21. The Bite That Binds

TWENTY-ONE

THE BITE THAT BINDS

High Enfield Accident & Emergency was not a place Oliver expected to visit again so soon, and as the nurse came at him with a long needle, he decided enough was enough.

“Oliver Jamie Reed, get back here right this second!” Nancy called, sprinting down the corridor after him.

Oliver giggled as he weaved between small clusters of patients and medical staff, dragging the IV drip behind him. He wore a baggy, chequered hospital gown that hung just above his knees and let a rather unpleasant draft circulate around his nether region. On top of that, he absolutely stank of alcohol wipes. The kind that could make someone's nostril hairs wither. The nurses had done their best to clean him up, but there was only so much one could wipe a determined escape artist.

“What are you doing ?” Nancy demanded, finally catching up with him at the hospital cafe.

“Getting a drink,” he said, reaching for two pint glasses that were filled to the brim with lemonade. “I’m fucking thirsty.” The man behind the counter raised an eyebrow as he handed Oliver the drinks.

Nancy’s expression softened as she pulled a glass out of his hand and set it on a nearby table. “I know, love. But your arse is hanging out, and the nurse needs to check your bloods again.”

“My arse is not—” he began, reaching around the back of his hospital gown to discover that his arse was indeed hanging out. Yelping, he swiftly sat down on a rickety plastic chair and grimaced as the cold, germ-ridden surface touched his bare bum.

“Nancy, where the hell are my clothes?” He said, shifting uncomfortably back and forth.

The beta sighed and pulled up a seat. “Ollie, babe, we’ve had this conversation five times in the last thirty minutes. Your clothes were cut off because you were covered in drugs. With the amount of times you shifted in the back of the ambulance, the only thing they could get you in was a hospital gown.”

As she spoke, Oliver caught the eye of an elderly couple sitting at the next table along. They looked him up and down, wrinkling their noses in disgust. It annoyed Oliver to no end, so he sprung out of his seat before Nancy could get a grip on him. “I am a police officer, not a drug addict,” he said, pointing and shaking his finger.

“Oliver, for the love of God, your arse…” Nancy stood behind him as she tried to pull the robe together. “Sorry both. He’s a paranoid schizophrenic, can’t separate fantasy from reality. I’m his carer. Come on now dear,” she said, trying to usher him out of the dining room.

“I am not! And she is not my carer!” He shouted, cursing as the cannula snagged the back of his hand.

“See, now you’re running around with your arse out and terrorising the elderly. Time to get you back to your cubicle, Ollie.”

Oliver huffed. “I don’t want to, Nance. It’s boring as shit up there.”

“Do I need to call your brother?”

Oliver shivered. “No. No, you do not .”

“Good. I’m glad we agree.” She gestured towards a set of double doors at the far end of the corridor. “In your own time, love.”

“Nancy, where are my clothes?”

“For the love of—get in there now ,” she said, shoving him through the doors.

There was a series of squeals and sighs as he stepped back into the triage bay. It was a circular room with a row of desks nestled in the centre of several blue-curtained cubicles. The nurses appeared to have abandoned their stations, in favour of something to the left of the double doors. Curiosity getting the better of him, Oliver’s feet slapped on the linoleum floor as he padded towards the gaggle of white uniforms.

“I can get that for you,” one red-haired omega nurse said, fluttering her eyelashes.

“No, I can!” Another cut her off, practically pushing the first out the way.

Oliver craned his neck to see over the gathering, eyes narrowing when he saw a dishevelled and shirtless Lucas leaning against the curtain pole like Mr fucking Darcy. He had little monitoring stickers all across his chest, which Oliver suspected were totally unnecessary. Still, he couldn’t blame the staff for wanting a look.

“That’s alright,” Lucas said, running a hand through his hair. “I can manage.” That alone drew another round of lustful sighs from the gathering. A male nurse ran his fingers across Lucas’ shoulder, so Oliver scoffed and rattled his IV toward the fawning medical staff.

“Do you mind?” he snapped, dropping the IV back onto its wheels with a clatter. The nurses turned towards him. “I have very important business with this man.”

