(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 152: There’s trash, and then there is bottom of the barrel trash

Chapter 152: There’s trash, and then there is bottom of the barrel trash

The research departments didn’t look that much different from the office spaces up above ground level, but Maxwell explained why they were below ground easily.

Scents.

There were less scents that could conflict with research underground. With above ground, there was a chance that windows or doors or anything like that could sneak into a chamber and even the smallest amount could change the outcome of a test.

It explained the giant de-scenting machine that was the front door to several departments that Andrew and Maxwell passed. Maxwell didn’t show Andrew those, and the reason was simple.

Andrew was doused in Maxwell’s pheromones. Practically a shield against all other pheromones since that was what Andrew liked, and Michael had recommended. Anything that would take away those pheromones before Andrew was ready was a bad plan.

It also explained some of the stunned looks that Andrew kept receiving from Maxwell’s employees, but Maxwell was strutting around so proudly that Andrew could barely feel embarrassed. Maxwell wasn’t letting him be embarrassed, and that was only more embarrassing. Maxwell knew his actions were out of line, but he simply didn’t care.

He didn’t care what his employees or others thought of him leading around the giant man behind him. He’d never been caught so obviously in a dating scandal, and it was Maxwell who was fueling the fire. Andrew wasn’t aware of these kinds of things since he’d tried his best to avoid tabloids, but he wasn’t an idiot. It could be damaging for a company if their CEO got in a bad scandal.

"Andrew, what are you thinking about?" Maxwell asked and Andrew flinched guiltily. Maxwell slid his gaze towards the taller man, an eyebrow raised and Andrew flushed.

"Uh, well, I was just..." Andrew swallowed. "Am I a bad scandal?" Andrew asked and Maxwell blinked before he laughed.

"No Baby, you aren’t a ’bad scandal’. Especially if it becomes known that you are associated with Kim and Jenny and the Desai’s. Are you worried about being a bad scandal?" He asked carefully, stopping their quick gait across the floor to turn to him. Andrew nodded quietly and Maxwell smiled up at him.

"I just don’t want to be a burden." Andrew muttered and Maxwell gave a soft sigh, placing a hand on his chest.

"You silly man." Maxwell muttered. "Give me a kiss." He ordered and Andrew would never turn him down. He leaned down, giving Maxwell a chaste kiss on the lips and it was Maxwell who deepened it in the middle of the hallway. Andrew’s face was flushed when Maxwell pulled away, a soft, warm look to his blue eyes. "Baby, you are never a burden. Are my actions making you think you are one?" Andrew grew uncomfortable.

"Not really, I just...I don’t want to hurt the company that you worked so hard to make." Andrew told him sincerely and Andrew watched as Maxwell trembled. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep, calming breaths, before he opened them again and yanked Andrew closer, pressing another deep, tongue-filled kiss against Andrew’s lips. Andrew’s head spun from the way that Maxwell devoured him.

"You need to be careful." Maxwell whispered against his lips, still holding onto the front of his suit. "If you don’t want to end up as a house husband again, you need to be careful when you seduce me, Dr. Knox. Or else I’m going to make sure you are within my reach at all times." Maxwell looked over Andrew slowly, and Andrew swallowed. "I am just as possessive as the rest of my family. I’m doing my best not to confine you to our home, Baby, so please, understand that my willpower isn’t as strong as you make it out to be." Andrew felt dizzy as Maxwell smoothed out the fabric he’d ruffled.

"I...seduced you?" Andrew asked and Maxwell nodded.

"Nothing is hotter to an omega like me than someone respecting and caring for the things I worked hard for. Damn it, I wish I could get alphas pregnant." Andrew nearly swallowed his tongue.

"I-I’m sorry I’m not an omega." Andrew meant every word and Maxwell paused, before he burst into laughter.

"That would have been quite the sight, wouldn’t it have? Two omegas mating with each other then an alpha? That would have been cute, but I prefer you as you are, Andy, and there are no medications out there that can change your secondary sex once you’ve already manifested. Believe me, I would know." He said it with a smile, but the way it tugged at Andrew’s heartstrings.

Andrew knew that Maxwell probably had some issues with being an omega in a mostly alpha household, especially in the family that he came from. He knew that Maxwell’s parents probably put the same amount of pressure on their sons, but Maxwell probably wouldn’t have perceived it that way. He probably viewed them being more lax with Will and Ben because of their secondary sexes, not because they were older than Maxwell.

It was a shame, especially given the way that Maxwell’s grandfather had reacted to him manifesting. That, and his pheromone sensitivity and the way the public viewed omegas as less than probably also played into his perception of himself as well.

It wasn’t like Andrew was one to talk, but he hated that it was something that he and Maxwell shared in common. It was one thing he never wanted them to share. A hatred of their traits.

