John felt like his throat was going to shred. He was screaming so loudly. Were all heats like this? How did omegas cope? How would he cope? His abdomen felt like it was on fire. Like something inside was trying to claw its way out. His length was so hard that it ached, and with each wave of warm slick that trickled down his sweating thighs, he felt a deep ache in his loosening entrance. An aching that begged to be touched. To be filled. Filled by an alpha. He hated it. He loathed it. He clawed at his clothes. They were tight and itchy against his sensitive skin. Restricting him. Squeezing him, but he was unwilling to remove them despite the burning heat of his skin. He didn't even wince as he fell to the hard floor, gripping his head as a sharp ache throbbed through it. He felt dizzy. Sick. Delirious.
Out…Get out…Need air…Need…He couldn't think straight. He was lost in a haze. He gasped as he dragged himself across the floor towards the office door. He could barely see through the wavering in his vision. Tears were trickling down his cheeks in misery. He got to his knees and slowly pushed to his shaking legs, struggling to support his weight. His limbs were like jelly. His hands shook as he rattled the knob. It was locked. He slapped the wood urgently, rattling the handle as he sobbed against the surface. His shaking fingers found the handle and finally twisted the latch. He twisted the knob and pulled the door open. His face was flushed from the effort of remaining on his feet. He felt himself slumping as he took the first step through the doorway. He almost thought he'd pass out.
"No! Back inside!" The loud, demanding sound made John crumple to the floor in obedience, like he'd been hit in the chest by a sledgehammer. The deep spicy scent hit him immediately. It was rich, like chilli and chocolate. John's mouth watered as he looked up with unfocused eyes, his breaths coming in small panted gasps. An alpha. It was an alpha. John shuddered in disgust as a wave of need coursed through his body. His cotton candy scent seeped out in greeting, caressing Lin's senses and urging him nearer. Lin cursed as he hurriedly lifted John into his strong arms, holding his breath against the overpowering scent of slick and desire. John was delirious, tugging at his clothes and writhing in his arms. He pressed his face into the crook of his neck to smell more of his overpowering, spicy scent. Lin was patient as he walked, closing his eyes to resist the shivers of want as John's lips caressed his mating point. He was rubbing and nuzzling, scenting him. Lin closed his eyes a moment, trying to resist the invitation. John wasn't the one in control. His omega was overriding his logical senses, trying to get what his ailing body so desperately needed. The touch of an alpha.
"Lin?" John murmured weakly as he was lowered to the sofa. He couldn't really see properly through the feverish haze. His vision was wavering, like he was seeing through water. Lin paused in surprise. He'd thought he was completely lost from the way he'd almost devoured his neck with eager lips and tongue. "Lin…I'm so scared…" John confessed in a small voice as he gripped the front of Lin's shirt vulnerably. Lin breathed again, regretting the decision instantly as he took in the full force of John's cotton candy scent. Anyone else would probably have caved straight away. Lin absolutely refused. He winced as his teeth lengthened. The fangs were sharp, already releasing pheromones to be injected into John's body. Ready to claim him. Ready to mate him. He growled low in his throat at the thought. It was almost irresistible.
"I know…It's your first heat, and you're probably not ready for this, but…do you want me to call an agency? Get you an alpha to…see you through?" Lin asked in a forced tone. He was trying to be delicate and knew it had come out poorly. John looked utterly ashamed at the suggestion. He'd more or less suggested that he, a sworn and dedicated priest, pay for sex. That he buy some prostitute to fulfil his needs. "There's no shame in it. I've seen what heats can do without physical relief…It can be fatal," Lin added firmly, watching John shake his head in a mixture of refusal and denial. An ache throbbed in Lin's chest at the refusal. It wasn't right. An omega shouldn't be forced to weather a heat alone. They needed to be cared for and protected. John just didn't understand yet. He needed to be taught. He needed someone to take care of him.
"Pr…I-I'm a p-priest!" John insisted weakly, though they both knew that wouldn't be able to continue. It had always been that way since John's religion had first appeared. It had largely started as a beta religion before opening to alphas and omegas. Lin supposed they may have tried celibacy and such in the earlier days, but it had quickly become a rule within the texts that alphas and omegas could not join the clergy as betas could. It simply wasn't safe.
"John…There are no omega or alpha priests, likely for this very reason. Heats and ruts are instinctual and unavoidable. It really can be dangerous to weather it alone, without any form of relief," Lin insisted honestly, though he knew John wasn't ready or willing to hear it. He hadn't had any time to prepare for this. He hadn't processed his situation or had the chance to speak to a professional. He hadn't ever imagined that this could happen. He could tell John was giving it everything he had to control himself. He'd clawed at his clothes, but hadn't removed them. He could see from the tightness and wetness of John's tan pants he wasn't touching himself either. He would. It was only a matter of time before his higher brain shut down.
