I’d returned to work to retrieve my wallet and phone —which I’d forgotten yet again— when I heard someone in my boss’ office. A buzzing whirr, some muffled cursing… I had just walked Tobias to his car twenty minutes ago, so it had to be someone else.

This was how people stumbled on their soon-to-be murderers.

I was being silly, I knew. I was a friggin’ alpha wolf shifter, and I was frightened by a few sounds. But all through my childhood, my grandmother loved listening to audiobooks of mysteries set in a small town, solved by a feisty woman or old man everyone underestimated… and they always started like this. I readied myself for shifting and threw open the door.

Tobias froze like a demented flamingo, leaning slightly forward as he tugged at one shoe, and promptly toppled over. Luckily a partially-inflated mattress caught him, and he bounced once before scrambling to his feet.

“Did they send you?” he asked, wild-eyed. “Because I’m not here. I’m at Liam’s. No, I mean, the Puppy Orphanage, but I’ll happen to see Liam there and he’ll spontaneously offer to let me sleep over.”

“Who’s Liam?”

“What? Why?”

Because I’m irrationally jealous. “If I’m going to tell the police you’re sleeping with someone, I need to know who he is.”

“You’re calling the police?!”

“They’ll need to know where to look for your dead body!” He paled. Wait. There’s no murderer in here. Except possibly me, if the fear in his eyes was any indication. Transition, dude. Transition. “Sorry, my head was in a weird place. You’re hiding from… your family?”

“Yes.” Tobias tilted his head to the side, fear gone. “Does your brain often go to this weird place? Should I be concerned? Is it like a vacation home on Nantucket or a dragon-guarded cavern filled with gold and goblins?”

“There were never goblins in the dragon’s cavern. They were in the Misty Mountains, not the Lonely Mountain. And there weren’t even dwarves there by the time Smaug–” I caught myself. Now was not the time to let another conversation drift into hobbity places. Tobias always knew how to distract me. “I thought there was a burglar in here with murder on his mind. But it’s just a fruitcake with mommy issues.”

“I don’t have mommy issues,” he huffed, crossing his arms like a stubborn little boy.

“You’re running away from home. Your home.” As soon as I said it, I realized it wasn’t that unbelievable, considering what a hermit he’d be if left to his own devices.

“You’re damn right, I am! You saw the video from a couple of days ago. Can you blame me?”

“It seems like an extreme response. Maybe they can spend more time at the hotel? Or Jenny’s family can–”

Tobias flopped backwards onto the still-inflating mattress. “Noooooooo, they caaaaaan’t! There is no hotel! Anywhere! For the next week! Ohhhhhh thank god someone died and they got that room, at least.”

I wondered if that person was murdered — it would bring this conversation round full-circle. But no, that was less important than Tobias’ drama queen moment. He was still moaning quietly to himself.

I’d never seen him like this. The detached part of me that had been his assistant for the past three years found it hilarious, but the alpha in me that had gotten to know him over the past couple of weeks was desperate to save him from whatever was going on.

“No hotel? Or there is, next week, but they have to share it with a dead body?”

Tobias stopped moaning and looked at me like I’d grown three heads. “Why would anyone have to share a hotel room with a dead body? That’s horrible! What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m just trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Tell me about the hotel situation.”

And he did. Tobias talked and he talked and he talked while I deflated and packed up the mattress. When I was done and he showed no signs of ending anytime soon, I interrupted him. “Come on, you can tell me more in the car.”

“No!” He gasped and tried to pull the duffel out of my hand. “I can’t sleep there! You have no idea!”

I had some idea. “You’re staying at my place. Or Liam’s, I guess. Never mind, not Liam’s. I hate Liam.”

“Why? Liam looks like he’s a dick, but he is the sweetest little omega you’ve ever met! And have you even met Liam? Why would you– Ohhhhhhh.” He stood there, hands on hips, judging me for blindly hating a guy who wound up not being an alpha after all. Then tried to snatch the duffel while my guard was down. “I’m not staying at Liam’s, because I barely know the guy, and I definitely can’t stay with you! I can’t believe you destroyed my bed. Do you have any idea how long it takes to inflate?”

I let go of the duffel —if he wanted to carry it, more power to him— and I tossed his coat over his shoulders and wrapped his scarf around his neck. “Come on. My apartment has a shower and soap and it’s heated at night. You can take the bed, I’ll use the airbed.”

