Page 35 of The Omega’s Nest

“I don’t want to ruin your life,” he says, contradicting what he smells like.

“You are my life.”

His eyes widen and his scent shades with surprise. Isn’t that what we’re doing here? I’m sure about this. Is he? I wish I was in his head—once we’re bonded, we’ll have a strong mental link. I won’t just be able to smell the truth he’s feeling, I’ll also understand why his words contradict it. I’ll see the weird Addie thought paths, though I already suspect the reason for his hesitancy.

“You’re mine, my life too.” His words trip over themselves, cheeks adorably red; albeit that could be the next wave of heat. It’ll come on again soon. And we have a few days of this. I can’t help it, I squeeze his ass and lightly bite his earlobe around my smile.

“But—”

I groan. “No, no buts. It’s settled. So, do you want me to cut this collar off now and mate you in the next wave or wait until the one after that?”

He’s pressed against my chest, so I feel his heartbeat accelerate, a rapid thump against my own. Another wave of heat floods his scent. Underneath it, he smells scared.

My Addie should never smell like that. I’m the wall between him and the world. If he smells scared, I’m not doing my job properly. My sole purpose in life is to protect and provide for him, and I need to figure out how to do a better job of it.

“Hey,” I say softly. I run my hand up to his nape and squeeze, bringing him back to me. “What are you so scared of?”

He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Oh, I don’t know, you getting arrested? Or worse, beaten? Even worse, killed!”

“None of that is going to happen,” I reassure him. I’ve got a plan. I’ll mate him and when his heat breaks, I’ll sneak us out the rear exit Cammie told me about. My car isn’t far away. We’ll get to it and drive. Then we’ll keep on driving.

Addie doesn’t smell reassured. I trail my fingers up his spine.

“Can you please just trust me?” I know I’m begging now, but I need him to let me do this. If what Cammie said is right, I’m not going to be allowed in here after this. It was a risk, coming back at all.

Cammie said the omegas were aware that Adrian was entertaining the same alpha, but the alphas hadn’t caught on yet. That wouldn’t last. They’d put it together after this heat. All they had to do was look at the last week—Addie had every night bought outright, and now he’d had an alpha pay an exorbitant fee to spend his heat with him. They’d be checking receipts. The alphas here could be fucking stupid and blasé about things—Cammie’s words—but if they got a whiff of another alpha moving in on what they considered their belongings, they acted. Swiftly and with a warning the alpha would never forget. Getting banned was best case scenario.

This is my only chance.

“I’m trying to protect you,” Addie says. “If anything happens to you …”

“It won’t.”

Addie groans and rubs his face down my chest. Another wave of heat is coming. I tug on the collar. It’s driving my alpha fucking crazy—I need to bite him, need it like I need air.

“Okay,” Addie mumbles, his lips skating over my nipple. My cock strains and flexes where it’s trapped between our stomachs.

“Okay? Addie? I can cut this thing off?”

He lifts his head and his expression floors me—heat, longing—he looks so desperate for it. His cheeks are flushed, his mousy blond hair dishevelled.

“Yes,” he whispers as if it’s a crime. This whole fucking place is a crime, but my bite? It’s the only thing that makes sense here.

I cast around for the knife, find it, and clasp it in my hand.

Addie tilts his head to the side, his eyes never leaving mine.

I bring it up, slide my hand under the leather, and meet his eyes again. Once I cut this off, there’s no going back—he’ll be my mate, because I’m about to bite him. It’s not the way I wanted to do it. I wanted to court him first, to do right by him. I’m not afraid of what comes next with the alphas here, but I am afraid of him thinking less of me for not following protocol, for not showing him how much I would treasure him by doing this in the right order.

“Leo?” he asks, uncertainty tinging his scent. He’s blinking like he’s trying to clear his head from the oncoming wave of heat.

“Are you sure you want this? Want … me?”

“Yes,” he says, his scent spiking. “I’m scared for you, but I want you. I’ve always wanted you.”

I can’t help the way I preen. Addie wants me.

“Okay,” I say and slip the knife under the leather, slicing through the thick band.