Blake didn’t really consider himself a thinker, but now that he had so many things to puzzle over, he really wished he had developed that skill earlier on in his life. He had never been so confused, mainly because he strove not to dwell on things he didn’t understand. He couldn’t do that this time because the thing he didn’t understand was literally following him home. This omega was claiming they were supposed to be mates or something because a wishing well had told him so and that was straight-up bullshit. Stuff like that didn’t happen outside books, and he didn’t have time to sit around and read all day when there was a life to be lived.

But it wasn’t that simple. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t outright reject what the other was saying because didn’t that preposterous story explain at least a little bit why they had locked eyes so fiercely when they didn’t even know each other? They hadn’t even known they were both wolves back when that happened.

And didn’t it explain why he was so helplessly attracted to the omega?

He wanted to believe it was only adrenaline and his pumping blood that made him hard because that was an ailment men suffered their entire life. Unfortunate erections could come about for any reason, at any time, and there was little a guy could do to discourage those. You learned a little better how to deal with them, but you never really learned how to stop them.

He knew the reason this time but that didn’t really help much. He just so happened to glance back over his shoulder when the omega was standing up, and he had seen him rubbing his ass. And it did him in because he couldn’t stop thinking about what that ass looked like. He hadn’t gotten a very good look prior to this, hadn’t made any real effort to, but judging from the rest of the wolf it would be a real nice one.

And now he was hard, if not a bit horny. The two weren’t always connected, but they sure as hell were now.

He puzzled over the situation during the whole walk back to his apartment building, turning the details over and over in his mind as if tasting an unfamiliar food. Suppose he took advantage of this? It wouldn’t be nice, but he’d get a lay or two out of it and this high-strung omega could be fucked into relaxation before realizing there was no way in hell they could ever be mates. They’d part and that would be the end of it.

So should he just play along?

They reached the Daisy Apartments and he led the omega inside to the elevator, which was dingy and dirty, with spider webs in each corner. The webs were studded with dead insects, sucked dry and left to dangle as a warning to any other bugs which might come near. The mastermind behind these deadly-effective webs sat on the railing at the rear of the elevator, huge and black and looking slightly swollen. If a spider could get obese from eating too much, this one surely had.

The omega showed no fear of the spider.

Blake, who disliked the creatures though he didn’t exactly fear them, was impressed. So many omega wolves tended to forget they were apex predators, letting their human fear of mice or other stupid things take over. Not this one.

I don’t even know his name. I should ask.

The elevator climbed three floors, and they stepped out. A short distance to the left was his room, 205. The omega looked around at the dirty hallway. Blake knew for a fact that cleaners came through regularly but you could never really tell they had. Most of the time, they simply swept all the dirt and filth tracked in from outside and pushed it into the corners and along the edge of the wall. Even when they did sweep, the brown stains remained. There were cracks in the walls and many doors didn’t fit exactly right on their hinges, prone to sliding around just enough to lock into place. If a person was lucky, that was in a closed position. If they weren’t lucky, they’d have to deal with a half-open door until the landlord got around to fixing it. Thievery was common, not that there was much to take from a place like this.

The locks also just plain didn’t work. You only had to jiggle the knob a bit and the locks gave up the ghost, allowing the door to spring open.

Blake had purchased and installed his own chain to hold the door shut to dissuade any potential murderers. The landlord hadn’t noticed yet, and Blake doubted he ever would. Even if he did, that feature would probably become this room’s main selling point somewhere down the line. Sure as hell wasn’t anything else deserving of that title.

“Make yourself at home,” he said, tossing his keys on the counter. “I’m making coffee. Strong. Black. You in?”

He expected the omega to ask if he had creamer of some sort. He didn’t. Hell, he didn’t even buy milk because he was lactose intolerant and those frou-frou alternatives were way too expensive. He also didn’t have sugar. Or anything else. This hellhole might be where he was forced to live but that didn’t mean he had to treat it like home.

But all the omega said was, “Sure.”

Another surprise.

He didn’t want to hand out credit just yet, though. It was very likely the omega just hadn’t heard what he was being asked, too busy looking around the room. There wasn’t much to it. He’d applied the “this isn’t really my home” logic to the rest of the place. His furnishings were sparse, his lighting dim. There was the combination living room and kitchen, a bathroom door, and the doorway to his bedroom.

