Page 7 of An Omega for Christmas

He missed Grey already, even though he tried to deny it. He knew any sort of emotions where the Alpha was concerned came with a promise of pain and hurt. Nothing could change the fact that they were mates, though. It was their scents that made them want and need each other but Matthew knew he had to fight his natural instincts somehow. The fear that Grey would turn out to be just like Kelvin ate away at him, making him feel cold when he should be feeling warm and fuzzy after finding his mate and bonding with him. Grey had offered repeated assurances that he wasn't interested in anything other than being with Matthew and he got the sense that Grey was as lonely as him, but that wasn't enough to reassure Matthew, not when the pain from his break up with Kelvin and the rejection from his parents had tore his heart in two.

As he made his way to work along the quiet, snowy streets, he glanced at the festive window displays but they only made him feel more depressed. He wondered what it would be like to spend Christmas with Grey after enduring the awful ones he had spent with Kelvin and last year's one on his own, trying to mend his broken heart, but it seemed like a fantasy that was out of hisreach, especially because Grey was so keen for him to meet his pack. Once the Delta Mountain Pack realized he couldn't bear children, any chance he had of a happy ever after with Grey would be gone.

Matthew quickly set up the shop and served the early morning customers and before he knew it, the shop was full and he'd barely had a minute to think further about Grey or their future. Wendy arrived mid morning and waved over at him. Matthew waved back but he was thankful that the line was still stretching out the door and he wouldn't have to answer any of her questions just yet.

He'd just put together a complicated order for a particularly difficult customer when he heard the door bell go and he glanced up, nearly dropping the cup when he saw Kelvin Patrick enter the shop, accompanied by Jackson Lowe, one of his more sadistic betas. Matthew glanced over at Wendy but she kept her eyes firmly down as her Alpha approached the counter. Kelvin walked right up to Matthew and took the cup from his hand, handing it to the customer who took it and scuttled away. The whole shop had grown quiet and Matthew saw that two more of the Red River Pack's betas had arrived and were guarding the door.

"Well, look who it is, the town slut." Kelvin leaned on the counter, his voice booming, ensuring every customer in the place heard the insult he tossed Matthew's way.

"What would you like, Alpha? It's on the house." Wendy had come over and was standing wringing her hands, glancing nervously at Matthew.

"I want this slut out of town before noon today. That means that you're going to be a staff member short, Wendy, but I'm sure you'll make it work."

Wendy's mouth fell open but she looked down at the floor when Jackson took a step toward her.

"I don't have anywhere to go. Please, Kelvin." Matthew heard himself begging and hated himself, but what choice did he have? Kelvin had made sure he had no family or friends to turn to, and he didn't have the funds to move to another town and start again.

"You should have thought about that before you tried to embarrass me with Grey Lawson."

"But-" Wendy began but was quickly silenced by a sharp slap from Jackson. Matthew took a step toward his friend, but Wendy put her hand up, warning him not to come any closer.

"This is not up for negotiation, Matthew. I'm sure you don't want any harm to come to your friend here, or her husband, for that matter. I've been generous with you, Matthew. I've tried to be patient, but you've thrown it all back in my face by prostituting yourself out to the first Alpha that came along. I'm going to give you another chance. All you have to do is leave town today and I won't harm your friends, and I won't kill Grey Lawson. Now what's it to be?"

Matthew swallowed, feeling his whole world come crashing down around his ears. He looked at Wendy who was cradling her face and crying softly. He looked back at Kelvin and nodded.

"Say it," Kelvin snarled.

"I'll leave, just don't hurt her again. Please."

Kelvin laughed and reached forward, stroking Matthew's cheek before grabbing hold of his hair and twisting it. Matthew cried out, his pain only encouraging Kelvin to twist more.

"And you'll stay away from Grey Lawson?"

Tears fell from Matthew's eyes, splashing on the counter as he realized just how much Kelvin hated him. "Yes," he said, his voice barely a whimper in the silent coffee shop. Kelvin roughly released him and Matthew shot his hands out to stop his face hitting the counter.

"Good boy," Kelvin said and looked around at the customers. "Show's over, folks." He sneered once more in Matthew's direction and then walked out of the coffee shop, surrounded by his betas.

The locks had already been changed on Matthew's apartment when he got there. He'd grabbed his coat and bag and ran out of the coffee shop as soon as Kelvin had left, ignoring Wendy's cries for him to wait. He slid down the wall, sitting in the cold hallway, putting his head in his hands and tried to breathe through the panic that was threatening to overwhelm him. Why was Kelvin doing this? The Alpha had dumped him and moved on with his life. He had a new mate and he was Alpha of one of the largest packs in the territory. Matthew struggled to understand Kelvin's latest vendetta against him. It had to be because of Grey. Grey was a far more powerful Alpha than Kelvin. Matthew had sensed Grey's power the moment he had first laid eyes on him and Kelvin was obviously threatened by Grey.

