(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 38: Conceal don’t feel

Chapter 38: Conceal don’t feel

The next week was all about adjustments. Andrew adjusted to the fact that this was now also his house, and Maxwell adjusted to how much they were the opposite.

Maxwell couldn’t cook worth a damn. Forgive his silver spoon fingers, but he’d never had the need to learn. They had had cooks and chefs or whatever they wanted to call themselves since he was young. So when he moved into his new place, the kitchen was basically just an accessory. He’d asked his assistant to stock it with whatever supplies one needed for cooking, but his assistant also grew up in a silver spoon house, so they had no idea.

They ended up just asking for advice and filling the house. What he cared more about was how much freezer or fridge space he had for prepped meals. He didn’t eat for enjoyment, he ate to survive.

Andrew, he found out, was the exact opposite.

Andrew loved food. He loved to eat. The man was also a groaner, and in anyone else, he would have found it an annoying habit, but because it was Andrew, he found it endearing. The man had impeccable table manners outside of it. It was almost as if he had been taught.

Andrew was an incredible cook as well. He made everything, and the house always smelled like a bakery in the afternoon. His assistant had even commented on how bright, and lived in the house now felt. Honestly, Maxwell couldn’t imagine living in the house without Andrew anymore.

It didn’t feel like his house anymore. There were little touches of Andrew everywhere. They’d settled on which side of the bed each of them would sleep on, and Andrew needed a glass of water and his glasses to always be on his bedside table, along with an actual alarm. Maxwell slept with sleep aides that he used to have to take every night to get a proper rest, but hadn’t needed to since Andrew had moved in.

The man was also a cuddler. Maxwell wasn’t a warm person, and often found himself cold in the middle of the night. Not anymore. Andrew made sure he was nice and cozy. He fucking hoped that the two of them never got into an argument that resulted in them sleeping in separate beds. He was afraid he would now freeze to death.

An even cuter thing Andrew was doing was following Maxwell around unconsciously like a little duckling. It was adorable, and he would release pheromones whenever Maxwell noticed him, like he was shocked, or pleased to have his attention. Honestly, every time he did it, Maxwell wanted to smother him with kisses, but he had to be responsible. Andrew was still unstable, and every time he’d kissed him, it had led to something more.

Not without his consent, obviously, but he needed to be careful. He had a lot of work to do, and Andrew had a lot of learning and healing to do. The two couldn’t just give into their base desires all the time, especially when Andrew tended to freak out after them.

It was a worrying trend. Every time the two of them had slept together in the last week, which had been two, almost three times, Andrew would have the equivalent of a panic attack. Andrew would never say it was, because it was clear he didn’t want to worry Maxwell, but it was very concerning. Andrew told him that he didn’t feel like himself. Like his thoughts and desires scared him.

Of course, Maxwell had brought it up to Dr. Smith, and he told Maxwell to keep an eye on him. He wasn’t going to reach out to Andrew until he reached out to him first. Not because he didn’t care, or wasn’t worried sick about the man, he just knew what he was like. Andrew wouldn’t reach out to them at this point without basically collapsing. It was annoying, and worrying, but Maxwell was going to trust Dr. Smith’s words. He had known the man longer, even if it was in the past.

So, Maxwell waited, and watched, and made sure he was doing alright. At first, everything was going well. Andrew made all three meals for them, bumbled around the house keeping it nice and clean. He even took up reading.

But there was something...not quite right.

It became clear when Maxwell found the information packets that Dr. Smith had brought shoved into an intentionally forgettable location in the bedroom. Somewhere that it was clear Andrew thought Maxwell wouldn’t look. Unfortunately for him, Maxwell was a nosy bastard, and liked to check everything at least once a week.

It was then that Maxwell had remembered a comment he’d made to Andrew that hadn’t landed, and it made sense. One of the reasons Maxwell felt that the house was so nice and warm and comforting was that it was filled with both Andrew and Maxwell’s scent. It was a thing that alphas and omegas did when they cohabitated. His parents’ house smelt like his parents, and his oldest brother’s house smelt the same way as well. The scents were always different, of course, but it was common.

When Maxwell had made a comment on it, Andrew had stared at him like he had two heads, before kissing his forehead and heading off to stop a timer he’d heard in the distance. Maxwell had not heard a timer.

He had been running away.

A deep, worrying pit filled Maxwell’s stomach.

Andrew was denying the fact that he wasn’t a beta anymore, but instead an alpha. He was intentionally putting blinders on and pretending that everything was okay.

The realisation that even if he wasn’t aware, he was pretending that everything was normal and fine devastated Maxwell. He wasn’t keeping him here for a stupid reason. Maxwell knew that if Andrew went out into the real world on his own, without his assistance, he could get overwhelmed by the new way he was going to see the world.

It was loud, and filled with smells that he probably had never even considered or noticed before. Being an alpha or an omega with heightened senses could be overwhelming, and some had it worse. Maxwell hadn’t tested it yet because he wanted Andrew to grow into his body, but it was clear he wasn’t doing that.

But now that it was clear that the man was instead isolating himself and trying to pretend that everything was fine, that nothing terrible had happened to him, Maxwell knew something had to change. And if it wasn’t going to be Andrew, it had to be him.

So, like a good, supportive partner, Maxwell let Andrew leave the house. He told him he could begin going back to the gym, but a job was still out of the question. Mostly because Maxwell was still trying to create an identity for him to work at his company with, with the help of his Father. An apology gift of sorts on his Father’s part.

Andrew was ecstatic to hear the news that he could go back to the gym. It wasn’t that far away, only two blocks, but he had to bring security with him. Obviously, they would pretend to work out as well, and hey, Andrew might even make some friends. He was good at that shit. But, they were also informed of what was going on. All of the body guards were alphas. They were gifts from Maxwell’s Father after all, and all of them grew grim at what might happen.

It wasn’t likely that Andrew would attack anyone, since given his nature before this, it wasn’t like him. No, he was more likely to have a complete shutdown of his system. That could mean fainting, or a panic attack, or something worse. They didn’t know, and everyone didn’t want it to happen.

Andrew was a good boy. He got along with everyone. He brought excess baked goods to those around him, chatted with them, and made them feel comfortable. No one liked that something like this had happened to Andrew, but it also wasn’t like it didn’t happen to others.

There were cases where people changed types, it had just never been documented as a forced type change before. Andrew was the first, and hopefully the last of his kind. Others did have to go through this type of change, but they usually had a slower, more gradual change. Where their bodies gave them time to adjust. Andrew’s situation was just the odd one out. And no one wanted to watch him burn out and explode.

It filled Maxwell with anxiety every time he left the house with his gym bag. He was always wondering if today was going to be the day. Or tomorrow. Or the next day. For a full week, nothing happened besides Andrew growing happier and happier outwardly. Obviously, Maxwell let Dr. Smith know about everything, but his stance was firm. He could not help someone who did not want to helped.

Until everything came to a head, just like everyone knew it was going to happen.