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“Do I tell him I think we’re mates?” Oliver whispered once they stood outside.
Fallon hesitated. “Is that a discussion you want to have now? Wouldn’t you rather focus on getting your heat out of the way first? It’s not like there’s a deadline to talk about your future. It seems to me that can wait, whereas your heat has much more urgency.”
He made a good point. Besides, the whole fated-mates thing seemed way too complicated to discuss without words. So heat it was.
“Would you like me to come with you?” Fallon offered.
It would be so easy to say yes and let him do the talking, but that didn’t seem right. Maybe because it would make it much harder for Adar to say no, and Oliver would never rob him of that right. It had been withheld from Oliver his entire life until now, and he would never do that to another person. He shook his head. “I got this.”
Fallon hugged him, then hurried off, probably to solve his next crisis. Oliver took a deep breath and walked over to Adar. The alpha startled, but he stood still, not moving a muscle. “Is everything okay? Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked when Oliver stayed silent.
Oliver’s throat tightened. Dammit. Why were the words not coming when he needed them the most?
Adar slowly moved his hands behind his back, pulled something out of his back pocket, and handed it to Oliver. A small notebook with a pen attached. Tears filled Oliver’s eyes at that thoughtfulness. They had never talked, yet Adar had had that notebook ready for the day Oliver would approach him.
Oliver so wanted to talk to him, to use actual words, but this would have to do. He’d never figured out what caused his inability to speak, but he did know that with the way he felt right now, no words would be coming out of his mouth. Writing it was.
My heat is coming.
He held it up for Adar to read. “It is? How much time do you have?”
Oliver held up two fingers.
“Two days?”
Oliver nodded.
“What will you do? What do you need?”
Oliver bit his lip as he stared into Adar’s warm brown eyes. Even now, the man didn’t assume anything. He still gave Oliver the choice.
Will you do it?
A soft gasp fell from Adar’s lips as he read it. “You want me to help you through your heat? Are you sure?”
Oliver flipped to a new page.
Yes. I trust you.
Adar blew out a breath. “Thank you. That means the world to me. If you are sure, then yes. It would be my honor.” He cleared his throat. “Oliver, I don’t know how to say this, but can you write down what you want? What you need from me? I don’t want to do anything to hurt you, anything you don’t want. But I know talking is hard for you. So maybe you could write it down? I swear I will respect your boundaries.”
Oliver’s tears spilled over. How had he gotten this lucky to find an alpha so kind and sweet, so gentle?
“Oh no. Please don’t cry. Did I say something wrong?”
Oliver shook his head and opened his mouth, but the words still wouldn’t come. His throat was too tight, his mind blocking whatever intention he had.
But he had to make sure Adar knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. So instead, he stepped closer, wrapped his arms around that massive body, and put his head against Adar’s chest.
Adar froze for a few moments but then ever so gently hugged Oliver back, holding him as if he were the most fragile piece of china on the planet. He pressed a soft kiss on Oliver’s hair. “I understand now, angel. They were good tears.”
Oliver nodded against his chest, not willing to let go yet. No one had touched him since he’d arrived here, except Fallon and Enar, and the latter only as a medical professional and after asking Oliver’s permission.
Yet he stood there in the arms of this big alpha, feeling safer than he ever had in his life. Yes, he’d made the right decision. No matter how horrible his heat would be, at least Adar would be there to take care of him.
Chapter Four
The heart was a treacherous bitch, wasn’t it?
