First Street Heat (Beastverse #1)

11. Scott

11

Scott

S ince family dinner and Fenrir's conversation with Lilah later that night, we've been being good boys and not messaging or bothering her too much as she tries to figure out thoughts and feelings about Fenrir and me.

Okay, maybe we've been having flowers delivered to her apartment, food delivered to her future place of employment, and other small things because the urge to provide for her is way too strong to ignore. Still, I'm trying my best to let her figure out what she wants to do with us.

What she wants to do with you. She wants to ride my cock.

I ignore Fenrir as I try to focus on the paperwork I'm supposed to have turned in by the end of the day. Usually, something like budget reports wouldn't take me very long to look over before I send them off to the accounting department, also known as Teddy, to review and finalize.

I've been staring at these forms for about two hours now, and I haven't registered a single thing I've read. Instead, I'm constantly checking my phone, wondering if Lilah has messaged us at all today.

The last week and a half hasn't been easy on Fenrir and me. We may or may not have messaged her many times with absolutely no response. We've been making a fool of ourselves with how desperate we've been.

Fenrir blames me for her not responding, saying I'm the one who rejected her in the first place, and if he didn't have to share a body with me, she'd already be moved into our home. I can't say that I completely disagree with him. If Fen had it his way, she would've been marked during her heat.

I grab my phone again, typing in the passcode quickly and trying to convince myself to read through the messages and not send another. We've only sent five messages, which is too many, but it could be so much worse.

We can't seem to stop ourselves. She's our mate or will be as soon as we can get her alone again. So we're extra desperate and very insistent in our pursuit of her.

When we picked her and Ian from the bar, Fenrir wanted to take her in the car. He didn't even care about her friend in the backseat. He listened to reason and agreed our mate deserves to be mated in a nice nest. Preferably the one in our home.

Thankfully, before I can send another unanswered message to her, Joy comes knocking on the door before letting herself in. Her nose scrunches up when she enters, which makes sense since the smell is a bit abrasive in the clinic heat rooms where the suppressants don't reach. I push the laptop off my lap and to the side of the nest before standing from the bed and meeting her near the door.

"We don't need to stay in here," I tell her as I motion for her to go back into the hallway.

Joy gives me a once over as I close the door. Her discerning eyes fall on my rumpled clothes and my unkempt hair. I've showered and shaved, so I know I'm at least taking some care of myself. Not enough if Joy's looking at me like I'm a mess, though.

"When are you coming back to your office?" She pauses, eyes narrowing, before changing her question. "Have you been sleeping here?"

I ignore her second question because the answer is just as pathetic as I am. "I'll be back in the office soon."

"Uh-huh." Joy crosses her arms over her chest. She looks like she wants to say more but thinks better of it as she shakes her head. "You have a banquet dinner tomorrow for The Young Alpha Club. You told Sam you'd be there. This is me reminding you before you spend all of your Saturday sniffing the blankets and pillows in that nest."

My face heats at the accusation as if that isn't exactly what I'd be doing over the weekend. No, I'd be doing more than just sniffing, and that only makes it worse. I need to get my hands on Lilah to solidify this mating bond so I can stop going out of my mind with my need for her.

I push the thoughts out of my head, forcing myself to stay in the present with Joy to thank her for reminding me. Sam would kill me if I forgot, especially since I'm supposed to start working in the clinic he's trying to open alongside the club.

"Thank you." I clear my throat, trying to force the rasp from my voice. "I'll be there. Do you remember what the dress code was?"

"Charity banquet with a whole bunch of alphas who like to think they're bigger than they are." Joy gives me a pointed look. "Wear your suit and try to keep Fen in check. All those alphas in one place are always way too much testosterone."

"Could be worse." I give her a smile that doesn't quite reach my eyes. She's not wrong about the event being a bunch of alphas trying to outdo one another. It's what we do, unfortunately. Especially when we're around other alphas. Who has the most money? The prettiest omega on his arm? Who can control the room with his presence? "Will there be any other beasts there?"

"I checked with Sam before I came to see you, and he said no." She checks her phone before continuing. "The alpha coming to oversee the boys' club won't make it. He and his brother both have beasts but won't be in town until after the banquet. Their flights were changed at the last minute. Sam said to tell Fenrir he needs to start practicing being nice to other alphas because they'll be around."

No.

"I'll make sure to tell him."

"Is there anything else you need from me?" Joy asks as she looks behind me to the closed door of the clinic room. "Anything you need from any of us so you can stop staying here?"

I let out a soft chuckle that I don't really feel. "How would you feel about going to an omega only apartment complex and convincing a sweet little omega to text me back?"

