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Aiden needed a moment to himself, only to himself, because the situation was horrible for him but worse for Lambert and he needed to calm down.

"Calm, calm, calm," he repeated tirelessly.

He couldn't believe his bad luck, running into another Witcher was already rare but then another Witcher hired for the same contract but by another town, he didn't think it had already happened to the other Cats. From this already abnormal basic observation, the rest was just even stranger and more stressful, the dead kikimora was a relief but the motionless body next to it was less so considering that humans were approaching it. He hadn't really had time to think about it, between the obscene remarks and the iron collar on the ground he had quickly figured it out and ran.

He had mated a stranger, perhaps a dying one. He had forced a bond on a poor Omega Witcher who had asked for nothing and would hate him. Right now, Lambert was in fear and pain, he was still wounded and his body had to hurt, and that was without mentioning the Omega heat that was about to be unleashed. He knew from Guxart that Omega Heat occurred even in Witchers, which was ridiculous considering their infertility, but hey...

"Damn, I got an Omega..."

Because that was the real problem now, everything he did would have to be thought of in relation to his Omega, he couldn't continue to be so carefree when someone else's life depended so completely on his own. If he died, Lambert would die. He wouldn't pretend to know much about Omegas beyond the classic obvious: a male Omega is hermaphroditic and a bonded Omega dies with his Alpha mate. And the Heat, the Omegas had Heats to attract mates and be bonded so that their Alpha's would stay to protect them for the time of vulnerability while waiting for children to be born. The rest was a blur, he didn't really know how the Omegas lived, in the Caravan they didn't live like humans, the Heats and Ruts were always watched over by a third member of the School who made sure there were no bites in the event that an Alpha or Omega Witcher wanted a partner of the opposite sex to keep them company, but generally everyone asked the Betas for help, even if they weren't mateable by Alphas or didn't have knots to satisfy the Omega instinct for over-fertility. Aiden had tried it before, of course, but it was a feeling he had found too overwhelming, too instinctive and not rational enough, and then he had preferred the Beta.

And now he found himself with an Omega of his own in his hands.

"Fuck... calm, calm, calm down Aiden, calm down..."

His nose was still full of Lambert's smell of panic and terror when he had mated him, acidic, pungent to the point of bringing tears to his eyes, a wave of pain had made Aiden waver just from the mixture of salty tears, blood and sweat, the flare of panic and the atrociously wounded man's attempt to push him away, his anguished whimpers...

Nausea gripped him and Aiden had to stop and vomit. He shouldn't have eaten, it was almost obvious he wasn't going to be able to handle his meal when he could still feel Lambert's blood on his tongue, but he had tried to keep some form of normality and rhythm to his life... it was a failure.

Nothing was normal, he needed to wake up and stop running.

And he would have to deal with Lambert's spontaneous Heat that would cause his Mating Rut.

He looked in the direction of the camp, his lips pursed. It was a complicated situation, but he really hoped to make things better with Lambert. Surely, the Wolf Witcher would soon see how much better it was for him to be mated to another Witcher than to a human, right? His reaction had scared him a little, he was brimming with terror, but that was probably just instinct right? It must have been because they didn't know each other, and because their generation wasn't like Guxart's, back then Witchers of all designations mated, enjoying the pleasures of life at that time when Witchers were still numerous enough to afford to lose their Omega members, but today that was no longer the case.

At least Lambert was energetic and combative, he had woken up quickly and had already healed well, he would soon be on his feet. His main concern was his throat, he had seen the Witcher move in his sleep so paralysis was out of the question - and fortunately so, because otherwise he would have died, Aiden would have finished him off, living a still life to die slowly would have been cruel - but he had feared damage to his voice or a brain shock.

He cleaned his mouth carefully and filled a bottle before turning back, walking slowly to calm his heart, he didn't want to worry Lambert with his own worry. He smiled slightly as he walked back, Lambert had wrapped himself in his cape, it was cute. The smell of pre-heat took away his smile. The emergency for them now was to find a room somewhere to lock themselves in a place comfortable enough to pass their biological imperatives.

He could already smell how the Wolf's scent was changing to attract him, and damn, did he smell fucking delicious.

