Rey felt weird. At least, that was the only way she could describe the out of body experience she swore she was having. She felt weak, and sore, and unlike most mornings, when she woke up to the subtle sunshine shining through her bedroom window, she was certain she was enclosed in pure darkness.
She inhaled briefly, before an overpowering stench had her eyes flying open.
Alpha.
She rolled onto her knees frantically, still enclosed in the darkness, and began to crawl forward. She spotted a sliver of light seeping underneath what appeared to be a door and used every last bit of energy she had to rise as tall as she could go onto her knees. With a huff, she found the doorknob and shoved the door open.
Rey fell back onto her butt as two details became apparent.
First, she was not kidnapped and stuck in some freak's basement. She appeared to be sitting in her closet, if the view into her bedroom past the open door was any indication.
Second, the weird pulsing and soreness she felt between her legs suddenly made sense, as the light illuminated the large piece of orange silicone shoved into her cunt.
"Oh my god," She cried out, before pulling out the toy and tossing it into her closet. Slowly, she used the edge of the door to rise to her feet, her knees shaking. Once on her feet, she pushed the closet door open as far as it could go, allowing the light of her room to shine into the enclosed space.
Her mouth dropped open. Carefully rolled and fluffed blankets and sheets filled every inch of the space, along with what Rey thought were articles of Ben's clothing.
But, perhaps more alarming was the sight of black mesh, which Rey recognized as Ben's hamper, as well as similar toys to the orange one she had only moments ago removed from her cunt.
She began to shake, her heart beating in her chest. She had no idea what time it was, or what day it was, or what the fuck had happened to leave her locked in her closet fucking a dildo.
Her last clear memory was climbing back into her bed on Friday morning, hugging a Brita filter to her chest. Everything else was…
Blurry.
The smells, the moans, the cries of pain and fatigue, of Finn forcing her to eat orange slices, of Poe's commands, of Ben's wild eyes…
Still clad in what appeared to be Ben's jacket, she stumbled into the hallway, tears streaming down her face.
"Ben?" She sobbed out, starting to shake frantically, "Ben are you here? What the fuck is going on? I woke up in my closet and I barely remember—"
She stopped speaking as Finn bolted up on the couch, her crying having woken him up from a dead sleep. Beside him, Poe groaned and buried his face into the pillow. Finn jumped up and slowly approached her.
"You're awake," He exclaimed, rather surprised, "We thought you'd have another day or two." He rubbed at his eyes and stumbled into the kitchen, "Sit. I'll make you food."
Rey wiped at her cheeks and shook her head frantically. "Where's Ben? What's going on?"
Finn frowned. "Sit down. Please."
With shaky legs, she dropped to a stool, leaning against the kitchen island for support. Before she glanced back to Finn, empty packaging caught her eyes. Reaching forward, she picked up the lightweight cardboard and plastic, her eyes frantically reading the product name.
"Big Boy Alpha 2020, 10 inches, now with vibrations and an artificial knot," she read, her voice shaking, "Guaranteed to get any omega through the worst of a heat without the presence of an alpha," Her eyes dropped to the fine print, "These claims have not been evaluated by the American Designation Board and will not be a suitable replacement for an Alpha or his organic material. Stimulation with Big Boy Alpha, however, may provide relief and limit the pain of an Alpha-less heat."
From behind her, Poe strolled in, laughing hysterically. He ran a hand through his bed-ridden hair. "Organic material? That's new!"
Rey swallowed and tossed the packaging away. She looked at Finn, her lip trembling. He frowned and slid a mug towards her, filled with pipping hot coffee. It was her favorite mug—Ben had gifted it to her last Christmas. Along with the Mystery Machine, it featured Shaggy and Scooby messing around, along with the words "Best Friends Forever". While the green and blue monstrosity normally made her smile, it wasn't having that effect on her now.
She took a shaky sip and glanced back at the packaging, one phrase standing out among the rest.
Guaranteed to get any omega through the worst of a heat.
"Tell me it's not true," She whispered, looking back to Finn with wide eyes, "Tell me I was fucking drugged or in a stress-induced state of psychosis or that I smoked some bad fucking pot!"
Her voice ached, but she couldn't stop the way she began to freak the fuck out. "Please Finn."
With a sigh, Finn smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Rey. I can't tell you how or why but you uh… You had your first heat on Friday."
She gulped and began to shake again. "Oh my god. What day is it?"
