Matias' POV:

I'm not sure what overcame me, to be quite honest. One minute, I was worried about getting Everest home, and now I'm waiting for the results of an STD rapid test in the nurse's room in the hostel.

Cody always hated his heats, despite how helpful and loving I was and how much I limited the pain. So, my mind instantly went to helping an Omega whom I care about; I'm not even sure why I care so much about Everest.

He's captured my attention and I'm growing to care about him; I want to protect him and at least make him feel as though someone cares about him. His mate didn't, and that is the worst pain to feel, so if it takes me giving myself to him for a week, I'm going to do it.

"All of your test results came back negative. Now, who is the person you are going to be spending this week with?" the nurse asks me, pulling out a large index. "Some of the Omegas here have special conditions, so we ask these questions to keep them safe."

"Everest. I'm not sure of his last name, but I also don't think that his name is super common, so hopefully you know which one he is," I say, still sitting on the examination table.

The nurse's expression changes to a saddened one. "Ah, I know which one he is," she says softly, flipping to a page where there's a picture of a very sad Everest.

It looks like a mugshot, minus the orange uniform and little number plate.

"He's had Alphas help him before, but never someone who's come to get tested for the sole purpose of only helping him," she informs me. "Don't hurt him."

"I'd be an ass if I did."

The nurse chuckles. "Not physically. I meant emotionally. He's a bit of a hopeless romantic, but he keeps it repressed because he's scared to get his hopes up. The fact that you're doing this for him... it scares me a bit that he'll loose himself in that fact. Have you found your mate yet?"

"He's dead."

"I'm sorry for your loss," she says, opening a drawer and handing me a small bottle. "Other Alphas have left mid-heat due to his anxiety attacks. This is a medication that should reduce the attack and it will also knock him out for a few hours so he can relax. You need to get him to put it under his tongue and let it dissolve for it to have the quickest and best impact."

I take the bottle. "I'll take care of him, I promise."

She nods and looks toward the door. "Go on, bring your results to the front and then go see your Omega."

My Omega...

I haven't even thought those words in years. Sure, I suppose Everest is my Omega for the week, but I'm unsure of the usage of those words. We don't owe each other anything.

Well, except good sex for the next week.

I hand my results to the front, but before I can head back to Everest, the man working at the desk stops me.

"Why did you move here from Italy?" he asks me. "I can't find much on you before you moved to America."

"I didn't get along with my family so my mate and I moved here. He passed away, and I couldn't find it in me to go back. I didn't leave due to any criminal history or anything like that, and I have the documentation to prove that I moved legally and don't have a criminal record."

The guy nods and I give him the information he needs to check the background I had in Italy, and I pass his test. Not that I ever did anything illegal, but I did remove some things that could throw potential employers off.

Plus, I removed the part where Cody was murdered and replaced it with a diagnosis of cancer. Fake hospital bills were added to the mix and I have a good story.

Everest is in a panicked rush when I get back to his room.

"Don't move!" he snaps, moving around his room and grabbing different items.

I close the door to his room and stand in front of it as he irritably scrambles all over the room.

"Give me your shirt," he says, holding out his hand.

I'm a bit confused, but then it hits me; he's nesting right now and obviously he's going to want to get accustomed to my scent since I'm going to spend his heat with him.

"You need to bring me more clothes," he says. "I'm still in preheat, so go."

My natural instinct is scolding me and ordering me to stay with him, but Everest's orders are much louder and more demanding. So, I make sure he's all set up and get him a bottle of water that he hopefully remembers to drink. Cody got dehydrated during his heats a few times, and he was insufferable when he got sick like that.

My poor angel...

My trip is quick because I'm so anxious over Everest's safety, but he's just sitting in the middle of his bed, snacking on a popsicle when I get back.

"Where'd you get that?" I ask, putting down my backpack full of clothes on the ground.

Everest points at a tiny fridge-freezer combo in the corner of his room. "They say it's for cold towels, but I stock it with popsicles and ice cream."

"Huh." I sit down on the floor, because I don't want to invade his space.

Cody always made me wait on the floor before he finished his nest. Sometimes he made me sit there just to tease me until I got irritated and tackled him into the sheets.

He and Everest don't look alike, but they have similar personalities from what I've seen. I know it's possible to fall in love again with someone who's not your mate, but I can't risk it.

I don't want Everest to end up dead.

If I had that option, he'd definitely be someone I'd fall for.

"You can sit up here," Everest tells me, finishing his popsicle and throwing the stick in the garbage beside his bed. "Do you have any weird kinks or fetishes that I should know about?"

I almost choke on my own spit. "No, I don't. Nothing super abnormal besides normal possessive Alpha shit."

Everest grabs my backpack from the floor and pulls out my clothes. "I ask you to bring me clothes and you slip in a pair of jeans? Who the fuck puts jeans in a nest?"

"I was in a rush and didn't want to bring dirty clothes. I can take them back."

"No, fuck you, I want them." Everest begins to arrange the rest of my clothes. "You can come back tomorrow night. That's probably when it'll actually start."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Well, no, but I don't want you to feel like you have to hang out here when we're not actually having sex."

"I want to be here."

Everest's eyes light up, but the excitement fades in seconds. "Cool. That's nice to hear. Don't think that means you can steal my ice cream."

"I'll buy you more."

Everest shrugs and lays back on his bed. "I never spent a heat with my mate," he says, his voice quieter than it was before. "And now I'm spending a heat with someone I managed to piss off when I met him not even five hours ago."

"Well, life is full of surprises."

"Look at you, a true philosopher."

I smile at the brat and crawl up the bed to sit beside him. Reading my body language, Everest lays down and rests his head on my chest.

"Do you believe in happiness after your mate?" Everest whispers. "Because I don't think I do."

"I don't know what I believe. I know I don't want to fall in love again because I'm scared that they'll end up killed just like Cody did."

Everest looks up at me with a saddened expression. "But that was just bad luck, right? Was someone trying to rob you?"

I break eye contact. "Yeah, just bad luck."

"You're lying again." Everest sits up. "That was a direct lie."

I sigh. "Yeah, I am."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up. I can tell it's hurting you."

There's no good answer, so I just hold him tighter in my arms. Even if he isn't the one that first held my heart, there's something about Everest that appeals to me and drags me in. It's almost as if my wolf doesn't give a fuck that it's not our first love in my arms.

"Don't worry. Just rest. You seem like the kind of person who would be insufferable if you don't get enough rest."

Everest scoffs. "I'm an angel."

"Now who's the liar?"

The Omega smiles again and I hear a purr bubble in his throat. "Oh shut up. Me lying isn't as bad because it's a rare occasion."

"Rest, brat."

Everest chuckles and closes his eyes.