Page 13 of Advocate Omega (Unforeseen Paths #1)

Lucan

This is a good thing , I tell myself as we walk through the grocery store.

I’m holding his hand because…because it hides his scent better.

And fuck, does he smell to the gods of sweet omega.

His perfume invades every pore of my flesh, burrows deeper still, and curls up in that vacant space in my chest. I haven’t felt this alive in years.

The need to protect, to care for, and comfort is so strong it’s taking everything in me not to pluck him off the ground and hold him while we walk.

I know it’s his pheromones.

I know it’s because he’s omega and I’m alpha.

But the part of me I thought was dead and gone wonders if it’s more.

“Do you think they’ll mind?” he asks through chews. He’s stuffing a third donut in his face, having ripped open the box the second it hit his hands.

“I’m paying for them, so I doubt it,” I say.

I couldn’t leave him in the truck again, not after those Terra betas came sniffing around.

He whined and pouted when I told him to put on the sweats I got for him.

That cute bottom lip jutted out in a poor attempt to change my mind.

But he’s about to go into heat, and he can’t walk around in my boxer briefs.

No one gets to see him so exposed.

No one but me.

“Oo! We should get these,” he chirps, tugging me and by extension, the cart over to the pre-made sandwiches.

“Those will go bad after a day, the lettuce will be soggy and foul.”

He pouts up at me.

“One,” I order, and he beams.

My heart flutters wildly in my chest.

While he peruses the sandwich choices, I check my phone. A few texts have come in since we left, and I already know who it is.

Ian: I wish you would come home.

Ian: It doesn’t have to be me. It could be any omega. I’m sure you can find someone else.

Ian: You have to stop confusing Thalira. It isn’t fair to any of us.

“I fucking love pastrami,” Zander’s voice pulls me out of the text thread. He’s holding an entire package of it like it’s his offspring.

For some reason, I’m not as upset by Ian’s texts as I thought I would be.

Instead, I find myself easily slipping my phone back into my pocket and steering him away from the deli meat.

I only have so much room in my ice chest for provisions, so we need to make sure there is enough space.

The shopping trip goes smoothly after that.

He snacks while we shop, chatting about his ambitions to be a chef when he was a kid, but discovered he’s terrible at cooking complex meals.

Then he goes off on a tangent, asking if I think he could be a comedian.

By the time we are finished, having paid and left the store, I’m laughing.

Laughing.

“What?” he demands, stuffing the last donut from the box in his face.

“A cave diver ?” I bark out. Fuck, my eyes are tearing up.

“It’s doable. I can swim,” he says around a mouthful. “But I don’t really like tight spaces. Maybe if it were a big cave.”

“How about,” I start, settling the groceries in the bed of the truck, “you focus on what you enjoy doing, and then go from there?”

He frowns, wiggles, and inches closer to me.

Ah. This again.

I sigh and hold up my arm. Groaning deeply, he rushes me and shoves his face in my armpit. I let him smell me, prod, and rub all over my side. “I enjoy this,” he whispers. “Hanging out with you and talking.”

Fuck, this little omega is trying to kill me. “That is hardly a career,” I point out.

His head full of platinum locks lifts to stare at me. Those piercing blues swirl with uncertainty, maybe even fear. “I don’t know what I like to do. I’ve never had to…do anything but hide.”

Unable to help myself, I brush my fingers down his cheek, watching as his lips part, and tuck some strands behind his small ear. “Well, you’re still young. There’s plenty of time to figure that out.”

He nods, thinking. Then he skims his eyes over me. “How old are you? At first, I thought you were super fucking old, but that was the beard. Now, I’m not sure.”

“Super fucking old,” I repeat.

A bashful smile. “You aren’t meant to rock a beard.”

I laugh again. Fuck. “Well, I’ll make sure to keep it under control from now on.”

“Age, Luc.” He slaps my stomach, not bothering to hide how his fingers explore the ridges of my abs.

“I’m thirty-eight.”

Gasping, he keeps feeling me up, his pupils going wide. His scent grows stronger and sweeter by the second. “Zander,” I say sternly, and he stops.

“Sorry. Um. Cool. So almost forty. I was close.”

“Forty is old as fuck?” I balk.

“Maybe…not that old.” He flutters his eyelashes at me and tries to touch me again. I take his hand and hold it. “You probably know my age already.”

“I don’t.”

“Well,” he grunts when I don’t let him go, “ugh!” I chuckle, knowing this is just the beginning of how badly he’ll want to touch me. “Fine. Jerk. Um. I’m twenty-three.”