Poe yawned and slid in beside her. "Monday. Finn already emailed your boss. She said take whatever time you leave. He and I took of too."
While she wanted to freak out about her limited memories of the previous three days, or the fact that they reached out to her boss, or that her best friends were wasting their vacation days to take care of her, she was immediately distracted by the smell of something masculine.
Masculine, sharp, and somewhat bitter. She flinched and glanced at Poe beside her, watching as he shoveled what appeared to be a forkful of eggs into his mouth. She blinked.
"Are you wearing cologne?" She croaked out, her voice sore from the crying and whining of the past few days, "I don't like it."
Before he could respond, Finn appeared at her side with a plate of eggs for her as well. At his appearance, another scent assaulted her senses. This one, however, while masculine, was also tinged with something sweet, and cinnamon like.
But it also had notes of the other smell. The somewhat bitter, manly scent from Poe.
"You smell too," She hiccupped, staring at Finn, "But at least it's not as harsh as whatever Poe is wearing."
Finn and Poe exchanged looks, before glancing back at Rey.
"Sweetie, that's not cologne. Those are our scents," Finn explained, trying to speak as delicately as he could, "All alphas and omegas have them. Betas too. But Betas can't smell them, and their scents are pretty innocuous."
Rey blinked and continued shaking. "You're telling me that those smells are just… You guys?"
Poe nodded. "Yup. You don't like how I smell because you're not attracted to me. And I'm mated. Finn and I share smell notes."
"This is not happening," Rey squeaked out, practically to herself. She glanced back at Finn, her eyes wide, "So you two… Can smell me?"
Finn nodded. "Yes. You're extremely strong right now, mainly because you just finished your heat and you're not on suppressants yet."
At the word suppressants, reality came crashing back into Rey. She shook her head frantically.
"No, no, no! This is insane! I'm almost 26 years old." She jumped to her feet and hugged herself, her eyes welling up again, "There's no way I could possibly be an omega!"
Finn sighed and grabbed her hand. "Rey. I want to show you something."
She sniffled and merely looked at him as he took her hand and brought it to rest behind his neck. He pressed her index and middle finger into the rough patch of skin on the right side of his neck, sitting right above his shoulder.
"Do you feel this?" He asked softly, watching as she nodded, "That's my mating gland," He explained, before moving her fingers over about an inch, until they rest on a jagged scar, "And that? That's where Poe bit me. Those are his teeth. He bit my mating gland and I bit his and now we're mates."
Rey swallowed and jerked her hand away, feeling as if she had invaded their privacy. Finn, however, wasn't finished, and grabbed her hand again. He slowly brought it to rest now on her neck, and the new rough patch of skin between her neck and shoulder blade.
As her fingers met the rough skin, her eyes shot open.
"And that," Finn explained, "Is your mating gland."
Before she could respond, the sound of the front door unlocking made Rey shake. She looked to Finn and Poe, her eyes desperate.
"Is that Ben?" She hiccupped, before stumbling forward, "Where is he?"
Finn sighed and squeezed her hand. "Ben had to leave. I assume that's Leia."
And his guess was right, as seconds later the older woman strolled in, carrying a bag of leftovers. Her eyes immediately landed on Rey. She tssked and handed Poe to bag of food, before rushing forward to hug her.
"Oh, you poor thing!" Leia cried out, before pressing a kiss to Rey's head, "You must be so scared!"
Rey sniffled and snuggled into the woman, comforted by the only mother figure she had ever really known. And unlike the somewhat bitter, masculine scents of both Poe and Finn, she was assaulted by pure sweetness and vanilla on Leia's end. It wasn't attractive, but it had a calming quality.
"What's happening to me?" Rey sobbed out, no longer caring if her tears ruined Leia's likely expensive blazer, "I barely remember this weekend and Finn and Poe are claiming I'm an—an—an—"
"An omega," Leia finished for her with a sad smile. At the look on Rey's face, she merely nodded. "They're right, sweetheart. And if you're feeling up to it, I'm going to take you to my designation doctor. We're going to figure out why you've only just presented."
Leia pulled away and pressed another kiss to Rey's head. She stopped momentarily, pressing her nose into the jacket Rey was wearing, and took a sniff. She cleared her throat, clearly recognizing her son's scent, before meeting her gaze.
"Take a shower. I bought some suppressant body wash that should cover up a bit of your scent before we head out, ok? And then, your grandfather is going to meet us for coffee."
