Omega's ways

1. A lot of people said that it was the alphas who were the territorial ones, fiercely protective of their homes and loved ones. Fools, the lot of them, because anyone with an ounce of a brain knew that the real danger hid within omegas. You threatened an omega’s packmate? Pray that there would be enough of your face left intact later to identify the body. Andrew wasn’t a foolish alpha who thought that the whole world would bend to his whim. So when Neil crouched over Kevin and growled lowly at anyone daring to go near them, Andrew kept his distance. He doesn’t know how exactly Kevin had fallen during practice—he had been too busy defending his goal. One second the beta was running for the ball, the next he lied on the floor, clutching his left hand to his chest. Andrew saw red, his world narrowed down to the painful grimace on Kevin’s face and his heaving chest. But before he could get to the beta, their youngest team member was there, baring his fangs. The stadium went still, everyone holding their breaths. Nobody moved, afraid to trigger Neil further. Even Wymack was rooted to the spot, Abby right next to him with concern written all over her face. Kevin remained oblivious to the whole ordeal, too focused on his hand. Those were Andrew’s monkeys, unfortunately, so Andrew probably should do something about the situation, especially when his instincts screamed at him to get to the hurt beta now. After a few minutes Neil’s possessive display was getting too boring for Andrew’s taste, so he walked up to Neil, ignoring the growls, and flicked the omega on the nose. “Quit it.” Neil recoiled, looking offended. “Let me see him.” The growls stopped, but Neil didn’t move from his position. He keenly observed as Andrew got closer, the alpha’s movements slow lest he startled Neil—he liked his throat intact and would like to keep it that way. The sharp scent of an angry omega screamed at him to get away, but he carried on, his jaw clenched tightly. When his hand finally touched Kevin, Neil didn’t react. Andrew didn’t dwell on it because then his mind would reach some dangerous space, which he didn’t have any time for (and preferably would never). A brief inspection showed no signs of any dangerous injury—at least that was what Andrew managed to establish with Abby’s guidance, the nurse giving him instructions from a safe distance. Andrew’s heart could finally slow its frantic beat. “We’re leaving,” he announced to the silent stadium. Nobody gave any protest. Wymack looked at Andrew meaningfully as the alpha hauled the two idiots towards the exit. In the gruff man’s language the look told Andrew to keep Wymack updated. The ride to the Fox Tower was short, Neil plastered to Kevin’s side up until they got to their dorm. He didn’t even let Kevin change his clothes from practice before he dragged him towards his nest. Andrew watched, greatly entertained, as Kevin basically became a giant teddy bear, Neil wrapped around him possessively. “Neil, for fuck’s sake—” Kevin said indignantly, trying to squirm away. Neil was too far gone for any negotiations, and Andrew observed the moment Kevin realized it, the beta’s mouth opened in shock as Neil’s teeth sank into his nape—a spot where pups were bitten by their parents to calm them down. It worked on adults too, of course, but it was generally seen as degrading. Kevin’s body went boneless, and Neil licked the mark he had left behind. He tightened his hold around Kevin and finally settled in the nest, letting out a deep sigh. Kevin looked up at Andrew helplessly, his green eyes pleading. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Andrew stared back at the beta, a spark of amusement flashing when the man huffed and resigned himself to his fate. With both men settled, the air being penetrated by a scent of content omega, Andrew’s instincts settled, and he moved to guard the door. A small keen stopped him in his tracks. When he turned back, he was met with a slow blink and a hand reaching out to him. That’s the thing about Andrew—he would give Neil the world, and the knowledge scared him shitless. “Fucking junkie,” he muttered as he lied down in the nest, Kevin sandwiched between him and Neil. He kept vigil, Neil’s purrs accompanying him for the next few hours. 