Enar downed the can of Coke in a few gulps. Fuck, he needed the caffeine. And the sugar. That it had been ice cold didn’t hurt either, because he was exhausted, so hopefully, it would jolt him awake.

He checked his notes for the last call of the night. Oh, right, the beta who’d called him about his omega friend. Well, he hoped the guy was up for receiving a visitor at two in the morning, because his previous call had taken a lot longer than he had expected. He’d had to perform surgery after an ectopic pregnancy had gone horribly wrong for a female omega. A simple prenatal checkup would have revealed it, but she’d been trying to hide the pregnancy from her parents since she’d had sex without their permission. She’d paid a high price for it, since losing one fallopian tube had drastically reduced her chances of getting pregnant again. Poor girl. 

As he drove over, he wondered what the issue was with the male omega he was about to visit. Delayed heat? Unwanted pregnancy? Fertility issues? Patients called him most often for those three things, aside from the heartbreaking victims of sexual assault and rape he treated on a regular basis. 

Alphas got away with sexual aggression, as folks euphemistically labeled it, while their omega victims bore the brunt of the shame. They also endured the physical and emotional consequences, ranging from unwanted pregnancies to physical trauma. The alpha privilege bothered him more and more the older he got. This injustice hurt him as a fellow alpha even more, because it often took patients a while to realize he was different. It made him ashamed of his gender and identity and complicated his feelings about being an alpha even further. 

The address turned out to be an apartment block on the south side of town, generally speaking not the best part. Three blocks further south was considered a no-go zone, though Enar had ventured there occasionally if a patient needed him. Lidon had ripped him a new one once when he found out, but he’d always been protective like that. And dominant as shit. 

Enar gave a quick check before leaving his car in the lot, parking as close to the well-lit entrance of the high rise building as he could, but it seemed to be quiet and safe enough this time of night. The elevator made threatening rattles as it transported him to the twenty-third floor but gave up its racket after a few floors and delivered him without issues.

As soon as the door to the apartment opened, Enar’s stomach sank. He’d recognized him instantly. The guy wasn’t an A-list celebrity, but he was pretty well-known and Enar had admired his smart, snarky editorials on more than one occasion. Right now, he wasn’t so impressed. Damn. Had he walked into a trap? His face tightened.

“What the fuck?” he bit out. “Do you think it’s funny to waste my time?”

The beta in front of him reeled back, his brown eyes widening. “I… What the hell do you mean?”

“You’re Palani Hightower. Don’t even bother denying it. I read newspapers.”

“This is personal,” Palani said. “I swear. I didn't call you as a reporter, but as a concerned friend. Please.”

Enar studied him for a few seconds, the man’s face showing nothing but the stress and worry he’d referenced. “Okay,” he said and stepped past him inside.

The apartment was small, but tidy, with not a speck of dust to be seen, which hinted at an omega’s presence. He could smell the omega too, which meant he was close to his heat. Really close, since Enar took blockers that prevented him from reacting too strongly to omegas. He couldn’t really afford to, considering his line of work. The fact that he could smell him meant the omega was throwing off some serious pheromones. It seemed the beta had been speaking the truth about his reason for contacting Enar.

“What’s wrong with your friend?” Enar asked, still cautious, but friendlier.

“His heat is coming, and he’s in bad shape.”

Enar nodded, his suspicions about the coming heat confirmed. “Okay. Is he your partner?”

Palani hesitated before answering. “No. We’re sexually active, though. Together, I mean. When he needs me.”

It wasn’t an uncommon situation, betas who couldn’t completely fulfill an omega’s need. Usually, they brought in an alpha once a year and that would do the trick.

“When’s the last time an alpha knotted him?” Enar asked.

Palani let out a deep sigh. “Three years ago.”

Enar’s eyes widened. “Three years? What the hell were you thinking?”

The beta didn’t cower under his slightly aggressive tone, and Enar had to respect the hell out of him for that. “He’s got the Melloni gene,” Palani said. “His first heat, an alpha had sex with him, but it didn’t go well…for Vieno, that is.”

Enar’s anger dissipated. He should’ve known better than to jump to conclusions. The gene was rare, but he’d come across it a few times lately, so he should have considered it. “Oh, fuck. I’m sorry.”

