Page 31 of Alpha Heat

Urho gritted his teeth. “How the fuck would I know? I’m not his keeper. Though he needs one.”

Jason held up his hands in surrender. “Got it. Well, it doesn’t seem like you plan to tell me much, even though you’re the one who came to my house and roughed me up.”

Urho grunted. He shook his head, not knowing where to even begin. “You fucked him.”

“Right. So, I guess you have questions for me about that?” Jason asked, bracing his forearms on his knees and letting his blond hair cascade over his forehead and nearly into his eyes. His next words held that fond softness again, and Urho’s heart ached. This must be why Vale loved this pup of an alpha so dearly. “Let me help you, all right? Talk with me.”

“He’s courting a world of trouble.” And the next bit was delicate to address, but he said it anyway. “He’ll drag Caleb down with him.”

Jason frowned. “So, he’s begun something with another alpha? And I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me how you know about it?”

Urho stood, raking his hands through his hair. He paced by the side of the pond, his legs aching with the need to move. “You admit that you know what he’s done, what he still does?” He whirled on Jason, pointing a finger at his face. “You admit that you fucked him, and that you were lovers?”

Jason nodded. “I do.”

“Did you abuse him too?”

“What in wolf’s own hell, Urho? Abuse him? What we did was—look, I love Xan.”

“You love him?” Urho spit out, disgusted.

“Not like that. I love him like how Vale loves you.”

Urho wiped his hands over his face, pacing back and forth again. His legs trembled. “Why did you do it?” Facing Jason again, Urho made a lewd motion with his hand.

“Have sex with him?”

“Yes! Was it alpha expression? Did he provoke you and you couldn’t control yourself?”

“No.” Jason shifted uncomfortably, his cheeks going a darker pink. “I found him attractive. He’s handsome and has a good body. What we did was fun. We played sexual games together for several years, and pretended it was practice for when we had our omegas.” Jason smiled slightly. “We were friends and it grew naturally from there. I never felt violent toward him and I never forced him. I wouldn’t have wanted to.”

Urho snorted, his heart racing. Was that possible? Sex between alphas was condemned, but Jason spoke of it like it was the same as playing with betas for pleasure, or two omegas finding tenderness at Mont Juror before they discover the true joy of being with their intended alpha. He made it sound natural.

“That’s all it was for me,” Jason said gently. The cool winter breeze brightened his eyes and ruffled his hair. “But, eventually, for Xan it became more. I recognized that too late to keep from hurting him.” He sighed. “I love him as a friend, as my dearest friend, and it killed me to hurt him. Luckily, Vale has grown to love him too. And, yes, Vale knows everything. So you don’t need to worry about surprising or wounding him with this information. He took it in stride, much more than I ever imagined possible. But then Vale’s perfect, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.”

“Perfect? The man barely stirs himself to dust the house more than once a year and lazes about writing poetry while you do all the hard work.”

Jason smiled fondly. “He’s perfect to me.”

Urho rolled his eyes. His armpits were sweaty and he scented his own rankness rising up. Had he even showered that morning? Or the morning before? “He loved you? Romantically? Xan, I mean.”

“Yes.” Jason winced. “I hoped once he found an omega that…” He shook his head. “But I don’t think that’s what’s happened. Though I know he cares deeply for Caleb.”

“He’s unmanned,” Urho whispered.

“He is,” Jason agreed. “I think he always will be.”

“He’ll destroy himself and his omega, too, if he doesn’t stop what he’s doing.”

“And what, exactly, is he doing? And with whom?” Jason sat straighter, pushing the hair off his forehead, and pinning Urho with hard eyes. “Did you see him with someone? Is that what this is about?”

Urho wiped a hand over his mouth, words wanting to vomit up out of him. But could he tell Jason the truth, or any measure of it, without violating his oaths as a doctor? “I saw him after. I smelled it on him.”

“Oh.”

Then, unable to hold back, he burst out with, “He isn’t safe.”

Jason rose to his feet, his normally pink cheeks paling. “Is he hurt? Do I need to go to him?”