(Thane)
Slamming down his empty cup, Thane let out a weary sigh, and stared off into space. What had her scent done to him? Just one whiff of her tantalizing aroma and he was stiff as a board and had lost all reasonable thought. Spanking her was not meant to have went that far, he just had the intension of showing her a little dominance. Thane had just wanted to remind her that she was his and that he was in charge. It was if his body had been possessed by a mad man, once his palm had touched her bare ass, everything else faded to the background. Rumors of the Rut were just that, rumors, he had never known an Alpha who had experienced it in real life. Thane was in the dark but judging from that one experience, he was slightly afraid of what to expect. Being afraid was not something that he was used to experiencing, fear, it was a foreign concept. What was he going to do with Celeste? They were not in a position to be having sex right now. Their relationship was hot and cold at the bare minimum, he had wanted to court her, win her affection. Celeste going into heat had thrown everything into the crapper.
A pat on Thane's shoulder had him blinking away his thoughts. Looking over to his side he was mildly surprised to see King Théoden sit next to him. "Thane." Théoden said gruffly.
"Theo." Thane nodded. "I didn't think you still knew where this place was." He gestured around him.
Thane had left his palace and came straight to the town pub, it was a tavern that he had frequented a lot growing up, before life had thrown him a curve ball. It had been a while since he had come back here but no time like the present to dwell in self-pity.
"Awe come on, this used to our place, we ran through our fair share of women and ale, if memory serves me correctly." Théoden laughed.
Thane shrugged, "That seems like a lifetime ago." He said wistfully.
"I'm sorry to hear about your father passing, he was a good man." Théoden stated catching the attention of the wench behind the counter.
"Thanks." Thane nodded, "He loved you like another son, broke his heart when they hauled you away to that backwards planet Tarragon."
Bringing the ale to his lips Théoden shrugged, "Its not all that bad now that I rule it." He laughed.
"Look at us, an Emperor and King walk into a bar…sounds like the start of a really bad joke." Thane picked up another full glass of ale and downed it, slamming it onto the counter.
Théoden watched him silently, "So, a palace full of women in heat, and one very special woman indeed, and I find you alone drinking yourself into a stupor." He leaned back in his seat. "Things not going well between you and your Omega?"
Thane caught the attention of the tavern wench and pointed to his cup, before turning to face his old-time childhood friend. "For the first time in my life I have no clue how to handle this situation." He shook his head. "And what about you, you left a room full of willing women to come drink?"
There was a deep laugh from Theo as he shook his head, "Well if you must know, I've recently become engaged." he smiled in Thane's direction. "If she seen me in a room full of naked women in heat, she would cut off my dick and wear it around her pretty little neck."
"Engaged, you?" Thane smirked. "If I recall you once swore that you would let a woman cut off your dick if ever you settled down with one woman."
"Ouch," Theo flinched a little, "To be young and naive again." He laughed.
Thane looked down into his empty cup letting out a deep breath. "I'm not sure how to deal with an Omega, for all my experience, when it comes to Celeste, I feel like a sixteen-year-old virgin."
"Sixteen." Theo barked with laughter, then went silent at Thane's glare. "Sorry but come on Thane, an Omega or not, she is just a woman. Her needs might be a little more extreme, then other women who go into heat, but you are one of the greatest Alpha's of our time. If anyone can handle her it would be you."
Thane shook his head, "I wish I had your confidence in me." He sighed. "You know if we find more Omega's there is a chance that your true-life mate may show up…you sure you want to saddle yourself to a woman that is not yours?"
"You know…I had all but given up on life mates and Omegas, until hearing about yours. I was completely content with how my life was going, finding an attract Alpha female to spend the rest of my life with. Now I am not sure what the right move is, if we really do end up finding more Omega's, what will the world come to?"
Thane cracked his neck to the side, "That is the million-dollar question isn't it?" he asked. "I think it is just something that we will have to take one day at a time. No sense in worrying about something that has not happened yet. You should get married, live your life the best you can, you can not just sit around hoping for something that might not come."
"And you can't just sit in a bar waiting on answers to questions that no one in the world can possibly give you. Go home to your woman, claim her, and by the Gods take care of her." Theo patted his shoulder once again. "You have something every man on multiple planets would give anything to have. Do not loose sight of the bigger picture, you will figure out the right thing to do, you always do." He smiled a little and threw down some money before heading out.
Thane took a deep breath, he did not know if Théoden was right, but talking with his old friend had made him feel a little more confident. Nothing was set in stone, there was no right or wrong way to handle a situation as unique as the one he was in. Trial and error. Thane had messed up royally with Celeste and there was no other way to fix a situation without going to the source and apologizing.