AU where Kai and Xander are mates. This is an alternate version of chapter 11 where they first met.

This is NON-CANON, which means it does NOT actually happen in my universe. This is purely a "what if" scenario for fun.

~~~

*Kai's POV*

"Kai!" Ryland shouts as he barges into my room.

"Ever heard of knocking?" I quip sarcastically.

"Landon's coming over," he rushes, and I immediately perk up. Landon is my brother's new mate. Which is really weird to say, because I've never heard of someone getting a second mate.

"Right now?" I ask with a raised brow.

"Yes! And he's bringing his younger brother with him. You guys are around the same age. His name's Xander. Could you keep him company while I hang out with Landon?"

I smile wickedly. "What will you give me?"

"I won't smack you upside the head, how about that?"

Rolling my eyes, I ask, "Well, does he like video games?"

"Probably. He's a teenager. You can bring your console down to the living room and use the big TV."

"Yes!" I cheer, scrambling from my bed to grab my gaming console. Ryland never lets me play video games in the living room. Probably because I like to play at the highest volume and scream along with it. I race downstairs, my arms filled with the console, cables, and controllers. Kneeling down, I get to work on hooking everything up to the TV. This would go by a lot faster if someone offered to help, but he's too busy tidying up for his new mate.

Before long, a knock at the door has Ryland practically jumping down the stairs. He takes a calming breath before opening the door and smiling.

"Landon," he greets, his voice showing no signs that he was just running around like a madman.

"Hey, thanks for letting us come by," I hear Landon say, but I can't see him past the doorframe.

"You must be Xander," Ryland says so yet another person that I can't fucking see. "I'm really excited to meet someone from Landon's family! Come on inside, Kai is almost finished setting everything up."

"Who's Kai?" A soft voice questions. "Setting up what?"

Feeling a tug on my heart, I frown curiously. What the hell is that? It's like there's an invisible pull, directed to where Ryland is walking over with our guests. Looking up, my eyes first fall on Landon, and I grin at him.

"Hey, Landon! It's good to see you!" I skip over, giving him a quick hug.

A low growl takes me by surprise, and I turn to my brother who looks extremely shocked by his own actions.

"Uh... sorry," Ryland chuckles awkwardly. "I don't know what came over me."

"You're mates," the soft voice pipes up. "It's natural to be overprotective."

I lift my head in the direction of the voice, feeling the pull getting significantly stronger. The moment his baby blue eyes meet mine, the rest of the room fades into the background.

'Mate!' Kieran barks in my head, prancing around happily.

My mouth goes dry as I stare at the blonde angel in front of me. He blinks, blushing slightly under the intensity of my gaze.

"Um... I'm Xander," he says quietly, shifting his eyes uncomfortably. I tilt my head to the side. Does he not feel our bond.

"I'm Kai," I tell him slowly. "Out of curiosity, how old are you?"

"Seventeen," he answers, and I mentally face palm. He's too young to feel our bond! Ryland clears his throat, pulling my attention.

'You said you'd keep him occupied, remember?' Ryland reminds me over our mind link.

"D-Do you like video games?" I stammer awkwardly.

Xander nods once. "Yeah, I do."

"Cool! I have my console set up and ready. Wanna play?"

We settle on the floor, selecting our Mario Kart characters and racetrack. Usually, I'm pretty good at these games, but I can't seem to focus on anything other than the blonde at my right.

With him so close to me, I can feel his body heat and pick up on his sweet scent. White chocolate and cranberries. It's intoxicating, and every fiber of my body is screaming to lean in and soak up his scent.

"You really suck at this," Xander giggles, lapping me for the second time. I curse, snapping out of my daze and refocusing on the game.

"I'm just having an off day," I grumble, feebly trying to catch up. The sound of his laugh plays on a loop in my head, causing butterflies to erupt in my stomach.

We play for a while before Landon and Ryland come back, taking over our game. Pouting, I sit on the couch with a huff as Xander quietly cheers on his brother.

Much too soon, Landon announces that he needs to get Xander home. I want to protest, but what can I say without revealing that Xander is my mate? It's not like I intend on keeping it a secret forever, but he's only seventeen. If I tell him that we're mates when he can't feel the bond yet, will he be weirded out? Is he even gay?

I glance over to where he's standing by the door, shyly hugging Ryland goodbye. He tugs on his light pink shirt that matches the blush on his face.

Yeah, he's definitely gay.

"Bye, Kai," Xander offers me a small wave. "It was nice to meet you."

I scramble to my feet. "It was nice to meet you too! Maybe we can hang out again!"

He grins and nods. "I'd like that."

My heart pounds hard enough to make my chest ache, and I smile widely. "Here, give me your phone number and we can keep in touch."

As we exchange numbers, I catch the way his blush deepens and his blue eyes flicker to me. I suppress a smile, not wanting to tease him for being so damn adorable.

I gingerly step forward with my arms out, pulling him in for a hug. Sparks erupt where our skin brushes, and our bond hums happily at the contact. Although the hug is brief, the memory imprints on my mind.

***

The next few weeks are complete hell. I haven't worked up the courage to tell my brother that his mate's brother is my mate. Isn't that kind of weird? If Landon and Ryland ever got married, Landon would be by brother-in-law. And Xander is his brother, so we would sort of be related. I shudder at the thought and turn back to my phone.

I've been trying to work up the nerve to text Xander and invite him over. It's been a while since I've seen him and Kieran has been whining more with each passing day. A feeling of discomfort settles deep in my chest. It's as if it's becoming painful to be away from my mate.

