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The sharp tang of pine and antiseptic floods In’s senses the moment he steps into the mountain clinic, alpha musk riding on a breeze of herbs, deeper and warmer than any healer’s charm. He grips his basket of remedies so tight his knuckles turn white.
Of course the new doctor is an alpha. Just his omega luck.
“You must be the fortune-teller.” The voice slides from behind the curtain, silk-smooth and confident. “Villagers said you’d show up eventually.”
In bristles, scenting that alpha arrogance like a challenge. “I’m here to deliver medicine for Aunt Janya. Not for a city doctor’s reading.”
The curtain parts and In’s pulse spikes. Dr. Thapfah – Thap - stands tall and effortlessly handsome, eyes dark and appraising, like he’s peeling off In’s carefully crafted armour. The fine lines at his temple only accentuates the strength in his jaw.
In’s omega instincts flutter traitorously.
Stop it.
“Did I say something wrong?” Thap’s brow furrows. “I was just...”
“Nothing.” In practically hurls the basket. “Tell Aunt Janya to take these twice daily with meals.”
He's about ready to leave, until Thap’s voice stops him. “Wait. You’re In, right? Up the mountain?”
Sigh.
It seems that his supply run doubles as a social call, just as he begrudgingly anticipated. In’s shoulders tighten. “So?”
“I’ve been meaning to visit, to meet the village’s very own non-traditional healer. You know, professional courtesy and all.”
Thap’s scent flares - pine after rain and something richer, a low burn. It makes In’s omega tremble. “The elder said you sometimes need supplies for your work.”
Great. Now I’m the crazy, antisocial one and this guy is the friendly neighbour.
“Fine.” In turns away, avoiding those penetrating eyes. “Thursdays. Only Thursdays.” He barely spares a look over his shoulder.
“Thursday it is.”
When In makes a mistake and sneaks another look, he finds Thap smiling at him, expectantly, warming In from his toes up to his throat. God. In hates how his nipples harden at the thought.
Thursday arrives faster than In was ready. He changes his outfit three times - not for Thap’s sake, definitely not for his stupid face, but because mountain mornings are fickle. The alpha shows up in a crisp white coat and hiking boots that are still stiff. In looks him up and down, condescendingly. “City boy.”
“I heard that.” Thap chuckles, unoffended. “And you’re right. These boots are killing me.”
“Try the east path. Less rocky.” In barely looks at him before turning around and leaving the doctor to his own judgement.
Thap inhales gratefully, clean pine and something queasy-sweet that makes In’s omega want to lean closer.
Absolutely not.
Over the next hour Thap inspects every vial and tincture, offering practical tweaks. In finds himself stealing glances at the alpha’s long fingers as they move with meticulous control. The brush of Thap’s arm against his ribs sends electric shards down his spine.
“You know,” Thap clears his throat after a jar clatter. “villagers say you really can see the future.”
In stiffens. “And?”
Thap studies him. “Is it true?”
In’s chest tightens. “What do you think?”
Thap’s gaze softens. "There are more wonders in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
The words are spoken like a poem.
Shakespeare? In blinks. He never expected erudition with the arrogance.
“I never said you were a wonder.” In blurts out, slightly offended even though his cheeks burn.
“I wasn’t talking about me.” Thap replies, eyes glinting.
Every Thursday, Thap scales the ridge with that medical bag slung over his shoulder.
Every Thursday, In pretends to be annoyed while secretly brewing his special tea and fluffing cushions that have been fluffed ten times already.
One afternoon finds Thap sipping tea on In’s porch. “Why do you choose to live alone up here? Omegas usually stick close to town.”
That triggers something in In’s jaw. “I’m not most omegas.”
Thap nods, curious not condescending. “The solitude doesn’t bother you?”
“People do.” In’s voice drops. “Up here it’s quiet. I can hear the threads of fate without the noise of desires and fears.”
“Must be lonely.” Thap’s features soften, his tea forgotten.