The staff narrowed their eyes, before one whispered, “Pst, that’s his colleague.”

That was just plain rude.

“Colleague?” Oliver scowled, “I am not his?—”

“Hi,” Lucas said, raising a hand with a lazy smile.

“Hello,” Oliver replied, glowering as though someone had just pissed on his chips.

The staff glanced between them, whispering behind raised hands as Oliver stepped forward. He parted the white uniforms like Moses and the red sea, before pressing a hand to Lucas’ chest. He leaned up on his tiptoes and brushed a featherlight kiss to the alpha’s lips. It drew a round of shocked gasps from the group, and Oliver gave himself a self-satisfied smirk as he leant into Lucas’ chest.

“As you were,” he barked.

“Christ on a bike, you two,” Nancy said, bringing her hand up to her face. “This is a hospital . You are professionals . And Ollie, your arse is still on display.” Oliver knew his arse was on display because Lucas’ hand had drifted straight to it.

“Detective Constable Reed!” a stern voice called over the triage suite. “Get back to your cubicle immediately !”

The nurses dissipated as the same stout nurse from his previous admission stomped across the ward. Except she wasn’t a nurse, she was the ward matron, and Oliver paled as she approached with an unopened syringe packet clutched between her fingers. She looked mightily pissed off, as a strand of hair escaped her tightly coiffed bun.

“Between the two of you, my staff have gotten no work done this morning.” She levelled a finger at Lucas. “ You , for being too handsome and distracting,” her finger slid to Oliver, “And because you have tried to escape every two minutes.”

Oliver tutted and pointed at himself. “I think you mean I’m the handsome one.”

Lucas chuckled and pulled him tighter against his chest. “You are the most handsome, Reed.”

“Gross…” Nancy muttered.

Then they were pressing their faces together, Oliver’s arms winding around Lucas’ neck like a snake. One half of his brain knew it was extremely unprofessional and he should probably just slope back into his little side room, but the other half wanted to let everyone in the triage suite know that Lucas was his .

“Enough!” the matron shouted, pulling them apart. “I know you were exposed to Love Dust, but heavy petting is not permitted on the ward. I need one more set of readings from both of you, then you can fuck off out of my hospital.”

Oliver tutted as he untangled his arms. “You made her swear,” he said, pouting at Lucas as he allowed himself to be led away. The alpha’s eyes trailed down the open line of his hospital gown, darkening as they reached the curve of his arse.

“Pervert,” Oliver called, over his shoulder.

“Here,” Nancy said, handing him a grey custody tracksuit. “It’s the best I could do, unless you want me to drive you home in your hospital gown.”

Oliver groaned as he held his head in his hands. “Thanks Nance, but I think the world has seen enough of my bum for one day.”

The beta nodded. “More than enough. You’ve got a good waistline, though. I’ll give you that.”

He dressed quickly, despite the ache spreading across every inch of his body. Pulling off spectacular arrests and daring takedowns whilst riding an adrenaline rush was one thing—but dealing with the bodily pain and pulled muscles afterwards was all together miserable.

“The drugs have worn off, but trace amounts will show in your system for a few more hours, Mr Reed. So no driving or operating heavy machinery,” the matron said, pulling the cannula out of his hand. Wincing, he was about to ask if six foot five mafia bosses fell in the realms of ‘heavy machinery,’ but she looked thoroughly done with his shit. “Your mate is waiting for you by the double doors. Now piss off.”

“T-Thanks,” he said, smoothing the dressing on the back of his hand. “And, er, sorry about… you know.”

The matron’s expression softened for a fraction of a second, before she whipped back the blue curtain and marched across the triage bay. “Right, you lot, back to sodding work!”

Something was different between him and Lucas as they made their way out of the hospital. Oliver felt needy, and weak as he tucked himself so far under the alpha’s arm, they were practically sharing a jacket. Lucas gripped the back of his neck, fingers shielding the unbitten patch of skin just above his shoulder. The tension between them grew and grew and grew as they approached Nancy’s car, neither saying a word as they walked.

