Forget the Moon! - 8. Chapter 8

When Regan woke up, he felt a mixture of soreness and satisfaction. Both were feelings that the young wolf had mixed thoughts about. On the one hand, his Omega hormones were trying to tell him to be happy that he had a robust and healthy Alpha as a mate that would care for him and any of their future cubs with little to no difficulty. On the other hand, the Alpha seemed to be controlling and far too organized and collected to be considered normal.

With a sigh, the young man slipped out of bed and practically waddled towards the kitchen. If there was one thing he couldn't complain about, it was the Alpha's stamina. Gideon certainly didn't tire easily. Regan placed his hands on his hips as he gazed about the kitchen. Though he tried many times, he never got the hang of everyday cooking. In spite of it, Reg felt he should give it one more try. He figured that an omelet or two would be simple enough.

He got as far as scrambling the eggs and cutting up different ingredients like ham, onions, and tomatoes haphazardly into the mixture. But he forgot to add oil or butter to the pan to ensure that the mixture didn't stick. He also grabbed the spatula with holes in it and the pieces of omelet that he did manage to cook all the way through began to slide through the holes.

When the remaining mixture began to burn, he quickly tried to scrape it off onto a plate, but he grasped the pan far too close to the edge of the handle and burned the webbing on his hand.

"AH!" He hissed as he dropped the pan and shook his hand.

There was a roar from deeper in the house. Regan heard a bang loud enough to make him jump, followed by a crash and the thunder of running feet. The Omega expected to hear those feet dashing down the stairs next. Instead, there was a snarl and a long second or two of eerie silence followed by a massive thud and what sounded like someone large skidding on a rug. Regan stood with wide eyes, watching the doorway. Sure enough, moments later, his mate was barreling through the door with extended claws and bared teeth.

"Who harmed you?!" Gideon was next to Regan in a flash, shoving the Omega behind him as he eyed the room as though evil ninjas were about to spring out of the cupboards. "Where are they?!"

"I-I harmed me...I mean, I harmed myself," Regan tried to explain. "I burned myself on the pan…"

As Gideon's eyes fell to the slightly smoking pan on the floor, Regan noticed the Alpha's irises had turned the burnished gold of a wolf. Regan watched in shock as his mate snatched up the pan and brought it down on the edge of the marble counter, snapping the pan from the handle before flinging the handle hard enough to embed it into the wall across the room. The pan clanged to the floor, where it was punted out of the room by Gideon's bare foot. In fact, Regan noted, all of the big and unfairly handsome man was completely without a stitch of clothing.

"Baby, why would you hurt yourself?" Gideon asked, sounding horrified as he scooped up the Omega, flipped on the cold water, and shoved Regan's burned hand under the water.

"I mean I didn't do it on purpose," Regan countered when he was finally able to raise his gaze back to Gideon's face instead of being distracted with the rest of his gloriously nude form. "It was an accident! I told you I couldn't cook." With a petulant grumble, he glared at the burnt shreds of omelet he managed to place on the plate. "I was trying to make us omelets."

"And I can take care of this burn on my own," the Omega huffed as he tried unsuccessfully to tug his hand back. "I'm not a little kid!"

"SIMON!" Gideon bellowed, nearly deafening Regan. The Alpha turned his attention to his mate's hand, keeping the burn under the cold water. Gideon spoke without looking up. "If you can't cook, why on earth were you using a stove, which is hot, with a pan, also hot, where you could have, and did, injure yourself? I have a cook. He would have left us pre-made meals in the refrigerator!" Gideon growled and glared at the door. "SIMON!"

Regan's chest rose and fell as he tried not to huff. "I was trying to be considerate," He countered. "See if I ever try to make you anything again, you big worrywart!"

They were interrupted by a young male wolf with dyed black hair who slouched into the room. "You hollered, Gideon?" he asked. "Sorry, it took so long. You said you wanted, ah, privacy."

"I need burn cream! Right now!"

"Shit. I mean, shoot." Simon straightened, standing at an impressive height. "How bad is it?" he asked as he rooted in a drawer under the toaster oven that could probably toast a whole loaf at once. "Got it. Is he allergic to arnica?"

"I don't think so, give it to me," Gideon demanded, reaching out with his free hand to make grabby motions. Simon tossed it over, and the Alpha finally removed Regan's hand from the chilly water. The Omega was sure he was about to prune from how long he'd held it under the icy stream. Gideon carefully patted the damp appendage with a clean kitchen towel and inspected it. "Are you allergic to arnica? Does it hurt very badly? Are you feeling faint?"