Taking a deep breath, I force myself to text Xander and invite him over for video games. Not even a minute later, my phone chimes with his response. I leap up joyfully, smiling as I read his message that says he'll be over within an hour.

I take the fastest shower I possibly can before getting ready and running around the house to clean. Luckily, Ryland is working at the salon today, which means we'll have the house to ourselves.

Not a moment to soon, a soft knock at the front door makes my heart leap. I yank the door open, immediately throwing my arms around my mate. His sweet scent fills me, making Kieran purr.

"K-Kai?" Xander stammers in surprise.

"Sorry," I pull back quickly, feeling my cheeks heating up. "Er... come on in. I got Super Smash Bros if you wanna play that."

"I'm not really good at that one," he confesses, stepping into the house.

"Good," I grin. "I owe you for how many times you beat me last time. It's your turn to get your butt kicked."

"You're on," Xander giggles, settling on the carpet and tucking his legs under him.

"Shit," I face palm. "I forgot to bring the console out of my room. Give me a few minutes and I'll get it set up."

"O-Or we could play in your room," he suggests, blushing cutely.

"S-Sure. It's upstairs, follow me."

I close the door behind us, trying to force my heart to stop going insane. We're just playing video games... nothing else is going to happen.

Handing Xander a controller, I settle next to him where he's sitting on the edge of my bed. Goddess, I hope is scent sticks to my sheets.

Once again, I can't stay focused on the video game. I'm hyper aware of the few inches between me and Xander, and how good it feels to be so close to him.

"Dang it," Xander gasps when I manage to knock him off the stage.

"Man, you were right. You do suck at this."

"Shut up," he whines, jutting his lip out in a pout. My eyes focus on his pink bottom lip, how soft and plump it looks.

A fire erupts low in my stomach, making me gasp from the sheer intensity. I double over, groaning as my pants suddenly feel too tight.

"Kai??" Xander exclaims worriedly. "A-Are you okay?"

"I—" I'm cut off with another groan as the fire licks its way through my body. "I j-just need to use the bathroom!"

Without waiting for a response, I dash out of my room and slam the bathroom door shut. I yank my pants down, sighing in relief. Clothes just feel so... wrong all of a sudden. Unnatural against my skin. I finish pulling my pants off before dragging my shirt over my head, leaving myself only in my checkered boxers.

My eyes widen when I look down, seeing my prominent erection. What the hell? Why am I so turned on right now? Fuck, I can't go back out there when I'm this hard, it'll freak Xander out. Maybe I can quietly jerk off without him knowing.

Biting my lower lip, I slip my hand into my boxers, grasping my election. I moan as I slowly pump myself, precum already dripping from the tip.

"Kai?" Xander's voice is slightly muffled on the other side of the door. I moan low in my throat as his voice only heightens my arousal. "Is everything okay?"

"I-I'm fine!" I choke out, pumping myself faster. I yelp in surprise when my hole starts to feel wet, and liquid begins to drip down my thighs.

Shit.

I heard that Omegas can produce slick when they're aroused or in heat. My eyes widen. Fuck, I'm in heat!

"Kai, your... your pheromones are really strong right now," Xander says. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Xander, I'm fine!" I shout, trying to cover the moan that pushes out as I say his name. The door handle wiggles, and I panic when I realize I forgot to lock it. "Xander, don't—"

The door pushes open, causes us both to freeze. My hand is still tightly gripping my election as slick soaks my boxers and trickles down my legs. Xander's face turns bright red and he squeaks.

"What are you doing!" He shrieks, covering his eyes.

"W-Wait, it's not what you think!" I panic, not wanting him to think I'm some freak that jerks off all the time. "Heat! I'm in heat."

"Heat?" He removes his hands and furrows his brows. "You... that means you've found your mate."

I don't miss the dejection in his voice, which makes my spirits rise slightly.

"I did," I confess.

"Oh," he says — dare I say — sadly.

"Xander..." I take a deep breath. "It's you. You're my mate."

He blinks. "Are you sure?"

Chuckling breathlessly, I glance down at my erection. "Uh, yeah. I'm sure."

"S-So you're in heat because of... me?"

"Sorry," I grimace. "I should've just said something. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable since you can't feel the bond yet."

"I wouldn't have felt uncomfortable," he shakes his head. "I kinda... like you."

My head snaps up. "You do?"

"Yeah," he grins. "I wasn't sure how you felt about me so I didn't say anything."

The fire begins to burn hotter, causing a strangled moan to tear from my lips. I crouch to the ground, trying to cover my painfully hard erection.

"You should go," I say through clenched teeth.

"B-But, I want to help," Xander offers, and my eyes widen.

"You want to... help," I repeat, and he looks to the ground as he shuffles his feet.

"I would like to, but... I don't know how. I've never done anything like this before."

I smile at the sweet boy in front of me. "Xan, you should go."

"But—"

"I don't want the first time we do stuff to be when I'm in heat," I cut him off. "It'll be over in a few days and... we can see where it goes, I guess."

Xander grins, visibly relaxing. "Okay. Thank you."

He hastily runs down the stairs, locking the door behind him as he leaves. The desire to chase after him is strong, but I force myself to climb in the shower and turn on the cold water.

Goddess, please help me survive this so I can finally kiss my mate.

~~~

I was going to write smut for them but it just felt... wrong. Like I was betraying their real mates. Anyway, I hope you thought this was cute regardless!

I hope you enjoyed this extra!
-Gumbie