Catch and Release

Shadow lost his mind for a bit after his knot popped into the photographer.

It has been so long since his last knotting that he simply wasn’t ready for the overwhelming wave of pleasure and animalistic possessiveness that sucker punched his self-control into submission. He’d made at least half a dozen short, fierce thrusts, his release so close the base of his spine was seizing, before he noticed two very concerning things.

First, he had the poor woman’s shoulder in his mouth. He could smell the claiming gland underneath the skin, unbroken and utterly ripe, like a succulent fruit. Her fur, mixed with sweat and her intoxicatingly sweet Omega scent (strawberries, vanilla), was luxuriously decadent on his tongue. Shadow was poised and ready to Claim this amazing Omega the moment he consummated, in direct violation of the promise he’d made to her. Fuck!

However, the more pressing concern was that his the Omega had gone limp in his arms and now he strained to hold them both up. Shadow had pulled the pink hedgehog back a bit as he went for the knotting, so he could lean his weight entirely on his knees. The woman had passed out. The realization shot ice through his veins. Fuck!

Taking advantage of his sudden clarity, Shadow pulled himself from her shoulder. “Miss?” He gave her a gentle shake. Her head lolled to a side and his breath hitched. Shadow shifted his grip so one of his hands cupped her chin, supporting her neck. He could feel her pulse and her chest expanding and contract, both steady. Small blessings. “Miss?” He shook her a little harder. He’d heard of Omegas passing out from their first knotting but this couldn’t possibly be the woman’s-

Oh FUCK me…

Shadow licked his lips. Well, shit. His irritation with himself kept his desire at bay, but that would only work for so long. What the fuck was he supposed to do? She had agreed to allow him to help her. Did this development nullify that consent? The heat growing in his abdomen was becoming intolerable. He needed to decide quickly before his body did it for him. Fucking idiot, how could you let yourself be in this situation?

Shadow’s knot suddenly throbbed and he pitched forward, barely catching them with a hand before he crushed her under him. He cringed as a building, painful tension started spreading through his pelvis. Shit, the last thing he needed right now was to get knot sick.

If he didn’t nut soon, his body would punish him with several days of partial paralysis as it worked through the hormones it was currently poisoning him with. The antidote was to finish in this beautiful, delicious, ready Omega. Not really a choice at all, why was he even waiting, he just need to- Stop it!

He wasn’t a fucking animal! Think! Not about how amazing she felt and how delicious she smells and how he wanted to keep fucking her and fucking her until his seed was so far up inside her she’d have no choice but to bare a litter of his hoglets. Shadow gagged. His mouth watered. The pain radiated upwards, his stomach clenching, his lungs constricting until he could only pant, bring more of her scent into him.

“Please, wake up.” He breathed into her ear. His fangs graced the soft flesh. He was trapped. Utterly. Absolutely. She was in him. In his lungs, in his mouth, in every thought his brain could assemble. His hips jerk involuntarily as the radiating pressure clenched his spine. Shadow gasped at the ripples of relief that one little motion gave him.

Fuck that felt good. He was so deep inside her. So warm and comfortable, like she was made just for him. He held her closer and rubbed his face into the soft pink fur of her back. Shadow shifted his hips, slowly pumping into her again. The pain in his abdomen began to ease.

He would do what they’d agreed. Break her heat. Resist the urge to claim. Leave her alone. Leave her? How could he do that to such a perfect creature? She was his! Shadow squeezed his eyes shut and tried to wipe away these obviously false thoughts. Focus. He wouldn’t make excuses for himself. He got himself into this situation and he would accept the consequences, whatever they may be.

Gently, he held the pink form as he shifted them both to their sides on the bed. He laid her head on one of the pillows. He stole a look at her face. Even marred by tear tracks, she was beautiful. Her expression was soft and relaxed, as if she was in the embrace of a pleasant dream, her lips pursed slightly.

A sense of pride welled inside him. She’d been bawling, disheveled, terrified. Her lovely mouth contorted with misery and her brow twisted with fear and uncertainty. But now she was serene. Satified. And he had done that. Maybe, when she awoke, he would see her smile. Shadow heart clenched. He would like that very much.

The speed of the shallow thrusts increased, as did the intensity. Stimulated again, the throbbing of his knot became pleasurable again, heat building. His arms snaked around her torso and he hugged her tightly. His breaths became ragged, shuddering heaves.