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Lambert had kept the blade, but his words came back to him when he helped him on his mare: "A good Omega doesn't look his Alpha in the eye". Lambert seemed to believe this and never looked him in the eye, it was so strange, had the Wolves changed so much since Guxart was young? Considering how old the Cat was, it was possible, but Aiden didn't understand how a Witcher School could make their Omegas so submissive and... frail, fragile. He seemed to have no personality, no character, he waited for orders and obeyed whatever he told him, otherwise standing awkwardly still and passive.

Every reaction seemed to confirm this, and he wondered if Lambert was even aware that he was pre-Heat, because aside from the very tantalizing smell, the Omega rubbed his belly from time to time, looking uncomfortable from the cramps inside his body that was fully integrating that he was now half of a duo and had to hold on to the Alpha long enough to carry his offspring before the Alpha went to find a better Omega. It was funny how all the Omega Witchers he knew were the complete opposite of Lambert, he couldn't wait to tell Gaëtan, Dragonfly and maybe even Guxart if he felt bold enough that an Omega wouldn't look his Alpha in the eye.

He helped Lambert on and off his mount, not wanting him to tug at his wounds, and found that while Lambert wasn't looking at his face, he was looking at his medallion a lot. Of course... what a jerk! Aiden wanted to slap himself, it was normal for Lambert to be uncomfortable, the history between their Schools had its own particular brand of bullshit and stupidity, and he was still vulnerable and hurt, dependent on the goodwill of a guy who could be an enemy. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to reason with Lambert at the moment, he would have to wait until after the Omega Heat for a real discussion to be possible, he was clearly too scared to be convinced by words and soon he would be too irrational for anything not involving a hand on his cock and a knot in his cunt, he would just have to show his goodwill through his actions.

Lambert looked like hell, his eyes were blurry with Heat and his hands were so tight on his reins that Aiden had a hard time getting him to let go and get off. He rode straight to the only inn in the small town - it looked more like a hamlet than a village, but at least it was a clean place and the buildings weren't bad - leaving his horse with a fearful young man and supported Lambert, who leaned awkwardly against him, moaning softly in discomfort. The innkeeper recoiled in fear at the sight of Aiden's eyes and clearly worried about what he wanted to do with the pre-Heated Omega in his arms until Lambert gently swept the room with his own golden eyes. With slit pupils the man leaned toward Aiden as the Witcher beckoned.

"This is my companion, we need a room for his Heat, I have money. And a bath, please."

"Yes of course, here, upstairs on the right, at the end of the corridor on the left."

He lifted Lambert more than he assisted him upstairs and was satisfied with the bed.

"You should sleep, your injuries must not have made the trip pleasant."

"I'm fine," Lambert answered immediately

A real pigheaded guy. They would get along well.

"Stop it, go to bed."

He put his bag away in the storage box on the right wall while Lambert went over his left shoulder to approach the bed. He needed to get the rest of his stuff back, pay for the room and pay for the horses. He wasn't going to look to see if anyone needed a Witcher, he didn't want to be tempted to leave now, he didn't know what Lambert would want to do with his Heat but just in case he had to stay there to protect him.

When he returned, Lambert was already sweating slightly from the Heat that was setting in and woke up with an annoyed grunt. Aiden hid his smile: that was the real Lambert.

"What... what is that?"

"It's your heat, Lambert," he replied, knowing the other man wasn't expecting an answer to his question.

"My heat?" Repeated the Wolf with an obvious confusion. "But my heat won’t start for weeks!"

It would seem that he had guessed correctly, the Omega didn't know what was happening to him, he was too injured to spot that the symptoms of Heat were added to the healing wounds.

"It's to encourage the chances of reproduction, the body induces spontaneous heat right after the bite to hold the Alpha mate and entice him to stay, have a litter and settle down. Basically your body is trying to get a knot before a possible abandonment. This is basic Omega biology, how do you not know this?"

"There hadn't been an Omega in a few decades... I wasn't told too much about it besides avoiding getting mated."

"I can understand that. It goes both ways, if you're wondering. The scent of an Omega that you yourself have mated causes a stronger reaction for the Alpha that just formed the bond than the other Alphas. So basically, I would be trapped in a false rut for a few days as well. That's why we're here, it's safer than the forest. More pleasant too."

