CHAPTER FOUR

KAY

The first week of Rain's stay at my brother's house went smoothly, with no major events. We settled into a routine: he knew exactly when to come to my room and still respected my request not to start long conversations, despite my twisted hope that he would misbehave. But for the time being, I kept the rule. Other than that, he was working on his laptop while I was working on my tablet; I was swimming in the lake, and he was jogging around it. No problems whatsoever.

In consequence, our communication shifted entirely to the nonverbal.

We had this crazy sync; he seemed to know what I wanted before I even asked. Our sexual life was thriving. By the second week, we went beyond what my waves required. To be honest, we were having sex a lot—sometimes every two or three hours. It was intense and so addictive. I once overheard Adam awkwardly joking with Rain that we were 'fucking like rabbits' and even their beta ears were hearing way too much.

Slowly, I noticed my own behavior change a bit. Despite being so adamant about not touching him, there were occasions when I caught myself embracing him during the moments of passion, even if only for a few seconds. On the nights when he slept with me in his arms, I allowed myself to shyly explore his body, touching his chest, his forearms (I loved the veins!), and even subtly tasting his skin, making little licks over it. Embarrassing—but Rain just smelled so good.

By the end of the second week, he spent most days working in my room with his laptop, doing some programming for his cousin while I sketched on my tablet. Discreetly, I even drew his portraits a few times when he was very focused on coding and didn't pay attention. It was pleasant to draw his symmetrical, perfectly sculpted face. Rain took a lot from his alpha father in the looks department, but it was softened by the full lips of his omega dad.

Day after day, our contact became closer. We were literally together for 70% of the day, except for showers, cooking, and Rain's jogging sessions. Three times a week, he also used Adam's small gym in the basement, but I heard him playfully mock my brother, calling it a 'beta's gym' since there was no heavy lifting equipment, only some yoga mats, a stationary bike, a rowing machine, and some light barbells. Other than that, he was in my room, either working, sleeping, or having sex with me. His silent, constant presence became like a necessary air bubble around me, surrounding me with warm fuzziness that I shamelessly wallowed in.

At the beginning of the third week, it was time for my doctor's appointment. The day before, Adam came to me and asked, "Would you mind if Rain accompanied us to the appointment?"

I felt waves of surprise and unease. It reminded me of the conversation with my in-laws about Rain taking up Maurice's space. On the other hand, it didn't seem ideal to show up at the doctor's office alone when other omegas were coming with their partners. I'd done it before, at the beginning of my pregnancy, and I hated sitting alone in the waiting room, feeling bitter. So I nodded uncertainly, "If he wants, he can join us."

The next day, we all set off for the town center, where my doctor's office was located. Rain and I sat in the back of the car, while Adam and Marco sat in the front. Marco was talking about some trouble Jamie, who worked at an advertising agency, was having with an exceptionally difficult client. I listened with one ear because although I liked Jamie, I always felt like he wasn't the best choice for Marco. Their energy levels were very different, and I suspected this mismatch could become more problematic over time.

When we stopped at the clinic building, Rain got out first and offered me his hand, which surprised me a bit, but I took it and got out of the car. Rain bit his lip, then extended his bent elbow toward me and said, "These stairs look very slippery; maybe you should take my arm?" It sounded like an excuse to just be close, but I smoothly accepted it and slipped my palm into the crook of his elbow. Why not? I just couldn't find a reason to decline, although I probably should have. But I was too lazy to do it. At this point, I was so accustomed to his touch that it was almost natural to keep close, even in a public setting.

Marco and Adam watched us with raised eyebrows but didn't comment.

Together, we walked into the clinic building. There was another couple waiting for a visit ahead of me: an omega in his thirties and his much older husband. They both gave us quite the stare. I didn't like it when people gawked at me in such situations, so I sat close to Rain, my hand still somehow snuggled under his elbow. It made me feel better, more grounded. At least to the outside world, we looked like a typical couple. I was on board with pretending; Rain wasn't a bad match looks-wise, right?

Adam went to the reception to announce my arrival and pay for the visit. We waited a few minutes until the door to the office opened, and the couple before us entered.

Then we waited another quarter-hour in complete silence, my hand still clasped tightly on Rain's forearm. How strange it was—I had known him for a bit over two weeks, and here we were—sitting in the doctor's office, where only expecting couples usually showed up. For some reason, I wondered what my in-laws would think if they saw me here with Rain. Nothing good, I suppose.