The kitchen contained only the appliances it came with and his coffee pot. The drawers held his starter set of silverware, and he had plastic cups in the cupboard.

The living room was “decorated” with one lamp, a fan, a fleur-de-lis patterned carpet he’d bought for $5 at a garage sale several years ago, a chair which at one point belonged to a table set, and a ragged loveseat.

His bedroom contained only a bed.

Nothing matched. He’d made no effort towards that even when he was living in a better place than this and now it mattered even less.

He busied himself with the coffee and was pouring in the water when the question slipped out of his mouth. “What’s your name?”

He heard a thump as the omega jumped, startled. “Huh?”

Blake turned his head to see the omega had been reaching to examine his lamp and had apparently hit his hand when he flinched, because he was shaking it out now with a grimace. “My name?”

“Yeah, dumbass. Your name. How can we talk about anything if I don’t know your name?”

“Oh.” The omega paused, tilting his head. “I’m Joshua. Just Josh, though.”

Well, that was underwhelming. Josh wasn’t exactly a name that stuck out when you talked to someone. Josh belonged to a person that could be easily forgotten. For some reason, Blake didn’t think that was going to be the case here.

After pushing the button to get the coffee started, he went into the living room, grabbed the chair and spun it around to sit in it backwards, hoping the solid back would help to disguise his half-hard shaft. It had gone down a little but not all the way and a sidelong glance would be able to catch sight of it.

Josh took this as a signal that he should sit down as well. He bent, his ass poking out before settling down onto the cushion. Just like that, Blake felt a rush of attraction surge up inside him and shuddered as his manhood ground against the material of his jeans.

“Thank you for listening to me,” Josh said quietly. “It means a whole lot. I didn’t think I’d even get this far.”

Blake grunted, shifting in his seat and trying to make it seem natural. “It’s not like you gave me all that much choice in the matter. But we aren’t even going to begin discussing that until the coffee’s done.”

Josh nodded. He also shifted in his seat. Blake looked at his lap, trying to detect if the other man was also sporting an erection, but he couldn’t tell. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to be able to tell. “Okay. We can talk about something else I was wondering about.”

“What?” While waiting for his answer, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his smokes again. He’d been needing that buzz more and more lately, though his level of craving stayed pretty much the same throughout the years. Stress was getting to him.

“Why did you move from the Dahlia Complex? Is it because of money?”

Blake snorted, focusing on the rasp of smoke against his lungs. “Something like that. I got kicked out.”

“You...oh.”

“Yeah.” It didn’t bother him much, but it still wasn’t a story he would enjoy telling. He could very easily have chosen not to but he had never taken the easy way out in his life, ever. Smoking on his cig, mulling over his words between puffs, he started the story as best as he could. “That day we saw each other, I got my ass canned. My pack bailed me out but my parents cut off payments to my apartment so I couldn’t pay my rent. So I got shuffled down here.”

Josh looked mystified. “Your parents were paying for your place?”

“No.” Then he growled irritably. Something about those pale eyes made him incapable of fudging the truth. He could see their true color now that they weren’t separated by two layers of glass, and they were liquid amber, like honeyed mead. “I just got support from them when I needed it. I don’t have a steady job.”

But I’m not telling you that I always needed it, and that I think career work is for soulless saps with their heads up their ass. So fucking lost in the system that they don’t know how to do anything but what they’re told.

But Josh nodded as if he understood. “My parents were...are...kind of paying for where I live, too. It’s their house.” His throat worked. “I mean, it’s mine now. They left it to me.”

“Left it...Oh. Sorry.” He looked away, flicking hot ash onto the rug. While he’d never been his parents’ favorite, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose them. He loved them in the obligatory sort of way all children know they must love their parents, but he didn’t exactly like them. They had never seen eye-to-eye on anything important, which was why he was almost estranged from them. They paid to have him out of sight, to focus on his more successful siblings.

Josh shrugged. “It’s okay.” But the way his voice cracked said that it wasn’t okay. “I don’t really have a job either. Not anymore. Um, is the coffee ready?”