Just then, the most delicious smell he’d ever detected wafted into his nose. He couldn't describe it, except that it was pure sex and he grew hard instantly. His whole body shifted to full alert, roused from the self-imposed sexual slumber. What the hell was happening that his smell was strong enough to affect Enar despite the blockers? 

Shit, it was the gene…and him not being knotted for three years, an anomaly Enar’s cock was dying to correct. His balls filled so fast he winced at the pressure in his jeans. Fuck, he’d never felt like this before, especially not in the last years since he’d taken daily suppressants.  

“Dammit to hell… How close is he?” He stepped back, blindly reaching for his bag. He needed a shot of suppressants, right now, or he would never make it out of here. 

“About a day, slightly less now.”

“You should’ve…I need to…Gimme a sec, okay?”

He rummaged in his bag, his hands shaking, until he found the syringe, then flipped off the cap and set it straight through his jeans into his thigh. It burned when it went in, and he clenched his teeth. He was so fucking hard, his cock straining painfully against his jeans. 

God, he wanted to…images flashed through his mind of the intense pleasure of knotting that his body yearned for right now. And this little omega would welcome it, welcome him. His hole would be slick and ready for Enar to plunge in and take him, again and again. His alpha had never manifested as strongly as it did now, triggered from its usual slumber by the omega’s pheromones. He shook with the effort of fighting it back.

Palani had noticed, no doubt. How the hell did his friend not affect him? Enar needed a back-up, insurance in case he lost his self-control. It had never happened before, but then again, he’d never experienced such a strong reaction to an omega…oh, fuck, he wanted him. His whole body called out to the man he’d never even met, but who he could detect, desperate for his cock. He’d never wanted to fuck anyone as badly as he did right now.

He dug another syringe out of his bag and held it out to Palani. “Hold this with you. Stick it anywhere in my body if I can’t control myself, in my legs or ass is best. It’ll knock me out cold.”

Palani took it with a slight shiver of his hand. “Can you…can you smell him?”

Enar closed his eyes, willing the suppressant to work fast before he stalked into that bedroom and took what wasn’t his to take. “Fuck, yes. He’s…I’ve never had a patient with an aroma like this.”

“Have you had patients with the gene before?”

“A few, but never one that hasn’t been knotted in this long. That’s why it’s so strong with him, it’s…” He clenched his fists, fighting back his primal urges.

“I won’t let you hurt him.” Palani’s voice was quiet, but strong.

“You shouldn’t. That’s why I gave you the damn shot. But why the hell doesn’t this affect you? You’re not an alpha, but even betas aren’t immune to this.”

“Maybe because we grew up together? I’ve known him since we were kids, so I’m used to him, to his scent.”

“Can you detect when his heat is coming?”

Palani nodded. “Yeah. He’s regular as clockwork, but yeah, I can sense it. It helps me when…”

“His pheromones boost your sexual stamina when he needs you,” Enar finished his sentence. 

“I’m not enough for him. He needs more.”

The pain in that simple statement was easy enough to detect. “Yes, he does. But that says nothing about you and him. It’s biological, not emotional.”

“Doesn’t change the situation.”

A whimpering cry sounded from the bedroom that shot straight to Enar’s balls. Was he strong enough yet? Had he allowed the suppressant enough time to do its work?

“His name is Vieno Kessler, and he’s twenty-three. He’s had four shots of heat suppressants today already.”

Enar raised his eyebrows. “Where did you get them?” Heat suppressants weren’t illegal, but they were damn expensive on a journalist’s salary. Even if the omega worked—and a lot of them didn’t—it would’ve taken huge chunks out of their budget.

“We make do,” Palani said and Enar had to admire his balls. 

“Ok, let me see him. But keep that fucking syringe close, you hear me? And Palani, for the future, don’t ever invite an alpha into your house when he’s this close to his heat. He’s irresistible to us alphas… Fuck, if I hadn’t taken blockers, I would be balls deep inside him by now, do you understand me?”

Palani nodded, his cheeks a tad paler than they’d been before, then led Enar to the bedroom. The omega who restlessly moved around in his sleep was super cute, but Enar focused more on his pale cheeks, the ribs that stuck out, and the dark circles under his eyes. He was in even worse condition than Enar had expected, and his stomach sank. 

