(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 74: We aren’t going to call it by it’s name

Chapter 74: We aren’t going to call it by it’s name

Maxwell felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. Is this how Andrew had felt when he had been on his way to meet his parents? God, he hoped not. This felt awful.

He was pretending like everything was fine, since he could tell that Andrew was freaking out and he didn’t want to add to his plate of troubles. That didn’t mean that Maxwell was doing okay.

His hands were shaking, but thankfully Andrew hadn’t noticed. He was begging and praying that Andrew’s suggestion of getting the same type of flowers that he had gotten for Maxwell’s Mother was a good suggestion. He had only met this Mrs. Proctor once with his Father before, and she had been a strict woman who had barely smiled.

When they had spoken on the phone, Maxwell had been in a compromised state since he had been worried about Andrew, but now that he thought back on it...She had been quite nice? Was she going to change her personality because it was Andrew? Or had she been changing her personality because everyone else wasn’t Andrew?

Oh god, Maxwell could feel himself sweating. He’d never sweated before going to a meeting before besides his first one. He needed a cigarette.

Maxwell noticed when Andrew’s driving became slightly erratic, but said nothing as they approached the giant building. It had to be a shock to him. Andrew had no idea when his Father had brought up the topic at dinner. It had been fun to tease him, since Andrew had behaved as if he was just a normal person. Maybe he had been, but his Mother, and Mrs. Proctor had been putting in the work to make sure he was anything but that.

It was clear to Maxwell, now that he knew the truth, that Andrew’s Mother had worked desperately to create a shield for her child. She must have known that Andrew was going to awaken at some point.

Maxwell turned his head, biting his lip.

He’d had a discussion with Dr. Smith about it recently, actually. About how Maxwell had been pretty sure that Andrew was going to awaken around this time without the assault on him. Dr. Smith had been interested in Maxwell’s words, but at the same time, didn’t want to pursue it further.

"What is done is done, Mr. Beckett. If we wonder about the what ifs for too long, it is only going to hurt Andrew." Dr. Smith had been right. If Andrew found out that Maxwell was having these thoughts, he might be hurt. And as much as Maxwell agreed with Dr. Smith, some things were hard to ignore.

Like Andrew being prone to sniffing Maxwell before he had been assaulted, and the way that he had touched him. Maxwell didn’t want to get full of himself, but he knew that his own pheromones were potent. That and it was clear that Andrew had felt something for Maxwell before they confirmed their relationship. They might not have been the same feelings Maxwell had had, but they were...feelings.

Feelings deep enough that Andrew hadn’t protested when Maxwell had helped him ’take the edge off’.

Maxwell’s concern was stemming from a different issue. An issue that came when an omega and an alpha got close this quickly and it was this intense. But knowing Andrew’s history and how his Mother had passed away, it didn’t take a genius to realise the man had issues when it came to mating. Andrew had never said anything.

That alone told Maxwell everything he needed to know.

Andrew was a relatively normal man, but he was also happy to chat about anything. Except things that were deeply personal to him. It had taken several drinking nights to get anything out of him that wasn’t surface level when they were first getting to know each other. Admittedly, Maxwell had hoped that Andrew wasn’t able to hold his liquor as well as him, and had been disappointed when it became clear he was better at it then Maxwell, but he was over it.

He was getting over it.

Maxwell noticed how stiff Andrew had gotten in the driver’s seat beside him, and pushing down his own anxieties, he reached out and took his hand in his. Andrew’s brown gaze turned to him, full of confusion, fear, expectation, and adoration. For him. Maxwell swallowed, and instead gave Andrew the comfort he needed.

It would do no one any good if Maxwell took him into the backseat and had his way with him.

Well, maybe not, but they could have planned the timing of arrival better so that they could do that. Unfortunately, neither of them had thought of that, and they were meeting another true alpha. Something that Maxwell hadn’t even known about Mrs. Proctor.

