Lidon’s blood pulsed through his veins so loudly, it was a hum in his system that drowned out everything else. All he smelled was Vieno, that tantalizing aroma that was pure sex and pure him at the same time. All he felt was the deep craving to make the omega his all over again. His cock was painfully hard, throbbing for relief.

He rutted into Vieno again. “You sure?”

“Yes. Please?”

There was no denying the genuine eagerness on his sweet face. Lidon let out a satisfied little growl before he flipped Vieno on his stomach. Without prompting, Vieno spread his legs and stuck his ass up, his hole already slick in preparation.

“I don’t have much patience left,” Lidon warned him.

“Do I look like I mind?”

God, he loved it when Vieno got all sassy. Was there a bigger turn on than a man who was eager for your cock? Probably not.

He positioned himself. One day he’d be able to draw it out, tease Vieno and see how desperate he would get, but not today. The desire to be inside him was too big to ignore any longer.

The fat tip of his cock found that perfect pink star, quivering for him. He watched as he breached it, gasping at the sensation of being sucked into that slick tightness. Vieno canted his ass more, his hips angled perfectly. His eager little hole sucked Lidon in, and the little moans he created were music to Lidon’s ears. He was so beautiful, so responsive, his little omega.

He froze.

His?

When had he started to consider Vieno as his? His alpha purred, deep inside him, communicating his pleasure with this development. It wanted to claim him as mate, to fill him with his seed, to drench him in his scent.

What the hell was happening? He’d never experienced this deep need, this possessive desire, this conviction that left no room for doubt that this was what he wanted to do. Needed to do. He needed Vieno as much as the little omega needed him. He had no idea why, but his instincts were screaming at him it was the right choice. They’d never failed him, had they?

But he wouldn’t merely marry him. If Vieno was truly his, as his alpha was shouting at him, he wanted more. He wanted absolute certainty that they would never be separated again. Ever.

“Lidon?”

Vieno’s voice was hesitant. No wonder, Lidon had frozen with his cock half way inside him. He clenched his teeth, then pulled out. The plopping sound Vieno’s hole made was erotic as fuck. God, he wanted back in there. But he owed it to him to do this right.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Lidon rolled into a sitting position, then pulled Vieno up as well until he was sitting up, facing him. Lidon cupped his cheek when the omega was too scared to look at him. “No, sweetheart. On the contrary. I’ve made my decision. I’ll marry you.”

Vieno’s eyes lit up first, but the joy spread quickly to his entire face. Beaming was too tame a word to describe the radiant beauty of his face. “Thank you, I…”

Lidon placed his fingers against Vieno’s lips. “Don’t thank me. Now now, not ever again. I want you. I don’t understand why, but it’s what my instincts are telling me and the concept of you with another alpha is…” A growl of displeasure rumbled in his chest. “You’re mine.”

Vieno nodded, still lit up like a Christmas tree.

“I will go to the courthouse tomorrow with you to make it legal, but with your permission, I want to alpha-claim you right now.”

“You want to alpha-claim me?” Vieno said, surprise painting his face.

“Yeah. Why is that so surprising?”

“I had expected you to marry me, not claim me right away as well.”

Lidon’s eyes narrowed. “Is that a problem?”

“No! No…it’s just…” Vieno swallowed. “It’s permanent. What if you decide you don’t like me? Or you get tired of me?”

How had a sweet, beautiful man like Vieno become so insecure of himself? What had been damaged through his horrendous encounter with that asshole fiancé of his that he had such a deep fear of being rejected?

“That's not gonna happen, sweetheart. I like you plenty.”

Much to his surprise, Vieno scoffed a little. “You don’t know me well enough to like me.”

An amused smile hovered on Lidon’s lips. Vieno was such an intriguing combination of sweet and sassy, of pliant and bossy, of innocent and seductive. “My alpha knows and that’s enough for me.”

“I need more.”

