Page 205 of Labor of Love

"Yep. I mean, the magic stuff sends them all into a rut where they can't really remember much anyway, but wearing the blockers adds to the mystery ofwhois an alpha...and once everyone comes to the next day, the blockers have worn off andthenpeople can scent whether there are alphas and what their species are."

It sounded silly and irresponsible, but maybe that was because I already knew who and what I was, and I’d been excluded from the parties for that very same reason.

"Okay," I still agreed, not bothering to argue that things could go badly for me if I got caught. I took the vial from him with a trembling hand, hastily glancing over both my shoulders. "I'm in. I'll be there."

2

TIM

"Mmm...did you prep?"

"So much lube...like an omega, right? That's so hot."

"God...you're so hot and tight. I could stay inside you forever."

"Oh, fuck, I'm gonna come. Gonna come. F-fuck...nnngh."

I woke up from the vivid dream as the fantasy alpha spilled inside me and I orgasmed in reality. Between the slick trickling onto the sheets and the cum smeared against my cock, I was a sticky, wet mess.

It was embarrassing to be twenty-two and experiencing wet dreams.

It was even more embarrassing that it had been happening for weeks.

It was always the same dream, too. Each time, I understood just a little more of it, but it always followed the same format. Strangely, the dream was vivid in terms of how my body felt —I could feel the alpha's cock buried deep inside me and thesoftness of a pillow under my cheek as I writhed and begged for more— but I couldn't picture anything at all. The image in my head was pitch black. It was just the phantom sensation of beingfucked, the feeling of a larger body spread over my back, and the sexy, whispered words.

I wished they weren’t whispered. I wanted to know who my dream alpha was, but I had nothing —not even scent— to go by. The least my brain could do was give me a recognizable voice so I could put a face to the fantasy. Sometimes I imagined the whispers had a southern drawl...but, as I woke up properly, I suspected that was just wishful thinking.

Grimacing as my cum cooled and clung to my skin, I reached for my phone on the nightstand, wincing as the screen lit up in the darkness. It was too late to go back to sleep, but still too early to head downstairs and disturb my parents before we started our work for the day.

I enjoyed working on my parents' farm. I liked tilling the land and working with the animals. I’d always preferred being outdoors, but recently I feltsluggish. I supposed it had something to do with waking up at stupid o'clock from intense orgasms that sapped all my energy before the day could even begin.

Maybe Martin was right: maybe I really should lose my virginity already.

We hadn't really spoken much in the few months since he'd convinced me (albeit with very little arm-twisting) to attend the June Unlocking party. I'd lost him within minutes of walking into Frat House, then I'd started drinking and dancing. By the time the spellcasting happened in the main room, I was drunk off my ass and...well, I had very little recollection of anything after that.

I knew I’d enjoyed myself, though. And I must have had the sense to get home before my parents could send a search party, because I’d woken up in tepid bathwater, fully clothed. The party itself was a blur.

The hangover which took three days to completely dissipate was probably a fair consequence for my actions, but I might have been a dick to my best friend during that time, too, which wasn't fair. My choices were my own, and I still owed him an apology.

Unfortunately, by the time I realized I owed Martin an apology, I came down with a summer flu. It lingered for weeks. Because it was our busy season, I didn’t want my parents to worry, so I set aside any distractions, including Martin, and worked through the sickness until it finally went away. Mostly.

Then the dreams started.

At first, I brushed them off, but after a week where the dream had recurred no less than three times, it started consuming my waking thoughts. I knew fixating on it was probably part of the reason I kept repeating the dream, but it felt weird to be so horny and simultaneously exhausted all the time.

Groaning, I put my phone down and forced myself out of bed. Already my eyelids felt heavy, and my bed beckoned me to curl up and snooze the day away, but I had chores to do.

Besides, I thought,I'm on produce picking duty with Conrad today.

Our farm grew crops of all kinds, so we always had something to harvest and sell. Depending on the crops, it could be one of the less physically taxing jobs, which was good when I was feeling so lethargic. However, it was the company I was really looking forward to.

Conrad Miles. Even thinking his name made me swoon.

He’d had his alpha unlocked during the same party I attended, and his scent was the most fascinating and comforting thing I’d ever come across. He carried the electric, nostril-tingling scent that all the other alphas did, but to me, there was something different about Conrad's. Something inviting. Mesmerizing.

I assumed it was because I had a crush on him anyway. I had sincehe’d first come to work for us a couple of weeks before the party.

He was a big guy; tall and broad, but not muscular. Built like a giant teddy bear with a bulging belly and soft pecs, Conrad was gorgeous. We’d both laughed when his shifter form turned out to be a grizzly bear, because it matched his human form perfectly.

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