He argued, of course, because he was Tobias and always knew better than everyone. But he also followed me down the hall in that cute, trusting way he always had, knowing I’d have a well-reasoned plan for dealing with things he had no patience for.

We worried someone might notice if his car was left at work overnight, especially if we drove in together, so Tobias chose to follow me to my apartment building.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“I just want to make sure your GPS and phone are all set up before you–”

“Cut it out! I have managed to get myself from Point A to Point B safely for a decade.” He slapped my hand away from his dashboard and pushed on my head muttering, “You’re not my father.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” I said, removing myself from the car, which smelled so very much like him. Just before I shut the door, I murmured, “But if you ever feel the urge, feel free to call me Daddy.”

I winked and the sound of his sharp intake of breath went straight to my groin. Which was of course entirely appropriate when inviting my boss to stay with me overnight. I hoped Tobias didn’t change his mind and decide to sleep in his office… or at Liam’s.

My wolf paced inside me, elated and anxious, and I kept checking my rearview mirror to see if Tobias’ car was behind me. I would soon have him alone, in my tiny apartment, for hours and hours and hours. As friends. My wolf snorted a laugh — he’d considered Tobias to be mine since we first met, but I assumed it was just because he was an omega I chose to protect.

I reminded myself of the company’s new zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy, which I’d looked up as soon as our date ended. If two coworkers showed up one day mated/married, that would be admission of guilt. As if Larry in R&D thought his job would be affected if he didn’t agree to marry Joe in accounting.

As an omega, Tobias needed to work for a shifter-run company, considering the time-off necessary for heats and pregnancy. And he wouldn’t be able to get a job if he got a reputation as a loose-moralled or easily-swayed omega. And my own career depended on my boss’ recommendation, and nobody would take anything an omega boyfriend or mate said seriously.

I reminded my wolf that nothing could happen. Then I focused on passing the first good parking spot and taking the next one I could find.

I took a deep breath, then exhaled.

I will not jump my sexy boss.

Not in the car.

Not under the stars.

Not by firelight.

Well… maybe I might.

No! I will not jump him here or there.

I will not jump him anywhere.

I will not jump my sexy boss.

I will not jump you, To-bi-as!

Laughter pulled me out of my reverie. Tobias stood outside my door, and I must have said at least the last part aloud. My face heated and I hoped upon hope that it was dark enough that he didn’t notice. “Sorry, I was having a little Dr. Seuss moment.”

“Completely understandable. But, for the record, ‘boss’ and ‘Tobias’ don’t really rhyme. You kinda pushed it there.”

“Sorry, it was just a rough draft. You know how it is.” And I bet there would be many, many stanzas to come over the course of the night. I opened my door and the cheeky man stepped backward.

He allowed me to take his huge duffel and I led him into my embarrassingly shabby building. Tobias had a comfortably-sized two bedroom in a shiny, happy slice of suburban bliss near work, whereas I lived in a small fifth-floor walkup in a sketchier area that could best be described as not-unsafe. Considering I filled a vestigial position and was only supposed to be part-time, I was lucky I could afford this much — the greater New York City area was not cheap.

“How many roommates do you have?” he asked as we climbed the stairs. It was a fair question. Many wolves tended to live with other pack members or at least very close to them, but I’d hated the idea of sharing space with a stranger, and then I’d never gotten around to moving… or socializing with my new pack.

“I live alone.” I heard his pulse speed up, but I couldn’t tell what that meant. Stupid pheromone blockers made sensitive conversations so much more complicated! “Is that okay? Did you expect me to have a roommate or three as buffers? If you’re not comfortable, I can drive you wherever you need to go.”

“No, that’s great! I– I mean, great that you can afford to live alone. I doubt the company is paying you what they should, considering everything you do. But every year, they refuse to give you a raise.” His words shouldn’t have surprised me, but they did. I knew he appreciated my help. Sure, his feedback was usually impatient and unadorned, but it never hinted at contempt, and over the years he’d trusted me with more and more of his overflow. “What?”

“Thank you,” I told him, my voice embarrassingly thick.

“For what? Taking on extra projects to keep you busy?”