When I say the words, I can see Joy's soul leave her body. Even worse, when it returns, she's a squealing mess that's wrapping me in her arms and squeezing me tightly.

"Did you scent match someone? Is that why you've been so weird?" She doesn't give me a chance to answer. Instead, she opts to answer her own questions. "I thought you were acting strange about that omega who requested you, and then when you stopped showing up at the office. I thought maybe Sarah was staying at your place, but no wonder you like staying in that room. It smells like a sugar cookie mixed with your weird pine tree smell. Is that what you two smell like when you want to fuck? Did you two fuck?"

"So, should I go ahead and make an appointment with HR?" I ask with a smile.

Joy's been in my life for four years. She was one of my first hires when I opened the clinic. I wasn't even servicing omegas at the time. It was Joy's idea that I should offer the beast for omegas who want him so he could get some action and I could stop being such a cranky ass who never got laid. So, to say this conversation is HR-able is a bit dramatic, but we are in the clinic and not in my office where no one else can hear us.

"Shut up!" she squeals as she hits my arm. "So why isn't she with you now?"

I shrug, not wanting to rehash the same thing I've already told my family and beat myself up over for the last week. "Reasons I'll get into when I have her because I hate talking about it."

"It's the one who came in for her heat a couple of weeks ago, right?" Joy asks in a whisper like it's some big secret.

"I haven't been around any other unmated omegas, so yeah, it was her," I whisper back with an eyebrow wiggle.

"That explains why you gassed me out of the office." She laughs and checks her phone again as it buzzes in her pocket. Her smile leaves and is replaced with an irritated look. "Call your brother back. He's worried about you and Fenrir."

My frown matches hers as she looks up at me and sees that I've been avoiding him. I even skipped dinner this week. It's not that I don't love my brother, but he wants to talk about how I can fix what I did to hurt Lilah. I already know how to fix it. I'm going to apologize profusely, explain why I didn't mate her during her heat, and hope she thinks it's enough. But I can't do that until she's finished with school and ready to be with us.

Not to mention, every time I'm around her, I get a little tongue-tied like a teenage boy talking to his first crush. I'd let Fenrir do all the wooing, but he'd just growl at her until she submitted.

And she'd love every second of it.

Shut up.

You're just jealous.

"I'll call him back as soon as I go back in," I tell her. I'm not too sure if I'm lying to her or not.

I should talk to Sam about the charity banquet, at least, so I know how to prepare Fenrir. Being around other alphas without beasts is one thing because we're stronger than them. We demand more respect than them, and most of them know it.

Sometimes, there are alphas that like to throw their status around, and that's when it becomes iffy on how Fenrir will react. If there's another beast there, which there shouldn't be, Fenrir might lose it if we have to fight for dominance.

"You do that," Joy says, glaring at me as if she doesn't quite believe me. "I'm headed out for the day. Make sure you send Teddy those reports before you leave for the night. He has to submit them by Tuesday."

"Yeah." I give her a nod as she turns away from me.

I make a mental note of everything I need to do: get the suit from my house, send the budget papers to Teddy, and call Sam. The list isn't that long, but it seems insurmountable as I think about how I'm going to have to do all of that without Lilah with me.

I turn to the room and smile as her scent washes over me again. I don't even look at the laptop as I grab my phone and check to see if she's messaged me yet. Of course, there's only a missed call from Sam. I let out a loud huff as I force myself to review the budgeting papers and finally email them to Teddy an hour before the deadline.

There are no windows in the clinic heat rooms, but according to the time, it's probably already dark out. If I head home now, I can grab the suit from my house and maybe sit at the curb outside Lilah's apartment and watch her window for a little while before returning to the clinic.

I run through the plan with Fenrir, who's more than happy with it since there's a chance we'll get to see our sweet little omega before the night ends. Not that we haven't been watching her for at least half an hour every night before we decide to return to the clinic and sleep.

She's noticed us. We've seen her peek through the window, her gaze filtering over the street, landing on us in the driver's seat of the car. We don't miss the soft flush in her cheeks or the smile that plays on her lips before she turns away from the window and continues with whatever she's doing.

I grab the car keys and dial Sam. We can kill two birds with one stone by talking to him on our way to the house to grab my suit. We can then spend the rest of the night watching Lilah until we have to return to the nest to sleep. We'd be fine sleeping in the car, but we're doing so much and don't want to annoy Lilah or ask her for more than she's already giving.

"It's about time you called me back," Sam says, sounding way more happy than his words suggest. "I've only left you five messages."

"And I have listened to none of them," I smile as I respond to him.

