A Knot of His Own

Chapter 26: The Final Stretch

Julian woke to the hollow ache of an empty bed, the sheets beside him cool and undisturbed. His body protested every inch of movement, heavy and unfamiliar, and for a long moment he simply lay there, blinking at the ceiling, willing the dull pressure in his pelvis to settle. Something was missing. Not the pup—the pup was an urgent, constant presence, a demanding weight that refused to be forgotten. It was Theo. The absence of warm, solid alpha beside him was an alarm bell that rang through the fog of sleep, and Julian pushed himself upright with a grunt, one hand braced against his lower back.

The nursery door was open. Light spilled through it, soft and golden.

Julian moved carefully, barefoot on the polished oak, and stopped in the doorway. The room was awash in morning sun, lavender sachets perfuming the air, but it was the figure by the crib that stole his breath.

Theo knelt on the floor in his sleep-rumpled shirt, his broad back bowed, shoulders shaking with the force of silent tears. In his hands he clutched a tiny knitted hat, pale cream yarn crushed against his chest like something precious and fragile. The crib beside him stood empty, waiting, and Julian watched a sob roll through Theo's frame without a sound escaping.

"Theo." His voice came out rougher than he intended, stripped of its usual command.

Theo turned, and the sight of him nearly undid Julian. His hazel eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, tears carving tracks down his stubbled cheeks. He looked wrecked. He looked terrified. And when he spoke, his voice cracked open like something broken.

"I'm not ready to share you with anyone yet."

He looked down at the hat in his hands, then back at Julian, raw and exposed.

"Even our pup."

The words hung between them, heavy with a shame Theo clearly couldn't contain. He sniffed, wiping his face with the back of his hand, but more tears came, unstoppable. Julian stood frozen for a beat, his mind racing to make sense of it. This was Theo, his devoted, eager alpha, the man who had practiced breathing on the kitchen floor at dawn, who had knelt and promised to stay. And now he was weeping over the birth of their child because he was afraid of being left behind.

The ache in Julian's chest was unexpected and sharp. He crossed the room slowly, lowering himself to the floor with a careful, graceless sigh, his belly making the motion awkward. He reached out and took Theo's face in both hands, thumbs brushing the tears away.

"Look at me."

Theo obeyed, sniffling, his gaze desperate and searching.

"I'm scared too," Julian said, his voice low and steady. "I have been this whole time. But I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you."

Theo's lip trembled. "I know. I know that. I just—" He choked, pressing his forehead against Julian's. "What if you don't need me the same way? What if the pup takes all of you, and there's nothing left?"

Julian's thumb stroked his cheekbone, slow and deliberate. "There's no version of this where I don't need you, Theo. You're my alpha. You're the one I chose. Our pup doesn't change that."

Theo let out a shuddering breath, and Julian pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around Theo's broad shoulders, letting the alpha bury his face against his neck. The knitted hat was crushed between them, warm and small. Julian pressed a kiss to Theo's hair and held him tight, the morning light spilling over them both.

Theo lifted his head, eyes shining with a fragile, desperate hope. Julian held his gaze, letting the weight of his words settle between them.

"Only my alpha worships me like this," Julian murmured, his voice dropping to something low and private. "Only you, Theo. No one else has ever seen me like this. No one else has ever been allowed to."

Theo's breath hitched. His hands, still clutching the tiny hat, loosened, and he set it aside on the nursery floor with a reverence that made Julian's chest ache. Then he reached up, palms sliding over Julian's swollen belly, warm and worshipful.

"Let me show you," Theo whispered, voice raw and wrecked. "Let me show you how much I need you."

Julian's answer was to grip the back of Theo's neck and pull him into a kiss—fierce, demanding, hungry. Theo melted into it, a broken sound escaping his throat as his hands slid around Julian's waist, pulling him closer despite the awkward angle of their bodies on the floor.

"Then worship me," Julian breathed against his lips. "Show me you're still mine."

Theo's eyes darkened with something fierce and tender. He lowered Julian onto the soft rug, careful, reverent, his mouth trailing down the column of Julian's throat, his hands sliding beneath the hem of Julian's sleep shirt. Every touch was a prayer, every kiss a promise.

Julian arched into him, a sharp gasp escaping as Theo's mouth found his nipple, tongue flicking over the sensitive peak. His hands fisted in Theo's hair, tugging hard enough to make the alpha groan.

"That's it," Julian rasped. "Don't you dare stop."

