(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 41: Anger after the tears

Chapter 41: Anger after the tears

"Why is this so important to you? It doesn’t matter." Andrew insisted, but no one was buying it. Even the guards who had been at the gym with him didn’t buy it. Anyone who saw him collapse the way that he had knew it was a big deal. He’d crumpled like a deck of cards. If they hadn’t been watching him like hawks he could have been crushed. No one did that because of something that was ’no big deal’.

"Andrew, why can’t you say it? Are you afraid? Just say it. You know it’s true." Michael was a bull in a china shop. He was not going to stop. Michael’s gaze bore a hole into Andrew’s face and Andrew felt his throat close up on him. Andrew felt an overwhelming feeling filling his body. He was pale, and shaking. Maxwell wasn’t letting go of his hand, even though he wanted him to. He didn’t want to be touched. It felt like too much.

"N-No. I don’t-"

"Say it, Andrew." Michael wasn’t going to let up until he broke.

"No. I am not-"

"Say it."

"But I’m no-" Andrew was getting frustrated he kept getting interrupted.

"Say the fucking truth, Andrew."

"It’s not-"

"Say it!"

"I’m not a fucking alpha! I am not like my fucking father!" Andrew finally exploded. He threw Maxwell’s hand away, much to his shock as he began to pace the living room floor. His pheromones swirled around the room, hot, heavy, angry. The alpha’s in the room winced, but were able to remain on their feet. Maxwell?

He crumpled.

Maxwell fell to his knees, clawing at his throat. He was gasping for air, unable to breathe past the heavy weight of the emotions in Andrew’s pheromones. Andrew’s heart nearly stopped. Andrew felt like a goddamn monster. He stood in one spot, watching as Maxwell gasped for air. Horror crossed his face, and when Maxwell looked up at him, a sharp warning filled him. He raised one hand placatingly.

"Andrew, it’s okay. I’m fine. If I go upstairs, I’ll be okay." But Andrew was already shaking his head backing away, covering his mouth. He was already deep in the spiral when Michael sighed heavily, and loudly.

"If you had read the fucking information I gave you, you wouldn’t be hurting your partner haphazardly. You did this by yourself, Andrew. If you had listened, and hadn’t put your damn blinders on, you would never have hurt him. Now do you see what happens?" Andrew swallowed at Michael’s harsh, but true words. "You aren’t a monster, or you won’t be one if you FUCKING listen to me." Michael was at his wits end, watching a man who he had looked up to lose his goddamn mind. Michael knew that this was all related to trauma, and it wasn’t his place to tell him to get over it. But, he was a Doctor, and his job was to make sure he got better. As a friend, and as a doctor, this wasn’t safe for him, or for the others around him.

"Andrew, listen to Dr. Smith. He’s not trying to lie to you." Maxwell urged, and Andrew kept shaking his head. He couldn’t breathe, his vision was blurry, and it felt like all the walls were closing in on him. "Andrew, breathe." Maxwell ordered when he realised how worked up Andrew was getting. "Andrew." He barked when the man still wouldn’t breathe. His face was going red, and then turning purple. Michael rushed over to Maxwell.

"Apologies, Mr. Beckett." He muttered before hoisting the man in his arms and rushed over to Andrew. Maxwell knew what he wanted, and was appreciative of his quick thinking since Maxwell couldn’t move his legs due the the pheromone release that Andrew had done previously. Releasing his own pheromones, Maxwell coated the dumb alpha in his own, and watched as Andrew inhaled aggressively, and then did that several more times.

Andrew let Maxwell’s warm, cozy pheromones wash over him, the scent reminding him of a cool fall night right before the frost was about to arrive. A little spicy, a little warm, it wasn’t a scent that he could put a single descriptor to. As it coated his lungs, a small sense of peace washed over him, until he felt someone pinch his cheek.

"You are a bad, bad boy Andrew Knox. How dare you ignore me when I’m speaking." Maxwell’s voice held a thin vein of anger, and Andrew felt his face flush. Michael put down the omega, not wanting to get involved in the lover’s moment and instead went over to the coffee table where he’d laid out all of his tools and information. Maxwell was standing on his own, even if his legs were shaky. Maxwell’s own pheromones had toned down Andrew’s aggressive ones.

"I-I wasn’t-" Maxwell covered Andrew’s mouth, making sure to leave his nose clear.

"Shut the fuck up." Maxwell ordered, and Andrew shuddered and shut up. Michael wandered to the kitchen, rightfully assuming Andrew had baked up a storm and there were baked goods there he could ignore the couple with.

"Keep him in one piece, Mr. Beckett. We can’t get him help if he isn’t." Michael called over his shoulder, and Andrew was at a loss for words. Before, when Maxwell was crying, he had been unsure what to do because it broke his heart. Now? Now he was afraid for his life.

It appeared that the switch had flicked and now Maxwell was out for his blood.