In meets his gaze. “Better than being claimed by some alpha who wants to own me.”
Thap’s eyes flicker, understanding.
In looks away, the omega in him affected by a single look. Maybe Thap truly sees him for who he is. Maybe he’s really different.
A week later, Thap comes in carrying a heavy box of supplies. The weight strains his shoulders. In can’t help but panic at the sight. “Jesus Thap, you’re going to hurt yourself!”
“I’m fine.” Thap grunts with effort, alpha stubbornness radiating like a flame.
In snorts. “You’re an idiot.” He puts away his tincture and takes one side of the box. “Let me help.”
They lift the box together, their arms brushing. In’s heart hammers against his chest, his cock stirring despite himself.
“Thanks.” Thap blows a breath, voice low. No wounded pride, just gratitude.
A winner in In’s book.
“You could have thrown your back out, just saying.” In retorts, even as his pulse chases a different rhythm.
“Wow, so concerned all of a sudden.” Thap teases.
“Concerned about the village.” In corrects him, but something in his chest melts when Thap smiles like he knows his retaliation is empty.
The painful heat hits In one day, without warning. His body awakens shivering, slick, burning from the inside out - omega cries clawing at him. He staggers to the cabinet for suppressants and realises with sheer horror they’re expired.
Fuck!
He should have asked Thap, but his damn pride kept him silent. Too ashamed to ask.
His phone rings...
Thap .
“In? You missed our meeting. Are you...”
“Don’t come!” In’s voice cracks, panic lacing his words. “I’m… indisposed.”
A pause on the other end of the line.
“You’re in heat.”
Nothing gets beyond this man.
“It’s under...control.” He forces out. “I have supplies, I’ll be fine.”
Is he fine?
“Thap, please stay away from me until it passes, please.” He breaks a sweat just saying the words.
The voice on the other line comes back warm, shaky, and concerned. “In, living alone in heat is dangerous. Please, this is really risky, what you’re doing. At least let me leave the stuff....”
“I said no!” In’s omega cries out on the inside, but he clamps it down. “I don’t need you.”
“I’m your friend.” Thap’s tone is gentle. “Please. Let me drop off the supplies. I won’t come in, I swear.”
Friend. It sounds so fragile. No. It sounds...not enough.
“Fine.” In whispers with effort. “Only if you stay outside.”
Within the hour Thap knocks, scent flooding In’s doorway - pine, damp earth, and that unmistakable alpha undercurrent. “Hey, I brought you food, water, fresh suppressants… and,” he pauses, “my jacket. I thought it might help.”
His voice comes slightly muffled but true, from the other side of the door.
In’s vision blurs. Alpha scent during heat is a balm, a promise of relief without touch. He presses his forehead to the cool wood. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I care about you, In.” Thap’s voice trembles. “Not as an alpha claiming an omega, but as someone who thinks you’re extraordinary.”
Tears leak down In’s cheeks. He slides to the floor, chest quaking. “I’m difficult and stubborn and intolerable and..”
“And brave.” Thap’s voice is soft. “Living alone up here. In, you chose your own path and it’s a lonely one. Lonely, but brave.”
For the next few breaths, there’s nothing but silence. In is too tired to speak and Thap, well, he’s Thap. It seems that he cares more than In realised.
“In.” Thap breaks the quiet. “I’ll always choose you.”
After the heat fades, the air between them shimmers with a new tension, a heat that wasn’t so bold before. Thap’s worn jacket still hangs in In’s closet. Sometimes In buries his face in it, inhaling the soothing alpha smell and something entirely Thap.
He’s thankful the doctor hasn’t asked for it back.
One Thursday morning, when they’re sitting together on In’s couch, going through their weekly meeting, Thap steals a glance at In’s focused face as he examines a new tincture. “I could court you.” He blurts out, alarming In and making him jump in his seat.
“What?”
“I want to court you, In. But properly. The old-fashioned way. If you’d let me.”
In blinks, where did that come from?
“Court me?”
Thap nods.
