Alex normally wasn't the type of person to hit it off immediately with someone he'd just met in a pub, especially not when that someone was big, threatening and clearly an Alpha. Whilst he definitely was a flirt and a tease, he tended to keep at least some of his instinct for self-preservation (occasionally that is.) His Omega reflexes had wanted to bolt off and crawl into a corner when the man addressed him, teeth bared in a flashing, gap toothed grin. His mind screamed at him incessantly when instead of shying away he turned to face the man head on. It might have been the alcohol, it might have been his overly cocky nature, it might have been stupidity plain and simple. Whatever it was, it made him flash the stranger a smile of his own, more subdued yet obviously teasing. All of the alarm bells in his head went off at once, blaring at him to be careful and act like an Omega and keep his head down and-
The stranger winked at him, speaking in a low and rumbly voice that shook Alex to his core. He didn't look at him as if he was offended, not questioning why an Omega would be so upfront with someone. His mind quieted down slightly. This man didn't appear to be attached to traditional Alpha values, so when Alex boldly put his hand on the stranger's thigh, he got an eyebrow raise and a firm nod of approval.
Then, the stranger had bought him a drink, and another one, and a few more. To be fair to the Omega, this man was handsome, some might say he was a bit too handsome. His dark brown eyes seemed to look straight into his soul and he found himself unable to refuse when the man pushed yet another glass of whiskey into his shaking hands. Alex wasn't too high on funds at the moment -or ever, really- he had a tendency to grasp on to free things as much as possible. It had always worked out in his favour before, but he was starting to doubt the benefits of the strategy. Quickly downing the last of his drink, he pushed the thought aside.
He was still thinking straight, wasn't he? he'd know if he was making bad decisions, he prided himself on his intellect. So what if he'd accepted one too many drinks. He wasn't drunk. He may have gotten a bit tipsy – okay, a lot tipsy. And he was starting to doubt his capabilities in logical thought. At least in his progressively more muddy state he'd remembered to ask the Alpha's name.
(In hindsight, he should have known that knowledge would disappear the next morning when the alcohol filtered out of his system, but he wasn't thinking that far ahead.)
He hadn't gone home with the stranger though. He was stupid when drunk -not that he was drunk- but not that stupid. No, he'd brought the stranger to his tent. It wasn't the brightest of ideas, but it was all he could muster in the moment. The man's fingers were soft on his back when he guided him out of the bar, and his breath was warm against his ear. Something in him flipped the switch and suddenly his brain was yelling at him for an entirely different reason. As the man entered his tent -Alex noticed he had to crouch down into the small space- he felt his Omega instincts flare back up in full force. Then he was on his cot and the man was there and everything was fast and hot and heavy as his brain went into overdrive.
His memories of what happened next were glazed over and blurry. Pale fingers on tanned legs, a fire in his stomach, an odd comfort that settled over him. Soft lips left kisses and mottled bruises scattered all the way along his collarbone. A sharp sting, just above a bruise in his neck, made him flinch for a second and was then quickly forgotten about. The feeling of someone else holding him, caressing him, making him feel cared about, it'd been so long since he felt like this. His mind finally dulled down, and Alex felt himself slip, lost in the moment like he'd never been before. He felt strangely at peace in the man's grasp, so much so that for a second, he thought he might want to spend forever this way.
Of course, Alex rarely got what he wanted. When he woke the next morning, he found he sorely missed the warmth of last night next to him. Passing it off as a drunken hallucination -he'd had more of those than he liked to admit- he tried to go back to sleep. Sunbeams were trying desperately to reach underneath his eyelids, so turned onto his side and groaned. His still foggy mind tried to piece together the events of last night when he noticed two things that made him rethink whether he'd truly imagined the encounter he'd had last night.
One: he hurt all over. When he looked down to his body, he saw the outline of bruised in the form of hands, larger than his own, splayed over his hips. He was pretty sure he hadn't gotten into any fights lately, so the bruises only had one possible source. And if that wasn't enough to convince him, bruises weren't all the new decorations he found himself waking up with that morning.
Two: he had a bite mark on his neck. When he traced his fingers over the sensitive spot of skin he could feel the indent and somehow he instinctively knew what it was. The mark burned slightly, the sensation seemingly flowing down into his bloodstream as an odd sort of longing settled in his core. He cursed under his breath. The Alpha from last night was still a stranger to him, but now they were connected. He had marked him, more permanently than the already fading bruises.
They were mates now, he could feel it in his entire body. He needed to find this Alpha, his Alpha, as soon as possible. He didn't have a choice in the matter, his instincts told him. Alex sighed heavily and lay back onto his pillow.
Yeah, this really hadn't been a good idea at all.