Page 25 of The Omega Accountant

He drank in desperate gulps, water spilling down his chin in his urgency.Whenthe bottle emptied, he collapsed back against me, seemingly beyond caring about the contact he'd forbidden earlier.

Nearly two hours passed in this pattern—cold towels warming too quickly against his fevered skin, water bottles emptying, brief moments of clarity giving way to longer stretches of heat-driven delirium.Eachpassing minute saw his condition worsen, his temperature climbing despite every intervention.Theroom darkened as evening approached, shadows lengthening across the floor whileImaintained my vigil of insufficient aid.

During a brief moment of lucidity, his head dropped against my shoulder, the position exposing the vulnerable curve of his neck where his scent gland pulsed visibly beneath flushed skin.Thesight paralyzed me momentarily, alpha instinct roaring to life with renewed intensity.Onemovement, one moment of surrender to biological imperative, andIcould end his suffering.

My teeth against that gland, breaking skin, exchanging biochemicals that would transform his heat from torment to pleasure.Theclaiming our enemies had calculatedIwould take.Theclaiming that would relieve his agony at the cost of his choice.

"P-please," he whispered, the word hot against my neck where his face pressed. "Ican't...Ineed..."

I closed my eyes, fighting for control against the weight of his suffering against me, the scent of him consuming rational thought like fire through dry timber. "Tellme what you need,Luca.Bespecific."Thequestion wasn't just about consent—it was about preserving his autonomy even now, when biology had stripped so much from him.

His fingers clutched my shirt, twisting the fabric as another wave of heat coursed through him. "Makeit stop," he gasped. "Please,Matteo.Ican't...Ican't bear it."

The plea shredded what remained of my defenses, butIforced myself to seek clarity where heat and need had clouded understanding. "How?"Iasked, the word emerging rougher than intended. "Tellme exactly what you're asking for,Luca."

His body trembled against mine, slick heat evident where our bodies pressed together, his scent spiking with another wave of need.Forone terrible moment,Ithought he'd retreated beyond coherent speech, beyond the ability to grant the consentIrefused to proceed without.

Then his hand rose, shaking but deliberate, to touch the junction of his neck and shoulder—the precise location where a claiming bite would mark him permanently as mine.

"This," he whispered, fingers pressing against his scent gland with unmistakable intent. "Ineed this."

"Are you certain?"Iheld myself rigid against the tide of need threatening to overwhelm judgment. "Theheat is affecting your mind,Luca.Iwon't take advantage of that."

His eyes met mine, fever-bright but momentarily clear. "Iknow whatI'masking.I'mchoosing this, not just the heat."Hisfingers tightened in my shirt, anchoring himself as another wave of need threatened to consume him. "Ichoose you,Matteo.Please."

The words penetrated the last barriers of my resistance.Notcapitulation to biological imperative, but conscious choice made despite it.Notsurrender to what our enemies had orchestrated, but reclamation of agency within the constraints they had imposed.

I gathered him fully into my arms, lifting him from the floor with careful strength, mindful of the wound in my side that protested the movement.Heweighed almost nothing, his body burning against mine asIcarried him to the bed, laying him across sheets already dampened with sweat and slick.

"If you change your mind, at any point,"Isaid, hovering above him, still maintaining the last fragments of distance between us, "tell me to stop.Iwill.Nomatter what."

He nodded, understanding passing between us in that moment—a pact separate from the biological claiming approaching, a recognition of choice preserved within biological imperative.

ThenIlowered my mouth to his throat, to the scent gland pulsing beneath flushed skin.Thetaste of him exploded across my tongue as my lips pressed against his neck—honey and citrus and something uniquelyLucabeneath the heat-scent driving us both toward the edge of control.Hisbody arched instantly in response, a broken sound escaping him as my teeth grazed the sensitive flesh.

"Mine,"Iwhispered against his skin, the word emerging not as possession but as promise.Protection.Partnership. "Mineto protect.Mineto care for.Mineto honor."

His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer with desperate need. "Yours," he gasped, the word dissolving into a moan as my teeth pressed more firmly against his gland. "Please,Matteo.Now."

The final barriers of restraint shattered at his plea.Myteeth broke skin in one decisive movement, biochemicals flowing between us in the ancient exchange that transformed separate entities into bonded pair.Hisblood carried the essence of his scent—honey and citrus and warm rain—and as it merged with mine, something fundamental shifted in both our chemistries.

Luca's body convulsed beneath mine, his cry of pain transforming into something else entirely as the claiming took hold.Theheat that had tormented him didn't disappear but transformed, agony evolving into desperate need that could now find satisfaction through the alpha who had claimed him.

My own control dissolved as the taste of him flooded my system, rut rising fully in response to the omega now biologically mine.Everycell in my body recognized the chemical signature of his surrender—not just honey but nectar, not just citrus but vital essence, not just rain but life itself.Hisscent had transcended ordinary description, becoming something primal and ancient that spoke directly to the most basic part of my brain: mate, bond, protect.

"Matteo," he gasped, hands clutching at my shoulders with urgent need. "Please.Ineed?—"

"I know what you need,"Ianswered, voice dropping to a registerIbarely recognized as my own.Thewound at his throat continued to pulse, our scents mingling with each passing second, the biological bond strengthening between us. "AndI'llgive it to you.Allof it."

His shirt gave way beneath my hands, buttons scattering across the bed asIexposed heated skin to my touch.Thesight of him—flushed and desperate beneath me, throat marked with my claim, scent transformed by our bonding—triggered something possessive and tender simultaneously.Thiswasn't the calculated manipulation our enemies had orchestrated.Thiswas something they could never have anticipated or understood.

"Mine,"Igrowled against his chest, teeth grazing sensitive skin asItraced patterns of possession across his body. "Mineto protect.Mineto satisfy.Mine."

"Yours," he agreed, the word emerging with surprising clarity despite the fever still consuming him.Hishands fumbled with my shirt, desperation making him clumsy. "Needyou.Allof you."

I shed my remaining clothing with ruthless efficiency, each movement calculated to minimize the seconds between his need and my response.Thesilk shirt—already half-unbuttoned—tore under my impatient hands, the sound of ripping fabric sharp in the heat-saturated air.Mybelt buckle hit the floor with a metallic thud, pants following in a whisper of expensive fabric against skin that burned for contact.Boxerbriefs discarded without ceremony, leaving me naked and fully aroused, my cock heavy and throbbing with the biological imperative of rut.

"Fuck,"Igrowled, the single syllable scraping raw from my throat asItook inLuca'sdesperate state beneath me.

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