During his third week of training, his sleep was abruptly interrupted.
"Wake up!" Chima hissed above him, sounding more than a little angry. "This is why I hate living with other alphas. Come on. Get the hell up."
Andem blinked awake, looking into Chima's light-skinned, angry face as he tossed a shirt at Andem.
"What is it?"
"Pack a bag. We have to leave."
"Why?"
"You stupid idiot. Why didn't you mark your calendar?"
It was then he noticed the itch on the back of his neck and the heaviness between his legs. Andem shook his head again, ignoring the urgent need to jerk off as he watched Chima put clothes into a small bag.
"Where are you going?" Andem asked.
"Eteli's house," Chima said, pulling Andem up to his feet. "If you had any sense, you would have gone home before it got this far. Now, we have to bother him."
"Why?"
"Would you stop asking me stupid questions and get ready?"
Andem stared at Chima blankly, his brain still covered in a sleepy fog, unable to focus on anything. With a sigh, Chima straightened up, resting his hand on his waist.
"There's an omega in this house. Two alphas can't go into a rut with him around."
Was that what it was? Andem wondered. Was it the rut that was making him groggy and dizzy and horny, all at the same time? Was it the rut bubbling beneath the surface as if begging to burst free and wreck everything around Andem? He'd only ever had one rut. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he'd been in Uyo for six months and had never tried tracking his rut, or even learned how to manage it.
"He's fine now but when his heat gets triggered with two rutting alphas under the same roof? We're going to have a serious problem. Now MOVE!"
Chima's voice urged some sanity into Andem's head, forcing him to sift through the clothes around him to find something clean that he could take along. He didn't have much, but Tony had bought Andem a rut buddy to help. If he was going to be away from the dorm, Andem knew he couldn't go without it.
As they hopped around the tiny space, trying to get dressed and packed, Andem wished he'd had the luxury of going home and having his rut in some privacy. He remembered what his last rut had felt like and he hoped he wouldn't have to spend it with an audience again. Especially one that was as grouchy as Chima.
With his bag slung over his shoulder, he stood still, noticing that Chima hadn't even reached the door since he'd come to wake Andem, but Andem was already dressed and ready, moving at the speed of light to get the job done. Now, he had to wait for Chima to finish.
When his head cleared more, Andem remembered that their drill instructor, the man living in the other room, was an omega. Chima was right. They had to get the hell out of there before things got dicey. Rushing along with Chima in front of him, they took the stairs, three at a time.
By the time they were out, Eteli was waiting for them
"A little warning next time, boys," the tall, large Director said in his growling deep voice.
"We're sorry, Sir," Chima said, sliding into the car as Andem followed quietly.
The ride over to his home was about thirty minutes. As they marched up the stairs to the door, Andem could feel his knees going weak, and just as he was about to give up. Eteli appeared at his side, hooking Andem's hands around his shoulders and holding him up.
"Uncle, let me," that beautiful, soft voice said, ringing like lulling bells in Andem's ears as the door opened and Andem felt himself being deposited into Nsemeke's soft, capable hands. "I cleared your room out as well. Which of them is staying where?"
Even though Andem could hear them, it felt like he was underwater, everything was muffled.
"I'll put Chima in my room," Eteli said. "Put Andem in yours."
Andem sighed in relief as he hung onto Nsemeke, putting his nose in his neck and inhaling the confusing scent of cherries and cocoa and lemon-flavored detergent. Unable to do more than follow, Andem was made to sit on the bed while Nsemeke gently took off Andem's jacket and helped him into the bed. Andem moaned the moment his body grazed the sheets, engulfed in sweat and fatigue that came with a concentrated amount of pheromones and the dried-up vestiges of Nsemeke's pleasure at his own hands. Andem whimpered, turning on his stomach to bury his nose in the sheets. He needed more of that scent. He needed to be inside it. Oh, how he wanted it.
"Okay, I'll leave you to it," Nsemeke said.
"My… my bag," Andem panted, stretching out his hands.
"Here." Nsemeke handed him the bag.
With haste, Andem rummaged in it until his hand closed around the long, cylindrical object and he pulled it out, tugging at his pants vigorously.
A surprised, shocked, and curious sound emitted from behind Andem.
"That's my cue," Nsemeke squealed. The door closed shut, just as Andem was pressing his hard dick into the welcoming embrace of the rut-buddy.
