PREFERENCES

Edrey halted at the door, staring at Gorover. His cheeks immediately flushed, and he felt his knees wobble together. Before he garnered the strength to walk back into his room and smack the door on the other male's face, Gorover had already turned to him.

Gorover smiled and pushed his back off of the wall. "Are you finally awake?" he cocked his head as he walked up to Edrey. Edrey found his body frozen stiff, and he was unable to move.

"I… I…" He stuttered out, staring at Gorover who had stopped in front of him. Gorover did not tower over him, but the amount of pressure he poured out of his system as an alpha slightly pushed him back.

His heat was yet to end, but this alpha had still come to search for him during his vulnerable time. He seethed. It immediately reminded him of what caused them to get entangled. Gorover had slept with him without even caring whether or not he wanted to. In the end, the same person who had said he loved him had gotten another omega as his partner.

Gorover glanced into the room. Since Edrey had stayed in his room the entire time during his heat, the scent of his pheromones was thick. The scent slipped out of his open door, causing Gorover's eyes to haze up for a second. "Rover?" Edrey called out his name. He stared into the taller male's eyes as he took a small step forward and closed the door to his bedroom behind him.

He was sure that he, better than anyone, knew of that look in his eyes. Despite his usual serious look, Gorover had the same insatiable lust that every other alpha did. That might have been the main reason that pushed him to take Edrey's virginity.

"I don't think you should be here, Rover." He called out to him. He had a firm grasp on his doorknob, and he pressed onto the side of the knob, silently shutting the door.

Gorover raised a brow. "I just wanted to check if you are alright. It isn't like you to lock yourself up like this. Aunt and Uncle just left though."

Edrey looked up at him, trying to prevent his lips from twitching into a sneer. It had always been like this. He looked for him whenever it was only the two of them in the house. "I don't think that you should be here right now. My heat isn't over yet if you en…"

"I just wanted to see you." He raised his head and looked at the door that was behind him. "I came home the other day, but we haven't had time to speak yet. How have you been?"

Edrey, despite not being the kind to break down in tears most of the time, found himself tearing up. How dare he! Gorover knew very well that he had heard his mother ask about his pregnant wife. Yet he dared ask how he has been.

At that moment, with the faint scent of Gorover's unique pheromones engulfing him, Edrey felt his head throb slightly, and the feeling of wanting to submit to the alpha who stood before him permeated his bones. "I-. Rover." He managed to call out the alpha's name once more. He took a small step back, digging his fingernails into the palms of his hands.

Once he managed to break himself out of the haze, he looked up at Gorover. A smile plastered itself on his face, "I've been fine. It's your fault we fell out of touch. You left home without a word after all."

Gorover chuckled. The embarrassed laughter seemed to cause butterflies to sprout in his stomach. "I can't dispute it when you say it like that."

For a microsecond, Edrey felt like he had been transported back to the time that he was deeply in love with the alpha that stood in front of him.

"Aunt told me you're in heat." Gorover suddenly changed the topic.

Edrey's fingers dug into his palms, as he remembered his conviction. "Yeah. But it's settled down now."

To translate that, he did not need Gorover to help him with his heat. Apart from that one time that Gorover temporarily marked him, Edrey had always ensured that he wore his collar. This prevented Gorover from giving him a permanent mark while he was in the haze of his heat. Gorover stared at the collar that was wound around Edrey's neck with a dark look swirling in his eyes.

Now, he was even gladder that he had always worn his collar. The leather strap that would usually seem like a constraint was now his lifesaver. If he was marked by Gorover, and the male marked another omega, then there was nothing that he could do. After all, alphas could mark and mate with as many omegas as they liked.

However, an omega could only get marked by an alpha once in their life. In addition to that, once an omega was marked, they would become sourly dependent on their alphas. The thought of being wholly dependent on another being seemed to send shivers down Edrey's spine.

He did not have to tilt his head up to look at Gorover, but he cocked his head slightly, "I am curious about your omega." The smile he shot at him was wide, causing the alpha to feel slightly dizzy.

"Ah. You want to see her picture?" he asked with a smile on his face. Edrey bobbed his head up and down in agreement.

Gorover pulled up his screen from his wrist and showed him a picture of the omega female that was his mate. Like many other omegas that Edrey had seen, she was petite. Her dark green hair was long and fell down her waist in light waves. She had light blue eyes that seemed to stare at him through the transparent screen.

However, Edrey wasn't concentrating on the picture. Instead, he had planted his gaze on the male that stood next to him, showing him the picture. His lips were slightly pulled up at the corners, and there was an undeniable spark in his eyes as he stared at the omega.

Edrey laughed at his own silliness. Of course, this whole time, he hadn't stood a chance.

He turned back to the omega. She was wearing a light dress that fell to her knees and a summer straw hat was on her head. Although the hat was an ancient item that did not conform to the fashion standards, it still managed to look good on her.

"She's beautiful, really pretty," Edrey spoke in a low voice. He really didn't stand a chance. Having lived with Gorover for such a long time, he better than anyone else the male's preferences in omegas.

They had spoken of it before he differentiated into one himself.

The female who seemed to stare at him through the screen checked all of the boxes that he never could. She was petite and had long hair. Her boobs, although not too large, were not too small either. From the picture, he could roughly estimate that he reached just above Edrey's chest, if not shorter.

How was he expected to fight with someone who was the perfect match for Gorover's preferences?

"She really is." Gorover subconsciously spoke out.

His words seemed to send a shock wave through Edrey's bones, and he could somewhat feel his head begin to spin. Is this what they called a heartbreak? The contents of his stomach seemed to be pushing themselves back up his throat.

Gorover shut his screen. "Now that you've seen her, are you ready to speak to…"

"Big brother!" a young voice spoke up from the staircase that led up to his room.

Edrey took a big step back, pushing Gorover from him in the process. Quickly blinking back his tears, the tall male turned to the stairs where the voice had come from.

A young boy much shorter than Edrey and Gorover walked up the stairs and stopped at the last step. His white hair bobbed up and down as he jumped up excitedly. "You're finally awake." He danced around Edrey like a little basketball.

Edrey felt a smile lift his cheeks up. "What are you doing in my space?" he raised his hand and patted the white locks that settled on the younger one's head.

"You didn't come to see me yesterday. You promised to read me a story. Momma kept me from your room, I just sneaked out."

Edrey laughed, his voice low. "Well, momma did well to keep you from my space. I would have smacked you if you came." He lowered his body to pick up the shorter boy and raised him up into the air.

"You can't hit me. I'm your favorite, remember?" the younger child rubbed his nose along his older brother's nape. The leather of the omega's collar lightly rubbed against his nose, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Of course, you're my favorite." Edrey rubbed his younger brother's white hair.

Then, he turned his gaze back to Gorover. "It looks like we will be forced to have this conversation another time." He smiled softly. "I'll take Terrie down first to have his meal. There's no doubt that he just wanted me there as he ate."

The two siblings walked away, leaving Gorover standing there, with a blank look on his face. Once they were out of eyeshot, Edrey took in a deep breath. "Thank goodness. I swear you have the best timing Terrie." He rubbed his cheek on his younger brother's hair.

"Hm?" Terrie lifted his head to look at his brother confusedly. "Will Edrey eat with me today? Mother and father said that they were coming home late."

"Well, that's alright. Let me eat with you today." Edrey gave his younger sibling a small smile.