“Yes. And for trusting me to do them. I’ve been learning a lot over the past few years.” I was not the only Tobias-coding fanboy — a lot of guys in the office looked at his code and used it to guide their own. Of course, nobody wrote code as elegant as Tobias’, but we all had to start somewhere. In fact, that was probably why his sharp words had such impact and provoked so much ire.

He just shrugged off my words, and we walked the final two staircases in silence. On my keychain were three keys, but I still couldn’t figure out which one opened my door. Tobias sighed and took them from me, immediately finding the correct one and unlocking it himself.

“Holy crap! It’s so Malcolm-ish!”

Taking in the threadbare throw rug, lumpy-looking couch, and strip of a kitchen that hadn’t been updated in at least thirty years, I felt a bit insulted and grunted in derision.

“Oh, don’t be like that. It’s perfect. Comfy couch, woodsy paintings on the walls, a buttload of gadgets everywhere–”

“How many gadgets are in a buttload?” I asked, cutting off the rest of his assessment.

“Hmmm… One, two, three… At least five. I mean, if you’re not comfortable with the term, most people would call five a fistful.” He held his fist up meaningfully and chuckled at his own double entendre. I bit back a groan. This was going to be a rough night. I set his bag by the couch, which I’d definitely have to move onto the strip of kitchen once we set out the airbed.

Tobias looked off into nowhere and took in a deep breath. “Wow. Ummm… Yeah, this is definitely your home.”

Every nook and cranny of my home probably smelled like me. I didn’t know whether immersing my omega boss in my scent qualified as sexual harassment, but he stepped over to me and squeezed my arm. “I’m going to call my family to let them know I’m okay, and then I’ll order us some dinner. You go shower. There’s no point in wearing blockers when everything here smells like you. I’ll shower too. Not with you, of course, but we might as well be on even ground or else we’ll be awkward all night. And you did say you will not jump me here or there, you will not jump me anywhere…”

That sounded like a plan for a double dose of awkwardness, but I really did hate these blockers and so must he. I couldn’t tell how he felt about my Seussical promise, though, and I stood in the doorway to the bathroom trying to decide what to do. He snickered and flopped down on my couch, already dialing his phone.

“Oh crap, I hit FaceTi– Hey, mom!”

“What are you doing at Malcolm’s?” she asked without preamble. “Don’t you dare lie to me, young man. Nobody else has a couch like that and I helped you pick out that painting myself.”

Oh boy, was she perceptive. “Hi Candice! Don’t worry about your son — I don’t have designs on his person.” Did I sound sincere? At least I had no intention on acting on whatever ‘designs’ I did have.

“That’s a shame!” she teased.

I scoured my brain for something innocent to say. “We’re just going to work and maybe play some video games. It’s been at least a decade since I had an old-school slumber party!”

“You don’t have to play pretend, unless… Oh, Tobias! Did we run you out of your own home?!” his mother asked.

“He seemed to need a little alone-time, but hanging out at his friend Liam’s fell through. It’s no trouble at all, I promise!” I jumped to reassure her.

“Malcolm promised to pretend I’m just a murdered ghost haunting his living room… Or something like that. Anyway, he’ll ignore me completely and I promise I’ll bake him some cookies as a thank you.” Tobias looked over his shoulder at me and raised a brow.

Laughing, I waved at his mom, and went into the bathroom. I immediately turned on the shower and some music to drown out the rest of their conversation. I tried to focus on the music, but my mind kept wandering. It never occurred to me that Tobias had picked the paintings, not his sister. I already loved them and had been amazed that Jenny had chosen something that was so me, but now they took on new meaning.

Over the past month, I was coming to realize that the omega whom I’d worked with and taken care of was far, far more than he’d seemed. As my boss, he’d understandably kept me at a distance, and I was very aware that he did not have a good relationship with most of the rest of the company until I came around. But I was finally beginning to realize just how much I’d underappreciated how well we worked together.

I shucked my clothes and jumped into the shower, even though it hadn’t quite warmed up yet. If Tobias wanted me to wash these creepy chemicals off my skin, I was more than happy to oblige. I briefly considered taking the edge off my rubbing one off while I was in here, but that seemed a little rude. The heat and steam would make masking that activity nearly impossible.

I did, however, wash myself thoroughly, as if I was about to auction my family jewels on eBay. But that was all in the spirit of clear communication. The cleaner I was, the better he’ll be able to read my current moods. That was all. Really.

