Sighing, Devlin followed Julian into the jungle. He consoled himself that it was a good thing that his alpha side already felt protective of his future mate’s family—it should help him bond with Liam.
As soon as he entered the force field separating the habitat from the rest of the park, it was like he was in a different world. The noise of the crowd outside was cut off, leaving only the natural sounds of the jungle. Devlin found himself relaxing, the beast in him settling more comfortably under his skin.
There were fewer visitors in this part of the park. It was a relief, because otherwise finding Julian here would have been more difficult. Devlin followed the shoe prints, his nostrils flaring in a futile attempt to catch a whiff of the omega’s scent. He still didn’t know why Julian suppressed his scent so much.
He found him sitting by a small waterfall, watching a pair of doe-like creatures. Julian had his legs drawn up to his body, his arms wrapped around them, and he had his chin on his knees.
“You shouldn’t be here alone,” Devlin said.
Julian’s shoulders tensed. “I thought you went back to Liam, Your Grace,” he said without looking at him. “Why didn’t you?”
Devlin stared at his nape. Wavy brown hair barely touched Julian’s pale neck. “You don’t have to call me ‘Your Grace.’ We’re going to be family soon.”
A brittle laugh left Julian’s mouth. “The sad part is you aren’t even being arrogant. No one will say no to you. Liam won’t.”
Devlin took a step closer and let his knuckles graze against the back of Julian’s neck.
The brat flinched but didn’t move away from the touch. “What are you doing?” he whispered.
I have no fucking idea.
“You don’t smell like anything,” Devlin said tersely. “A person without a scent just isn’t normal. It’s driving my instincts crazy.”
Julian finally turned his head, his large brown eyes blinking up at him. “And making me smell of you would fix it?”
Yes.
“It’s better than nothing,” Devlin said with a jerky shrug. “Why are you taking so many suppressants? It can’t possibly be healthy.”
A look of discomfort appeared on Julian’s face. “I’m a Dainiri,” he said.
Devlin shot him a look. “I know quite a few Dainiri omegas. They still have a scent, no matter how suppressed. You have none.”
White teeth sank into Julian’s small bottom lip as their owner regarded him for a few moments.
“My mate has died recently.”
Devlin stared at him blankly.
What?
“You had a mate?” he managed at last.
He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He couldn’t believe how wrong his first impression had been. Fuck, he had thought Julian was very young and innocent… It seemed unthinkable that he’d had a mate.
“Yes,” Julian said, averting his gaze. “I’m on such strong suppressants to make the broken bond hurt less.” He scrunched up his nose. “Look, I know it must be off-putting to be around an omega without a scent—but I have it much worse. I can’t smell anyone, thanks to the suppressants. Do you have any idea how unsettling it is?”
Devlin processed that. He wanted to ask what had happened to the boy’s mate, but that would be completely tactless. Speaking of tactless… “Why does your uncle act like you’ve never been bonded?”
Julian winced. “He doesn’t know I’ve ever been bonded. Please don’t tell him. I’m not sure why I’ve even told you this—it’s supposed to be a secret. Only Liam knows. We decided not to tell anyone and just up the dosage of my suppressants. It has to stop hurting at some point, right?”
Unbelievable.
Devlin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are both of you insane?”
“Um, what?”
Devlin sat down beside Julian and then hauled him into his lap.
Julian squeaked. “What are you doing—”
“Fixing your careless stupidity,” Devlin ground out, pushing Julian’s face against his throat. “Breathe.”
“Why?” Julian stammered. “I can’t smell anything anyway.”
“You may not be able to smell anything, but you’ll still be receptive to alpha pheromones. And you need them, you little idiot. Have you been taught nothing?”
The brat was very tense on his lap before slowly relaxing and taking a deep, shaky breath against Devlin’s neck. “I don’t understand,” he said, sounding confused and lost.
Devlin gritted his teeth, telling himself to be patient. It wasn’t the boy’s fault that his irresponsible parents hadn’t educated their children on mating bonds.
“Hundreds of years ago, there used to be a tradition that a widowed omega must marry their deceased mate’s alpha sibling—if there was one,” he said, acutely aware of how scandalous their proximity would appear to an onlooker. Although they were in a secluded place in the jungle, it wasn’t private. Anyone could come across them. At least his superior hearing would warn him well before anyone could see them. Not that they were doing anything wrong, but gossip didn’t need proof or facts to cause a scandal, and a scandal was the last thing Devlin needed right now. But the poor omega needed this. Needed his help. Needed him. “Do you know why?”