Theo obeyed without hesitation, his mouth trailing lower, pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses over the swell of Julian's belly. He lingered there, nuzzling into the taut skin, his breath coming in shaky, reverent gusts against the curve where their pup slept.

"I love this," Theo whispered, more to the belly than to Julian. "I love every inch of you. Every change. Every mark."

Julian's throat tightened, but he refused to let the emotion crack his voice. "Then show me."

Theo's hands trembled as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of Julian's sleep pants, dragging them down his hips with agonizing slowness. Julian lifted his hips to help, and the fabric slid away, leaving him bare beneath the morning light. Theo made a sound like a prayer, his gaze raking over Julian's body—the heavy swell of his belly, the flushed hardness of his cock, the slick, swollen heat between his thighs that pulsed with need.

"You're beautiful," Theo breathed, and then he lowered his head, pressing his mouth to the inside of Julian's thigh.

Julian gasped, fingers digging into the rug. Theo worked his way up, kissing and nipping at the sensitive skin, his tongue tracing patterns that made Julian's hips buck. When Theo finally reached the juncture of his thighs, he paused, looking up at Julian through his lashes, eyes dark and adoring.

"May I?"

The question, so soft and deferential, undid something in Julian. He cupped Theo's jaw, thumb brushing over his trembling lips.

"Yes. Now."

Theo dove in like a starving man. His tongue swept through Julian's wet folds, broad and flat, tasting him with desperate reverence. Julian's head fell back, a guttural moan tearing from his throat. Theo's hands gripped his thighs, spreading him wider, and he lapped at him like he was trying to memorize every taste, every texture, every shiver he could wring from Julian's body.

"That's it," Julian gasped, his voice fraying at the edges. "Fuck, Theo. Right there. Don't stop."

Theo's response was a low, rumbling growl that vibrated through Julian's core. He found the knot of nerves at the top of Julian's slit and circled it with his tongue, slow and torturous, then sealed his lips around it and sucked. Julian cried out, his hands fisting in Theo's hair, hips grinding against that clever mouth as waves of pleasure crashed through him.

Theo worked him relentlessly, two fingers sliding inside with slick, obscene ease, curling to find the spot that made Julian see stars. Julian was panting now, desperate and undone, his control shredding with every pass of Theo's tongue.

"Look at me," Theo ordered, the command so unlike him that it startled Julian into obeying. Theo's mouth gleamed with Julian's wetness, his eyes burning with devotion. "I need you to see me while you come. I need you to know exactly who's worshiping you."

Julian's breath hitched, his chest heaving. The sight of Theo kneeling between his thighs, so wrecked and devoted, broke something open inside him. He came with a sharp, broken cry, Theo's name torn from his lips like a prayer, his body shuddering through the waves of release as Theo drank him down, gentle and reverent, only pulling away once Julian's trembling began to still.

Julian's chest rose and fell in slow, unsteady waves, the aftershocks still rippling through him. Above him, Theo crawled up his body, mouth leaving a wet trail across his belly, his hands braced on either side of Julian's shoulders. When he reached Julian's chest, he paused, eyes fixed on the dark, swollen peaks of his nipples, already beaded and sensitive from the pregnancy.

Theo's breath ghosted over one, hot and shaking. "I want to taste you here too."

Julian's fingers threaded into Theo's hair, not to pull him closer, but to hold him there, trembling. "Then do it."

Theo's mouth closed over his left nipple, and Julian's whole body seized. The sensitivity was a shock, a live wire arcing from his chest straight down to his core. Theo sucked gently at first, tentative, then with more hunger as Julian's grip tightened in his hair. His tongue swirled around the peak, lapping at the tender flesh, and when he sucked harder, a thin, sweet bead of colostrum welled up and he swallowed it like it was holy.

Julian gasped, hips jerking. "Fuck. Theo."

Theo switched to the other breast, giving it the same worshipful attention, his hand coming up to knead the one he'd abandoned, thumb stroking over the wet, aching peak. Julian's eyes rolled back, his body caught between overstimulation and a fresh, burning need coiling low in his belly. He was hard again, the slick between his thighs already gathering, and he could feel Theo's own arousal pressing against his hip, thick and demanding through the alpha's sleep pants.

"Please," Julian heard himself say, a word he rarely used, a word that made Theo groan against his skin. "I need you inside me. Now."

Theo lifted his head, his mouth red and slick, his eyes nearly black with want. He didn't argue. He didn't ask. He simply stripped his pants down his thighs, his cock springing free, already leaking, flushed and thick.