The news didn't seem to satisfy him and Aiden understood, he himself didn't like the mental fuzziness of the Ruts, so having an extra one this year wouldn't make him happy.

Well, if he had to think about the so ideal smell, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

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At one point, he was so hot himself and his sex was already so sore between his legs from Lambert's smell and his needy, attractive moans that he had to remove some clothes. Lambert had undressed and pushed back the covers, using his own slick to masturbate with one hand, fingering himself furiously with four fingers with the other. He moaned, gasped and asked him in disordered stutters to come and fuck him. It took more self-restraint to Aiden than he would have believed not to turn him over and to fuck him without preamble, it was very dangerous. Still, he reached up to place his hand on Lambert's burning skin, worried about how his wounds would progress if he continued to move too much, and Lambert visibly relaxed as he breathed in the pheromones he could sense from his wrist.

"Fuck me, please Alpha, take me, I'll be good, I swear I'll be good, I promise..."

Aiden gagged him immediately, if he continued to beg him like this, between his desirable scent, his alluring allure and his voice broken with desire, Aiden didn't know if he would be able to keep his personal resolution to do nothing until they could actually talk. Fuck, those hopeful eyes and dilated pupils... No, focus Aiden.

"Damn, Wolf..." he swallows, "you don't really want to, that's your heat talking. I should get out, I'm not doing any good staying."

"No!" exclaimed the Omega. "No, don't go, please don't go... please, don't leave me!"

Lambert was gripping him harder and harder, begging him and... he was bursting with fear, Aiden couldn't leave him. He gently rubbed his head, his hair was already damp with sweat.

"I want to stay, Lambert," the Cat began gently, "but I can't fuck you. Understand me, you'd regret it. I can hug you, if that helps?

And here Lambert really put his resolve to the test as he laid him down on the bed, covering him and rubbing their sexes together, frantically stroking their bodies against each other, moaning smuttily... Fuck, his teeth were on his neck...

"You... you don't really want it, sorry," he insisted, swallowing very hard.

From so close, he could feel it even better, and he could feel the Omega's slickness wetting his pants and touching his cock, tight and painfully hard in his clothes. Mastering an Omega lost in the Heat was easy, he reversed their positions and put all his weight and strength into forcing Lambert to stay in that posture - unable to touch his cock, for Aiden that was the most urgent thing with this uncomfortable situation that left him breathing hard.

But Lambert felt bad, so he reached down so his Omega could sniff him and rubbed a leg against his sex until Lambert got the idea and sought some form of relief on his thigh. It wasn't ideal, but if he had to move his hand closer to Lambert's crotch, he doubted he could stop.

Lambert was still shaking and begging for more, describing very specifically what he was willing to do for him. He was stammering and moaning that he would let him take as his Alpha wanted, that he would let himself be bent over, that he wanted him, that he needed him, that he felt empty, that he wanted his kids. Aiden could feel his cock filling up and his knot growing from the excess of excitement and desire and lust in the air, and he noticed at one point that he was breathing in a full mouthful, sniffing the Omega... his Omega, that smelled so good and so strong just for him. His Omega who wanted him, who begged him, who needed him, who wanted to carry his children.

He licked his neck gently and Lambert opened his neck and moaned as he nibbled his mating mark, hugged him and rubbed himself with renewed vigour on his thigh.

He had never wanted an Omega so much, he understood why Witchers had once mated, it was just divine. He wanted to fuck him, to stuff him, to fill him with his seed and children, and nothing had felt so good as stripping off his clothes to touch his Omega.

The skin-to-skin contact was perfect and addictive, he wanted more... he wanted it all.

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Aiden wasn't entirely sure Lambert was really listening to him, but at least he was aware and he was rational. More or less...

He wasn't crying anymore, that was the main thing.

He finished bandaging his right arm with a frown, checking that his movements were still fluid enough: they were. He had bitten himself to the blood and concentrated on that to keep from cracking, but he had really thought it wouldn't be enough. The smell of blood had distracted him when his Rut was fully settled and Lambert was completely lost in his Heat, he had never had such a hard time with his nature. He had never felt that he was so out of control during his previous Ruts shared with Omegas, he had never felt that he couldn't hold himself back... on the other hand he had never tried.

