Lillian had just finished the stew, around 9:30 at night at this point, the windows shut, with the curtains ceasing their billowing when the night opened and grew cold, and Talon’s Alpha Quell worked wonders. As his hormones dulled a bit, the tension in the room eased. The Alpha and Omega were gliding around the room; she was giggling madly and Talon? Not a care in the world. He felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. He felt at home for the first time. Not the “At home” he always feels with Oliver and Rourke, a new kind. Like his heart was warm and his hands itched to just reach out and hold her. But afraid she was merely an illusion cast in place and would disappear if he dared get too close.

  What he didn’t realise was that Lillian was feeling the same way, if not harsher and more persistent. She mused to herself how any Alpha she had been with, whether the one in bed or the few she had dated over the years, had never felt this safe. She felt like she was in danger walking in, and now? She wants to build her nest all over his bed and stay there the rest of her life. Wants to stay in this kitchen and sing songs and dance around late at night with the music playing over the speakers. The rest of the world could fade away and she wouldn’t notice. Wouldn’t care.

  “- then she turned around and said, ‘Can I take a picture of this? It’s really cool, and I just want to see it later! Isn’t it cool babe?’”

  Talon gasped and pulled his head in his hands. “Don’t tell me-”

  “Yep. It was her boyfriend I was drawing. I was so embarrassed!” She said, stirring the pot one last time and flicking the burner off.

  “That kind of thing would only happen to you, you realise that right?” Talon laughed, reaching some bowls on a higher shelf that she claimed she could reach.

  “Hey I was gonna get those!” She said, swiping at his arm to get him to put them back.

  Talon was slightly amused and decided to play into her little fantasy of being tall. “Fine, you’re tall enough to reach them.” He said, setting the bowls back down on the shelf and stepping back.

  “Mind grabbing the forks and some napkins whilst I get the bowls?” she asked as she walked over to the cupboard.

  Talon shook his head at her antics, she was so cute, how did he get so lucky to get someone like her into his den? “Yeah sure, let me know if you need help getting the bowls.” She scoffed from across the kitchen, leaning and practically climbing the counter, tips of her toes barely touching the ground as she reached up in a futile attempt to reach the bowls.

  Talon opened the silverware drawer, thinking for a moment before pulling out one fork, and grabbing two napkins from the basket on the counter. Bringing them over to the table he set them down, walking over to the Omega still roughly a dozen centimetres from the actual shelf, not even near the bowls. She swatted back at him. “Stop it! I can reach it!” She said, trying to stretch higher.

  “Hey c’mon you’re plenty tall enough to reach things, as long as they’re not on the top shelf because I’m a giant.” He said, playing into her frustrations, it was adorable. She was at most 155 centimetres, but could not be much more than 150, and compared to the (roughly) 200-centimetre monster that Talon was, everything had to be up higher because he was up higher. She couldn’t reach things and was either going to hurt herself or break something.

  “Do you need me to pick you up so you can reach them? Or should I just get them?” he asked, laughing softly and grinning madly. Until she went cold. She lowered down onto her heels silently, pheromones going stale for the first time. She started walking quietly back to the table.

  “No, it’s alright. You can get them,” she trailed off, stepping around Talon and leaning away. What happened?

  “Lillian. Hey.” He said, turning around to grab her forearm. “Hey what’s wrong? If it’s really that important I can find a step stool or pull up a chair or I could get down and you could stand on my back or-”

  “Stop, please.” she said, pulling her arm gently from his grasp, looking up. Were her eyes glassy? “I’m okay...” She said, obviously not.

  “Wait, no. Please. What’s wrong? At least tell me what I did so I don’t do it again. Please.” Hearing his voice drop alongside his heart was hard to ignore, hard to not give in. Impossible to not give in.

  “Just, please don’t pick me up. Please don’t. I – I'm scared...” She said, shaking, frozen in place. “Please.” She said, unaware of what she was even asking.

  “Oh, little Omega. Hey. Come here, it’s okay. I won’t pick you up.” He said, taking a step forward, calming his pheromones. He reached a hesitant hand out to push some of her hair behind her ears, a finger gently lifting her head up. A single tear slid down her flushed cheeks, green eyes glassy and bright. “Hey. Please don’t cry. You’re too pretty for that.” He soothed.

  “Nnn...” She whined, embarrassed from all the attention. She must not be used to attention, which is confusing because how are eyes not drawn to her if she’s in a crowded room? She unfroze and walked into Talon’s arms, pressing one dry cheek into his chest and exhaling shakily. He relaxed a little, glad she didn’t run away. But did joking about picking her up really set something off? What happened to her to make her like this?

