The bell rang again and again, followed by a hard knock on the door. Jesus Christ, Matty. Calm the fuck down.Unlatching the door, Oliver let it swing open. To his horror, Julian—Matteus’ alpha husband—stood next to him.
“Jesus Christ, dude,” Julian said, throwing his hand over his nose, “I’ll wait in the car.” Matteus nodded, giving his husband a concerned look. His expression only deepened when his gaze slid back to Oliver.
“Inside,” was all he said as he pushed Oliver back into the apartment and locked the door behind them. “Fucking hell, dude. Your cheeks are redder than a baboon’s arse.”
“Yeah, yeah. Mock me all you want,” Oliver replied, flicking the switch on the kettle.
“I’m not mocking you, Ollie. I was worried about you. Your presence over our bond was all over the place. One minute you were quiet, the next it felt like you’d set yourself on fire!” He had to shout the last part over the noise of the kettle. “Are you coming into heat? You look like you are, but you don’t seem like you’re in pain.”
Oliver shook his head, taking two mugs out the cupboard. He made them both a hot chocolate before taking a seat at the kitchen table. “It’s… hard to explain,” he said, clutching the steaming mug between his hands.
“Well, please try,” Matteus replied, mild annoyance filling his grey eyes. “Because I’ll end up staying here all night worrying about you.”
Oliver sighed. “I just… there was this new guy at the club and I guess my hormones went into overdrive.”
The frown suddenly lifted from Matteus’ face. “Really? Do you think he could be your mate?”
“Christ, Matty,” Oliver scoffed. “No. It’s not… you know I’m not built like you.”
Matteus hummed and took a slurp of hot chocolate. “But your body clearly knows. When was the last time you had a partner, Ollie? Was it you-know-who? Because fuck me sideways, that was six years ago.”
Oliver grimaced and took a sip of his drink. “Yes. Thank you. I don’t need you to remind me how shocking my love life is.” He said the last part more so to the cup than his brother.
Matteus nodded, running a fingertip around the rim of his mug. “I know things have been difficult, since Patr—since then. But, do you think maybe it’s time to try again?”
“Nope,” Oliver replied, eyes flicking towards the ceiling.
Matteus huffed and reached across to brush a strand of hair out of Oliver’s eyes. “Any slick? Cramping?”
Oliver grimaced, putting down the mug and cracking his fingers. “A bit. Nothing like a full heat. But it’s not just that, there’s theotherthing too.”
He gestured towards his crotch with a limp finger.
“You mean your knot?”
“Mhm. It’s burning like crazy.”
“Want me to call Julian from the car? I’m sure he could offer some advice?”
Oliver waved his hands. “Sweet lord, no. I’ll manage. I’ll just have to avoid close contact with him tomorrow. Keep the meeting short and sweet, then take a sick day if it carries on.”
“Him? Meeting? Tomorrow?” Matteus said, raising an eyebrow.
Heat flooded Oliver’s face when he realised his slip-up, and he glared down at his hot chocolate, hoping he could find a way to drown in it.
“So… the guy from the club is Detective Sergeant Wh?—”
“Shut it, Matty. Not another word.”
Silence hung between them for a little while, each sipping their drinks. Oliver could feel Matteus looking at him over the rim of his cup, but he didn’t have the energy to argue. Matteus’ phone pinged, and he quickly picked it up. “Julian wants to know if you need anything,” he said, cautiously breaking the silence.
Oliver rubbed his eyes and groaned. “I have no idea.”
“Do you need any more suppressants? Maybe you could do with a booster pack, in case you have another flare up. I use them sometimes when I’m out in the field, really fast acting, but they make you crave cigarettes like there’s no tomorrow.”
Oliver rubbed his eyes, shifting in his seat. “Yeah, I guess it couldn’t hurt. I have some, but they’re probably out of date.”
“No worries, I’ll get Julian to refill my prescription for you. And Oliver, do you have…a plug?”