Wow, he really is a late bloomer. Most omegas have their first heats around eighteen to twenty. Twenty-three? That’s…late.

“Come on,” I say and gently nudge him to the passenger door. “We need to hit the road.”

Another groan. “Can I have that pastrami?”

Fuck, he really is ravenous.

“Only a little. You shouldn’t be too full, it might make you sick later.”

“The candy, then?” His eyes flit up, and this time I know it isn’t manipulation. The poor thing is genuinely suffering and needs a full belly. I sigh and nod.

He motions to get it, but I shake my head. “Get in the truck, I’ll get your candy.”

“Thanks, Luc,” he says sweetly.

I don’t know how I’m going to survive this.

Not with someone like him.

He falls asleep on my shoulder, his side digging into the center console.

It can’t be comfortable, but we are just a few minutes away from our destination.

Night has fallen, and I know it’s probably only hours until his heat is fully upon him.

Zander whines in his sleep every so often, and his hand absently clutches his stomach.

At least out here, no one will be able to detect him or hear his howls.

One of our enemy clans, which have long since died out, left an abandoned settlement called Roeville, several hours away from Thorn Valley.

My clan never comes here anymore, and since the word has gone around that we were the reason for the Blackwoods' bloody end, no one else dares step foot on these grounds.

The abandoned houses will be a good spot for Zander to ride out his heat.

The only electricity out here is run off solar-based generators, and last time I was here, the water still functioned.

I made sure to bring a week’s worth of clean bedding, extra clothes, and water.

But depending on how this goes, I might have to leave him during one of his resting periods to stock up on more food.

He hasn’t even started yet, and he's already eating more than Ian ever did. I can’t help but note that it all points to a highly fertile omega.

I pull up to the house I like best, which is all single level with good-sized bedrooms, and park the truck. Gently, I stroke Zander’s cheek to wake him. He grumbles and swats at my hand. I smirk, savoring the opportunity to admire him while I can.

This sweet omega truly is stunning. His hair is like woven starlight, silken and lightweight, but not thin. Sorrels are known for their white fur, so it makes sense his human form would have such light colored hair, too.

I let my fingers dip behind his ear, caressing him gently. He tries to scoot closer, but can’t. Allowing just a few more seconds of this, I brush the pad of my thumb over his lips. So soft, so… precious .

“Zander,” I say, pushing my authority into my voice.

He stirs finally and blinks open his eyes. “Are we here?” he asks sleepily and straightens. “Oh, ow .” His hand flies to his side to rub at it. “Fuck, how long have I been asleep?”

“A few hours,” I admit. “But yes, we are here.”

“This is it, then.” Chewing on his lip, he fiddles with the drawstring of his hoodie and glances around. “It’s going to start soon.”

“Yes.”

“What if I change my mind?” he asks quietly. “What if I can’t take it?”

I don’t respond because I don’t want to influence anything accidentally. This is his choice. His heat. And he deserves to go through it how he wishes to.

“Luc?”

“Yes?”

He looks at me then, teary-eyed and vulnerable. “I hate this.”

“You’ll be safe, I promise.”

“I don’t care about that,” he snaps and growls in frustration. “How do I stop it from ruining me? I’m not…I don’t…can’t I just not do this? Is there a way?”

I frown. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“I don’t want to be attached to you,” he all but cries. “My body will just think that’s how it is after. I’ll be… stupid. I’ll be whooped and in lust . I don’t want that. I don’t—”

My hand shoots out to cup his face. “Breathe.”

He nods and does as I say. “Again,” I coax.

Another breath.

“Who has told you this? Hmm?” I ask him and brush a few stray hairs behind his ear.

“It’s just the truth. Everyone knows that once an omega fucks an alpha, that’s it. You’re just stuck.”

I shake my head. “No, that’s not true.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“I’m not.” Gods, I wish I’d known this sooner.

That he really believes alphas hold all the power.

That’s not the case at all. “An alpha might bond with an omega, yes, that’s true.

They will choose you above all others and become your mate.

But you , the omega, decide if that bond holds.

You decide to either claim that alpha or… reject him.”

“I decide?” his voice squeaks.

“Yes, Zander.”

“Seriously?”

I nod.

Taking the opportunity to sniff my wrist, he rubs his lips all over me, and I bite back a groan.

I’ve been hard for hours . When his pupils blow out, those lips turning into little nibbles and sucks, I put a stop to it.

He’s running out of time. “That’s enough,” I order, and he whimpers.

“Let me get you inside and settled, alright?”

“It hurts,” he says, wincing and holding his belly. “Ah, it hurts.”

“I know, sweet thing. I know.”