-*-
By morning, Andem was angrier than he was the night before and still aching everywhere with the bonus of fever and creaking joints. As he sat up in bed, moving his head slowly from side to side, the door opened and he looked up.
His nerves were raw and his temper was raging from the fact that he was aware that another alpha was rutting, not very far away. He didn't know where Chima was, but he could smell him. He could feel Chima's rut wafting through the air, carrying with it the remnants of the many, painful orgasms that Chima had given himself all through the night.
Andem wanted to vomit.
"Didn't mean to wake you," Nsemeke said entering the room and shutting the door quietly. "How are you feeling?"
As Nsemeke sat on the bed beside him, Andem shifted, clenching his fist at the intrusion. Another scent was in the air now that Nsemeke had come in. It wasn't pungent enough to mask the horror of Chima, but it was there, filling Andem's senses, wrapping itself all around him as if begging Andem to approach, to take, to do what biology would always excuse.
"You should try Supplimax," Nsemeke said, holding out a jar of green, chewy tablets as Andem looked down at it in disgust. "It won't take away the rut completely, but it might take the edge off… reduce the fever… make you less irritable."
Andem took the jar from him, his fingers brushing against Nsemeke's slim long fingers. He began to pull away when Andem grabbed him, not wanting to break contact with Nsemeke's skin.
"Your name is Andem, right?" Nsemeke asked, calmly.
Andem hummed as his hands encircled Nsemeke's wrist, gently tugging Nsemeke forward. Nsemeke pulled his hand away and got up to go, but before he could take one step, Andem slammed the door in a split second, breathing hard as he held the handle, just to be sure that Nsemeke would have to go through him before he could leave the room.
"Oh," Nsemeke said, backing away slowly. "You're a speedster."
"Mmm," Andem nodded, licking the air as he relished the taste of Nsemeke that was all around him, engulfing every one of Andem's senses.
"Calm down," Nsemeke said, raising his hands like he was talking to a wild animal.
In many ways, he probably was. Because even though a part of Andem was telling him to open the door and let the other guy out, a bigger part didn't want to do that. No. He wanted to mull Nsemeke down into that bed and-
"Look at me," Nsemeke said quietly. "Look." When Andem obeyed, Nsemeke said, "Take the suppressants and I promise you, you'll feel better."
"I… I don't want you to leave."
"As flattering as that is," he said, still keeping his hands between the both of them. "You can't force me to be here."
"I could," Andem said, walking away from the door. He didn't know much about alpha biology, but he'd recently learned this bit. "I could tell you to get on your knees and you wouldn't have a choice."
All around him, Nsemeke's scent grew more pungent. He'd never wanted anyone so much in his life. It would be so easy to make Nsemeke want it just as much as Andem did. Just one word. Just a few words and they would be in the bed, exploring each other till their brains gave out.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Nsemeke rushed at him, gripping him in the throat to keep him from speaking. But as soon as he touched Andem, Andem's speed kicked him. He moved out of the way, grabbing Nsemeke's hand before he could cause any damage as he slammed Nsemeke, chest first, into the wall.
"Stay still," he whispered in Nsemeke's ear as Nsemeke's entire body went stiff.
Andem buried his nose in Nsemeke's neck, leaning into him as his dick rubbed against Nsemeke's backside. Pulling at the waistband of Nsemeke's trousers, Andem flinched as Steven's words ran through his head.
"Are you telling me you've never felt the need to dominate someone else?"
Andem shook his head because this was different. This was biology. His rut required a partner. He wasn't doing this just because he wanted to. He needed to. He had to do it. Surely Nsemeke would understand. Right? Surely Steven would understand.
"To make them bow to your will regardless of consent?"
"No, that's not-" he said, pulling away from Nsemeke. He shook his head as he stepped back, looking at the frozen boy on the wall who he'd made stand there, even though he clearly didn't want to. "Oh my god," he said, feeling bile rise in his throat. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry. You can go."
As soon as Nsemeke could move, he reached for the door and bolted out of the room before Andem could even get another word out,
He couldn't imagine what he'd been thinking. He couldn't understand how he'd let his rut do that. Except, it wasn't his rut. He couldn't use that as an excuse for what he'd done. Nsemeke had come into the room to help him and Andem had repaid him by almost…
Crumbling to the floor beside the jar of tablets that had fallen to the floor, Andem felt like screaming till his throat burned. Considering what he'd just done, it was a lot less punishment than he deserved.