The sneaky minx. It was praise. Maxwell liked that she kept it close, and it was a good thing for Andrew. He needed more positive role models in his life, especially like her.

Maxwell stepped back and let the two greet each other. It was a touching reunion between two people who hadn’t seen each other for years. It was clear that Andrew didn’t recognise her in the same way that she did, but Mrs. Proctor didn’t seem offended by that. It was another good mark for her in Maxwell’s books.

Maxwell took his time to look around, examining everything as a way to distract himself.

The company was huge. They had three locations, with this being the main building. They had torn down the building that had been here prior about 5 years ago and had rebuilt it in record time while still making sure everything was up to code. It helped that a lot of their clients were top of the top in society. Why and how an accounting firm got so big was beyond what Maxwell could understand, but it wasn’t his place to judge.

When Andrew gave Maxwell a panicked look, Maxwell knew it was his time to shine. Butting on his corporate smile, Maxwell began to lead conversations in place of Andrew, giving his big baby a break. He was doing a great job considering that this was a very stressful situation for him.

Maxwell winced, taking in the area that they had stepped into after chatting with Mrs. Proctor, no, Kim, and immediately wanted to change up how his offices looked. Damn, he was envious that everything was so bright, classy and that it still honoured Andrew’s Mother. It was clear that this woman breathed everything related to Andrew’s Mother. Even if she wasn’t here in person, she was clearly here in spirit. The giant hydrangea sculpture spoke for itself.

Maxwell’s anxieties only increased as they moved through the company she showed off the offices. To Andrew it must have been a fascinating process, but to Maxwell? What a flaunt of wealth and how happy everyone was here. The employees didn’t look stressed and were well taken care of. Maxwell didn’t think his company was bad, but when they had a moment’s break, Maxwell shot off a message to his assistant explaining that they needed to revisit workplace happiness.

Especially before Andrew got there.

Maxwell was not going to have his company look bad compared to Andrew’s Mother’s company. Especially when he found out that Mrs. Proctor was Andrew’s aunt a few steps removed. It explained why she was giving Maxwell special treatment, and how that was going to extend to the Beckett family.

Maxwell had done his best for expression not to shift when she’d given him a knowing look when Andrew hadn’t been paying attention. As someone who had been an alpha for a long time, she knew damn well what was going on between Maxwell and Andrew. Honestly, Andrew was the only one who didn’t know.

His parents had guessed almost right away, and Maxwell was shy enough that he wasn’t going to mention it to the man himself. Maxwell didn’t think he was personally ready to have that conversation with him, and to also be hurt by the words that Andrew said in response.

He didn’t blame Andrew. No. All of his anger was directed to the piece of shit who helped create him.

Maxwell was pretty sure that through stubbornness and pure fear of being just like his father, Andrew might have staved off becoming an alpha at a younger age. Maxwell had experienced Andrew’s stubbornness firsthand. He’d seen what his stubbornness could do. The man had nearly died from not admitting he was an alpha.

That stubbornness could translate into several things, but that kind of trauma? Maxwell could see it happening. He hadn’t brought it up to Dr. Smith yet, at least not the trauma aspect, but everyone knew. Andrew’s blow out after Dr. Smith had confronted him stemmed from it. The only person who could help him deal with it was Andrew, so Maxwell just had to be there for him when he needed it.

Maxwell did his best to keep his game face on for Andrew, being the best supportive partner he could be even as his mind filled with these kinds of thoughts. Andrew didn’t seem to notice, and Maxwell didn’t give a fuck about that. It was okay he didn’t. Andrew spent too much damn time worrying about others and their feelings, Maxwell could take a backseat for once.

Today was about Andrew, and supporting him. It was going to be a hard day. The fact that all four of them were wearing black was proof enough. And Andrew’s pheromones were fluctuating as his feelings shifted rapidly. He was doing his best, but Maxwell had never lost a family member who was so important to him yet. He could not understand the depth of his pain.

So, supporting the man he cared about deeply was all he could do, even if it meant he got a little embarrassed.