Reid patted the bed beside him, and I took a deep breath. I knew this conversation wasn’t over, but I was hoping it had been. Still not knowing everything was making me ill, and I didn’t enjoy it. Reid had to be aware of how I was feeling right now. He waited until I sat down to speak again.

“What do you want to sleep in tonight? I have spare pajama bottoms or t-shirts, but you’re not sleeping like that.”

“What’s wrong with this?”

“Besides the fact you look like you’re going to be sick, I doubt that is all that comfortable,” he said, setting his hand on knee. “Are you ok?”

“To be honest, I was nervous about all this. I embarrassed you publicly and then my parents, and my brothers, they got involved and I did not know all this was going to be like this,” I confessed and watched to see what reaction he would have.

“What would you like me to do, Samuel? Did you want me to be upset that you claimed me in public, in front of my coworkers, or that your brothers reached out to me to invite me to family dinner because they thought we were an item? I don’t know what you want me to do? You said you would take responsibility, but I want you to be serious about that. Not just because you feel you have to now, because your scent is permanently on me.”

“I understand, Reid. I said I would take responsibility for scent marking you. I intend to do that.” I said. This had never been my intention, and I didn’t like how it was playing out. Scent marking a dominant Alpha was not my game plan, hell it wasn’t even something I had thought about, it had just happened.

“Samuel, I understand this wasn’t what you wanted when you—--” I cut him off. None of this was important anymore. It was too late for that kind of behaviour, even I knew that. He had left a temporary scent on me, and I had left a permanent one on him. This was all of my making. “None of that matters anymore Reid, I marked you, and I expect you will do the same now. Finish what I started.”

“Is that what you want from me, Samuel, to finish the scent marking that you started? To claim you as mine, as you did to me?” Reid said, and I realized he wasn’t mocking me. He was asking seriously if that’s what I wanted. “You don’t have to give me an answer right now.”

“If I said no, then that isn’t fair to you at all, Reid. My scent mark is permanent and will be on your skin until I die. What I want doesn’t matter, I should—--”

“It doesn’t matter? Then I refuse. I can’t mark you back if you think it’s something that should be forced now,” he said, and I could sense some anger coming off him. “When I asked if you were going to take responsibility for this, I didn’t mean I wanted to force you into it. I want you to choose it because it’s something you want.”

“You know that another can’t mark you? Just mark me and—--”

“No, Samuel, I refuse. Until you’re sure you want to spend every moment with me, with a complete scent marking of your free choice.”

“Why do you have to be like this Reid!” I screamed at him, not really sure why I was as mad now as I was. He was making sure I had a choice here, even when I didn’t deserve that. I didn’t give him a choice.

“Sam, you don’t need to yell.”

“You just piss you off, fuck! Why can’t you just mark me? I didn’t give you a choice!” I raised my voice at him again, and he let out a sigh.

“If I force you, you will come to hate me more, and I will be doing nothing but giving into the dominant Alpha behavior that you have said you hate,” he said, and stood up. “I’m going to find you something to sleep in.” He went back into his closet and I pinched the bridge of my nose. My stomach turned, and my mother’s words echoed in my head, and I brushed them off again. I didn’t have a clear enough head to deal with that right now.

“Here, this should fit you.” Reid said, coming out of the closet, into the bedroom and bringing a large t-shirt and pants with him. I took the clothing, and I looked at him. I apologize to him again before heading to the bathroom to change.

Bending over in the bathroom was enough to make me expel my dinner. I managed to flick on the tap before I completely lost my dinner. I didn’t need Reid to know I was puking. I didn’t need him to know I was that nervous right now. Flushing the evidence, I washed my hands and quickly got changed.

Reid was waiting on the bed, the light off, and just a floor lamp on. The light was pleasant; it cast him in shadows and he looked good in low light too. Getting into the bed on the other side, I set my pile of clothing beside the bed on the floor. He pulled the blankets up over my legs. “Scoot over so I can hold you.”

I had the urge to ask him why, but I kept it to myself and did as he asked. He pulled me even closer against him. He pressed me against him, and his body heat was overwhelming, as was his scent.

