I head across the hall into the guest bedroom, my injured leg protesting but I ignore it. The pain is background noise now, easily dismissed in the face of more important concerns. The door is slightly ajar and I push it open to see Ashton curled up on the bed, his hand fisted in the sheets so tightly his knuckles have gone white.
His face is flushed, cheeks burning with color that extends down his neck and disappears under his shirt collar. Sweat beads on his forehead despite the room being comfortably cool, the air conditioning keeping the temperature regulated. His breathing is shallow and rapid, each breath seeming to take effort.
"Hey," I say, immediately moving toward the bed. "Are you okay?"
Ashton doesn't really answer, just makes another distressed sound that goes straight to my chest. His eyes are squeezed shut, his whole body tense in a way that speaks to pain or discomfort or both. The ribs, I think. His injured ribs must be bothering him, or maybe the stitches from the gash in his side.
I toe off my shoes and climb into the bed without thinking about it, instinct taking over rational thought. I pull Ashton against my chest, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close. His body is burning up, heat radiating through his thin t-shirt and soaking into my skin.
Ashton immediately calms, the tension draining from his muscles as he melts into my embrace. His breathing starts to even out, becoming deeper and more regular. I feel him relax, his fisted hand unclenching in the sheets and coming to rest against my chest instead.
That's when I catch it. Faint notes of Solana's scent mixed with Ashton's sweetened lavender and rain-soaked stone. It's like the perfect fucking cocktail, hitting me harder than either scent alone. The combination makes my head spin, my cock throbbing insistently in my jeans with renewed urgency.
Solana's vanilla and orchid mixing with Ashton's lavender creates something that shouldn't work but does, the three scents blending into a combination that makes every Alpha instinct I have roar to life. My body responds with frightening intensity, my cock going from uncomfortable to painful in the span of a breath.
I try to ignore the way my body is responding, try to focus on providing comfort rather than taking what I want. But it's hard when Ashton feels so perfect in my arms, when his scent is driving me crazy, when every instinct I have is screaming at me to scent mark him, to claim him, to make sure every other Alpha in a hundred-mile radius knows he's mine.
A soft purr starts up in my chest before I can stop it. The sound is involuntary, a biological response I have no control over. Alphas purr for their Omegas, to soothe and comfort and claim. I've never purred for anyone before, never felt that instinct engage. Working for Charles meant shutting down those softer responses, maintaining professional distance even when Ashton tested every ounce of my control.
But here, now, with Ashton trembling in my arms and clearly in distress, the purr emerges without permission. It rumbles through my chest, vibrating against where Ashton is pressed close.
"Oh, that's fucking nice," Ashton murmurs, his voice thick and dreamy. He rubs his nose along my chest repeatedly, scenting me the way Omegas do when they're claiming their Alpha.
The gesture makes my purr intensify, the vibration rumbling deeper. Ashton makes a satisfied sound, pressing even closer until there's no space between us. His hand comes up to rest over my heart, feeling the steady beat and the rumble of the purr.
His scenting behavior is deliberate, intentional, marking me with his scent the same way I want to mark him. His nose traces along my collarbone, up the side of my neck, across my jaw. Each pass leaves traces of his lavender scent on my skin, mixing with my natural cedar and smoke.
"Hey, are you in heat?" I ask, suddenly worried. It's the only explanation for how groggy Ashton is, for the fever and the scenting behavior and the way his body is responding to mine. "Did your heat trigger from Solana's?"
It's not unheard of for Omegas living in close proximity to sync their heats, especially if they're compatible with the same Alphas. If Ashton's heat has started, we have a serious problem. I'm in no condition to help him through it properly, not with my injuries and my complete lack of claim on him. And I'm not sure I could maintain control anyway, not with both Omegas in heat under the same roof.
Ashton pulls back slightly, his eyes glazed over and unfocused. The pupils are blown wide, nearly swallowing the pale color of his irises. "No, but I fucking feel like I am. My whole body is on fire. Everything aches and I can't think straight and all I want is..."
He trails off, his cheeks flushing even darker. I can fill in the blanks myself. All he wants is an Alpha. Specifically, me, based on the way he's plastered against my chest and the way he keeps scenting me.
"What can I do to help?" I ask, because I need to do something. Seeing him in distress like this, knowing he's suffering, is physically painful. Every protective instinct I have is demanding I fix this, make it better, provide whatever he needs.
Ashton looks up at me, his eyes carrying a clarity they didn't have moments ago. "Just this. Just hold me. Because you're not ready for what I need. You will be, but this is good for now."
The statement hangs between us, loaded with implications I'm not sure I'm ready to examine. You're not ready for what I need. You will be. Like he knows something I don't, like he can see a future I'm still too scared to acknowledge exists.
Ashton leans up to press a soft kiss to my lips. The contact is gentle, questioning, giving me the chance to pull away. But I don't. Instead, I find myself chasing the contact, deepening the kiss until it becomes something heavier, more desperate.
His lips are soft and warm, slightly wet from the water he must have drunk earlier. His hand fists in my shirt, holding on like I'm the only solid thing in a world that's spinning out of control. The kiss feels inevitable, like something that was always going to happen eventually, like we've been moving toward this moment since the first day I saw him.
My good hand comes up to cup the back of his head, threading through his hair and holding him in place. The angle is perfect, our mouths fitting together like they were designed for this. Ashton makes a small sound against my lips, something between a whimper and a moan that goes straight to my cock.
Ashton pulls away abruptly, burying his head in my chest. "No, don't do that. I'm going to want things I can't have yet. Just hold me, okay?"
The vulnerability in his voice makes my chest ache. He's asking for such a simple thing. Just to be held, to be comforted. But underneath that simple request is everything else, all the complicated feelings and desires neither of us is quite ready to voice.
"I can do that," I assure him, tightening my arms around him. "I can hold you for as long as you need."
Ashton relaxes against me, his breathing evening out as the purr continues rumbling through my chest. We lie there together in the quiet of the guest room, the only sounds our combined breathing and the occasional moan from down the hall as Solana and her Alphas work through her heat.
I'm not sure how long we stay like that. Time seems to lose meaning, minutes or hours blurring together into one extended moment of peace. My injured leg stops throbbing, my hand stops aching, all my physical discomfort fading into the background as I focus entirely on the Omega in my arms.
Ashton's scent wraps around me, faded lavender and rain-soaked stone mixing with my own cedar and smoke. The combination smells right in ways I can't fully articulate. Like we were always meant to fit together like this, two puzzle pieces finally finding their match after being kept separate for too long.
