Rian closed the door to his fridge, checking the date on his calendar. Two more days, at most; it was still strange to him that for once, he could think that. That he could see golden eyes in the silver reflection and not be terrified. That his rut felt… manageable. Still Exhausting, still physically taxing, but manageable.

His thoughts turned to genie in his bedroom. Alta. He got the feeling there was something very wrong going on with him, but it was also very clear that Alta couldn’t talk about it. After a while, Rian learned to stop asking, and had done his best to keep the topic of different subjects. Alta had a wealth of stories, and he very much enjoyed talking about himself. 

Rian leaned against the counter, bare feet pressed to the cold tile as he sipped his water, jaw working as he stared at the crooked magnet on the fridge. Even with only two days left, the pull was intense and Rian picked up the pen as he leaned over to write on his shopping list. 

To get: 

Lube. Any kind.

He chuckled softly as he clicked the pen back into its holder, staring at the words. Usually Rian only kept it around for the occasional beta he hooked up with outside of his rut, but Alta has said he didn’t mind sticking around. Alta didn’t seem for or against this pairing turning into a relationship and Rian…

He wasn’t sure how he felt yet. 

A part of him, a large part of him, was upset that Alta had taken advantage of him and knew that as soon as his rut ended, he should be calling the police.  Even if he had been a normal alpha, he likely wouldn’t have been able to resist him and Alta admitted to using that. Rian was grateful he stayed, especially since his pheromones actually allowed Rian to still feel like a person, but it was hard to just ignore that he had been used. 

Another part, however, liked Alta. It was hard not to get close to a person when you were knotting them up every four hours and the time in between wasn’t unpleasant. Alta was proud, sharp and devastatingly old; he was so clearly a creature sculpted by survival. He was brittle in places, yes, but it was the brittleness of ancient stone, not of something weak. There was clearly something going on as well, even if Rian couldn’t see what.

Rian had never considered if he had a type before; no one else had piqued his interest and  even the few dates he had been on ended after one or two. But if he had to say what his type was, it was starting to become clear that Alta was it. He wasn’t sure what that said about him if his type was “older than the founding of America”. Or that it was the person who forced a pairing on him.

He sighed, tossing the first bottle as he grabbed another to take back to the room. He could hear the timer on his phone before Alta stopped it and it meant they only had thirty minutes. His four hours were almost up and he wanted to make sure he was still lucid enough to prepare Alta. 

As he walked back to his room however, Rian was surprised to hear… voices. He slowly down for a moment, listening as Alta’s voice can through the open door. 

“Fuck off, Allssaai. You can’t touch me right now.”

“Be careful what you ask for, Altaiah,” a female voice purred and Rian took a deep breath. He could only smell Alta, which meant the woman had to be a beta. She sounded like someone who had never had to raise her voice to be obeyed, smooth and dripping with amusement. “That other beta only has so long.”

Other Beta? Rian’s instincts flared instantly, the scentless presence in his home setting every bone in his body on edge. It didn’t trigger him the way another alpha would have, but he didn’t like how she was talking.

“Long enough. You can't touch my master, no matter how pissed you are.”

“Long enough for what, Altaiah? For you to fuck around with that golden retriever? To pretend this isn't over? We both know as soon as your master dies, the game is done.” the woman continued, her voice like oil poured slowly over water. “No more running, no more pretending. You’re tired of this anyway and I have what you need.”

“Shut up.”

“A proper alpha. One that knows how to handle an omega like you.”

“You mean abuse.”

“That's what you need,” the woman continued and Rian's grip on the bottle increased. Alta was his omega, and the alpha in him didn't like how she talked about giving away his mate to someone else. “A firm hand that knows how to put you in your place. Not a gentle hand to cradle your face.

“We both know that this isn't what you want, what you need. You never did know what that was, Altaiah.” Each word from the woman’s mouth made Rian’s blood boil and he finally pushed the door open, slamming it into the wall. Both Alta and the woman turned to look at him, but he glared as he slowly lowered his hand. She was on his bed, straddling Alta’s lap, cradling his omega’s head like he was hers, golden hair brighter than his dancing around her face. 

Wait; Rian blinked, and the woman’s hair was a rich chestnut and her hazel eyes seemed amused as she slowly stood. Her grey dress slid along the sheets, and she turned a bright smile to the alpha. Rian didn’t return it.

“You’re welcome for him, by the way. Do be sure to keep him warm, he gets awfully cold.” the woman purred and Rian had to remind himself not to squeeze the bottle in his hand too hard. 

“How did you get in here?”

“Oh, the same way I’ll leave,” she chuckled and Rian saw how Alta shook his head behind her. He was scared and it only made the anger in Rian’s chest bloom more. “I just needed to remind Altaiah I knew where he was.”

“It’s Alta.”

“What do you think Alta is short for?” She laughed and  Rian didn’t miss the flicker of pain in Alta’s face, the way his body curled slightly under the blanket like he could make himself smaller just by trying hard enough. “Altaiah The Radiant is his full name.”

