“Do you need to stay here tonight? Like, is it nuclear-level pissed or just run-of-the-mill pissed?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. I think I’m safe to go back to the Gradys’ place tonight. It’s a more public setting; if she murders me there, she’s more likely to get caught.”
I nibble on my Zork bar as I trudge back to the manor, slightly hating myself for being an ass.
Chapter 5
Nik
Well, that was an uncomfortable mating session. I’m glad it’s over, though, so now I can go find something better to do with my time.
Britney’s hips are like daggers. Trying to find a comfortable position was a literal pain, and when I suggested we do it on all fours as a “kinky” way to go about it, she balked for a moment. She finally relented, and thankfully she had enough padding on the rear end to buffer the bony processes and keep them from piercing me.
Now to wait for the test results. As soon as she’s positive, I’m a ghost.
I can’t wait to get back to Mags and the twins.
With the way the Gradys handled Britney’s heat, I hardly saw my adoptive pack at all this go-around. After all, I was expected to spend time alone with the omega, so when I showed up, the others scattered, as per orders.
Our next family, which Mags has already introduced me to, will be different.
In a couple of months, we’re going to start work for the Donnelly family, headed by Clint and Clarice Donnelly. They’recloser in age to us than we are to their daughter, but Mags fudged our ages on the heat helper application to make us seem younger than we are. Honestly, even though I’m not quite old enough to be the omega girl’s dad, the fourteen-year age difference creeps me out a bit … but money is money, and the Donnelly’s are loaded with it.
Clint is some hotshot alpha investor, with his fingers in every pot on the West Coast. He works hard so Clarice can have a cushy life, which apparently includes keeping her two beta “servants” fed, clothed, and housed right under his roof. The betas, Brad and Adam, aren’t related to the family, but Clint told me and Mags that their daughter, Threnody, considers them her uncles.
Uncles who, apparently, according to Mags’s interrogations of the other staff members, regularly fuck Threnody’s mom while Clint’s out of town.
The whole harem thing isn’t unheard of in the West Coast packs. It’s actually fairly common, though usually the alpha-to-beta ratio is heavier on the alpha side, and the omega in the middle of it all usually makes sure everyone involved is on board with the situation. It sounds like Clarice is selfish and doesn’t want to share this information with Clint. None of my business normally, but if something goes south, we need to be on the alert to skip early. I’d rather not get paid than deal with family drama like that.
In addition to the parents and the “uncles,” Threnody has two brothers who live in the sprawling mansion with the rest of them.
David Donnelly is an alpha businessman like his father, and if my gut is right, I’ll have to watch him around Mags. Not that she can’t take care of herself, but he seems the type who’d take advantage of just about anything with a decent set of titsand a juicy ass, both of which are features Mags certainly has in abundance.
The beta brother, Timothy Donnelly, is a little different from the rest of them. He hasn’t followed in their dad’s footsteps financially, and he’s not a pampered ass like his parents, either. In fact, from the few moments I spent with him when Mags and I met the family, his only similarity to the rest of the Donnellys is that he inherited his mom’s blonde hair. Otherwise, the guy’s a bit of a nobody. He has the personality of a damp towel and tends to get run over by the more dominant members of the household.
The two months between jobs pass in a frustrating flash. Mags’s meds are wearing off faster and faster. Every evening, she leaves dinner early to take a cold shower, and after that fails to work, she winds up back in my room for some help.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the regular sex. Mags is amazing, but she’s only doing this to keep the true heat at bay. She’s not in my room every night because we’re a mated pair, and she wants nothing to do with marks or bonding. I wish she would, but she’s worried we won’t be able to run our normal cons if I’m bonded to anyone, even a supposed beta like her.
I’ve asked her if there are stronger suppressants on the market, but I guess she buys the best there is. It’s the only opulence she allows herself, and it’s still not enough.
Before we leave for the Donnellys’ mansion, I run a quick search online to see if I can learn more about her suppressant. Maybe there’s a supplemental med she can take with it to help her through these hot spells.
Unfortunately, Mags is partially right in that she’s on the strongest stuff out there. Just as unfortunately, it’s not supposed to be used continuously over the course of a decade or more. One year at most, with a few days off for a real heat, before goingback on it. Mags is overusing the drug, so it’s no wonder it’s not lasting like it should.
I try to confront her about this in the hallway while the twins are packing, but she’s evasive.
“It’s not a big deal, Nik. The doctor said I can still take it constantly if I don’t want a heat. I’m fine.”
“Mags, you’re damaging your body doing this. From what I just read, omegasneedto go through heat at least once a year. Your body isn’t designed to skip this for years upon years. Why won’t you just take it like it’s supposed to be taken? You know I’ll be there for that one heat a year, and maybe it’ll start working again if you do it right.”
She brushes it off as if it’s overdosing on crackers or something stupid. “I’m fine. It’s just once a day. It’s not like I’m taking more than I need to, am I? No. Just once a day, every day, until time ends.”
“That’s not funny, Mags.”
“You know what else isn’t funny? The one person in the world that I trusted with my secret being an ass about how I handle it.”
I grab her arm, holding her just tightly enough to keep her from running, but not so hard as to hurt her. “Mags, I’m not trying to be an ass. I care about you. Look, obviously I’m not in this for me. If I let you do your thing, I get to have sex with you just about every night. I’m cool with that, but I’m not cool with you risking your health for it. I’d rather cut back to once a year, even if it means a full heat, rather than gamble with your wellbeing.”