Nancy looked them up and down, frowning as she opened the door. “So… you sitting on his lap, or what?”

“N-No,” Oliver replied, reluctantly peeling himself away from the alpha. However, within thirty seconds, he edged towards Lucas in the back of the car.

For God's sake, Nancy’s right there!

The beta shook her head as she glanced at them in the rear-view mirror. She flicked on the radio but swiftly turned it off again when a soppy love song came on. “Pendle Cross, right?”

“Y-Yeah. Please,” Oliver replied, his throat straining as the alpha’s scent made his whole body tingle. Lucas pressed his face into his hair, warming Oliver’s scalp with the heat of his breath. He didn’t speak, or move, or even open his eyes for that matter. Only breathed.

“You okay?” Oliver whispered, running his fingers across the top of Lucas’ thigh.

The alpha shifted slightly, a low sound rumbling in the back of his throat. Dropping his mouth next to Oliver’s ear, he said, “Do you remember what you said to me, Reed? During the raid.” His voice was breathy and thick, like he’d just been disturbed from sleep.

Oliver flushed as he turned his face into the alpha’s shoulder. “I said… I… think you’re a lovely person.”

Lucas let out a disapproving hum. “Try again,” he whispered, nipping his earlobe.

Oliver squeezed his thighs together. “I—uh—said, I think you have nice eyes.”

Lucas practically purred next to his ear. “Again”

Before Oliver even knew what he was doing, he turned his head into the crook of the alpha’s neck, swallowing as an involuntary rush of saliva coated the inside of his mouth. He sucked Lucas’ throat, kissing and mouthing the skin around his Adam’s apple.

“You have a wonderful smile—” he whispered, almost letting out a moan as the alpha pressed a hand to the inside of his thigh. “And really sexy hands. And arms, and legs, and arse, and co?—“

“Jesus Christ, I’m dropping you at The Cherry Tree,” Nancy said, stomping her foot down on the accelerator.

Frowning, Oliver pulled his mouth away with a wet smack. “What? Why? My flat’s only round the corner.”

“Yeah, but the hotel is closer. It’s two o’clock in the afternoon. I’ve worked all night, and I cannot deal with you two groping each other in the back of the car. Another second and I’ll be driving myself to the sodding morgue.”

Oliver sniffed. “Consider it your punishment for dropping thirty kilos of Love Dust.”

“ No , making me the new exhibits officer is punishment enough. This is just the cherry on top of a shit flavoured cake. Oh look, we’re here. Now get out and have a cold shower. Both of you.”

Tutting, Oliver tapped Lucas’ chest. “Nancy, that’s the sergeant you're talking to.”

“And that’s the sergeant you’re tonguing in the back of my car.”

Flushing, he replied, “He’s not my sergeant.”

“Only because you couldn’t keep your grubby little hands off each other! Now, au revoir, toodaloo, off you pop. I expect more professionalism from the two of you tomorrow.” And then, they were both shoved under the front porch of The Cherry Tree Hotel, dust kicking up behind Nancy’s tyres as she drove away.

“Is she alright?” Lucas said, scrubbing a hand across his chin.

Oliver nodded. “Yeah. She always gets like that when she’s tired. Same as Matteus. Speaking of which… please don’t tell him about this.”

Lucas chuckled as he pressed a hand to the nape of Oliver’s neck, leading him into the hotel. The tension roiling in his gut returned almost immediately, and Oliver could feel tiny sparks of something radiating down his legs. Pinpricks peppered his vision and his breathing grew increasingly unsteady as the alpha’s thumb rubbed little circles over the mating gland in the crook of his shoulder.

“Stop that,” he whispered feebly. The words quickly followed by, “Hurry,” as he pressed himself under the alpha’s arm again. Lucas’ nostrils flared as he hauled Oliver past the reception desk?—

“Good Morning Mr White, and—er?—”

—down the corridor, up two flights of stairs, and down another long corridor.

The air grew hot as a thin sheen of sweat coated Oliver’s skin. “Lucas…” he whimpered, “Lucas, what’s happening? Is it the drugs?” Because it felt like he was going into heat again. Minus the horrific cramping, plus, plus, plus the painful ache in his groin.