Ah. Lidon understood what the issue was. A marriage could be reversed, an alpha-claim could not. Sure, Vieno was concerned Lidon would grow tired of him on some level. But his real fear was that Lidon turned out to be a different kind of man instead of the honorable, trustworthy cop he’d presented himself as. With an alpha-claim in place, Vieno would possess no way out.

“Do you have trouble trusting me?” he asked.

Vieno bit his lip in that adorable gesture, until Lidon put his thumb on the abused spot. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I…Yes. I'm not sure if I can trust you.”

“I can understand that. You were right, there’s a lot we don’t know about each other. But we’ll have time to discover that after, don’t you think?”

“It will be too late to do anything about it.”

“True. What are you expecting to discover about me that scares you so much?”

“You could have ten dead bodies in your basement, for all I know. Hell, I don’t even know where you live. Do you even have a basement?”

Palani hadn’t looked Lidon’s background up, apparently. Interesting. Or he hadn’t shared his findings with Vieno. If he had, Vieno would have known Lidon was loaded. For some reason, that made Lidon happy. Vieno at least wasn’t after his money. “I do, actually. And my house is very nice, you’ll be relieved to hear. There's a lovely pool in my backyard that I'm sure you'll love.”

Vieno’s face turned so white Lidon feared he’d faint.

“Vieno, you did realize that you’d have to move in with me if we get married, right?”

“I did. I just didn’t let it sink in that meant I had to go outside…”

Realization hit. “Are you telling me you haven’t been outside? For how long?”

Vieno’s shoulders hunched. “Since I moved in here. Almost three years.” His voice was thin and breakable, and it cut deep.

“Oh, sweetheart…”

“I’ve been too scared of alphas smelling me and going crazy…”

“I can only imagine. But that problem will be solved too, once I alpha-claim you. No one will touch you anymore.”

“Are you sure it works that way, even with the gene?”

Lidon frowned. “Do you have any other reason to believe otherwise?”

“Palani has been looking into it, and he says there’s still a whole lot they don’t know. I’d need to know for sure.”

Lidon nodded. “That’s fair. We’ll test it during your heat, okay? I’ll have a friend stop by and ask if he can smell you, hmm?”

“Are you sure you’d be okay with me moving in? I’m very…domestic.”

Lidon smiled. “If that’s code for an innate desire to clean and tidy, you’re in for a challenge. Let’s say household shit is not my forte, and I don’t tolerate other people around me well, so it’s…messy.”

“And you don’t mind if I touch your stuff and shit?”

“You can touch anything you want,” Lidon teased him, smiling when he was rewarded with a cute little blush on Vieno’s cheeks.

“Do you see now how little we know about each other?” Vieno said.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t trust me. What does your omega tell you?”

“He likes you and he wants you. Hell, he’s upset we’re still not fucking. He wants to submit…but I’m scared.”

“You can trust your omega. It’s why we have them. They rarely steer us wrong.”

Vieno’s lungs sucked in air fast, before the words exploded out of his mouth. “It was my omega who begged Aloysius and his friends to take me…over and over again. So no, I can’t trust him. My omega is a slutty whore who will do anything for a good fuck.”

No wonder Vieno had such a hard time trusting his instincts. He was right, they had steered him wrong. Under the influence of his heat, arguably, but they had nonetheless. Poor kid.

“I understand, and I’m not trying to put pressure on you, but a legal union is still contestable. If your parents argue you married me under duress and that the marriage wasn’t consummated, since you’re not in heat, they might convince the right judge to nullify it. An alpha-claim is final. You’d be free of Aloysius forever. And of your parents. No one would have any say over you anymore.”

“Except you,” Vieno said softly.

“Except me,” Lidon agreed. “But I hope you do trust me enough to rest assured I’d never abuse that privilege.”

The swift assurance he had expected didn’t materialize. Instead, Vieno’s teeth went into his lower lip again. Oh, his alpha didn’t like that, and Lidon had to bite back a growl.

