Palani studied the pale face of his best friend and lover Vieno, who had finally fallen asleep after a restless few hours. His dirty blond hair stuck against his head, damp with perspiration. Even in his sleep, the omega’s body trembled and spasmed. Palani patted Vieno’s forehead with a moist cloth.

He was getting worse by the day, his fever rising and his body too worn out to fight it anymore. Vieno’s next heat would start tomorrow, and this one might just kill him. Palani discerned it not just in his mind, but in his own body and soul.

Vieno was slipping away from him, one heat at a time, cursed by his own body and by circumstances beyond their control. He didn’t have the physical strength to ride it out, not even with Palani helping him. Worse, his mental strength was deteriorating as well. His mind was as exhausted as his body, and he was one breath away from crumbling and surrendering to the inevitable.

Palani’s throat constricted at the thought. He couldn’t lose Vieno, not after everything they’d been through together, but he was running out of ideas of how to help him. He'd tried everything he could think of, everything he'd found in his countless hours of research. 

The heat blockers had become less and less effective over the years, and they barely did anything anymore. There had to be a solution to give him back his strength. Until now, he and Vieno had both flat-out refused to even entertain the idea of getting one of those alpha-whores to help, but they’d have to consider it. What if Palani hand-picked an alpha-whore, made sure he was honorable?

He scoffed at his own thought. An honorable alpha-whore, what an oxymoron. Sure, he’d met his fair share of respectable alphas, so not all alphas were egotistical, arrogant assholes. But those who rented themselves out to help omegas though their heat? They did it for the money and couldn’t care less about the omegas they fucked. 

Then again, an experience with an alpha-whore might kill Vieno as well—if not his body, then his mind and soul. What the fuck was there left? Vieno needed an alpha husband, that had always been the solution, but with too many omegas and not enough alphas willing to settle down, the odds were stacked against him. Plus, there was the not insignificant detail of his reputation, which was shot after what happened with his first heat. That he would never meet anyone holed up in Palani’s apartment complicated things even more. 

The whole thing constituted one giant case of if only. If only Vieno didn’t have that stupid gene mutation that made him so…desperate during his heat. If only Palani had been born an alpha instead of a beta. If only the rules were different…

“Is he asleep?” Tiva, Vieno’s sister, whispered. She’d tiptoed into the bedroom, but Palani hadn’t even noticed.

He stood up from the bed, giving his friend one last look. “Yeah. Let’s leave him to sleep for now.”

He closed the door quietly behind them, then rubbed his eyes. Exhaustion made his vision blurry and his whole body ache. Vieno hadn’t been sleeping well for days, and as a consequence, neither had Palani. He was hanging on by sheer will power and determination. Palani let himself drop on the couch, too tired to lift a finger.

“What are you gonna do?” Tiva asked. 

He loved her for assuming that Vieno would make a mutual decision with Palani. He would, but theirs wasn’t a normal relationship. Vieno’s parents blamed Palani for their son’s fate. Maybe they were right. Maybe if he and Vieno hadn’t been so close, his friend would’ve found another alpha. He sure was attractive enough, and even for an omega, he was exceptionally sweet.

“We don’t know.”

He accepted the tea Tiva held out to him, the faint lavender smell drifting up from the steaming mug. 

“He’s getting worse,” Tiva said. It wasn’t a question, and even if it was, Palani would never lie to her. She deserved better than that, even if her parents treated her like crap. 

“Yeah.”

“Are you worried?” She bit her lip and Palani understood what she was asking. 

“About his heat? Yes. In his current state, it’s…a lot. For his body and his mind.”

“Will you use a caretaker?”

That word should have been declared euphemism of the year. Caretaker. Alpha-whore seemed more accurate for these bastards who charged a shitload of money to do what they did best: fuck a helpless omega though his heat. 

“We may have to…” He didn’t need to say more, because Tiva would understand. 

He wasn’t supposed to talk about this, not with an unmarried omega female, not even Vieno’s sister. She and Palani weren't related, and the fact that he wasn’t attracted to women and considered Tiva his sister didn’t mean shit to society. Rules were rules, even if they were unwritten. Hell, she wasn’t even supposed to be here, and if her parents found out, she’d be in ten kinds of trouble.

“Will you stay with him?”

He’d asked himself the same thing. He’d have to, if he wanted Vieno to even consider it. But how the hell would he survive watching? 

“Vieno needs you, Pal. He can’t do it without you.”

He capitulated to the inevitable. “I know. I’ll be there.”

“He’s blessed to have you.”

“On that, opinions differ.”

Tiva gave a dismissive wave. “Psh, my parents, they don’t understand. They’re old school, traditionalists.”

