Page 8 of An Alpha's Commitment

“We know you need it.” He kissed me affectionately on the forehead.

“I’m getting better.”

“I know. We can both see it.” Irian’s lips curved gently and his eyes softened as he cast a look across at Talius still speaking earnestly into his phone.

“It was something though, wasn’t it?” I said, smirking. Irian knew what I was referring to.

“Yeah.” A dreamy look crossed his face.

We shared a grin.

“What’s going on?” I asked, breaking the gentle moment. I gestured towards Talius. “That seems a bit intense for this time of night.”

Irian bit his lip. “Wait ‘til he’s off the phone. I’m sure he’ll tell you about it himself.”

That was intriguing but I knew better than to press Irian. He wouldn’t give up any of Talius’ secrets, not even to me. I peered into the pan.

“Want some meat?” Irian raised his eyebrows.

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. I looked away. “Ah… I… er,” I flailed, unable to meet his eyes. He was so much more forward than me.

He bumped my shoulder gently. “Burger? I thought we’d have these for dinner.”

“Oh, right. Yes… th-that’s great,” I stammered. I could feel the heat in my cheeks. Irian always knew how to throw me off balance. I was much more reticent than he was, particularly when it came to sex, or even flirting.

Irian tut-tutted. “What did you think I meant? Filthy mind.” He shook his head in mock disgust.

Just when I thought I’d pulled myself together, Irian leaned in close. His warm breath caressed my ear as he said, “The other comes later.”

Then he turned away and resumed tending to the cooking while I stood there with my mouth open in surprise.

“Isca.”

I jumped, startled out of my thoughts by the deep husky tone.

“H-hey, Talius.” I looked across at the handsome alpha – our handsome alpha – who was standing erect and prowling across the space between us.

“My sweet omega, I’m glad you’re up. There’s something we need to talk about.” His words were directed at me.

Something we need to talk about? I stiffened. There was nothing in his voice that suggested a problem, but the words seemed... I tried to calm my suddenly racing heart. Had I done something wrong during the heat? Or was there something I hadn’t done that I was supposed to?

Talius must have felt my panic, because he closed the gap between us quickly, his hands reaching for me.

Strong arms wrapped themselves around me, and several days' growth of facial hair rasped across my temple, warm lips nipped my ear.

“Talius?” I murmured from within the cage of his arms, but already I felt reassured. I sighed. Damn alpha pheromones, his alpha pheromones… I could never resist them. They insisted on calming me even though I knew there was something important going on.

“You’re fine,” he assured me leaning back to look at me, his brilliant blue eyes simultaneously calming and mesmerizing. “There’s nothing wrong. In fact, I'm hoping you'll find it's a positive thing. Come, sit down. We can talk while Irian cooks.”

He led me to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair, waving towards the seat with his hand. I slid onto the seat, folded my hands in my lap, and waited as Talius took the one across from me.

He was my alpha and I was his omega, and he wanted to talk to me about… something. It must be reasonably serious, so I kept my eyes down submissively, allowing him to take the lead.

We sat in an oasis of silence, surrounded by a backdrop of hissing bacon and sizzling meat, while I waited for him to speak. I wanted to chew my nails, but resisted the urge to lift them to my mouth. I silently picked at my fingernails under the table instead.

Rough skin chafed against my chin and a subtle but insistent pressure encouraged me to raise my head.

I blinked, my eyes widening as Talius’ intense gaze caught me in its spell. I looked into those fathomless depths and waited.

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