MERRIK

He had disappeared into the bathroom of the bedroom suite. It hadn’t been his first choice but it was where his feet had taken him. He should have forced himself out of the room, leave the Alpha and resist for as long as he could to return. But here he was, standing beneath the scalding hot water of his shower as he desperately tried to get himself off. He had his forearm against the side of the shower, his forehead rested against it as his hand slid along his own cock. The Alpha had smelled so good that it had made very part of him burn. He wanted to bite him, wanted him to fuck him into oblivion and he wanted to lock him in his room for all eternity. He was his, and his alone. But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. So instead, he told himself he was going to do this and then wash his hands of all this shit. 

He came with a ripple of pleasure up his spine and a low moan. He washed the stickiness from his hand under the water before shamefully beginning to wash himself off. He needed to erase the Alpha’s scent as best as he could. He had never been faced with an Alpha before. He had heard of the intoxicating scent of their pheromones but it had never prepared him for actually smelling him. That brief moment when he was standing before him, before he put the collar over his scent gland, he had breathed in the Alpha’s pure scent. It took all the control he had to put that collar on his neck and not slide onto his lap and beg. 

Unfortunately, these thoughts made him hard again and he couldn’t resist. He worked out another one before he finally got out of the shower. Wrapped in a towel, he had just walked up to the sink when a face appeared on his mirror grinning at him. Not at all surprised to see the image, Merrik glared. 

“Well, aren’t you a sight to see.” The male spoke, clearly amused.

Dark red hair hung limp around his face and dripped with water. As an Omega, he wasn’t as built as most but he had a lean enough body and the towel sat perfectly on curved hips. His bright red eyes stood out the most on his face. “Oh look. My favorite priest comes barging into my room without asking. Again.”

The man in the mirror hardly seemed offended by Merrik’s words. He had long white hair that was tied back and wore the very distinct collar and robe of a priest. While he might have been a Holy Man for their One God, the smirk on his face suggested that he wasn't stiff like most of them.

“Well, since your brother continues to avoid me, I had to ask the person in question directly.”

Merrik turned away from the man in the mirror and instead, walked into the walk-in closet attached to the bathroom. He unfurled the towel around his waist and began to run in through his still dripping hair.

“Your father told me about your recent pairing-”

“Of course he has!”

“-and I’ve been curious to see him for myself! A human Alpha! It’s so rare you should consider yourself lucky!”

Merrik felt another wave of arousal wash through him when his thoughts shifted to the Alpha in the outer bedroom. He paused, taking a moment to collect himself. There was no denying he was lucky. An Alpha that could both feed him and help him through his heats…Problem was, he didn’t want either of those things. He didn’t feed from the source. Doing so felt as though he was accepting his life as an Infected and giving up on his humanity. And, if he was being brutally honest, the idea of pairing with an Alpha terrified him. 

When Merrik didn’t answer him, the male in the mirror continued. “As I’m sure you’re aware, he must be properly blessed by the One God. I do hope you will come to the next gathering and bring him with you. I will perform a cleansing on both of you.”

With a resigned sinking of his shoulders, he sighed. “Yes, Father.”

Father Rin looked pleased with himself. And then, a mischievous smirk crossed his face. “So tell me! What size is his d-”

Merrik hurridly swiped his hand towards the mirror and the image of the male disappeared. His face was blooming bright red and he looked utterly mortified. He groaned as he covered his face with his hands. This family had no common decency! Of course, they had given up their humanity long ago so it shouldn’t have surprised him. He plopped down on the ottoman in the center of the closet, wearing only his pants. No matter which way he turned, he wasn’t going to be able to escape the inevitable; he was going to have to bond with August. It would save both their lives.