Jak woke up and rubbed his eyes. The early winter morning was cold, and he could see snow drifting from the light grey clouds outside. Sighing, he flopped back and covered his eyes with his arm. He wanted to sleep some more since it was so cold.
His head hurt a bit. He'd drank too much the night before, something that wasn't unusual for him. It was finals week and most people were studying their asses off to make the grades they had put off the entire semester. Jak had done all his work early, submitting all papers and final projects three days before they were due. He'd had one final which he'd finished the day before. He had gone out to celebrate passing it and the whole semester.
Usually he wasn't that studious. He'd barely made it out freshman year with all the entry work to the engineering department. If it hadn't been for his best friends, he would have flunked the semester and would have had to change his degree entirely. Luckily they had forced him to study and he'd barely eked out with C's across the board.
Since then he'd been able to pull B's for each class. He felt great having done so, but he knew his parents thought he could do better. They knew his penchant for vices and tried their best to make sure he knew the consequences of being stupid. He had too much to live for and lose at the same time. They didn't want him to regret anything. He had told them he was fine and had done his best to make them not worry. So far he had managed to keep his word.
But fate has a way of fucking with people in the worst ways possible.
Jak rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. He sighed contentedly and started to drift off again. The smell hit him hard. He lifted up and looked at the pillow.
This wasn't the pattern of his sheets. His sheets had a chevron pattern. These were solid grey with white trim on the edges. Jak sat up violently and looked around. This wasn't his room at all. Where the hell was he?
He threw the covers off of him and grabbed them back immediately. He was completely naked and his skin was marked with several tiny red splotches. Whoever he had been with had sucked hard enough to leave them. They were in places that could be covered, but he had never allowed anyone to mark him like this before. What had he done?
Jak looked around the floor to see if he could find his clothes. The only thing he found was his underwear draped across the back of a chair. There were extra clothes folded on top of the desk. He slid from the bed and grabbed them. The smell gave him pause, and he pulled the fabric to his nose. Oakmoss invaded his senses, and his body started to thrum. It would blend well with his natural amber scent. Too well.
Startled by his reaction, he hurriedly pulled the clothes on and headed for the door. He pulled it open and peeked his head out of it before he walked out. The apartment was very spacious. It was one of the better ones, and he knew the layout by heart. This was a building his father had designed and had overseen the construction. He had helped his mother and sister pick out the color schemes on the rare occasion they had been home.
Jak had never been in the building since people had started purchasing the units. He had always wondered what they looked like now that there were people living happily in them. This one was furnished tastefully with earth tones and pops of gold and grey throughout. It wasn't spartan but it wasn't crammed to the brim. The furniture here was what was needed to have a comfortable life and nothing more.
He was too busy looking around to notice the second door open and close. A gentle hand to his back made him jump. Turning around, he nearly collided with someone barely taller than him. But he caught a whiff of the scent. There was no doubt this was the owner of the home. The sheets and clothes smelled just like this.
To Jak's embarrassment, it was a man. With his mouth ajar, he looked at the man from toe to head. He was around six feet five, just three inches taller than Jak. But he was bigger. His shoulders were broader and his waist trimmer, but everything about him was bigger than Jak. He had never met someone who exuded power from the first meeting. Even those he was well-acquainted with didn't show how dominant they were until it was necessary or they were trying to pick up the same girl.
Bare legs were roped with veins and sinew. Navy shorts covered thick thighs, and trim hips led to a massive chest that bulged under the white fabric of the shirt. Jak was dwarfed by the size of his shoulders. He would be able to stand behind the man and no one would see him. A long neck was corded and held a modest sized head. But those amber eyes were gentle and the mouth had a soft smile.
Jak knew exactly who this was. This man was Detective Reaux Grant of the 9th Precinct. He was a well-known police officer and one who had a very gentle personality. Everyone wanted Reaux to be their arresting officer. He had heard plenty of females gush about him and about how he could frisk them any time. He was one of the most eligible Alphas in the city.
What the hell was Jak doing at his home?
Reaux reached out and gently took Jak's head. He turned it side to side as the younger man gaped at him. He was inspecting him. A minute or so later, he dropped his hand and tucked it back in his pocket.
