Shiro felt disoriented when he woke up in an unfamiliar room. During the first few minutes, Shiro didn't recognize where he was until he started to recollect what had happened the day before. Shiro was now in London, in Dorian's parent's second apartment, and Dorian had promised to contact him today. Just the thought of talking to Dorian again made Shiro feel excited, like a kid waiting for Santa to come, which he was quite embarrassed about. A grown man like him, a widower, and a father at that, feeling like this at his age. Shiro figured that it had to be because they were fated pair. Otherwise, he was sure that he wouldn't have felt this way ever again.
Shiro, who had been in love with only one person in his life, simply hadn't cared about romantic feelings since Kei died. Shiro felt he didn't need them. Shiro just needed someone to share his bed with during his heat, and that had been enough for him. But ever since Shiro met Dorian, on that blasted night, he had started to think sweet things again. Cuddling, holding hands, bedtime conversations, and the sensation of being embraced by two strong arms.
Now, Shiro realized that he, almost desperately, wanted to be loved by someone. And he knew that his feelings for Dorian had come to the point of no return. Shiro knew he loved Dorian, and he had done that for a while now. Shiro couldn't precisely say when it happened, or even explain why. But he did love Dorian. The omega's heart started to beat faster whenever he thought of the blond alpha. Shiro longed for him, and he wanted to hear Dorian's voice, to see those beautiful blue eyes again. Shiro's heart was already taken completely. Now he just needed Dorian to get to where he was, to love him back.
Shiro had also come to accept the fact that Dorian could never be only his. And that actually felt alright. Of course, it wasn't an ideal situation, but that was their life now. If Shiro wanted to be with Dorian, he knew he just had to share Dorian with Finian. And the red-haired alpha was such a great person that Shiro didn't have any problem with it. Shiro already thought of Finian as a good friend, and he wanted to believe that Finian felt the same way. So now Dorian just had to accept Shiro, and they could move forward.
The black-haired singer spent the morning nervously waiting for Dorian to call or send him a text. Shiro looked at his phone, then rushed into the shower, quickly washed his body, rushed out again, and stared at the phone. No missed calls. No new messages. Shiro got dressed, dried his hair, and made his breakfast, all while staring impatiently at the phone. And at noon, Shiro started to think that Dorian would never call, that he had been lying, just to get Shiro out of his home. Shiro began to feel depressed, desperate, and he was on the verge of crying. And just knowing how silly he acted because of another person, made Shiro feel pathetic and ashamed of himself.
So when his phone suddenly called, and it showed Dorian as the caller, Shiro just stared at the phone several seconds before he nervously managed to pick it up.
"It's Shiro," he answered, his voice waving.
"Hey, it's Dorian."
The omega thought his heart was about to beat out of his chest when he heard Dorian's deep, sexy voice. Shiro's body reacted immediately, becoming hotter, and he felt all tingling inside.
Dorian laughed on the other end, making Shiro's heart race even more. He had never heard Dorian laugh before; it really was a lovely sound. Shiro loved it.
"Damn, you feel it too, right? Just hearing your voice makes my body react."
Shiro exhaled, holding a breath he didn't even know he was holding, smiling a little as he did.
"Yeah, I feel it."
"That's good. It would have been awkward if I were the only one feeling it," Dorian said, and Shiro imagined the blond man smiling that beautiful smile of his.
"So, how's the apartment? It seems you made a good impression on my dad. He couldn't stop talking about you."
"The apartment is nice, thanks. And I'm glad. Your father is a very kind man."
"Thank you," Dorian said, and his voice sounded tender.
"So, regarding this whole fated pair business. I think the first thing we need to do is to get to know each other, but Finian told me that you soon be having your heat. Is that right?"
"Yes, in three days," Shiro said, his heart hammering in his chest.
He waited with anticipation for Dorian to continue talking, and the alpha cleared his throat, he sounded nervous.