I give Beccs a nod as I head out of the clinic and to the parking garage next door. She tells me to have a good night before returning to organizing files.

"What'd you want to talk about? And it better not be about Lilah because I don't want to hear it right now."

"No, Janie already told me I'm not allowed to interfere with how you and your omega finally decide to mate. She says I'm too privileged since she was easy for me."

"Are you calling your mate easy?" I ask, a brow arching to make sure I've heard my brother correctly. He adores Janie, so I doubt he means it in how he's said it, but it's still fun to tease him. I can practically hear the embarrassment warming his face as the silence stretches on.

"Moving on." He clears his throat, signaling that I should drop the easy comment unless I want a fight the next time we all get together for pot roast. Something I don't want to happen because next time, it's my turn to eat the food while Fenrir stays in our head watching. "You're coming tomorrow, right?"

"That's the plan." The sky outside is dark, but lights line the street, making it easy to see. "I'm headed home to grab my suit now, but I wanted to ask you what the attendees are looking like so I know if I need to keep Fen on a tight leash."

"It should be like last time," Sam says with a hint of uncertainty. "The guest list is the same, but Fenrir almost got into it with one of them last year."

"That guy was a douchebag." I throw my hand up. "He knew I had a beast and came up and started shit just to see if Fenrir would snap."

"Yeah, and he donated a ton of money to the club afterward," Sam says.

He wouldn't have allowed the man to come this time if he didn't need all the cash he could get to keep the club growing and starting the free clinic for the displaced alpha boys. As it stands, he needs money to keep the club running, especially if he wants to continue the good work he's doing.

So many young alphas are raised by inconsiderate assholes, other alphas, who don't teach them that they don't need to throw their position around to get what they want. It makes it easier, but it just makes you an ass like the man they're all trying to get away from.

That's what Sam is trying to help them with. He teaches them communication skills to help being around other alphas, how to treat betas, and most importantly, how to stop hurting omegas since so many think an omega is there as something they are entitled to. It's why we have so many alpha-free living spaces and businesses.

"We'll make sure to steer clear of him, but if he wants a fight…" I let my words trail as I climb into my car. It's only about a twenty-minute drive to my house and another thirty minutes in the other direction to Lilah's apartment, but seeing her before I go to sleep is worth it.

"If he starts shit, you put him in his place," Sam tells me with absolutely no hint of hesitation in his voice. "I think that's why he gave so much money last year. He got to go toe to toe with a beast and didn't die."

"Fenrir held back," I say in our defense.

Should've killed him.

"He's saying we should've killed him, and I'm inclined to agree," I say with a smug sense of superiority.

"Yeah, kill him and then spend the rest of your life in a jail cell, unable to knot that mate of yours." Sam's taunt has a growl ripping from both Fenrir and me. His laughter is loud on the other end of the receiver, and we're gnashing our teeth at him.

Maybe we kill Sam tonight. Then there's no reason to go to the charity.

No pot roast if we do that, Fen.

Fenrir growls inside our mind, his emotions warring on whether it's worth it to kill Sam for making fun of us if we also lose pot roast for the rest of our lives.

Fine, he can live.

"Fenrir wants you to know we've decided to let you live because of your mate's pot roast."

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around, baby." Sam's voice is away from the receiver, and then we can hear him very audibly kissing his mate before talking again. "So we'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah, do I need to show up early to help set things up?"

"No, Henry and Lucas paid to have the event set up," Sam pauses, probably realizing I have no idea who he's talking about, and then adds. "Henry's the new alpha taking over the youth club while we get the clinic finalized. He and his brother come from old money, and I wasn't about to not accept their generosity in getting the event put together."

Sam's been running the young alpha club for ten years now, and while it didn't need much financially at the beginning when it was just him gathering up some at-risk alphas and offering support and time with them, it's grown a lot since then. Now, the community center his program took over has a full working kitchen, a few bedrooms with bunks in case the alphas get kicked out of their homes for a night or two, and a therapist who hosts small groups a few times a week.

As the program grows, so do the costs. We had a decent upbringing, but Sam still needs to host parties and events so that alphas in the community can feel good about themselves and pat themselves on the back for a night before handing him over lots and lots of money to keep the center's doors open.

"Did you bring them on because they have money?" I'm mostly teasing, but I want to know if my brother's in such a spot that he's willing to put his trust in the youth center in a stranger just because he can help fund the cause.

"No, they really believe in what we're doing at the center and have ideas to help the boys feel like they're making a difference in the community. They do both have beasts, though," Sam says awkwardly.

My body tenses, my knuckles going white on the steering wheel. It's not that I can't be around other alphas with beasts. It's that so many of them are even bigger assholes than normal alphas.

