Page 12 of Advocate Omega (Unforeseen Paths #1)

Zander

Now that Lucan has so rudely pointed out that I’m going to have my first heat, I’m hyperaware of my body and hyperaware of everything he does.

When he got back earlier from telling his alpha he’d be gone, I stared way too long at his ass when he bent over to take off his filthy boots. Then he stretched, revealing a thick stripe of hair connecting his navel to his crotch, and my cock jumped in the borrowed briefs I’m still wearing.

He did manage to secure me some clothes for our trip , but I haven’t been able to make myself wear them. I want to live in these clothes forever.

He made me some food, since I’m fucking starving, and while he cooked, I noticed how thick his fingers are.

Calloused and long. And his forearms. Gods , they’re so muscular and covered in a light dusting of dark hair.

When he handed me my plate of eggs, bacon, and sausage, I inhaled deeply.

It wasn’t the breakfast I was smelling, no, it was him.

My hole clenched immediately, and my stomach cramped something fierce.

I might’ve even licked my fucking lips like a psychopath.

Now, he’s in the shower, and he’s been in there for fucking ever.

I’m restless, itchy, and my skin feels so tight I’m ready to claw it off my body.

I’ve snooped around his entire living room, discovering his treasure trove of logs he’s got in this weird trunk.

I found at least ten more bottles of whiskey scattered about in his kitchen.

Those blankets I used last night are gone, though.

I don’t know when he managed to hide them, but he did.

I keep trying to scent him out here, needing to know he’s really still in the shower and not gone.

Fuck, when he left earlier? It felt like someone jabbed that fire poker right into my chest. I whined and whimpered like a bitch for a good twenty minutes before slapping myself and crawling into his bed.

This is exactly what I feared. I’m…losing control over my body. Alphas make omegas stupid.

The worst part of it all? My hole will not stop aching.

It’s a dull pain, something I’ve never really felt before.

Sure, I’ve had sex with humans. And my ass would hurt afterwards, but not this kind of hurt. It’s like…those cramps you get when you’re hungry. Or when you sit for too long and your legs demand you move them. It’s a need . And it’s driving me fucking nuts!

I hug my knees to my chest and breathe. When that doesn’t work, I start to rock.

I’m hot and cold. Hungry even after a full meal and an entire bag of chips I found in a secret cupboard labeled Lira’s snacks. Yeah, I feel a little guilty about stealing from a kid, but fuck that. I’m vibrating with distress right now, and I needed those cheese puffs, alright?

What feels like hours pass, and finally, finally , I hear the bathroom door open. Soap and steam and alpha permeate the air, and I hurry to get on my knees to see where he is.

A clothed back is all I catch sight of before he vanishes into the bedroom.

Oh gods, I can’t stop it.

I whine. Loudly. Pitifully.

My nails elongate and dig into the back of the couch. My chest hurts. Stomach aches—asshole pulses. Tears start to well in my eyes out of frustration and ungodly emotions I can’t seem to beat into submission.

What is he doing in there!

Fuck, even my nipples hurt.

When I finally have had enough, determined to hunt the male down, he comes out of his bedroom. Eyes quickly rounding into two giant saucers in my skull, I gape.

My heart kicks up in my chest, and my entire body shudders. Lucan shaved. That horrible beard is gone, and in its place is the face I’ve been so eager to discover.

A prominent square jaw, full lips, and high cheekbones make up the overall structure. But it’s how those features mesh with his deep-set, broody eyes and those dark brows that have me rabid.

As if he wasn’t torturing me enough with his scent, his face is unreal. Perfection. Gorgeous. Pure fucking male.

Gods.

“I’m sorry that took so long,” he says softly. “Are you alright?”

My body just…reacts. I launch off the couch like a rocket. Surprise washes over his features before I climb him and curl my arms around his thick neck. “You smell…fuck…so good ,” I purr and shove my nose into his skin.

Lucan grunts. Then he walks me back over to the couch I just vacated and sets me on it.

He has to put in some effort because I’m unwilling to let go.

When my ass is seated on the cushions and he stands above me, cock right in my face, I almost lean into it, but his hands land on my shoulders before I can.

“It’s coming faster than I thought,” he says, staring at me. “What are you feeling?”

“Miserable,” I complain. “Just miserable.”

“Alright. Here’s what is going to happen. We will take my truck into town, I’ll run in and get your things, and then we will go.”