Shadow pressed his nose against the nape of her tender neck, breathing in her irresistible scent and salivating at the gland just beneath the skin, the one with the sweetest treat in the world inside. He could sink his teeth into it, breaching the sack that she’d had since birth. The enzymes and chemicals released would mix with his saliva and the specialized hormones he was making that instant because she was Unclaimed and ALL his.

They’d be bonded forever, the mark of his claim dark and permanent on the flesh and fur of her shoulder. Everyone would know that she belonged to him and him alone. She wouldn’t be able to get his scent off her. It would follow her to the end of her days. His.

The tight, velvety heat grew too much. With a few asynchronous strokes, Shadow emptied himself into the beautiful, mysterious woman. His body rewarded him with an explosion of pleasure. It ripped through him in rough waves, obliterating all tension and doubt and thought. An airy, cozy bliss settled in along with the conviction that this could be available to him whenever he wanted it…if he just reached out and Claimed the privilege.

The urge to bite, to possess, seized his bliss-poisoned mind in a steely grip. His mouth was on her shoulder. His fangs were bared. It would be quick and painless. He wouldn’t hurt her at all. He’d never hurt her, not once she was-

Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

Oh, fuck me! Shadow’s jaw screamed in protest as he set all his will against sinking his fangs down. He had to bite. Had to mark what was his. With a choked gasp, he wrenched his head away from her shoulder leaving the fur wet but unmarred. Had to bite!

He shoved his forearm into his mouth and barred down. Holy fuck, that hurts! Shadow tasted his own blood. The intense pain and searing disappointment of having failed to claim (what was so clearly his) warred with the effervescent high of full knotted release. It was a confusing and unsettling brew.

Releasing his arm, the bite wound began to bleed into his dark fur. Great. He lifted, looking for anything to staunch the bleeding with. Twisting, Shadow saw a box of tissues covered in a decorative box on the bedside table. With some uncomfortable maneuvering, he retrieved the box and began tearing out tissues.

Self-inflicted blood flow staunched and post-nut clarity firmly asserting itself over his quickly receding Alpha instincts, Shadow found himself in a rather ridiculous situation. He was stuck inside this woman he’d never met before and would remain so for close to an hour (if he was lucky, longer if he wasn’t). Said woman was still out like a light and, he really wished for some mercy on this one, seemed like she was perfectly healthy (please, stars above, ancestors below, anyone listening – let her just be sleeping). His house was still full of strangers and at least some of them would be looking for the missing photographer. What a moron he was. How did this happen?

Rouge.

Shadow snorted. What could she have been thinking bringing an Omega to this event? The guest list was over fifty percent Alphas! He supported her pro-Omega planks of her platform, but stupid was stupid. And in his house no less! The nerve. The gall. Shadow took a slow breath. If the Omega didn’t know this was going to happen, then there was no way Rouge would have either.

Shadow had stayed at the periphery of the fundraiser, not particularly eager to get pulled into a conversation that would be soaked in subtext about business deals or requests for investment. He’d lent the house to Rouge, not himself. When he’d spotted the photographer running, he’d been concerned. She had looked so frightened.

Maybe it was his Alpha instincts, maybe he was already gripped with her scent, but he had to follow her and make sure she was okay, to fix whatever it was that was bothering her. He hadn’t a clue he be hit in the face with the most concentrated Omega scent he’d ever encountered. A metal bat splattering his brains against the wall, leaving his loins to run the show.

Shadow had been lucky his rut was so far off and he was on blockers. He shuddered to think what could have happened otherwise. He…didn’t want to go back to how he had been.

Raising on an elbow, Shadow looked for his jacket. It lay near the door and, connected as he was, effectively on the moon. No getting to his cellphone anytime soon. He sighed. He imagined how many messages from Nicole were piling up. He had no doubt that she handled the situation downstairs with the upmost professionalism. What he didn’t care for was how certain he was that she knew exactly where he was and exactly what he’d been up to. His executive assistant had the habit of demonstrating a startling level of omniscience.

Absently, he realized he had his arms draped over the woman. He pulled them away and the movement jostled his knot. The shiver rattling up his spine shook all his muscles loose again, another reward for fulfilling his body’s demands. His tongue slipped out of his mouth as he laid as limply as his partner.

Partner? What was he thinking? Shadow thought back on the encounter, a grimy distaste of his impulses growing inside. He’d been far too familiar with the woman. There was no way she would have consented if she had had a clear head.

He’d fingered her into an orgasm. Shadow’s face heated with shame at the fuzzy memory. He should have just gotten in and finished as quickly as possible. But there was something in the way she snapped at him, the way she so clearly fought against her instincts. It was…impressive. Endearing. Respectable. So very un-Omega-like. Shadow was intrigued. To be desperately wanted and intensely despised at the same time. The complexity was…fascinating.

