Page 24 of Forbidden

There should have been no difference between Royce and Aksel for him. They both were alphas, both were the sons of his deceased husband. In fact, it was more socially acceptable to allow Royce to provide for him: he was the eldest son and he oversaw the family’s finances. Aksel’s share was significant, of course, but he had little patience for stuff like that, allowing his brother to manage and invest his money on his behalf. Xeus alphas tended to prefer active physical work to desk work, and Aksel was no different. His inheritance aside, his job as a captain in the government’s elite special forces was very high paying. He could provide for an omega on his salary alone, easily. He could provide for a dozen of omegas if he wanted to.But Aksel was Lucien’s husband’s younger son. Accepting his help should have been weirder than accepting Royce’s.

It wasn’t.

Something inside Lucien liked the idea of Aksel taking care of him. It didn’t feel strange or embarrassing. It felt… good.

“Society is changing,” Lucien said stiffly, confused and mortified by his feelings on the matter. “Omegas don’t need to be provided for by an alpha. I can take care of myself.”

“Of course you can,” Aksel said. “But you don’t have to. That’s my point.” His eyes bored into Lucien’s, his thumbs pressing harder against Lucien’s belly. “You didn’t answer. Would you accept my money?”

There was a weird inflection to Aksel’s words, and Lucien had the strangest feeling they were talking about something else, not money.

“I don’t need your money, Aksel,” he said, his stomach quivering under Aksel’s head.

“It’s not a question of need,” Aksel said, still holding his gaze intently. “I want you to know that you can always count on me—now and in a hundred years.”

Lucien stared at him, his insides growing warm. It was a nice sentiment, however unrealistic it was.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said with a wry smile. “In a hundred years, you’ll have a giant family of your own to take care of. An old omega who was once married to your father will be at the bottom of your priorities.” And never mind that the thought brought a strange surge of panic inside him. It was stupid. Of course Aksel—and his siblings—would eventually acquire their own families: children, grandchildren. Mates. Royce had married recently.Aksel would be next.

Lucien looked away, disconcerted by how much the idea unsettled him. It was probably natural to feel left behind when the others in the family married, but still, he’d never thought he was that bitter. He’d thought he was a better person than that.

“You’re the one being ridiculous if you really think that,” Aksel said. Pushing Lucien’s shirt up, he nuzzled his bare belly.

Lucien squirmed self-consciously, trying to yank his shirt down. Although he was relatively in shape, he didn’t have the flat stomach and sculpted abs of young omegas Aksel’s age. His bone structure was narrow, but he had more body fat than he would have liked. His stomach was a little soft and his breasts and buttocks embarrassingly plump. Although Lucien no longer felt disgusted by his body, he still didn’t like it, and he usually wore loose clothes to conceal the curves. He didn’t want anyone to see what was under his clothes.

But Aksel completely ignored his feeble attempts to push his head away and yank down his shirt, nuzzling Lucien’s bare stomach in a way that was... that was... as if it were a religious experience. Lucien could barely watch it, his stomach quivering.

“Fuck, I missed your skin...” Aksel kissed his belly button. “So damn soft. Just gorgeous.”

Lucien blushed. His face wasn’t the only part of him that felt warm—his chest did too. He’d forgotten how good Aksel could make him feel about himself. With Aksel, he never felt lacking or disgusting. Aksel was always blunt and brutally honest, to the point of rudeness. He’d never lie to make Lucien feel better about himself. Lucien loved that about him.

“I need to lose some weight,” Lucien said, clearing his throat a little.

Aksel scoffed, his grip on his waist tightening. “Don’t you dare,” he said, rubbing his face against Lucien’s belly, his beard creating delicious tingles all over it. “You’re perfect as you are.”

Lucien laughed. This again. “Hardly.”

Before Aksel could say anything, someone cleared their throat.

Lucien froze.

Turning his head, he found Vagrippa staring at them from the doorway, her lips thin with disapproval.

“Aksel, I was looking for you,” she said sharply.

Aksel turned his head to look at his mother, but the movement was almost lazy. He didn’t remove his head from Lucien’s stomach. “Why?” he said, without much inflection in his voice.

His mother didn’t seem pleased by his lack of attention. “I wanted to speak to you. In private.”

“You can speak to me here,” Aksel said in the same uninterested tone.

Vagrippa glared at Lucien, as if it were his fault.

Lucien tried not to squirm under her gaze. Vagrippa never failed to make him feel like he was still the fourteen-year-old kid intruding on her family.

As if feeling his discomfort, Aksel tensed up, his gaze sharpening as he studied Lucien for a moment. “On second thought, I’ll speak to you later, Mother,” he said, without looking away from Lucien.

“But—”

---