Under the Skin

Chapter 11

Jonah's heat lasted for five days, and it finally broke on the morning of the sixth day.

When he became aware of his surroundings, the first thing he did was to remove the slick-covered sheets which were sticking to his skin. He felt completely disgusting since he was covered in sweat and his own slick, but most of all, he was completely exhausted. 

He was just about to fall asleep again when the door opened and Zoe popped in. When she saw his eyes weren't out of focused and hazy like they had been for the past few days, she smiled at him. 

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" Jonah unconsciously wore a pout on his lips as he whined in discomfort. 

"I'm all sticky and sweaty, and I just wanna' sleep." As he said that, his eyes fell shut again, but Zoe shook his shoulder to keep him awake. 

"You can't go back to sleep yet, we need to get you cleaned up." She did manage to make him shower twice in between two waves of heat, but it obviously wasn't enough. 

"I made you a nice warm bath with bubbles, it'll make you feel a whole lot better, you'll see." Jonah whined again but still followed her while she dragged him to the bathroom because even if he felt awful, he didn't want to cause her trouble. He also knew she had taken care of him the whole duration of his heat, so he was really grateful for her. 

Despite his prior reluctance, she did end up being right as the warm water soothed his tired muscles. He couldn't help but sigh in content while Zoe washed his hair and massaged his scalp in the process. 

When Jonah stepped out of the bathroom after drying himself and putting on some clothes, he went to the kitchen where Zoe was already making something for them to eat. He stopped beside her, waiting for her to turn to him as he played with his hands. 

Zoe looked a bit confused to see him like this, "Is everything okay?" 

"I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me. I don't know how I'll ever repay for everything you've done for me." She let go of what she was doing and took his hands into her own. 

"There's nothing to repay, bud. I'm doing this because you're my friend, and I love you." The new  omega looked confused.

"What's a friend?" She was surprised and saddened to learn he didn't know what the word meant. Jonah had definitely went through a lot.

"A friend is someone who you like spending time with and feel comfortable sharing secrets with. It's someone who will always be there for you, even when you're having a rough time." 

Jonah gasped and looked at her in shock.

"I-I'm your friend?" Zoe wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. 

"Of course you are silly." She felt him shake against her while he sobbed. 

"T-Thank you." 

Alec came back to the cabin just after lunch. Zoe had made sure to air out their room because even though his heat had ended, Jonah's scent was still very potent. She had left after checking that the new omega was alright on his own. 

When Jonah saw the beta walk in, the pull he felt between them seemed to have gotten at least twice stronger than when he was unpresented. He felt his heart ache slightly because he hadn't seen him since almost a week now, and he felt a strong urge to hug him.