No begging. It had always turned his stomach, the mindless begging. The puddle of please and Alpha! Omegas seemed to dissolve into. It wasn’t their fault. The impulse was a compulsion, a tactic to attract an Alpha. The biological imperative was so incongruent with modern life. The ice age that inspired the evolution was a hundred thousand years in the past. Still, the event claimed victims every day, like her.

Why had he called the woman his peach? Why was he still leaning closer to smell her? Vanilla and strawberries. Why did he want to see her smile? He didn’t even know her name. Shadow was setting himself up for trouble. Best to push all these thoughts away. Let this encounter end and let the past envelope it whole.

It was a moment in time. Nothing more.

Shadow was exhausted. It had been a long day and a more eventful night than he had originally planned. In the quiet of the room, the bed warm with their close bodies and him still so snug inside her, he found himself drifting off.

Bad idea! He shook his head, trying to throw off the fatigue. He was going to exit the moment he could. Pull out, make sure she was okay, then leave her to her privacy. To lay a moment longer beside her would be crossing a line.

His knot was starting to shrink, but they were still stuck for a bit yet. He tried to think of mundane things (ongoing lawsuits, regulatory red tape that need to be addressed, expenditures needing approval) to distract himself from thinking of strawberries and vanilla.

---

Amy awoke to the sound of running water. She faded up into consciousness lightly, like a feather in an updraft. She blinked a few times to clear the blurriness from her vision. The bedroom, still darkened, but somehow much cooler and mundane than she remembered.

She lifted, a motion her body resisted, not violently or painfully, but with a cozy heaviness that urged her to go back to sleep, that she was safe. Her dress, very crusty, had been pulled back down over her hips. The bed was a mess, the pillows scattered, the coverlet in ruins, and her and the Alpha’s scent (dark earthy tones) lingered, but none of it was forcing her to do or think or be anything. Amy, at least in that moment, was free.

Amy felt at peace. Relaxed and herself. Her heat was fully defeated. She could cry from relief.

The sound of running water ceased. She turned her attention to a door across from the bed. It opened and the dark hedgehog exited from the on-suite bathroom. His trousers were back on, and he was finishing buttoning his white shirt, though she could see sweat stains. His quills were mussed and disheveled, though Amy was sure she looked no better.

Catching sight of her, a look of relief shaped his face for a moment before it dissolved to some of neutrality. He said “You’re awake.” It was the same deep voice, but it held no magic now, no command over her. “How are you feeling?”

Amy blinked. She felt…nothing? No fear. No anxiety. No anger. No disgust. No- A thought erupted in her mind, one that would, under normal circumstances, freeze her to her core, but now only contained mild discomfort.

Amy felt the nape of her neck, feeling the fur at both sides. One side was a little damp and mussed, but there were no puncture wounds. That must be the side with her claim gland. The man had fulfilled his promise.

He considered her patiently through the silence of her examination. “Much better.” Amy finally answered, letting her hand drop.

His eyes scanned her, and he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to have to ask this, but-“

“There’s no chance.” Amy interrupted. “I’ve already taken afters today.” He nodded and did not press.

He moved to the door as if in a hurry to leave, pausing a step to retrieve his jacket from a small chair by a table. “Please take all the time that you need. There will be a car out front waiting to take you wherever you wish to go.” He turned and grasped the handle.

“Wait!” Amy found herself speaking. He stopped and turned. His sharp red eyes met hers and she looked down. He waited again, through an increasingly awkward silence for her to continue.

“Thank you.” She said it so simply that Amy wasn’t sure what she was thanking him for. For breaking her heat, for abstaining from Claiming her, for asking after her health, for use of the room, for the free ride home. The two words seemed grossly inadequate.

“You’re welcome.” He answered mechanically, completing the cordial, distant incantation of two strangers interacting. He turned and opened the door. As he went to step through, he paused, looking down at something. She heard him chuckle and mutter to himself. Amy’s brow knitted as he bent down.

Straightening, he first brought her coat and a large black bag into the room and set it by the door. Her camera bag! Amy’s eyes shot to the bedside table. Her camera sat as she had left it, thank god!

Next, he brought a silvered tray into the room laden with a plethora of goodies. Several bottles of imported spring water, a selection of flavored electrolyte drinks, a collection of energy and protein bars, and…a small bowl of…Were those coffee beans?