The glare the man shot in his direction was enough to chill his blood. He was worried that it was the same glare he’d shot at other alphas before. Like those brothers from forever ago who tried to drug Maxwell. But to have it directed at Andrew? He was quickly wilting, and Maxwell wasn’t backing down.

"You cannot let that man rule the rest of your goddamn life, Andrew. I don’t even know who he is, but whenever you’ve brought him up in passing, I know you don’t have a good relationship with him, or a relationship with him at all. I know you aren’t like your father. I don’t understand how you don’t know you’re different. You are a kind, sensitive, smart man, who also happens to be an alpha now. From my understanding, all your father had going for him was his looks." Andrew snorted, surprising himself and Maxwell. Andrew covered his mouth, before clearing his throat.

"Sorry. I don’t know where that came from." Andrew muttered, hoping that he hadn’t upset Maxwell further.

"Andrew, I’m upset because you’re hurting yourself, I’m not upset that you’re laughing." Andrew didn’t know what to say, but the words that tumbled out weren’t on the list. It felt like word vomit.

"My father has more going for him than just his looks. Money, for one." Maxwell raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

"I had no idea. You seem very accustomed to the finer things, Andrew. That isn’t a criticism, but it is something I’ve observed. My family would probably know him too, if he wasn’t new wealth." Andrew hesitated, a lump forming in his throat as he was forced to talk about the man who fathered him. And that was pretty much it.

"Well, I think he’s a big deal, but I’m also not comfortable telling you his name in case you do know him. I don’t want to draw attention to myself." He closed his mouth, before opening it again. It was hard for him to speak about him, and why he had such a large impact on him. "He wasn’t...he was never around. It wasn’t that bad until I manifested, and then he never showed up. He was looking for an alpha son, and I wasn’t it." Maxwell seemed to resonate with his words.

"Ah. Your mom was a secret." Andrew nodded in confirmation. He opened his mouth, closed it, before opening it again but this time, his lips trembled slightly.

"My Mom...he...he mated her before he abandoned her." Maxwell held his silence, knowing what that meant. Alphas usually couldn’t mate more than once, but that was something only people in the community would know. A true alpha was an exception, and they were able to mate with multiple omegas. The fact that Andrew told Maxwell that meant he probably had no idea that was a thing. It also told Maxwell that Andrew’s Mother had suffered a lot more than he had originally thought.

Omegas were high maintenance creatures. Maxwell alone could attest to that. Many of them had their own quirks, but some things were universal. Mating was one of those things. If an omega mated, it meant they were bound to that one alpha for life. They would get sick if they smelt the pheromones of another, even close family in some cases, and they found great comfort in their alpha’s scent. They also stopped releasing a scent to attract others, and if it was a normal pair, so would the alpha.

Omegas relied on the pheromones of their alpha to calm them. It caused them great anxiety if they didn’t get them. It could get so bad it could lead to health complications. If they remained apart for too long, it could get dire for either party.

If they were a regular pairing.

Maxwell’s gaze sharpened slightly, and Andrew’s throat worked.

"Andrew, you said your Mother was sick?" Maxwell broached softly, and Andrew sniffed. He wouldn’t meet Maxwell’s gaze, but Maxwell was okay with that, as long as he spoke.

"He killed her. He didn’t visit her for years, Maxwell. Years. She held on for me." Maxwell didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Andrew, not willing to withhold comfort even in his anger. Andrew’s grip was tight as he hugged the other man. "I can’t be like him. I just can’t. I look so much like that fucking asshole it hurts." Andrew muttered into Maxwell’s shoulder. Maxwell hugged him tighter.

"So what if you look like him? You are your own person, and I bet anyone who knew your Mother would say you have more of her in you." Maxwell told him, and Andrew exhaled slowly, shakily.

"But what if I change? What if over time I become like him? Uncaring? Unfeeling? Just a fucking monster focused on lineage?" Maxwell’s grip tightened on Andrew until it felt bruising.

"I could never see you turning that way. Something truly, horrifically awful would have to happen. I don’t know what that could be, since you’ve already been kidnapped and experimented on." Andrew let out a wet chuckle.

"Well, they could hurt you." Andrew offered, before shuddering at the thought. "I take that back. I don’t want to even think about that. The point is, Maxwell, that I just...it’s not something easy for me to get over." Maxwell sighed.

"I can understand better now, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive you. You could have died today, and that is the worst fear for me. When you went missing...I could at least hope that you were still alive? If you have a stroke or something similar? I can’t...I’m a very pessimistic person, Andrew. That isn’t something I can just erase from my mind." Andrew nodded, burying his nose into Maxwell’s shoulder and inhaling his scent. He had no idea what it did to Maxwell that he found such comfort in his scent, and if Maxwell had his way, he’d never know.

"I...I didn’t think it would cause me so many problems." Andrew admitted, and Maxwell groaned.

"Of course it would! Your whole body changes. Have you noticed anything strange about your body yet?" Andrew shook his head, and Maxwell frowned. It was only a matter of time that everything came to a head, but Andrew was just unaware how lucky he’d been.