  Bringing a hand to tilt her head up, a thumb brushing away a warm tear, pulling her in tightly. The Alpha Quell definitely took the edge off, didn’t relieve any.... pressure. He leaned down, a bit of a stretch, and kissed the top of her head softly, resting his head there.

  “I don’t understand how you’re aggressive. You’re ten times gentler than him...” She said, voice shaking along with her legs.

  Him? Who was “Him”? “Who’s-”

  “No-one anymore...” She cut him off, “I have my demons too.”

  “How do you have demons when you’re an Angel?” He asked, nosing through her hair, kissing her head, and unknowingly scenting her.

  She flushed, hidden in his chest. "I'm no Angel. Angels are pure and beautiful. I’m tainted.” She said, voice braking on the last word.

  “Little Omega... no you’re not. You’re so beautiful and pure and perfect. Everyone else is wrong.” A small sob left her mouth. “Anyone who would dare to see you as anything less than a work of art, anything less than amazing, anything less that you, doesn’t know you and doesn’t deserve to know you. You’re amazing, Lillian. I’ve seen that every day in the last year, and I hope to keep seeing it every day for the rest of my life.”

  More sobs, distress pheromones, and tears. “D - Don’t l – l – lie.” She cried, pressing harder into him. He kissed her head again, rubbing small circles into her back.

  “I’d never lie to you, Angel.” He spoke. They stood there, one fork on the table and the bowls still in the cabinet, for another few minutes while Lillian sniffled softly. “Are you going to tell me what happened Little One? Why are you so sad? Who made you so sad?”

  More sniffles. “Alpha...” Talon got a shock up his spine, his Wolf reminding him how attractive that word was coming from her mouth. He was reminded that his mouth was now dry.

  “Y - Yeah...?” he asked, swallowing harshly.

  “Not you... my old Alpha... the one who was ‘with’ me for the first time, and only time.” It took a second, but he realised the Alpha that took her virginity, she must be referring to him. But she said “My old Alpha” which implies they were in a relationship. But if they were together, why did mentions or ideas of him ignite such fear? Did he rape her? Did he go into a rut and hurt her? Get too aggressive? Holy hell does she have a kid somewhere? Talon shook his head to ignore it. Best to not make assumptions and ask her directly.

  “What happened? He didn’t hurt you, did he? Did he mark you? Wait no you don’t have a mark. Sorry I’m trying to understand.” Talon rambled, continuing to scent her. Who knew her scent would smell so good mixed loosely with his?

  “Sort of... definitely scared me. He’s the reason I’m so skittish. Part of the reason, I’m also an Omega so that doesn’t help.” He kissed her head again, trying to sooth her. She wasn’t crying anymore, but she wasn’t smiling and that was a problem. “We dated for a while, and everything was great. He was a great listener, a great kisser, always gentle, such a softie.” There was a but coming. There had to be. “But when we got into bed together for the first time, he picked me up, pushed into me quickly, wouldn’t slow down. He lost control I think...”

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  Talon gasped softly, he knew how that felt, and as much as he wanted to comfort her sometimes Alphas can’t hold on to sanity, can't stay sane enough to stop. “Is that why you were afraid for me to pick you up?”

  She nodded into his chest, another sniffle. “He got too close and wouldn’t listen when I told him to pull out, just growled and made me bare my neck...” That was not okay, no Alpha should make an Omega bare their neck against their will. “I didn’t want to be knotted, I got scared. His eyes were pinpoint, and his teeth kept getting longer. Sharp. My legs were wrapped around his waist, I - I broke away for a moment and told him to pull out one more time, that I’d get pregnant if he knotted me. Told me to stay in his Alpha Voice... For once, I defied, unwrapped my legs and fell to the floor right as his knot expanded, not inside me.”

  It definitely sounded like he fell into a pseudo-rut or something if he couldn’t listen to his Omega. But as terrible as it is that she had to experience that, especially as her first time, he can’t control that. “What happened after?”

  “He growled and made me present to him, pushed into me, knot and all.” He must’ve been really out of it. “After his knot deflated, he told me to go wash off. I was bleeding from the stretch. Waited till the next morning to see if he remembered. ” She bled? “He remembered perfectly, was proper mad that I didn’t let him knot me. Mind you I’m barely 16 at this point.”