He lowered himself on the bed next to him, putting his bag on the floor. Vieno’s skin was clammy, the warmth radiating from him indicating a rising fever. Enar took his stethoscope from his bag to listen to Vieno’s heart, which raced as if he’d just sprinted. His breathing was fast, too, a small rattle in his lungs making Enar frown with worry. He was in bad shape, the little omega. If his heat was still a day off, he wouldn’t make it.

Vieno’s eyes flew open, and two gorgeous blue eyes looked at Enar, first cloudy but then focusing.

“Who are you?” he whispered, and then he moaned. The sound shot straight to Enar's balls, which still fought valiantly against the meds he’d shot himself with. “Oh, fuck…you’re an alpha. Palani?” Panic rang in his voice. 

“Ssshhh,” Enar consoled him, putting just enough alpha in his voice to make it work. “I’m a doctor. Palani called me to have a look at you because he’s worried about you.”

Vieno licked his lips, his eyes never leaving Enar’s. 

“He’s telling the truth,” Palani said. “I’m right here, baby.”

He sat down on the bed on the other side of Vieno and reached for his hand. Vieno clung to it, but his eyes stayed trained on Enar. Another waft of his scent hit Enar, and he swallowed. Despite the shot he’d taken, his cock was still rock-hard, his entire body calling out to the man before him.

He clenched his teeth as he grabbed his thermometer and took Vieno’s temp in his right ear, then his left one to make sure. He ran a fever, just below dangerous levels. It wouldn’t be long before it spiked even further, though, not with how close he was. 

“Vieno,” he said kindly. “You’re not doing so well. Your body is fighting the suppressants you’ve been taking. That’s because you’ve been taking them too long and you’ve developed an auto-immune reaction to them. Your body is turning itself against you. I hate to say it, but you need to be knotted. The sooner, the better.”

The brown puppy eyes that stared at his clouded over with tears. “I can’t…I’m…I have the Melloni gene. It almost killed me last time.”

“Did the alpha who knotted you back then use a condom?”

“Alphas. Three of them,” Palani spat out. 

Oh, god. Poor kid. “You weren't aware you had the gene?”

“His parents are super conservative, so they never let him near unmated alphas. He didn’t know until he went into his first heat, which wasn’t till he was twenty, and then things got…complicated.” Palani’s voice rang tight with pain and regret, and compassion welled up inside Enar. 

“It wasn’t your fault, Pal,” Vieno said, looking away from Enar for the first time to console his friend. Lover. Whatever they were to each other. The look they shot each other warmed Enar’s heart. These two had something special.

“We disagree on that, baby. But it’s not important right now. Yes, they used condoms. At every turn.”

Enar got the picture with no need for more details. The mutative gene some omegas had made them extra fertile but also extra desperate during their heat. They were almost impossible to satisfy, and Enar had heard some heartbreaking stories. Omegas who’d let themselves be fucked by anyone in a desperate attempt to fill the need inside them. More than a few had gotten hurt as a result, some with permanent injuries that had made them infertile. The fact that Vieno had survived three years of his tri-monthly heat without being knotted again constituted a miracle, but combined with the too high dose of suppressants, it was taking a toll on his body, and he wouldn’t hold out for long any more. 

“There’s still a lot we haven't determined about the gene, but what we have learned is that knotting helps best. And the alpha should not be wearing a condom. The hormones and proteins in the sperm help lessen the sexual cravings.”

“But I’d get pregnant,” Vieno said, still clinging to Palani’s hand as a lifeline.

“Normally yes, but I can help you with that. I can administer meds that will prevent a pregnancy. They’re illegal, so you can’t tell anyone you’re taking them.”

Vieno and Palani shared a look, and for the first time, Enar saw a spark of hope on both their faces. 

“But the alpha-whore…I mean, the caretaker who’ll fuck him, he’ll ask about the pregnancy. He’ll know something is up when he’s asked not to wear a condom and Vieno still doesn’t get pregnant,” Palani said. “He’ll want to see the meds, to make sure he can’t get sued for paternity payments.”

Enar rubbed his temples. “Yeah. That’s why you can’t use a caretaker. You’ll need to ask an alpha you can trust.”

Despair filled Vieno’s eyes all over again.

“Don’t you think we would’ve done that years ago if we’d known someone?” Palani snapped.

