Page 5

CAMbrY

I lay beneath the soft covers and listened to Niro move about the room.

The fridge door opened and closed with a pop.

The sound of a plastic water cap skittered across the countertop next to the fridge.

Niro swallowed slowly. Every sound in the room was magnified, but more than that, I could feel the coolness of the water moving down his throat and experience his emotion as he slaked his thirst. Pleasure.

I myself wasn't thirsty or hungry, just confused.

He'd come inside me, seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit. I came, too. My body matched his as he took me, as he pulled a desire from me that surprised me. Everything inside me opened up as I flew through the ecstasy. For a moment, I could hear the calls and sighs and moans of all the others in the Mating Hall doing the same thing we were at the same time. Before I could feel any shock in that moment, it went away. And then there he was. Angell. My silent lover. My heart’s heart.

Angell was in my bed, naked, with the sheet covering him up to his waist. He lay on his side with his fists clenching around the edges of a pillow.

The lashes of his closed eyes made single pale lines above his high cheekbones.

His cheeks flushed pink as his mouth with those beautiful full lips opened slightly.

I could feel him coming from his own touch, hear my name in spoken in his mind. Cambry. I'd never heard his voice before. When we had sex, air strained through his throat in silent grunts. But now, in his mind there was a beautiful voice, melodic and smooth. His thought voice.

What was happening?

When Niro pulled out, my contact with Angell vanished as if it had been a dream.

He didn’t knot me as I’d expected. It left me feeling alone despite the fact that I still sensed Nero within me, as if he was still cooling his Burn and had never left me alone on the bed.

It was as if he had somehow left a part of himself inside of me.

Was this normal? Was this how it was supposed to go? I'd never heard another Omega say anything about that part of servicing Alphas. It wasn't in any of our lessons, either. I would have remembered that.

Niro went to the window and pushed back the curtain part way. I didn't see it with my eyes, but I was with him in his mind, and I knew that was what he had done. I wondered if he was still Burning, if he still wanted me but was being polite and giving me a break.

A strange contentment washed over me that did not feel like my own, along with a sort of fuzzy curiosity and surprise. Why was I feeling him so close to me in my mind? Why did it feel like his cock was still inside me?

I wasn't sure what to do. I longed to go back to Angell, see if he really was in my bed missing me, begging me with his eyes to put my arms around him and hold him close. But I wasn't allowed to leave until my Alpha partner left first. That was the rule.

Finally, I gathered the courage to peek out from under the coverlet.

There he was just as I knew, standing before the window and looking out over the parking lot and the fields that surrounded the farm.

My heart jumped in my chest at the sight of him.

His head and shoulders were silhouetted by the daylight streaming through the glass, but his lower half was not.

His ass flexed tight and muscular as if he knew I was looking right at it.

His legs were strong, perfect all the way down to his ankles.

He created a handsome picture half in, half out of silhouette as he stood there.

My mouth went dry as if in fear, but I wasn't scared.

It was something else. A feeling of longing so strong I imagined it might break me.

Niro's voice broke the silence.

“You may go now, Cambry.”

“What?” I stuck my head all the way out from under the cover.

“I am finished and have no more need.”

“B—but I was told?—”

“That the Burn can last two days? Yes, that is quite normal, but I seem to have satisfied myself quite fully in the moment we shared. You need not worry. You did well. You will receive a nice tip.”

“I--I wasn't even thinking of that. But thank you.”

I didn't know what to think. He wanted me.

It was in the air, the scent of him like smoke and pine slowly burning in a candle, hot, still flaring.

He was lying. His Burn still permeated my every cell.

I was still slick with him inside me and making my own new slick, readying myself for another session. For a knot.

I sat up in the bed. I watched him tilt back his water bottle and take a few more swigs while still standing by the window. He turned his head. I couldn't see his features, but I understood that he was looking at me through eyes blazing and blurred.

Why would he send me away?

“Are you sure you want me to go?”

“Very sure.”

I gulped against the dryness in my throat, nearly choking. The covers fell away as I stood, the soles of my feet cooling against the bare wood floor.

I looked down. My cock was still erect. His was, too. I didn't see it, I felt it. Something was wrong.

