Chapter 50: Connection

OLIVIA

“~Rise and shine.~”

That voice... it wasn’t Alexander’s.

Blinking open one eye, Olivia was met with a cascade of fiery red hair.

“~At last!~”

“Maya?” Olivia’s voice was thick with sleep. She propped herself up, the sheet barely concealing her bare form. ~Oh no~.

Feeling the chill of the room against her skin, she clutched the sheet, shielding her chest from view.

Maya rolled her eyes. “Get dressed and come with me.”

“Where’s Alex?”

Her hand swept across the cool, empty sheet. He hadn’t just left. She’d been so exhausted, she hadn’t noticed him go. Why would he leave without saying anything?

“Don’t worry. Jason came to get him. Must’ve been important. I think Jason hovered outside the door for a good ten minutes before he knocked.” Maya chuckled. “Poor guy was scared stiff.” She gave Olivia a reassuring smile.

“He didn’t leave because of you.”

Olivia swallowed hard; had Maya seen through her?

Maybe it was her heightened emotions from her heat, their intimate moments, and everything else. She was being overly sensitive. Alex had responsibilities—important ones. She understood that.

She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. “I know.”

Maya bent down, picked up a discarded shirt, and tossed it to Olivia. “Put that on...” She paused. “And find some pants. I’ll wait outside.”

With that, Maya bounced out of the room, leaving Olivia alone, still heavy with sleep. A full night’s rest hadn’t done much for her aching muscles.

She rolled her shoulders, trying to ease the tension, but it didn’t help.

Giving up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and picked up what looked like a pair of sweatpants. Probably Alexander’s.

~It’s okay to borrow them~, right? She’d worn his clothes before.

Olivia shook her head, deciding not to overthink it.

She grabbed a hair tie from the nightstand and quickly pulled her hair into a bun before joining Maya outside the bedroom.

“Where are we going?”

“Girl talk!” Maya said, grinning as she led Olivia down the hallway. “You can’t hide away for two days and not expect me to ask questions.”

~Fair enough~. But it would be good.

Maya was always straightforward and it would be good to talk to her about everything and get advice. She would tell her the truth.

They arrived at Maya’s room and Olivia was pulled inside without a second thought.

“So.”

“So?”

“I mean—~aside from the fact that you two were like rabbits~—how was it?”

“Good.”

Maya frowned. “Just good?” She threw her hands in the air. “Are you serious? All that noise? And it was ~good~?

“It had to be more than good! It didn’t sound like you were just lying there? Did he treat you well? You’ve got to give me more.”

“It was um,”—she cleared her throat—“~Amazing~?”

She didn’t even know how to describe what had happened. It was more than just sex. She’d never felt so close to someone before. It was different. Yes, the sex had been mind-blowing.

Yes, she’d discovered a sexual desire she didn’t know she had but…

But it was more than that.

“Everyone could ~hear~ you, Liv. Are you still going with just ‘amazing’?”

“What do you want me to say? That it was earth-shattering?” She swallowed. “That I came so hard, I blacked out?”

“A little bit, yes. I mean, I know the bar isn’t very high after all this time but ~still~.”

“~Intense,~ okay? It was intense.”

She sighed. “I’ve never felt like that before. I ~needed~ him. All the time. It wasn’t just about the sex. I needed to be close to him, to touch him. I was scared to let him go. I was scared he’d leave.”

The memory of her desperate need for his warmth was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

She was hoping Maya would reassure her, tell her it was a common occurrence. But what she didn’t anticipate…

Was a smack on the forehead.

She blinked, still feeling the sting of Maya’s hand on her skin. ~What on earth~?

“That’s not the heat, you idiot.” Maya smacked her again, albeit a bit gentler this time. “That’s the bond.”

“Firstly, ~ouch~. Secondly, I don’t think so. It was really physically intense… I even—” ~Oh God~—“Bit him.”

“I’m sorry, you did ~what~?”

Olivia hid her face in her hands. “I ~bit~ him. Hard—there was this big swollen mark on his neck.”

Before she could utter another word, Maya lunged across the bed, yanking the collar of her shirt and pulling it down. Olivia squealed, falling backward.

“What the hell?”

“~You don’t have one~.”