He had a point there. Enar hated telling omegas to use caretakers, or alpha-whores as people rightfully labeled them. Most of them were first class assholes, in it for the chance to fuck indiscriminately and get paid for it as a bonus. Alphas willing to help out omegas for more altruistic reasons were rare. Unless…

Lidon would fucking kill him for this, but he’d be perfect. Fuck knew Lidon needed to have sex, and for Vieno it would be the best option. Lidon’s hormone and pheromone levels were sky high, so it should tide the little omega over for a while and give a powerful boost to his body to recover. There was no one he trusted more than Lidon, and the man possessed an iron self-control and was honorable to a fault. God, it was a strange concept, almost like whoring his friend out, but it was all Enar could come up with.

“I have an alpha friend,” Enar said. “If I explained the situation to him, I think he’d be willing to help.”

“Why don’t you do it?” Vieno asked, surprising Enar. That was quite the direct question from an omega.

Then he took in Vieno’s dilated pupils and the twitching movements he made with his legs every now and then, and he understood. Despite the suppressants they had both used, Vieno was as much influenced by Enar as the other way around. Vieno’s reaction, Enar could understand since heat suppressants grew less effective over time, but Enar had trouble reasoning why Vieno’s pheromones affected him to this degree. His blockers were so strong that it shouldn’t affect him this much. Were they not effective against the gene? That was the only reason he could think of.

“You getting horny for me, little one?” he asked, his voice kind. “It’s okay. I’m feeling it, too.”

“So why don’t you?” Palani asked. “At least we know you a little.”

“I can’t fuck a patient, not even if it would help him. It goes against everything I stand for. Besides, I take suppressants daily. My hormone levels would be too low to be effective, even when knotting.”

Vieno let out a soft sigh, then licked his lips again. The poor kid was fighting it with all he had, but his body craved an alpha. What a shitty situation for these two. 

“Your friend, he’s a good man?” Palani asked. “Can we trust him?”

Yeah, now came the hard part. “Yes. He’s been my best friend since Kindergarten. But…he’s a cop.”

“Are you insane?” Palani exploded.

“Not all cops are dirty,” Enar said.

Palani and Vieno shared a look he couldn’t decipher.

“We can’t trust a cop, not after what happened,” Palani said, still heated.

Enar frowned. It almost sounded like they had bad personal experience with cops. What had happened? Maybe as a consequence of the articles Palani had written?

“Lidon is different,” he said. “I know that sounds like a cliché, but it’s the truth. He’s a good guy. Do you think I’d be friends with him otherwise, considering what I do? He knows. Not all of it, but enough to fuck me over if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. He understands and he’s helped me implicitly on more than one occasion.”

“With fucking your patients?” Palani asked, his face still angry.

“No. I’ve never asked that of him before. I’ve never been in a situation where I had to. But he knows I do perform certain procedures that are frowned upon, to put it mildly, and he’s never breathed a word to anyone.”

“How do we know we can trust him?” Vieno asked. “I’ll be out of my mind, unable to defend myself.”

The fear was thick in his voice, but Enar also heard the craving underneath. His nose detected it as well. An alpha’s presence was triggering all kinds of reactions in Vieno’s body. That meant he might not even have a day. Not when he’d denied himself for so long. 

“I’ll be here the whole time, monitoring. I promise I will step in if you’re unwell or unsafe, okay?”

“Vieno, baby, he’s a cop. A cop! He could get us arrested, thrown in jail,” Palani said. “Especially once he discovers my identity.”

Vieno let go of Palani’s hand, shifted again on the bed, restlessly. “I know, but…god, I’m so…I need it. I need him.”

He turned on his side, crawling close to Enar. His head bumped against Enar’s leg, then inched further until he put his cheek right on Enar’s lap, on his rock-hard cock. He nuzzled it through the fabric of the jeans and let out a soft sigh.

“Vieno…” Palani said.

Enar’s hand found Vieno’s head and gently caressed his damp, dark blond hair. His body was screaming with want, but his head was at a strange peace now that the omega was at least touching him. It made no sense, but Vieno’s touch calmed him somehow.

“It’s okay, Palani. My presence is speeding up his heat. He needs to be close to an alpha right now. His body is getting ready. It won’t be long now.”

“Oh, god…We have no time left, do we?”

“No. You need to either let me call Lidon or arrange for an alpha caretaker. Right fucking now.”