Rey immediately perked up at the thought of seeing her grandfather, and accepted the fancy looking bottle from Leia. On shaky legs, she stumbled back into her bedroom, desperate for a shower.
Back in the living room, Leia looked at Finn and Poe. "Thank you for taking care of her. Ben's been…" She sighed and waved her hands, "Anyways, if you clean this place up before he gets back in the next few hours, I'll let you two use our vacation home in Martha's Vineyard."
Finn immediately bolted up to clean up the kitchen counter. Poe, however, crossed his arms, ready to bargain. "Only if we get access to the wine cellar."
Leia waved her hand. "Done. Now get rid of this heat smell. The last thing Ben needs is to be sent back into another rut."
With a small cheer, Poe met Finn in the kitchen. He grinned. "You need to clean up the nest though," He explained, "That shit will send me into a rut."
-x-x-x-
About an hour and a half later, Rey sat on the examination table in Dr. Kanata's office, her legs swinging back and forth. She had just redressed after being examined by the older woman and was waiting for her return. Leia sat in the room, watching Rey with concern.
"Thank you for taking me," Rey whispered, glancing over at the older woman, "It seems fitting, I guess. You're the one who gave me the designation talk all those years ago."
Leia laughed softly and nodded. "It's the least I could do, Rey. You're my surrogate daughter."
The moment was interrupted as the little doctor strolled back in, clutching a floral clipboard to her chest. She dropped back onto her stool and rolled towards Rey.
Dr. Kanata tssked. "Well, here's what I can tell you Miss Kenobi. We can never be one hundred percent sure why you presented so late, but if we had to guess, it was a birth defect. Essentially, you're just now finishing puberty," She skimmed through the clipboard and looked at Rey, "You had you period very late, yes?"
Rey swallowed and nodded. "At 16 I started taking medicine to start it."
The older lady adjusted her glasses and whistled. "Exactly. Your sexual development was stunted for some reason. Likely your mother's drug use before and during her pregnancy. But, even then, normally we see young women like that present by at least 22."
Dr. Kanata rolled to the cabinets and pulled out a note pad, before scribbling down a prescription. "If I had to guess, your designation was laying dormant. It was hibernating if you will. It needed to be woken up. It's also why this heat was only about 72 hours long, much shorter than they usually are."
She rolled back to Rey and tilted her head. "I presume you never came in contact with an Alpha in rut until recently, yes?"
Rey swallowed and glanced at Leia, suddenly bashful. She looked back to Dr. Kanata and nodded. "Erm, yes. But it was only for like, five minutes!"
"That's more than enough time, Miss Kenobi. During an Alpha's rut, his pheromone levels are through the roof and at their most pungent level. Just a whiff is enough to send most red-blooded omegas into heat, especially if he's in his prime sexual years." She ripped the note off its pad and studied Rey, "How old was this alpha?"
Rey swallowed and flushed. "Um. 26."
Leia sighed and shook her head. "Ben's rut sent you into this? I should have known."
With a cackle, Dr. Kanata rolled around the women, using her stool like a scooter. "My, my, little Benjamin is quite a man now, isn't he? No wonder it sent you into a heat. He's at his prime!"
Still flushing, Rey cleared her throat. "What am I supposed to do now? Am I…" She looked down and began to play with the hem of her blouse, "Am I really an omega?"
Dr. Kanata reached forward and squeezed her hand. "Yes. You're an omega. And I know at your age that may seem like an unfortunate thing, but it's really not! I'm an omega. Leia is an omega. We're doing just fine. We found ourselves some handsome alphas, and we lived our lives the same way we would have had we been betas."
Rey swallowed and nodded. "Where do I go from here?"
"Well, the first thing you need to do is get on some suppressants. Alphas are going to scent you from a mile away and the suppressants take a few days to get going," She handed Rey the prescription note and smiled, "These are the strongest out there. You take them once a day, just like birth control."
Rey tucked the note into her pocket. "Right. Is that really it?"
Dr. Kanata rolled back to her cabinet and pulled out a small booklet. She handed it to Rey and grinned. "Go ahead and read this. We give these to all girls when they present for the first time."
Rey glanced at the small booklet, her cheeks immediately turning red. Styled with big font, colorful letters, and lots of sparkles, Rey just knew it was meant for 15-year-olds. Not a woman turning 26 in a few months.
"I Just Presented. Now What? An Omega's Guide to Life, Love, and Having Fun." Rey glanced at Dr, Kanata and cleared her throat, "Right. Thanks."