Most shifters were pretty casual about nudity, so it never occurred to me to wear a towel for the two-step trek between the bathroom and the bedroom… until I opened the door and Tobias looked up from his perusal of my video game collection.

“We’re totally playing Call to– oh!” His eyes slowly traveled up and down my body. I flexed a little and my cock began to harden, and Tobias jerked his head up to stare at the ceiling. “After my shower, I’m kicking your ass at Call to Arms. I ordered pizza and wings, and it’ll get here in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks, Tobias. There are clean towels on the rack in there. Do you need me to grab some sweats for you? They’re elastic and shouldn’t be too huge…”

“I’ve got some here.” He pulled a bunch of casual clothing out of his duffel and I stepped out of the way so he could enter the bathroom.

“As for Call to Arms,” I warned him just as he brushed past, “I am going to destroy your ass.”

He inhaled deeply and his eyes met mine, burning with a fire I could not read. “Promises, promises…”

Once the shower was on and I could hear him step into the spray, I did something borderline creepy — I shoved my head in his duffel and spent a few minutes inhaling his scent. But acclimating to his scent would keep me from getting too overwhelmed when he emerged from the shower, clean and blocker-free. It was all in the spirit of chivalry, but I kept my attention on the sound of the water. By the time Tobias emerged from the bathroom, I was slouching on the couch with my laptop high on my lap searching Amazon for last-minute Christmas gifts, and hopefully hiding my erection.

“Lead aprons?” he asked, and chuckled low in his throat. Okay, so my shopping was usually inspired by things I might need at a given moment. “Okay, we have four options to maintain our sanity. Well, five now.”

He sat down on my coffee table to face me, so I closed my laptop and folded my hands. “I’m listening…”

“We could spend all night wearing lead aprons.”

“They don’t do same-day delivery this late at night,” I countered.

“Good to know. I could leave.” He rolled his eyes at my involuntary growl. “I figured. Okay, so two down, three to go. We could jerk off and get it out of our system.”

Once would not get him out of my system. I was already going nuts after a single barely-there kiss weeks ago. “Tobias, I think you might be my Tr–”

His fingers on my lips stopped my words, then he pulled his hand back as if burned. “Yeah, umm… Don’t finish that. Let’s just agree that that strategy would not work.”

Saying it aloud would make it more real.

“What are we left with?”

“The obvious, awkward ones. We agree not to act on our urges, and either stay a minimum of three feet apart at all times or…” Tobias adopted an odd semi-relaxed slouch and drawled, “we can just be two bros, bro-ing around, like any other day.”

We both laughed our asses off at that, although I wasn’t sure if it was his impression of a ‘bro’ or how ridiculous our choices were. Probably both. Because neither one of us would acknowledge that the only real way to save our sanity was to give in. And then torpedo our careers.

Our only option was to ignore our attraction, our connection… our fatedness. Perhaps people were right and True Mates was just a fairy tale. Maybe being told I couldn’t have Tobias was what made me feel this so strongly. Didn’t matter.

Tonight I would channel my inner thirteen year old — most of my teenage years were spent in a constant state of arousal and frustration, enjoying friends’ company. I could do this. “We need to spend the whole night acting like dude-bros.”

“Awesomesauce!” Tobias held his hand out and we fist-bumped. Then the door buzzed and he knocked over the coffee table in his excitement. “Food’s here! Oh man, I could eat my weight in pizza and wings.”

“Duuuuuude!” Ugh. I sounded more stoner than bro. But I had to do a voice if he was doing a voice. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m so there. Let’s see if you can keep up with my awesome eating game.”

He snort-laughed at me and it was adorable. He needed to do that more often. The pizza guy arrived weighted down with four pizzas and four dozen wings, thoroughly confused at the sight of just the two of us, alone in the apartment, on a Wednesday night.

Tobias radiated happiness and contentment as he shoved food in his face like a professional competitive eater. I’d never seen him like this, making nyummy sounds, Buffalo sauce and blue cheese coating his face, and guzzling Dr. Pepper. His soft, fitted grey t-shirt proclaiming ‘Let me drop everything and fix your problem!’ had a slice of pepperoni on it, which slowly fell to drop into his lap.

He had never looked sexier. And I was discovering a bizarre new kink. But judging by the position of the pepperoni, I was not alone.

