Archive of Our Own ^beta

The sound of metal claws tapping against a wooden desk filled the troubled atmosphere of the quiet room. An agitated frown rested on the face of the charcoal-eyed alpha who was deep in his thoughts, his gaze fixed on a glass container filled to the brim with white powder in front of him. The only thing he had to do was to press them into pills and he would have a new patch of heat suppressants, ready to be delivered to Luna who could make sure the few omegas in their colony got them when needed. But a slight concern was squeezing the scientist’s guts, making it impossible to get up from the chair and finish the project.

He wasn’t doubting his skills of making medicine like that, quite the contrary. He had been crafting potent and side effect-less heat suppressants since he was a teenager. But he had failed to consider the possibility that even his drugs, which had been clearly superior to the ones sold at pharmacies in the old world, weren’t meant to be used indefinitely. 

He could smell it. Through the bitter tobacco lingering on the black trench coat Stanley had casually thrown on the floor of his lab before leaving for a hunting trip with his troops this morning, Xeno could differentiate the familiar scent of his best friend’s rapidly approaching heat. The invigorating and soft smell of pine needles mixed with the light and unique spiciness of gunpowder would usually keep his mind clear and concentrated when it was lingering in his lab, but whenever the sweet aroma of sap arose from the perfect combination of rather rare and earthy omega scents, it caused a totally opposite effect on him.

As that pheromone-packed smell filled his nostrils, the scientist’s mind drifted back to the moment he had smelled it for the first time. It had been only a couple of days after Stanley’s 13th birthday when the boy had desperately knocked on the door of the Wingfield household, drenched from the rain that was pouring down like buckets in the dark night. But the risk of flu had been the least of their concerns when he and his mom had witnessed the bruises the blond was littered with. And for what? For being so confident by nature and physically active from a very young age that his parents had been sure once his secondary gender would show up, he would be an alpha. Xeno couldn’t understand how Stanley’s dad could ever do something like that after taking the boy to a shooting range and hunting since he was a tiny pup, always boasting how his son had gotten his first gold medal in a sharp shooting competition at the age of 10, but the moment Stanley had gotten his first heat instead of a rut, all those memories and pride had crumbled down into physical violence, breaking the parental bond and disowning the young boy in a single night. 

Despite being at the brink of hypothermia from walking all the way to their house in the autumn storm, Stanley’s cheeks had been burning red and he looked feverish. On top of being mentally torn from getting abandoned by his family, he was in agonizing pain and confused by the new feeling that was overtaking his body against his will. But like a mother hen, Mrs. Wingfield had taken the young omega and led him to the guest room, leaving only that weirdly sweet scent of the boy’s first heat lingering at the doorstep for the rest of the night.

Back then Xeno hadn’t been affected by the scent. He had been a rather late bloomer actually, so much so that he had already considered the possibility of being a beta after all despite his ambitiousness and drive to be in the lead of every project he took. To him one’s secondary gender had nothing to do with their abilities. He knew he could reach his goals with sheer determination, although for the time it took him to develop his secondary gender he silently hoped to be an alpha since he had seen the privilege it brought on academic career. But later on he regretted belittling the far superior benefits of being a beta because after turning 17 he had finally experienced how much the scent of a heat could distract him. Especially Stanley’s. And since his friend had been living under their roof ever since he was kicked out of his home, Xeno had been fortunate not to have his alpha instincts wake up earlier than that. 

It had happened out of the blue. Stanley had once again retreated into his room as yet another painful biannual heat began to tear through him, and even though Xeno had noticed that the boy’s preheat during the past days had smelled sweeter than usual and the air in the whole house had been harder to breathe, the moment that strong, delicious scent of the full heat reeking from the omega’s room hit his nose it unexpectedly triggered the young genius to have his first rut. It had been awful. It had made him act inelegantly and lose all control of his actions. And if it hadn’t been for his mother’s cautiousness and insist of getting a lock on Stanley’s room, he would have messed up real bad when his short circuited brain had navigated purely on instinct and he had ended up clawing the paint off the white wooden door, growling and whining mindlessly as he had desperately tried to get inside where the sweet aroma of Stanley’s heat was leaking into the corridor.

A hot wave flooding through his body snapped the dictator of the new world to the realization of how deep he was sinking into the lingering pre-heat in his personal territory. He groaned in agitation and felt the hardness pressing against the front of his slacks as he pushed himself up from his chair to open the door and ventilate the lab, hoping the fresh air would also clear his head. He didn’t dare to touch the trench coat lying in the middle of the room, and silently cursed his friend for leaving it there like that right now of all times. He had calculated it would take only a few weeks before he would go into a natural rut, hence why he was set to get as much work done as possible before that, and he wasn’t going to take a risk of triggering it early by handling Stanley’s pheromone heavy belongings. 

As the fresh air filled his lungs, Xeno sighed in relief and leaned against the steel door frame, letting the rays of afternoon sun hit his face. A soft gust of warm summer wind caressed his cheek and the dizzying feeling was leaving his body with every breath he drew in. That was a good sign. Maybe if he stayed out and gathered his thoughts for the moment it took for the smell in the lab to fade away at least a little, he could go back to finish the suppressants, ask Stanley to pick up his belongings, and take the evening off.

He watched the colony that was opening in front of him. The vast corn fields surrounding the impenetrable walls and the tall main building towering elegantly over everything. He felt proud knowing he had gotten them this far in only two years, but had to admit he wouldn't have been able to do everything by himself. Despite being an alpha, Xeno wasn’t heavily built like the most of his kind. He reckoned he could have been able to grow his muscle mass if he was even the slightest bit into physical training, but his interests had always been in utilizing his brain power, so it was good to have plenty of those buffed up alphas in the colony to do all the heavy lifting. Even if he had been rather disdainful towards individuals like that in the old world.

As far as he could remember, he had hated how often alphas resorted in brute force when they wanted something. Was it just his nature to reject that part of his second gender even before he was aware of it or had the hatred towards those ignorant knotheads developed throughout the years? He wasn’t sure, but one thing was certain. On the night he had seen those bruises on Stanley’s body, caused by the alpha the boy had once called his father, Xeno had decided he would dedicate his life to protect Stanley with his science. And he had continued on that path even after his secondary gender had shown.

He reminisced the day after Stanley’s first heat had finally ended and the two had been sitting on the moon carpet in the middle of Xeno’s bedroom. He had insisted over a pinky-promise that he would keep Stanley safe, and fair enough, he had built borderline lethal tasers and pepper sprays for the boy, and studied chemistry to create scent blockers and suppressants which his best friend had gladly received, but in the end Stanley had been well off on his own and didn’t need protecting from anyone. Xeno had been in awe seeing how the blond hadn’t been dispirited by his father’s violent actions or by the societal pressure on how he was supposed to act as an omega. No, Stanley had been determined to train and get stronger, not only to defend himself but to be fit to join the marines like he had dreamed since he was a pup. And how far he had gotten with that unwavering willpower? Despite getting ridiculed and looked down upon after enlisting at the age of 18, his exceptional skills got him promoted to the special forces and he was granted the title of a captain in mere few years. Hell, the difference of their lifestyles, both of which clashed with the norms society had tried to put on them, was so drastic that whenever they had hung out during Stanley’s military leave it wasn’t uncommon of other alphas to catcall him, thinking he was the one with the soft omega scent since he was the one with the leaner build. It had been frustrating, not because of it feeling degrading to be confused as an omega for his size, but because witnessing the amount of attraction Stanley’s scent caused in those instinct-driven idiots was disgusting and made him furious. 

The distant musk of alphas arriving from their hunt carried over with the wind, but through all those pungent pheromones of exhaustion, triumph and to his queasiness, lust, Xeno could clearly smell that sweet sappy scent of the commander that was leading his troops back to the colony. It was apparent the scent collar he had incorporated in Stanley’s uniform wasn’t holding any of that overbearing reek of pre-heat anymore if even he could smell it from this far. The small hairs on the back of the scientist’s neck raised and his eyes narrowed when he imagined how those soldiers must have been as aware of Stanley’s state as he was. How they would circle around his friend like horny animals, wanting to sink their teeth in as if he was some worthless piece of meat. Those same soldiers who until this point had obediently followed the orders and showed their full respect towards the omega who had time and time again proved why he had been promoted to the position he was in the old world. Alphas, who had gotten even Xeno’s trust as more level-headed and rational individuals not only for their loyalty towards their commander but as people who had been patient enough to stay awake for 3719 years. Still, if Stanley’s pre-heat was messing up even his head this badly he feared how much it was affecting those soldiers. It would be only a matter of time until one of them would snap. Or multiple of them. And if that happened he could never forgive those who dared to lay even a finger on Stan.

Nausea and anger had begun boiling in Xeno’s body and he had to force himself out of the spiral he was entering. He needed to talk with Stanley and explain how the omega was obligated to take a few weeks off to go through the heat that was way overdue, or it would cause problems.

Chatter reached the scientist’s ears as the group of armored soldiers carrying dead crocodiles arrived inside the walls of the colony, and he turned his head to see just what he had expected with dread. The usually so stern and venerable alphas were acting way more casual, surrounding the omega who despite his muscular frame was still considerably smaller than them. They were leaning in as they laughed and made jokes about the hunt, overly-friendly patting the captain’s back and bumping his shoulder playfully as they were stealing inhales of that addicting aroma. The only ones who weren't buzzing around Stanley like bumblebees on a sunflower were Charlotte, the only other omega soldier of their colony, and Maya, her mate who kept her distance, eating a raw piece of crocodile meat as she watched how the sharp jabs of the short blonde’s elbows kept swinging into the sides of anyone leaning too close to their captain. The sight of that feistiness keeping those heat huffers in control brought at least some peace into Xeno’s soul, but the darkness in his gaze deepened when he looked at Stanley. The omega seemed as playful as the others, causing a jolt of jealousy in his guts as he smelled the alluring sap and plethora of aroused musk being released around his friend.

“Stan!!” Xeno barked from the ramp, not able to watch the other alphas wooing his friend like that for even a second longer. The blond had been in the middle of saying something but turned to look up at the laboratory when he heard the demanding call, the wide smile on his face getting even brighter when he saw the leader of their colony.

“Yo, Xeno! Got your work done for today?”

“Not yet.” The scientist crossed his arms and gave a strict glare under the thick brows. “Care to stop for a moment or are you too busy mingling with your men? I need to have a word with you.”

“Sure, I have time!” The blond chuckled and took a step towards the ramp that would lead to the lab. “I was actually planning to make a visit just now to talk about something.”

“Captain Stanley! With all due respect,” Charlotte stepped out behind the beef wall of alphas who were silently gritting their teeth at Xeno for stealing away their commander just when they were having a blast. Her voice was sharp, yet she tried to keep it as reverent as possible while she gave a guarded look at Xeno’s direction. “I don’t think you should go alone.”

“Oh come on, Charlotte,” Stanley scoffed and tilted his head with slight annoyance. “I’ve known Xeno for ages so there’s no need for distrust like that. You and the others can go ahead, I won’t take long.”

“But captain-!”

“I’ll be fine.” The taller omega growled and dug out a cigarette as he glared at the others, who quickly gave him a salute before scattering. Xeno felt the piercing stare Charlotte was giving at his direction as the woman walked away, but convinced himself that it would be alright. Like Stanley had said, they wouldn’t take long.