“Can’t we just stay here?” I hear myself saying. What the fuck am I doing? “Please? Your scent is everywhere, and I need it. I need—I—”

“No.” His voice rumbles. “Not here, Zander.”

I whine, the sound ripping from my throat.

“Gods, you’re a handful, you know that?”

“Why do you think I wanted to be far away from any alphas when this eventually happened? I can’t control it. I’m—” Ah shit. I fight his hold, desperate to get closer. I need to…nuzzle, touch, smell, and taste. My cock is already leaking. Shit. Shit.

“We are leaving right now.” A vein pops in his neck, and he makes jerky movements to gather the bag of clothes he brought for me. When he returns, hand outstretched, I hurry to take it. I gasp when he yanks me into his chest. “Have to scent you again,” he murmurs, sounding strained.

My head flies back so fast I almost get whiplash.

A pleased rumble leaves him before he dips down to bite me.

I groan shamelessly, grinding my hips into him.

Damn, that feels good. His tongue swipes over the bite, lingering far longer than last time, and when he pumps out those delicious pheromones, I almost beg him to fuck me.

“So sweet,” he whispers, then pulls back.

His eyes find mine, searching my face and seemingly confused.

But he doesn’t ask whatever question is on his mind.

I don’t care, regardless, because I want his tongue back on my skin.

“It’ll be upon you tonight. It’s so strange, usually omegas have a few days to prepare. ”

“I’m prepared, alright,” I purr and squeeze his chest.

A soft chuckle leaves him before he takes my hand and guides me to the back door. “I’ll get you somewhere safe as soon as I can.”

I slept the entire drive. Where did this random exhaustion come from? I have no idea. But when I wake up, we aren’t anywhere near trees and are in a town.

Because I don’t instantly recognize where I am, I flip the fuck out.

“Where are we?” I yell, scrambling to grab something. I end up digging my claws into Lucan's thigh, and he yelps.

“Gods, Zander. A little warning!” He pulls the e-brake, then removes my nails from his leg. “I’m running into the shop for you.”

Somehow, I manage to reel back my panic and actually look around.

It’s a sex shop conveniently located next to a grocery store.

Then I spot the names of the stores, and it’s clear this town is full of wolves.

Catered for them. I know because I’ve seen it before.

“What clan runs this place?” I ask, fear clogging up my throat.

He frowns, the expression far too sexy for a time like this, and says, “The Terra Clan, why?”

Yup. Knew it. We're in Terranton City.

Fuck.

I take a shuddering breath, then another. “Hurry up,” is all I say.

He nods once, pats my hand, then exits the car.

As soon as the door shuts and he’s walking into the sex shop, I let the first tear fall.

The Terra Clan and I go way back…as far back as my fucking conception.

My parents lived and died here. On the outside, it looks like any other town, but I know the truth.

These wolves are unhinged and cruel. They are power-hungry and hell-bent on climbing the totem pole by any means necessary, including stealing entire pods away from their clans and using them as breeding stock for fucked up experiments.

I hold myself and slide down the seat so I’m not so visible.

It’s hard to tell who's outside because Lucan's scent overpowers everything. At my feet is the bag of clothing, so I hurry to pull out a hoodie and throw it on. Making sure my hair is safely tucked away inside the hood, I pull the drawstrings for good measure and snatch Lucan’s sunglasses from the dash.

There. No one should recognize me, and they certainly can’t smell me like this.

I look back at the shop, chewing my lip until I taste blood. He needs to hurry. What if someone does recognize me? What if they discover I’m here and rip me out of this truck and make me go back?

I’m going into heat. They’ll hurt me here. They’ll break me. I’m not like other omegas. I don’t make slick.

Oh gods, they’ll rip me apart.

Struggling to breathe, I grab the handle for the window and crank it so I can get some air.

A car pulls up beside the truck, and I shake uncontrollably.

It’s hard to pretend to be unaffected when my emotions are already jacked up sky-high.

The pair of betas exit their vehicle and stare at me.

One of them sniffs the air. I bite my cheek so I don’t make a sound.

I’m sure they can hear my heart racing, scent the sweat pooling in my armpits.

Hurry up, Lucan.

I glance at the shop once more and finally see him. Bags around his wrists, those dark locks blowing in the cool breeze. He spots the betas near the truck and walks faster. When he reaches the driver's side door, he growls, “Back off, pups.”

They instantly recognize his alpha status and dip their heads. “You aren’t from around here,” one says.

“No,” Lucan continues to growl, “I’m not. And you don’t want to know where from, either.”