As I reached for my black trousers which had fallen to the floor, the openness between us suddenly vanished.

It was like being slammed in the face yet there was no fist, no open hand, nothing hitting me.

For a second, I thought I had fallen and hit my head.

But I stood up straight, trousers in hand, and realized it was all in my mind.

Something inside me broke. I couldn’t recognize what it might be or why. I stepped into my trousers and fastened them quickly, then put on my shirt and tucked it neatly. Next came my tie, and my socks and shoes. In a minute, I was dressed.

I turned toward the door.

“Cambry.” Niro’s voice stopped me. “You did well.”

“Okay.”

I shook my head. It hurt. Everything looked two-dimensional, black and white, as if something was wrong with my vision. I wanted to run away and run back to him at the same time. I still smelled the Burn on the air. Why was he lying?

I still wanted him. What would Angell think? Would I even tell him? We kept no secrets from each other, but this was too much. It would hurt him if he thought I’d fallen for the very first Alpha who'd fucked me.

I had to get hold of myself.

By the time I got into the hall and headed to the exit I was in such a daze. When I went through the door I forgot for a moment where I was.

An older Omega stood before me, arms crossed over his chest. It took me a few seconds to realize he was the Mating Hall guide who’d directed me to my room only a couple hours ago.

“Cambry?”

“H—he said I’m done.”

His eyebrows narrowed. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, blinking hard.

“Is everything okay with you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need any treatment or to talk to someone?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“All right, then. This way.”

His hand on my shoulder led the way. I was grateful because the spinning feeling inside my mind had not left me and I needed guidance and time to reorient.

We went through another doorway and into another hall. I stumbled but quickly righted myself.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Aero asked.

“Yes.”

“Second dinner is in five minutes if you’re hungry.”

I realized I didn’t know what time it was. I glanced about, still feeling my way through my daze.

He pressed down on my shoulder. “It’s 7:30, if you were wondering.”

“Thanks. Not really hungry.”

“All right. You know your way from here, then.” Aero stepped back.

Did I?

“Thank you,” I said.

“You have done yourself and Zilly’s an honor. Thank you.” He turned and his footsteps shushed down the neatly polished floor. I wondered if Angell had been the polisher in this section.

I still wasn’t quite sure whether to turn left or right. Then I saw a familiar marker. Benji, an Omega two years behind me, had an urn screwed to the wood of his door. He put fresh flowers in it every day from the biology lab gardens. From there I could turn right; my room was at the end.

The halls all looked the same. There were numbers by the doorknobs, but they were small and hard to read. It was ridiculous. Omegas were always getting lost. Many of us had written to Zilly’s new owner to get the number situation fixed. It was supposedly being addressed.

I quietly opened the door to my room. There he was.

My best friend. My soul-mate. Sound asleep with my pillow clutched to his chest. He was naked from the waist up, his velvet, hairless skin breathtaking.

He had a golden glow, and his blond hair only added to that vision. The most beautiful person in the world.

I couldn’t put into words how much I loved him.

His body shifted on the sheet. His flaxen head lifted. Long lashes curved up revealing shockingly blue eyes.

“Cambry?” He signed and sat all the way up.

“Hi.”

“You’re back already?” His fingers flew through the air.

I nodded.

“You weren’t gone even one night.”

“No.”

“Did something happen? Are you all right?” He moved silently across the bed, revealing his full nakedness.

“No. It was fine. He just slaked his Burn fast and left, I guess. I’m fine.”

Angell’s eyebrows narrowed and he shook his head.

“I’m telling you the truth. I need a shower and then bed. I want to sleep.”

Angell nodded but still looked worried. His gaze followed me as I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

I stripped fast and stepped into the hot spray.

Soon, soft hands touched my back, and arms went around me from behind.

The hug was all I needed to ground me. Everything was good and whole and right.

I could forget about Niro, now. How I’d felt him inside me even when he wasn’t.

How his emotions had tangled with mine in shock and wonder and pure pleasure.

How I felt like I’d known him before. How we’d merged to become one for a few ecstatic seconds.

Yes, I could forget it all. Things would be normal again.

I turned and put my arms around Angell, burying my head against his sweet, bony shoulder.