Page 69 of Fresh Ice
They looked at each other, their gaze limned by the rising sun.
“That’s not the first time you’ve done that. The scent,” Alonso said quietly.
Levy bit his lip for a moment. “Yeah. I’m sorry. Seriously, Olive, I know it’s not cool to project like that.”
Alonso breathed. No, it wasn’t cool to warn Alphas away with your scent, to lay claim to people like that, especially when they weren’t even in a relationship. “Why did you, then?”
“I…it wasn’t voluntary.”
“But it happened for a reason.”
Levy trapped Alonso with those dark, bright eyes. “I just…I guess I’m feeling off-kilter. We sleep together, and we spend all our time together, but we’re notactuallytogether. And my instincts go a little haywire with it. With the not knowing.”
Alonso swallowed. They both knew he couldn’t promise Levy a relationship—there were too many complications, too many outside forces working on them.
But he could give Levysomething.
Alonso gathered all his courage up in one tight, hard ball, and hurled it forward. “My heat is coming up. As in, I have to stop taking my suppressants for a bit.”
Levy stared at him, mouth open but no words coming out.
Alonso forced himself to go on. “I’d have to stay inside for a while, even before pre-heat, so that no one smells me. I-I can find somewhere else to stay, or…if you wanted to spend it with me…”
Levy made a small, caught noise in the back of his throat. “Really?” He didn’t sound weirded out or put off. He sounded…hopeful.
“Yeah. If you want.”
“That—yeah. I’d really, really like that,” Levy choked out.
Alonso gave him a tentative smile. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Levy echoed, a grin creeping onto his face.
“What are you gonna tell your friends, though? Your family?” Alonso pointed out.
“Oh. I dunno…we can tell them we went on a trip or something? If I need to buy stuff I’ll go a few towns over where people won’t recognize me.”
Alonso twisted his mouth dubiously, but he couldn’t think of a better excuse. “Okay.”
“You have to tell me what you like. As in—what you like to eat and, like, you’ve got to tell me what it’s like so I can take care of you.”
Alonso shook his head, flustered. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
Levy stepped close, brushing his hand down one of Alonso’s arms. “Please.”
Alonso swallowed roughly. What had he gotten himself into? How would he survive Levy being this thoughtful and kind during hisheat? “Okay.”
Alonso knew that doing this together would change things…but maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.
**********
The run-up to his heat was as nightmarish as always.
He knew that Omegas normally didn’t suffer so much during their cycle, but it was always a painful process for Alonso. Whatever suppressants he was taking were brutal, neutralising his hormones mercilessly, and coming off them always left his body reeling.
The headaches would always come first. They’d split his head like lightning, making him squint his way through the day, hunched over as if expecting some kind of blow. He’d usually exercise through it, but Levy promptly freaked out when he tried.
“What are youdoing? Is this normal? We should call a doctor, you can barely move,” he babbled, hovering over him.
