“You’re going to smother her. Let her have her time alone.” I stood rigidly in the doorway with my arms crossed. I wasn’t trying to be threatening, but Jason had a tendency to be too much. Years ago, I never really noticed, but when it came to his ex, Aurora, I worried he might become one of those Alphas you heard about in the news. Controlling, never letting his Omega out of his sight or out of the house, jealous of even male relatives, and finally driving him to become abusive or even killing his Omega in a fit of rage.
Thankfully Aurora had seen the red flags and broke up with him. Jason was a mess for weeks, but when he came out of it, we made a deal. I’d keep him from being too smothering if he met another Omega, and he’d have my back if my parents tried to push me into marrying a woman I didn’t love.
The second he met Lyla, I could see the look in his eyes. We’d just met her, and already he was saying she’s the one. That Alpha instinct in him to take care of his Omega was going overboard, and it was my duty as his packmate to keep him from destroying something he wanted and from losing himself.
Jason laid a hand on the door and heaved a sigh. He murmured something and shook his head before walking back into the room to find his boxers and pull them on.
“There’s a bathroom in every suite. You can wash up.” I let my arms drop and rubbed a hand over my head. “I also have breakfast staying warm in the kitchen. We should get Lyla toeat and drink some more. I’m worried that she had dehydrated herself yesterday.”
“Now who’s the one fussing over her?” Jason smirked as he picked up the rest of his clothes and strode over to the door.
I moved to the side to let him through. “I’m not fussing. Just making certain she’s okay. She wasn’t taking care of herself properly, but now we’re here.”
“We’re here.” Jason nodded and headed downstairs. He stopped and peered around the immaculate living room before snorting. “I’m the one bedding her and you’re sneaking in giving her drinks and food, taking her temperature and, like one time, I think you took her blood pressure. And cleaning. Dude.”
I did take her blood pressure. Her temperature had been consistently running a little high. I was only being smart about it. In no way whatsoever did I want to go in and touch her, caress her creamy skin and hold her hand. Her alluring musky Omega scent had me hurrying off to jerk off in one of the downstairs bathrooms too.
But all I could do was the little things. Lyla was the Omega Jason wanted. I’d meet my potential mate on New Year’s Day. I couldn’t give in to how badly I needed to kiss Lyla’s supple lips and knead her perk tits.
Bury myself in her tight pussy and knot her.
Not happening. If I did that, I wouldn’t want to let go, and my family would never approve. I’d be disowned and disappoint everyone. Yaya wouldn’t have someone to go with her to the art galleries.
“I’m good at cleaning.” I shrugged as if it were no big deal. There was no way I was going to tell him it took me hours to thoroughly clean the living room and kitchen. “It will take some of her stress away and allow her to focus on her heat.”
“I don’t remember you ever cleaning for any of the Omegas you dated before.” Jason chuckled and walked into thekitchen, making a noise again at how much I cleaned up. He picked up a sausage and stuffed it in his mouth. “Mm. I’ll be back for the rest of those once I shower.”
“I didn’t have to clean for those Omegas because they had maids to do that for them.” I raised my brows and debated whether to cook more sausage if he was going to eat it all. I had no idea what Lyla would like to eat, but protein was essential when an Omega was in heat.
“Sure, man.” Jason laughed and took another sausage as he walked off down the hall to where Eloise’s suite was located.
I hunted down vitamins while he showered, and he stuffed his face when he came back. We waited in the kitchen for Lyla to join us, but after a half hour went by, the caged lion stopped pacing and headed toward the stairs.
“I’m going to see how she’s doing.”
“Don’t.” I made him stop in his tracks. “Give her space. Let her come down here to us.”
Jason grunted. “But—”
“No. It hasn’t been that long. Lyla’s a woman who probably likes to take her time in the bathroom and getting ready. Plus, a lot has happened. Not only is she dealing with the stress of Eloise’s stroke, she’s in heat and there are two Alphas standing in her kitchen.” I motioned to us and patted his back. “She could be frightened.”
“What does she have to be scared about?” Jason turned and scoffed. His energy was sparking as his ego ruffled. “We won’t hurt her. We’re here to help her. She has to know that by now. She needs to accept—”
I cut him off before he said something stupid. “She doesn’t need to do anything. If you push her to do otherwise, you’re bridging on Alphahole territory.” I knew he wasn’t a bastard, but when he wanted to take care of someone, he could get to be too much and not even realize it. “We’re here becauseshe allowed us to be. We must respect that. We might think we know what she needs, but only Lyla knows what she needs.”
Jason let out a long exhale and rolled his shoulders. He turned and gave me a hug. “You’re right, man. Fuck. I don’t want to mess this up. I really like her. I can absolutely see a future for us.”
“I’ve got your back. Her heat is making the physical part go fast, but take it slow with everything else.”
“Thanks, Oz.” Jason gave me one more squeeze and let go. “I need to work off some of this energy. Calm the beast down. I could go to the store and get some supplies.”
“We aren’t going anywhere.” I gestured to the windows. It had snowed hard the previous night, and with the strong winds, the drifts were twelve feet high in some spots. “I did a little shoveling this morning, but it seemed pointless with the wind still gusting.”
“Fuck, man. What time did you wake up?” Jason shook his head and looked out the side of the house and then went to the living room to peer out front. “Jesus. I don’t remember ever having this much snow in December. Well, I’m going to clear off the drive and the Explorer. At least we’ll have a vehicle ready for when the roads finally get plowed.”
“I left the shovel just inside the front door, and there are lots of spare hats and gloves in the hall closet. I’ll hang out here and wait for Lyla to come down to make sure she eats.”
Jason went out, and I headed down the hall to tidy up the bathroom he used. I might have gone overboard and sanitized it, reasoning that Eloise would appreciate it when she came home from the hospital. It totally wasn’t my need to work off some of my own Alpha energy.