“I don’t have one, what?”

“A mark.”

She scrunched her eyebrows, creasing the skin between her eyes. “I didn’t say he bit me, I said I bit him.”

Maya let go of her with a sigh of frustration before sitting back on her heels. “I swear to God, that jerk waits way too long to discuss things.”

“What?”

“No, you know what? I’ve kept out of it—but I’m done. You marked him, Liv. As your mate.”

“I did what now?”

“The mark on his neck? It’s not going to fade. You marked him. As yours, as your mate. A big red ~hands off ladies~.”

Olivia slapped her hand on her neck, her eyes growing wide. “So—we—we’re…is that how?” She didn’t even know which question to ask. She had faint memories of biting him.

The powerful urge, the need, and then the act itself but…the rest was a bit hazy.

“No—not exactly. He was supposed to do it too. It’s a mutual thing.”

He’d nipped at her skin. But? No. There was no mark on her.

It almost didn’t add up; hadn’t he desired this from the start? Meanwhile, ~she~, who had been hesitant every step of the way, had gone and done it. She couldn’t deny feeling a bit guilty.

What she said and what she did up to that point were contradictory.

She was ready to move forward but now she’d apparently hit the accelerator without even realizing it. “W-why didn’t he do it?”

“I think he knew you didn’t understand what you were doing. He was probably going to discuss it with you. But it’s Alex. Maybe he was going to wait a year.”

~In all fairness~, Maya didn’t exactly give them a chance to talk.

He could have told her immediately, but then again, she’d been so exhausted and sore once she came out of it. She didn’t know how much she could have paid attention to him.

Maybe he had wanted her to recuperate before having this conversation.

If she had known there were more steps than just ~being~ mates, she would have asked more questions much earlier.

“I’ll cut him some slack considering his dick is probably broken.” She shook her head.

“I don’t even know how you guys didn’t need another box of condoms.”

The condoms? ~Oh~. The ones Alexander wanted to use but she made him choose otherwise.

Except, Maya seemed to pick up on her puzzled expression.

“You guys did use the condoms, right?”

Olivia tilted her head from side to side. “Well—we were going to—but, hmm, I take the shot so it’s fine.”

She watched as Maya dragged her lower lip across the top lip, her pale cheeks turning a shade of red. ~That wasn’t a good sign~.

She could almost ~hear~ the string of expletives running through Maya’s mind, but not one was escaping her lips. Instead, she ended up taking a long, deep breath.

“Liv, what do you think your heat is?”

“I—”

But Maya didn’t even let her attempt to answer. “Why do you think you need to ~fuck~ so bad?”

“Well—”

“Breeding. It’s for breeding.”

She wrinkled her nose, finding the comment a bit coarse. It wasn’t necessarily ~incorrect~, but it was still a bit much.

“You’re the medical expert here. If your body is in heat…that means you’re fertile, right? I’m assuming the injection…prevents your ovulation? Like birth control pills?”

Olivia was only half-listening to Maya’s words, her mind was spinning. She’d never really considered what being in heat ~implied~.

~Surely~, the fact that Will and everyone else referred to it as a ~heat~ was a clue. A powerful urge to procreate. But she was still fundamentally human.

She hadn’t considered that it could override birth control.

~Could it really~?

She moistened her lips before pressing them together, leaning in, and clutching Maya’s arm. “Are—are you certain?”

Maya shook her head.

“Birth control typically requires a doctor’s prescription. We rely on condoms… And if we forget…well. It’s not like our chances are that high. Yes, as a beta, my chances are better than an alpha female, but…” She shrugged.

“It would be quite unlucky if it worked the first time. But you?”

Olivia let her head hang low in resignation. “~But I’m an omega~,” she murmured.

“Top of the line baby maker.”

~God-fucking-damn it~.

Alex had considered using a condom—he would have gotten them and ~she had stopped him~. Oh God. Wait. No, no. Now was not the time to panic. They didn’t know ~for certain~ that it wouldn’t work. Perhaps her injection was effective.

Perhaps it would be sufficient. But Maya mentioned they didn’t use any other forms of birth control.

Or maybe they’d get lucky.

~What was she thinking?~

She wasn’t lucky.

She was in trouble, wasn’t she?