Lambert groaned in his sleep, instinctively moving closer to him, and Aiden retrieved his shirt to mop his sweaty face and chest. He bit the inside of his mouth at the tempting sound the Wolf made when he passed a little too sharply over his erect, sensitive nipples, but he thankfully didn't wake up, his Heat along with a difficult recovery had worn him down.

I never did it...

Aiden winced and enjoyed the cool air that came through the window to brush his face. He would prefer the air to be completely clean and not smell so much like slickness, cum and sweat, but oh well.

I never did it...

Lambert had started to become lucid again when Aiden himself lost all sense of reality and stroked himself against his Omega, clinging to the last shreds of his sanity to not just fuck this perfect being before him. The shame and fear of his Omega had soured his mood, passing through the blur and haze until the words made sense, and he froze even as his hands slid over Lambert's spread thighs.

I never did it...

Aiden didn't just have an ideal Heated Omega in his arms, an Omega who could make him babies – he didn't know why he thought that but hey, his mind was too determined for the small rational part of his brain to compensate for the lust – and a Witcher, able to withstand more muscular sex than humans... he had a scared, virginal Omega.

As soon as he had fully integrated it, he'd sought a distraction before even Lambert's lack of consent was insufficient to stop him, he didn't want to take that risk, it was something Guxart had taught them all and none of them wanted to disappoint him.

"Breathe, it's okay."

"Don't do it, please, Alpha, don't do it..."

Lambert cried, his legs shaking, and Aiden turned them so they were on their sides and facing each other to take his Omega in an awkward embrace. It would be harder for him to fuck him in this position.

The worst part was the breathing, he couldn't stop breathing but every breath filled him with desire, and Lambert's scent was so inviting and desirable that he didn't know how to fight it. He tried a simple hug but realized it was insufficient when he noticed that his body, attracted by the warmth and promise of his Omega, was instinctively rubbing against Omega's slippery thighs, which immediately spread his legs to welcome him.

However, Lambert had started to cry again.

It was necessary to cover the smell and to leave the spiral of desire of promised pleasure. His forearm followed the shoulders of Lambert, that he shook with a firm hand on the shoulder. He did not hesitate, he had to at least try.

He squeezed, hard, breaking the flesh and drawing blood. He wanted to hurt, and he didn't stop until he felt a throbbing pulse throughout his arm that overwhelmed the waves of desire and lust.

He stroked himself firmly, if he managed to cum at least once, the pressure of his body on the reproductive part would decrease to tolerable and anyway his body could not harden immediately, he could not sink into the velvety tight warmth of the Omega if he was not hard.

He spread himself over Lambert's belly with a broken gasp and kept his nose over his injured arm and felt the urges to "fuck your Omega before someone else does" recede.

"I'm sorry, I'm so fucking sorry."

Lambert was crying in his arms, giving no sign that he had heard him, clutching sluggishly at his chest, his body must have hurt so much with his injuries... Aiden noticed his hard, erect penis and gently took it in his hand. Lambert buried his head against his chest and pushed his hips into his hand, but Aiden wanted to try to get his consent.

"Do you want me to help you, Lamb? I think that should make you feel a little better."

Lambert moaned but didn't answer, so Aiden pulled his left hand away from his cock to rest his hand on his hip, gently stroking the wet skin. He hummed softly into his short brown hair, making soothing noises.

About ten minutes later, cheeks flushed, his Omega finally said something, and even though his breath was short and his pupils unnaturally dilated, he spoke and it was a nice development:

"Yes, please."

Aiden kissed his temple and took him in hand, his teeth ready to reopen the skin on his arm, checking the Omega's reactions to determine the best approach. In the end, he didn't need to do much, the hot Omega was too overstimulated and eager to last long, and he spread himself in his hand after some effort.

He had hugged him, and now that he'd fallen asleep, there he was: wounded on his own to protect his wounded Omega from himself.

He sighed: he just wanted it to end quickly, he had never experienced such a miserable Rut.