Finally, our turn came, and I stood up, but Rain stood up too, fixing his silver eyes on my face. "Do you want me to come in with you?"

There was a strange silence.

Then I heard myself quietly saying, "Okay."

Adam and Marco's mouths were open in obvious surprise, but no one said anything.

What was I doing? This was Maurice's space, not Rain's! And here I was, inviting him into the office where he really shouldn't be. Did I simply want people to see me with an alpha—taken care of, protected, looked after? Just a public image? But could maintaining a perfect public image really explain everything, or was it just a plausible excuse?

No, I couldn't go there, not today.

So, Rain and I walked into the office together. Dr. Johnson welcomed us at the door and seemed even more surprised than my brothers, seeing some unknown alpha with me. I guess he didn't expect me to follow his advice so strictly. But he quickly shook it off and pointed us to the seats at his desk. He was an omega man, well into his fifties, with thick glasses and a slight paunch.

"Hello, Kay, I've been thinking about you lately and waiting for your visit. How are you feeling?" he asked, completely ignoring Rain's presence, as if he feared asking would be inappropriate and could create an awkward atmosphere.

But there was no way to ignore Rain's impact on my health. I cleared my throat.

"Dr. Johnson, first, I want to introduce Rain. During my last visit, you made me realize that my pregnancy was at serious risk. After considering your arguments, I decided to follow your suggestion and resort to… err… a natural method of pregnancy support, if I may put it that way," I said, feeling incredible cringe—I was amazed Dr. Johnson didn't burst into laughter, but he behaved very tactfully and listened with a professional and friendly demeanor.

"Rain has agreed to assist me in this situation, and for the past two weeks and three days, I haven't experienced a single cramp. I wanted to come here today so you could check the condition of the placenta and all the other… um… stuff," I blurted out.

Dr. Johnson blinked and then put on a practiced smile. "Ah, yes. Of course. We'll take a look at everything right away. I'm happy you took my advice and are feeling better. It seems things went smoothly," he finished diplomatically, sending Rain a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Mister…?"

"Nolan," Rain extended his hand.

The doctor didn't comment on Rain's presence. I could tell he was confused—if Rain was only a 'form of therapy', why did I even bring him here? I didn't take my dildos to any of my previous visits, right?

To be honest, I surprised myself, not only my brothers and Dr. Johnson. I was half embarrassed by what I was doing but also half excited. It felt so illogical and defiant, kinda like smoking cigarettes in the high school bathroom. Forbidden, silly, and thrilling. The sweet taste of going against the rules. Mostly… my own.

"Come over here, Kay, and please undress. We'll do the examination right away."

When I went behind the screen, there was perfect silence. It was really awkward. Neither Dr. Johnson nor Rain said a word. I could only hear their hearts beating, a normal background sound that all AOs were accustomed to.

Finally, I put on that funny green outfit you usually wear at the doctor's and came out to lie on the examination bed attached to the ultrasound machine. Dr. Johnson sat next to me, took the ultrasound probe in hand, and put a condom on it. When he applied a bit of gel to its tip, Rain stood up and walked closer, standing next to the scanner.

He had a slightly furrowed brow. His energy changed, becoming more intense, alpha-like. Right away, Dr. Johnson looked at him probingly but didn't say anything. All omegas were subconsciously tuned to subtle changes in the energy of the alphas, since dominant behaviors would often evoke corresponding instinctive submissive behaviors. Of course, older and more experienced omegas were much more in control of their reaction.

Suddenly, Rain asked, "Is this the probe for internal examination?"

Dr. Johnson blinked. "Yes, in the early stages of pregnancy, this type of examination is more accurate. Later on, we do it through the abdominal walls—"

Then Rain said, his face turning red, "Can I insert it into him?"

Another deafening silence fell. What the hell was he doing? One of the most awkward situations of my life. I must have been beet red. Was Rain jealous of just a medical examination?! For a moment, I stared at him with the same facial expression as the doctor, simply perplexed.