The scientist turned around on his heels and walked back to his desk. It was definitely easier to breathe now that the sweet scent had faded a little, but if Stanley was going to be there with him even for a few minutes he would have to keep another ventilation pause afterwards and he much rather finished making the pills right now than waited for another twenty minutes to complete such a small task. He took the glass container to the pill presser just when he heard the approaching clack of Stanley’s spiked boots against the steel stairs, and in a short moment, the same scent he had just gotten rid off filled the lab once more as the omega stepped in, his melodic voice ringing in the dim room.

“Making suppressants?”

“Yes… Luna told me we were getting low with those…” Xeno mumbled, fully concentrating on pouring the right amount of powder into the presser, but he stopped and rolled his eyes when he heard the heavy thud of Stanley’s armor hitting the floor. “You better pick that up before you leave. My lab is not your closet.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give me some slack, I’ve worn it for hours in that warm weather and I’m sweating like a pig.” Stanley hummed and lit up his cigarette. “Those pills, are they the same ones you’ve been making before?”

“Yes. The same recipe I perfected when we were teens.” The scientist kept his eyes on the thin lines on the side of the chamber he was pouring the powder into. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk about with you.”

“Same.” Stanley hummed and walked next to the alpha, his amber eyes following how the metal claws tapped the chamber wall to even the powder mound until it was level with the red line. “I think they’re losing the effect.”

“No. It’s you who’s becoming resistant to them.” The sweet smell was invading the alpha’s senses once again and he scrunched his brows together, keeping his eyes on the machine as it dosed the drug into the molds. Thankfully the bitter reek of burning tobacco on the blond’s lips was off-putting enough to keep his thoughts in place. “It’s about time you take that heat leave.”

“I don’t have time for that. There’s too much work to do for me to be bedridden for half a month.”

“Stan! The reason the suppressants have stopped working is because you’ve been taking them nonstop for over a year and a half!” Xeno pushed the lever down to compress the powder inside the molds, and turned to face his friend. His grip on the handle got tighter and a vein popped on his wrist when he saw how Stanley’s cheeks had a faint rosy tint and his always so sharp eyes were definitely hazier than usual, all screaming signs of his heat being right around the corner. “If anything, you should avoid hanging around brute alphas like your troops, especially while hunting. The heightened adrenaline levels in their blood could cause them to snap around your scent.”

“You worry too much like always. They’re not like those mindless knotheads I had to fight off in the old world.” The omega let out a small laugh which prompted an irritated look from his friend who gritted his teeth, dark flames flashing in his gaze.

“Well, you definitely weren’t fighting off their flirting attempts back there.” 

The salty remark and heightened release of the usually very subtle aroma of ozone that accentuated the elegant scent of champagne made Stanley raise his brows.

“Hey, no need to get jealous of that attention! You’re still my best friend even if I joke with other alphas about their silly primal instincts.”

“I’m not jealous of you being friends with them, just concerned you might give out wrong signals.”

“It’s just lighthearted barracks humor, nothing more.” Stanley convinced and threw the burnt cigarette on the floor. His voice got lower as he stomped it under his boot to put out the glowing ashes. “You need to develop that when you’re an omega in those spaces. I have no intention of fucking any of those alphas, and they’re well aware of that.”

A remorseful clench in his stomach stopped Xeno on his tracks. He looked at the captain, realizing that despite the hard work and tenacious attitude, it must have been hell of a battle to climb up the ranks in the US Marines, trying to please, yet at the same time turn down any pestering higherup who attempted to harass the omega into offering carnal favors. As far as he knew, Stanley had always gotten out of those situations without trouble, but he could vividly remember the harsh way the marine had insulted those molesters while they had hung out during the omega’s military leave. Yet during these two years in the stone world Stanley had never said one negative word about the soldiers who woke up from the stone with them, so maybe he himself was actually the one in the wrong here.

“Apologies. I guess my instincts are acting out too at the moment.” The scientist mumbled and walked to his desk, mentally kicking himself for getting riled up so inelegantly. His head was buzzing from heightened blood pressure and his skin was prickling, but he tried to calm himself down. He was unnecessarily possessive of Stanley right now, and he needed to stop so it wouldn't come off as belittling the captain’s abilities of defending himself.

“I know. You’ve always been like that. Even when you think you’re all calm and collected with your magnificently logical brain overpowering any animalistic instinct of being the mighty and protective alpha in my life.” Stanley huffed out a short, amused laughter and followed his friend at the desk, playfully tilting his head to look into the charcoal eyes that tried to avoid him in discreet embarrassment. “It’s funny actually. Gives me a good laugh whenever you’re not realizing how much it seeps through. But you’re really the only one I allow to coddle me like that so I don’t mind. It’s nice to see how much you care, even though you tend to overthink way too often.”

Xeno scoffed and rolled his eyes to the bright grin his elite soldier was giving at him after throwing small jabs like that. Obviously he hoped for Stanley’s best because the man was his dear childhood friend, but he didn’t want to admit his alpha brain might have taken over his thoughts every now and then. How it was taking over right now. He hated how he could feel his worry wasn’t purely unconditional anymore, but tainted with the lurking desires which he desperately needed to repress. Stanley’s scent was intoxicating, especially when it was added to that tenderness the omega was showing towards him. The scientist swore the sappy smell in the room had gotten even sweeter, but it could be all in his head.

“I think we should get back to the topic.” He cleared his throat, taken aback how hoarse it had gotten all of a sudden. “I’m not okay with the way you’re straining your body, so I really mean it when I say you should let the heat come and go naturally.”

“And like I told you, I don’t have time for that right now. Someone needs to be in charge of the military while you’re all absorbed into your science stuff.” Stanley cocked a hip and rested his hand on it, something he often did when he was getting bored at unnecessary quarreling or hearing his science rambles, but right now the gesture couldn’t have made Xeno any less aware of how curvy and soft his friend’s hips looked. Images of his fingers sinking into the flesh underneath the tight uniform invaded his mind, and he had a hard time pushing those inappropriately lewd thoughts off his head.

“You’ve let Charlotte have her heat leaves when needed, so why aren’t you giving the same permission for yourself?” 

“Xeno. You have to remember here that mine are way more intense than regular ones.”

“You know the colony won’t fall even if it takes more time for you to recover from… all of it…”

The memories of all the noises he had heard from Stanley’s room during the five years they had lived under the same roof crescendoed into a cacophony in Xeno’s head, but his imagination twisted them to be cried out by the deeper, more mature voice of the omega in front of him. The moans. Pleads. Groans of frustration and need. They were overtaking his thoughts at an alarming rate. Beads of sweat were forming under the collar of his white button-up and the roaring pulse of his heartbeat was sending tremors through his veins. He had gotten hard again. But this time the pressure of the steady pulsing of his member was getting dangerously forceful. He knew he shouldn’t spend any more time with Stanley or it could trigger his rut.

“Fine. I’ll make you a patch of stronger suppressants. But after those you won’t take any until you’ve had your heat. And that’s an order, Stan!”

The amber eyes widened when they met the void-like stare where a frantic gleam had risen. Stanley seemed to read the situation quickly, the gunpowder in his overly sweet scent spiking up as he got more vigilant in the heightened musk of the alpha’s arousal. He backed up slowly, giving a short nod as he inched towards the door.

“I guess that’s a good compromise for now. Thanks man.”

“And take those far away from here.” Xeno pointed at the armor with the long, gray drapes sprawled around on the floor, overlapping the trench coat that had bothered him the whole day. “I swear you’ve gotten so lax with your stuff lately. I almost tripped over that ghillie suit you left on that exact spot the other day, and now there’s…”

The alpha’s eyes stopped on the spread pile on the floor and the omega who was slowly crouching to pick them up when the realization hit his clouded mind.

“Stan… Have you been leaving those here on purpose?”

“What? No! I just… dropped them wherever I felt like it…” The blond’s voice died out and his face dropped when he came to the same conclusion as his friend.

“You have been building a nest in my lab!”

“I swear it’s been totally unintentional! I didn't realize I… Shit, Xeno…”

Reality was lost in the haze of scents when something primal clicked inside Xeno, and all he could comprehend was that there was an omega in heat, and it had built its nest at the heart of his territory. The blood was boiling in his veins and his breathing got heavy. Saliva rushed on his tongue as he thought how good Stanley would look under him, squirming beautifully in the frills of his simple nest. How he would lean in and bury his face in the crook of the blond’s neck and take a deep breath of those intoxicating pheromones that were constantly inviting him to breed with the omega. He lunged forward with a strength he never knew he had in him. Flustered panic flashed in the amber eyes. He grabbed a fistful of the golden strands and forcefully pushed the crouched omega on the floor with him.

Sharp pain on his nose caused him to lose vision for a second. Stanley had struck him with an open palm and was about to push him off, but he wasn’t going to let go. Even with blurred vision and the metallic tang of blood on his palate, he could still locate the source of the deliciously strong smell of sap and he blindly bit into the flesh before it got any further away from him.

Stanley let out a shuddering cry as the sharp canines sank into his neck through his clothes. Xeno swore he could already taste the sweetness of the scent gland which he had missed barely by an inch. The aroma that was seeping through the high collar of the soldier’s uniform was too delicious to let go, and he kept biting harder until he felt how the last remnants of struggling finally halted under him. Stanley gasped. The air around them filled with an intoxicating cloud of pure lust. A low, ecstatic groan rose from Xeno’s throat when he felt a small whimper resonating under his teeth. He had triggered the omega’s heat.

“Please… Xeno…”

Stanley’s gloved fingers clawed into his back as that soft, barely audible plea was uttered by the quivering purple lips, tickling the pale skin of the alpha’s cheek. It was fragile. Vulnerable. Far from the poised and bantering tone he had gotten used to hearing. Even in his wildest rut-induced dreams he had never imagined a voice so erotic whispering into his ear like that. A sound so alluring it was like propellant thrown into the raging wildfire inside him. Stirring him to dominate. To take what was his.

He had to get those clothes off the omega. Right now. He forced himself to let go of the beautiful, long neck to yank open the zipper and every belt buckle that was on his way. And as he peeled off the fabric that was clinging onto the damp, scalding chest, an even more concentrated aroma of Stanley’s heat hit his senses like a baton. Sweat was trickling down the blond’s neck, and a dark bruise was forming on the spot where Xeno had bitten him. A deep blush decorated the burning skin, and the gorgeous amber eyes were veiled in a thick haze, the blown pupils following turbidly how the alpha ripped his uniform open. 

When he finally reached the lower half of the skintight clothes, the breathtaking sight of a rather sizable omega cock springing up made Xeno’s own member twitch painfully against its restraints. With no patience left, he groaned in frustration and tugged the front of his slacks down enough to pull himself out before tearing open the remaining zippers on Stanley’s thighs with no care of destroying a good amount of fabric alongside it. Slick was glistening all over the omega’s inner thighs, and with no second thought Xeno pushed the thick, muscular legs up to the captain’s chest and buried his face into the source of the strong, dizzying scent to lap up some of that sweet sweet nectar that was inviting him in. 

