Page 52 of Alpha Heat
CHAPTER TEN
Xan paced bythe train, his heart in his throat. He hadn’t seen Urho in person since the morning after their night together. They’d spoken on the phone twice briefly, but neither of their schedules had permitted them to meet.
Urho had been called out to Sullen District to deal with an omega seemingly pregnant with twins—a dangerous aberration that would need to be handled carefully. And Xan had been taxed with up-ending his household, and the lives of his beta servants who’d chosen to come along, to make it to Virona by his father’s deadline.
Still, Urho had promised to be at the train station to see him off. Even if they couldn’t do more than hug manfully, it was important to Xan to see his new lover’s face one last time before they were separated for who knew how long. He needed to be sure he hadn’t hallucinated the promises between them, or Urho’s commitment to them.
“He’ll be here,” Caleb said, fixing the emerald circle pin on his collar, a fashion that declared him a bonded omega. They were only bonded in friendship, but in public Caleb always wore a showy pin anyway to deter attention. His beauty tended to attract more of that than he desired, and Xan, being a small alpha, didn’t always run off other men by his presence alone.
“What if he changed his mind?”
“He hasn’t.”
“How do you know? He’s risking a lot! And for what?”
“For you.”
Xan rolled his eyes. “Oh, what a prize!”
Caleb pulled up his silvery cowl scarf over his hair in the nippy autumn wind. “Indeed,” he said earnestly, as though Xan hadn’t spoken with cutting sarcasm.
Then Xan spotted him. Broad shoulders in a well-fitted trench coat, a grey fedora on his head, and a serious set to his face. Xan’s insides turned to mush. His heart quickened, and he sucked in a hard breath full of hope.
“Hi,” he mumbled nervously when Urho was close enough to hear. “I didn’t know if you’d make it.”
Urho’s smile was white against his dark skin. “Seeing you off safely is my first priority today.”
Xan swallowed hard, examining Urho’s eyes for some sense of what the man was feeling. “Do you think you’ll be able to visit? Like we discussed?”
Urho reached for his shoulder and clasped it warmly, gazing down into his face. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure, but I’m afraid I can’t promise to come by any particular date. Between the twins in Sullen and Vale’s delicate state, I might not be able to get free for a full day and night.”
“Three hours on the train to Virona and back is far,” Xan agreed, his heart sinking. “If there was a problem with Vale or the omega pregnant with twins, you wouldn’t be able to get home in time.” He said it aloud so Urho wouldn’t have to, and so Xan wouldn’t feel like Urho was just making excuses.
“Is there a chance we could meet halfway?” Urho asked.
Xan’s clenched stomach loosened. “I need to see what my father has planned for me in setting up the satellite office, but surely the weekends will be free?”
“Caleb wouldn’t miss you if you came to meet me?”
Caleb smiled and answered, “I’ll be far too busy setting up my new print studio and planning the upcoming Autumn Nights feasts to miss Xan for part of a day—or more. In fact, I’d be happy to spare him so the two of you can renew yourcommitments.”
Urho licked his lips, a flash of embarrassment in his eyes. “There’s a wonderful little apartment I sometimes rent by the canal in Montrew. No one would be the wiser if we spent some happy hours there together.”
Xan grinned, his stomach flipping with excitement and his throat tight with longing. He wanted to be with Urho now, to throw his arms around him and kiss him goodbye like so many bonded and beta couples were doing all around him on the platform.
A whistle blew and a conductor shouted, “All aboard for Virona!” Xan smiled sadly at Urho and took his hand in a firm handshake. Urho jerked him in close and wrapped him up in a strong hug. He patted his back in a fatherly way, likely to remove any suspicions from onlookers’ minds. “Remember your promise to me,” he whispered fiercely in Xan’s ear.
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“Promise again,” Urho said, pulling back enough to not draw attention, but lingering close enough so that he could whisper.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I want to hear it. What’s mine?”
“Me?”
“And specifically?”