“Thap. You're ten years older than me.” He starts with his list of excuses. Hopefully it’ll make Thap give up.
Does he want him to give up?
He’s not sure anymore.
“And you live on a mountain.” Thap fights back.
“I read fortunes for a living.”
Another excuse.
“And I cut people open. We all have our quirks.”
Thap raises his eyebrows in a challenge.
In lets out a sigh. “I’m difficult.”
“You’re perfect.” Thap’s gaze lingers on In’s face, his lips, heat simmering so beautifully in his chest. He wants In to be his so badly, his own health is suffering as a result.
“Are you serious?” In stares at him like he just realised Thap wasn’t joking around.
“I’ve never been more serious.” Thap reaches out, thumb brushing In’s wrist. “Let me court you, look after you, show you that not all alphas cage what they love. Just give me a chance.” He whispers.
In’s omega hums. His heart - stubborn and guarded - wants to say yes.
“One condition.” In whispers.
“Anything.” Thap gulps, scared for some reason.
“Get better hiking boots. Those, are an embarrassment.” In flings the insult at Thap’s feet.
Thap laughs, relief sparkling in his eyes. “Deal.”
Courting between them becomes a slow but sweet process. Thap comes to In’s more often, no longer bound by only Thursdays.
He visits In, carrying rare herbs, flowers, and practical gadgets In could make a use of because Thap is that attentive.
Sometimes he would bring a pot of a home-cooked curry, filling the cottage with laughter and lingering heat.
He never assumes, never pushes, never asks for more than he’s given.
On a chilly evening, a couple weeks into their courting, they sit side by side on the porch, watching the sun bleed the last of its light behind the peaks. “Why are you different?” In asks him, looking ahead because it’s easier for his walls to stay standing tall.
Thap is quiet for a moment before clearing his throat.
“My mother was an omega. She raised me alone after my alpha father walked out on us. She taught me that real strength comes from caring for others while respecting their freedom, not owning them like a prize trophy.”
In’s hand finds Thap’s. Their eyes meet. “She sounds wise.” He smiles shyly.
“She was.” Thap holds on tighter. “I think she would have loved you, In.” He leans in to kiss In’s furrowed brow, to smooth the lines away.
In hears, like I do hidden in there somewhere but he keeps it to himself.
The first time they cross the line is during a storm. Rain lashes the roof, a feral drumbeat, and the lights flicker out, shrouding the cottage in primal shadow. Thap refuses to leave until In is safe, his alpha protectiveness an unshakable force.
They settle on the couch near the candlelight; In shuffles the fortune cards, their edges worn from countless readings, his omega nerves humming under Thap’s steady gaze.
“I see a journey.” He murmurs, voice trembling against the storm’s growl. “A choice between two paths.” Thap’s hand settles on In’s knee, heavy with intent, heat seeping through thin fabric.
“What paths?” Thap’s voice is low, a softly commanding tone stirring In’s core.
“Safe or desired.” In looks to see Thap’s reaction.
“What if they’re the same?” Thap leans closer, his alpha scent - pine, earth, raw dominance - flooding In’s senses, making his omega whimper internally. In’s breath falters. His resolve weakens until it disappears altogether. He pushes the card aside, meeting Thap’s piercing gaze.
Their lips brush, tentative at first, a test of control. The spark ignites their bodies as Thap’s hand claims In’s cheek, his index finger pressing into the sensitive hollow beneath his ear, a subtle mark of possession.
In’s inner world ignites; this touch, so simple yet profound, shatters his walls, making him ache with the realisation that he’d been starving for this connection, his omega essence blooming under Thap’s dominance like a flower in the rain, emotions welling up in waves of longing and relief.
“Phi Thap.” In breathes his name, yielding, mouth opening to the alpha’s warmth, tasting rain and unhinged need. Their kiss deepens, slow and consuming, tongues tangling as Thap asserts quiet dominance, guiding the rhythm with a barely concealed hunger. Thap’s other hand maps down In’s side, his waist, fingers digging into flesh with a restrained desire, pausing at the waistband of his trousers to tug them loose.