Stanley let out a needy moan, bucking his hips against the hot tongue that was pressed flat against his entrance, and Xeno shuddered as the taste of pure ambrosia spread in his mouth  and more slick trickled out of the puckering hole under his lips. Stanley was absolutely delicious. Why hadn’t he gotten a taste of him until now? Why had he been kept in the dark of just how divine this scent was when it was in liquid form, running down his palate as he pushed his tongue further in to greedily drink more. The hunger grew in him the more he roamed around the burning, slippery flesh, and Stanley’s growing moans echoed in his foggy mind. But a force far bigger and primitive was pulling him to stop.

He needed to breed with this omega. 

Stanley whined when Xeno pulled his tongue out, but threw his head back, accompanied with a loud cry of pleasure when the alpha rammed his cock inside with one shove. The charcoal eyes blew wide and a feral gleam filled them when the perfectly tight and wet warmth swallowed him all the way to the base. 

This! This was what he had been made for! This was the true meaning of life as an alpha. To breed with an omega. And not just any omega, but the one that smelled far better than anyone else in the universe. One that looked beyond ethereal with honey and copper glimmering in those gorgeous eyes that kept begging for more as he grabbed the perfectly round, pup-bearing hips and pounded into the gushing heat, one he had never experienced before but which he knew he belonged into. And which belonged to him. Only to him. It kept clenching around him. Squeezing and pulling him closer to the climax. It was craving for him to plant life into the fertile soil that was waiting for his seed at the end of the cavern he was thrusting into. 

Sweet moans kept pouring out past the purple lips, crescendoing with every slam of their hips, and Xeno’s claws dug into the toned flesh when the wave of ecstasy rushed through him. Those were the exact sounds he had heard all those years ago, but indeed, they were far more arousing now that they were produced by the fully matured vocal cords. They were frantic, purely obscene, guttural noises filled with primal lust. A song without language. Without words. Sung only for him, as the omega shuddered and clung onto his neck in desperation.

His breath hitched and midriff spasmed when the pressure around him grew too unbearable to take anymore. With a loud growl he hunched over and thrusted deep into the squelching tightness, his knot swelling rapidly and locking him together with Stanley whose wanton cries echoed in his ears. Thin ropes of cum squirted out of the omega’s cock, glazing the blond’s perfectly toned abdominal muscles to the rhythm of which Xeno kept recoiling and pumping his load inside, his static black eyes rolling back to his skull as his mind went blank from the most violently euphoric orgasm of his life.

If there had been any remaining coherent thoughts in his head, they were far gone by now. He wasn’t sure where he was, who he was, or what was the name of the beautiful creature under him with such a desirable aroma and melodic voice that kept mewling in utter rapture. Yet getting the answer to any of those wasn’t necessary. The only thing that mattered was that he had successfully knotted an omega in heat, like he was meant to do. It was the sole purpose of their biology. Something every alpha was striving for so they could pass on their genes. 

But he couldn’t stop now. One time wasn’t enough. He needed to make sure it was his seed that would get this omega pregnant, not anyone else’s. And when he finally could move again, his deflating knot slipping out and letting the churned mix of viscous fluids drip down to the drapes underneath them, he didn’t waste any time. Fueled by his instincts he took a better hold of the angelic, muscular body, grabbing a handful of that soft hair, weaved from strands of pure gold and sunlight, and lunged forward to bite onto one of the perfectly perked up nipples as he pushed himself back inside, his inner alpha going crazy from the lewd bellows that filled the room as he fucked them both into oblivion.

---

There was no concept of time where he was mentally. It might have been minutes. Or days. He couldn't tell. But his clothes were stained with slick and cum that was gushing out as his knot deflated and his hips started their forceful thrusts once again, no one knows how many times. He simply couldn’t stop. 

The intoxicating mix of their scents. The plethora of unrestricted noises of pure ecstasy. The way the omega was submitting to him and taking him so eagerly. All of those were clear signs they were meant for each other. He simply had to keep on breeding this perfect omega. To make sure they would get lots of beautiful pups. To make sure no one else would take it away from him. He had to…

A hoarse cry rang out as yet another mind-shattering dry orgasm washed over the blond. Xeno groaned when the walls around him convulsed in waves, but picked up his pace when the constricting tightness was driving him closer to the edge once again. He watched how the omega tossed its head back in overstimulation. The way those tendons stretched on the stunning, long neck was a breathtaking sight, but where the deranged gaze of his void-like black eyes really fell onto was the scent gland on that neck that was presented at him, and the large bruise under it from his earlier bite.

Yes. He had to fix that. No one knew this omega belonged to him unless he claimed it.

The pressure grew in his abdomen again and he leaned over to inhale the bare neck. The sweet sap, prickling aroma of pine, and fiery gunpowder were like drugs he didn’t want to get sober from. Saliva was dripping down his teeth and he pressed his lips around the gland, running his tongue over it and vocalizing his bliss with a long, gravelly moan. The taste was exceptional. Truly meant for him. He could feel how his knot was about to swell up, ready to lock in so he could shoot yet another load, and how the omega was breathing heavily, clinging onto him as his sharp canines scraped the delicate skin in preparation of marking it as his own.

A sudden sharp tug on his hair and jab of a thin but strong forearm being pressed against his throat startled Xeno. He hadn’t even noticed the new, mildly sugary pudding scent that had entered the room, but his fighting instincts kicked in immediately when he was pulled back. Someone was trying to come between him and his omega. 

He flashed his teeth angrily and let out a low, rumbling growl to drive off the intruder but whoever was trying to prevent him from knotting and claiming what was his, wasn’t backing off.

“I shouldn’t have left you two alone!!”

Charlotte didn’t waver even slightest at the presence of the dangerously agitated alpha in a rut, but took Xeno into a strong headlock and wrenched him off the commander with one strong pull. Stanley was left writhing and whimpering on the floor when the knot that had just begun swelling in him got pulled out before it could tie them together. 

Xeno roared and fought back the strangle that was almost choking him. He clawed the arm and squirmed around, trying everything to get out and back to his omega whose perfect scent was soured by the reek of distress the further he was dragged away. But no matter how much he fought back, he wasn’t breaking free, and the distance to his omega was growing alarmingly fast. Soon enough sunlight hit his eyes when he was dragged out of the lab, and the last thing he saw were the blurry copper eyes, darting around in turmoil. As he was pulled down the stairs like a pathetically wiggling ragdoll, the heat-fueled shrieks of agony began ricocheting from the metal walls of the lab like stray bullets before they flew out of the open door for everyone to hear in the colony. They were desperate calls, full of misery. Pleas for his alpha to come back. Cries filled with fear for the paralyzing pain that would soon take over if there was no one there to take care of the overwhelmingly strong heat that was tearing the blond apart.

Xeno listened to those calls, unable to do anything. The arm around his throat was blocking the blood flow to his brain just enough for it to act as tranquilizer, so the more he tried to struggle or return the longing calls, the more he tired himself out, soon barely able to do much else but wheeze and cling onto that arm so he wouldn’t choke to death. His vision was getting darker as the oxygen was getting sparse in his head. The guttural, lonely caterwauls faded into the distance, and so did the scent he was ready to fight for. 

His omega needed him. And he needed his omega… He needed Stan…

***

“Wake up!”

A loud backhand smack echoed in the workshop deep down under the main factory’s floors.

“Wake up, you absolute knothead!!”

“Easy, Char.” Maya tried to calm down her mate when the barely conscious alpha’s eyes rolled slowly in his slouching head, not able to focus on anything. “We don’t wanna kill him. Not at least before we are sure what happened.”

“That dry blood under his nose is telling enough!” Charlotte shouted, narrowing her eyes to glare at the pitiful man on the floor. “Open-palm strike on the nose is the first thing you do to stun the rapist. Captain taught that to me when I joined the military.”

“Well, the situation isn’t very flattering for him, that’s for sure.” Maya placed her hand gently on the omega’s shoulder. “But we must understand that things aren’t all black and white. You can’t even imagine how hard it is for an alpha to stay rational when a rut gets triggered by heat.”

“You can’t imagine how hard it is to be an omega in that situation!!!” The blonde snapped and pushed her mate’s hand off of her. Her eyes teared up from pure anger and she took a step back in distraught. “It’s fucking scary! Being at the mercy of your own damn body, not sure if it is going to fight back even when you mentally want to!! How we’re vulnerable to being taken by any alpha and not able to stop it, only because the stupid biology of our secondary gender forces us to submit like that during our heat, no matter how much we train for self defense!”

Her eyes darted to Xeno, disgust and sorrow deforming her soft features. “Fuck the idea of true equality in this colony! Some attitudes and mindsets are so internalized it’s impossible to cull them out in a mere couple of years! That man might have just ruined captain Stanley’s whole future and everything he’s worked for! All the respect he has gained, gone in an instant if he gets pregnant ‘cause that’s just how everyone’s learned to see us! Either as eye candy or mothers! And at least being an eye candy means you can gain a status of a badass among the alphas, unlike a mother whose only purpose is to nurse pups for the rest of their life! You… you don’t understand how fucking unfair that is!”

“Char, wait!” Maya exhaled when the omega turned around and stomped to the stairway, tears running down her cheeks.

“I’m going to check if Luna needs help with the captain. I swear to god if I look at that disgusting rut-bag even for a second longer I’m going to kick his stupid forehead so hard you’d need to pick up pieces of his brain from the furthest corners of this room.”

“Shit… I really didn’t mean to open some old wounds like that…” Maya hissed quietly and with a regretful grimace looked at Brody who had silently watched the heated conversation unravel in his workshop where the fogged out alpha had been dragged to clear his head for now. A grave expression was veiling the usually so jolly face of the mechanic, and he leaned against his workbench, arms crossed.

“I know what you meant. But she’s obviously upset, probably more than any of us combined since Stanley’s such an impactful role model to her. Right now any discussion of the differences between an accidentally triggered mindless rut and an assault would be too sensitive of a topic.”

Maya sighed sorrowfully as she watched her mate ascending the stairs at a quick pace.

“I know. I realized that immediately after the words had left my mouth. I just… don’t know what to think about all this…”

“Everyone’s shocked and dealing with the news their own way. It’s natural to feel lost while we wait for more information.” Brody consoled, his fatherly presence calming the agitated younger alpha a little bit. “But talking from experience here, it’s not good to let this kind of topic cause a tear in your bond. So go after her and apologize. I’m sure she’s not in a very forgiving mood right now but since you two are mated and Stanley’s heat doesn’t affect you as much, I bet offering help with the commander would be an appreciated gesture.”

Maya nodded sharply and ran after her mate who had already reached the halfway of the long stairwell leading up to the ground level. The mechanic watched how the former MMA champion strode the steps and caught up with the fuming omega to humbly follow her and repent her thoughtless remark. Their voices grew distant, finally fading away completely and leaving an eerie silence in the dim workshop.

“So… You're back in the real world again, doc?” 

Brody grunted at the scientist who he had noticed staring at the ceiling far above them with empty eyes for a good while already. Xeno nodded faintly. His head was still floating in a limbo filled with angry and worried scents, but he was aware of his surroundings. Exhaustion had taken over his aching body and he was soaked in cold sweat that had seeped into his clothes, making them feel slimy against his skin. His rut was still ongoing, causing his abdomen to tremor and bucker while his heart violently pumped the burning blood to where it was supposedly needed the most, but at least the effects were milder now that he had managed to tire his whole body. 

