CHAPTER 475: A PROUD ALPHA

Andrew stared at the man beside him, bruised, exhausted, asleep, and covered his mouth.

It was inappropriate that he was smiling. Especially after how heavy yesterday had been, but...was it wrong that he thought that he looked so pretty marked up the way that he was?

Andrew was a little surprised. When he checked the clock, it had only been a few hours. Yes, it was the next day and they had gone into some of the day, but Andrew felt...refreshed. Done.

His rut had lasted less than 24 hours.

Andrew had fucked the rut out of himself. Or, it was more appropriate to say that Maxwell had fucked the rut out of Andrew. He grinned. He would have to tell Maxwell that. He’d probably laugh.

He hoped he laughed.

Andrew was already coming out of his rut before Maxwell told him he was tapping out. That was how he was able to stop once Maxwell had conked out. Maybe he came on his stomach, but he felt that was par for the course and Andrew made sure to clean up Maxwell after. He’d taken them both to the bath, washed each of them off, and then he’d tucked the exhausted other man into bed.

He’d kept Maxwell’s collar on the whole time, not fully trusting himself. He knew that he could undo it. Maxwell had never gotten those collars that were locked to his fingerprint. Just ones that could be undone with a buckle. He trusted Andrew.

It was foolish to trust any alpha, true or otherwise, but it warmed Andrew’s heart. Especially given how strong of a desire that Andrew had the previous night. It was like a tsunami of urges had pushed down on his shoulders. Andrew had wanted to mark him up, get him pregnant, the whole lot.

He had no idea outside of Maxwell being a good negotiator that he had managed not to do it. Either that, or the man distracted him. It was a bit blurry, those details. Andrew had certainly made up for not marking him by marking him in a different way. Andrew had noticed how many hickies were all over the man. As well as a few bite marks that he had also taken care of.

He was covered in bandages. Andrew felt guilty, and proud at the same time. He was preparing himself for getting yelled at. Probably not by Maxwell, if he was honest. Someone else was going to yell at him, he just didn’t know which of the older adults in his life would be doing so.

Andrew slid his gaze towards his phone. He had avoided looking at it. He had left it in the bathroom yesterday when they were getting ready to shower and then he’d gotten ill. He’d brought it into the bedroom after he’d bathed Maxwell. He’d been avoiding checking the time and to see the influx of messages asking how they were doing.

However, it was time to face the music.

Andrew reached for the phone and it vibrated before he could even put his hands on it. He didn’t check who the caller I.D. was, just answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing answering the phone?" It was Kim, and she seemed surprised.

"You...called?" Andrew said carefully and heard her sigh on the other side.

"Yes, I called, but I wasn’t expecting an answer. Especially if you were in your rut. Are you sane speaking to me right now? Where is Max?" She asked rapidly and Andrew turned his gaze towards his sleeping fiancé. He brushed a few hairs out of his face, Maxwell groaning and turning, cuddling into Andrew’s body next to him.

It was so freaking cute how he searched for Andrew even after a rut.

"I’m relatively sane. It was...rough. It happened so suddenly too. I think I got it out of my system, which sounds crazy to my ears. Can ruts be that short?" Andrew asked and Kim let out a relieved sigh on the other end.

"Sometimes. If it was an artificial rut, yes. That’s what we call ruts that are started by outside sources." Kim clarified and Andrew nodded. He felt like he’d read that term before in one of his school books. "But you’re feeling okay? Can I speak to Max to make sure he’s okay?" Kim asked and Andrew sighed.

"You can’t. Not because I don’t want you to talk to him, but because he’s asleep. I tuckered him out." Andrew tried not to sound too proud about that, but from the way Kim let out a chuckle, it didn’t work.

"It’s a good thing that I called you then. Luis is beside herself with worry over you two. No one else went into a sudden rut, though Ben came close. We’ve been keeping an eye on both Thomas and I, but my guess is because we’re older, we aren’t as affected by the pheromones we’ve smelled. You know, we passed our prime." Kim joked. Andrew let out a sigh.

"Don’t say that, even as a joke. I will say, Maxwell was with it until he said he was going to sleep. I think he’s fine, we were safe, he just needs some rest." Andrew said before he hesitated. "How is everyone else?" He asked and Kim let out another chuckle.

"Noah is feeling the effects of his actions last night. Jenny was particularly mean to him by grinding coffee as soon as he woke up. He looked ready to commit murder, but you and I know he wouldn’t hurt a fly. Elijah is awake and looks like a damn pufferfish, but he’s being well taken care of." She let out a sigh. "As for those who went to the hospital? Michael called Thomas and let him know that most of the omegas are okay. A few haven’t woken up from their heats so the hospital has them locked down in the secure part of the hospital for their safety. William also called and spoke to them about the omegas which I thought was good of him." Andrew also thought that was a good thing.