He placed the tray on the table and addressed her once more. “Feel free to have anything you’d like.” With that, he grabbed one of the bottles of water and the dish of coffee beans and left.

As silence flooded the room, Amy found herself a little shaken. A creeping fear grew inside her. Was this a dream? What was the catch? But even the fear was dulled by the calm she felt. She was not at odds with her body for, perhaps, the first time in her life.

Amy slid off the bed. She felt disgusting. Dried slick clung to every part of her. Washing it off would be a task and a half. The fluid served several purposes, the relevant one now being leaving an enduring mark of the Omega on their surroundings. Any Alpha to happen by would know an Omega was in the area, in heat or otherwise.

She drank a full bottle of water. The liquid tasted amazing. She downed a second bottle. An Omega’s heat and dehydration went hand in hand. Heat sickness, a common malady, was really a mixture of malnourishment, vitamin deficiency, and dehydration. The body really meant to disincentivize failure to mate.

Amy slipped out of her dress and entered the bathroom. She was surprised to find it large, hosting a bathtub and shower, and well appointed. The counter was lined with small individually wrapped toiletry items and inside the shower were bottles of expensive shampoos and conditioners for a range of pelt, fur, and feather types. It was the most accommodating guest bathroom she’d ever seen. Lives of the rich and famous, holy shit.

Turning on the shower, setting the temperature high, she retrieved her underwear from where she’d dropped them by the bed. The pad was discarded, and she rinsed the cotton garment in the sink with scented hand soap. They’d be damp, but serviceable. Her dress she’d have to wear as is. Unless…

Under the sink she found a hairdryer in a silk bag. It was a fancy salon grade one with many attachments and multiple heat settings. Amy frowned. Washing the dress in the sink and drying it with the hairdryer would take a lot more time than she wanted to spend. What time even was it?

Going to her camera bag, she found her phone. She had a number of notifications, the most important being from Rouge. Amy decided to deal with that later. It was very late. The fundraiser would already be over. Amy sighed. She needed to think of something to tell Rouge. Something great or else she would lose her job.

Amy stepped into the shower and doused herself with hot water. The hygiene products smelled amazing as she thoroughly cleaned herself. As she scrubbed, her mind wandered. Was she a different person now? Had something fundamentally changed in her life? She had been incredibly lucky. What were the odds that she’d get snagged by someone who could maintain a semblance of decency whilst drunk on her vapors?

Amy frowned. Semblance? No, he’d been more than decent. He’d been nice to her. Courteous. Kind. And she’d been…Her memory of their coupling was a little fuzzy, but what she remembered saying wasn’t…polite. She’d been sharp, assuming him to be the worst of her fears, and he hadn’t deserved that.

Toweling herself off, Amy left the bathroom, hungry for one of the energy bars. She stopped. A garment bag was hung over the chair beside the table. Someone must have left it there while she was in the shower. A card lay on top of the bag. ‘Don’t worry about returning this. Consider it a gift.’

Inside the garment bag was a light blue dress. It was an older style, but very nicely made. Cotton and perfect for everyday wear. A trail of white stars decorated the bottom hem. She held it up to herself in front of the bathroom mirror. It was just about her size and tailored for hedgehogs.

Amy’s ears drooped. She had spent so much time thinking about the terrible things that could happen and how she could avoid them that she was simply unprepared for kindness. This is an exception. I’ll never be this lucky again.

She donned the blue dress and her coat. Stowing her black dress and underwear (the dampness would show through the light colored cotton) in the garment bag and storing her camera safely away, she shouldered her camera bag and left.

Finding the stairs took a bit. Back on the first floor, she found the front door and stepped out. A black car was parked right in front and a mongoose with a chauffeur’s cap exited it. The mongoose greeted her good night and reached for her bags. Amy meekly gave them up. She felt grotesquely out of her depth. She’d never been driven anywhere like this before.

Inside, seated comfortably on pristine leather seats, Amy realized the whole surreal ordeal was almost over. Soon she’d be back at her apartment and it would almost be like it never happened at all. That was how it should be. The universe had given her a single-use pass, and she’d cashed it in. Tomorrow everything would go back to normal. She needed to forget the black and red stranger. It was for the best.

Amy tapped on her phone. There were several missed calls from Rouge and one text message. ‘Please come into the office tomorrow at your earliest convenience.’ Amy recognized the tone. The detached cordiality underscored her displeasure.

Leaning her head against the window, watching the night lights of the city twinkle by, Amy realized she never learned the man’s name.