A couple of hand towels had been thrown over his lower half to politely cover the indecency he was presenting, but no matter how many towels with unwashable stains of soot and metal dust were spread over him, none of them could ever hide what a filthy and disgusting man he was. A sickening creature who couldn’t even remember what had happened, but as the brimstone in Charlotte’s words corroded its way deep into his core, and the last memory of Stanley crouching to pick up his armor kept flickering in his eyes like nauseatingly bright bursts of photoflashes, he could guess what he had done. The one thing he had sworn to never do. Action so vile he had believed himself to be far above it solely because of his intelligence.

“How is he…?” His own voice sounded unfamiliar to him. The raspiness was anything but elegant, but that was the least of his worries. Any attempt to act presentable and polished now would have been just a blatant insult to the one he had ruined. 

“Didn’t sound too good. Luna’s been tending him the whole evening.” Brody grunted quietly, “At least he stopped screaming a while ago. I’ve never in my life heard anything so gut-wrenching. Couldn’t believe it was him when I was told what had happened.”

“Did I…?” The words died in the scientist’s throat. The mere thought of what was considered to be one of the most frowned upon moral crimes made him sick to his stomach. 

“Force a claim mark on him? No. But only because Charlotte pulled you off on time.”

A silent, shaky sigh rippled out of Xeno’s chest and he pressed his wrists tightly against his forehead, hiding his face behind the sticky sleeves of his coat. They were still carrying the silky scent which was both calming him down and ramming daggers through his heart as he kept breathing it. Tears burned in his eyes. The thought of nearly dooming Stanley with an imprint of his putrid smell after what he had done was breaking him into pieces. 

Despite being relieved from hearing his claiming attempt had been prevented, he felt the guilt and quickly surging panic carving his guts open like a butcher's knife. He had definitely knotted Stan. Probably more than once, but even one time was enough for a successful conception if the heat and rut happened to sync. What Charlotte had said kept echoing in his head.

That man might have just ruined captain Stanley’s whole future and everything he’s worked for!

“I… I need to get to the lab…” Xeno attempted to roll on his side and crane himself to lean on his forearms, but the pain surging to his midriff muscles halted him and he collapsed on his side.

“No way you’re going near that place until your rut is over!” Brody spoke with a stern tone. “And I doubt you can enter the lab even after that as long as Stanley is there! Apparently he made the shoddiest god damn nest in the middle of the room and Luna refuses to move it to not cause any more mental strain on that boy.”

“But… I need my equipment…” Frail sobs quivered on the smaller alpha’s chapped lips as the excruciating pain, emotional distress, oversensitivity, and the inner turmoil of selfhatred and yearning were tearing through him. Frustrated by his own weakness, he scraped the cold metal floor with his claws and tried to get up again. “We don’t have any emergency contraceptives… I need to make them for Stan…”

“I told you, you can’t go there! And, you’re definitely not in the right mind to do chemistry right now!” Brody strode to push the disoriented scientist back on his back. An instinctive growl rumbled in Xeno’s throat, but he was too exhausted to fight back the bigger alpha who was pinning his shoulders against the floor. The man’s voice cracked and the sombre eyes behind the tinted glasses teared up. “I wish I could help you… Both of you… But I ain’t more than a military mechanic, so we need to wait until your head’s clear.”

Xeno stared at the ceiling again. He knew Brody was right, but accepting it felt impossible. He was barely capable of doing anything more advanced than basic calculus, if even that, and he couldn’t risk accidentally causing more harm by making faulty hormone-altering substances. But by the time he would be back to his normal, intellectual self, it would be too late for him to start working on those morning-after pills.

***

A week passed. Then another. Soon it had been a month since the incident, and the tension looming over the colony was tangible. Nobody spoke about it. Not at least around him. But it was obvious everyone was holding their breath, waiting to hear any news about Stanley’s condition. 

Xeno knew his friend’s heats had never been easy, but this one had definitely been worse than any of the previous ones. It had lasted way longer than usual, and considering how busy Luna was tending the commander, he had a strong feeling the physical and mental strain it caused for the omega were excruciating. Even more harrowing than what they had already been in the old world. He speculated the reason for Stanley’s worsened condition was the hormonal imbalance caused by the overuse of the suppressants, since the drug he had perfected all those years ago was quite potent. And for a reason. He had needed to be absolutely sure his friend’s preheat wouldn’t creep in while he was surrounded by all those horny alphas at the military base.

Xeno had acknowledged the risks of making something that strong, but maybe he had gotten too self-confident with the superiority of his suppressants and ignored the consequences in the long run. He just hoped the side effects would only be temporary, and he hadn’t accidentally caused permanent damage to Stanley’s cycle by letting the commander prolong his heat for so long.

The scientist frowned and the long metal claws sank into the silvery strands as he leaned his forehead against his palms. The engine blueprints he had tried to work on crinkled under his elbows as he slid them along the surface of the desk in his bedroom, too distracted by his thoughts to even care about ruining his papers. A distressing feeling grew in his chest, but he tried not to think of the other reason that could have caused such a strong reaction in the omega. Terror, panic, shame, strong emotions such as those could cause even a regular heat or rut to take a sudden turn to worse. The way their bodies were built to react strongly to any mental triggers when their primal instincts were taking over was truly defective. 

As much as he tried to ignore it, he had a strong suspicion that the majority of his best friend’s suffering was caused by the incident. Because even he had been affected by it.

Once he had gotten enough strength to stand up, Brody had helped Xeno to his own room to rest off the remaining days of his rut. At first it had felt comforting to curl up into the soft sheets after laying on the cold, hard factory floor for hours with nothing but dank clothes and dirty rags on him, but as he had grinded his aching knot against the fresh blanket he had been hugging for some empty solace, he had realized how much worse it had been to spend such a mentally exhausting rut alone in the safe scent of his bedroom. How much more miserable he had felt when his brain wasn’t constantly alert in the presence of another alpha, but instead calmed down enough for the emotional load to hit him full force. 

He had been shaking. Whimpering and howling in agony. The deep yearning for the scent he had gotten so addicted to had caused physical pain in his chest as he couldn’t let go of his lust, even when the tormenting regret and sorrow kept constantly stabbing him like cold knives. What an absolute travesty of a life form he must have been, crying pathetically while his body kept humping the sheets in a desperate attempt to feel better, his gaunt form curling up in shame and trying to muffle out all those disgusting moans into a pillow when the dull stimulus time and time again had brought him to climax. 

And every time, somewhere deep inside, he had known he craved for more. A feeling he couldn’t remember. A sensation so euphoric he could never reach it, no matter how many times he miserably knotted his own palm. That repulsing desire and the constant reminds of ravaging something so dear to him lashed him for days. And when he had finally woken up from that nightmare, tangled up in the linen he had stained with ejaculate, mucus and tears, the self-image of being a better, more rational and composed alpha who was above any inferior animalistic behavior had completely shattered, and he was left to pick up those broken pieces of himself alone.

The moment he had stepped outside after regaining his consciousness and composure, Xeno could sense the worry, pity, and resentment on everyone. Those pungent smells had made him sick. Not only did they remind him of the guilt that had been constantly choking him, but that reek had also made him more agitated as he had felt the hostility towards himself growing day by day. Naturally it hadn’t taken long for the alpha to completely isolate himself from the rest of the pack, preferring to lock inside his bedroom to get as much work done as possible without distractions caused by the outside world. Did that make him seem inconsiderate and cold? Maybe. But he simply had no time to succumb into depressive thoughts from what he had done when he had work to do. 

There weren’t many who bothered to see him anymore, and even those who did were doing it solely for the sake of the colony. Most frequently he saw Brody, who had stepped up to handle the factories and become somewhat of a regent while the overall view of the former leader was unstable. Apparently there had been rioting amongst the people, but the older alpha’s cordial empathy skills and diplomatic traits had saved the scientist from being torn apart for now. From time to time the mechanic would stop by and ask him how he was doing, and in exchange he would ask for any news about Stanley, but every time the answers were the same: Nothing new. And that was all the interaction he was getting.

The other one who kept stopping by too was Maya, who always brought him a plate of food after the meal time. That of course made his life a bit easier since now he had even less reasons to get out of his room, but in the end all of that was futile since he tended to leave those plates untouched. She tried to keep up her typically bubbly and lighthearted personality whenever she arrived, asking what projects he was planning to work on next, but it was obvious her positivity was overpowered by gloom and inner conflict. And when he kept ignoring her pointless prying she eventually stopped trying to initiate any more of that forced conversation.

Maya had also been the one to bring most of the moveable equipment from his lab. It was obvious she had tried to sanitize them to her best efforts, but the smell of Stanley’s anguish and arousal had completely seeped into them, hindering his work as he had time and time again found himself at the brink of tears despite all his efforts of keeping his emotions under control. Naturally she must have noticed that shameful fragility since not soon after he had received all his stuff, he had gotten a brief visit from Luna who had warily offered to talk with him, insinuating he might have gotten somewhat traumatized by the events too. But enraged by the implication of his inability to deal with his own emotions, he had quickly driven the young medical school drop-out away and told her that he didn’t need her unwarranted compassion when there was clearly someone else who needed her help more. And after that outburst, only Carlos and Max had worked as the intermediary between him and the medical team, stocking up on the painkillers without any interest to chat with him. Which he was more than fine with since despite the lack of overbearing smell of distrust, those two betas were not even trying to hide their disdain of him in their overall demeanor.

From what he had heard, Charlotte had quickly taken the position of leading the troops in Stanley’s absence. It pained to think how that could have been the case way sooner and they could have prevented this whole mess if he had been more careful and steadfast on putting Stanley on a heat leave rather than overlook his friend’s state until it had begun affecting him too. 

A shaky sigh rippled out of the emaciated husk of a man. Why had Stanley wanted to postpone the heat? Most definitely to avoid the torment it entailed, but had he done it only for his own sake? Or hoped to hide it from his troops to keep his reputation as an unwavering captain who feels no pain? Xeno frowned and felt a sting in his heart. The brimstone in Charlotte’s voice arose to his mind as he recalled the distant memories of the woman’s words about the hardships omegas have to face daily. The objectification. The belittling. He had thought he had created an utopia free from all of that. That he had given Stanley the life where he wouldn’t have to fear being looked down on for his secondary gender anymore. And yet the commander hadn’t felt comfortable showing a fundamental part of his life to his subordinates.

Then there was the elephant in the room. A bigger concern than a few carelessly laid comments from some worthless knotheads regarding their military leader’s excruciating heat, which there appeared to be none based on how worried everyone was. Stifling distress creeped in and twisted his guts with its icy tendrils as he imagined the possibility of something growing inside his best friend. Cells dividing into flesh, cartilages, and organs, molding into limbs and skull. A tiny heart beating in the chamber he had filled to the brim with his genetic code. A new life, ensuring their colony would keep thriving in the future too. A fascinating organism, developing features inherited from both him and the omega who carried it. A parasite leeching off Stanley, forcing his secondary gender to feel a strong bond to that clump of mixed DNA which would forever remind him of his assaulter.