That was one way to describe them. Palani could think of a string of less flattering words. Unlike how own parents, Vieno’s parents didn’t understand the concept of unconditional love. “You’re telling me.”

Tiva’s eyes softened. “They’re not being fair toward you. Or Vieno.”

“Or you.” 

She shrugged. He admired her for taking her parents’ meddling and controlling in stride. 

“Any news from your intended?” he asked.

Her parents had matched Tiva with an alpha son from a business associate of her dad’s. As a female omega, she had little say in it, which infuriated Palani. A twenty-year old woman should decide whom to marry, not her parents.

“He has his mind set on a May wedding, so that’s what’s gonna happen.”

“Are you sure you’re willing to go through with this?” 

Another shrug. “He’s not a bad man, Pal. Do I love him? No. But I may, over time. And believe me, I could do a lot worse. He’s got a good job and he values family, and those are two things that are important to me.”

A whimpering cry drifted in from the bedroom, and Palani hastily put his tea down, then jumped to his feet and charged into the bedroom. Vieno had kicked off the covers and thrashed around, still asleep. Palani lowered himself on the bed. A quick touch to Vieno’s forehead told Palani the fever had gotten worse. A fine layer of sweat covered Vieno, dressed in just his boxer briefs.

“Dammit,” Palani swore.

Tiva put a hand on his shoulder. “Can you give him another shot?”

“No. He’s maxed out for today. He can’t have anything until tomorrow morning. But it wouldn’t have an impact. They barely affect him anymore.”

They watched him for a minute while he whimpered on the bed, restlessly searching for…yeah, for what? For release. Fulfillment. He could come up with a dozen words to politely describe what Vieno needed, but the cold, harsh truth was that he needed cock. And a whole lot of it. Preferably attached to a virile alpha who would knot the hell out of him. 

“Palani, I need you to hear me out before you reject this, okay?”

He slowly turned his head toward Tiva, who kneeled beside him on the floor. She took a deep breath before continuing. “There’s a doctor.”

He inhaled sharply, but her quick hand raise reminded him she’d asked him to let her finish speaking. 

“There’s a doctor,” she repeated. “His name is Enar Magnusson, and he has a reputation. He’s known for doing…procedures few doctors will do. And he does them well. He’s trustworthy. He respects omegas, male and female. Maybe he can help.”

Palani swallowed. “Procedures? Please, Tiva, tell me you’re not…”

“Not me,” she interrupted him. “A friend. And he was kind and compassionate and helped her without anyone finding out.”

Palani exhaled with relief. Her parents would have killed her, and he wasn’t entirely sure that was a metaphor. “But what could he do for him? I don’t understand.”

“He’s got access to illegal meds, from what I understand. Plus, he’s…he’s an alpha, Pal. He’s got contacts.”

An alpha doctor willing to risk his reputation and his license for helping omegas? It triggered Palani's suspicions for how perfect it sounded. But what was the alternative? An alpha-whore had to be at the absolute bottom of the list, so if there was anything else he could try, he’d do it. Anything to save Vieno, no matter what it cost him, both monetary and emotionally. Vieno’s well-being was all that mattered.

“How do I contact him?” he asked. 

Tiva dug a small piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. “I have a phone number for him. Tell him Susan Perlman sent you, because he always asks for a referral.”

Palani accepted it. “And you’re sure we can trust him?”

“He’s an alpha doctor performing illegal surgeries on omegas... He has more to lose than you.”

She had a point. “Will you stay with him while I make the call?”

She nodded. “I’ll need to leave right after, to avoid my parents finding out I came here.”

“I understand. Thank you for sneaking over here.”

He walked into the living room of his small apartment, his stomach clenching. It didn’t sit well with him, calling in a stranger, especially an alpha doctor, but what choice did he have? Vieno was dying. He’d have to risk it. Before he could talk himself out of it, he called the number Tiva had given him. Someone answered on the third ring.

“Yeah?”

“Hi. Um, is this Dr. Magnusson?”

“Yes. How may I help you?”

His voice was low and deep, the alpha dominance more subtle than Palani had expected. “A friend referred me to you, Susan Perlman. She said you might be of help.”

He wasn’t putting his cards on the table until he knew for sure the man was who Tiva had claimed. 

“For yourself or for a friend?”

It seemed the doctor's carefulness equaled Palani's, which made total sense. “For a friend. A male omega.”

A faint sigh sounded through the phone. “Okay. Give me your address and I’ll stop by as soon as I can. It may be a few hours, though, is that okay or is it urgent?”

“That’s fine. He’ll hold out till then.”

He gave the man his address and hung up. Fuck, he hoped he’d made the right call.