"It goes through all the basics. Scenting, pheromones, your scent and mating glands, heats, suppressants—"
"Kelly met Johnny at summer camp. Johnny is an Alpha and smells really good. What should Kelly do now?" Rey read from the book, interrupting Dr. Kanata, "Kelly is smelling Johnny's pheromones. Pheromones are—"
Dr. Kanata waved her hand, cutting Rey off. "I know, I know. It's written for a…" She cleared her throat, "Younger demographic, but I promise, it's helpful. And feel free to give me a call if you have any questions or concerns."
Rey nodded numbly and jumped off the examination table. With a final thanks, she followed Leia out, the booklet still in her hands.
It only took most of the morning, but she finally accepted it.
She was an omega.
-x-x-x-
An hour later, with a baggie of suppressants sitting in her purse, she was seated across from her grandfather. Leia had walked off to take a phone call, giving her some much-needed time alone with the man.
"I'm so sorry, Rey," He began yet again, his soft blue eyes frowning as he stared at his granddaughter, "I know how much you valued your freedom, and being an omega does limit you."
Rey shrugged and sipped her latte. "You couldn't have known this would happen, Grandpa."
He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "But I could have warned you. About Jyn presenting so late. I just assumed that—"
"That by twenty-five we wouldn't have to worry about this?" Rey snorted and sipped her latte, "Yeah, well, me too. But here we are."
He pressed a soft kiss to her hand. "I wish there was something I could do. I couldn't believe it when Leia called me. For a moment, I thought I was having a stroke."
Rey frowned at even the mention of a stroke. "Grandpa, don't. Don't put that out in the universe."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Of course, darling. I just mean I was incredibly shocked."
She nodded and glanced into her mug, the flower design that the barista had spent only seconds on now gone. "Me too." She sniffled and bit her lip, "Come to lunch with me? You drove all the way into the city. Please?"
He nodded and smiled softly. "Of course. But it's alright. I didn't drive. I took an uber with Ben. I'll go home with Leia when she leaves."
Rey swallowed at the mention of her best friend. "Oh. Ben has been with Leia and Han?"
"Yes. Leia said he was staying with them while…" He cleared his throat, suddenly bashful at the topic, "But he's back now."
Leia strolled back over and slid into her seat. "Did I miss anything?"
Obi-wan smiled. "Rey and I are going to grab lunch. Will you be able to entertain yourself for a bit?"
With a snort, the older woman rose to her feet. "Of course. The shopping here is much better than back home." She glanced at Rey, sizing the young girl up, "Hmm. Yes, call me when you're done! Enjoy lunch!"
Leia hurried off, leaving Obi-wan to descent into a fit of laughter. He grinned at Rey. "You know that look. Looks like you have a new wardrobe coming your way!"
Rey could only smile and nod, but her head was anywhere but focused on Leia's shopping habits.
Alpha. Alpha returns.
-x-x-x-
With a deep breath, Ben opened the door to his apartment, his body shaking as he recalled the last time he stood in the doorway.
Omega in heat. Omega in your clothes. Omega ready for pups.
He shook away the memories and stepped inside, immediately smelling disinfectant and bleach and laundry detergent.
But even underneath that, he still detected the smell of an omega in heat.
The smell of Rey.
He swallowed and looked around. "Uh, Poe? Finn? You guys here?"
Finn poked his head out, holding a broom. He waved at Ben and walked back into the living room. "Hey. We're just cleaning up."
On cue, Poe strolled in, holding a laundry basket of neatly folded clothes. "Sup, Ben."
Ben blinked, startled by the behavior of his friends. "Jeez, you guys are like the fucking seven dwarves. I appreciate the help, but did you really clean this place?"
"Yes, out of the kindness of our hearts," Poe explained, his grin wide.
With a snort, Ben sat on one of the bar stools. "As if. What did Leia offer you? The house in Malibu? Martha's Vineyard? Cabo?"
Finn stopped sweeping and blinked. "Wait, you guys have a fucking house in Cabo?"
With a whine, Poe dropped the laundry basket. "I would have asked for Cabo if I knew that!"
Ben rolled his eyes. "I figured. Anyways, thanks. I was uh…" He scratched his neck, doing his best to avoid his still inflamed mating gland, "Nervous to return. I thought I'd be walking into—"
"Like a department store perfume section, but instead of Ralph Lauren and Estee Lauder, it's the scent of your dream omega in heat?" Poe retorted with a smirk, "We thought we'd save you the boner and aggression."