Cold sweat trickled down Xeno’s neck. Of course he couldn’t be 100% sure of a successful conception, but the odds definitely weren’t on his side. Out of sheer terror he had immediately run some tests on his own semen the moment he had gotten his lab equipment, wishfully hoping to find out that all this time he had actually been infertile. It wouldn’t have been far-fetched since he had always been such a runt compared to other alphas so it would have made sense for his sperm cells to be defected too, but no. His swimmers were in excellent condition, and even right after a rut the number of them appeared to recover quite efficiently. 

For the first time in his life Xeno hoped he could unlearn what he had discovered just so he could live in the false hope of shooting blanks, because despite all his efforts, he couldn’t come up with a method of medically terminating that possible pregnancy without risking Stanley’s life in the process. The omega’s body was weakened due to the abnormally long heat and still recovering from the overuse of suppressants, so the possibility of cardiac arrest was too high for the alpha to make the decision on behalf of his friend. Yet despite the dread he carried over the gamble he was about to take, he had made those pills. They laid in a small glass container on his desk, ready to be offered the moment Stanley would wake up to the painful reality of which he had been forced into.

The alpha cursed how he had once again let himself succumb into despair when he was supposed to work, and he was about to smooth out the papers he had wrinkled when a sudden change in the air got him vigilant. Something unusual was going on outside his room. Before he could even hear the hurried steps and distant voices shouting at each other, he knew it had something to do with Stanley, and he quickly got up with shaking knees. He had barely eaten anything the whole day, or during the past weeks in that matter, but with the sheer adrenaline spike that had overtaken every nerve in his body he didn’t collapse from the alarmingly low blood sugar levels as he pulled on his coat, grabbed the pill bottle and stormed out of the room. 

He could feel the judgemental eyes on him as he strode through the castle and made his way outside. The scents around him were still full of rebuke and contempt, but mixed with all that, alongside weeks worth of uncertainty and worry, he could sense lingering hope. The rejoice of their beloved commander being alive after such a daunting wait. In only a few minutes the word had carried over the colony, announcing that Stanley’s heat was over and that his condition had gotten stable enough for him to be awake. 

Of course all the soldiers were swarming to get to the lab, and Xeno felt the irritation growing in him as he approached the crowded walkway. Why were those idiots rushing to see Stanley right after his heat? Unlike him, they had no legitimate reason to do that, and probably were there just to present what an empathic and caring mate they could be in hopes of impressing the exhausted omega.

“Out of my way!” The small alpha hissed, weaving his way through the crowd to get to the door, but immediately he felt the air getting thick from furor and one of the men grabbed him from the collar of his coat.

“With all due respect, doctor Xeno, you better stay away from the commander!”

“Yeah! Accident or not, you’re still a rapist for what you did to him, and we won't let you get near him when he’s still in a vulnerable state!”

Xeno’s guts turned over when he heard being referred to by that term, but the rage from being disrupted on his urgent mission pushed the guilt aside and with the last remains of his desperately patched up pride he snapped back.

“You’re no better than me, behaving in such disrespectful manner around Stan that day, you filthy heat huffers!! I bet you must have fantasized of ganging up on him during that hunt!!”

A quick woosh and he was promptly knocked out of breath when his back got slammed against the steel of the cylindrical tower.

“Take that back, ya runt!! We would never disgrace him like that!!”

“Get your hands off me!!” The scientist wheezed between gasps of air and flashed his canines. “Stan needs me more than he needs you horny meat heads!!”

“Nobody here needs a selfish tyrant like you! Brody’s been a way better leader all while you’ve been hiding in your room, all pompous and ignorant of commander Stanley’s suffering!!”

The accusation triggered something aggressive deep within Xeno. The faint hair on the back of his neck stood up as the alpha side of him prepared for a physical fight despite his logical brain trying to remind him that he was half the size of his opponents, and malnourished to the point of feeling dizzy and nauseous after striding from the castle to his lab. But the wildfire in his veins and the need to see the omega he cared for more than anything else in the whole wide universe drove him to ignore his own state. The metal claws constricted around the arms which held him firmly pinned against the wall from his crooked collars, and he charged all his strength into a harsh kick that landed between the soldier’s legs. 

As the hold on his clothes faltered from shock, he tore free from the grip and bolted past the seething meat barrier towards the big metal door that was waiting for him at the top. He had to get there! He had to see Stan. Even if it would be the last time they talked. He was prepared to hear the judgement. That his best friend would never want to smell his putrid scent again. That his mere presence in the colony was ripping open the wounds he had inflicted. That the commander was better off without him. If that’s what the omega wanted, he would let the mob take the justice in their own hands and accept his fate as the failed leader of a new, brighter future, but before that he needed to deliver the pills, tell Stanley how sorry he was, and how he would do anything to fix things if he was only given the chance.

He got bodyslammed against the stairs before he got to take even a step away from the elite team of supersoldiers. It was expected. And as the barrel of one of the guns he had created for his personal army was pressed against the back of his head, his only wish was that someone would dig through his pockets and find the pill delivery if his brainmatter was to decorate the stairs within the next second.

“What the hell’s going on here!”

Charlotte’s commanding tone coming from the lab door froze the mayhem that was going down on the staircase. Xeno released the exhale he had held in his foreboding wait of getting executed by the angered military alphas, and he looked up to the omega woman who stood arms crossed at the upper end of the stairs a few steps above them. The cold stare of her blue eyes was fixed on the soldiers, but then she spotted the lithe silver haired alpha under them, and her eyes narrowed.

“Some nerves you have to show your face now of all times after weeks of absence.”

Xeno swallowed thickly when the distant memories of the woman’s wrath right after the incident returned to his mind. He didn’t care what the others thought about him, but the fact she had been the one to find him and tear him off Stanley made this encounter highly uncomfortable. He couldn’t disregard her spite. She had valiantly charged to fight a frantic alpha in a mindless rut and saved Stanley from getting marked. Truly a feat worth rewarding. But how do you reward someone who would rather see you getting hanged from your knot?

“How’s Stanley?” Xeno asked, not able to come up with anything better to say. He could fight verbally with the others until his death, but the respect he had for Charlotte surprisingly outweighed his own ego.

The blonde glared at him with an expressionless face, took a deep breath and let out a vexed sigh.

“You can ask that from the captain. He heard you yelling here and told me to let you in.”

Xeno’s heart skipped a beat and he stared at the woman in confusion for a few seconds before the words sank in. As if his body was working on an autopilot, he pushed himself up and the burly military men stood back compliantly, albeit in slightly bewildered disbelief when Charlotte signaled them to let him go. With trembling muscles he moved his legs step by step closer to the door, and could already detect the soft scent of pine needles and gunpowder coming from the lab. He avoided the short omega’s piercing glare as he reached the end of the stairs, but halted just when he was about to pass her.

“Thank you, Charlotte. For everything you’ve done.” He spoke quietly, smelling the strong hatred and wariness on the omega. It was clear she wouldn’t have trusted to let him in, but as loyal as she was to her captain, she was simply following the orders.

“I will kill you if you lay even a finger on him.” She growled back, her deeply venomous tone indicating she wasn't joking. “I’ll be standing in guard right here.”

Xeno nodded understandingly and took the last remaining steps to reach the door. The room was dimly lit, and strangely empty since half of the equipment had been carried to his bedroom. All the curtains dividing different sections of the lab had been removed, probably to be cleaned from the heat scent that had seeped into them. In the middle of the room laid a mattress with recently changed pristine sheets, and under them a haggard form of a man with tangled locks and weary look in his copper eyes. Next to him was Luna, who visibly tensed and stopped combing open the matted blond hair when the smell of their controversial leader reached her nose.

“Are you sure you want to be alone with him, Stanley?” She glanced at Xeno with a timid look, but received an exhausted and hoarse grumble.

“I told you already I’ll be fine!”

Luna jumped and hastily collected her things, gabbing about having no doubts of that and how she wasn’t scared for his safety at all as she hurried out. The door slammed shut, isolating the dim and taut space from the rest of the world. The two stared at each other in silence, only the steady hum of the factory beneath them creating the usual ambience in the room which right now felt alien to the scientist. There was no trace of his own scent left, only disinfectant and the remnants of the same anguish and pain he had smelled on his transferred lab equipment, but at least Stanley wasn’t emitting that smell anymore. He was calm, albeit still in physical pain, but he did his best hiding it as always.

“You shouldn’t be too harsh to Luna. She has worked hard to take care of you.” Xeno noted quietly, feeling a sting in his chest when he remembered how he himself had mistreated the girl in his anxiety riddled agitation when she had offered help.

“You’re really not one to judge. I heard you scared her off for good.” Stanley scoffed, not sounding too reproaching. Instead he raised his brow tiredly and let his gaze wander up and down their leader’s gaunt form. “You look like shit, doc.”

The always so casual and playful remark which he had heard so many times from his best friend whenever he had succumbed to his work and forgotten to take care of himself was now shredding Xeno’s heart to pieces. He stepped closer and kneeled next to the mattress, sensing there was no malice in the omega’s words, and that despite both of them feeling nervous they were at least in neutral terms. 

“Stan, I…” 

The scientist stopped when a lump formed in his throat and tears began to burn in his eyes as the shell he had formed in his isolation crumbled down faster than the layer of stone on the day he had woken up from the petrification. He was quickly declining into a pitiful, weeping mess, far from the elegant conduct he had planned to keep for the visit, and the total collapse of his dignity only pushed him to let out all the thoughts and emotions he had been concealing for the past month now that he was finally with the only person in the world he was comfortable enough with showing any fragility.

“I’m so sorry! I ruined you! I ruined everything! I knew I was about to go into a rut soon but foolishly took the risk that caused all this! I attacked you and forced you into a heat, and I definitely knotted you multiple times, and… I have these pills!” With shaky hands he rushed to dig out the small container from his pocket. “They’re made of mugsworth and pennyroyal, which have been used for abort-”

“Xeno.”

A weak touch on his wrist stopped the prattling alpha and he looked into the honey and gold of the omega’s eyes. Held back tears were glistening in them, and the faint furrow between the man’s quivering brows was faltering when Stanley forced out a chuckle, trying to push away his own lingering emotional breakdown as he whispered thickly.

“Cut it out. It was stupid of me to stay longer than intended and ignore your concerns over the suppressants. I knew I was reeking from pre-heat already but didn’t realize how bad it actually was, and that led you to a situation you couldn’t prevent.”

“I still assaulted you.” Xeno frowned, shame and guilt filling the tears that kept pouring out. “There was evidence of you striking me to get me off, and I can’t forgive myself for making you experience that panic of being taken against your will despite your efforts to stop that.”

“Do you really think I would have lost to you that easily?”

Xeno blinked in confusion and Stanley seemed to realize his remark was quite unexpected when he fumbled to continue.

“I didn’t hit you for my own sake. I tried to stun you so you wouldn’t do something I knew you’d regret later, which totally failed when I was already starting to submit to you even before you triggered the heat…”

Silence fell over them, and seconds ticked when the alpha tried to grasp what he had just heard. He knew heat made it near impossible for the omega to fight back an approaching alpha. Charlotte had expressed her bitter thoughts on that quite well. But pre-heat was still a time period where the omega could still control their instincts if those were clashing with their wants. And even if the pre-heat causes the individual’s body to weaken in preparation of the full heat, there indeed was no doubt Stanley, a strong, military trained omega who had been part of the special forces, couldn’t fight off a small and scrawny alpha like him. Unless…

“That nest…”

“I didn’t realize I was attempting to make one in your personal space.” The welled up tears finally trickled down the crackled petrification marks and Stanley let out a disdainful scoff as he turned his face away. “But I can’t say I’m surprised it ended up happening…”

“What do you mean…?”