2. Neil was quite stupid when it came to his instincts—nothing surprising here, in Andrew’s opinion. There hadn’t been anyone in his life who could have taught him more than the basics. Every childhood story Neil let slip through his lying mouth left Andrew so furious that he wanted to kill Nathan Wesninski all over again. So when Andrew caught Neil in the act of stealing his clothes, the omega looking like a deer caught in headlights, he wasn’t surprised that the man didn’t have a clue about what was happening. It was a typical pre-heat behavior, but how Neil could know? The omega didn’t have much experience when it came to his secondary gender. A few days ago Andrew had witnessed Neil hiding Matt’s T-shirt in his duffel bag, the theft unnoticed by the owner. Later, Kevin noticed that his hoodie had gone missing (and he was pretty dramatic about it—Andrew had to stop himself from committing murder). Seriously, the signs were right there, and Neil, the oblivious idiot, didn’t know what to do about it. Did Andrew have to do everything around here? He snatched the stolen clothes from Neil’s hands, ignoring the tiny growl coming from the omega. With gentle squeeze to the neck, Neil calmed down. If he wanted to, he could escape Andrew’s hold with ease, the alpha putting just enough pressure to trigger the calming effects without Neil going boneless in his hold. “We’re building a nest,” Andrew said with finality and waited for Neil to process the words. As the realization sank in, Andrew could nearly see a light bulb switching on over Neil’s head. The scent around them soured a little, and Andrew had to battle his instincts not to scent Neil furiously, rubbing away his worry at whatever his traitorous mind had come up with. “I don’t know how,” Neil admitted quietly, as if he was embarrassed. “Irrelevant.” Sizzling anger tried to overtake Andrew’s whole being at whoever had neglected to teach Neil about the basics. Omegas needed their nest—the places of safety, comfort and love. A lack of nest could seriously impact an omega’s development. Andrew locked his anger away, lest it seeped through to his scent. “Now show me what you have.” He pushed the omega lightly and the man raced towards his drawer where the famous duffel bag was hidden. Of course that was where the omega decided to keep his stash. Andrew should have seen it coming. Neil dumped everything on his bed and stood there, utterly clueless. It was an impressive hoard consisting of the Foxes' clothes, most of them Andrew’s, Kevin’s and Matt’s. Andrew wasn’t an expert in nest building, but he had seen how other omegas did theirs a few times. Maybe it would be enough. The process of building the nest was going painstakingly slow. Neil questioned himself every step on the way, holding his instincts at bay. Something that should be nearly effortless and soothing was the opposite for Neil. The notion of 'doing it right' shone through his every move, and it was quite painful to watch. After what was probably half an hour, but felt like a lot more, and Andrew patiently teaching Neil the basics from his limited knowledge, the nest was done. It was far from perfect, the blankets all tangled up with the clothes, looking like a complete mess and not inviting in the slightest. But Andrew bit his tongue and didn’t comment because the awe on Neil’s face made him speechless, the omega’s eyes shining in wonder. Andrew wanted to kiss him stupid. Neil crawled into the nest slowly, his movements careful. He settled down and let out a sigh. Body relaxed and scent sweet, he looked like a picture of a happy omega. It really pleased Andrew. His ears caught a mumble coming from Neil. “Again, with words now,” said Andrew. “Can you stay?” Neil asked, and it left Andrew speechless. The silence stretched, Neil taking it as rejection. “I mean, we don’t have to do anything, you could just stay in the room and—” The rest got muffled by Andrew’s hand on Neil’s mouth.       Stupid idiot making Andrew’s heart do strange things. An embarrassing wave of heated want spread through his body at the prospect of being invited into the omega’s nest. Even if the said nest looked like a mess. “Yes.” That one word made Neil’s face radiant, the omega’s scent vibrant with joy. Neil mumbled something again, and Andrew took his hand away. “What now,” he said. Neil squirmed in place, suddenly nervous. “Can I scent you?” Blue eyes looked up at Andrew shyly. The eyes would be his downfall one day, he was sure of it. Andrew lied down, careful not to misplace anything. He tried to shoo his demons away and enjoy the attention which Neil was giving to covering every inch of Andrew in the omega’s sweet scent. 3. Andrew sighed internally as he walked towards Aaron and Matt’s dorm where Neil had disappeared to. Matt had been feeling a little bit under the weather, a rarity for the alpha, so Neil went to check on him after practice. That was two hours ago.       Andrew wasn’t needy—he just wanted to make sure that everything was alright. His knock rattled on the door, then Andrew pushed the door open without waiting for the answer. He easily spotted Matt lying on the couch. There was a large bulge on his front, hidden under his large hoodie and partially by a well-loved green blanket covering the his legs. From his position Andrew couldn’t decipher what the shape was in the dim light. Then it moved, letting out a content sigh. Matt’s musky scent mingled with a more subtle sweet one, one that Andrew would recognize anywhere. Neil, Andrew’s mind supplied. He tried to ignore the stab of jealousy at the sight in front of him. It wasn’t like Neil was his despite what his instincts told him. The omega could have someone beside Andrew, even should, and if the honor