That does the trick, and they walk off.

He watches them go, his big chest pumping with angry breaths.

My entire body lights up seeing it. How protective he is, how powerful and dominant.

Gods, I can’t handle it either. I whine loudly for his attention.

Those green eyes snap to mine and soften.

Climbing in the truck, he hands me the bags and says, “Roll up that window, Zander.”

I nod and do as he says.

“We are going to a different grocery store.”

“Okay,” I breathe, then lean over the center console to nuzzle his shoulder.

Because he knows something is wrong, he allows me to cuddle for the next twenty minutes.

Lucan seems to be miserable, though, like he can’t stand that I'm so close. I can’t say I would either if I were in his position.

As he mentioned earlier, we don’t know each other.

He’s just a decent wolf, allowing me to seek comfort that I so desperately need right now.

Logic and self-control don’t exist in this moment.

I wish they did.

“We are almost to the store,” he comments after a while.

I’m all but gnawing on his shoulder. I can’t stop pressing my lips into the fabric, stuffing my nose in his armpit, and rubbing my cheeks all over the firm bicep. “I’m sorry,” I manage to say.

“Don’t be.”

“You didn’t ask for this shit.”

“No, but I volunteered to handle it.”

That makes me happy for some reason, so I continue to nudge him with my nose and face.

“We do need to discuss something, though.”

I groan, not wanting to discuss anything. “Do we have to?”

“Yes,” he grunts. Shifting his legs, he reaches between them and actually adjusts his cock. I lock onto the movement, mentally tracing the outline of it. “When your heat is fully upon you, you will be…well, I’m sure you have an idea.”

“Mhm.” Back to nuzzling. Gods, he just smells so fucking good.

“You’ve made it clear you don’t want to be…” He swallows hard. “You don’t want any assistance.”

“Nope,” I agree, popping the P, but immediately after I say it, something pinches in my chest. “I mean…yeah. I don’t want that.” Don’t I?

“You do not give consent, then.”

“I—” My lips close, and I stop nuzzling him to really focus.

“Because you will beg, Zander. You will cry and whine and howl for me.”

My heart races.

“I can physically control myself, but not my…scent. And if I leave while you are vulnerable, I’ll go crazy. I can’t let you be alone.”

“How come?” I whisper.

“Because it goes against my very nature. You know this.”

I do, but it’s nice to hear him say it. “Because you want to protect me.”

“Very much,” he murmurs and grips the steering wheel tighter. “So I need to know now, while you can still think straight. Do you or do you not consent for me to help you if you ask me to?”

That’s a tricky fucking question.

It’s not that I don’t know what to expect.

Gabe and I have talked about it in detail, much to my dismay.

An omega in heat, in the presence of an alpha, loses all sense of their rationality and common sense.

They only care about one thing, and that’s getting bred.

Fucked so hard and deep, pumped full of cum, and satiating the need to reproduce.

Our biology didn’t give us any control over this. I won’t have any control over this.

My whole life, I’ve sworn off the idea of being like the rest of them.

I don’t want to be chained to an alpha. I don’t want to be just another omega pumping out kids left and right and cowering due to a stern word.

I know that’s not how everyone is, but it’s all I’ve known.

The omegas of the Terra Clan were that way.

My friend is that way. Granted, Gabe is happy as a clam about it, but I always envisioned more for myself.

I just never knew what that was.

I don’t have any real skills other than hiding. I can be funny when I want to be, but I don’t see myself as a stand-up comedian. I’m a bit lazy, so I don’t think I’ll want to do any sort of physical labor. Maybe I could paint or—

“Zander,” he urges gently. “This is important.”

“I know,” I snap. “I’m thinking about it.” He flips the blinker and gets us into the turning lane. Looks like we are at the grocery store.

What it all boils down to is that I’m afraid.

I’m terrified of losing myself to my baser instincts and becoming stuck.

I know what I have to look forward to. Being in heat without a warm, breathing alpha to take care of you is supposed to be the worst thing an omega can go through other than birth.

Our needs are too great to handle all alone.

Nothing will feel right. Nothing will satisfy us.

But I’m not ready to give up who I am because of who everyone wants me to be.

And, as much as I’m dreading the next few days, I know I’ve made up my mind.

“No, Luc, I don’t consent.”

His face gives nothing away, but I can feel the sadness rippling off him. That wasn't the answer he wanted. “Okay. I will not touch you.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He doesn’t reply.