Then it dawned on me—was Rain's claim on me intensifying? Since my in-laws' visit, he had never displayed any alpha dominance behaviors, but he had no reason to, being only with me and my brothers. They did the grocery shopping and he never left the house. But it was obviously growing, maybe even unbeknownst to himbecause I could sense that he was surprised and embarrassed by his own intensity, and yet—he didn't back down.

His silver eyes met mine, and something in him—his alpha nature in full display, even in such an insignificant situation, even so irrational, made me giddy inside, and I just didn't want to break out of our animalistic dynamic. I was gonna indulge in this and allow it to happen, yeah.

Dr. Johnson stared at him with open-mouthed astonishment for a moment, then glanced at me. I made a small nod, and he finally said, "Sure."

He handed Rain the probe. The alpha walked around the examination table, crouched on the other side, gently placed his hand on my thigh, and asked, "May I?"

His touch was always so comforting, so intoxicating. Gosh, I loved his hands on me.

But Rain's eyes were also pleading, as if he knew what he had done, how silly it was, and was begging for my forgiveness. I could have been really mad at him, but strangely, I didn't mind such sexy alpha possessiveness. Because dammit… if it didn't give me such a strange, internal pleasure!

Once again, I was someone's. Protected. Important. Enough for that someone to do cringe-worthy things just to assert his claim on me!

For many omegas I knew, alphas who were jealous and protective were annoying. Omegas wanted to feel independent and empowered. But I understood it in quite the opposite way. For me, being protected meant being even more powerful! Only treasures are protected. Only kings. Presidents. Celebrities. Only things that are really pricey. Princes had guards—ordinary folks had to fend for themselves.

Our eyes met and right there—I felt that power over him. He would do whatever I allowed. Whatever I wanted him to. My consent was his everything. So I nodded and made a small—really tiny smile, giving him my acceptance. Rain grinned widely in response and stroked my thigh, then pressed the tip of the probe to my anal entrance, starting very slowly and carefully inserting it. He did it much more cautiously than Dr. Johnson usually did, as he wasn't known for gentle examination methods. So, all in all, it turned out perfect. My initial apprehension about Rain's presence completely melted away.

Only when my possessive alpha withdrew his hand did Dr. Johnson (still gaping) grab the end of the probe to guide it further up, toward my uterus. There was a long silence as he measured something on the screen and did some calculations.

Suddenly, I felt Rain's fingers shyly gripping mine. My heart sped up; that was really out of line, more like relationship stuff. My body stiffened slightly, and I almost pulled my hand away but hesitated. I allowed Rain to show his unexpected alpha possessiveness, but did I really have a problem with him simply taking my hand? I truly was all over the place.

When I was in the middle of my dilemma, Dr. Johnson suddenly turned the image toward us.

"I have good news, Kay. The condition of the placenta has improved; it has the appropriate thickness. Everything looks good, including the baby's heartbeat and size, which are no longer deviating from the norm at this stage of pregnancy."

I blinked in surprise. So, it worked after all…

"You didn't have any more bleeding?"

"No."

"The hematoma must have absorbed."

And he smiled widely, for the first time since I entered the office. "Everything looks much better than before—for now, the pregnancy doesn't seem to be at risk. We'll still check your hormone levels, but in my opinion, everything is on the right track."

Rain's face lit up with relief, and his eyes sparkled with joy. He seemed genuinely happy my child was safe, and it made my heart skip a beat. Rain gently squeezed my hand as I fought off unwanted tears. So all this madness, the fact that I had to break down my walls to let a stranger into my life, wasn't in vain…

I lost the battle, and a treacherous tear escaped from under my eyelids and rolled down my cheek. Rain immediately leaned in and brushed it away with his hand.

"It's all good, baby…" he whispered.

Suddenly, he stopped himself, realizing he used an endearment, one of those things I had forbidden him to use. "I'm sorry, Kay, I overstepped. But I'm glad everything's okay," he whispered.

I just nodded slightly and quickly got up to dress, avoiding looking at them. My head was full of confusion mixed with joy, sadness mixed with hope, resignation mixed with anticipation. My pregnancy was no longer at risk, that was all that mattered.

The doctor took my blood, checked my blood pressure, and scheduled my next appointment.

As we left the office, Marco and Adam immediately approached us, but since there were already a few other people in the waiting room, I just muttered for us to step outside.

Rain extended his arm again, and I took hold of it.