“No,” Lucas replied, his pupils blown wide open.

“Oh shit,” Oliver mumbled.

His inner wolf whimpered as the grip on his self-control began to ebb away. But then the alpha turned his warm eyes on him, and despite the hunger in his gaze and urgency in his step, all of Oliver’s fear evaporated.

“I’m going to make a mess of you,” Lucas said, gently squeezing his neck. “Until you can’t string a sentence together.”

Oliver’s lips parted as a sultry sound slipped out. “Oh?—”

When they reached room 2359, Oliver’s legs were shaking so badly he had to grip Lucas’ arm to keep himself upright. As Lucas yanked off his clothes and peeled down Oliver’s jogging bottoms, he realised he was, without any doubt, wet.

“Oh—” he mouthed again, blinking down at his own rock hard cock as though it hadn’t been standing to attention for the last hour.

“Here. Now,” Lucas growled, a thin sheen of sweat giving his skin a bronzy glow.

He was like a God, standing there with his chiseled frame, tousled hair and rock hard cock. Oliver wanted to worship at the altar of Lucas White, so without another word he dropped to his knees, parted his lips, and took the alpha in his mouth.

Salty pre-come splashed over his tongue as he pushed back the alpha’s foreskin with his lips. The tip alone engulfed his mouth, and he had to stretch his jaw wide to accommodate it.

Lucas tugged roughly at his hair, guiding his mouth back and forth across the head as it slid between his lips with a salaciously wet sound. His tongue glided over the pulsating vein that followed the entire length of his shaft, before lapping at the sensitive slit on the underside.

Oliver touched himself whilst wrapping a hand around the base of Lucas’ cock, massaging the half-hidden knot between his fingers. It pulsated and burned under his touch, like it was begging him for release. Lucas growled and tipped his hips forward, filling Oliver’s throat and almost making him gag.

“I wish you could see yourself,” Lucas whispered, pressing the pad of his thumb to Oliver’s wet chin. “Your beautiful lips wrapped around my cock, eyes watering as you swallow it down.”

Oliver groaned around the alpha’s length, before he found his back crashing across the crisp white sheets, knees tipped up as Lucas’ head worked its way between his thighs. His hips rocked of their own accord as Lucas mouthed his crease, tongue drawing a tortuous line from his hole to his balls. Shocks spasmed up his legs as they curled around his shoulders, drawing him in and trapping his face against his arse.

“Fuck!” Oliver keened, toes curling as Lucas sunk two fingers inside him, all the way to the knuckles. His body shuddered, threatening release the moment the alpha was inside him. Not now. Not yet. Just a little longer.

His back arched as Lucas pressed forward, hanging over him as though he were a cornered rabbit. They both moaned, long and loud, their mouths hot as furnaces as they nipped, bit, and claimed one another’s lips with the ferocity of wild animals.

Their wolves circled one another, testing their mettle, daring the other to submit first as the bed frame shook. They rolled around, getting tangled up in the sheets until it was impossible to tell which way was up. Feathers flew from the duck down pillows as Oliver kicked one from the bed, sending it careening into the bedside table as a reading lamp went flying.

Suddenly they were on the floor, the hardwood cracking beneath Oliver’s shoulder blades as Lucas dragged his thighs around his waist. He was breathing hard as the sandy wolf snapped and growled in the back of his mind.

‘Mate. Mate. Rutt. Mate.’

He wanted it. Wanted it rough. Wanted it soft and slow. He didn’t care, he just wanted it, immediately. “Fuck me,” he snarled, the pressure in his spine verging on unbearable. “Please. Alpha, please,” the demands turning to pleads.

Lucas growled, his teeth bruising Oliver’s neck as he flipped him over, pulling his hips up and spreading his knees, exposing him completely. Oliver ground his arse back against the alpha’s cock, mewling as the hard line pressed against his wet hole. He needed release, needed to be claimed, needed, needed, needed until there was only need left.

“Bite me,” He whimpered. “Please Lucas, give me the bite.”