“I don’t think this is the right time for confessions… So let’s just say I might have felt comfortable enough around you to subconsciously start doing something like that…”

Xeno stared at the avoidant eyes in disarray. The times his emotions had been pulled in different directions within the past ten minutes made him concerned of the state of his poor heart which constantly kept palpitating off beat and causing his head to spin. 

“Stan… Did you.. want it to happen?”

“No! But when it did I lost the will to stop it…”

A quiet sob fell from the blond’s dry lips and he turned on his side to hide his face when he wasn’t able to hold in the tearful hiccups. The once so muscular back and shoulders, now withered from weeks of strenuous battling with the draining and painful heat, were trembling under the mental load the commander had carried. Sharp inhales jolted his body and he squeezed the bedsheets so hard his knuckles turned white as he tried to suffocate the tears he didn’t want his friend to see.

“Stan…” Xeno leaned in but hesitated. Even if what Stanley was implying was true, he still wasn’t sure if he should push aside everything that had happened and offer physical contact for comfort. But it was absolutely heartbreaking to do nothing while he watched the always so laid back and levelheaded man succumb into despair and hear those strangled sobs which caused another wave of tears to pour out of his already strained and puffy eyes. He wanted to reach over and stroke the hollow cheek. Wrap his arms around the sickly thin frame and hold it against his chest while repeating how everything was going to be okay. But he feared those would have been too much too fast, and Charlotte’s threat was still very much in his mind, so cautiously he brought his hand on the grimy yet so beautiful golden locks to softly pet them.

“Stan… Listen… I didn’t mean to sound like I was accusing you of tricking me into a rut.” He spoke quietly, collecting his own broken and vulnerable self for the sake of the one person who mattered to him the most. “I believe what happened was the consequences of multiple things, some of which I could have prevented if I had realized the effect of the suppressants would start failing at such a rapid pace. And I’m definitely not blaming you for not being able to knock me unconscious! I… I can’t say I’m glad… But maybe relieved to know your side of the situation…”

The small sobs quieted down as the omega attempted to ground himself to the naturally velvety tone of his friend. Xeno took a deep breath to steady the wavering in his voice and continued.

“I agree this is not the time for confessions… And I’m really not sure if what I’m feeling is more than deep affection and respect towards you… But I truly care about you, more than I’ve cared about anyone else in my life, so I want you to know that I’m willing to explore these feelings with you once you’re fully recovered and the disruption over our colony has calmed down.”

He noticed a faint shift under the blanket and sensed the change in the captain’s scent as his grip on the sheets loosened a little. A faint nod rustled the golden strands, and Xeno stroked the matted tresses a bit more confidently now that the tensed atmosphere began to ease up between them. The growing relief was slowly settling in him but he still needed to verify something that kept gnawing at him.

“I just want to know, and please be honest with me… Did I at any point hurt you? Mentally, physically, emotionally… in any way?”

“No…” The stuffy whimper didn’t sound anything like Stanley, but the quick and determined shake of the head under his palm assured Xeno he hadn’t imagined the voice.

“And my scent? Does it bring up bad memories or make you feel alert?”

“No…” The omega mumbled tiredly and rubbed his face onto the pillow to wipe off the evidence of his breakdown. “I’ve always thought it’s calming…”

“Everyone says you were screaming as if you were getting ripped apart. For this whole time I feared I caused that because of my attempt to claim you against your will…”

A ruminative hum rumbled the captain’s chest and he stared far into the back wall of the lab.

“I don’t remember much… But what I do is that for the first time ever I felt good during my heat… At least for a while, and then out of nowhere it all ended and everything came crushing down ten times worse than usual… Not only physically, but I really felt like my soul was getting torn out…” Stanley sounded frail and the agonizing pain he was in reflected in his strained tone, but his voice got steadier as he spoke. “Charlotte told me what happened…. She’s still convinced your frenzied attempt to mark me had something to do with it, but I doubt that is the case… Although I’m glad she prevented that bite… It could have messed things up even more, and I think it’s better for us to take it slowly for now… I’d rather do it when we both are absolutely sure of what we really want from the future… ‘Cause I ain’t gonna ruin almost twenty years of friendship for an unstable mating bond…”

A soft smile rose on Xeno’s lips and he gave an agreeing hum, admiring Stanley’s mental strength to even bother planning things that far ahead while he was in that state. All he had needed was the confirmation of the omega’s wellbeing and peace of mind after all the self-blame he had drowned in during his weeks of isolation, but that small promise of a brighter future, either proceeding as they had always did as best friends or finding something new and meaningful in a deeper level, had lifted the heavy burden off his chest. His fingers travelled gently down the omega’s hair to his upper back and traced their way to the broad shoulder. His heart fluttered in bliss and it prompted a request he had wished to ask this whole time.

“Stan… Would you allow me to hold you in my arms?”

The omega was silent for a moment, and Xeno feared he had been too forward too quickly. Even though the tension had faded, Stanley was still facing away from him, and was probably getting tired after the emotionally loaded conversation. He was about to apologize and suggest he’d take his leave, but the glimmer of the amber irises caught his attention when the captain glanced over his shoulder and shuffled on the mattress to make more room behind him.

“Sleep. Those bags under your eyes look terrible.”

Somewhere behind the fatigued mumble echoed the small, snarky ray of sunshine, and its light pierced through the hesitance in the alpha’s mind. Xeno approached and slowly laid down on the mattress, but before he snuggled closer he reached to the pill bottle he had dug out of his pocket and placed it on the floor above Stanley’s head so the man could see it but wasn’t forced to look at it.

“I wish I had ingredients to make these safer to consume. What I’m offering is sure to terminate a pregnancy, but practically it’s a small dose of poison which your body is definitely not in a state to handle right now. I’m not telling you to take these right away, but the longer we wait the more risks we face if a fetus grows too big. If that happens though I’ll come up with a way to deal with any obstacle, but if we need to surgically remov-”

“Thank you, Xeno. I appreciate the offer. Now rest.”

The tired groan pulled the alpha back from his worried ramble and he let go of the bottle which he had anxiously fidgeted in his metal claws. He moved his arm around his friend’s blanket covered frame and settled it on the dip of his waist so he wouldn’t press on the ribs which were poking out. He opted to keep himself a little further from Stanley’s neck, and pressed his forehead against the man’s back, breathing in the familiar soft and refreshing scent which calmed him down like sedatives. If there ever had been a place he felt like he belonged to, platonically or not, it was this. The warmth of the omega radiated through the linen, and his hand rested right on top of Stanley’s abdomen. Sudden thrills ran over his skin when he imagined something growing under his palm, and he was hit with the realization that he had only stressed about the pregnancy because he had been sure Stanley hated him and a pup would have been a bitter reminder of everything. But now that his perception of the situation had changed he wasn’t sure if the omega was even considering the abortion.

“Of course, if you decide not to take the pills I will give my full support for that too…” He caressed the area under his fingers ruminatively, a light frown descending on his forehead. “You know I’m not that fond of pups unless they’re old enough to take care of their own needs, but I promise to shoulder the responsibility of raising -”

“Xeno, you’re fussing over again…” Stanley’s growl was almost irritated, and Xeno tensed up, surprised to smell something in the omega that had gone completely unnoticed under all the stronger feelings of guilt, shame, and relief. Grieve? Stanley sighed heavily when he noticed the alpha getting alert over the sudden change of mood and he mumbled quietly. “You don’t need to worry about it… There is no pup… I’m pretty sure whatever had started growing in me came out with a clot of bloody discharge this morning…”

Xeno blinked slowly as the words sank in and he raised his head to stare at the messy locks in front of him in mild shock.

“A miscarriage?”

“Obviously the embryo was too small to see but Luna was certain about it…” Stanley forced out a short but bitter laughter. “I’m surprised anything could even stick to those walls for a month when they were cramping like bitch…” 

“I’m sorry to hear that, Stan…” The alpha condoled quietly, feeling tightness in his chest, but got a sharp scoff for a response.

“Don’t be. As much as my omega self wanted it, I’m not that interested in raising a brat…”

Xeno gave a short nod, understanding the situation more than well because right now he couldn’t help but feel exactly the same way. He pressed his forehead on the broad back once again and frowned. It was relieving to know the unwanted pregnancy had been dealt naturally without his borderline lethal pills, but even though they both agreed it was better this way he couldn’t shake off the irrational sadness that had formed deep within him. The same sadness that was in Stanley’s scent too. Instinctively he tightened the embrace and nuzzled closer to comfort the omega, showing that it was alright to express these conflicting emotions where under the bittersweet joy their primal sides were mourning. Silence descended over them and Stanley’s hand slid down on the solacing hold on his abdomen, loosely entwining his fingers with Xeno’s. The tranquility of that moment, even with the melancholic undertone, was exactly what both of them had needed after the emotional turmoil that had mauled them, and it didn’t take long before Xeno felt his consciousness fade under the fatigue as he listened the soft, steady snores of his best friend.

***

***

***

The sound of metal claws tapping against a wooden desk filled the restless atmosphere of the quiet room. A slightly anxious frown rested on the otherwise anticipant face of the charcoal-eyed alpha who finally accepted he wouldn’t be able to get any more work done. On the table, next to the blueprints of a plane he was trying to finish, he had a patch of suppressants, but not the ones he usually made. These were new, still under development and nowhere near as potent as the regular patch, but if today’s experiment was a success he could rejoice this leap in pharmaceutical science which had never been put to test in the old world, and which he had pushed to achieve within a mere year.

Of course he couldn’t take all the credit. When he had taken upon himself to study how to make heat suppressants in his pre-teens there had been no research on alternative options. But when he had approached Luna with his idea after the tension over last year's incident had dwindled down, and humbly apologized for his previously agitated behavior, she had told about a few self-funded and thus never finished studies she had heard of when she had been a med student. And with the little information he had gotten from her, adding it to his own research, he had worked diligently to get to this point.

The antsiness prickled all over the scientist’s skin and he had to leave his desk to stand at the doorway of his lab just so he could pick out the scents in the soft summer breeze more easily. He was confident in his work, especially since the pills had passed all the earlier tests, but the alpha side of him was worried. Stanley had smelled absolutely irresistible when he had left to hunt with his troops, and the distress Xeno had felt approximately the same time one year ago was snaring him into its strangling grasp once again. What if he had made a huge miscalculation on the efficiency of those suppressants? What if they weren’t strong enough to withstand the spike on hormone levels that happens during something as arduous as hunting? Was it too ambitious of him to let Stanley go in that state? Had he jeopardized the omega’s safety once again with the faulty confidence he had for his own work? 