The pot gurgled, signaling it was nearly finished with brewing. Blake started to stand before he remembered his little dilemma. The omega watched him and there was no way he wouldn’t see a bulging cock if it was right in front of his face.

Oh, what the fuck? We’re adults here.

He wasn’t ashamed of his package. In fact, he would gladly flaunt it any day of the week. What was it about Josh that made him hesitate, rethinking his own nature? Whatever it was, screw it. The whole point of this was to be himself so it would drive him away.

Holding onto that, Blake straightened up and slid backwards off the chair. His erection pressed hard against his thigh, clearly outlined. Something stirred in the air, telling him that Josh saw it, but he didn’t say anything about it.

Still...the air seemed to crackle with sparks around him as he moved.

The coffee pot continued to gurgle away but he could tell it was only seconds from being done, so he reached up into the cupboard to fetch a couple cups. He knew from experience that they could withstand hot coffee...barely.

“I’m not serving you,” he grunted.

The loveseat creaked as Josh stood up. He wandered over, rubbing the back of his neck with a grimace.

Blake glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, recalling how he had leaped so impossibly fast. “You probably gave yourself whiplash.”

“Yeah...Maybe.” The omega continued to grimace, massaging at muscles that would only grow stiffer and more painful as time went on.

Blake hesitated. Astonishingly enough, he did have some medicine in the bathroom but giving some to Josh would be an act of kindness he wasn’t quite sure he could afford. Then again, maybe he could hurt the other wolf’s feelings by being kind to him and then putting a stop to it, over and over until he grew tired of it. And though Josh had shown he had balls, Blake still didn’t think he’d last long. Clearly still torn up about his parents, he probably had a tender ego.

Glad to have a plan, Blake set the cups down on the counter. Heat emanated from the pot, warming his fingers. “Stay here,” he said, and went into the bathroom. One thing he couldn’t tolerate was a dirty bathroom. He was always the kind of guy who never took risks when he aimed, who religiously cleaned the toilet and shower. In only his first few weeks of living here, he had managed to rid most of the tiles of their grime and the mirror was practically new after he gave it a good wipe-down.

Opening the medicine cabinet, he drew out a bottle of aspirin and closed it again. Josh was waiting for him back in the kitchen, holding out a cup of coffee. “Here,” he said, a little shyly.

I won’t serve him but he’ll serve me? Just like an omega.

“Thanks,” he grunted. He shook the bottle of aspirin. “You might want some of these.”

Josh’s eyes brightened with relief. “Oh, thank you! But what about you? Your neck...”

Up until now he’d forgotten about his pain. Being reminded of it made him ache a little and he disliked the feeling of dried blood crunching and shifting on his skin when he moved, but he wasn’t particularly concerned with it. It wasn’t bleeding, and he was a shapeshifter. The bites he’d received in the attack would be nothing but scars by tomorrow, a testament to the combined healing prowess of man and animal.

“Not important. Here.” He offered the bottle again. Josh reached for it and their fingertips brushed together.

Blake was no stranger to a good fuck, but it was usually his groin doing all the talking. He hadn’t ever experienced anything like what happened when their fingertips slid together. The brief contact was like a strike of flint on stone, sending a cascade of sparks up his bloodstream to catch fire in every part of him. He burned from head to toe, skin flushing. Every breath was hot, every muscle tight and tingling. The intensity almost hurt, but at the same time, he wouldn’t have moved away at all given the choice. He could die like this and be just as happy.

Josh ruined it. He yanked his hand back and gripped it with the other, eyes flying open wide. “What...”

...was that? Blake finished the thought for both of them in his mind. And that was the last thing he thought for a very long while as his body took over, demanding what it needed, claiming what it wanted. Later on, much later, he would revisit what happened between them again and again to see if he could have done anything differently, but the end result would always be the same: he didn’t want to have done anything different, no matter how much he tried to tell himself that.

Reaching out, he grabbed at Josh’s hand and closed his eyes as the sparks intensified. The omega trembled and moved in closer, tempting with his nearness. Blake grabbed both hands now in one of his own, spasms shocking through him at how soft those fingers were. They were so pale, so thin, he couldn’t wait to see how they looked wrapped around him. But he didn’t want that yet.