After twenty minutes, we were both sprawling on the couch like beached whales, surrounded by empty food containers. Only one pizza and a ‘fistful’ of wings remained.

“Whyyyyy did you let me do this, bro?” he moaned.

“Whyyyyy did I let you talk me into this, bro?” I groaned back. He snickered at my Bro Voice, which would therefore be my voice for the rest of the night. And I might have to pull it out occasionally at work.

Despite being disgustingly full, Tobias and the scent of his arousal increased my own arousal, which he could smell, and we were creating an infinite loop that could only end in a nuclear explosion. He must have come to the same conclusion, because he challenged me to a Call to Arms duel. When we saw that Buzz and his friends were online, we roped them in too. The two of us against the three of them. Just when things got interesting, Tobias’ phone chimed a lullaby.

“Sorry, dudes! We gotta bounce. Wakin’ up at the ass-crack of dawn, bro!” I told them, reaching out and removing Tobias’ headset so he couldn’t argue. They laughed at me and wished us a good night. I signed us off and shut down my PlayStation, much to Tobias’ disgust.

“I hate you so much,” Tobias whined. “Why did you have to schedule a bedtime into my phone?”

“Because you weren’t getting enough sleep. Duh.”

He helped me pick up the food containers and move the couch, and then we waited for the mattress to inflate.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

“I think it has a leak.” I unplugged the thing and began to roll it up. “You take the bed, I’ll take the couch.”

“No way, José. It’s your bed and you’re way bigger than me. I’m totally taking the couch. Totally.” He had devolved into surfer dudespeak, but a bro who talked like me couldn’t afford to throw stones. And there was no way I was letting my omega sleep on a couch while I was in a bed.

“Nope. I can spray blockers on the mattress, and you can use all your own bedding. But you’re sleeping in a bed.” I was putting my foot down. We weren’t at work and I could be as bossy as I wanted to be. Within reason. “If you try to sleep on the couch, then I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Dude! You are not sleeping on the floor in your own apartment!” he shouted at me. “And you dropped your bro-voice. Not cool.”

“Sorry. But seriously, if you try to sleep on the couch, I’ll sneak into the room as soon as you fall asleep and bodily carry you into my bed… bro.”

“You’re going to be obnoxiously alpha about this,” he said in a way that let me know I’d won. I nodded and tried not to grin, but lost the battle. “Fine, be that way. But… well… the bed is big enough for the both of us. And, I mean, we’re bros.”

That was such a horrible idea.

So of course I said, “Yeah, it’s totally big enough, bro.”

We moved the couch back, brushed our teeth, and then stood beside the bed awkwardly like we were in a 1950s rom-com.

“I’ll take the side closer to the door,” I decided, as if ninjas might attack us in the middle of the night. “How about we get some cushions from the couch and put them down the middle?”

“Dude, we’re bros! Bros don’t need a pillow wall taking up half the bed, just to protect their chastity.”

“What if–”

“Bro, use your bro voice…” Tobias waggled a finger in my face. I nipped it. We were standing dangerously close. Hearing his intake of breath was enough to turn my semi into a full-blown erection that tented my sweats obscenely… and bumped into his. “Are you trying to start a swordfight, bro?”

“Sorry.” I stepped back, ashamed of myself. I could do better than this.

“Let me guess… Not in a bed, or on a sled. Not in a tree, or on high seas.”

I started to snicker. It had been an extremely fun, yet tense, evening and I was getting a little punchy. “It’s definitely sleepy-bye time, bro.”

Tobias walked around to his side of the bed and we each slipped under the covers. He reached out a hand. “Good night, bro.”

I bumped his fist with mine. “Sweet dreams, bro.”

I hugged the edge of the bed and tried to ignore Tobias’ scent, which seemed to be getting stronger over the course of the evening. I didn’t want to wake him up by moving, but I was really uncomfortable, and then he threw a leg out from under the covers and I did the same.

The clock on the nightstand mocked my efforts to sleep.

“This is ridiculous. We’re ridiculous,” Tobias blurted.

“What? Why?” I rolled over to face him to find he was on his side in the middle of the bed. He smelled so good. Practically irresistible.

“Who says a bro can’t snuggle another bro?” His voice was husky and scent was strong with all the same crazy emotions that were racing through me — anxiety, lust, tenderness, need, and the thrill of the forbidden. I could feel the heat from his body a few inches away.