His mind hums with fierce tenderness. Tasting In is like claiming his own piece of heaven, his alpha instincts screaming to devour but his heart whispering to cherish, emotions twisting in a knot of love and lust, knowing this kiss will seal their fates forever.
In’s pulse thunders with the storm outside, his omega begging to submit when Thap eases them onto the cushions. Wet lips blaze a trail down In's throat, each kiss a hot brand. Thap lingers at the scent gland, sucking hard until the man under him moans, arching into him, baring his neck in an instinctive surrender to a faint bruise slowly blooming under the alpha’s mouth.
“You’re mine to cherish, nong In.” Thap growls softly against his skin, breaths heavy with dominance. “Say you’re mine.” He bites his ear lobe, eliciting a broken cry.
“I’m...I’m yours.” The omega inside In whimpers the answer.
His hands shake as they slide under Thap’s shirt, tracing the hard strength of his frame, heat radiating beneath his touch. He tugs it off, desperate for more, and Thap complies, shedding physical and emotional barriers until they’re bare under the warm, flickering candlelight.
So many thoughts race through In’s mind. His heart beats with vulnerable awe. Touching Thap’s bare skin feels like touching divinity, bittersweet feelings flood his whole body with a mix of fear and exhilaration, his omega heart whispering to him, assuring him, that this is home, safe in Thap’s arms. The only person that has the pure ability to banish the loneliness that had haunted him for years.
Thap’s eyes travel down In’s body, his heaving chest, his abdomen, with a hungry gaze, dark with predatory lust but tempered by a love soon unleashed.
“Tell me if it’s too much.” He rumbles, a command wrapped in care, kissing In’s collarbone as if sealing a vow.
“You can never be too much. Please, I need you, Phi Thap.” In pleads, his opening wet with heat, aching to be claimed.
He lifts his hips, pressing the wet evidence of his arousal against Thap’s thigh, slick soaking through fabric, a silent offering. Thap’s growl vibrates deep, a sound of barely-leashed control. He moves to straddle In's thighs before bending down and kissing along his chest. He hungers to mark his territory with each slow press of lips, teasing In’s nipples until they’re erect, leaving gentle nips and sucking until they're swollen and sensitive, drawing a submissive whine from beneath him.
Every touch is deliberate, an alpha asserting power through worship. In’s fingers thread into Thap’s hair, gripping tight, torn between yielding and urging him on. Thap’s hand sneaks lower. It brushes through the soft hair at In’s groin, finding him drenched with a wetness that drips down his thighs, his hole twitching and pulsing with desperate need, begging to be filled like the greedy omega inside him begs to be.
“God, fuck, you’re so ready for me, aren’t you?” Thap drawls, breathlessly, voice a possessive caress laced with filthy praise. His fingers explore, circling the quivering rim of In’s entrance with maddening patience. He traces the tight furl, dipping just the tip of his finger to gather more of that hot, gushing arousal. His touch teases the sensitive edges until In’s hips twitch and buck, chasing the touch.
“That’s it, baby…relax for me. Let me in. I want to feel how tight you are, how much you need this, need me. Open up for Phi Thap, Nong In. Show me how good you can take it.” He leans to whisper in his ear.
“Ah!” In whimpers, his body trembling under the coaxing words, his fiery need flooding him with waves of submission and heat. “P-Please, Phi Thap… I want it. Take me, please take me now.” He begs, voice breaking on a moan as Thap finally presses forward.
“Shhh not yet. We’re not done yet, baby.”
He starts with one long finger, prodding gently and gathering the wetness before pushing inside in one smooth, deliberate motion. There’s no resistance, just the hot, velvety walls clenching around him greedily, sucking him deeper as In lets out a needy gasp, his hips rocking up to meet the intrusion.
“God you’re so beautiful, taking me so well darling. Breathe for me In, breathe.” Thap reaches for him, his free hand brushing In’s sweaty hair from his forehead.