It showed that he knew that the family was involved, and that he cared somewhat. Andrew also took in the fact that Nicole’s fiancé was named Elijah. A pretty name for the man.

"So most of the omegas are awake. Are they okay? Mentally? Physically? Anything about Nicole?" Andrew asked and Kim laughed.

"I can tell you are yourself since you’re asking so many questions. Most are battered, but not from Nicole. Lots of bruises, some hypothermia since they were all unclothed and it’s December, but no lost limbs or unintentional bite marks. So, physically, they are doing okay. Mentally? Well, that’s going to be harder to understand. We have professionals working with them as we speak and the police and being very cooperative with us as well. It helps that we are clearly looking out for the best outcome for these omegas. Our lawyers, all of them, and more than willing to help them build a case against the Abraham family and we made sure that every omega who is aware at the moment knows that as well." Andrew found himself nodding along to her words.

He was glad that they had done that. Andrew didn’t really have a clue when it came to taking things to court. He’d never had to do that, and he was glad that was being left to the experts in the area. He was sure if Maxwell was awake, he would also be helping out in that regard.

"Nicole?" Andrew asked tentatively and waited as silence rang on the other side.

"She’s not doing well." Kim told him, not holding the punches. "She woke up incredibly distressed. To the point that they had to put her under. I was calling because I think it would do her some good to have you there and for her to know that it’s over. She probably recognised that you came, but I don’t think she recognised that it’s over. She’s out. I don’t want to take Elijah there until after you’ve been there, and Noah is in no state to be going to her side right now."

Andrew sat there for a moment, staring at the sweet man next to him before he sighed.

"Understood. I don’t want to leave Max here alone though, and I don’t feel comfortable packing him up while he’s asleep. He can’t consent to it, and I don’t want him to wake up scared." Andrew told Kim and she made a soft noise of understanding.

"Do you want the kids to come over? I know it’s not the same as having one of us there, but it’s at least someone." Kim suggested. "They would be happy to be there too. It’s only a few houses away as well. They could get there in a heartbeat." Kim said and Andrew felt his lips curl up slightly. He thought about it for a moment.

He had considered calling Maria, but she was probably up to her eyeballs in getting everything ready for Christmas. He should let her know what is going on, but asking for the kids to come over was probably the first right step.

"I think he wouldn’t mind that. I’ll wake him up, or at least attempt to wake him up and tell him where I’m going. I’ll call you again when I’m getting in the car. You can send the kids over whenever." Andrew told Kim and she shuffled around.

"Perfect. They were asking how you were doing already, so I know they’re up. Kay. See you soon, Andy." Kim hung up and Andrew extracted himself from Maxwell to go get dressed. Currently, he was naked, but he needed to get dressed so that he didn’t shock the kids.

He watched as Maxwell’s face scrunched up, clearly displeased to lose his Andrew scent diffuser. Andrew grinned, turned, and went to his nest to pull out something that he’d worn recently so it was more potent. He handed it over, tucking it around Maxwell and watched as he relaxed.

He was so damn cute. Andrew couldn’t even imagine how he could get cuter. Andrew gave himself a few moments to stare at his sweet fiancé before he turned and got dressed. He made sure to wear something from the nest that wasn’t as strong smelling so that he could add it back to the nest after. He also grabbed one of his shirts and a pair of underwear for Maxwell. He wanted him to be dressed, somewhat, in case he went looking for Andrew in a panic.

Maxwell would be very upset if the kids caught sight of him naked. He would be terrified that he’d scarred them. Andrew lived with the same fear. They were not his kids, and he’d worked hard to make sure that they weren’t scarred already.

The doorbell rang just as Andrew was tucking Maxwell back into bed. Maxwell had not woken up in the slightest as Andrew pulled clothes onto him. He wondered if Maxwell was aware he was a deep, deep sleeper. He didn’t think so.

However, he had run out of time to wake the man up. He would have to let Maxwell know the plan after he’d let the kids in. Andrew wasn’t on a timeline to get to the hospital after all. They just wanted to test something out with him.

Andrew wondered what part of the hospital that they were keeping Nicole in? Would it be familiar to him? God, he hoped not. Most of the places that Andrew remembered did not have good memories for him.

He tried to brush those thoughts to the side as he ran down the stairs two at a time. Only to find the two kids outside, plugging their noses.

"This place stinks." Alyssa told him, a sparkle in her gaze and Andrew’s mouth opened before he closed it. He grinned, reaching out and ruffling her hair.

"You twerp. Give me a second. I’ll get the air circulating it all out." Andrew told them as they stepped into the house.

"Mom and Mommy never even smell this bad." Leonardo commented and Andrew groaned. Welp, he’d just given Kim and Jenny something to discuss. Great. He’d tell her about that later.