Tobias reached out a tentative hand and lightly caressed up and down my arm. When I didn’t push him away, he slowly moved the hand to my back. Then he scooched closer, slowly but surely, until our chests touched when we breathed, our knees overlapped, our erections bumped each other’s hips, and his head was tucked into my neck.

“Tobias…” I whispered, unsure whether I should push him away, or draw him closer, or roll over him and fuck his brains out.

“You and I both know that the moment we first scented each other, we accidentally crossed a line we can’t uncross,” he said. And that was true — I’d been off-kilter ever since that evening, and a curious peace came over me at having him here, in my home, in my bed, and in my arms. And he felt it too. “I’ve been marinating in your scent all evening and I’ll never be able to sleep if I can’t feel your skin against mine. Why deny ourselves?”

My cock twitched against him and his own arousal intensified. That was answer enough. But I needed to hold him just a little bit longer, so I teased, “You’re not using brospeak.”

Tobias was silent a moment and I felt him smile against my neck. “Bro, I’m gonna cuddle you so hard! In fact, I know I can cuddle way better than you cuddle. I dare you to out-cuddle me!”

“You’re on!” I pulled him crushingly close, chuckling. “Bro, you’re going down!”

“Nope! Just… cuddling…” he wheezed. “We should… have a… point… system…”

“Five points for creativity, five for technical skill, and five for overall performance. But you’re disqualified if you don’t say ‘No Homo’ at the end,” I suggested. But he continued to cough and I relaxed my grip. “Maybe we should just freestyle.” His dick twitched against my hip and his arousal ramped up further. I felt as though we were nearing the first crest of a rollercoaster, and this might be my last chance to nobly crank things down. “Actually, we should try to sleep, bro.”

“Probably,” he murmured.

We relaxed into the embrace. His warm breath ruffled my hair with each exhalation. I felt singed by the searing heat wherever his skin touched mine. I stayed as still as possible but after a short while, Tobias began to get restless. He tangled his legs with mine. His hand crept up my back until he tangled his fingers in my hair. And he nuzzled my alpha gland.

“Bro,” he whispered and began to kiss up my neck. “Have you ever heard of a circle jerk? Or a helping hand? Or a bro job?”

“Tobias…”

“Just bros being bros.”

“Tobias…”

He pulled his head back just enough to look me in the eye. “What if your sexy boss jumped you?” I groaned and rested my forehead against his, but didn’t answer. “Malcolm, please… I need…”

We hung there, on the peak of the rollercoaster. I drew in a deep breath to steady myself, but it had the opposite effect. That hint of spiciness and musk in his scent that I’d detected earlier had intensified exponentially. His skin and breath were unusually hot. He was restless and practically begging, both of which were completely out of character.

The omega in my arms had gone into heat early.

I’d heard people say that exposure to a True Mate could trigger it, but I’d heard people say all kinds of odd things about omegas’ fertility. Regardless, heats could be almost painful for omegas who tried to ride them out alone. And I couldn’t imagine letting my omega be in pain if I could do something to ease it.

In other words, I had my sexy omega boss —possibly my True Mate— in my bed asking me to give in to the feelings I’d been fighting for weeks. I would have given in anyway, but now I had a noble excuse.

I kissed him. Finally. I’d been building a plan of how our first real kiss would go: slow and seductive, respectful yet lusty… Nope. That didn’t happen. At all. Our lips touched and it was explosive. He immediately opened to me and I plundered his mouth. He tasted of toothpaste and Tobias. He lured me inside with a little moan, then his fingers tightened in my hair and he caught my tongue with his teeth… and sucked on it. I nearly came on the spot.

He chuckled evilly, released me, and sat up. “So… what’s the verdict, bro?”

“Anything,” I rasped.

“Anything?” He looked far too surprised.

“Yes, Tobias. Anything. All the things. Even things bros don’t do.”

He stared at my tented sweats and licked his lips. “Then we should undress. I want to do everything, but first… Do you have condoms?”

“Condoms? Yes.” I jumped out of bed and tore off my clothes, then fished around in the nightstand until I found two condoms. I held them aloft, intending to shout something triumphant, but all thought fled my mind.

