9
Silas
Stonecrest was six blocks away. Six blocks was a long way to travel with an omega going into heat. Elijah was already breaking down and they hadn’t made it out the doors of the restaurant—what was he going to do in the real world, with crowds and traffic and the unpredictability that came with being outside?
Stonecrest was six blocks away, but Silas’ condo was only two.
“Where are we going?” Elijah whispered in a shrill voice as Silas directed him down the street.
“I’m taking you to the closest safe space,” Silas replied. “It’s just two blocks. You can do that for me, right?”
“Yeah.” Elijah pressed more firmly against Silas’ chest, nearly shrinking into him. It was clear that he was terrified. At this rate, they never would have made it back to Stonecrest safely.
Inside the quiet of Silas’ condo, he could put Elijah to bed, then call Stonecrest, and explain what had happened. Two of the omega counselors would arrive with a car, and they’d take Elijah back with them. To try to navigate the streets with an omega so spooked and vulnerable would be irresponsible. Taking Elijah back to his condo wasn’t much better, but it was the kinder of two options. Elijah needed a safe space more than he needed morality.
The problem was, Silas wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to guarantee safety.
An omega in heat was a constant temptation. Lesser alphas, like the one in the restaurant, weren’t used to suppressing their inner nature when confronted by the onslaught of pheromones. Elijah’s heat was only just beginning, but already it was powerful enough to entice those genetically disposed to it. Silas had been through years of omega rehabilitation training, and it wasn’t his first time dealing with a difficult situation. The techniques he used to keep his mind from turning feral were working for now, but the key to keeping himself from reacting to a heat cycle was to isolate himself from its source as quickly as possible. The trouble was, Silas didn’twantto distance himself from Elijah.
He never wanted to part from him again.
Pressed against his chest, nuzzling faintly against his shirt, hands gripping the cotton for fear they’d be parted, Elijah adhered to him. His pheromones soaked into Silas’ shirt and tempted him with every breath he took. The front of his pants had begun to tent. Silas recognized each sign, but there was another troubling symptom he’d never experienced when dealing with heat before—for the first time in his life, Silas thought about what it might be like to have children.
His mother had been after him and his brothers for the last few years about finding someone to settle down with. She’d raised the three of them while she was still young, and Silas knew she wanted the same for her sons. It felt like every other week, the topic of finding someone fertile to settle down with came up in conversation.
Last week, hadn’t he fantasized about Elijah pregnant with his child? Silas had knotted his hand more times in a week than he had in the last year, and it was all because of the omega tucked against his chest.
Thaddeus and Seth were pregnant. Their relationship had progressed quickly, and no one had bat an eye about it. It was natural. The kind of bond that happened between an alpha and an omega was indisputable. No one in his family would blame him if he took Elijah to bed, knotted him, made him pregnant…
Silas squeezed his eyes shut and moved faster. Two blocks wasn’t far, but with temptation like Elijah, it might as well have been half a country away.
They arrived at the front doors of Silas’ building, and Silas fumbled with his key, then unlocked the door. He let Elijah into the hall first, then eased the door closed behind them and made sure the lock activated before he led the way up the stairs to his unit. Elijah was silent, but wide eyed. Pink blossomed on his cheeks, and his skin glowed with health.
It took more strength than Silas cared to admit to stop himself from leaning Elijah over the handrail to fuck him from behind.
“Is this where you live?” Elijah asked in a small voice once they arrived at the door to Silas’ condo. He fitted the keys into the lock and turned it, then pushed the door open. Silas’ living room spanned before them. Victorian styled furniture he’d inherited from his mother filled the space. Dark, rich bookshelves lined the back wall, filled with psychology text books, social studies, and works about omegas—both historical and practical.
“This is where I live,” Silas said. He guided Elijah through the door and closed it gently behind them. Elijah took a few steps forward, then turned in a slow circle as he took it all in. Now that they were out of the public eye, Silas noticed the tension in his shoulders ebbed away. “What you need to do right now is rest. You’re safe here, and I’m going to make sure you stay that way. You don’t have to worry about anything anymore.”
As he spoke, he made sure the door was locked. Right now he needed to form a plan and stick to it. He’d put Elijah to bed, go into the kitchen, make some coffee to dampen the scent of his heat, and call Stonecrest to take him away.
“Silas,” Elijah said, hardly more than whispering it. “I need to go back to Stonecrest.”
“I want you to get some rest. You can lock yourself into my bedroom if you need to. While you’re resting, I’m going to arrange to have you transported, okay?” Trying to keep calm and composed when his living room was filling with the scent of an omega in heat was difficult. Silas chewed on the inside of his lip to keep himself grounded.
All week he’d wanted Elijah. All week he’d been struggling with feelings of desire and want, and now the man he wanted more than anyone else was standing in his living room, body begging to be bred. Silas swallowed hard and steeled himself. In a few minutes, Elijah would lock himself in the bedroom, and from there Silas could compose himself and make the call in to Stonecrest. No one would blame him for doing the right thing.
“Silas,” Elijah whispered again, a little more urgently than before. “I’m in heat. I can’t stay here. I’m gonna… gonna want you.”
“That’s why you’re going to go in my bedroom and lock the doors behind you,” Silas replied. Keeping his voice level was a challenge. “Until someone comes to pick you up from Stonecrest, we’re going to keep a locked door between us, okay? That way I’m not going to do something to you that you’d regret once your mind is clear.”
“My mind’s still clear,” Elijah replied. Each word was crisp, even though it was whispered. “We can’t keep a locked door between us.”
“Why not?” The longer they talked, the more likely it was that Silas would lose control. Elijah deserved better of him. Silas was in a position of power and authority, and with Elijah in heat, that dynamic was amplified. Elijah needed someone who could respect him and keep his hands off during his heat.
“Because I don’t want it to be locked.” The words sank like stones in Silas’ gut, punching through the defenses he’d raised. “I want you to work me out of my heat, Silas. I want to make babies with you so bad.”
Elijah took a small step forward, and Silas froze on the spot as he watched. His pulse thrummed in his ears, and he felt each pulsating beat of his heart as Elijah’s presence engulfed him.