Once we were finally in the parking lot, Adam said, "So, tell us already, what did the doctor say?"

I thought about creating some suspense and not telling them the good news right away, but the joy just poured out of me and the words almost burst out of my mouth as I fought back tears of happiness. "Everything is fine! The placenta has improved, and the baby is developing properly… it worked."

Rain immediately wrapped his arms around my shoulders, but Adam and Marco rushed over too, and a moment later, we found ourselves in a very awkward group hug.

I laughed hoarsely and pulled away from their embrace to avoid dragging out the cringey scene. Adam and Marco looked like a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

"My goodness, that's wonderful! It's great news, Kay, all of this was worth your sacrifice!"

But as he said that, I could see he became a bit flustered—after all, Rain was standing right there, and he was supposed to be the 'sacrifice' I had made, so it sounded a bit problematic.

Rain remained silent, just lowering his head, not letting on what he really thought. Well, but there was no fooling me, our connection gave him away. I knew it was hurtful for him, and I felt guilty for not knowing how to talk back to Adam.

"Let's go home," I finally said to end the awkwardness.

Rain opened the car door for me and I slid in. During the ride back, Marco did most of the talking, chatting about medical care in small towns and that we needed to call my in-laws because they were waiting for news. Adam responded with monosyllables, while Rain stared out of the window.

I had no idea what I should say, whether I should thank him, ask if he'll stay longer to support my health. I didn't know what to do. One thing was certain—I felt grateful, and maybe even a bit more?

Then, in a moment of disbelief, I realized: I had started to like Rain.

RAIN

That evening, after the doctor's visit, things got kind of weird. First off, I didn't know how to act. Should I be openly happy for Kay? It could look like I was gloating that my presence made such a difference. I felt out of place, wondering if he even wanted me to stay and continue helping him?

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I spent much more time in the shower than usual, brooding and worrying, playing through different scenarios in my head. Slowly but surely, fear dominated my mind—I really didn't want him to send me away. The pregnancy situation was under control, but what about his sexual cravings? Would they subside, or was he determined to fight through them? As I recalled, the main reason for inviting me here was to improve his health; relief was just a secondary concern.

When I emerged from the shower, I realized it was past the time his wave should have started, so I hurried to his room. Kay was curled up on his bed, cheeks flushed, naked and the blanket tossed aside on the edge of his deformed nest.

As I approached, I paused, feeling the need to bring up my concerns. "Kay, I wanted to ask you something."

He blinked and fixed his gaze on me.

"Maybe it's not the best time for it," he said, his legs slightly spread, his dick at full mast.

"But maybe it's the perfect time. I need to know what happens now. The pregnancy stabilized, do you still want me here?" Saying it out loud turned out to be easier than I expected, as if something literally pushed it out of my throat in a hurry. Let's get this behind us.

But Kay's reaction was stronger than I expected. He immediately sat up, cheeks flaming red, his eyes kind of feral. "Did I say I want you to leave?" The furrow in his brows seemed almost too intense.

Swallowing, I muttered, "I need to hear it from you. I can't just assume."

Kay snorted angrily, "Do you think if you leave, my health situation would stay the same? It could deteriorate again. The cramps would come back for sure, and the… cravings would intensify. I'd probably end up right back where it all started."

"Probably, but you don't know for sure. Maybe you'd have a month or two before it became a problem again."

His lips trembled, and I could feel his steadily rising frustration. "I'm not willing to risk my child's health by sending you away and hoping the problem resolves itself magically! Trust me, if I wanted you to go, I would say so. I'm not one to shy away from making decisive changes in my life."

Unsure what to say, I stayed silent for a while, studying his face with wide-open eyes. His anger could have two sources, one of which was that he really-really wanted me to stay, but was uncomfortable to ask directly.

"Maybe it's you who wants to leave?" he asked, his voice suddenly darker, lower, his eyes narrowed.

My ear caught a sudden spike in his heartbeat. Was he in fact scared I wanted to end our agreement? And the anger was just a cover-up for his fear?

Our eyes were locked, and our bond was brimming with intense energy. Kay's mind opened up to me almost completely, and I just knew.

It was true—he wanted me to stay, so very much!

"No," I whispered. "That's the last thing I want, Kay."

Silence fell, we stared at each other.