Ben grumbled and ran a hand through his hair. "How is she?" He asked, instead of even acknowledging what Poe said, "I presume she isn't uh, handling things well?"
Finn laughed and returned the broom to the hall closet. He leaned against the counter and gave Ben a look, "Of course she's not taking it well. She turns twenty-six in a few months and just presented as an omega. She's freaking the fuck out."
He swallowed and looked down. "Yeah, I know, ok? I just thought I'd ask. My mom called. Said the doctor prescribed her some suppressants and confirmed she did in fact present."
Poe rolled his eyes and sat besides Ben. "What other alternative could there have been? She encountered some fucking sex pollen that made her go around humping your clothes?"
Ben tensed, thinking back to Rey in his jacket, begging for him.
"Alpha, please!"
He cleared his throat. "Thanks for your help, guys. You can head out now if you want." He watched as the pair collected their things and moved towards the door.
Finn gave his friend a look. "I know this is a lot to process for you. Even more so for her. But uh, go easy on her, ok?"
Ben sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Go easy on her? What the fuck does that mean?"
Poe peaked his head back through the open door, clearly ready to go. "He means don't immediately jump her bones. He thinks you two are about to do the heterosexual naughties."
With a growl, Ben stood up. "No. Just like I told my mother, and my father, and even Rey's fucking grandfather, nothing is going to change. We can still be friends even if she's an omega."
Finn and Poe looked at another for a few beats, before proceeding to burst into laughter.
"Good one, Ben!" Poe choked out, tears now streaming down his face, "Ahh, good luck with that friendship, okay? Text me when it goes to shit!"
Finn managed a polite wave before he was pulled away by his mate, the door slamming shut with their departure.
Ben swallowed and stumbled over to his sofa, before falling face first in.
Why did everyone seem to think he was fucking stupid for suggesting they could remain friends?
They were humans. Adults. Not god damn animals. So what if she smelled good? He could control himself. He wasn't going to sneak into her room and rut against her at night.
With a deep breath, he rose to his feet. According to a text from his mother, Rey and her grandfather were grabbing lunch, meaning he had at least another hour before she returned home.
That gave him an hour to calm the fuck down and respond to Hux's angry emails.
He should have just taken the day off instead of working from home.
With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and pressed play on one of Hux's six voicemails.
-x-x-x-
About two and a half hours later, admittedly much later than Rey imagined, she strolled back into her apartment. Her arms were filled with countless bags of god knows what. After a pleasant lunch with her grandfather at a new French restaurant, they met Leia at the city's premiere shopping street.
Rey wasn't sure why she was surprised when Leia proceeded to hand over about eight bags from six different stores, but she still was. The woman only smiled and explained that she would need new clothes and goodies with her new role.
She would have argued but recognized a small bag from her favorite bakery. With a peak inside to confirm her suspicions, she thanked Leia profusely, knowing she'd be enjoying twenty different varieties of macarons that evening.
After two rather emotional goodbyes (which was silly when both Leia and her grandfather only lived about forty-five minutes away), Rey was dropped off at her apartment building, armed with her new goodies.
She cleared her throat and set the bags down before looking around. Finn and Poe seemed to have left, and the place looked and smelled surprisingly clean. In fact, the only reason she knew Ben was home was because a single mug was sitting on the kitchen island, along with a legal pad filled with scribbled notes.
That mug, like her own, was a Christmas present. But instead of Scooby-Doo themed as he had gifted her, she got him Scooby's annoying cousin, Scrappy-Doo. The dishware stood out in stark contrast to the gorgeous black stoneware set his mother had purchased for them when they moved into the apartment.
With a deep breath, she strolled into the kitchen and pulled out her new prescription. She glanced over the directions before ripping open the bottle. She grabbed the Brita filter, relieved to see it back in the fridge, where it belonged, and poured herself a glass of water. With a gulp, she swallowed the pill and relaxed against the counter.
Per Dr. Kanata and the bottle's warnings, it could be anywhere between two and seven days before her suppressants kicked in. Until then, she'd be a walking wet dream, reeking of omega and heat pheromones. Thankfully, that suppressant body wash had seemed to tone down the scent a bit, at least according to Leia and the random teenaged alpha barista Leia had tipped to give an honest answer.
God, thinking back to that interaction made her blush. But her thoughts of her mortification over the interaction with the fresh-faced alpha disappeared as another waltzed right into the kitchen.