Bloodcurdling scenarios began forming in his head, but before the anxiety-ridden thoughts were to take over him completely a warm gust of wind carried the familiar sweet scent to his keen nose and he lifted his head up to inhale it more attentively. The stifling musk of sweaty alphas mixed into the otherwise perfect aroma made the hair on the back of his neck rise in irritation, but while one side of him was preparing to fight out of the primal instinct, his logical side beamed in excitement and relief when he confirmed the one absent element in the otherwise enraging blend of pheromones. 

Hurried steps carried him down the ramp as fast as he could descend without tripping, and by the time Xeno reached the ground level he could hear the laughter and loud talking coming from the direction of the smells. Thrilled to know how the experiment had gone he ran to meet the group, but just when he spotted them passing through the main gates his heart jolted and forced him to stop in awe. Not only was that utterly enticing scent hitting him harder now that it wasn’t scattered in the wind, but it was accompanied by the absolutely gorgeous view of the blond opening his armor to shake the sweat off his hair and run his fingers through those damp strands. And in that very moment Xeno cursed how he was yet to reinvent a camera.

The omega lit up the cigarette on his purple lips and laughed with the soldiers who surrounded him, but despite Stanley’s pre-heat induced, more elated and playful nature, the interaction between him and his men was purely friendly and none of the alphas were going crazy or trying to approach him inappropriately to get a whiff of that arousing scent radiating from their captain. A small laugh slipped out of Xeno. He was taken aback by that unbelievable sight, but a triumphant glee was quick to overtake him and kick him into a full sprint so he could greet his ultimate knight after stressing over his wellbeing for hours.

“Xeno!” Stanley gleamed in joy when he saw the scientist and ran to meet him halfway, snatching him into a tight hug and lifting the small alpha a few inches off the ground. “I knew your pills would be a success! They’re all like pure little lambs around me!”

“I’m so relieved to see they worked! Science is truly elegant! And it’s about time alphas get to use substances to hold back their natural urges around omegas.” Xeno laughed brightly and held onto the blond’s neck tightly while he was spun around, but soon he had to give a quick tap on the armored back when his whole body shook from the intense smell of his soldier’s sweat drenched clothes. “Be careful though. You know I haven’t taken them today…”

Stanley chuckled understandingly and released the scientist from the embrace so he could take a step back and catch his breath. Blood was rushing in Xeno’s veins, coloring his cheeks with crimson and igniting the arousal deep within which he had expected to happen the moment he’d be close enough to the omega. But he kept himself collected as he took some distance and admired the man who turned around to give orders to his team, and who he had grown even closer to during the past year. 

It had taken another month for Stanley to get back on his feet after that atrocious heat had ended. The omega had insisted on being fine after only a week, but when he had gotten up with the intention of proving his words, he had passed out immediately and was forced to lay on his sickbed until further notice. Xeno had suggested moving his equipment back to his lab so he could monitor the omega while he was bedridden, but that had initially gotten a cold reception despite Stanley’s exonerating statement on the events that had led to the falsely regarded assault. 

The alpha had been sure it would take ages to clear his name, especially in the eyes of Stanley’s subordinates which quite unfortunately covered the vast majority of the colony’s residents, but to his surprise the public opinion of him was raised to at least neutral by none other than Charlotte who had approved his suggestion on watching over their captain’s recovery. She of course denied doing it for his sake, and said it was only to give Stanley some peace of mind when he wouldn’t have to stress about his little alpha friend getting into more fights he’d have no chance of winning. But despite her cold attitude Xeno could tell something had changed in the woman’s demeanor after she had let him in to see her captain. Or more so, when she had walked in to check everything was alright in the oddly quiet lab and witnessed him and Stanley sleeping in a spoon on the narrow mattress. The presence of someone else in the room had stirred the protectively wired alpha awake while his friend was still in a deep slumber, and he had turned to meet the contemplating blue eyes that were nailed on the unexpected scene. 

“He really cares about you, huh?”

That had been her only comment before she had walked out and let Luna in to check on Stanley, at which point Xeno had deemed it was time for him to leave and go sleep in his own bed.

The weeks following his return to the lab Xeno had felt like a clog had been removed from his brain and with that surge of energy he had breezed through all the work he had struggled to finish until that point. Feeling Stanley’s quiet presence in the room all the time had been calming and it had allowed fresh ideas to flood in, one of them being the decision of finally starting a profound research aiming to the production of pro re nata hormone suppressants for alphas. If he succeeded in making those, it would no longer be omegas’ responsibility to keep others under control, they would avoid another accidental rut triggering, and he would finally have a pill he could take to keep himself from getting distracted if he ever had to be around Stanley’s pre-heat scent again.

The path to create those drugs was long, but throughout the journey Stanley was by his side. At first simply laying on the mattress half asleep and watching how paper after paper he scribbled down all the possible combinations of chemicals and manufacturing processes in the dim light of his desk lamp. As he worked, they often reminisced the time Xeno had begun his research on heat suppressants all those years ago and how they had similarly hung out in the little scientist’s bedroom, Stanley dozing off on the star patterned bed cover when he had been too lazy to get up and walk to his own room right down the hallway. And just like back then, whenever Xeno had ended up yapping on and on about the chemical compounds and their effects on hormone secretion, comparing the similarities and differences of his past work to his current project, he had stopped and sighed with a fond smile on his face when he had heard the soft snores coming from the bed.

Once Stanley’s recovery had come to the point where he could walk and function with the help of pain killers, he had mostly spent his time sitting on the work table, blandly watching the bubbling liquids in the chemistry sets while smoking a pack of cigarettes a day since he was still restricted from doing anything physically straining. Xeno had given a few remarks on the amount of toxic fumes they were both forced to inhale due to the captain’s craving for nicotine, but understood the frustration and boredom that had led to the increase in that bad habit. So, to save himself from developing lung cancer too, the alpha had decided to take time off in the evenings to go out and spend time together with his best friend, observing his own feelings but not initiating anything to keep his promise of waiting until Stanley had fully recovered.

He hadn’t even realized how much he had missed those simpler times when they had been little pups laying on the grass and looking at the vast night sky over them. Of course he had been stunned by the elegant view, free from light pollution the day they had woken up from the stone, and after that he had occasionally admired the night sky whenever he had made his way from the lab to his bedroom at late hours, but the busy life of building and managing the colony had not given him time to actually stop to stargaze. And doing it while feeling the warmth of Stanley’s body right next to him had brought back all those happy memories they had shared before they were old enough to see what kind of world was waiting for them. Those small moments of joy, friendly banter and fond eyerolling whenever Stanley interrupted his endless science rambles, the accidental gentle brushes of their fingers against one another, the invigorating scent of pine and gunpowder lingering in the air, and the soft smile the omega gave to him as they looked at each other. Such regular things which had been part of their friendship for years, but something in them had felt different after he had made the effort to concentrate on the deep emotions which had started bubbling inside him during those quiet and cooling nights.

When Stanley had finally gotten permission to exercise in moderate amounts, he had gone straight back to training so he could regain the muscle mass he had lost, and Xeno had delved into the work with the suppressants. Being by himself again after spending almost two months in the constant scent of the omega had felt a little lonely, but to his joy every time Stanley took a break from his workout he had paid a visit to the lab. They would exchange a few words, talk about their day, but most often they would simply just enjoy each other’s company in silence. At first there had been seemingly nothing different about the way they spent time together. Stanley had always liked to watch Xeno work, and the scientist appreciated the company of his best friend. But when the omega had slowly approached him, leaning over his shoulder to see what he was doing, the atmosphere around them had changed, wrapping them into a bubble where they were secluded from the rest of the world. Neither of them said it aloud, but it had been clear they both used those short visits to recharge their batteries, breathing in the other’s presence and bonding with quiet gestures. 

Stanley had been the one to take the first step, carefully nudging his cheek against the alpha’s silver hair and wordlessly asking for permission to lean closer. With a tiny flutter in his heart Xeno had accepted that request, an indescribable burst of comfort and tenderness filling his chest when he had tilted his head aside and let his friend nuzzle his neck. It had felt weirdly intimate but good, even though the sudden light brush of the omega’s nose against his scent gland had sent shivers to every single nerve end on his body. The sensation it sparked had almost been too intense, so Xeno appreciated Stanley’s courtesy of keeping that moment short and sweet, slowly stepping back after a moment and thanking him before leaving for his duties once more. 

Months passed, the omega grew back his usual muscular form, and made full return to his position as the chief in command by the end of the year. The life in the colony had returned to normal, and after a good night of celebrating the New Year’s Eve Stanley had pulled Xeno aside from the others, cheeks flushing from alcohol and the unusual coyness of composing the question that had been left lingering in the air every time they had shown affection for each other during the past months.

“So… Have you come to a conclusion on your feelings yet?”

He had. There was no doubt about it. He had been told love was something that would hit like a lightning and tremor his whole world, but this one had grown slowly and steadily from a close friendship to deep affection long before he had even realized that. Far from the prying eyes, preferring to not cause ruckus with his actions even though he knew no one in the colony had ill feelings for him anymore, Xeno had gently sunk his fingers into the golden tresses and heart pounding from nervous excitement given his answer by pulling the captain into a tender kiss. 

It had been a little awkward and clumsy, but left dorky and dazed smiles on both of their faces when they slowly pulled apart. The curious tension between their inquiring glances deliberated if it was too early to go full in, but there was no question of how deeply they loved each other. And their lips had clashed once more, drowning them into that oddly fulfilling sensation of discovering something that had been right there all this time.

And looking back to that day, Xeno couldn’t be happier to see how far they had come with his partner. The alpha let out a shivering exhale as he waited for Stanley to finish giving instructions to the soldiers, suppressing his urges so he wouldn’t do something stupid before they had their privacy. Good thing they had discussed everything beforehand because he knew the moment he was given the opportunity, he wouldn’t be able to contain himself.

“That’s all for today after you’re done with skinning the carcasses. Charlotte will be in charge from tomorrow onwards until I’ll be back again.” Stanley nodded to the other omega in his group and Charlotte saluted him with determination.

“I won’t let you down, captain Stanley!”

“I have no reason to doubt that. You’ve proven to be more than capable of watching after a bunch of alphas by yourself. And I expect you lot to behave well.” The captain gave a stern look at the rest of the squad and took a long drag from his cigarette before throwing its burnt remains on the ground and crushing it under his boot. “Now excuse me, the horniness reeking from our leader is making me wet as fuck so I’ll be off to finally get that rut knot.”

“Stan!!” Xeno flashed red from the nonchalantly raunchy language, but Stanley laughed brightly, shrugging off the alpha’s devastated glare with a wave of a hand as he walked to him.

“They will hear us anyway so there’s no reason to hide it?” He cocked his brow and turned to shout over his shoulder to the troops. “And you better not be jacking off to my moans, got it?”

“When did your frisky pre-heat chatter turn into full on lewd obscenity?” The small alpha mumbled bemusedly as he glanced behind them and saw the soldiers saluting their captain while Charlotte rolled her eyes, attempting to hide the mixed amusement and second-hand embarrassment over the other omega’s heightened pre-heat eagerness. Xeno wasn’t sure if he was feeling jealous knowing his partner had no problem talking like that to other alphas, or turned on and smug from Stanley’s open declaration of wanting him that badly. Maybe both. And that only stirred his possessiveness over the omega even more.

“Aww, are you getting green-eyed, doc?” Stanley noticed the small change in Xeno’s scent and leaned closer. “Aren’t you excited about finally marking me yours and knotting me so hard everyone in the colony knows who I belong to?”