"I-w-won't…won't-do-it!" John insisted with a fresh bout of tears streaming from his red-rimmed eyes. He was simply gorgeous. His blue eyes were glittering, the pupils dilated, as he gazed up at him needily. His skin was flushed and soft, just begging to be touched. To be kissed and bitten. The sweet scent of his slick was crying out that he was ready to be mated. He was perfect for mating. He was young and strong. In his very first heat cycle. Lin quivered with need as he watched John roll on the bed, stressed and miserable. His arms wrapped around himself tightly. His skin felt hot even from where Lin was kneeling at the bedside. It would feel so soft and smooth beneath his fingertips. He could make John tremble and cry his name like a prayer. Touch him in ways he could never imagine with his innocent mind. John whimpered as Lin's dominant scent washed over him. He could smell Lin's desire. His alpha was responding to the omega scent, telling him he was ready. He was a strong alpha. He would protect and take care of him. It scared John. It excited him. It made him feel ashamed. He didn't want to want it, but he did. Desperately. "No…" John breathed as Lin leaned down, pausing with their lips barely a breath apart. John felt terrified as he felt Lin's not breath against his lips. His dark eyes were blazing with need. It took everything he had to close them and turn his face away.
"Stay inside," Lin ordered in a low rumble before drawing back. He stood quickly, forcing himself to leave the room. He slammed the door shut and pressed a hand over his heated face, quietly cursing himself. John's sweet scent was now clinging to his clothes, wrapping around him like a gentle caress. He bit the inside of his mouth and tasted his own blood with a grimace of disgust. He's a friend, and he's at his most vulnerable. I won't do it. Lin was firm as he hurried to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. He could almost taste cotton candy on his tongue. It was so sweet. It had been barely an inch from his lips. He knew John would taste like sugar and salt. It had been so long since he'd felt desire like this.
His skin tingled as he remembered the feeling of John's innocent lips on his neck, his small tongue lapping eagerly at his skin. He'd kissed and nibbled at his bonding site, desperately tempting Lin's alpha, teasing him towards a rut. Lin bent over the sink with a groan, trying to ignore the throbbing ache of his solid shaft. His alpha was almost feral. There was a perfectly good omega, helpless and unclaimed, less than ten feet away. The omega had even offered itself already. There was no reason to hold back. No reason to refuse. He was ready to mate, and the omega was ready to be mated. John is not ready! Both halves on the whole needed to be prepared. Mating wouldn't work otherwise. It would be a mistake to go through with it. But will John survive otherwise?
Lin shivered as he hurried to his own small office and sat at his desk, trying to will the aching throb in his pants to go away. His body was becoming desperate. It had been so long. He wanted to slip into John's tight, wet heat. He wanted John writhing in a naked mess beneath him. He wanted to hear John's breathy moans and share his urgent kisses. He wanted to feel nails on his skin. He wanted John's helpless pleas and clinging fingers. It had been too long since he'd felt need like this. He'd never expected to feel it again. Especially not for John, a young Australian priest. He's so much like…Lin's thought trailed off with regret. A sharp ache cut through his chest at the unspoken name that hung in the air.
Lin remained in his chair with his eyes closed. He needed something else to focus on, so he focused on his hands. He focused on gripping the arms of his chair in a tight grasp and feeling the ache in his muscles. He breathed through his mouth, hoping to limit the intake of John's sweet scent. He counted his breaths slowly, trying to ignore the passage of time. He couldn't hear John for now, but he knew he was there. Quivering and vulnerable. Ready to be plundered. Ripe. Fertile. Just a room away. An omega in desperate need of an alpha's care. His jaw tightened as he ground his teeth in defiance. He winced as his sharp teeth pricked his lip. The coppery taste somehow spurred his thoughts on more. What would John's blood taste like when he mated him? How would it feel to flood his soft body with his alpha pheromones? How would John smell once their scents had combined?
"Lin…What did you do?" Naru's steady voice asked from the doorway. Lin's eyes blinked open as he looked up from his desk to see that Naru had returned. He could also hear Mai hurrying around the office in the background. They could both smell John's sweet scent in the air, and it was all over Lin. Naru's concern was understandable. He was unsure what he should do for a moment, but was flooded with relief when Lin finally looked up. He could see strain and distress in his dark eyes, but they were still bright and clear. He hadn't gone into a rut yet. But he's close…Too close…
"Nothing…He tried to come out." Lin knew Naru had already seen his innocence before he voiced it. Seeing that Lin was struggling, Naru left the room and pulled his door shut. It was better for Lin to scent the air of his office and drown out everything else. Naru didn't want to risk his own scent adding to his distress either. He wasn't in heat, but he was still an unmated omega. Lin breathed deeply as he listened to Mai and Naru hurrying around the outer office and making preparations. Naru's office door opened and closed. John's thick, cloying scent drifted through Lin's door like it wasn't even there. Calling him. Teasing him. He gripped the armrests of his chair as his alpha writhed its way to the surface. You will not.