"So, I guess it's probably best if we do this whole bond thing when your heat comes."
Shiro trembled, and his grip on his phone became stronger.
"But Shiro, do you want to bond with me? Because if..."
"Yes!" Shiro shouted eagerly, interrupted Dorian's talking, and it became silent.
Shiro was glad that Dorian couldn't see him because his face became red of embarrassment.
Dorian seemed startled and didn't say anything for a while until he suddenly laughed again. It was a soft laugh, and it sounded a bit happy.
"That's great. Everybody says that bonding will make this whole thing easier. And we don't have to worry about us getting sick anymore."
"Precisely, " Shiro said and tried not to sound disappointed.
Of course, Dorian wanted to bond with Shiro because it was simply the most practical and safest solution. It wasn't like Dorian wanted to bond with Shiro because he loved him. Dorian had to bond with him. Otherwise, he would get sick all the time and had to be around Shiro more. If they bonded, Dorian only had to be with Shiro during Shiro's heat to get the pheromones he needed to last a month. It was more convenient for Dorian to bond with Shiro.
Shiro tried real hard to suppress his negative feelings, not wanting Dorian to hear it in his voice.
"Shiro," Dorian said, sounding surprisingly feeble. "I'm sorry about how I've been treating you. You did nothing wrong, but I took all my frustration out on you. For that, I'm truly sorry."
"No, I understand why you did it, Dorian, but thank you. It means a lot for me to hear that."
"Well, it needed to be said. But, I'm sure you understand this as well as I do. We both have people we care about, so we need to make sure that they won't get hurt during all of this."
"Of course," Shiro said. "I don't know how everything will turn out, but how about we try to get to know each other after my heat?"
"That would be nice, and we will be spending a lot of time together working on your record as well. I'm looking forward to it."
"Me as well," Shiro replied, happy for what Dorian had said, and pleased over the sincerity in the alpha's voice.
With a promise that Dorian would contact him the next day again, they ended the call. Shiro knew he was ridiculous, but he blushed as he sat on the sofa, staring at the phone in his hand. His stomach felt like it was full of fluttering butterflies, and he hoped that the next three days would pass in haste.
*****************************************
Dorian put away his phone in his pocket after he ended the call and didn't move from his spot by the window. The tall black dressed man was in his office for the first time since the "pheromone accident," and he felt a bit weird being back. Walking to his room from the elevator, he noticed that several of the employees had glanced at him with sympathetic eyes. But Dorian had been prepared for that. He, Shiro, and Finian had been on the news for days, but finally, it started to quiet down. The media always lost their interest after a while when nothing new happened.
Dorian was sure that rumors had spread amongst the employees about what had happened in his office. The room was clean now, but still, Dorian remembered the sweet scent from Shiro, and he realized that he missed it.
Dorian was leaning against the window, looking down at the busy street, and was lost in his thoughts. Dorian had immediately felt his body react to the sound of Shiro's voice. He wanted him. There was no point in denying it any longer; Shiro was his omega. But Dorian knew he lacked essential knowledge of how that would affect his everyday life. Even though his dad was an omega, and Dorian had gotten to know some omegas from school and work, he knew very little about the relationship between omega and alpha. Were there any differences between a fated pairs relationship and that of two alphas, except for the heat? And how about the bonding. How should they do that? Of course, Dorian knew he should bite Shiro in his scent gland. But Dorian had never bothered to pay any attention to what that exactly meant for the couple. He had Finian, so Dorian never cared about those things.
Dorian walked away from the window with a frown and sat behind his computer. He found a site with pictures and everything, and just looking at the screen made Dorian blush a little. The website was full of relevant information, but those photos were really specific.
'When an omega gets his heat, his body starts to prepare to get pregnant. The omega releases his pheromones to attract an alpha and causes the alpha to go into rut. And the alpha is filled with an uncontrollable need to impregnate the omega. The omega becomes hot and produces slick, making it easier for the alpha to enter. A heat can last for several days, but it usually lasts around four days.'
