“Oi, listen here—” Then the connection abruptly cut off, leaving Oliver with the dial tone once more.
Staring at the screen, he thought about calling the alpha back and giving him a piece of his mind. But as he sat up in bed, his eyes dropped to his groin, finding himself inexplicably hard. The arousal was so intense that it almost created a tent under the alpha’s t-shirt.
“Right. Okay then,” he said, flopping back onto the pillows in an attempt to ignore the monster erection. “Listen pal,” he whispered, hand drifting to the hard line under white cotton. “I’ve had quite enough of your antics. Just let me go to sleep.” But then realised he was talking to his penis, so swiftly closed his mouth.
He swallowed as he pressed his palm against the head of his cock, the soft fabric of Lucas’ t-shirt creating an utterly maddening barrier. Squeezing his thighs together, he rubbed himself through the shirt until the cotton grew damp. His heat had ended, and yet he found himself rutting into his own hand at the memory of the alpha’s possessive tone.
“Fuck,” he murmured, pressing his face into the pillow and wishing that Lucas was tangled in the sheets next to him. Or on top of him. Or behind him. Or beneath him. Any way would have been fine. His toes curled as he ejaculated into the t-shirt with one shuddering exhale.
He was, without question, down bad.
SEVENTEEN
DIFFUSION DAY
Oliver woke early the next morning, combed his hair, cleaned his teeth and pulled on his jeans with all the speed of a March hare. He got to the police station before all his colleagues, took a set of car keys from the safe and waited for Lucas to come back from his end of shift de-briefing. Right on cue, the alpha appeared in the briefing room, all messy hair and tired eyes. He clocked Oliver immediately, a small smile pinching his mouth as he looked him over.
“Good morning,” Lucas said, not bothering to check the room before kissing his cheek.
How could he be so fucking calm after their conversation last night?Mate. My mate.What was Oliver supposed to say to that? Didn’t the big idiot know he couldn’t just go around making those kinds of decisions on his own? Was there some kind of mating ritual they were supposed to engage in when they saw one another? He didn’t think Matteus and Julian did such a thing, but he could be wrong.
His ears grew hot, and his face looked as though he was about to burst into flames. Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, “Er, yeah. Morning.”
Lucas smirked as he filled up a water bottle from the dispenser. “Ready to go?” He said, loosening his collar.
Oliver stood, hopping from foot to foot as the bottle seemed to take a fucking eternity to fill. “Y-Yeah. You know, you look exhausted. Perhaps I should just go on my own. You get some sleep.”
Lucas hummed, popped the lid on the bottle and walked towards the door.So that was a no, then?Scrambling behind, it wasn’t until they almost reached the car park that Oliver caught up to him. “Why are you walking so fast?” He said, out of breath.
Lucas gave a small shrug. “I can assure you Reed, this is my normal walking speed.”
“Look, Lucas. Please don’t say anything embarrassing,” he said, following the alpha towards the cars. “I just want to get in, do the diffusion day, and get out. There’s no need to cause a scene.”
“Believe me, Reed. I do not intend to cause a scene.” As they reached the Jazz and the BMW, Oliver grabbed his arm.
“But last night… you said?—”
Lucas turned, his hazel eyes bright despite having not slept in over twenty-four hours. “I know what I said. The question is, doyouhave anything to say about it?”
“W-Wellyes, but I just?—”
Lucas’ eyes softened as he bent down and kissed the top of his head. “We’ll talk about it later. Over dinner?”
“O-Okay, but?—”
With that, Lucas opened the car door and slid into his vehicle. Oliver grumbled as he walked towards his own, which was parked—still covered in bird shit—a few rows down. He really meant to clean that.
Lucas’ mood was worrying him. It was as though the alpha was on a warpath, which Oliver found both concerning, and confusing, and—just a teensy bit—arousing.
“Wait up, you giant prick,” he muttered, watching the BMW pull away.
As they rolledonto the driveway of 18 Greenacre Way, a sense of impending doom gripped Oliver’s chest. Lucas was practically glued to his shoulder as they walked towards the foster home, the gravel driveway crunching underfoot.
Lucas rang the bell, which caused a string of high pitched barks and whines to erupt from within the house. “Alfie, come back here! We agreed, no shifting until later!” A voice called. Oliver knew it was Alfie’s foster-mother, Sarah, as he had spoken to her on the phone a few times since the interview.
The door swung open before the bell could finish its merry little tune.
“Oliv—oh. You’re not who I was expecting,” Patrick said, head pulling back as he came face to face with Lucas.