Lucas groaned, pressing his cheek against Oliver’s shoulder blades. “You said you wanted a clear head,” he said, brows furrowed as his lips curled back over his fangs.

“My head—has never—been clearer.” Oliver panted, twisting in the alpha’s grip until he was facing him again.

He was restless. Agitated to such a degree that he couldn’t ground himself in the moment. But that, in itself, told him everything he needed to know. He needed an anchor. Someone to hold his injured heart and battered body with all the tenderness he struggled to find in himself. He needed someone who would love him just the way he was. He needed his mate. His alpha. He needed Lucas.

Lucas stared down at him, eyes softening as he splayed a hand across Oliver’s stomach, stilling the frantic writing of his body. “It’s alright,” he whispered, pressing a string of featherlight kisses to his sweaty forehead. “It’s okay, I’m here, I’m here, I’m here.” A few breaths passed, then, “I have never hidden my feelings, Reed. So if there is any doubt in your heart, you must tell me. If I give you the bite, there’s no going back for me.”

The world dimmed in Oliver’s periphery, despite the daylight pouring into the room. I’m here, I’m here, I’m here. The words echoed in his brain, calming his racing heart and frayed nerves. His body felt free as the final link from the agony of his past fell away.

“I love you,” Oliver said, quiet at first, as though the words were just a thought. But then he said them louder, and louder still, until he was practically screaming them against Lucas’ neck. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the alpha held him, the weight of his body an anchor in itself. “I trust you,” he finally said, hands shaking as they gripped Lucas’ shoulders. “I trust you .”

The expression that melted across Lucas’ face was enough to break and mend his heart a thousand times. It was the look of a blind man, seeing colour for the first time, or a parent holding their newborn child. Relief mixed with surprise, mixed with overwhelming happiness. Then Lucas rocked forward, burying himself deep inside Oliver’s body as the need to claim and be claimed overcame them both. They shuddered, and Oliver clung to Lucas with his head tipped back in an utterly vulnerable display of submission.

‘Claim. Mine. Yours,’ the wolf inside him howled, as Lucas closed his jaws around his throat.

Electric pain spasmed through his body as the sharp shock of teeth on flesh made his back lift and toes curl against the wooden floor. He cried out as Lucas clamped both arms around his writhing body, holding him, and holding him, and holding him, until the initial sting of broken skin tempered to a throbbing ache.

The alpha’s hips started moving, staccatoing back and forth with such force that Oliver was shoved across the floor. It was a rut. A true, feral, alpha rut that he had only glimpsed during the heat. Lucas had been holding back, and that in itself was terrifying and exhilarating, and his body shook with excitement.

Growling, he gripped Lucas’ shoulders, fingernails leaving marks across his skin as he planted the balls of his feet firmly on the floor. A counterweight to the hips pistoning against him, and the bite holding him down. Their moans descended into feral grunts and snarls as Oliver spread his knees, opening his body completely to let Lucas take and bruise and fuck every inch of him.

Stars flashed across his vision as the alpha’s knot pressed against his entrance, waiting, waiting, waiting to be let in. Then Lucas dropped his shoulder and gripped the back of Oliver’s head, shoving his face—his fangs—into his own neck.

“Y-You—” Oliver panted, clinging to the alpha for dear life.

Before he could finish the thought, his mouth opened of its own accord and gnashed across Lucas’ skin. His fangs breached the flesh as a rush of hot, metallic blood spilled over his tongue. Then they were both shuddering uncontrollably as the alpha’s knot breached his entrance, sending them both crying into orgasm.

Oliver let out a strangled sound, the noise muffled by the alpha’s skin between his teeth. Lucas only bit down harder, solidifying the bond into something that went beyond the depth of his flesh.

It was done. The bond was made. Their claim on one another for all to see.

When Oliver finally awoke, he was no longer on the floor, but tucked in-between the incredibly creased sheets of the Californian king-sized bed. The sun was gone, the curtains drawn, and the intense disorientation he felt upon waking indicated he had been in a deep sleep for several hours. A heavy weight pressed on his abdomen, and as he lifted the blanket he realised with a small smile that it was Lucas’ sleeping head.