Dorian's eyes widened when he got that part. Damn. He was in a rut once every third month, and during it, all Dorian could think about was that he wanted to impregnate someone. Thankfully a rut only lasted for about two days.
But considering that an omegas heat went on for such a long time, it meant that Dorian had to be with Shiro for several days until the heat died down. Finian probably already knew that, but what should he say to Eamon and Caoihme. Dorian was never away for that long. Should he fake going on a business trip?
Dorian slowly was filled with guilt again. He couldn't even imagine being in Finian's shoes, having to deal with him being away for several days, having sex with another man. It was too horrible for Dorian even to picture. But before the guilty consumed the blond man's thoughts completely, Doiran closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and worked on calming himself down. He had to do this, and Finian had his back.
Dorian opened up his eyes again and continued to read. Apparently, an alpha could knot his omega. Dorian knew he had heard about that, but he had never experienced it. It was the omega's pheromones that could cause it, the same with that huge amount of semen an Alpha could produce.
And further down on the page were the pictures illustrating the bonding procedures. He stared at them, thinking that he and Shiro would be doing that in a few days, his dick twitched in his pants. But there was a knock on the door, and Dorian flinched.
"Come in," he said in a loud voice, and quickly closed the website.
The door opened, and Elliot walked in. The man smiled as he did and closed the door behind him.
"How is your first day back going?" Elliot asked and sat down in a chair on the other side of the desk.
"It's good to be back. So, how did the meeting about that hip-hop artist go?"
Elliot leaned back and took out his phone from a pocket in his jacket.
"Good, I think we should sign with him."
Elliot put on a song, and the two men listened in silence as a smooth voice filled the room. Dorian had his arms crossed over his chest and listened closely to the catching song.
When it ended, Dorian nodded and leaned forward.
"Yeah, sign him."
Elliot did a 'thumbs' and wrote something on his phone. When he was done, he put it away and looked at his friend.
"So how is everything going?"
Dorian sighed.
"I'm going to bond with Shiro when his heat comes."
Elliot's eyes became huge, and he stared at his friend.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, got no other choice, really."
"Bloody hell. That's some heavy shit," the beta said, looking at his friend with sadness in his eyes.
"Well, I could do worse. My fated pair could be someone other than Shiro."
As soon as the words left Dorian's mouth, Elliot stared surprised at him. The brown-haired man didn't say anything for a long time, making Dorian feel uneasy.
"What?"
"Dorian, do you realize what you just said?" Elliot asked, astonished.
Dorian frowned and thought about what he had said, not getting the problem, and he shrugged.
"You have accepted him!" Elliot exclaimed, his voice loud.
"Yeah, I think I have," Dorian then said, sounding somewhat surprised himself.
"What changed?"
Dorian leaned back in his comfortable chair, and he had a serious expression on his face.
"It took a long time, but I had to accept that Shiro is my fated pair. There wasn't any point in me fighting this anymore."
Elliot looked at Dorian like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Truth be told, Dorian himself didn't really understand it, but he wanted Elliot, his best friend, to know he had given this a lot of thought.
"As an alpha, there has always been a chance that I could meet my fated pair. But I had Finian, so the thought never crossed my mind. But I have a responsibility, not only to Finian and my kids but to Shiro as well to keep them safe. Bonding with my omega is simply the right thing to do."
"And what does Finian say about all of this?"
"Well, he's Finian. He is so much stronger than me, and he likes Shiro, which honestly feels a bit weird. Of course, Finian is sad about everything. Still, he knows that there isn't anything we can do other than accept this and move forward."
"Well, that doesn't surprise me at all. Finian is the smart one," Elliot said and winked.
He then burst out laughing, and Dorian heaved his eyes, pretending to be insulted.
"I thought you didn't like Shiro?"