"I'm grateful for your positive influence on my health," he whispered. How different his tone was now, the anger completely gone. Did his voice break a bit?

"I only asked because I've been going crazy since we left the office, afraid you'd tell me to go."

Kay's face twitched slightly and softened even more. "You should know better. I won't do that. I need you."

His words carried weight, almost like an indirect confession. I held my breath, then without any further comment, I sat down on the bed and reached for him. He never did anything to make our sex easier; he was basically a limp body in bed, but this time as I embraced him, I got some cooperation, and his legs lifted up a bit so he could press himself even closer to me.

With one move, I turned us around and threw him onto the bed, his long braid flowing down his side. His breathing quickened and his eyes darkened. Not willing to wait any longer, I leaned down and took his dick in my mouth. Kay moaned and… for a few seconds, his hands landed on my head, threading through my hair, which was new. He took them off pretty quickly, but was it a sign of something?

When he came in my mouth, I turned him to doggie position and started to eat his ass with passion. He liked it very much, he was able to orgasm from this kind of oral stimulation alone, while I swirled my tongue in his swollen crease. His moans were quite loud and sweetly serenaded the room. Kay was very vocal in bed, and from the first day since he let himself go, he never held back as far as expressing his pleasure out loud.

Despite such great progress, there were still limits to what Kay would do in bed. No kissing and no initiative remained firmly in place. This day, however, after I slid into him, and he was on his fourth orgasm, I decided to make a change. I rolled over and pulled him onto my body. He suddenly tensed.

"No rider," he muttered.

"I know. I'm not asking you to ride me, you can just lie on top of me, and I'll pound into you," I offered.

But in that position, with his head over my shoulder, his mouth was forced to be right over my gland. Since I hadn't had sex for over a year, my glands had been cleansed of the smell of my ex-husband, leaving only the slightly visible bite mark.

Kay's breath blew over it, but he remained passive. His hands just lay on my side, his head just moved over my shoulder when I lifted my hips to rock inside of him, but he made no effort to help me, to cooperate. It was a bit frustrating.

"Can you work with me a little?"

"No."

A faint snort escaped my mouth. But I also noticed that he tilted his head so that his lips were as close to my glands as possible, sliding over them as I pounded into his ass. He could easily turn to the other side, but he didn't. So his mouth just continuously brushed over my gland, leaving wet marks. Was he tempted to bite me, as much as I was tempted? Or maybe suck on it? It was such a primal, biological need, hard to resist in the throes of passion. Did he have to fight hard not to bite me when he had it right in front of him?

Of course, he was determined to be completely passive in our sex, but I just had this strange certainty—he wanted to do this. To bite me. He fought the constant desire, balancing on the edge as his lips skimmed my skin.

"If you want, you can bite me, Kay. I belong to you anyway. I won't leave you until the birth, and I won't take another lover," I whispered breathlessly and continued to pound into his hole.

For a moment, I was sure he would deny me, maybe even get angry.

But the unimaginable happened.

Kay actually succumbed to it.

Maybe he was at his own limit? Temptation overwhelming him?

I saw his mating fangs emerge, pearly white, long and thin as spikes, and they plunged into my gland in a wave of pain and bliss, and… we both came!

One question floated through my mind: Did he want me to belong to him, or simply to be his long-term heat servant?

Moaning, I unloaded into him and felt him spurting over my stomach, warm splatters covering my abdomen. He was now lodged deep in my gland, as if he couldn't let go, and I shivered with pleasure, the orgasm and the whole experience so fucking intense, sooo intense… fuck, fuck, fuck… that I…

…lost consciousness.

***

When I opened my eyes, Adam was standing over me with a worried expression on his face.

"Rain?" His voice urged, pulling me out of the haze.

I blinked in surprise, wondering why he was even in Kay's room. He seemed oddly out of place, and I had no idea what was going on.

"What… what happened?"

"You passed out after Kay marked you."

Kay marked me, and I lost consciousness? For a moment, those words hovered on the fringes of my mind before they solidified into realization. My hand, slightly trembling, reached up to touch the sensitive skin on my left gland. It seemed swollen, and I felt a bit of blood on my fingertips. I'd never heard of something like that happening. What could be the reason? So I asked the first thing that came to my dizzy mind: "Is this because I'm on blockers?"