He turned them away from the coffee pot and pushed Josh up against the wall of the kitchen, holding him there with a knee on either side of his body. Josh went willingly and might have been the one to move first. He looked every bit the epitome of an omega, absolutely delighted to be claimed.

Blake leaned in so their chests pressed together. He pressed his forehead against Josh’s, the tips of their noses touching. He saw his own darkness looking back at him from within those pools of sweet amber, and it only made him burn all the more.

“I’m going to own you,” he said. His hot breath hit Josh’s lips.

The omega whimpered again but it was a hot sound now, overheated with want. “Do it.”

And he lost control.

He brought his lips to Josh’s, claiming them with his own. Thrusting aside the usual dance of tongue, of chaste brushing of skin against skin, he broke all etiquette surrounding the first kiss and settled his mouth firmly on the omega’s. His lips forced Josh’s apart, allowing his tongue to enter. He thrust deep inside, tasting silken heat and wetness, pushing almost to the back of the other’s throat. Their lips ground together as he explored, claiming, taking, owning.

Josh shuddered underneath him, breath coming in rasping whimpers. He arched his back, pushing his hips forward. Through the sounds their mouths made together, it took Blake a few moments to realize that the other was actually saying something. He was begging, almost incoherent, forcing out broken syllables. “Take me...own me...take me...take me...kiss me...”

A hot thrill pulsed through his entire body. He pushed their hips together even harder, hard enough to make Josh gasp. But even the gasp was filled with a mix of pleasure, transforming into a moan halfway through. Blake continued to kiss him with feverish need while his other hand rose and started to roam. He held the omega at the delicate curve of his waist before sliding down under the hem of his sweater and then back up. His fingers encountered soft, shaven skin and firm abs. He went higher still, finding the turgid peak of a nipple and tweaking it, earning him another moan from Josh.

But now kissing wasn’t enough to satisfy him. The pleasure needed release in other ways, ways that made him pound deep in his groin. He bit at Josh’s lower lip, then slid fierce kisses down his chin and to his neck. Pressing his teeth against the omega’s sensitive throat, he prepared to bite, to claim, and only just managed to stop himself from doing so. Instead, he transformed his bite into a powerful nip and then shoved away from the omega, panting. He shuddered, breathless and a little stunned at what he’d been about to do. It wasn’t the plan.

He should have called it off right then and there, but Blake wasn’t in control of himself. The wolf inside needed this and he was powerless to its whim, as Josh was powerless to his.

Dropping down to his knees, the omega scrabbled at his fly with nimble fingers and somehow managed to get the zipper down. He whimpered with animal desire, pushing Blake’s jeans down just enough to reach into his boxers for his dick.

Blake leaned back against the fridge and felt it shift hard against the wall from the force he put against it. He looked down at himself as Josh worshipped him with needy, explorative caresses, his eyes drinking in the beauty of the tool before him. He was pale and veiny, covered in tracks of blue which now popped up from beneath his skin, like it was textured. The thatch of his pubic hair was as dark as his tip was red and swollen. He was engorged, dripping, ready, and the omega’s softness was driving him crazy.

He didn’t want to make love.

He wanted to fuck.

“Fuck me, cocktease,” he snarled, bucking his hips forward. “Suck me. Eat my cock!”

His tip pushed hard against Josh’s mouth. With a whimper, the omega let him in.

And then he was surrounded by moisture and wet heat, as his tongue had been when buried in that sweet mouth. He snarled out a gasp, groaning. His hands reached out, gripping at Josh’s hair and yanking at him, trying to push himself deeper inside. The omega complied. Omegas always complied. It was what they were made for.

Fuck receptacles, he’d heard some alphas called them.

But Josh was more than just a convenient hole for Blake to stick his cock in. He didn’t know in what way he meant that, but it was clear that the omega was more. It was more than just the way he was so obedient or how his tongue danced so exquisitely, as if they were participants in a ballet. His mouth worked sensual magic, his suction fierce, and he played with Blake’s balls as he worked, which was something no other omega had ever done when giving him a blowjob. As far as he was concerned, his balls weren’t sexual.

They were now.

Josh cupped them in his hand as if they were perfect fruit to be admired rather than plucked from the tree, feeling their heavy, soft weight and the firmer texture beneath the softness. Tossing his head back, Blake moaned.

