Because I Want To - Grace R. Duncan Page 0,3

was no way Matt knew of to undo the link. The worst part was, only the omega seemed to suffer. The alpha wasn’t tied down like the omega was.

They’d taught all about alphas, betas, and omegas, heats and suppressants, and the physiology behind it back in their freshman year of high school, not long after the tests they’d done to find out their secondary sex. Matt hadn’t understood it all at the time. He’d been too focused on what he could do to protect Adam.

Now he wished he’d paid more attention.

All he knew was that it had something to with a chemical change in the omega. When the bite occurred, the omega’s body adapted to the hormones from the alpha who did it. If the omega tried to have sex and introduce hormones not from their alpha—even if it was a beta or another omega—it caused any number of problems, the least of which was nausea and other discomfort, and the worst of which involved excruciating pain.

Matt could certainly understand being hesitant to take that step. He’d no doubt give it a hell of a lot of thought before he did. But if their roles were reversed and Adam offered to bite him, he didn’t think he’d hesitate in accepting the pairing, certainly not refusing as Adam was.

The best Matt could come up with was that Adam didn’t love him and didn’t want to be tied to someone he didn’t love. The truth of that hurt, but Matt tried not to focus on that as much as possible. If he could still be with Adam at least this way—friends with benefits, helping him through heat—then it would be enough. He wanted to be Adam’s alpha. He wanted to build a life and family with Adam. But if Adam didn’t want it, there wasn’t a damned thing Matt could do about it.

He could force it. Adam wasn’t entirely with it during his heat. Matt could remove the condom when Adam wasn’t paying attention and bite him without the least bit of effort.

But as much as he wanted with Adam, Matt wasn’t about to throw away what he did have by raping his best friend. He’d focus on taking care of Adam through his heats, enjoying the time he did spend with Adam, and try to forget the rest.

With a sigh, Matt focused on crossing Hazelwood Avenue to catch the bus. He had a feeling his shift was going to take forever.

Chapter 2

Adam flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. He hadn’t missed the “Why not me?” Matt had said and was well aware of what Matt was talking about. He’d have to be stupid to not know that Matt wanted to bite him, entirely aside from the two times he’d offered. But there was no way Adam was going to tie himself to someone, even the best friend he’d been with for most of his life. For one thing, Matt was his best friend—albeit with benefits—but that was all. Adam was well aware Matt didn’t share Adam’s feelings; it was completely one sided from Adam’s direction. Despite the kisses to his temple, despite helping him through heat, Matt had never said anything about love, so Adam kept his own mouth shut and refused Matt’s bite.

Because Adam was sure if he tied them together, Matt would never leave, causing all sorts of problems.

The problems that came when a bonded pair split were horrible on the omega. Adam’s own mother was an omega who’d been left by his alpha father not long after Adam had been born. It wasn’t until a few years later that his mom had met a new alpha and fallen in love that Adam understood just how bad the effects of being tied together were.

It was possible to break the bond between an alpha and an omega. If another alpha bit an omega, he could essentially overwrite the bond the omega had with the previous alpha. It had to be full, penetrative sex without any sort of barrier, but it could be done. Except, as Adam understood it, the process was excruciating.

Somewhere around the time Adam turned five—about two years after his mom married his new dad—Adam had gone next door to stay with Matt and his parents. But when he’d forgotten his favorite teddy bear, he’d snuck back over to his own house to get it.

As he crept up the stairs, he’d heard odd noises come from his parents’ bedroom. They’d left the door open—Adam