Page 24 of Vallaverse: Twist
“You can't help it. You're an Omega. Why did she, Kris, allow me to see you if you were this close to going into heat? Is this a regular occurrence?”
He looks down, shame tainting his beautiful scent. “It, um, I just... It's not what you think.”
“Then what is it? Because neither of the assumptions I've landed on makes me very happy.”
That's an understatement. Livid. Disgusted. Belligerently angry. If either of my guesses are true, I will not handle it well.
“Brooks. It's not... I mean...” He trails off and gasps before his face crumples and he lets out a high-pitched whine.
I can't move. I can hardly breathe. The scent of heat-laced slick floods the air between us, and I close my eyes against it. “Laz.”
“It will pass,” he hisses. “Just give me a minute.”
I open my eyes, incredulous. We both know it will be longer than a minute. “Is it bad?”
He shakes his head quickly. “Not yet.”
“I'll go. You can call me in a couple weeks when it's a better time to reco—“
“No,” he gasps, desperation evident. “Please don't. Please, Brooks. Stay.”
Heat flushes his cheeks as he whines again, and his scent becomes even more intense.
I need to leave. This is inappropriate. His Alpha is just down the hall. I don't understand why she'd allow me access to him when he's having heat spikes, but the reason isn't important right now. I rise to my feet. “I'm going.”
His pupils blow, taking over the blue all at once. “No,” he hisses. “Stay.”
Then he rushes at me. One moment he's sitting in the middle of his bed, the next he's pinning me to it. He doesn't look capable of such a thing, but an Omega in heat is a force of its own.
Laz buries his nose in the juncture of my neck and shoulder and takes long, deep breaths as he thrusts his erection against me. “Please, Brooks. Stay.”
I have too many emotions to process. They are all warring for the star role in whatever terrible decision I'm about to make.
Laz's fingers slide along my waist and start working my belt buckle.
No. This has to stop. He has an Alpha.
God, this is going to hurt. I want him so much, despite the years and the hurt and the Alpha down the hall. But I can't. I can't have him. And that's what pushes anger to the forefront.
I will never hurt Laz. Never. But I will stop this.
I wrap my hands around his wrists and pull them away from my belt, ignoring the desperate sounds he makes as he fights against it. “Laz. Lazarus. Stop.”
He growls, and I growl back. All that accomplishes is pulling another whine from him.
“Please,” he begs. “I hurt so much. I need you.”
And then I smell it. Yes, Laz is definitely having heat spikes. He's havingchemically inducedheat spikes. My lips curl in a disappointed snarl. I don't know why I thought he had stopped doing the drug that destroyed us.
I stand up abruptly, shoving him back onto his bed. “You need your Alpha. What would she think of you trying to fuck whoever was in front of you?”
A cold laugh barks out of him. “Who do you think keeps me in heat like this?”
I turn away from him and start moving toward the door.
“I need you, Brooks,” he rasps. “Please.”
I close my eyes again, taking a breath to steel myself. “Goodbye, Laz.”
