I'm Not Yours, Alpha
I’m Not Yours, Alpha – Chapter 43

Aidan dropped into a chair at one of the tables outside the mall cafeteria, opposite Julian. His feet ached and he was tired, maybe a little more than he should have been, but he’d had the time of his life. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone shopping with someone and tried on dozens of clothes.

Even though his alpha had told him that his money was his own he had insisted on paying from his savings account. He was not a spendthrift but he had indulged in a few luxuries and bought Julian’s things as well. Julian had refused at first but relented after he had paid for the first lot on the sly.

At his sides were several bags, quite a number. They contained new changes of clothes, shoes adapted to hot and tropical climates. A few things that each of them had bought for their respective companions, and last but not least, a bag with certain items of clothing. A sleeping set of different colours for each omega that was more inclined to the female audience but why not wear them, Julian’s was less provocative but Aidan had insisted on it being quite revealing. The omega was small but her buttocks and legs were her best attribute and Aidan was sure Madox couldn’t go the night without ripping it off.

In her case her outfit was more lacy. It had never crossed his mind to wear one of those and certainly not with his ex-boyfriend but with Dominic his hormones were so out of whack that he felt no shame in imagining himself wearing it in front of him. Maybe it was because of the bond but her s****l side was at its peak and it was a side she was beginning to like. After all s*x was important in a relationship.

But the shopping had not stopped there. They each had two sets of swimming costumes. One more outrageous than the other. The one for the beach, which was no less provocative, and the one they were sure to use in the private pools of each suite. Luckily Madox had sent him pictures while they were shopping and they had taken care of any incidents, even if they knew where they would be staying.

Julian sent out for snacks and drinks for both of them and insisted on paying. Aidan didn’t refuse, sharing felt good.

-It was a good outing, we should do it again,” Aidan commented, taking a sip of his cold drink once it was brought to him. The sour taste of the orange and the sweetness of the apple lifted his spirits.

-You look in good spirits,” Julian smiled, “Looks like things are working out well between you and your alpha.

Aidan nodded.

-Apart from the s*x part we need to work on, otherwise we’re doing well. He’s quite overprotective but also attentive, not violent at all and doesn’t force me to do what I don’t want. He gives me my independence. And although he won’t let me go to work until I’m recovered, he did set me up with a new computer with everything I need to do my designs. If you see the wacom he brought me, I wanted to kill him when he told me the price, but I couldn’t help but k**s him when I tried it for the first time. I would give my life if I had to if I didn’t have it to get it.

-I’m glad,” Julian smiled broadly, “At least you’re an omega with a lot of privileges.

-What do you mean?” Aidan liked talking to the boy, always learning new things about this world so far removed from the beta life he led before.

-Well, even though the laws have been standardised so that omegas are not so exploited, there are still many alphas who, when they unite with their omega, leave them locked up in their homes like golden cages. They treasure them so much that it only breaks the omega’s will and makes them more submissive.

-Aidan shuddered at the thought of losing all the independence he’d gained since graduating from college, even before.

-Don’t be shocked, it’s very common, alphas are very territorial and dominant and like to know where their bond is at all times, so they’d rather have them safe in the house than anywhere else.

-That sounds like a toxic, obsessive love novel.

-It’s in their nature.

-Dominic’s never been like that with me, well at least not in that drastic a way.

Julian pursed his lips.

-There are many factors at work. First, he’s clearly not as dominant an alpha as others even though he’s quite strong, plus when he met you you thought you were a beta with an equally strong character, so he shouldn’t push you. In my case I am totally different from you. I know I have been an omega for a long time and one of a rather weak nature. If I had an alpha who told me I had to stay on my knees all day, even if I refused I wouldn’t have the will to disobey him-although he didn’t show it his voice betrayed him with some anguish.

-Well Julian, I didn’t imagine it would be difficult for you,” he said.

