Page 11 of Forbidden

“I’m a doctor, son.”

“Turn away,” Aksel bit off, his voice nearly a growl.

Dr. Soren flinched and crossed his arms over his chest, his unease obvious. Although Aksel hadn’t officially presented yet, his attitude was already that of a pure alpha, his scent dominating the room. It didn’t seem to matter that he was just eighteen and had been sick for days; his sheer presence was difficult to ignore.

“It’s fine, darling,” Lucien said gently, pushing a sweaty lock of Aksel’s dark hair away from his face. God, Aksel was burning up. Stress was the last thing he needed right now.

“It isn’t fine,” Aksel said. “I can smell your discomfort.” Staring the doctor down, he ground out, “Turn away.”

Heaving a sigh, Dr. Soren did as he was told.

Relaxing, Lucien whispered, “Thanks.”

“Don’t be stupid, Luce,” Aksel said with a tired scoff. His eyes were red-rimmed and sunken after days of illness, but they still looked at Lucien intently, mature far beyond his years. “Thank you. You’re my favorite person, you know that, right?”

Lucien had to swallow the sudden lump in his throat before he could speak again.

“We don’t know yet that it’ll work at all,” he said awkwardly, finishing unbuttoning his shirt. He let it fall open. There was no use dragging it out.

Aksel stared at his chest.

Lucien fidgeted self-consciously. It had been years since Aksel had seen him shirtless. Aksel hadn’t been disgusted back then, but he was no longer a child. His opinion might have changed.

“Well?” Lucien said with a small laugh. “Dinner is served, sir.”

Laughing hoarsely, Aksel finally moved forward and buried his face against Lucien’s bare chest. “Fuck, you smell so good,” he murmured, his voice pitched low.

He nuzzled into his right protrusion, breathing deeply, before finally closing his mouth around the pink nipple and starting to suck, his mouth hungry and impatient, his large hand massaging the protrusion, probably to stimulate milk production. He must have been starving after days of illness.

Lucien was a little worried that the drug wouldn’t work. But then he felt a rush of warmth and the half-forgotten sensation of his chest filling with milk. He hadn’t experienced it in a decade.

Aksel hummed appreciatively, his throat working as he swallowed, and started sucking harder.

Lucien bit the inside of his cheek, feeling… odd. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant. Just odd—but not in a bad way. To his surprise and relief, he didn’t feel the revulsion and the sense of wrongness that he’d felt all those years ago with Belinda. This was Aksel. With Belinda, he’d been forced into breastfeeding and he’d resented it immensely, but this was Aksel. He didn’t mind doing this for Aksel. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for Aksel. And it felt... good to know that his body could helpsomeone he cared deeply about—someone who cared for him too. Aksel might not have been his blood relative, but he was pack. He was pack in a way no one else in the Cleghorn family was. It felt good to take care of Aksel. To feel needed by him. To sate his needs.

That said, Aksel’s mouth on his nipple still felt odd. His nipples—both of them—felt tight and kind of achy, and the more Aksel sucked, the weirder it felt. It was incredibly confusing.

“How do you feel?” Lucien asked quietly, threading his fingers through Aksel’s sweaty dark hair, his thumb stroking Aksel’s stubbled cheek. “Any nausea?”

Aksel shook his head, making a frustrated noise when the breast emptied out. He latched onto the other nipple and resumed sucking hungrily.

Lucien bit his lip, that strange ache growing with every moment. He wanted… he wasn’t even sure what he wanted. He wanted Aksel to keep sucking, and at the same time he wanted to push him away. This somehow felt like too much and not nearly enough.

Shaking it off, hepressed his palm against Aksel’s forehead. It was noticeably cooler. It was working! Lucien grinned. “His fever is nearly gone, Doctor!” he said excitedly. “And he doesn’t feel nauseated.”

“Excellent,” Dr. Soren said from somewhere behind him. “Feed him whenever you can, as often as possible. If you’re uncomfortable with direct breastfeeding, you can use breast pumps, though I don’t advise it—pumps don’t stimulate omegas’ letdown as well as a mouth, and it might be difficult for you to sustain lactation if you use only breast pumps.”

“I don’t mind feeding him like this,” Lucien said, stroking Aksel’s dark brow.

Aksel looked up, his blue eyes intense as he grabbed Lucien’s hand and squeezed it, his scent thick with gratitude, fierce affection, and something Lucien couldn’t identify. His grip was no longer as weak as it had been lately, his strength clearly returning.

Lucien smiled, feeling so very warm on the inside.

Aksel was going to be all right. He was going to be all right, because of him, Lucien.

It seemed his soiled body was still good for something.

Maybe it was time to stop hating it.

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