“Lost, huh?”
“All you need to know is that it involves the pond in High Enfield Park.”
Matteus barked out a laugh. “You fell in again, didn’t you? God, you’re an idiot. Wait there whilst I tell Julie.”
“N-No, Matty. That’s not necessary.”
“You fell in the pond again?” A deep voice spoke.
“Hi Julian.”
“You know ponds carry all kinds of harmful bacteria, right?”
“I wasn’t having a fucking swim,” he snapped. “B-But while I’ve got you, can I ask a quick question?”
“Sure.”
Oliver let out a long breath, weighing up his next few words. Perching himself on the corner of the table, he asked, “How old were you when you got your fangs?”
“Hm, sometime around puberty, I guess. Why?”
“Just a hypothetical question. Nothing to?—”
“Your fangs popped out. Didn’t they?”
He heard Matteus gasp. “I knew it,” he said. “I knew you were actually an alpha. I told mum, I said this would happen.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t think—” He heard Julian trying to reason with his brother, but he was fighting a losing battle.Sighing, his voice turned back to the phone. “Was it just the fangs, or?”
Oliver rubbed the back of his neck and stared up at the ceiling. This was fucking mortifying, and he wished he’d never asked. “No. Not just the fangs.”
Matteus screeched from somewhere in the near vicinity, and Oliver could just picture the two of them huddled over the phone. “I knew it. I sodding said, didn’t I, Julie? I said he was an alpha this whole time.”
“I’m not an alpha, Matty. I’m in heat, for God's sake.” He said the last part through clenched teeth.
“So, has he knotted you? Have you knotted him?”
Oliver spluttered as he stood. “That is none of your fucking business, brother.” But then he thought about it for a moment. Could he, theoretically, knot someone now? Was it big enough? Would it work properly? Then he thought about knotting Lucas and almost burst into a fit of laughter—because he imagined it might be like a West Highland Terrier trying to fuck an American Pitbull. “Has he given you the bite? Have you givenhimthe bite?”
“For the love of—no!”
“But he did the primal howl thingy… surely that means?—”
“That doesn’t mean anything. He’s just helping me through the heat, then we’ll return to work like nothing happened.”
Matteus let out a frustrated groan. “Bullshit. You’re so full of shit, Oliver. Just how long are you going to let this go on? He’s an alpha for fucks-sake, and it’s pretty clear for anyone to see that he fucking adores you. You keep doing this, Ollie. You keep doing this to yourself and it makes me so fucking sad. Not to mention what it must be doing to him.Jesus Christ,do you really think you’ll be able to work together now you’ve been knotted but not had the bite? It’s not fair, Ollie, not fair to eitherof you. Just pull your head out your arse and see this for what it is. He’s your mate. Let yourself be happy.”
Matteus was huffing by the time he finished ranting, and Oliver had to hold the phone away from his ear. He could hear Julian trying to soothe him with quiet words of reassurance.
“I know,” Oliver eventually said, gaze dropping to his feet. “You’re right. Perhaps I should just let him go. See the rest of this through by myself. I don’t want it to turn into another Patrick situation.”
“Fuck Patrick!” Matteus yelled. “Fuck that fucking cunt. He’s the one that made you like this. He’s the one that put you in the hospital for months on end. He’s the one that shattered your confidence. You were never like this before him, and I’ll be damned if you have to be the one who suffers for that disgusting piece of shit.”
Oliver decided it was probably a bad time to tell Matteus that Patrick was actually Alfie’s new social worker. So, letting out a long breath he said, “Matty, it’s okay. Just calm down. Stress isn’t good for the baby.”
“Stress? Stress! You’re making me fucking stressed, pal.”
“I’m sorry, Matty. I’m sorry, I’m just going to go now.”
