Page 84 of Omega's Heart

“It was an accident!” It had totally not been an accident, but Kaden wasn’t a fool—he’d seen how Felix preened, even when it was just the two of them, any time Kaden made his impatience known. At this point, Kaden was enjoying the forced non-intimacy as much as Felix was, which meant that he spent a good portion of his free time coming up with ways to tease his future mate.

“Ha, like I’m going to trust an alpha about that.” But a little more of Felix’s weight came to rest on him and when he slipped a hand underneath the hem of Felix’s t-shirt, the omega only sighed against Kaden’s lips and move a little closer.

“I’m not hurting your leg, am I?” Felix asked at one point.

“No.” Not that he thought he’d notice. Kaden ran his hands over Felix’s back, palms cupped over the muscle that bracketed the dip of his spine until he had to make a choice. He’d never pushed farther than the small of Felix’s back, had stayed away even from anything that smacked too broadly of trying to get a hand on his chest, but they were less than a month from their mating and his cock was going to explode. Without thinking, he cupped the curves of Felix’s ass and pulled them closer together, nearly as intimate as lovemaking. If they hadn’t still been fully clothed, it would have taken no more than a shift and thrust of hip to consummate the relationship, but the cotton stopped them as surely as a chaperone would have.

Felix groaned and his hips flexed. A flush of triumph and possessiveness surged through Kaden and he braced to adjust how their bodies fit together—and totally forgot about his two-day-old surgical incision. A sharp pain like a knife flashed up his leg and he spasmed, curling up around it and dumping Felix onto the floor.

“Shit, I’m sorry! Are you okay?” Kaden demanded, ignoring the pain in his leg to reach for Felix.

“I should be asking you the same question!” Felix scrambled up to his knees and reached for the folded pantleg of Kaden’s sweatpants. “We didn’t tear your stitches, did we?”

Kaden caught his hands and pulled him away from the stump. “No, it’s okay. It’s just tender. I’m sure I would have felt it if we’d torn anything. You didn’t hurt yourself going down like that, did you?” He’d heard a crack of something bony hitting the hard floor and he ran his hands over Felix’s arms and shoulders, pressing the joints for any sign of pain. “Did you hit your head?”

“I’m fine, it wasn’t anything.” Felix grimaced, groping around behind him, then pulled out his phone. “Bax is going to murder me.”

The screen was shattered, and when Felix hit the text icon, nothing happened.

“I’ll get you a new one,” Kaden promised. “This was my fault.” He took the phone and tossed it away to rattle across the floor. “What?” he said to his scandalized betrothed. “It’s already broken.”

“I’m going to have my work cut out for me, aren’t I?” Felix grinned and leaned in for another, sadly much shorter kiss. “If you really do want help getting to bed, you need to ask now. I’m going to head back and let Julius be all puppy over me for a bit. He’s still excited to be staying here.”

This would be a perfect time to tell Felix that Julius could go to the mating. But that news would also make a perfect mating surprise… if Julius could play his part. Or maybe Kaden would just keep that news to himself until the day of the mating. Choices… Kaden laughed and stole another kiss. He’d keep it a secret for now. “I’m okay to put myself to bed. But I think I’m probably going to become very, very helpless in three weeks.”

Felix chuckled back and pressed his forehead to Kaden’s. “And once we’re mated, I’ll gladly help you to bed and make sure you stay there.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “This has got to be the longest month of my life.”

“Mine too,” Kaden whispered back. “Enjoy your puppy.”

“I’m going to enjoy yours more,” Felix murmured. The innuendo still made him blush, but he had no trouble meeting Kaden’s gaze despite it. “Sleep well.” He got to his feet with obvious reluctance and made his way to the door.

Three more weeks.

C H A P T E R 5 0

J ulius had indeed been so worked up he should have been annoying, but it was hard to be annoyed at someone so transparently happy just to be able to call a place home. He was sad not

to be able to go to White River, but when I suggested I move the mating to Mercy Hills, he

stubbornly refused to take part if I did. He was determined that I should have my mating in my birth pack’s enclave because some small, less mature part of me really wanted to show off for the pack how well I’d mated.

I finally got him to go to bed after midnight, but I was exhausted at the end of it and ready for some peace. And I still hadn’t called my parents to tell them we were definitely having the mating in White River.

I did that first thing in the morning from Kaden’s phone, getting both of them out of bed. Mom was ecstatic. “Oh, this is wonderful!” she cried. “How many are coming from Mercy Hills, I’ll have to find space for them.”

“Can I let you know tonight? Or tomorrow? I’m sure the brothers will all come, and Cale. I don’t know for sure if anyone else from here will, though. I mean, I’ve only lived here a few months.”

“Well, we’ll get you and your betrothed settled anyway. Will you be here for very long before the ceremony?” I heard the wistfulness in her voice as she asked.

“I don’t know yet,” I said, kicking myself for not figuring that out last night. “Can I let you know about that tonight too?” Surely there’d be time to figure it out this morning, right? “I have to go, Mom. We’re meeting with the Alpha and the Mate this morning over something to do with the new hospital.”

“I didn’t realize you had anything to do with that. Well, it’s all very exciting, but I want you to know how happy we all are for you and I’ll be waiting anxiously for your call tonight.”

Mom always could make me smile. And I had to admit, I was excited as well to be coming back to White River for my mating. Not having ever been anywhere else, all my childhood imaginings had been set in our woods and in houses around the enclave. Now I would have real memories of a mating in White River.

“Ready to go?” Kaden asked when I’d ended the call and handed him his phone back.

“Ready,” I agreed and got the door so he could roll out into the hallway.