Dark Moon

10

Ashton's POV:

Sage's heat hasn't been as terrible as I feared it would.

The scent was addicting and I felt turned on the entire time, but I was able to tone it down and focus on the sensual piece of our relationship. It got bad during the peak, when Sage whined, begged, and cried for me to have sex with him, but I turned him down.

He was upset and tried to hide in the corner of the room and be mad, but he gave up after a few minutes and got back in bed and demanded I hold him to help the pain go away.

Sage is pretty demanding in general, and it increased tenfold during his heat. He was grabby and clingy, which definitely appealed to my inner Alpha but I was worried I'd going too far with him. Thankfully, Sage still processed that I wasn't ready to go too far and had some sweet, loving moments as well.

Such as right now.

He's reaching the end, and I believe today should be his last day that we're trapped in his room. However, there's still some heat scent and Sage is pretty tired so he's asleep against my chest, looking completely at peace. His shiny blond hair is soft and clean because Sage was desperate to take a shower last night. Apparently his Omega brain demands that he be clean and well presented for me.

I could care less; my hair is gross and shaggy and is in desperate need of maintenance. I'm in no place to judge Sage if he gets a little greasy during a heat. It happens and it's a vulnerable period of time for him, similar to my rut.

The idea of having a rut terrifies me, especially now that I have my mate. Even though I have great control over myself, I'm terrified it'll be even more powerful and that I could hurt my mate. At my old pack, when we showed signs of rut, we were locked in an isolated room because no one was allowed around the Omegas except for the leaders. It was painful but I was thankful they separated us because I remember losing consciousness at times and I don't know if I was actually passed out or still awake and mentally dissociated.

Thankfully, ruts only happen twice a year whereas heats are four times a year, so my next one is hopefully about four or five months away.

Sage moves his face a bit and groans. He moves a lot in his sleep, and it's pretty cute because most of the time it's just to get closer to me or to get more comfortable in my arms.

He really is amazing.

I press my nose to Sage's forehead and leave a kiss there.

We haven't kissed on the lips yet or been super intimate except for the period of heat, but I know my walls are slowly falling down and I'm not trying to rebuild them.

I'm so happy to have finally found my place and it is with my strong, beautiful mate. Even if I can't show him how much I care yet because I'm a bit unsure of myself, I know I will get there and Sage has been nothing but supportive of me.

He shifts again and his eyes flutter open. "Good morning," he says, smiling up at me.

"Good morning," I respond, sitting up and making Sage whine and try to get me to lay back down. "You skipped dinner last night so you have to eat breakfast this morning."

Sage groans. "Fuck food," he grovels, trying to pull me closer to him, but I manage to get away and stand beside the bed. "I'm in heat, I deserve affection."

"You're at the end of heat. You'll be okay for ten minutes while I get you food."

Sage gets out of bed and grabs a shirt and throws it to me. "Wear this if you go downstairs. And I'm going with you," he says, cutting me off before I can tell him he should stay in bed. "My heat is basically done. The only thing left is the scent, but no one is going to bother me."