“Hey,” he whispered, gently running his fingers through the alpha’s hair. He could just about see the lines of his face in the dim light.

Lucas was an annoyingly handsome bastard, with his dark lashes and full lips. Even as he snoozed with his mouth open and drool pooling into Oliver’s navel, an artist could have sculpted that face.

Swallowing the dryness in his throat, Oliver reached over to the bedside table and tapped his phone. It was nine thirty in the evening—they’d really been asleep that long? In fact, he had no recollection of even falling asleep. Or moving to the bed. Or picking up the lamp that had gone flying. What he did recollect, however, was the reason behind the almighty sodding ache in his arse and the throbbing bite mark on his neck.

Lifting the sheet again, he carefully brushed Lucas’ hair aside and saw his own teeth marks imprinted on the alpha’s skin—jagged, bloody and a true testament of just how hard he had been holding on.

The mark on Matteus’ throat was a neat little circle—visible, but not messy or rough. As though the bite had been administered with the utmost care and patience. He supposed the bite reflected the person giving it, and Oliver was rough, and messy, and… abrasive . And he suddenly felt very grateful that Matteus had chosen Julian to be his mate.

Lucas shifted under the covers, absentmindedly pressing his mouth to Oliver’s stomach. Something about the small gesture made his heart hurt, and he closed his eyes as he struggled to shut down the long-standing thoughts of infertility and self-loathing. It wasn’t Lucas’ fault, he was an alpha—predisposed to procreate. But still, the feelings were there.

“Hey,” Lucas said, kissing Oliver’s sternum as his mouth worked its way back to the mating mark. He kissed and sucked it, sending a tremor of pleasure coursing through Oliver’s body.

“Stop that,” he chuckled, slapping the alpha’s arse under covers. Followed by, “How did we get back into bed?”

Lucas glanced at the door, suddenly looking rather guilty. “We… may have scarred the maid for life.”

Oliver covered his mouth. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

Lucas huffed, settling himself on the pillows. “I think we owe the staff a gift basket, actually.”

“When… when did…”

Waving the comment away, Lucas pulled Oliver against his chest. “You’d fallen asleep. I think she genuinely thought I’d fucked you to death.”

“I wish you had,” he groaned, burying his face in the alpha’s armpit. “It sounds infinitely more appealing than having to walk past the reception desk tomorrow.”

Laughter rumbled in Lucas’ chest, as he kissed the top of his head. “How’re you feeling?”

Oliver huffed. “Tired, sore, and I swear to God I could sense your dreams—something about blue cheese and a gallon of mango chutney?”

Lucas sucked his teeth. “That was definitely me.”

Oliver swallowed. “Fucking hell.”

They lay in contented silence, and Oliver’s eyes grew heavy as he breathed in the alpha’s scent, revelling in the warmth and security of his body.

“What happened?” He eventually asked. “I mean, I know what happened, obviously. But before—it felt like I’d gone into heat again, but I don’t think I have. If it wasn’t the Love Dust, then what?”

Lucas let out a soft breath. “You triggered my rut.”

Frowning, Oliver leant up on his elbows. “What? How?”

The alpha smirked, propping an arm behind his head. “Because of all that posturing you were doing in front of the omegas.”

Oliver scoffed. “I was not .”

Lucas grinned, grabbing him around the waist and flipping him onto his front. He pressed his mouth to the bite, sliding his half-hard cock between Oliver’s arse cheeks. “I’m afraid you were, my dear. And it was quite the turn-on.”

“Y-You’re a massive pervert, Lucas White,” he said, hips pushing back as a breathy moan escaped his mouth.

“The biggest,” Lucas whispered, reaching under Oliver’s body to grip his erection. “But so are you.”

“Ngh…you’re a bad influence.”