“Fuck!” In cries out, his eyes falling shut, body arching as the finger curls inside, stroking those sensitive inner walls with wild strokes. “So...good, gah!” His head thrashes on the cushion, his hands fisting the throw hanging on the back of the sofa.
Thap continues with the torture, the pleasurable assault on In’s insides, abusing him in the most delicious way and getting thanked for it with every desperate whine. He can see it in In’s hardened cock, the way the head dribbles precum and twitches with every pump of his finger.
“You want more, don’t you? Tell me, baby. Say it and I’ll give you another.”
“More, please, Phi Thap.” In throws him a heady look, his eyes filled with tears, dark, blown with lust. “I can take more, please.” He begs with his body, a desperate whine and a flushed chest urging Thap.
Thap smirks, his alpha boiling inside as he slides in a second finger alongside the first, scissoring them slowly to stretch that tight ring of muscle, to rub against that sweet spot deep inside. “That’s it, you’re doing so well baby. You’re taking me so well.”
In’s hips push against his hand, a sharp cry escaping, his body swimming in the filthiness of it all, in the realisation that he’s being prepared, opened for his mate as slick flows over Thap’s hand in messy rivulets. The third finger comes unexpectedly and yet his body opens for it when Thap slides in thick and insistent, pumping in and out with a wet, obscene squelch that fills the room. Thap soothes him through it with sweet, sensual murmurs:
“God, In, fuck you’re so beautiful, so good for me, fuck you’re gonna feel so good around me. You want me? Want me to make you feel good?”
“Yes!” In cries out, his throat hoarse.
“Shhh I got you.” When Thap finally pulls his fingers free, they’re glistening. He slicks himself with In's own wetness, coating his thick cock, and guiding it to the pulsing entrance with a look of utter devotion, because he is. His body, heart, and soul have In's name engraved on every single speck that it's no longer a contest to try and escape now.
“You’re mine to protect, nong In.” Mine to love. He vows, eyes locked on his.
He presses forward, slow, torturously slow , inch by claiming inch, the blunt head breaching In’s pliant body, letting him feel the agonising stretch, the burning fullness of being taken.
Thap’s thoughts seal the moment with eternal promise. Being welcomed inside In’s body is a complete and utter transcendence, his heart drowning in a tidal wave of love, dominance, and unwavering commitment.
In lies beneath him, willing to take more even when the stretch is all exquisite pain and pleasure, because no feeling compares to this. No emotion or sensation can overwhelm him until tears of joy run down his face, no alpha can make his omega heart feel whole but Thap’s alpha.
The sensation is exquisite, primal. Thap’s girth forces In's walls to yield, embracing his hardness as precum and slick ease the way. In chokes up, hands clawing at Thap's shoulders, nails biting into heated skin as pleasure and submission collide, his cock twitching against his belly, leaking with pleasure, with frustration.
Thap comes to a complete, painful still, once he’s buried inside, his balls pressed flush against In's ass, forehead pressed to In's as he thumbs his tears away and kisses his lips, their laboured breaths taken and given.
“Are you good, darling?” He asks, voice strained with the effort to hold back his instinct to rut, to take In without giving him time to adjust. But he will not do such a thing, even if it meant his death, one way or another.
“I’m perfect.” In whispers, legs wrapping around Thap’s waist, pulling him deeper, offering everything his body can give as his inner walls tighten around the intrusion, and by then it becomes an impossible mission for Thap to stay still.
He moves, testing the give of In’s body, pulling out with long, slow thrusts, each one staking a claim, rocking them like a ritual of bonding. Every drag out and push back in is wet, loud, their bodies melding as sweat and fluids make love, alpha musk and omega sweetness entwining until the very air they breathe is smothered in it. Every stroke draws out whimpers and low growls, building a dirty rhythm as they hold on for the night ahead.
In meets each thrust, his hips bearing down. His hands stroke along Thap’s back, feeling the power beneath skin as his own cock grinds against Thap's glistening stomach, smearing precum over taut muscle.