"Good. There aren't any marks," he mused.
"What do you mean there aren't any marks?" Jak thought about it then looked around. "What the hell happened? What did I do for you to bring me here?"
Reaux's brows knit together. "You don't remember?"
Jak crossed his arms defiantly. "If I did, would I ask you?" He jumped when Reaux's hand shot forward and pulled the borrowed shirt up. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Did you look at yourself?" The young man made a strained noise. "Did it not make you wonder why your skin is speckled?"
The young Alpha swatted his hand away and stepped back a pace. "I appreciate your concern, but whatever girl did this is long gone. Tell me why you brought me here?" Reaux went to the kitchen. "Hey! Are you going to answer me?"
"You're asking the wrong questions. Why don't you go check the wastebasket in the bedroom while I make breakfast? When you find or don't find what you're looking for, come let me know."
Jak wanted to argue, but Reaux had already turned to the stove. He stomped into the bedroom and stared at the floor for a long time. His clothes were gone. Was that what he was talking about? Was it because Reaux had found him gross and had washed his clothes? Was that it?
He walked the perimeter of the room slowly, taking in everything with a keen eye. The bed was half neat and half messy, mainly the side where he'd woken up on. He peeked in the bathroom to find it pristine. Nothing was out of place. What did the man want him to see? What was in the wastebasket that he needed to see?
He went over to it and put it on the desk. Several condom wrappers were tossed haphazardly in it. He counted them. Seven wrappers and seven condoms filled with a viscous white fluid. That was normal for a healthy Alpha. A male could have several ejaculations in one romp.
Something wasn't right though. The smell was wrong. Without picking up the filled latex, he sniffed tentatively. That wasn't his smell. Concerned, he lifted the shirt and inhaled deeply. The smell on the shirt and the smell on the condoms was the same.
His entire body shaking, Jak went into the bathroom and pulled his pants down. He looked in the mirror, skin paling at what he saw. There were marks on his upper thighs and where his pelvis met his hip bones. Curious, he trailed his hand behind him and ran a finger through the crevice. The small circle of muscles twitched and opened, the tip of his finger slipping inside easily.
Blood rushed to Jak's head. It swirled in his ears, sounding like a tornado that only he could hear. He sank against the counter and stared at his hand. He'd had sex last night, but he'd been on the receiving end. He wasn't a homophobe, but he had never thought this would happen. He knew how Tay felt about their friend Damian, and he wholeheartedly wanted them to be together. But this… this was new. He hadn't expected it nor did he remember it.
Pulling up the borrowed shorts, he mindlessly walked back into the kitchen. Reaux was sitting at the table, fingers laced under his chin. His face was drawn in concern as he watched the young man standing in his bedroom doorway.
"What did I do?" Jak's voice was tight and breathy. "I was drunk and…" He looked up, distress written across his face. "What did I do?"
"Sit down before you fall down." Reaux waited until Jak crossed the room and sank into a chair. He poured him a cup of coffee and watched him fix it to his liking. "You bumped into me when you walked out of Gilbert's. You were mumbling something about Sarah or Sam or some girl with an S name. I tried to get you a taxi home, but you refused."
Jak's shoulders sank. The cup shook in his hands. "What else?"
"I couldn't find your car so I brought you back here. I helped you change your clothes and lay down, but you wouldn't let me go. You kissed me." Reaux watched him closely as he spoke.
The kid's shoulders sank even more. "Then we had sex?"
The older man nodded. "Several times. You said it wasn't enough and kept asking for more. I let you do what you wanted. Then you released an exorbitant amount of pheromones. It was intoxicating and I couldn't control myself after that."
Reaux pulled his shirt over one shoulder and pointed to the Alpha mark tattooed on his skin. Jak's face turned ashen as he looked at it. He fumbled to pull his shirt off and look at his left shoulder as well. Just as Reaux's, his Alpha mark was filled in when last he remembered it was an outline.
"Are we…" His voice was thick. He could barely get the words out. "Did you… did you come inside me?"
"I'm sorry." Reaux's voice was pitched low. "When you released your pheromones, I was aroused. I didn't realize it until after the fact."