Regan gave the new wolf a once over. "I'm not allergic to anything, and I'm fine. Now, who is this?" He questioned in an accusing manner. The young Omega didn't even stop to wonder how he quickly shifted from indignancy to jealousy. "Isn't he a little too good-looking to be hired help?"

Gideon's eyes narrowed, and he growled menacingly at Simon, who put his hands up and took several big steps backward. The black-haired wolf raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. He seemed to be biting his lower lip as though holding back laughter.

When Simon had reached the other side of the kitchen, Gideon turned back to Regan. "Why are you noticing how good-looking Simon is?" the Alpha demanded. "I am your mate. I will eviscerate anyone who puts their hands on your body." Gideon leaned down until they were nose to nose. "Remember that before you start ogling." The Alpha tipped his head to whisper in Regan's ear. "And then I will take you over my knee and spank you so you'll be sleeping on your stomach for a week."

Regan's face blossomed into a full blush. "Wha-huh? Wait, I meant you," he retorted with a visible pout. "You shouldn't be ogling him or anyone else!" He then frowned. "A-and how dare you threaten to spank me? I'm not a child." He then folded his arms and faced away from the Alpha in an indignant manner.

"I'm getting confused," Simon chimed in, unable to help himself. "Who do I get to ogle? You do have a fine ass, cousin. Should I expect the streaking and shouting to become a daily occurrence?"

"You will ogle NO ONE!" the Alpha shouted, glaring meaningfully at both Simon and Regan.

"You should have gone into theater, Gideon." Simon quipped, slouching against the wall. "Your ability to project and deafen half the town is an underused talent."

"You will speak to my mate and me with respect and deference, Simon. Or, so help me, I will send you right back to Aunt Doris and make sure she knows what you think of my ass." Gideon's voice was a low rumbling growl, and he looked ready to tear Simon's head off.

"I don't appreciate getting yelled at!" Regan huffed, his hands in fists at his sides. "I'm going outside. I need to go calm down." He grumbled as he headed towards the front door.

"Oh, no, you don't," Gideon said quickly, snagging Regan around the waist and boosting him to sit on the countertop. The Omega noticed there was a chip in the stone where Gideon had murdered the pan. "Let me see the burn," he demanded, unscrewing the cap of the ointment Simon had thrown to him.

Though the Omega scowled, he all but shoved the burnt hand in Gideon's face. "Here," he grumbled.

"We'll talk about respectful tones when speaking to me in front of others, later," the Alpha said softly as he slathered the oily goop on the tiny red spot Regan sported. It would have likely been gone in less than an hour without any medical attention. At least the goop didn't smell too terrible.

"You know what?" the Omega sassed. "I think I will go take that walk after all." Regan then hopped off the counter and headed towards the front door once more.

"Simon, get back to work," Gideon snapped. His voice was gentler when he spoke to Regan, catching the smaller man around the waist and stopping his escape. "Mate, you will come back to bed. I'll get you settled and get you something to eat. Then we'll talk."

"I don't want to go back to bed, and I've lost my appetite," Regan responded. "Just let me go for a walk."

"Simon, stop rubber-necking!"

"Fine, fine," the dark-haired wolf muttered with a long-suffering sigh as he reluctantly left the kitchen. "Most entertaining morning ever here at Casa Boring and I have to toddle off back to Boring-land…"

"Now, then," Gideon said, scooping up Regan as though he weighed nothing. "Up to bed. You can have a bath first if you'd like." The Alpha's stride was much more sedate than the mad dash he'd made into the kitchen.

"Fine," Regan replied, though he refused to look the taller man in the eye. "I'll go take a bath." Mentally, he whined about the Alpha's need for things to be tidy, including his own mate. Bossing him around. Not only him but his cousin, as well.

Before the Omega knew it, he was under the spray of water in the shower. Reg's gaze fell on a window that was cracked open just a bit. With a quick glance toward the bathroom door, he shoved the window open all the way and began to clamber out of it.

"I think I will have that walk, after all!" He called out to the Alpha. When he saw Gideon burst into the bathroom, he locked eyes with the Alpha and flicked him off with both hands before padding off around the block on his bare feet.

Regan moved faster when he heard the roar from behind him. He didn't run, though. It sounded like his pigheaded mate was still in the house. A moment later there was a massive crash and another roar. That one didn't sound like it came from within the house anymore.