"Look at me," Theo said, positioning himself at Julian's entrance, the head of his cock pressing against that slick, swollen heat. "I need you to see me when I fill you up."

Julian's answer was a desperate nod, his ankles locking around Theo's waist, heels digging into the small of his back. Theo pushed in, slow and inexorable, and Julian's mouth fell open on a silent cry. The stretch was perfect, consuming, Theo's knot swelling at the base as he sank deeper and deeper until he was seated fully inside.

"Fuck," Theo breathed, forehead dropping to Julian's. "You feel like heaven."

"Move," Julian ordered, his voice cracking. "Move, now, I need—"

Theo pulled out almost all the way, then slammed back in, making Julian cry out. He set a punishing rhythm, fast and deep, his hips snapping against Julian's thighs. Julian clawed at his back, nails raking down his shoulders, reduced to a gasping, keening mess beneath his alpha.

But Theo was watching him. Always watching. He saw the moment Julian's eyes fluttered, the moment his control began to fracture, and he pulled back, just barely, slowing to a maddening tease. Julian snarled, slapping his shoulder.

"Don't you dare. I didn't say stop."

"Not yet," Theo said, his voice wrecked but firm. "I want to watch you come apart first. I want to feel it."

He thrust in shallow, torturous strokes, just enough to keep Julian on the edge, teetering, desperate. Julian tried to fuck himself on Theo's cock, but Theo grabbed his hips, holding him still, pinning him down with a strength that made Julian's mouth water.

"Let me take care of you," Theo whispered, rolling his hips in a slow, deliberate circle. "Let me take all the time I need."

Julian's eyes were wet, his body trembling from the effort of holding back. "That's not how this works. I give the orders."

"Not today," Theo said softly, and the tenderness in his voice undid everything. He leaned down, pressing his lips to Julian's belly, his cheek, his jaw. "Today, let me give you something. Let me make you feel how loved you are."

Julian's throat closed. He wanted to fight, to snap and demand, but the words died in his mouth as Theo started moving again—slow, deep, angled perfectly to drag against that spot inside him. Julian's whole body bowed, a raw sound tearing free.

"I'm close," Theo groaned, his rhythm faltering. "I'm so close, Jules. I need to knot you. I need to—"

"Do it," Julian gasped, his own climax crashing over him in a sudden, blinding wave. "Fill me up. Let me feel you, all of you—"

Theo's knot swelled, catching, locking them together as he spilled inside Julian with a guttural, broken moan. Julian came with him, clenching around that thick, pulsing heat, the two of them shaking together on the nursery floor, tangled and complete.

For a long time, neither of them moved. Theo's weight was warm and grounding, his face buried in Julian's neck, his breath hot and ragged. Julian's arms wrapped around him, holding on tight.

"I love you," Theo whispered, his voice muffled against Julian's skin. "I love you so much it scares me."

Julian pressed a kiss to his temple, his eyes falling closed. "I know, pup. I know."

They lay there, joined, the morning sun spilling over them, the tiny knitted hat forgotten on the floor beside the empty crib.

The quiet stretched, fragile and warm, until Julian felt the first stirring of discomfort in his hips. He shifted, and Theo made a soft, pained sound as his knot tugged.

"Careful," Theo murmured.

"Then move carefully." Julian's voice was still rough, but there was an edge returning to it, something sharp and familiar. He smoothed his hand down Theo's spine, then gripped the back of his neck. "Slowly. I'm not finished with you."

Theo's breath hitched. He eased back with painstaking care, his knot deflating just enough to slip free, and the loss made Julian's thighs clench. He didn't let go of Theo's neck, keeping him close, keeping him pinned in that kneeling position between Julian's legs.

"Look around you," Julian said, his voice dropping low. Theo's gaze flickered across the nursery, over the empty crib, the folded blankets, the paper cranes swaying overhead. "You were weeping in here this morning because you were afraid of losing me."

Theo's jaw worked. "I—"

"Quiet." Julian's thumb pressed against the soft spot behind Theo's ear, and Theo went still, obedient. "You are not losing me. You are not being replaced. You are the alpha I chose, the only one I will ever let kneel at my feet. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Theo's voice cracked. "Yes, Julian."

Julian held his gaze, letting the silence do its work, then released him. He let himself sink back into the rug, one arm draped over his belly, watching Theo with the calm, calculating expression he used in boardrooms.

"Now." Julian's lips curved, just slightly. "You made this nursery beautiful, but it's still missing something."

Theo blinked. "What?"