“More...more!”

He felt himself being pulled in an inch further, then another. That was when he hit the back of Josh’s throat and it was too much. He ground himself forward, fucking the omega’s face, and then exploded. Spasms overtook his entire body, shaking him like an earthquake. He spilled his hot seed into the omega’s mouth, jet after jet of pulsing heat escaping him. The world spun around him for an eternity until he somehow managed to come back to himself.

It was almost a disappointment to find everything so much the same as he left it, when he came down off the cloud. He was only back in his kitchen after all with the fridge vibrating his back and his legs so weak he could barely stand. He did keep standing though, because alphas were trees which couldn’t be felled.

Josh still knelt before him, black curls of hair spilling all over the place. Some of it stuck out in spikes where Blake had grabbed it to hold onto him during his wild ride. His lips looked bruised from the fierce kisses he’d been given earlier and his color was high, his cheeks red. He looked good. He looked alive.

Blake looked at him and noticed just how much the lively expression on the omega’s face seemed to highlight the parts of him that weren’t so perfect, like the shadows under his eyes and the fact that his face was too thin. He felt strange inside, almost protective, but it was a sensation lost beneath another surge of burning desire as he looked at the omega in supplication before him. He wanted more, to be worshipped again.

No, he wanted more than that. He wanted to prove he was worth this attention.

“Get up,” he growled.

Josh got up for him, eyes glittering. His lips were left with a wet trail as he licked their tender curves. “I want...”

Blake didn’t care what he wanted. Only his own desire mattered. He reached out and grabbed Josh’s shoulders, turning him around and bending him over the counter so that pert ass of his stuck out. Blake swatted at it, loving the way it bounced so firmly and yet so softly for him. He was going to love sinking into there.

“Wait...we need...”

Blake was way ahead of him. After the swat, he turned and strode towards his bathroom. He didn’t need to turn the light on to open the medicine cabinet and withdraw what he needed: a tube of lube. The glimpse of him in the shadowy mirror was like seeing a sultry monster, and he snarled at himself on the way back.

Josh was waiting for him, jeans already puddled around his feet and his underwear at his knees. “That was fast,” he gasped out.

Not understanding what that meant, Blake grabbed two handfuls of that ass and squeezed, leaving bruises to remember him by later on. Then, he poured a dollop of lube on his fingers, spread the omega’s cheeks, and rubbed it all over his puckered opening. The wrinkle of dark flesh hidden deep within was one of his favorite places to see and touch, not just because it meant he was about to get laid, but because of how unique they were from one person to another. Some people noticed if your belt matched your shoes. Blake noticed your ass opening was like a fingerprint, and the wrinkled ridges were like the identifying whorls. As a guy who’d just been arrested, he knew a whole hell of a lot about fingerprints.

Josh’s opening was loose and ready for him, allowing his fingers ready access. He slid deep inside, leaving slick traces of lube as far back as he could reach. The omega gasped, his ass muscles struggling to keep him inside as he pulled back out. The suction was almost more than Blake could bear, almost enough to make him cum again. He was already hard as a rock once more.

“Please,” Josh begged.

Blake pushed him harder against the counter, gripped his hips, and shoved himself inside. He didn’t mess around with teasing, didn’t give the omega beneath him time to adjust. He groaned, control snapping, and started pounding inside the other man. He was shoving Josh against the counter, ramming him, snarling loudly, completely animal. How long it lasted, he didn’t know. It might have been an hour or only half a minute. He was lost in the motion, in the pleasurable agony of fucking.

When his orgasm came again, he threw his head back and groaned through it, then staggered backwards. He slid free easily and also let go of the omega at the same time. Josh slumped to the floor, breathless and panting. A wet trail dribbled down over the muscle of his inner thigh, a testament to his own orgasm.

For a while, neither of them spoke. What could be said? What words could even be adequate here to describe what just happened when neither of them really knew?

Blake dragged himself over to the loveseat and let his head sag back. His neck felt wet, as if he’d opened the wounds there, but his concern seemed very far away from the rest of him. Everything seemed far away, dulled around the edges, and it was only once he started dreaming he realized he was falling asleep.