“Okay,” Vieno said finally.

“Okay what?” Lidon said, his tone snappier than he had intended.

“Okay, you can alpha-claim me.”

“Well, thanks for the vote of confidence and the overwhelming enthusiasm,” Lidon said. "The love hangs thick in the air.”

“This has nothing to do with love,” Vieno said with an edge to his voice Lidon hadn’t heard from him before. “It’s a calculated risk I’m taking. You can’t fault me for trying to make an informed decision.”

“A calculated risk?” Lidon’s temper snapped. “What the hell, we’re talking about marriage and me claiming you!”

“No.” Vieno rose to his knees, his blue eyes spewing fire. “We’re talking about me giving you full legal authority over me, as well as physical dominance. We’re talking about me leaving the safety of everything here in exchange for too many unknowns to count. We’re talking about me leaving behind my best friend, my lover, and the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We’re talking about me doing all that after having met you twice, simply because your alpha likes to fuck me or wants me on some deep primal level. That’s what we’re talking about. And if you honestly expect me to agree without even taking a few minutes to consider the enormity of what I’m about to do, basically signing my life over to a stranger, you have no business marrying me, let alone claiming me.”

* * *

Enar rarely acted on impulse, but that’s exactly what his rash offer to Palani had been. An impulse. One he regretted almost as soon as the words flew out of his mouth, as he expected Palani to reject him out of hand. Why would the beta agree to having sex with Enar? They were little more than strangers, brought together by fate.

Except…he didn’t.

Instead, Palani stared at him for a few seconds, before he nodded. “I could use a good fuck,” he said.

Enar swallowed. “Have you ever been with an alpha?”

Palani shrugged. “Nope. Does it matter?”

“Wanted to make sure you knew what you signed up for.”

“Signed up for?” Palani smirked. “It’s a fuck, preferably a hard one, not a contract.”

His face sobered, probably because he had the same association Enar had with those words. No, whatever they did would not involve a contract, but for Vieno and Lidon that was not the case.

“You can’t fuck away the pain,” Enar said, his tone gentle.

“I can sure as hell try. You game or not? You’re the one who suggested it.”

“I didn’t think you’d agree.”

“So you only offered because you thought I’d turn you down? That makes little sense.”

“No, I offered because I wanted to, but it was an impulse. I never expected you to be on board.”

“Why not? You know how long it’s been since I was fucked? And it’s not like you’re ugly.”

Enar’s mouth pulled up in a smile. “You flatter me with all that sweet talk.”

Palani’s cheeks colored.

“For someone who makes a living out of using words, you’re woefully ineloquent,” Enar teased him.

“I didn’t know you needed them. I figured if you offered, you were a done deal,” Palani defended himself.

Enar put his hand on the beta’s thigh to reassure him he was teasing, a jolt surging through him at the contact. For a beta, Palani was muscular. He wasn’t anywhere near Enar’s or Lidon’s size, but he had strong arms, a well-developed chest, and a tight stomach.

“You’re not exactly ugly yourself,” Enar teased and watched with satisfaction as Palani smiled. He looked mischievous when he did, a little naughty, somehow. Enar loved it.

“Are you sure you’re even up for a fuck?” Palani asked. “Can you even get it up with all that shit you’re taking?”

Enar wanted to explode in indignant defense when he noticed Palani’s sparkling eyes. “You little shit…” With a lightning fast move, he grabbed Palani’s wrist and dragged his hand to his crotch, where his hard cock was begging him to get on with the program. “Does that seem like I have an issue getting hard?”

Palani’s smile vaporized, and he licked his lips. Even when Enar let go of his wrist, Palani’s hand stayed where it was, splayed on Enar’s cock. He ground his hand down in a slow grind, making Enar growl in his chest with pleasure. “No. Feels like you’re plenty hard, Doc.”