went to the hunkering alpha so be it. But it was quite hard to ignore that part of himself that yearned to snatch Neil and hide him away from everyone. Though at the same time, he had to admit that Matt and Neil made quite a pair, the alpha not holding back with his affection towards the smaller omega. Touching was something freely given between them, and at some point Neil had stopped being skittish like a wild animal when someone dared to breathe in his direction. Omega’s needed a lot of physical affection—something that Matt was able to provide and Andrew wasn’t, at least not always. There were days when his skin just felt wrong, the barest touch barely tolerable. Neil never pushed the matter, keeping a respectable distance from Andrew, even if it went against his omegan instincts to comfort the alpha.       Andrew hated him so much.       “You’ll get him sick,” he said. His voice sounded like he cared, but he absolutely didn’t. “Look man, I really tried to move him,” Matt said and cleared his throat, “but he nearly bit me, so guess we’re stuck here.” He shrugged, careful not to jostle the dozing omega too much, unsuccessfully though. Neil tightened his grip around Matt’s chest, as if to hold him in place. Well, that complicated things. There was no way that Andrew would force Neil to move when he clearly didn’t want to. Andrew’s eyes met with Matt’s, and the other alpha gave a slight nod. Andrew fought with himself not to turn back on his way out. 4. A pair of blue eyes was tracking Andrew’s every movement as he entered his room, the gaze prickling across his skin. A sweet scent of an omega in heat wafted in the air, and Andrew stopped himself from covering his nose and mouth, though it took a considerable effort. After the long-time effort of encouraging Neil to lean on his instincts more, Andrew didn’t want to make the omega self-conscious about his scent. Even if it made his instincts crazy, demanding for him to go to the omega right now. A whine sounded in the room, its source lying in the center of Andrew’s bed which had been turned into a comfortable-looking nest made of pillows, blankets and clothes, most of which were Andrew’s and Matt’s. It was a far cry from the omega’s first ever attempt, the result looking quite pitiful back then. However, Andrew had still loved it, despite its messiness. Neil crooned as Andrew stepped closer to the bed, the sound inviting the alpha to join him in the nest. Andrew put the bag from the grocery store on the floor, the plastic bag rustling, and looked at Neil. The omega’s skin was flushed, the heat nearly in full swing judging by the strong scent. “Me in your nest, yes or no?” Andrew asked, hating how much he yearned to be there with the omega. “Yes,” Neil answered without an ounce if hesitation. “You’re always invited.” Andrew’s heart did a somersault. He wanted to rip Neil’s throat out with his teeth. “Until I’m not.” Neil shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, like his freely-given trust didn’t mean anything to Andrew. Jew clenched, the alpha arranged himself carefully, not yet touching Neil. The omega closed the distance after getting Andrew’s permission, and soon Andrew’s chest was full of the sweet-smelling omega. Neil started scenting him eagerly, but the bliss didn’t last long. The omega’s muscles tensed and a low growl slipped through his throat. Andrew’s hackles raised too, his mind reacting to Neil’s distress. “What is it?” Andrew asked, his eyes scanning for threats around them. “What’s this smell?” Neil asked, his nose scrunched up, distaste clear on his face. In any other circumstances, Andrew would find it cute. Andrew sniffed the air carefully, but he only smelt Neil and the various clothes from their pack. “What smell?” Instead of answering, Neil growled again and started rubbing his wrist furiously against Andrew’s left shoulder. That was when it clicked. Back in the grocery store, a man that looked like he hadn’t slept for a few days bumped into him, startling Andrew. He apologized profusely, so Andrew let it go as he was on an important mission to buy Neil heat supplies. The man, whose scent identified him as an omega, scurried away after that, and Andrew dismissed the interaction. Maybe he should have taken a shower before returning to Neil, but he could do it now too. The suggestion was met with a whine that tugged at Andrew’s heartstrings. “Stay, please.” Now Neil’s whole weight was on the alpha, but Andrew didn’t mind. The pressure felt quite nice. By the end of Neil’s heat, Andrew was covered in the sweet scent, so much that people could mistake him for an omega. It was worth it, even if the price was Nicky’s fussing over them both later, his coos nearly unbearable. His cousin got the hint when one of Andrew’s knives made an appearance and he backed off. The rest of the Foxes were smart enough not to comment where Andrew could hear. Through it all, Neil was looking way to pleased with himself. Andrew would have to do something about it later.