Alpha Assignment (BL) Chapter 46 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Now that Wes was no longer in immediate danger, Remi had resorted to his soothing skinship tactics to ease Quinn’s irritation that the squatter was still here.

Whenever Quinn grumbled about how much longer it would be, Remi would peck at his cheeks and remind him Wes needed his strength to go out on his own, otherwise he’d end up back on their doorstep again. When he strayed too close to Remi, earning a growl or snap of the teeth, Remi would hurry to Quinn’s side to placate him with cuddles. When Wes lazed around without offering a finger of help to the omega waiting on him, Remi wrangled himself around Quinn’s arms like a warm, wriggly padlock, it was a very effective means of holding him back. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t get the little brat one day.

He was just-about an adult, with messy brown hair that werewolves his age probably thought was cool in that I-don’t-care-what-others-think way. He was grubby most hours of the day, and scrawny. Too tall for Remi’s clothes, too thin for Quinn’s. They kept his butt covered day-to-day between the pair of them. Although only absolutely fresh clothes from Remi; there was no way Wes was getting to soak in his scent all day.

Quinn loped out the door to begin his commute, trying not to think of another day of Wes using his home like his personal resort. He sighed, starting the engine of his car. There was no reason to let that kid ruin a sweet morning…

He and Remi both had woken before the alarm could blare. They watched each other groggily, until a smile of recognition had Remi’s delicate features sparkling. One, and only one, upside to Wes’ stay was having Remi in his bed every night. That morning, they’d had time to talk - about nothing in particular. It was wonderful. Through a sleep-coated-croak Remi described dishes he wanted to try, the ingredients he would need, how a human on TV had given instructions for how to cut cute shapes out of the pastry for a ‘final touch.’

“I need you to capture your taste in a treat for me,” Quinn had groaned. “So I don’t have to spend all day resisting the urge to lick and bite you.” He let the urge overtake him now, the flush of Remi’s face his green light.

Under the covers, his fingers tickled Remi’s sides as he kissed up his soft, succulent neck. Loud, wet kisses overlaying Remi’s giggles and cries-

The alarm sent them both half a foot in the air.

When Quinn reached the office, he had found his peace again. Reliving their quiet morning time in the car was better than any relaxation playlist…

In an informal meeting covering preferences for holiday celebrations in-office, the mothers of the group quickly derailed the topics to their own Christmas budgets and how expensive everything had gotten this year. They said this every year, but Quinn smiled and nodded in agreement as he also did every year.

“And are you buying a gift for anyone this year, Quinn?”

“Yeah, anyone special this year?”

Quinn blinked. That was something different to all the other holiday seasons he had spent in the company - he did have someone special this year.

“Oh, he does! Look at that face.”

Letting his shock slip into a sheepish smile, Quinn admitted that he had met someone now who was quite special. From across the long table, Jordan grinned at him. Perhaps because he knew exactly what was about to come: an onslaught of present-giving advice that took them right to the end of their allotted booking of the meeting room.

While he was incredibly overwhelmed at the attention (almost staggering from the room once they were booted out by the office manager) it didn’t seem a bad idea to pick out a treat for his mate at Christmas. They might not celebrate it, but it was a nice excuse. Maybe, if they planned to live their almost-human lives together, they should start celebrating things like this.

A cookbook would make a nice gift - and easy to wrap, not like the presents in cartoons with bike-shaped wrapping paper. Remi had liked trying new fish dishes at Lauto and professional recipes would help him practice safely…

“You’ve been awfully quiet since we got back,” Jordan noted, not pausing his typing to speak.

“Oh, yeah, it’s all still pretty… unfamiliar to me.”

Jordan gave him a sympathetic smile.

“But it also got me thinking, maybe Remi and I should give Christmas a go.”

Jordan perked up, adding inches to his height. “Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, we want to blend in…” He had to shush the squeal that erupted from Jordan, drawing eyes from the water machine and the printer station.

“Sorry, sorry, I just love the holiday season.”

“Sure.”

“Not the religious side, just the holly, jolly, lights-and-presents side.”

“We’re definitely not interested in joining a religion,” Quinn assured him.

“No, of course not. Sorry - was that insensitive?”

“Not at all, I’m glad to know there’s more to it than that.”

“Oh, there are so many things you can do that have nothing to do with church!”

Quinn pulled his notebook out. “List them, please.”

Next was a work from home day, and for a whole hour, Wes had been nowhere to be seen. Remi dozed on the sofa, reminiscent of their Autumn days, while Quinn tapped away on his laptop, unable to keep from checking on his half-awake slump every few minutes.

For no particular reason, none at all, he extended the bond. Curious as to whether Remi was sending off the invisible signals he was feeling in the air between them. Blinking sleepily, Remi allowed the bond to connect, and smiled shyly when he was met with the mirror of his own arousal.

A cursory check of Quinn’s screen revealed no notifications.

He leapt through the archway that connected the dining and living rooms and snatched Remi’s hips before he could scramble even a foot away. He giggled and wriggled, successfully turning Quinn on even more. His little prey was playing along perfectly.

Quinn slammed him back down into the cushions, pinning his wrists either side of his button ears, and stole his pouty lips in a deep kiss. The whine he released rolled Quinn’s eyes back into his head momentarily. The legs under him kicked until they could squeeze out and curl over Quinn’s hips, drawing him in from top to bottom. Inch by inch, Quinn ground lower until he was rocking a Remi-shaped crease into the sofa. It wasn’t clear how much of the squeaking was coming from Remi, and how much from the sofa’s metal frame.

“Wow, you’re really doing that here?”

Quinn reared back, snarling over his shoulder, “Under the roof I pay for? Yes.” He put a fraction of his alpha power into his voice and blasted it at Wes when he asked, “Are you really going to interrupt us?”

Wes was frozen at the end of the sofa. It took him a few tense seconds to recover his ability to speak. “Under the roof you pay for? I wouldn’t dream of it, Alpha.”

He scurried away, and Quinn turned his attention back to Remi, ashamed of the fact that he was huffing and shaking with fury. Remi dragged himself upright and shuffled off the sofa, cherry red all over. When Quinn extended the bond, the arousal had dissipated, replaced with severe embarrassment. He sighed.

“Maybe after bedtime,” Remi mumbled, before taking himself to the kitchen to find something to do.

Quinn returned to the dining table, slumping in his chair to stew in his bad mood for the rest of the day.