Fenrir's a dick, but believe it or not, he's one of the better-behaved beasts out there. Some alphas don't care what mess their beasts get up to so long as they don't get themselves thrown in jail.

"Do I need to meet them?" I ask through gritted teeth.

I already know the answer. Yes, I will need to meet them, but thankfully, it won't be tonight. It wouldn't be any good if it was tonight anyway. Fenrir and I are already on edge just from not being with our sweet omega and claiming her as our own. Give us something to fight to take the edge off, and there's no telling how long or hard we'd go at the other beasts.

"When they get in, we plan on having a family dinner with them, so yeah." Sam keeps his voice as neutral as possible, probably trying to gauge my reaction.

"Can it wait until I've mated?" I ask.

It's probably the closest I'll get to talking with him about my very awful dating life right now. I pull into my driveway, hoping he only answers my question and doesn't ask me anything else about how it's going with Lilah.

Terrible. It's going terrible, and whatever he has to say about it will be useless because his mating was probably the easiest to have ever happened.

No, that's not true. His was probably pretty standard. It's supposed to be pretty all-consuming when you find your mate. It was with Lilah, but I thought it was one-sided, so I kept myself from marking her, which was the wrong thing to do.

"Yeah, I figure they need some time to get settled in the city before we have them over. I'll let them know they can't meet anyone until I get the okay from you and Fen."

"Sounds good," I groan as I drop my keys, trying to unlock my door. "They'll be more understanding than most alphas." I pause, trying to decide if that's true or not. They should understand since they have beasts of their own and should know they're temperamental at the best of times. "If they're not complete assholes, they'll understand."

"They're not assholes," Sam laughs. "I've talked with them plenty before I decided to bring Henry on. His brother is a bit more standoffish, but they're good guys. As far as I can tell, they have good relationships with their beasts."

I nod, not that Sam can see it. It's important that an alpha has a good relationship with his beast so he can keep him under control. Some don't take the time to build those relationships even though the beast is always lurking and sharing our minds.

"Anything else I need to know for tomorrow?" I ask as I grab my navy suit from the back of my closet.

I have exactly two suits, one black and one navy. I have plenty of dress slacks and button-down shirts since I need to look professional at work, but there's something different about a suit that has to be pressed just right and free of any lint.

These events make my skin crawl because Sam and I have to put on these fronts of coming from wealth when in all actuality, we'd be much happier never having to host these charity events ever.

"Just prepare yourself for all the alphas trying to pawn their omega family members off on you," Sam laughs, knowing just how true his words are.

I've been propositioned more times at the events he hosts than in all my time working at the heat clinic. Some of the alphas can be relentless in trying to get me to mate with an omega they're trying not to have to protect anymore. Not to mention the various omegas at the event who see a strong alpha without a mate mark and think they can find the security of a mating in me. It takes one flick of letting Fenrir take control for most to run back to the safety of their tables, where they'll gossip the rest of the night about how a beast almost ravished them.

No, no ravishing anyone except for Lilah.

"Is it rude if I just sit in a corner and don't interact with anyone," I ask, more serious than joking like I mean for it to be.

"I doubt that will stop anyone, but feel free," Sam says on the other end. The tail end of his words is muffled, and I hear Janie speaking softly on the other end. Sam laughs again as he says goodbye. "Hey, I gotta help Janie with the new patio set. We'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Sounds good." I lock up the house and toss my suit in the back of my car.

It's best that I get off the phone with him now since I'm about to stalk the little omega who's ignored me for days. Unhinged behavior, sure, but I don't feel enough shame about it to stop. It doesn't help that Fenrir is egging me on the entire time.

Sam hangs up as I toss the phone in the cup holder, and I drive a bit too fast so I can sit on the curb and stare up at the open window of my omega's house. If we're lucky, she'll look down at us tonight. If we're not, her curtains will be closed, and we'll be left watching until she turns out her lights and goes to bed.

I rub at the ache in my chest, hoping so badly that she lets us see her tonight. Just so we know, she's safe and healthy. That's all we care about.

No, it's not.

Shut up, Fenrir.

Text her and tell her to strip in front of the window.

No.

Do it.

No.

Of course, I only have so much control over Fenrir, especially when we both know that it's my fault we're in this situation to begin with. So when he takes control of our body, pulls off to the side of the road, and types out a quick message to Lilah, I don't even fight him on it.

Maybe he needs to be in charge since I've completely fumbled this entire courting.

He starts driving again and makes it a single block before our phone pings with a message. Fenrir mocks me in our shared mind telling me how he's so much better with our omega than I am.