Page 104 of The Feral Alpha
Rex pressed his mouth more firmly against Olson so the vibrations feathered through his body. “Mine. Ours.”
He laced their fingers together and looked up adoringly at Olson, and Olson’s heart fluttered. “I wonder if they’ll look more like me, or you.”
“You,” Rex said. “Beautiful Olson.”
“You are beautiful too.”
“Look like us.”
“Well, maybe one might look more like me, and the other more like you.”
Rex thought about it and nodded, dropping kisses all over Olson’s belly. Then one of the babies kicked, and happiness exploded through Rex’s face. Followed by a wince.
He nuzzled Olson’s belly again, rubbing where their child had kicked him.
“Sorry,” Rex said contritely.
Olson cupped Rex’s face and tugged him upward, kissing him hard. “It’s okay,” Olson whispered. “You always make it up to me.”
Rex did. He always rubbed Olson’s swollen feet even before Olson asked; he gave Olson backrubs and helped him to the restroom several times a day.
A knock came on the office door. Rex rose from his crouch, his nose twitching like he was trying to smell who it was.
Olson had never really asked about Rex’s sense of smell, but... something about him didn’t seem quite normal. Rex smelled things like food burning in the oven before it got too badly charred; he picked up the scent of rain before the clouds got dark. He especially loved burying his face in Olson’s neck and armpits, to the point where sometimes Olson wondered if part of Rex’s captivity had involved making him more animal than human.
It would explain why Rex still didn’t have a good grasp on language even now, nine months after he’d stepped into the Wine Shack for the first time.
It wasn’t something Olson wanted to ask about, though. There was no point in dragging Rex through those terrible memories.
When the door opened, it was Nate who stepped in. Olson raised his eyebrows.
“Got some news,” Nate said. “Good news.”
“What news?” Rex asked, sitting on the couch next to Olson and nuzzling his ear.
“Remember those alphas who went to your apartment? Taylor and I tracked down the contacts on their phones. We’ve eliminated their operation.”
Rex stared. Olson gripped Rex’s hand, his heart thumping. “The kidnappers?”
“Yeah. We pretended to communicate as those guys for a while, followed the food chain up to the kingpins and took them out.” Nate smiled crookedly. “Well, Tay took them out. I was happy to watch.”
“Um, do we owe you for it?” Olson asked. He’d heard from the grapevine that Taylor’s services could get pricey.
“Nah. You didn’t hire us for this job. Tay just wanted to do some cleanup.” Nate met Rex’s eyes. “The people who caught you and experimented on you, they’re dead.”
Rex sucked in a shuddering breath, and blew it out. He took a while to digest the information. Then he nodded, and pulled Olson against his chest. “Olson safe now. Babies safe.”
“Yes.” Nate nodded.
“Thank you,” Rex said, his voice thick. “I—I pay—”
“No, we don’t need payment.” Nate reached over, squeezing Rex’s shoulder. “Live your life. Be happy. That’s all we want.”
“Thank you,” Rex said again, blinking hard.
Olson couldn’t imagine what that had to feel like for him. He wrapped his arms around Rex and hugged him tight. “Thank you, Nate. Seriously. Your food and drinks here are on the house, for life. Taylor’s, too.”
Nate chuckled. “Thanks.” He glanced between Olson and Rex, and smiled more. “I’m glad you’ve been doing well.”