“Thanks. Now get the fuck out.” Rian growled, feeling as the need started to curl low in his stomach. Fuck, they were running out of time and he took another step closer as she shrugged. 

“See you soon, Altaiah.” With that, the woman faded from view, like an image’s last flicker on a dying screen, leaving nothing behind but the impression of her presence and the heavy thud of dread that settled in her absence. Rian stared at the spot she’d been, his chest heaving slightly and he slowly turned his attention to Alta. 

The genie was still curled up, wrapped in the blanket like it was the only safe place in the world. This didn’t look like the Alta Rian had just spent the last month getting to know. 

“What was that?”

“I–” Alta’s voice cut off, and Rian noticed the frustration in the omega’s expression. Alright; something else he couldn’t explain. Rian took a deep breath, doing his best to shove aside the instincts that were clawing their way back into his mind. 

“She can use magic like you?”

“She can.”

“Is she also a genie?”

“No.” Alta took a deep breath and Rian made his way to the bed as slowly as his body would allow. “She’s… something else.”

“Is she trying to hurt you?” Rian asked and Alta’s flinch was the only answer he needed. He carefully set down the water bottle before sitting on the bed beside the genie, slowly placing his hand on Alta’s. “Can she right now?”

“No, not as long as I have a master.” The quiet subdued edge to Alta’s voice trailed off as Rian’s fingers laced slowly through his. The silence that fell between them was too full, too swollen with things Alta couldn't say and Rian didn't know. The pressure of the rut, the tension left behind by the beta’s visit, the way Alta’s shoulders still trembled under the blanket; Rian felt all of it pressing in around them.

The woman had called him Altaiah. Alta hadn’t flinched at her being in the room, hadn’t even moved to push her off him. He’d just… endured. And now he looked hollow again, like the fire in him that had glowed earlier had been snuffed out without ceremony. That woman hadn’t touched Rian, hadn’t even looked at him like a threat, but her presence made it clear that she could. And Alta… Alta hadn’t even tried to fight her. That told Rian all he needed to know.

Alta was trapped.

“Hey,” Rian did his best to keep his voice soft, to keep the rut and need out of his tone. It was building, insistent, constant, but he didn’t want to just take. Especially when Alta was clearly rattled. “Come here.”

Rian shifted onto the bed more fully as Alta moved, slowly releasing the blanket as Alta climbed into his lap like he wasn’t thinking.  He just pressed close, bare legs on either side of Rian’s hips, one hand curling in the fabric at his shoulder, the other pressed flat against Rian’s chest.  Rian’s hands came up slowly, one resting at the small of Alta’s back, the other gripping his thigh. 

“Time’s almost up.”

“I know.” Rian answered, taking a deep breath as he pressed a kiss to Alta’s hair. “About that woman….”

“You can’t stop her, and she just came to show herself. She knows she can’t do anything,” Alta answered and Rian glanced down as the genie leaned back, looking up to meet his gaze. “She just wanted to make me upset.”

“Tell me what you want, then.”

“I want you to get me ready to take that monster you call a dick, then I want a shower, and I want you to cook dinner again,” Alta smirked and Rian almost laughed, but the annoyance deep in his chest couldn’t let him. Alta wasn’t being sincere. He was deflecting, trying to do anything to stay in control of a situation he clearly hadn’t been in control of at all. Rian could feel it in the way Alta’s hips tensed, the way his voice, usually smooth and teasing, now carried a brittleness just beneath the veneer. Still, Rian nodded.

“It’s not that big,” Rian decided to tease, leaning to recover the almost depleted bottle as Alta scoffed in his lap. 

“Okay, and Caesar’s ego was only a little inflated,” Alta grumbled, tilting his head to the side as Rian’s hands steadied at his waist. “You should’ve come with a warning label.”

“You climbed into my car.”

“Fine, should’ve been on the car, then,” Alta insisted, and Rian grinned, a chuckle finally escaping him. He carefully laid Alta back on his bed, carefully using his hand to ground the omega’s waist. 

“You just have to have the last word.” he teased, sliding his hand down Alta’s bare thigh as the genie gasped. “All this coming from the man who still keeps begging for more. And you can’t blame it on your heat anymore.”

“I didn’t say it was bad,” Alta pouted, his voice deliberately sulky, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Rian watched him, the corners of his mouth twitching with a smile and he leaned down over the man’s body. His rut was starting to scream in his thoughts, and Rian pulled a deep kiss from Alta’s lips, not trying to hide the urgency that had begun to spill over.

Rian’s mouth trailed down Alta’s neck with deliberate slowness, not pushing further just yet. His fingers stayed steady, brushing light circles against the inside of Alta’s thigh, giving space even as he closed the distance between them. Alta responded by moaning softly, tangling his hands into Rian’s messy hair and the alpha finally let his fingers dip into the heat his body was screaming for.

If Alta was his type, if ancient, scarred and sarcastic was what his heart wanted, then maybe he could be fine with that. 

Maybe.