“Stan, please. No dirty talk or closeness until we get to your room.” Xeno pushed the omega’s face further away from him when the honey dripping words and the alluring sweetness caused a violent rush of blood down to his already stiffening cock. “I know you are getting quite debauched already with that pre-heat, but I want to verify this one last time: Are you absolutely sure you’re ready for this? I can still go get that pill so I won’t go into a full on mindless rut with you. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you, and since we really don’t know if bite marking would affect your heat, we can’t be sure if -”

“Xeno~” The soothing low tone of the omega’s voice halted the concerned pondering before it could get further. “We have been talking about this for weeks, and my answer hasn’t changed. I want you, more than anything. I want to become your mate, and mark you as mine too. And I want to experience that absolutely mindblowing sex we had last year, only now without the guilt of accidentally triggering you into it or the fear of you disappearing in the middle of everything.”

Xeno was silent for a moment as they walked towards the castle. He wanted all of those things too. Seal their bond, become mates, and relive the ecstatic feeling he could barely even remember from that day when he had knotted Stanley in his rut-crazed frenzy. But he also wanted to ensure he wouldn’t leave any more mental scars on his partner. It was a pity they hadn’t had an earlier chance to test out Stanley’s theory on his intimate presence alleviating the heat pains because he would have much rather kept the experiment on that under controlled environment where he wasn’t in the risk of getting his yearly rut yet. But unfortunately that hadn’t been possible, because despite being off the suppressants since his last heat, the omega’s long recovery and unbalanced hormone levels had caused him to skip one of his heats earlier that year. 

Though in the end Xeno was happy his partner had gotten that extra long break after all he had gone through since it had given them the opportunity to explore their freshly established relationship without rush, learning totally new sides from one another. Mostly physically, since that had been the one aspect neither of them were that familiar with yet despite it ironically being the reason why they were now together. Every curve, every crevice of the strong muscles, the feel of the painted lips treading against his, and the warm squeeze of the omega’s inner walls around him; Xeno had memorized them all. He had let himself drown into his partner’s natural scent, enjoying the tranquility of those moments where their bodies had rocked in a steady rhythm, and he had been blessed with the melodic moans confessing the omega’s love for him, to which he had answered with that same song as they had tangled onto each other even tighter and reached their climax. Those moments had been euphoric, the afterglow that had descended over them beyond beautiful, and they had been sure to utilize the time their primal urges weren’t taking over and instead they could tenderly make love before one of them would start experiencing the symptoms caused by their secondary gender. 

And now they were in a situation where that was happening to both of them. But even though there were things the alpha kept worrying about, Stanley had been looking forward to this day long before getting overly lustful from the approaching heat, so there was no way Xeno could deny the omega’s request of fucking like animals when their cycles were about to align.

“Since your heats last longer than my ruts, we need to be prepared for those cramps getting even worse after I’m not constantly trying to knot you.” Xeno finally sighed and looked at the blond with a gentle gaze. “But I promise to take care of you even if it takes months for you to recover again.”

“Totally worth it if I get almost a week’s worth of feral breeding from you!” Stanley stuck his tongue out playfully and laughed when the alpha’s sincere eyes turned stern and unamused. “Fine, fine, no dirty talk before we are behind closed doors! But speaking of breeding, are we feeling risky? I bet those condom alternatives of yours won’t withstand all that pounding even if you were in a clear enough mindset to change them after every knotting, so… I really wouldn’t mind you knotting me raw~”

“I’m so glad we had the pup conversation beforehand, because that’s definitely your omega side talking!” Xeno scoffed, well aware of his own growing desires of filling Stanley with his seed once they entered the castle and passed through a door that shielded the staircase to the floor where omegas and betas resided. And as they made their way up the stairs, the raring tension growing between them, Xeno cleared his throat and continued. “We are not taking risks, so I have prepared some morning-after pills for you. But while we’re on the topic, I think you would be interested to know about the results I got this morning from Luna regarding the ultrasound and biopsy we took from your uterus last month.”

“If you are gonna tell me I have womb cancer or some shit I’m asking you to leave that announcement for later.” The furrowed his brows but got a reassuring rise of a hand from the scientist.

“Nothing like that. I’ll save you from the full diagnosis for now, but in short, your strong and long-lasting heats are a byproduct of a condition that also causes your uterine walls to reject the blastocyst adhering onto the epithelial layer, thus making them practically incapable of withstanding implantation.”

“So in english… That means I can’t get pregnant?”

“In theory, yes.” Xeno nodded but continued when he saw the blond getting excited about the news. “It doesn’t mean we can be reckless though. You ended up carrying that one clump of cells for a month which means the chance of a successful pregnancy isn’t zero.”

“Damn. Way to ruin my dream of getting endless creampies from you.” Stanley huffed with a short laugh, but then turned a bit more serious. “Do you think it’s hereditary? I remember mom having bad heats too, and I used to wonder why I was the only child when my dad always talked about wanting to have a huge family.”

“Most likely.” Xeno sensed the slight bitterness in the omega’s scent and gently took his hand to squeeze it. “Which means you were that clump of cells that against all odds survived, and grew up to be the most elegant and beautiful omega that has ever walked on this earth.”

“You’re so mushy!” The blond laughed and tugged him to hurry up the few remaining stairs. “Don’t worry, I know my worth. Those two have not been part of my life for over 3700 years so I don’t give a damn about their thoughts anymore. This is your world now, and they are nothing more than stone statues, hopefully shattered to pieces or resting at the bottom of the ocean.”

“Our world, Stan. You’ve always shared it with me.” The alpha let his partner pull him up and flush against his chest. Only a few more steps and they would be at Stanley’s room, but there was something extremely titillating about stopping right at the border between the real world and the sacred space where they would seal their bond and lose themselves to their desires. Xeno’s heart pounded, not only from the quick ascend of the long stairs but from the anticipation, and he tried to catch his breath, well aware of that being impossible when all he could smell was the omega’s sweet scent that was also flaring up from the arousal.

“Well then, in our world, what have you planned on doing with me and my fucked up womb?” Stanley purred quietly while taking slow backward steps, little by little leading them closer to his room.

Xeno was taken aback by the question and fumbled to answer when his logical side of brain was fogging up from the cloud of pheromones that was radiating beneath his knight’s armor.

“Um… Regarding your uterus, I’m afraid we can’t do much about it before we can ensure a safe procedure for a hysterectomy…” 

“I didn’t mean that, you nerd.” Stanley groaned lovingly and yanked the scientist with him through the door, into the bedroom where he had resettled again after going on his pre-heat. That irresistible fragrance Xeno was already getting intoxicated from now surrounded him completely, and blood boiled in his vein when his blown pupils set onto a bed where he saw a nest of pillows, blankets and a few articles of clothes he had given to the omega so he could build their personal little haven for the next weeks. On the table next to the bed were bowls full of dried meat and fruits, and pitchers filled with water. Everything was set. Everything was perfect. And with shaky hands Xeno dug his pocket to place the small container with the pre-prepared morning-after pills next to the food bowls. 

The sound of a zipper being opened caused the alpha’s skin to prickle, and his breath got heavier when he smelled the sweat-dampened skin of his omega right behind him.

“Get on with it, doc… I feel like I’m gonna snap soon…” Stanley growled, cheeks flushing red when the unbridled scent of ozone spiked in the room as he threw away his armor and belts, and opened his suit to reveal his neck and chest to his soon-to-be mate.

Brain numbing under the dizziness that grew in him, Xeno didn’t waste time but yanked his tie off and tore open the buttons of his white shirt. He was close to losing it too, but with the last remaining threads of consciousness he pulled Stanley into an embrace and sank his claws into the man’s soft and wavy hair as he stared deep into the amber eyes.

“Stan… I love you so much… Make me yours…”

Sharp canines flashed for a millisecond before the omega lunged forward and pressed his lips against the scent glands on his neck, biting into the porcelain pale skin. A guttural cry vibrated Xeno’s chest and he clung onto the blond locks when the strong arms lifted him up and toppled them into the soft cradle of the sheets. Droplets of blood spilled past the purple lips which kept wrapping the highly sensitive spot, and the crimson red trickled onto the white linen when Stanley finally released the bite to lap the bleeding mark he had created. 

Xeno quivered and his vision got foggy when his feral side dared to take over. But the pulsing pain and tingles radiating from his neck evoked an unprecedented and stunning sensation that somehow kept his crumbling mind in its grip. He could feel Stanley’s presence. Not only physically, but on a completely new, unexplainable level of psyche. Rushing in his veins and pumping through his heart, connecting him with the lust and desperation that was wrapped into devotion and pure love the omega was experiencing in that very moment. Everything felt different. The world around him had vanished into blinding lights. But in that white void Stanley pulled back to straddle him, looking beyond divine with his golden tresses and hazy eyes while he fully opened his zipper and peeled off the top half of his bodysuit.

“I love you too, Xeno… Now take me like you were about to do on that day… I’m ready…”

Xeno wasn’t even sure if it had been Stanley who had rolled them around, or had he really been strong enough to flip the muscular omega under him that effortlessly, but the next thing he knew he was pinning his lover into the sheets and lapping the scent gland that was inviting him to finalize their mating bond. He almost felt like laughing. Feeling the connection between them was something out of this world, and he truly wanted to share that euphoria with his partner. The veins pulsed under his tongue, and he could vividly sense the fervor boiling inside his omega, erupting into a rapt bliss when the alpha growled in hunger and plunged his teeth into the delicious flesh. 

A pained cry, merged in with a delighted and bright giggle rang in the room when the metallic flavor spread on his tongue. Xeno shivered when the sweetness of Stanley’s scent poured in through the blood that was dripping down his lip, and he sighed against the burning skin when the strong hands grasped onto him tighter, begging him to not let go. And he sure as hell wasn’t. Not until he had finished what he had started.

He was so close to losing himself, but he was determined to hold on so he could forever remember this moment. He wanted to give this to Stanley. Give it to him rough, right on the edge of going crazy but sane enough to keep it all together. To make this moment perfect. Something they could both think back and say there could have been no better way to officiate their relationship. And when he finally felt the jolt under him, his heart filling with astonishment and elated turmoil of his mate experiencing that same transcendental sensation he was going through, he greedily bit into the bruising neck even harder. He couldn’t let go anymore. His alpha side was pushing out, well aware of the intention of that possessive bite. He could feel it. The frantic heartbeat resonating on his canines and the fading mind of his partner, his slight nervousness, overpowered by excitement and desire. Stanley dug his nails into the silver hair and let out a shuddering moan that quickly crescendoed into a violent gasp, halting everything for a second, and Xeno tasted how the blood spilling from the bitemark under his lips was dripping with full-blown lust. 

He had triggered the omega’s heat with his bite once again. But this time it had been his mate’s wish. And unable to hold himself back anymore, a switch flipped inside him. He didn’t know who he was or where he was. The only thing he knew was that under him, there was an omega in heat, lying in the soft nest that had both of their scents in it. An omega with the most gorgeous features, beautiful voice, and fine, breedable hips. An omega, who he was connected to through the fresh bitemarks on their necks. An omega called Stanley Snyder. His soulmate.