Omega On Contract

Chapter Six - Omega in The Sheets

Phoenix was seated on the stairs of the front porch as I drove into the driveway, arms wrapped around himself. The winter dust had submerged the mansion in a thick fog, forcing me to squint and my heart plummeted with worry at the sight of him. It was too cold for an omega to be outside, especially without a heated jacket.

He rose to his feet when my headlights flashed in his face, fog forming around his breath as he dug his hand into his pocket. I hurriedly packed the car and jumped out, his smile widening, his dull eyes brightening in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“What the hell are you doing?” I scolded, trying to keep my voice down as I approached and whatever little smile I thought I had seen making its way through his lips fizzled away.

“Waiting for you,” he answered.

“You could’ve done that inside.”

“You weren’t picking your calls. I was worried.”

I blinked. “You were?”

Phoenix’s soulful eyes washed over my face as though he hadn’t seen me in years, and was just now re-familiarizing himself with the curves of my face. Perhaps I was the one looking at him that way, we hadn’t stared at each other longer than a few fleeting seconds in years, and stolen glances were never enough to capture the bold shapes of his hard frame, and now there he was, up close, in my face and worried, like our wedding night, when I hurt my knee running through the fog as we chased winter butterflies, me still in my wedding dress, and him in his wedding suit.

“It’s a worrisome situation.”

I dipped a hand into my pocket and retrieved my phone. With a single swipe, I could show him my phone’s settings. “I left it on silent, sorry about that.”

He shrugged. “Okay.” Then turned to head back into the mansion.

“Nix.”

“Yeah…” He spun around.

“I brought her home.”

His head tilted to the side with the question, “Who?”

“The omega… from earlier.”

“What?”

“Couldn’t leave her there.”

“Heavens…” He gripped his forehead and paced the length of stairs. “Annabelle, what is this? Make me understand this.”

“She was unconscious, what was I to do?”

“I don’t know, maybe neglect her, the same you neglect me. You’re really good at that,” he snapped. “The hoops you’re jumping through for an omega that isn’t even yours…” A loud sigh escaped him. “Is that what this is? Is this you finally finding your way to let me down easy?”

“Why would you think that?”

“What am I supposed to think?”

Silence tangled along with fog as we stared at each other. There were no befitting words to break the silence, so we let it linger until I took a step forward.

“I’m guessing she’s passed out?” he asked, taking a step away from me.

I nodded. “Yeah, in the back seat.”

“I’ll get my nesting quarters ready.” He turned away from me and I could feel everything he left unsaid crushing me because I knew them word for word—every accusation. Every emotion. They were always there, waiting in the corners of our stolen glances through the years.

Phoenix’s nesting quarters was on the third floor of the mansion, a master suite redesigned after our wedding to suit the delicate needs of an omega’s heat circle. The centerpiece was a wide comfortable cubicle, cocooned in layers of fabric chosen as much for their feel as their muted hues. Inside, silken throws and plush blankets were arranged with deliberate care, interwoven with personal touches—tokens of his world, like the scarf I’d left behind and the small, frayed book of poetry he never parted with. Around the cubicle, the room exuded a quiet intimacy: shelves filled with objects he’d gathered on a whim, from polished stones to dried lavender from his days exploring potion making, their presence comforting in its simplicity. Every inch of the space carried his scent, rich and warm. It was a sanctuary, a testament to everything he was and everything I wanted to protect, bringing Wonderful into it was a piercing invasion he allowed it happen for my sake.

It took an hour to carefully strip her of her sweat-soaked clothes and give her a towel bath, my hands gliding over the deep brown expanse of her skin, smooth and impossibly flawless save for the birthmark at the edge of her left hip. The mark, a soft, irregular crescent made me wonder what more there was to her. Everyone had a story, where they were rooted and what shaped them, and for whatever reason, I had an inkling hers was a bit complex.

Absentmindedly, I traced a finger along the lines of her birthmark and she exhaled, as though my touch had brought her relief of some sort. Her body, fevered yet pliant beneath my touch, exposing the resilience and fragility in her curves, the gentle rise and fall of her chest awakening a vicious need in me to protect her. It was instinct, the kind of instinct most alphas felt with an omega they found endearing.

Taming her booming curls into a bun took another twenty minutes before I carried her into one of the cubicles. I wasn’t sure she needed my scent, an alpha’s pheromones was very calming for omega’s, but I was not her alpha. It appeared she had none.

“She seems comfortable,” Phoenix said from somewhere behind me. I hadn’t noticed him return. His slow footsteps carried him to the space beside me and I gazed up at him. “Brought her some socks,” he said, handing them over.

“Thanks.”

“You should give her your shirt, the pheromones would help.”

“I’m not her alpha.”

“She’s fed from you. Now she’s in my nest. She might as well be.” He was smug with his reply, hands on his hips in a dramatic way that made me smile.

“She’s here only for tonight.”

“Uh huh.”

“Have you had dinner yet?” I asked, unbuttoning my shirt. His answer did not come until all my buttons had come undone and I was rising to my feet.

