Nick shook his head at the cheeky alpha. “You’d like that, would you? One omega not enough to satisfy your raging ruts? Hmm? I thought I was more than enough.”

“Oh, more than enough were you? Does that mean I wasn’t enough for you, ,i>my omega? Would you like another alpha to tag team you through your burning heats then?”

The two men lost themselves in fits of laughter.

“We could alway get a beta?” Charlie suggested jestfully.

Nick scrunched his face, “What? Like as a pet?” Nick covered his mouth to suppress his laughter. Internally chastising himself at the same time for saying such a thing after his conversation with his father. Charlie didn’t seem to mind though, as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

They weren’t serious either way. Nick knew that. There had never been anyone for him, and then there was Charlie. Only Charlie, forever and always.

Nick felt a tingle in his bite wound. He rubbed it gently with the tip of his finger, which didn’t go unnoticed by Charlie. “Do you think they worked after all?”

Nick hummed; he really didn’t feel any different. “I’m not sure.”

“Should we go home and try again?” Charlie asked slyly.

“Charlie! No, I mean yes to all the other parts, but no more biting ‘til I’m in heat.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Spoilsport? What, you want to do me a serious injury, do you?”

“A serious injury? God, you are so dramatic.”

“Dramatic? You are reckless.”

“Oh I am, am I? You’re one to talk…….”