Rey met his gaze and swallowed. Wearing only a pair of black sweat pants and a dark grey Henley, he looked just as Ben always did. Composed, strong, and like her best friend.
But the moment he appeared in front of her, she knew things would never be the same. She took a cautious inhale of breath, her senses immediately assaulted with the smell of Ben.
Masculine but airy, with touches of sandalwood, and mint, and some cinnamon, and maybe a bit of the sea? She wasn't sure, but it made her head slightly dizzy.
She coughed and looked down, her cheeks flaming red. "Ben," She forced out, her throat still sore from her previous few days.
Ben cleared his throat and stood at the other end of the kitchen island. He swallowed. "Rey. How are you feeling?"
She shifted on her feet and forced herself to meet his concerned gaze. "About as well as I could be after discovering I'm an omega."
"Right. Sorry. Stupid question."
She forced a smile and shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'm um. Sorry you had to go."
He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, ignoring the painful pulsing of his mating gland. "Yeah, no worries. You have to do it all the time so it's about time I have to." He forced a laugh and sat down, "Uh. We should talk, I think."
Rey swallowed and nodded, before sitting down as well, leaving two stools between them. For some reason, she felt it was necessary.
"First, you're uh, you're starting on suppressants, right?" He asked, his voice suddenly hoarse, "Because right now you're uh, pretty strong."
She blushed and pointed at her prescription sitting on the counter. "Yeah. I just took my first dose. But Dr. Kanata said it could be a few days until it kicks in. Your mom gave me some suppressant body wash in the meantime, though."
Ben nodded and cleared his throat. "Dr. Kanata is great. A little nutty, but great."
Rey began to play with her hands, suddenly nervous. "So…"
He jumped in, knowing he was far more knowledgeable than she would be. "So, now we don't just have my ruts to worry about. We have your heats. We'll need a new system."
She gulped and nodded. "Right. Well, same thing, right? I should follow a schedule so…" She glanced at his mug and smiled softly, "I'll be Scrappy-doo."
Ben couldn't help but chuckle. "Right. I'm sure Poe and Finn will love me bunking with them."
"They'll get used to it." She bit her lip and looked away, "Is that it then? We just have to worry about my heats now? And I'll take my suppressants of course."
He cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah, that's the main thing. Things are going to be different for you. I imagine walking around and uh, smelling things was uh, much different than before."
Rey groaned and nodded enthusiastically. "Oh my god, how do you guys do it? Everyone smells! Some good, some okay, but some people just smell so awful!" She gagged and shook her head, "It makes no sense to me."
"It'll get better. You just uh…" He scratched at his mating gland, no longer able to ignore the pressure against it, "You gotta be prepared for what happens when you smell someone really good."
She cleared her throat and looked away, her cheeks red. "Right. Dr. Kanata mentioned that. That certain Alphas would just smell um, good."
Ben shifted in his seat and sighed. "You have a good support system, Rey. You have Poe, and Finn, and Rose, and Jess, and Kaydel. And my parents, your grandpa, Dr. Kanata." He smiled softly and met her eyes, "And I'm here."
Rey gulped and nodded. "I know. Thank you. It's just so much to process."
"I bet. You should go get some sleep. Take a nap or something."
She stood up and bit her lip. "Thank you, Ben. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble for you."
He snorted and waved his hand. "Nah. Sure, Hux can be a prick when I'm out, but I can handle him. And, I have to admit, it was nice seeing my parents."
Rey studied him for a moment, before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him. Hugging Ben was one of her favorite things to do, especially since he usually hated hugs. But he always accepted them from Rey.
She buried her face in his chest, her body shaking as she inhaled his delicious scent. She felt his arms tentatively wrap around body, although she knew he wasn't holding her close. After another deep breath, she pulled away and forced a smile at him.
"Thank you, Ben."
-x-x-x-
He watched her walk away, his hands fisting at his sides. It had taken every last ounce of self-control he had not to scent her. Her scent gland was so close, just desperate to have his face rub all over it.
But he could control himself.
Besides, this reaction had to be temporary. Once her suppressants kicked in, things would be easier.
But as he walked towards his bedroom, intent on getting some work done, he knew they avoided discussing the one scenario that had been plaguing his mind since the moment he smelled her Friday evening.
What happened if her heat coincided with his rut?
He scratched at his mating gland and shook his head.
He couldn't worry about it now. He had work to do.