“Does it matter?”

“You were in the cold earlier today, you of all people should know how dangeroud it is for your health. Don’t ever do that again.”

His gaze faltered against mine. “I’ll eat when I want, as I have done for years now.”

“Sit. I’ll check your vitals,” I commanded, ingoring his protest.

“I’m going to bed. Save that energy for her.” He nudged his chin toward the cubicle and turned his back to me.

“Phoenix,” I called. “Phoenix Vantrope.”

The echo of my voice followed him out of the nesting quarters before the loud slam of the door shutting hit the air. I huffed a breath and stormed toward the door, making it only a few paces before stopping. He knew how much I hated being walked out on during fights. It was law between us that no matter how terrible the fights were, we’d sit and hear each other out, or at least find a common ground that’d allow us circle back to the subject matter with ease. He was doing it to hurt me intentionally, and his anger was not baseless. I could not fault him for it.

I let the annoyance simmer over me as I dressed Wonderful in my shirt and then wrapped her in linen, making sure she was safe and secure before retreating to my bedroom for a long hot shower and change of clothes, the annoyance still pounding at the edge of my reserve, keeping me restless and uneasy.

I slid under the blanket with a heavy chest from both the events of the night and my aching breasts. Wonderful had barely emptied me before I had to stop her, now with no omega to breastfeed, all it did was hurt and keep me sore.

I glued my eyes on the ceiling, watching the thoughts float around, growing larger every minute. Worry after worry. It was one of those nights when I did not try so hard to banish my thoughts away, I let them run free, replaying every second I stood so near to Phoenix until it wasn’t only my breasts hurting, but my head too and a million other places, physical and non-physical.

It was well past midnight when it all became impossible to bear. I conceded to the pain and decided on pumping, at least I could send Wonderful back home with enough to nurse her back to full health. A floor down and the door to Phoenix’s bedroom came into my view, halting my footsteps. We never slept apart after a fight—heck we never slept apart no matter what for years. That too was law. Now I couldn’t even remember what it was like to hold him in my arms while he slipped into slumber, let alone what it felt like to nurse him to sleep.

I tapered slowly toward his door until I could lean my forehead against it, my eyes closing for a moment as I inhaled his pheromones, taking it deep within my lungs and holding it there for a long minute before letting out a large exhale, my heart twisting and aching. I remained calm against the door until the pain became almost unbearable, being near Phoenix pheromones for a prolonged period of time was terrible for my body, in spite of how much I craved it.

As I peeled myself from the door, a sharp noise came through it. I thought it might have been exhaustion working its way through my mind until the second noise rang through the air. “Nix? Are you alright?”

More grumbles and then a small shriek that made push the handle and dash in, heavy steps carrying me straight to his bedside. His head whipped in my direction, revealing the sheen of tears threatening to fall as he clutched his abdomen

"What are you doing? Leave!” he barked, eyes wide and threatening.

“Phoenix…” I reached for him and he jumped out of bed, avoiding my touch like the plague, wincing as though every movement pulled him deeper into misery. “What is wrong? You’re in pain.”

“You need to leave.”

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.”

“You’re two years too late.” He hurried to push past me, and I caught him by the shoulder before he could dash into the bathroom. He let go of his abdomen to fight me off, and for the first time, I caught a glimpse of his crotch, soaked from what I knew wasn’t just sweat.

Phoenix continued to wriggle in my grasp, trying his hardest to free himself, though he knew how futile his efforts would be against his alpha. My gaze snapped from his crotch to the bed and then back to his crotch before the question, “Did you wet the bed?” slipped past my lips, and like a switch, his entire body went still.

“What?” His eyes hardened on me. “Are you insane?”

“Well did you?”

“f**k no!” He shoved me, and this time I let go of him.

“This… this isn’t me judging… I’m just… I’m…”

“I did not wet the bed, Annabelle, I’m having a f*****g wet dream.” He hissed.

“Wet dream? Since when?” My brows furrowed. Wet dreams were damn near impossible for omegas his age.

“Since you stopped touching me. Did you think abandoning me would have no repercussions?”

“I haven’t abandoned you, Nix. I’ve been right here.”

He huffed a breath and shoved past me, his shoulder bumping into mine as he stormed into the bathroom. My eyes followed him before they fell back to the bed and the slickness pooled in a small patch stared back at me. I pulled the blanket off, then removed the bedsheet, the sweet scent of his c*m wafted through my nose, worsening the pain in my chest.

Aside from hormonal Imbalances, there were no reasons why a marked omega his age would be leaking during his sleep. As far as I knew, Phoenix’s hormonal health was in stellar condition. I had made sure he had access to the best vitamins and suppressants throughout the years and was updated bi-yearly on his medicals. He was the healthiest omega I knew.

I dumped the sheets into the laundry basket and spread out a new one, dressing his bed until every stray wrinkle had been smoothed out, and then I sat on the edge of the bed and pinned my gaze to the bathroom door, waiting impatiently for him to emerge. My breath did not come easy until I heard the bathroom door creak open.