“What are you talking about? Why would you say that?” I almost growled.
Her trembling increased, and I couldn’t stop myself from picking her up. I was relieved when she didn’t fight me—her arms and legs wrapped around me and I squeezed her tighter. A rumbling started in my chest as I began to purr. Everything about this situation was stressful as fuck, but satisfaction filled me as I purred for my mate for the first time.
I didn’t say anything, just held her close and rocked gently back and forth. Her trembling slowly stopped, and she took a deep, shuddering breath. I leaned back against the counter, one arm holding her up beneath her ass and the other cupping the back of her neck so her face was tucked into mine. I pressed my face into her hair, relieved to find her scent was settling down.
“You are my sweet, precious mate. You’re such a good girl. You just tell me what’s going on when you’re ready.” I kept up a steady stream of reassurance and praise, holding back my inner alpha pressuring me to push her to tell me everything so I could make it all better. I knew it was important to give her the time she needed.
Finally, she said, “I ate most of your cake.” Of all the things she could have said, I was not expecting that.
“What did you think?” I asked.
“What?”
“Did you think it was a good chocolate cake? It’s a new recipe.”
“Ben! You should be upset with me. I ate most of the cake.”
I placed her down on the island so I could see her better. I was missing something, but I wasn’t sure what. My legs spread hers wide as I stepped in between them, pushing up the tiny sleep shorts she had on. I placed one hand firmly on her upper thigh, and the other gripped her chin lightly.
“Why the fuck would I be upset? I made the cake because I thought you would like it. You didn’t eat nearly enough food today. I’m thrilled you ate some, and there’s still plenty left. I’ll feed you the rest if you’re still hungry.”
Josie’s eyes filled with tears again.
“Precious, please. I can’t handle it when you cry. Please tell me what’s going on.”
“I binge eat,” she whispered, unable to meet my eyes. “I try to control what I eat, but there’s something wrong with me. I can’t control it and I’m too fat and nothing like an omega should be.” Her breaths came faster as she worked her way into a panic.
“Take a breath for me, precious.” I pulled her in, resting her head on my chest so she could hear my heartbeat.
“I don’t know if there’s anything I can say to convince you how beautiful you are, but here,” I grabbed one of her hands and guided it down to my hard cock. “I shouldn’t be hard right now. You’re in distress. But my cock is an asshole and doesn’t know that. All it sees are your delicious thighs bracketing mine, your sweet little nipples poking through that tank top. I love your softness and your curves. I wouldn’t trade them for anything and certainly don’t want you to starve yourself to change your body.”
“But I should have more self-control,” she said, unable to meet my gaze. My heart was breaking, watching her so lost in pain.
“Says who? I’d be more than happy for you to lose control around me.” I brushed my lips down the side of her face and she shivered.
“It’s not easy when you three look like Greek gods or something,” she said. “Like,come on. Makes me feel hideous in comparison.”
“You think I look like a Greek god?” I asked in my typical teasing tone. Josie gave me a small, watery smile and looked away. I realized I had messed up. Josie was being vulnerable with me, and I needed to be brave for her.
“No, sorry, that’s not what I meant to say.” I cupped her cheek and gently urged her to look at me. “I don’t know exactly what you’re going through. But I know a little bit of what it’s like to feel pressure to look a certain way.”
Her eyebrows crinkled and her lip jutted out in adorable confusion.
“I’m not saying it’s the same thing as what you’ve gone through. Fuck, it makes me want to cry thinking of how people have treated you. I can’t imagine being starved or repeatedly told that something was wrong with my body. It’s not the same, but I do feel pressured to be really buff. I was always told alphas had to be the strongest and most muscular. I’ve been working out daily since I was a kid. And I actually pretty much hate it. I was always told an omega wouldn’t be attracted to me if I didn’t have a six-pack and wasn’t solid muscle.”
“What? You don’t like working out?”
“No, I would much rather spend the time doing other things like baking or spending sleepy mornings with you. Alpha biology means that I’ll probably stay pretty muscular and reasonably strong even without tons of intense workouts, but I wouldn’t look like this if I slowed it down,” I said, gesturing down my torso.
“But that would be okay,” Josie said, her eyes shining earnestly. “You don’t have to be super muscular or have a six-pack. You should do what makes you happy.”
“Ahh, but you won’t be as attracted to me if I gain some fat.”
“Says who?” Josie said, crossing her arms in indignation. “I totally would be. You would still be one of the three hottest alphas in the world.”
“So fucking cute.” I placed a gentle kiss on my mate’s rosy lips. “You could just be saying that, though, and not mean it.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I don’t care what you look like, Ben. I love all of you, and I’m always going to be attracted to you.”