"No, I got nothing against him. But you and Finian are my dearest friends. I love you guys, and I don't want to see you struggle. But if you can work through this, then I'm happy."
Hearing that made Dorian feel relieved. Elliot was, after all, an important part of his life.
"So, when is his next heat?"
"In three days."
"Alright, then let's keep your schedule clear for the coming week," Elliot said as he got up from the chair.
"Free for lunch tomorrow?"
"Absolutely. Indian?"
"Well, of course, Indian. It's a Wednesday, and on Wednesday, we eat Indian," Elliot laughed and walked through the room toward the door.
Before Elliot opened it, he waved with his hand over his shoulders without looking back.
"Ta ta."
"Take care," Dorian said before the door closed behind his friend with a big smile.
Honestly, it had felt quite nice to talk to someone other than Finian about Shiro. Dorian didn't really understand it himself, but since he'd come to realize that he had no other choice than to accept that he had a fated pair, it all suddenly felt so much easier to handle.
Dorian was a kind person at heart, and he wanted the best for the people he cared about. So Dorian researched everything he could about an omegas heat and the bonding procedure. Dorian figured he had to make sure there was enough food for them to last several days in that apartment.
Suddenly Dorian realized that this wasn't the first time Shiro was bonded, and just the thought of that caused Dorian to frown, and he felt slightly irritated. He hadn't give it a lot of consideration, but he didn't know Shiro at all. Like everyone else, he only knew that the beautiful man was a fantastic singer and had been a great actor in his youth. Dorian had seen several movies starring Shiro, and there was especially one that Dorian liked. It had been a movie that occurred during World War II, and in that movie, the character, a young boy died. Dorian remembered that both he and Finian had cried a little, thinking that the child actor had an astonishing talent.
Dorian searched on Shiro Nakamura online for the first time and got hundred of million results. There was even a Wikipedia page on the man, and Dorian opened the link.
Shiro Nakamura was born on May 19 in Tokyo. He made his first appearance in a television commercial for clothes when he was four years old and then got scouted by an agency. He later starred in several movies, and in his teens, Shiro got his first Hollywood role. It was the one that Dorian hade liked. But Shiro only did three films after that. He suddenly announced he was retiring as an actor and wanted to focus on his singing. Shiro quickly became a trending singer and released hit after hit. This Dorian already knew. It was the more personal things, like Shiro's upbringing, his marriage with his late husband, and Ikumi, that Dorian wanted to know more about.
On the web, Dorian found a lot of pictures of Shiro and the man that, according to the text, were Kei, Shiro's late husband. Kei was a handsome man, obviously an alpha with dark-brown hair, tall and beautiful eyes.
On one picture, probably taken by a paparazzi, Shiro stood in a garden with Kei beside him. Kei held his arms over the omegas shoulder, and the omega looked at his husband, smiling with such a loving gaze that Dorian suddenly felt annoyed. There were a lot of photos with the married couple, and the more Dorian looked at them, the more irritated he got. The blond alpha decided that he had seen enough, turned off the computer, and leaned back in his chair again.
What was this feeling? He recognized it; he had felt the same thing plenty of times before. This feeling of possessiveness. He was a prime-alpha, possessiveness was one of their common traits. But this was the first time he had felt jealousy over someone other than Finian. Dorian knew it was a petty feeling, and he didn't want to acknowledge it, but he couldn't let it go. He didn't like that Shiro looked at someone other than him like that. With those beautiful dark eyes and smiling with that little mouth of his.
"Bloody hell," Dorian groaned and hastily stood up from the chair.
His cock was hard. Dorian sighed and pulled his fingers through his hair.
"It's just because I haven't touched him for a week now," Dorian mumbled to himself, and a part of it was probably true.
He had started to feel the withdrawal symptoms again. But deep inside, Dorian knew that this was more than just him needing Shiro's pheromones. But it was far too early for Dorian to even speculate about that.
However, suddenly, three days felt like a very long time.