Tobias kneeled in the center of the bed completely nude, lightly stroking his dick. Ivory skin glistened in the moonlight. I dropped the condoms on top of the nightstand, intending to join him, but he growled, “Put one on.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

I tore open that packet and rolled it on so fast you’d think I was trying to set a world record.

When I looked back up at him, a teasing smile curved his lips. “Eager to knot me?”

“You have no idea.” I’d spent countless hours in this bed, fantasizing about being inside him, of his walls hugging me as I swelled within him…

I crawled onto the bed and kissed him, hard and fast. I crowded him until he lay down on his back, batted his hand away from his dick, and replaced it with mine. He whimpered and fucked up into my hand.

“P- please,” he begged, and I was happy to oblige. I kissed my way down his slender, firmly-muscled body, feeling his abs flex under my tongue, then followed the narrow trail of hair down to… He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me up toward him. “Explore later. Need you.”

I chuckled against his skin and licked the drips of precum, enjoying the tang of flavor bursting in my mouth.

“Mal!”

“I have to open you up.” I squeezed the firm, round globes of his ass, and was surprised to see slick dripping from his ready, eager hole. “Wow.”

“Omega. Alpha,” he explained.

And I felt like an idiot. To be fair, though, I’d only been with an omega a few times before, and although bodies really did ready themselves in response to alpha pheromones, it was nothing like this. I swirled two fingers around his entrance, exploring the feel of his slick, stretching him to be sure he was relaxed enough to accommodate my girth.

Tobias whimpered and wriggled, so I withdrew my fingers and lightly smacked his ass. He swiftly rolled onto all fours, presenting himself to me. I wanted to memorize the sight, but I could smell the spicy tang of heat underlying the musk of his arousal and felt him burning up under my hands, and understood his urgency.

I used the slick on my fingers to lubricate my cock and placed it at his entrance, before slowly sinking into his tight, wet heat.

“Yesssss,” he sighed in pleasure and relief, and my wolf growled in triumph.

The last shred of self-control had snapped. I wasn’t sure how long I’d last, but I grabbed his hips and took him, hard and fast. His whimpers and cries spurred me on as I pounded into him, hitting his prostate every time. The knot at the base of my cock began to swell for the first time, began to tug deliciously at his entrance with each withdrawal until I was forced to take shallow thrusts.

So close. So, so close.

I covered his body with mine, needing to feel all of him beneath me. My canine teeth lengthened and my wolf growled at me to bite Tobias, claim him as my own. Permanently. But I resisted, pressing my face to his back. Not yet.

I snaked a hand around and, the moment I wrapped my fingers around him, Tobias cried out and began to come.

His passage tightened around me, tying us together. I was overwhelmed by the intense pleasure at my knot locking within him, and my world exploded.

I came with a shout and, with each throb of my knot, Tobias keened and warmth spilled over my fingers. I held him close as he shuddered and shook in my arms, rolling us to lie on our sides. We continued to feel aftershocks until my knot finally began to subside.

“That was… intense,” I murmured into his hair, once I was finally able to form words.

“Yes it was,” he sighed and hugged the arm I had wrapped around him. “I want to do all the things. But…” he yawned.

“We have all night. Sleep, for now.”

Within seconds, his breathing evened out and he began to snore. Twenty minutes later, my knot had finally deflated enough for me to withdraw. The condom felt a little odd, and I stood to look at it in the light from the window. It had a tear running down from the top, from where my knot had swollen.

It was a standard, human condom.

Alphas only formed a knot when they were with an omega, and I hadn’t slept with an omega since college, where the student health center distributed condoms like candy. In the rest of the world, condoms for alphas —Knotters— were expensive and shifter stores were the gossip hub of the community. I’d always assumed the extra-wide ones would do in a pinch.

Apparently not.

But the tear was at the top of the condom, nowhere near the tip. No big deal. I could get Knotters in the morning, from another pack’s territory. I tied off the leaky condom and returned to snuggle under the covers.

“Malcolm…” Tobias whispered and turned in my arms, awake and hard again. He nipped at my lips and ran his hot hands over my body.

“Baby, the top of the condom tore. But just at the top,” I warned him while I still could think rationally. “Apparently, regular condoms can’t handle a knot, and I don’t have any Knotters.”

“S’okay. There’s so much more I want to do to you…” He smiled against my lips and matched actions to words.