God, he loved Palani’s little nickname for him, but for now, they were done talking. Enar popped the button of his jeans and dragged the zipper down. He sighed with relief as his cock used the room to fill even more, peeking from under the elastic waistband of his boxer briefs.

“Fuck…you’re big,” Palani said, and Enar’s alpha purred with pride at the mix of lust and admiration in the beta’s voice. Even the last shiver of doubt Palani didn't want this was removed when he whipped off his shirt and dragged down his jeans, underwear, and socks with a few impatient moves.

Hmm, he was even more muscular than Enar had expected and a zing of electricity shot down to his balls. “You’re fucking gorgeous,” he told Palani. “Damn, look at your body…”

“Yours isn’t too shabby either.” Palani gave him one of his trademark crooked smiles again as he dragged Enar’s jeans down. “Though you’re wearing too many clothes for what we’re about to do.”

Enar sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, then lifted his ass and legs so Palani could finish undressing him. “You got condoms and lube?” he asked.

Palani froze and his face fell. “Plenty of lube, but no condoms. I’ve never needed them.”

“No worries, I got plenty in my bag. Let me grab some.”

His bag was still in the living room and he walked in, naked. Soft voices drifted in from the other bedroom. Good. If they were still talking, things were probably going well. He dug a few condoms out of his doctor’s bag, then walked back into the bedroom.

Palani was on the bed on his back, his slick fingers already prepping his hole. Judging by the look on his face, it wasn’t exactly a hardship. “When’s the last time you were fucked?” he asked, curious.

“Three years ago, during Vieno’s first heat.” Palani didn’t even open his eyes when he answered, his fingers slowly sliding in and out of his hole. Enar watched with fascination as it opened up, getting ready for his cock.

“You’ve been monogamous all this time?” he asked, surprised.

“Yeah. Only fucked myself with my toys.”

Oh boy, he was in for a treat, then. Enar rolled the condom over his cock, then added extra lube for good measure. He kneeled on the bed and inched closer to Palani, who opened his eyes and shot him a sultry look. “Please tell me you know how to use that.” He pointed at Enar’s cock.

Enar grinned. “You’re about to find out.”

“Don’t let me down.”

Palani pulled his fingers out and turned to his hands and knees, his ass sticking out toward Enar, who let out an appreciative sigh. He wiped his hands on the sheets to get the remnants of lube off, then trailed Palani’s spine with one finger. It caused goosebumps to erect all over his smooth skin. He ended on those firm globes, nicely on display for him, with that twitching hole beckoning him.

“Next time, I wanna spend time admiring your body,” he said.

“Next time? Aren’t you the optimist?”

Enar grinned. He’d never admit it, but he loved Palani’s sassy mouth. Hmm, how sassy would he be with a cock stuffed in it? Definitely something he wanted to experiment with. Next time. Because there would be a next time, that much Enar was certain of.

“Wanna wager a little bet there will be a next time? Alpha cock is addictive, even for betas.”

“Psh,” Palani harrumphed. “You think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you? Then again, most alphas do.”

Enar’s smile widened. “Let’s bet over a blowjob that there will be a next time. Can’t wait to fuck your smart mouth.”

“Oh, you’re on. You’re so gonna lose that bet.”

Still smiling, Enar positioned himself behind Palani. He dragged the tip of his cock from the top of Palani’s crack down to his hole, the beta's body trembling under him in anticipation. He circled his hole, teasing him, before sliding his dick downward, between Palani’s legs, nudging his balls. There was enough lube on the condom to make it a slick motion that sent little sparkles to his balls. He loved the sensation so much that he repeated it a few times.

From the top of the crack down it went, circling that star, then down further between Palani’s legs, sliding back and forth a few times. The sloppy, slick sounds were music to his ears and he let out a happy sigh.

“So far, I’m unimpressed,” Palani muttered. “I thought you said you knew how to use that tool.”

“Feels good already, doesn’t it? I could do this for a while to build up the pressure in my balls. I like it when they’re heavy and full when I fuck. Wait till you hear the sound they make as they slap against your flesh…most erotic sound in the world.”