"How is that possible?" Jak stared at him, blue eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "How can an Alpha claim another Alpha?"
"I'm not sure." Reaux reached across the table and took Jak's hand. The young man jumped involuntarily. He looked down at the warm hand gripping his. "If you're worried about what I'm going to do, don't be. I'm not the type to shirk my responsibilities."
Jak jerked his hand away. "I'm not your responsibility. I'm my own person. So don't worry about it."
He knew he was being unfair, but he had never thought this would happen. He never thought he would have slept with a man and become bonded to him in the same night. It never crossed his mind, and that was the thing he was having a hard time adjusting.
He stood quickly, chair clattering to the floor. Reaux watched but made no move to stop him. He was grateful for that. If the detective had, he wasn't sure what he would do or how he'd react. As it was even if he brought him up on charges of sexual misconduct, it wouldn't go anywhere now that they were mated. It would be considered a lovers' spat.
"I've got to go." He headed for the door.
"Jak," Reaux called. Even though his voice was non-threatening, the young man still flinched. "Take all the time you need. My door is always open for you."
Jak shoved his feet into his shoes and nearly ripped the door off its hinges on his way out.
Six Months Later
There was a knock at the door. Reaux groaned as he rolled out of bed to see who was disturbing him.
He'd been working long nights helping the prosecutor put together the Conrad Evers/ Damian Marquette case. There had been so much information and dozens of witnesses the entire department had been busy. And it wasn't even the victims unit. David Marquette wanted no one working the case but him, and what the man wanted he got.
Evers had pleaded guilty, and the trial had commenced. Damian had braved the press and had taken the stand. Photos and the rape kit had been his best evidence, but the nail in the coffin had been when Evers' secretary had taken the stand and when the audio had played the night of Antonia Marquette's party. It had been all over.
Reaux had seen Jak several times in the last few months. They had even had dinner a few times. But they'd never discussed anything further than that day on campus. The detective let him be so he could come to terms with it himself. It was easier to let these things play out on their own than force it. So Reaux had left Jak alone for the most part. Unless he needed him, he never reached out.
They'd tried to pose as a happy couple in front of Damian and Tay, but Jak was still struggling with his life. He wanted to give in to his instincts but his brain was pulling him away. Reaux was patient even if his own instinct was telling him to grab the young man and force him back.
Reaux flipped on the kitchen light and unlocked the deadbolt. If someone was going to attack him, they wouldn't be stupid enough to do it at his door. He wasn't too concerned as he pulled it open.
He blinked stupidly as his brain tried to come to terms with what his eyes saw. Jak stood in his doorway with a backpack. He looked nervous, shifting from one foot to another.
"Jak?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
"Can I sleep with you?" the young man asked.
Reaux's face crinkled. "If you're here for sex you can go back. I'm not interested."
"No!" The older Alpha looked at him silently, waiting for something more. "That's not why I'm here."
"Then why are you here?"
Jak ruffled his hair in frustration. "I can't take it anymore. Every time I try to find someone to sleep with, I can't get it up. I only think of you. But when I think of you, I get a raging hard on that won't subside no matter what I do. I can't take it."
Reaux leaned against the doorframe. "What do you want me to do?"
"I don't know, but I knew you were the only one who could help." The young man swallowed hard. "One night. Let me sleep with you one night. If I don't sleep well, I won't bother you again."
"What if I don't let you go?"
Jak's face contorted. "Never mind." He turned away from the door and headed back to the elevator.
"Jak?"
The young man turned around and was jerked back into the doorway. His mouth collided with Reaux's with a small gasp. Reaux delved in without remorse. He'd been having a hard time waiting for Jak but it was what he had to do.
Reaux knew when Jak gave up. His shoulders dropped and his body melted into Reaux's. He gripped his shirt with shaky hands but he didn't let go. He released some contented pheromones, and they swirled around the two of them. Like the day on campus, he didn't argue and he didn't fuss. He let nature take its course, and he felt at ease.
The older Alpha stepped back and pulled the younger into the door. Jak went willingly. Reaux was going to do as he asked. He would let him sleep with him for one night. If he was still unsettled, he would let him go. But if he seemed more at ease with their situation, there was no chance Reaux was going to let him go.