“I’m not mated. Never was.” I looked away. This was the last thing I wanted to talk about.
“Is it about the accident you mentioned?”
“Fuck, you heard it all, didn’t you?” Stupid blabbing of a man in the throes of passion. At that moment, I would have told him all my secrets just to make him stop thrashing.
“Yup. Are you infertile, then?”
I sat at the edge of the bed, leaving a foot of space between us. “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry.” He put a hand on my forearm. “Did you ever want offspring?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. But the fact that I can’t makes me… broken.”
“That’s complete bullshit, and whoever told you that is an idiot,” Ole huffed.
“That would be the entire society.”
“Wanna hear my thoughts about society?” Ole turned to the side to face me. “Look at me and where I’m at. Fuck the stupid rules. You need to be mated and have 2.5 children, have easy and unproblematic heats,” he ticked the points on his fingers, “cook, clean, build a new shed, and most of all: smile.” He gave me a toothy grimace-grin.
I burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. But that’s so true. As an alpha, you have to be strong, emotionless, ruthless, bark—not talk, be super rich, have a mate but also breed with as many omegas as you can to spread your seed, but not be a good parent to any of the offspring because that’s beneath you. Or at least that’s how the society made me feel.”
“Oh look, that was my father too.” Ole cackled, but there was no humor in the sound. “I never knew him. He was some guy who passed by the town and fucked my mom when she was in heat.”
“So you and your sister have different dads?”
“Yeah, she was seven when I was born. She never liked me but became really mean when she learned what itmeant for her to be an alpha and for me to be an omega. Then mom died, and well, here I am.” He patted my arm. “Bringing young into this world when you don’t want them is not fair to anyone.”
“You’re right.” It was probably for the best that I couldn’t have them.
Ole hissed and massaged his abdomen.
“Are you okay?” I asked. Was this a cramp? Or was he hurt?
“Normally, my heat lasts from three to six days. This one is different because it should have ended a week ago.” He frowned. “I think. I lost track of time. The painful emptiness, the need eased after knotting, but I’m not done. I feel more is coming. Even if you breed me with the next wave, it won’t be over. I’ll get out of here, and my heat will continue…” He wrung his hands on his lap.
Did he think I’d just leave him like that?
“We can find a hotel for you, but that won’t solve your problems.”
“I can’t rent an apartment because I have nothing. But alphas would pay me if I was still in heat and let them fuck me. It worked before.”
I closed my eyes, erasing that image from my mind. “I live alone. The staff comes in and out to tend to the house and gardens, but…” I took his hand in mine. “You’d have your own room.”
“So you can lock me upand sell me by the hour?” Ole snorted. “Been there—”
“I wouldn’t do that.” Whatever I might promise him, he’d take with a grain of salt or flat out think it was a lie. I couldn’t blame him.
“Besides, I’d still need to be fucked right after leaving.”
“Would you want me?”
“A knot is a knot. But better the one you know… so yes.”
“Then I’d cook you dinner.” It was so easy to imagine Ole in my house, me making him food as he recovered from the heat.
“You wouldn’t.”
“You’d have to find out.” I waggled my eyebrows, hoping to lighten his mood.