Enar kept sliding his cock in Palani’s ass crack and between his thighs, bypassing his hole on every run.

Palani let out a frustrated growl, pushing his ass back even further in a clear invitation. “Dammit, what the fuck are you waiting for?”

He was almost there. It was mean, but Enar wanted to see Palani break, only a little. As much as he loved that smart, bratty mouth on him, he also needed to show the beta he didn’t hold all the cards. If he wanted cock, he could damn well ask for it. Nicely.

He brought his cock to Palani’s hole, circled it a few times. One hard push, and he’d be inside. But not yet. Not until he’d…

“Oh, for the love of everything, will you please put your fucking cock inside me?”

He pushed in hard, causing Palani’s angry words transform to a deep moan. “All you had to do was say the magic word,” he managed between gentle thrusts that brought him deeper and deeper inside Palani.

“Oh…fuck…damn, you’re big,” Palani groaned, panting with effort.

Enar’s smile returned. It was childish, maybe, but he loved hearing that. He gave Palani every inch of him until he bottomed out, his balls touching Palani’s ass cheeks. “How’s that?”

“It’s…fuck, give me a sec…”

Enar waited patiently until Palani relaxed around him. He was wonderfully tight, a testament to him not having done this in a long time. No wonder he’d struggled taking Enar.

“Fuck, I'm…full. That’s a whole lotta cock you got there, man.”

“You complaining? I warned you, didn’t I?” He gave an experimental thrust to see if Palani could take it. He could, his body tight, but relaxed around him.

“Not complaining. Merely…stating…facts. Oh!”

Apparently, even for Palani it was hard to talk while being fucked. Enar pushed the beta’s hips down to perfect the angle, then pulled out almost entirely, before sliding back in smoothly. It wasn’t till the last two inches that he gave a little extra boost to bring it home. It seemed Palani liked it, as he moaned when Enar did his little power thrust. To make sure, Enar repeated the move, smiling when Palani reacted the same way.

“What do you reckon, do I know how to use it?” he teased.

He heard Palani breathe in to answer and surged in with added power to see if he could jolt him. The words Palani had planned became unintelligible grunts, and Enar didn’t give him a chance to form a coherent thought but kept thrusting in. He was nowhere near close to full power, but the force was enough to make Palani buckle down on the bed and fist the sheets with both hands. He lowered his head even further, spreading his legs wider so give Enar complete access.

A rush of satisfaction thundered through Enar. “Doesn’t that feel good? There’s nothing like a fat cock in your hole, is there?”

His own words registered with him, just as Palani lifted his head and shot him a murderous look over his shoulder. “Anytime you wanna switch places, say the word…”

Enar froze with his cock halfway in, unable to move. Oh god, he knew. Palani knew. How was it possible Enar had fucked up this badly? First, that stupid joke about Palani not being a good pain in the ass kind, which no alpha would have ever made, and now this comment of his that betrayed he knew what a cock in his ass felt like. And Palani was smart, so he must have picked up on it and…but why would he say it like this? Oh, wait, he was joking… Oh, shit, it was a joke, he hadn’t been serious.

Enar tried to come up with something to say, but his brain failed him, and he could see Palani trying to work out why there was no response to his joke.

Palani frowned, then his eyes widened. “Oh, fuck…” he said slowly. “You do. You’re…”

Enar closed his eyes as he pulled out. Embarrassing didn’t even begin to cover how his emotions. He should’ve made a joke of it, but now this stubborn beta had spotted what no one before him ever had. This was such a fucking nightmare.

Palani turned to sit on the bed. “Enar, I’m…”

The regret in his voice was easy to spot, but it only made it worse. “Forget about it,” Enar snapped, interrupting the apology that was coming.

He tore off the condom and got dressed, Palani watching his every move. He walked out without saying a word, closer to tears than he’d ever admit to anyone.