-Let’s just say I’m used to coping,” he scratched his scar after a beat, “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that, don’t mind me.

-Maybe someone tried to keep you confined, some alpha,” he thought of Madox, but the man was open-minded enough for that, arrogant and overbearing though he was. Perhaps someone before him was possible.

Julian squeezed his scar this time but couldn’t remember anything.

-I’m sorry Aidan, there are some gaps in my head from an accident I had so I wouldn’t know how to answer you,” he said sincerely and the other omega didn’t press any further, “But you impress me how easily you’ve adapted to your nature, don’t you mind pheromones everywhere? It can be a bit suffocating at first.

-Aidan wiped his mouth, “Although I was told it was beta, I could sense the alpha pheromones, minimally, but they were there, so it wasn’t that much of a shock. Now I’m just getting used to it, although some of them make me nauseous if they’re too strong. As for Dominic’s I wouldn’t know how to describe them, it’s like they fill all the space left in me and comfort me even if he’s not in the house. Plus, they smell delicious, better than any snack.

-What luck,” Julian showed a strange expression on his face.

-What do you mean, you can smell them too?” the comment made him thankful, but then his face froze as he listened to her.

-Let’s say I can sense them and know if they are from an alpha or an omega, but I can’t define their smell. To me, they’re all the same.

Aidan didn’t know what to say for a few seconds. One way to differentiate the different alphas and omegas was by the fragrance of their pheromones, he could now feel them more intensely. But in Julian’s case he still didn’t quite understand how it worked.

-Wait a minute,” he brushed back the hair that had run into his face, “So how do you know who each individual is?

-I don’t know, if I was in the same place with a lot of alphas I wouldn’t even be able to recognise anyone.

-What about Madox then?

-His pheromones reassure me just because they are not aggressive to me and they are warm. Let’s say it’s a bit difficult to explain, I still don’t fully understand it.

-So, if you happened to meet your destined partner, you wouldn’t know?

-Let’s say something like that.” Julian tilted his head, smiling, but there was no happiness on his face.

Aidan felt bad about that and wanted to punch a certain alpha.

-Your relationship with Madox?

-I’m his patient, a case he’s quite interested in and I’ll thank him until the day he disappears for allowing me to stabilise myself. There are no such feelings involved between us for it to take the form of a relationship.

-But you’re in love with him.

Julian’s face darkened.

Love is not one-sided. I know what kind of alpha Madox is, he only helps me when I’m in heat and from time to time, I don’t want to take advantage of his trust either. I’m not the only one he does that with, so I’ve never had any illusions,” his voice was cracking even though he seemed to be playing hard to get. My feelings don’t matter after all,” he didn’t know why he had said that.

Aidan wanted to get up and run over to the alpha and kick him to a pulp. Julian was too good, too innocent, he thought of others before himself and he was taking advantage of it. But he wasn’t one to talk, that was a problem between the two of them that they had to work out. If Julian stayed by her side it was for a reason, besides it was suspicious the way Madox was acting.

He only hoped that the omega didn’t get hurt in all of this. That boy didn’t deserve it.

Aidan reached out and grabbed his hand.

-Whenever you want to talk, you’ll find support here, no matter the time or place, call me if you need it, I’ll help you in any way I can.

Julian looked up in shock at not being used to being treated this way by another omega and then smiled in relief. Saving Aidan had been a good thing in his stormy life. Suddenly his body tensed and he squeezed his companion’s fingers in response.

-Hello lovelies, may I join you,” someone tall stopped at the side of the table where he was sitting.

Aidan noticed Julian’s reaction and frowned, his voice hardening.

-I don’t understand why we would allow you,” he had to be careful, in front of him was precisely an alpha and one who let out his pheromones so strong that it made his back drenched with sweat and nausea well up in his throat.

-Oh, excuse me,” he spoke, bowing slightly in greeting, “I haven’t introduced myself, my name is Nolan, Julian’s husband-to-be, a pleasure.