  “Wait. He was upset at you? What a knothead. I’d never do anything to hurt you. And if I did, I’d make every second up to you. So, you were afraid if I picked you up, I’d hurt you?”

  “Something like that. It’s more that it reminds me of what happened, and how often after that he told me I was heavy. That I was overweight, and he could do so much better, to be grateful that he was with me.”

  “What’s his name? I just want to know. A birthday and an address would be helpful, and a knife.” Talon said, holding her in a tight grip. Protective pheremones thickened, making Lillian dizzy.

  “W - What are you gonna do with those...?”

  “Find him and take his knot off, care to join? I’ll pin him up against a wall and fuck him against his will, see how he likes it.” Talon growled.

  “No need for all that. After that he decided to start seeing other people, so we went our separate ways, him with my V-Card and me with a hole in my heart. I don’t need him, never did.”

  “You’re not helping his case.”

  “Wasn’t trying to, but I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I did, even him.”

  “Angel...” Talon trailed, picking up her chin so he could see her face, other hand snaked around her waist. Her cheeks were flushed, the tips of her ears red, and her lips bitten to a lovely pink, her hair fluffy and soft, everything absolutely perfect. And in an instant, he couldn’t help but close his eyes and connect. Her lips were softer than he thought, smooth, faint taste of Chapstick. She didn’t seem surprised, melting into the gentle kiss like she had been missing it her whole life. “Mmm-” Should he pull away? Probably. Was he going to? Absolutely not. Not yet. He wanted a chance to kiss her before the haze of his rut settled in. Begrudgingly pulling back she chased after him for a centimetre before settling in, exhaling every stressful thought she had just 10 seconds prior. “Look at me.” She did. “I’m afraid too, but I’m going to treat you the way you deserve to be treated, better even. I’m going to give you my all, Lillian.”

  She smiled slightly, her face blushing a little brighter. “Thank you, Talon. I know it’s crazy, but I trust you... You won’t hurt me, you can’t.”

  “I hope you’re right. But you know what to do if I lose it. But I’m gonna hold on with everything I’ve got. Everything I have and push past if I need to. I’ll bite myself if I have to.”

  Lillian nodded. “Can we eat though? If we spend all our time being sad and sappy, you’ll never get any energy in you.”

  “Oh shit. Yeah, the soup! I forgot about that...” Lillian laughed, pulling away. Talon scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, pulling back to see something glistening on his fingertips. How was she staying so sane when he’s ejecting his scent into the air like it was his job?

  “Also, you might want to but some blocking gel on... my head is getting dizzy...” She whispered, fluttering here eyelashes tiredly, like she was trying to distract herself from the lingering scent.

  “Y - Yeah... Sorry about that.” Talon chuckled, grabbing some blocking gel from the cabinet, dabbing some of the clear gel into his hands and rubbing it over the back of his neck and the inside of his forearms.

  Talon walked to the cabinet to take the bowls down before walking back to the table to a very amused looking Lillian. “Care to tell me why there is only one fork here?” she asked, amused lilt in her voice.

  “O - Oh... Forgot I did that.” Lillian laughed, walking over to the drawer to grab another fork. “Hey. You don’t have to...”

  “Have to what?” she asked, her hand on the drawer.

  “Get... another fork?” That sounded five times worse coming out than it did in his head.

  “You are not hand-feeding me, rut or no rut.” She said, coming back to the table and sitting across from him, back facing the wall.

  “Okay...” Talon sighed begrudgingly, leaning over the table to pick up her bowl.

  “Hey what are you doing?” She asked, her head tilted, and a hand reached out slightly like she tried to grab the bowl before him.

  “I’m just pouring you some soup. You’re okay, love.” It came out before he could correct himself. It’s rather common to call someone you care about love, at least it was for Talon. But this was different. He like -liked her but didn’t want to get his feelings tangled up in this mess, or even allude to the fact that it wasn’t just his rut making him hard. Blame it on the Wolf.

  Talon swallowed harshly, playing it cool like calling her “Love” was perfectly normal. Lillian shifted in her seat, retracting her hand and staring down at them in her lap. Her cheeks flushed harshly; she swiped a small hand across her cheek as if wiping the blush off. “Th - Thanks...” She stuttered.