"No idea," Adam replied, shrugging and smiling crookedly. "But I would say so. Your glands are blocked by suppressants, and now they were suddenly flooded with Kay's marking pheromones. It could have triggered a system shutdown." He chuckled.

I glanced around and saw Marco standing on the other side of the bed. I was still naked, but luckily covered with a blanket, probably by Kay.

"Why are you here?"

Marco sighed. "Because Kay called us. He couldn't wake you up."

Only then did I notice Kay. He was fully dressed, standing against the wall in a posture that reminded me of my first day here. I caught his gaze, but it was unreadable. Yet, his energy told a different story; he seemed confused and embarrassed, mostly with himself.

Marco glanced at him too. "Why did you even bite him, Kay?" he asked. "You were marked three months ago. There's no way you could be mated together. This isn't even a real heat; a bite like that holds no power."

Kay shrugged. "He asked me to. So I just did it. Didn't fight it, I guess."

"It's really pointless, and since he's on blockers, we don't even know the side effects. What if it triggers something in his glands, altering the way the suppressants work?"

"I don't know why I did it, okay?" Kay looked flustered and vaguely regretful.

"Leave him alone," I intervened. "It's not his fault. I asked him to do it. It's on me."

Kay's brows raised slightly in surprise, but he looked away, avoiding my gaze, his cheeks blushing slightly. What bothered me more was the amused expression on Adam's face and the glance he exchanged with Marco.

"Rain. You don't have to go into some silly alpha protective mode and side with Kay. We're his brothers; we're on his side by default," Adam muttered.

I held back from firing back at his remark, but it was normal for Adam; I was kinda used to his snarky comments.

But to my surprise, I got an unexpected defender!

"Stop disrespecting him, Adam."

We all gaped in shock to hear this coming from Kay, who wasn't exactly the example of polite behavior himself. Maybe he thought only he could do it and no one else?

To defuse the situation and spare us from any more awkwardness, I said, "You should both go," as I sat up. "I already feel better. And I'm not finished here."

"Not finished?" Adam asked, dumbfounded. My silence said it all.

"Ah, yes. We're leaving. But please be wiser in the future. You're on suppressants, your glands are not working as intended. You don't know how your body will react in such a situation. What if you develop some kind of immunity to blockers? It could mess up everything if you two were incompatible," he cautioned, his tone serious.

We all knew that sex between incompatibles was less satisfying due to the allure having a somewhat repellent tone to it, ensuring that people who weren't a genetic match didn't procreate too eagerly. Blockers were eliminating it, of course, allowing incompatible people to have sex without feeling like they were fucking a relative. In our case, it would be unfortunate, if the blockers wear off, revealing incompatibility. We shouldn't mess around with it—Adam was right.

"Got it," I muttered.

Adam and Marco left the room, leaving me alone with Kay. He stared at the opposite wall, unwilling to start a conversation.

"Can I take a shower in here?" I asked quietly.

He nodded. I went into his small bathroom and took a quick shower. When I returned, he was sitting on the bed with his tablet in his hand.

"You only had four orgasms. If you want me to—"

"No. The situation ended the wave," he said tersely.

"Okay, I'm going to sleep now. Wake me if you need anything," I murmured, still feeling slightly dizzy, my glands pulsating a bit, very warm and strangely sensitive.

I crawled across the bed, feeling heaviness in my limbs. The moment I put my head on the pillow, I fell asleep again.

Kay woke me maybe three hours later, in a way that was already typical of our routine. His hand slid over my hip and pulled me to him. Still half asleep but fully hard, I rolled over him, finding him warm and smelling sweet and so enticing that I plunged into his welcoming entrance, almost coming instantly. I couldn't stop myself and murmured, "I love making love to you."

He didn't react, but with some pleasant surprise, I felt his slender hand resting gently on one of my hips as I thrust into him. It was new, and kind of shy, but it was there to stay… and as I neared my own orgasm, I whispered in his ear, "Oh, Kay, I want you so much, always," and I shot with everything I had, filling him up. Then, for the first time, Kay's hands went up and hugged me tightly as he came with me, and the feeling was so sweet and satisfying.

For some reason, I liked making love to him at night; he was so soft then, less guarded, more relaxed, almost inviting. And, of course, I could fall asleep holding him and wake up just to keep making love. My addiction to him grew steadily.