Even though he had promised Kelvin he wouldn't see Grey again, Matthew knew he had no choice but to go to Grey and hope that the Alpha really did want him as a mate. Grey was the only one who would be able to protect him against Kelvin and he needed that protection now. Matthew got the sense that Kelvin would stop at nothing until he had destroyed him. Matthew felt hot and cold at the sickening realization that Kelvin would eventually kill him and it was enough to force him to his feet. By the time he got back outside, the snow had started to fall again. The footsteps on the sidewalk had already been covered up and the blizzard made it difficult to see where he was going. He staggered along the street to the bus stop, the howling wind fighting him all the way. He didn't really have a clue where Grey's pack territory began, but he knew it was somewhere past the Delta Woods. The bus would take him as far as the Mountain Pass and he would have to take it on foot from there. The bus had just pulled up at the stop and Matthew climbed aboard, sinking down in the seat and grateful for the meager warmth that the heater on board afforded him.

Chapter Six

After a long, hot shower, Grey still couldn't shake off the uneasiness he felt at how insecure Matthew had been despite his best efforts to reassure him. He tried to block out the crippling fear that he might lose his mate before he had even had the chance to claim him. He sighed, trying to put the fear out of his mind. He knew wolves had been driven mad by it and he wasn't going to succumb to it. The other feelings that Matthew's scent had stirred up inside him couldn't be ignored, either, and despite fucking Matthew thoroughly twice last night, Grey still had an aching hard on that wouldn't go away. He'd already jerked off hard and fast in the shower to try to take off the edge off his arousal, but it was still there, threading heat up and down his spine, pooling low in his belly, gnawing at him until he felt like he would go insane if he didn't come again, preferably whilst his cock was buried deep inside Matthew's gorgeous tight ass.

He dried off and pulled on a pair of jeans, then padded downstairs. He opened the front door and gazed out on the winter wonderland that greeted him. The snow was deep and pure, untouched, like a thick, soft carpet that just begged to be walked on. He tried to see through the swirling snowfall, tried to see deep into the forest, as though it held the answers to all of his problems, but there was nothing there, just the cold, frozen bleakness of the weather as it settled in for the night, sparkling and beautiful, but deadly all the same.

He was just about to close the door when a brittle snapping sound made him stop and the hair on the back of his neck stood up as someone stepped out from the trees. A familiar sweet scent suddenly slammed into Grey, and he let out a low growl, his wolfwrithing inside him painfully, as he saw Matthew's slight figure take a stumbling step onto the expanse of driven snow, sinking into it as he collapsed, falling flat on his face. Matthew lay there, unmoving and Grey ran out into the snow, not even feeling how his jeans clung to his legs with the freezing cold snow and how his bare skin grew numb.

Grey reached Matthew and bent down, touching him carefully, feeling his soaking wet clothes and the coldness of Matthew's body. His familiar scent drifted up to Grey, intoxicating and sweet, and Grey trembled as his body reacted violently.

"Shit," Grey muttered to himself, as the scent swamped every one of his senses. He picked up Matthew without thinking about it further, roughly adjusting the lifeless body in his arms, and strode toward his cabin, his bare feet sinking into the deep snow. All he wanted to do was care for his mate and claim him as his own. His chest almost burst with the sudden overwhelming emotions building up within him, emotions that it was pointless to try to deny.

Matthew stirred and began to struggle in his arms, but Grey's strength kept him in place. He looked down at the younger man in his arms, his breath hitching at the beauty he saw there in Matthew's fragile bone structure and pale, winter skin.

Grey's jaw set into a grim line. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. We need to get you warmed up."

When he reached his cabin, he stepped inside the hall, feeling the warmth envelope him, and he reluctantly released Matthew, placing him carefully down on the floor, all the while watching him for signs that he was going to collapse again. He couldsee that Matthew's clothes were completely soaked through and that his skin was tinged blue. Grey thanked God that he had found the omega before he had succumbed to the elements. He couldn't understand how Matthew had gotten onto pack territory undetected and had been allowed to wander around in the freezing temperatures until he collapsed. Anger burned low in his stomach and he tried to swallow it down as it rose like acid in his chest. He would have to deal with whoever was supposed to be on security detail later, right now he had to tend to his mate.