  Talon refused to speak, only nodding as he used a ladle to scoop the soup into her bowl. Pushing it over to her he picked up his own bowl and spooned some in for himself. Dinner was quiet, but about as quiet as he expected her to be, such a shy little thing. Talon would occasionally look over at her, taking delicate bites and blowing on the soup gently every so often, it really was a sight. How could an Omega act so... Omega-like? Like something straight out of a biology book, but even more stunning and small. She was small even for an Omega, everything was small aside from her breasts, which were perfectly proportioned with her curvy body, but were at least a double D.

  Talon wasn’t particularly a boob guy, but his Wolf did like that she’d be a perfect mother for his pups. Talon tried to slow down and not eat like he hadn’t in a week, but this girl could cook something fierce . Talon knew how to cook pretty well, though Omegas were supposed to be the designated dencooks Talon thought it was an important skill to have, alongside cleaning and basic first aid. Talon stuck to the more Alpha-aligned jobs like fixing things for friends, stepping up when a leader was needed, or even simply having knowledge on plenty of subjects. Being an Alpha was a lot of pressure, and it’s not like he was short and could pass off as a Beta.

  Lillian lightly brought the bowl to her lips and sipped some of the broth. “H - Hey, erm... I have a small question...” She asked, looking away from the table. Talon hummed around a piece of beef, encouraging her to continue. “S - So, I brought a collar with me...”

  Talon chocked for a moment. Coughing lightly, he set his fork down in the bowl. “What about it? What kind of...” Talon had a hard time saying the word. Even the word was doing some serious damage to his composure and control. He could definitely imagine her in a cute leather collar with his name burned onto the back.

  Luckily Lillian snapped him out of his mind-rant and didn’t make him say the word. “I - It’s nothing fancy o - or dirty, per say...” For Wolf sakes, Lillian. Get it out before the Alpha has a stroke. “Just - Do you bite? Do I need to wear the collar to block my scent a little or avoid being marked?” It always scared Lillian how close her old Alpha got to marking her sometimes. It still baffled her that he didn’t mark her the night everything happened.

  “I think you’ll be okay... I’ve never been particularly bite-y, and frankly I don’t want your scent covered, it’s really alluring and nice... easily the nicest thing I’ve ever smelled... Kinda like citrus – lemons! But with a tinge of vanilla mixed it, warm and gentle, kind of like you.” Talon rambled, hand on his cheek, and staring off into space.

  Lillian sipped the rest of her broth whilst he was daydreaming, grinning like a child as he rambled. “Okay, I think someone needs to finish his food and shower, you’re drifting off.”

  Talon blushed slightly and stopped, now realising that his thoughts were all out in the open. “S - Sorry. I didn’t realise I said that last part out loud...”

  “It’s alright, just finish eating and go wash up before we go to bed, we’ve got a long few days ahead of us.” She said, walking her bowl over to the sink and leaning over to place it softly inside alongside her fork.

  “Okay.” Talon agreed, stabbing a few bits of celery and beef onto his fork.

  A short time later Talon downed the rest of his broth, waking over to the sink to set his fork and bowl inside. Meanwhile, Lillian had put a lid onto the soup pot and set it into the fridge, after moving some items around to make space.

  “I’m going to go get ready for bed, you still need to go shower.” Lillian said, drying off her bowl after handwashing it.

  “Oh - Okay... Yeah. Yeah, that’s alright... Okay.” Talon stuttered, playing with a rubber band on his wrist. Lillian could tell something was up.

  “Okay, spill it. What’s the matter?”

  “I just - ‘m nervous...” He said, pulling on the band.

  “About..?” She coaxed.

  “I want you to come with me...” he mumbled, looking away.

  “Dang. Are you normally this shy? It’s hard to believe you’re an Alpha sometimes. What do you want me to come with you for?”

  “Shower...” He said, scratching behind his neck nervously.

  “Absolutely not. I’ll sit in there with you but I’m not getting in. You need to rest before your rut, not be sent into it early.”

  She had a point, “But-”

  “No, I’ll sit in there with you but I’m not gonna get in. You’ll drive yourself mad.”

  “Okay... I won’t make you sit in there with me, but leave the door open?”

  “Okay.” She said, slightly exasperated by the Alpha’s persistence.

  “Are you gonna make a nest?”

  This flushed Lillian, it had been a while since she had anyone in her nest. Years even. “I - I don’t know... Do you – Do you want me to?” She asked, some Alphas could be touchy about Omegas nesting in their den. A sort of claiming-slash-territorial thing.

  “Of course, or you can make a nest wherever you’re most comfortable. Anything to settle you and your Wolf. “

  “Okay...”

  “Okay.”