It was clear that Maxwell was mostly settled into his omega sex, but it was also clear to Andrew that something wasn’t quite right either. There was a reason Michael had suggested that he go to a Doctor who specialised in omegas.

"Did you try to create one?" Andrew asked carefully and Maxwell laughed.

"Well, I wasn’t the only one who wanted something like that, now am I? There were several people who wanted one that was temporary. You know, an omega’s heat, as I’ve heard, apparently feels reeeeeally good." Andrew’s face drained of colour as Maxwell shook his head, his expression tight. "But it didn’t work. Didn’t even get off the ground. Didn’t even get to trials." Maxwell told him. "Anyways, I’m sure they’re waiting for you. I hope you like them. I didn’t hand select them, they were already here so don’t assume that I remade the department for you. I just had a feeling you would get along with them."

Maxwell was shutting down that topic of conversation, and Andrew couldn’t blame him. It probably hurt a part of him to fail so quickly at something that he’d probably been desperate to have at the time. It clearly left an impression, along with why others wanted it.

Disgusting.

Some people truly disgusted Andrew.

Heats were not some easy thing that omegas went through. They were painful, they were hard, and if they happened to people who hated to lose control of themselves, they could be mentally and physically exhausting, and damaging. Andrew had seen what they had done to his Mom, and what they did to Maxwell.

While they were two different people, the reactions were not good. Andrew knew his Mom’s was a different circumstance, but Maxwell, he was sure, had issues giving up control in the past. The only reason Maxwell had trusted Andrew enough was because Andrew had been a beta beforehand. Andrew was sure that his experience of being a beta had played into Maxwell’s ease of his trust with his body.

And...maybe his feelings for him, but Andrew wasn’t getting his hope up! Until Maxwell told him that with his own mouth, he wasn’t going to make assumptions.

Maxwell tugged on his hand, forcing Andrew to focus as they made their way towards a lone door at the end of the corridor. It didn’t appear neglected, and Maxwell seemed more excited as he moved closer to it.

He didn’t even knock as he opened the door, and Andrew blinked in surprise as a few cannons filled with confetti went off and decorated Andrew and Maxwell.

"Welcome to the department, Dr. Knox!" Several voices called and Andrew stared in shock at the people in front of him. They were only three strong, but they seemed so excited to meet him. They even had a lab coat ready for him and Andrew stared in shock as he recognised at least one of the faces in front of him.

"What? No way." Andrew muttered and Maxwell squeezed his hand. Andrew glanced down at the omega who had a smug, pleased grin on his face.

"Isn’t my company great?" He said, so smug and sure of himself that Andrew wanted to kiss that expression right off of his face.

"I...is that really you, Richard?" Andrew asked and Richard, a large, burly man who was as wide as a house, adjusted his glasses with a chuckle.

"It really is. I was shocked when Mr. Beckett told us that we were getting a new member to our team, and I grew very suspicious when the name was so similar to yours. When I told him we were friends in elementary school and high school, he cautiously told me it was you. Man, it’s so good to see you. I haven’t seen you since the funeral." Andrew swallowed, feeling emotional.

"It’s good to see you too. You seem...really healthy." Andrew replied and Richard laughed, tossing back his head of brown hair. He kept it long, tied in the back with a simple hair tie.

"That’s one way to put it. Of course you’d be nice about it. Damn, I missed hearing you talk. It’s good to have you on the team, buddy. We can take it from here, Mr. Beckett. Your precious Andrew is safe in our hands." Richard promised Maxwell, and Maxwell snorted.

"I will be the judge of that when I come to pick him up at the end of the day." Maxwell turned to Andrew, placing his hand on Andrew’s chest, leaning in. "Don’t forget you can come see me whenever you need to, for whatever reason. If I’m out of the building, there are emergency supplies in the office. One of the secretaries can show you where they are if you go up to my office." Andrew nodded, staring down at the smaller man.

"I’ll be okay, Max." Andrew told him softly and Maxwell frowned.

"I’m allowed to be concerned, alright? This is the first time we’ve been apart, even if we are in the same building where you haven’t been surrounded by my pheromones." Andrew’s lips twitched. That wasn’t quite true, but Andrew wasn’t going to point it out.

He leaned down, pressing a kiss against his forehead.

"I’ll be okay. You have a meeting, don’t you?" Maxwell grumbled but stepped back, adjusting his outfit and dusting off a few pieces of confetti that got on him.

"Alright. Text me if you need anything." He told him again, before Maxwell left the room with a flourish. Now, Andrew was alone with the three researchers who had watched everything silently. Richard was grinning from ear to ear.

"Now, you’re all alone with us."