“I think I’m good now,” he said, “but thanks.”
Calder flattened his lips but didn’t push. Instead, he said, “I noticed you finished up the cakes for this Saturday and made all the bases for next weekend. Does that mean…?”
Zinn’s cheeks warmed. He and Calder had not spoken about his impendingsituationother than an awkward discussion a month ago when he’d told his boss he was going off suppressants and would eventually need six or seven days off for his heat and recovery. He could not predict the exact date, but it would likely arrive within three months.
Coughing, Zinn confirmed that his heat was now less than two weeks away. “I’m hopeful it won’t cause too much disruption at the bakery. That’s why I’m trying to get ahead. I know it can be a pain when you employ omegas, having to deal with this, so I want to minimize the inconvenience.”
Zinn’s attempt to chortle fell flat, considering the severe expression on Calder’s face.
“Your heat is neither a disruption nor an inconvenience. It’s a natural part of your biology and you never need to apologize for it. Not to anyone, and especially not to me.” He placed his palm on Zinn’s knee.
Zinn shivered as a snap of electricity traveled along his leg. “Thank you.”
Calder retracted his hand but remained close. He took a few deep breaths before broaching a subject they’d never discussed, even though Zinn knew the alpha had wanted to ask.
“Sunshine, I realize it’s none of my business, but I’m curious what plans you’ve made for your heat. Do you have an alpha friend who is going totake care of you?”
As much as Calder’s presumption in asking something so personal triggered his defenses, Zinn had lowered a few of his walls over the past two years, particularly in recent months. Calder was more than his employer, so it was fair that the man was worried about him.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” he answered carefully. “And I haven’t made good friends since I moved to this province. Definitely not any alpha friends. Honestly, I was sort of in denial about this heat. It was due over six months ago, but I kept taking suppressants.”
“That’s not ideal, right? I mean, Denni never used them, but I remember learning.”
“No, you’re correct,” Zinn said, discomfited as always by Calder’s mentioning his late husband. “That’s why my doctor took me off them, and the reason my pre-heat symptoms are so bad.”
“Ah…but if you don’t have a friend helping you, do you mind if I ask how you’re planning tohandle things?” Calder’s tone was gentle.
Zinn found the alpha’s slight prudishness endearing.
“What are you asking, cap?” he challenged with a wry smile. “You want to know who’s going to be fucking me through my heat?”
Calder sucked in a breath. “Well, I suppose…I…well…yes.”
The answer was more complicated than Calder was probably thinking. Like most omegas, Zinn’s heats came every other year. For his last three, his fathers had hired betas who got him through with toys and, during his second day deliriums, donated alpha semen.
Zinn was lucky they’d managed without him needing to get fucked by the alpha his parents kept on standby. Still, the experiences had been awful, since his fathers had made the arrangements without bothering to ask him what he wanted. He’d been reluctant to go through heat again, even knowing he’d be in control this time. When he felt the first signs last summer, he’d immediately gone on suppressants.
He hadn’t actually been fucked by anyone—alpha, beta, or omega—since his first heat, when he’d gotten pregnant.No, when Zeller had gotten pregnant.
And no one could ever find out about that.
Especially not Calder.
The alpha waited patiently for an answer. Zinn dusted his hands over his thighs. No use dwelling on the past. The urgent matter at hand was his impending heat. It shouldn’t be embarrassing to explain his decisions to Calder. He was doing what he had to do to take care of himself.
His doctor had explained that, because of his suppressant usage, and because his last heats hadn’t been properly serviced by an alpha, he’d be unlikely to make it through this one with only toys and donated semen.
Although heat services had made huge strides over the past decade, there was no way around his body’s need to get legitimately penetrated and bred. Dr. Shey had been clear. If he didn’t treat this heat with the seriousness it required, he would be at risk for long-term disabilities.
As much as it galled him, his omega body needed an alpha.
“I found an omega-owned heat service I trust,” Zinn said. Then he realized Calder might not have kept up with the news. “You’re aware that since a High Court ruling ten years ago, heat services can be owned by any gender?”
“Yes.”
“So they’re a more viable option now for single omegas like me. A lot less sketchy. The coordinator there connected me with an alpha who will make himself available during my heat.”
Zinn thought about the amiable alpha he’d video chatted with a few weeks ago. The heat service had done a great job vetting him and matching them up. The man was younger than him, a grad student. Monetary transactions were handled by the service, Zinn paid them and they paid the alpha, so it created the sense of being organic and friendly between the two of them.