“Stop that.” I muttered.

“Stop what, Sam?” Reid asked, and looked confused.

“Stop bathing me in your pheromones.”

“I’m not. My pheromone level hasn’t changed. Maybe it’s just because you’re this close, Sam,” he said, and loosened his hold on me. “Move if you need to.”

“No, it’s fine.” I muttered and laid my head on his shoulder. He shifted me down a little as he relaxed to get comfortable. “Reid, am I going to get fired for what I did?”

“Do you think it’s a fireable offense?” Reid asked, and I thought about it for a moment before I nodded. “Yes.”

“Is that what you want? Me to fire you?”

“No. Of course not. But I would understand if you had to.” I said, being honest with him on the subject.

“Fire you. I don’t think what you did was a fireable offense. If my coworker had respected the scent marking on my skin, it wouldn’t have happened. That being said, I do hope you try not doing it again unless absolutely needed.”

“Look, Reid, I don’t know why I did it, truthfully. I hated the way that he had his hand on you so gently, full while knowing that my scent was rolling off you. The proof of us being intimate and it was just being ignored, and I got so angry.”

“It’s in the past now, Samuel. Don’t fret too much about it,” he breathed, and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Samuel, I hope one day you will be happy about scent marking me, and you won’t feel like this was a mistake that you had to take on.”

“Reid, I don’t hate you.” I muttered, trying to get him to understand that I didn’t hate him, just the behaviour that went along with being a dominant Alpha, but he really had been doing a good job of keeping that at bay with me.

“I figured you didn’t. If you did, I doubt you would have marked me, Sam.”

Tensing, I held my breath as my stomach throbbed. Perhaps I wasn’t nervous but getting sick? The vomiting and now the stomach cramps could be the start of a stomach bug. Rubbing the tender spot, I seemed to have Reid’s attention.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, most likely just indigestion from the tense dinner I had to be part of with you and my family.”

“Do you and your Alpha brother fight often?”

“Physically or exchanging words?” I replied.

“Both, I guess,” he said, and I turned to look at him the best I could.

“Alec is a pest. He uses his dominant Alpha behaviour to force people into doing what he wants, and when he doesn’t get his own way, he throws a fit, and I can’t do it. But I grew up in a house with two dominant Alpha’s and I’ve seen the fits they can throw. We used to fight all the time, never really physically until we both went through puberty and were classed as Alpha’s. Bay, being a beta got the worst of it. He was the unsung hero always. I can’t tell you how many times he saved both Alec and I from breaking each other. The last time we fought like that was a while ago, and it was over something pointless and stupid.”

“Oak and I also have misunderstandings, but nothing like I saw with your brother and you,” he said, and I got the feeling he didn’t give Oak a chance to really argue anything, anyway.

“I’m embarrassed that you witnessed us sink that low to fighting on the ground and shouting, like children.”

“Admittedly, I find it amusing how you have no fear of attacking your brother, while he is a dominant Alpha and you are recessive. You would think in those moments, his pheromones would affect you. But you didn’t even seem bothered.”

“I’m honestly far too used to that jerk bathing me in his pheromones. I don’t really notice them unless they are wildly out of order, and then I can’t help but poke around and find out why.”

“Scoot down further. You can still talk about anything you want, Samuel. I just want to shut off the lamp and get you ready for bed.” While he told me to scoot, he did a lot of moving me himself, and he settled me against him. I shoved the loose-fitting pants down and off me. Tossing them to the floor, I turned to Reid, and he was flicking off the light. “What was that?”

“Your pants.”

“The ones I lent you?” he replied, and cast us into the dark. His scent wrapped around me as he laid back in the bed and I assumed he got comfortable.

“They were too large, and awkward to sleep in.”

“Please, sleep anyway you feel comfortable Samuel, nothing will faze me, I’ve seen you naked after all,” he whispered in the dark and I turned to throw my hand over his chest and steal some more of the body heat from him. “Sweet dreams, Reid.”

“Sleep well, Samuel.”