"The furniture." Julian tilted his head. "The glider we ordered still hasn't been delivered, and the changing table needs to be assembled. I checked the delivery status yesterday. They'll be here this afternoon."

Theo's mouth fell open. "You want me to—"

"I want you to stop crying over me and start earning your keep." Julian's voice was sharp, but his eyes were soft, warm. "You're going to put on some clothes, make me breakfast, and then you're going to assemble that changing table. There are instructions in the box. I expect you to follow them perfectly."

Theo let out a wet, disbelieving laugh, scrubbing at his face. "You're serious."

"I'm always serious." Julian raised an eyebrow. "And after you're done, you and I have a breathing session scheduled. Patricia said we need to practice daily now. I expect you to be on time."

Theo stared at him for a long moment, something settling in his chest, a familiar grounding weight. This was his Julian. Bossy, demanding, impossible. And still looking at him like he was the only person in the world.

"Breakfast first," Theo said, his voice steadier now. "Then the changing table. Then breathing."

"Then me," Julian added, his voice silk and steel. "You're not done worshiping me, alpha. Not even close."

Theo's lips parted, a flush creeping up his neck. He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Julian's belly, then his lips, soft and reverent.

"Yes, sir."

Julian's eyes glinted, a slow, satisfied smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Good answer."

He pushed himself up onto his elbows, then swung his legs to the side, rising with a careful, deliberate motion. His belly led the way, heavy and proud, and he let Theo watch him for a long moment before he pointed at the floor.

"Down."

Theo's breath caught. He didn't hesitate, didn't question. He dropped to his knees, then lowered himself until his chest touched the cool oak, his forehead pressed to the wood, arms stretched out in front of him. A full prostration, his broad back bare and trembling, his ass still slick from their coupling. The pose was utter surrender, and Julian's cock twitched at the sight of it.

"Look at you," Julian murmured, circling him slowly, his bare feet padding across the nursery floor. "The perfect alpha, on his belly for me. You'd do anything I asked, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." Theo's voice was muffled against the floor, but it carried no hesitation. "Anything."

Julian stopped at Theo's head, looking down at him. He reached out, dragging the toe of his foot down Theo's spine, feeling the muscles flinch and shiver under his touch. Theo's hips shifted, a low, desperate sound escaping him.

"You were crying this morning because you were afraid I wouldn't need you." Julian's voice was soft, almost fond. "But look at you. Look at what you give me. Do you understand now? Do you understand that I could never let this go?"

Theo lifted his head just enough to look up at Julian, his eyes red-rimmed but burning. "I understand. I'm yours. I've always been yours."

"Louder."

"I'm yours!" Theo's voice cracked with raw emotion, filling the nursery. "I'm yours, Julian. Every part of me. Every breath. Every heartbeat. Yours."

Julian's chest swelled with something fierce and possessive. He lowered himself to his knees in front of Theo's bowed head, taking Theo's chin in his hand and lifting his face.

"Then stay there," Julian said softly. "Stay on the floor. Let me look at you. Let me remember exactly what I have."

He let go and leaned back on his haunches, belly resting on his thighs, watching Theo hold his position with perfect, trembling obedience. The morning light caught the sweat on Theo's back, the marks Julian's nails had left there. The tiny knitted hat lay forgotten near the crib.

Julian's hand drifted to his own belly, cupping the heavy curve. "Our pup is going to have the most devoted alpha in the world as a father," he said quietly. "And I'm going to have the most devoted alpha in the world, full stop. You don't need to worry about being replaced, Theo. You're irreplaceable."

Theo's breath shuddered out of him. His fingers curled against the floor, scrabbling for purchase, and Julian watched the tears fall again—but these were different, softer, something releasing rather than breaking.

"Thank you," Theo whispered. "Thank you for choosing me."

Julian smiled, slow and warm. "Get up. You have a changing table to assemble."

Theo rose, his body still trembling, his cheeks wet. He looked at Julian with an adoration that made the omega's heart stutter. Then he bent, pressing a kiss to Julian's belly, and murmured something Julian couldn't hear against his skin.

"What was that?"

Theo looked up, eyes shining. "I said, thank you. For letting me be his father too."

Julian's throat tightened. He pulled Theo up, cupping his face, and kissed him hard. "You're going to be a wonderful father. Now go make me breakfast before I change my mind and keep you in here all day."

Theo laughed, wet and bright, and Julian watched him go, a warmth blooming in his chest that had nothing to do with the pup and everything to do with the man who had just bared his soul on the nursery floor.