Lucas grinned against his neck. “Perhaps.” His tongue grazed the sensitive skin. “Takes one to know one.” Then he nipped the bite, and Oliver yelped as a tremor of pleasure surged straight to his cock. His hips tipped forward and before he knew it, he was thrusting into the alpha’s grip. Pleasure thrummed through him as Lucas’ hand pressed into the small of his back, giving him just enough space to rock back and forth against his palm. He longed for the alpha to penetrate him again, but knew the rut had left his hole swollen and bruised. So he settled for Lucas’cock, slipping up and down his crease as his fingers scissored his tiny knot.

“That’s it,” Lucas whispered, pressing his forehead between his shoulder blades. “Like that.”

“Ah—” Oliver stuttered, gripping the sheets as his face pressed against the mattress. “I can’t—ah—Luca—Lucas?—”

“You can,” Lucas purred. “My funny… clever… sexy… formidable… mate.”

Oliver cried into the sheets as he ejaculated, and Lucas bit his shoulder as he spilled his own seed across his back. And then they were laughing for some God unknown reason.

“T-This is ridiculous!” Oliver panted, wiping his face across the sheets. “We can’t go back to work like this.”

“It’ll calm down in a few hours,” the alpha said, kissing his shoulders. “Ruts are far shorter than heats. Shall we take a bath?”

Oliver rolled onto his back, pressing his feet against Lucas’ chest. “That sounds kinda nice, actually.” Which had been a mistake because the alpha started kissing his shins and ankles. “ Bath , Lucas. Jesus Christ.”

“Sorry,” he grinned, shoving his flushed face into Oliver’s belly. “I lied, I’m not sorry. Bath, then room service?”

“As if they’ll bring us room service after the maid!”

“True. Pizza?”

“Oh my days, yes.”

They slept for several more hours, waking again during the early hours of the morning. Engulfed in darkness, Oliver listened to the sound of Lucas’ heart as he caressed the shell of his ear. The mating bond was a funny thing. It wasn’t as though Oliver could hear the alpha’s thoughts or read his mind, but sensing his contentment lulled him into a state of bliss.

“I want you to meet my family,” Lucas said, the words barely above a whisper.

Oliver swallowed, and after several moments, he replied, “What if they don’t like me?”

Lucas chuckled. “I like you. So they’ll like you.”

“Do they know about me?”

“Yes.” And something about that made Oliver feel all funny inside. “Aliya, mainly,” Lucas continued. “She’s incredibly nosey, so don’t be surprised if she knows more about you than you do.”

“What have you told them? About us, I mean?”

Lucas hummed. “Well, my dad and pai tried to catch a train to West Newton when I told them I’d met someone. So at the risk of overwhelming you, I just said we’re working through things. But after this, I?—”

“I’ll meet them,” Oliver said. “But I can’t promise it’ll go well. I’ve never met anyone’s parents before.”

Lucas’ face split into a wide smile. “Yeah? I’d like that. What about your parents? What do they think?”

Oliver hesitated, guilt gnawing at his insides. “I… haven’t told them about you. But I don’t tell them a lot of things. After him, my mum became really unwell with stress. So I just try to keep personal things to myself, you know? But I’ll tell them, if that’s what you want.”

Lucas shifted, cupping Oliver’s face. “I want you to want to tell them. In your own time.”

Oliver let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you. Lucas, I can’t promise it’s going to be easy from now on, and I’ll probably make a mess of things every fucking day. But I want to try.”

Lucas let out a breath, brushing away a strand of hair that had gotten stuck to Oliver’s forehead. “I love you, Reed. So I’ll take the rough with the smooth.”

They kissed for a while after that. The movements of their mouths slow and purposeful. Sucking, and licking and tasting every inch of one another as if to solidify their bond even further. That was until Oliver’s phone rang.

“Piss off,” he whispered against Lucas’ mouth. But then it rang again, so with great reluctance he rolled over to the bedside table. His eyes grew wide when he saw Pember’s name flash on the screen.

“Is that?—”

“Pember,” Oliver replied. “The omega from the Cock and Bull.”

“The one that came to the station?”

“Yeah. Oh, he knows about us, by the way. Said you gave him a death stare to end all death stares.”

Lucas grinned. “I did.”

Pressing answer, Oliver said, “Pem?”

“Ollie, thank god—” He sounded out of breath. “Ollie, I messed up.”