Even though he was buck naked, he didn't mind taking a walk around the perimeter of the house. But, when he caught sight of the Alpha taking a sharp corner towards him, he broke into a run. "I said I wanted to go for a walk, not a run!" He called over his shoulder.

"Regan," Gideon growled. When the Omega didn't slow, let alone stop, Gideon stopped, tearing off his pants with a loud rip. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so he wasted no time dropping to hands and the tips of his toes. Regan knew that position. It was the easiest way to shift comfortably into wolf form without stumbling awkwardly. The Omega looked forward to make sure he wasn't going to slam into something. When he glanced back again, a massive silvery-gray wolf with black paws was glaring at him. Then the wolf was moving. Muscles bunched and released under sleek fur. He was big but fast.

And beautiful. The beast was gorgeous… And about to catch his wayward Omega mate.

Regan leaped nimbly over a fence. A couple of teenagers skateboarding across the street were quite impressed with how fast the streaker seemed to be running. But, then they saw the magnificent wolf that bounded right after him, hopping over the fence like it wasn't even there.

The Omega continued around the block, heading right back towards the house. "You are such a hothead, Holton!"

Gideon chuffed and nipped at Regan's heels, trying to herd him more quickly to the house.

"God freaking dammit," Regan huffed as he allowed the canine to urge him back inside. "Fine! I'm in the house! Ya happy?"

They were, indeed, in the house. That didn't seem to be quite enough for the Alpha. Gideon kicked the door shut with a back paw and jerked his head toward the stairs. For good measure, he bumped Regan and nipped his bare backside.

"H-hey! Watch the goods!" Regan huffed as he covered his buttcheeks with his hands and stomped his way up the stairs like a petulant child.

Gideon rolled his eyes and grumbled, nudging the backs of Regan's knees with his cold, wet nose.

Simon strolled into the entryway and looked up the stairs. "Hey, what's going-"

Gideon spun, and snarled viciously, snapping his teeth at his cousin. The Alpha's tail went up, trying to hide as much of his naked mate as possible.

Simon did an about-face and walked right back out again with one hand over his eyes. "I didn't see anything. Khonsu's balls, don't rip out my throat, Gideon. I'm going!"

"For crying out loud," Regan countered. "Like he didn't already see the two of us naked as the day we were born mere minutes ago."

In response, Gideon nipped Regan's butt again and then headbutted it until the Omega was up the stairs and into the master bedroom.

Though Regan continued to gripe, he stopped to glare at the canine once the two were all the way in the room. "Damn, but you're a beautiful beast. Why did Khonsu bless you so hard? You hardly deserve it, you prude."

Gideon huffed, shaking his big furred head. Regan was about to say something else less than complimentary when the huge wolf reared on his back paws and thumped the Omega in the chest with the front ones, knocking Regan onto his ass on the very nice rug. He didn't have time to do more than yelp in surprise before Gideon was on him. The large furred body caged him as tooth-filled jaws darted forward to get a careful grip on Regan's throat.

The Omega was furious. A part of him welcomed the warmth of the massive wolf, but the majority of him couldn't help but feel humiliated at the way he was being treated. He was no wayward pup!. Regan bared his throat elegantly to the Alpha, but his eyes were full of pure ire over the whole situation.

Gideon felt the tension coiled inside his mate and knew his throat tip, though lovely, was insincere. He tightened his teeth a fraction and let his body lower, allowing a bit of his weight rest on the much smaller man. It was enough to trap Regan's arms and legs, but not enough to cause discomfort. The Alpha's mate would learn, right now, how it would be between them and what the first steps were for making amends after royally fucking up. Step one was genuine, whole-hearted submission.

And Gideon could stay in that position all day if he had to. His mother had often bemoaned the Alpha's stubbornness as a child and Gideon had a feeling Regan would be doing the same.

The Omega had the same stubbornness inside as he continued to struggle and huff beneath the Alpha. It was as if the two of them were in a perpetual tug-of-war and refused to let go of the rope. Seconds turned to minutes. Fifteen minutes later, Regan finally slumped further against the rug. Though he closed his eyes, it wasn't so much a submission as a 'you win this battle' to him.

The teeth placed carefully against the tender skin of the Omega's throat released. Gideon licked the indentations until they disappeared after several seconds. The wolf lifted himself slowly and stepped back, sitting beside Regan's hip and looking at him sternly.

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