“Deeper, Phi Thap, please, please.” He pleads, voice shaking with fiery desire. Thap groans softly, angling to hit that sweet spot with every punishing thrust, pushing a cry from In’s lips. Their pace is unhurried but relentless, a dance of raw instinct and tender love.
“You’re my home, my beautiful Nong In, my only home.” Thap’s voice breaks, he can feel the tears wetting his cheeks as sharp teeth graze In’s neck just shy of a mating bite. His hands grip his hips, bruising the skin to tilt him just right, claiming every angle.
The words break something inside In, tightening the knot of pleasure low in his belly, omega blood singing at being chosen while his body trembles on the edge.
“Don’t stop!” In mewls, clinging tighter, lost to the slow grind, the wet friction of their union. Their climax builds like a storm, inevitable and wild. Thap senses it before slowing down his thrusts, needing to drag out the pleasure until they’re both trembling on the brink. When In’s body finally snaps and he loses himself in the pleasure, he comes with a broken cry, clenching around his alpha, waves of ecstasy exploding in every limb in his body, slick running down between them, his own release spilling hot across his chest without needing to be touched.
Thap follows with a guttural cry, spilling deep, knot swelling at the base as he locks them together, shuddering through his release, pumping pulse after pulse of seed into In’s loosened body until it overflows, trickling out of In’s relaxed opening.
Thap falls atop In, their bodies bound by instinct and heat, chests heaving as sweat cools on flushed skin. Thap doesn’t pull away, not yet, his knot holding them closer, deeper, a primal tie as he brushes sweaty hair from In’s brow.
“Baby, you okay?” Concern suddenly bubbles up in Thap’s chest, fearing the fuse he just pulled and the monster he let loose might have been taking a hundred steps back in their relationship. He looks at In with worry, an alpha falling at his omega’s feet.
When they lie on In’s familiar couch, face to face, In presses a trembling kiss to Thap’s lips, feeling happy and drained and...claimed in the best, most wonderful way.
“Stop it with the questions, or this will be the first and last time you get a taste of me.” In warns, clearly exhausted.
Thap lets out a tired chuckle, nuzzling In’s neck before easing them into a more comfortable hold, still joined, not yet ready to part.
A seal of something ancient and otherworldly tying their hearts together.
A few mornings later, In sits up in his bed and blurts it out. “Move in with me.”
Thap nearly spills his coffee. “What?”
“Your boots have worn a permanent path. Might as well be official.”
“In, your independence...”
“Isn’t threatened by someone who respects it. I love you, you stupid alpha.”
Thap’s eyes shimmer. He sets down his cup and pulls In close. “Say it again.”
In snorts. “You’re stupid?”
Thap grins, drawing In’s head to rest on his chest. “The other part.”
“I’m in love with you.” In whispers, lifting his head to look at Thap's soft smile.
“I’m in love with you too, Nong In. More than I ever thought possible.”
They fit together like moon and tide. Thap converts half the cottage into a modest clinic. In continues to read cards for villagers. Their days blur. Tangled sheets, laughter over market runs, whispered dreams by candlelight.
One night in the coziness of their bed, after their bodies have drained each other for the third time, Thap feels the need to ask. “Do you regret it? Letting me in?”
In strokes Thap’s hair as they lie face to face. “Never. Though I do regret telling you about the eastern path, your form is still terrible.”
Thap’s laugh is soft but contagious, pulling In closer. “Brat.”
“In,” In whispers, speaking it like a secret, “is yours.”
“In, will always be mine.” Thap leans in and seals the promise with a kiss.
They fall asleep to mountain winds and distant night birds, two souls who found each other against the messy odds. No cards needed to foresee their future. It’s written in every shared breath, every gentle touch, every morning they wake up choosing each other again.
And In, who had spent years reading the threads of others' fate, finally realised that the greatest fortune he'd ever glimpsed was the one unfolding in Thap's arms each dawn.