Page 35 of The Feisty Omega

At his front door, I hurried ahead to open it rather than have him squeeze his wounded body through the hard vinyl of the wolf-door. Once inside, he turned to the right and padded slowly up the corridor to his bedroom. His paws made barely any sound on the timber floor, except for the scraping of one hindleg that he seemed to be dragging.

“Wait!” I told him. Hurrying past him into the room, I dragged the mattress to the floor, the covers mostly coming with it, trailing off the bed and half onto the ground.

A deep weariness dulled the blue eyes, and the sclera was bloodshot. I didn’t have much experience reading wolf’s eyes, but I knew my alpha, and the expression in those depths was a blend of exhaustion, relief and gratitude.

His foreleg half-collapsed but he straightened it and staggered onto the mattress as the weak hindleg also began to buckle. He stood there swaying precariously, then half-lowered half-collapsed in a heap. A soft sigh eased into the stillness of the room, as he curled up nose to tail, eyes closed.

Since it appeared he was going to stay in wolf form, I ripped off my clothes, tossing them haphazardly on the floor, and shifted.

My wolf, unable to take up its traditional submissive position against his belly, pressed itself against his back, and laid its head over his haunches. Golden brown fur interlaced with the various shades of grey of the larger wolf. My wolf, unsure of what had happened but comforted to be back with his alpha, snuggled in closer. Before long, deep gurgling snores reverberated around the room. I huffed in relief. Whatever had happened, he’d made it home and he would heal while he slept. Moments later, I drifted off myself.

It wasn’t until sometime in the night, that Talius stirred. I’d been awake for a while. I'd moved during the night, and now my head was resting over his lower ribs. But even half-asleep I'd been aware enough to keep away from his wound. It had mostly healed now anyway, just a pale pink line running down the grey skin. By morning the fur would have grown back and it wouldn’t even be noticeable. Such was the magic of shifter physiology. I wondered what had happened to him.

When I realized the lack of light trickling into the room meant the day was over, it puzzled me that no-one had come to haul me out of here for the trip home. I vaguely remembered raised voices from elsewhere in the house, but with the warmth of Talius’ wolf against mine, and his pheromones wrapping around me like a snug blanket, I’d drifted straight back off again into the most comfortable sleep I’d had in weeks.

Beside me, a sharp expulsion of air told me Talius was awake. He slowly and stiffly rose onto four legs and shook himself, tail slapping, the long hairs of his coat whipping through the air. When he leaned over, pressing his muzzle against the soft place behind my ear where the hairs were sparse, I shivered. Warm air heated my skin as he huffed against the fine hairs and when he drew in a deep breath, scenting me, I was relieved tonothear the awful gurgling noises that I’d heard last night.

Silently he padded away, heading for the ensuite. Moments later he returned in human form, a towel around his waist, as he rummaged through the chest of drawers, pulling out sweatpants and a t-shirt which he took back with him, closing the bathroom door behind him.

As much as I loved the sight of the big strong alpha blushing, I took advantage of his absence to shift back and hurriedly pulled on yesterday’s clothes. Although I didn’t grow up amongst shifters, it didn’t bother me being naked around them. Unless we wanted to destroy our clothes each time we shifted, nakedness had to be accepted as part of life. But Talius was terribly discomfited anytime one of us was naked in front of the other. So for now I humored him. He’d be my alpha someday, and it would no longer matter.

Chapter 15

TALIUS

Will he forgive me?

This was the question that plagued me as I pulled on my sweats and t-shirt. The mirror in the bathroom showed a tired and scruffy-looking man, who appeared older than his 21 years. I combed my fingers through my unruly hair, splashed water on my face to get rid of the dark stain of dried blood and contemplated two days’ growth of bristles. I needed to shave, but I needed to talk to Irian even more urgently.

Still, I dallied in the bathroom, because I was… worried. My absence over Christmas was a huge betrayal. What would he have thought? How badly had I hurt him?

I was overthinking and I knew it. I was just… reluctant, I guess, to see how much damage might have been done. To find out whether it was irretrievable. Others might not understand the depth of this, but there was an unspoken contract between us. And I broke it. All I could hope was that the explanation I offered him now, was sufficient.

Re-entering the bedroom, I was relieved to see Irian already in his clothes and seated cross-legged on the bed. When he saw me, he uncurled himself and glided to his feet, padding across the plush carpet until he was standing in front of me.

His youthful face was as fresh and open as it ever was, his cheeks plumper and his face a little longer than when I last saw it. His golden lashes framed soft brown eyes that gazed up at me worriedly, a small crease between his brows. A couple of perfect white teeth gnawed at his bottom lip.

His hair was also longer and stragglier than it had been last year.

“Alpha?” he whispered, a catch in his voice.

And with that one word, I knew he’d forgiven me. The rush of relief was almost overwhelming.

Gently I rested my index finger under his chin. He let me take some of the weight, his eyelids brushing together briefly. The soft warmth of his exhale across my thumb was like a sigh. Without words, we felt very connected, frighteningly, tantalizingly close.

“Irian.” I broke the moment, stepping back. His head swung up. The frown was back.

“I’m sorry,” I began, and the frown turned into a look of alarm, his eyes going wide and startled. Before he could think more of whatever it was that had him so anxious, I said, “I need to tell you what happened.”

“Okay.” He backed away, onto the mattress, his arms wound protectively around himself. There was no need for that, so I rushed to finish.

“I was at my final Alpha camp, but I expected to be here when you arrived. Alpha told me the camp was only for two weeks, so I’d be home for Christmas. Otherwise, I never would have agreed.”

The big brown eyes watched me intently.

“When I was there, I found out the camp was never intended to finish before Christmas, it wasalwaysgoing to be four weeks.”

Irian cocked his head, his features forming into a pensive expression. His eyes narrowed, his eyebrows turned down, and the furrow on his forehead deepened.

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