Telos slowly slid his tongue around Mav’s calloused fingertip. It tasted like... nothing. Like a bit of salt, maybe. And it kind of smelled like buttermilk.

“That’s what colostrum tastes like.” Mav pulled his finger out of Telos’ mouth, gathered more fluid off his chest, and pushed it back between Telos’ lips.

It was too intimate for Telos to examine closely right now.

He thought about his leaking chest instead, the cogs of his mind turning slowly. “If I’m not sick, then... Then why the hell am I leaking... that?”

Mav didn’t answer immediately. He cupped the back of Estie’s head and nudged her toward Telos’ chest, so she latched ontohim again. “We’ve talked about this. When om—When people produce milk.”

“They do that when they’re preg—” Telos looked at his abdomen. He remembered Mav holding him down, filling him up with cum. Mav had stayed inside him, hoping for it to take. “But that was just hours ago. It hasn’t even been a full day. And I’m an alpha.”

But he also remembered trying to turn his chest into an omega’s. Back in the car, when they’d been leaving the kidnappers’ hideout. He’d been trying to feed Estie then.

Wasthatwhat made him produce slick? Hell, Mav had said he was drenched.

“I can’t have turned into an...” Telos looked down at himself.

His body was still large, his chest broad, his biceps thick. His cock was the same size, his balls still big. He didn’t feel any different. He still felt like an alpha.

“You might’ve given yourself omega parts,” Mav said quietly.

“I can’t be—The changes can’t happen in aday.”

“It’s too much of a coincidence that your nipples are leaking the day after you tried to change your body.” Mav shrugged with one shoulder. “Unless you’d rather consider this a symptom of an illness.”

If Telos were to consider the biggest possibility... It would mean that Mav had knocked him up.

Mav.His child in Telos’ belly.

Maybe when Telos finally had a moment to himself, he would be happy about this. Right now, he just felt unnerved. Shaken. Like everything was going wrong, and he didn’t know what to do.

“Hey.” Mav grasped his arms, looking into his eyes. “Breathe.”

“I’m breathing,” Telos hissed.

“Deeper breaths. Don’t puff it right out. Hold it in.”

“Like you’re such a professional at holding things inside.”

Mav narrowed his eyes. “Don’t make me force you to hold your breath.”

“Yeah? How would you do that? Are you seriously going to fart in my face—”

Mav sighed and stepped close. He slid his fingers into Telos’ hair. Then he clamped his other hand over Telos’ nose and mouth, his lips against Telos’ ear. “I’m going to hold your breath for three seconds.”

Telos panicked a little. But he still had an arm free, to defend himself if necessary.

“One,” Mav murmured. “Two. Three. Breathe out.”

He pulled his hand off Telos’ mouth, giving him access to oxygen.

“I could’ve killed you for that,” Telos growled. But he breathed out, and sucked air back into his lungs.

Mav raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to hold it in yourself, or do you need my help again?”

“I don’t need your help,” Telos said mulishly.

He couldn’t help noticing how close Mav was. How his hand was still in Telos’ hair. Mav had never held him this gently, and Telos ached.