SOREN

I couldn't understand what was happening to me. I let him into my room, let him lie in my bed, wash me with warm water, even feed me!

He held me so lovingly, as if I were, in fact, his beloved. And now here I was, pouring out these pathetic confessions about my miserable life to him.

And to Skye, of all people, whom I'd avoided like the plague for so long.

I wanted him to leave, but at the same time, I desperately wanted him to stay. It was so disorienting. Why couldn't I stop craving his presence? His arms around me made me feel safe, like this was the best place in the world, existing just for me, at least right now.

His scent was soothing, his whole body warm and inviting. I cuddled into him, having a sense that when Skye held me, the pain in my lower abdomen eased, softened.

I couldn't deny myself this, couldn't give it up, not now, when I felt like a wreck.

Those damn cramps in my stomach wouldn't stop, the worst phase was coming, and weirdly enough, I was glad that there was someone else to help me. Skye's energy had something that made everything seem a bit easier, maybe even bearable—a brief illusion of security. Just a brief moment to hold on to. Perhaps, even if for a little while, tiny bits of good could appear in my life—after Anton left?

His hands gently stroked my head and back, and it comforted me, eased my pain. And that horrible feeling growing inside me, the feeling that my life had gone off course and would never get back on track… for a moment, it just didn't matter—disappeared.

Bad stuff seemed to pile up in my life incessantly: Anton left just half a year after my dad died. His treatment drained a huge amount of money, leaving me with almost nothing. We lived in a rented apartment and had no savings. So I was left with debts, tuition, and living expenses, which is why, already being here, I made the desperate decision to join the Kingdom of Promises—and I hated it from day one. Even though I didn't have any alpha clients, it didn't make the job any easier.

Every time Ed or May wanted to use my services, something twisted inside of me. I went to the meetings and tried to put on a brave face, but inside, I felt scared and empty. This wasn't what I wanted in life; I wanted what I had when I was with Anton. Love and tenderness.

But he met that fucking omega, and I couldn't do anything. He apologized, tears in his eyes, yet it was stronger than him. Something inside me died that day—maybe forever.

I knew I was unable to trust anyone, especially not alphas and omegas because they were caught up in that damn mating game, always sniffing for a better mate, consciously or not.

Sooner or later, each of them might meet their higher mate.

And betas?

The statistics were merciless: almost no alpha/beta (or beta/omega) relationships and marriages lasted more than ten years; it just DIDN'T work. It wasn't meant to.

And I was a fool to bet everything on one card… falling madly in love with an alpha.

Tears wouldn't stop streaming down my face. Skye raised his hand and gently wiped them away, which only made me angrier because that gesture wasn't meant for me.

I couldn't claim it as mine.

Skye and I had no future together. There was only this moment of pure, untainted human compassion, and nothing more would come of it.

But that's exactly why I shut out all thoughts of the future and immersed myself in this moment, in this fleeting illusion, in this brief freeze-frame.

"I need to finish a piece of code I was supposed to deliver today," I mumbled because that thought was nagging at the back of my mind.

"What?" Skye lifted his head.

"You know I work part-time for DevApp now. I have assignments from them, and I have to deliver every day."

His eyes widened. "You must be kidding. You can't work right now!"

"But I have to. I've got a really good track record with my assignments. I can't let them down—they promised me a full-time job after graduation."

"No way. Give me the code, I'll write it for you."

"You're crazy. You don't even know what we're working on…"

"Is it in Python, JavaScript, or C++?"

"JavaScript."

"I'm good at that. Better than with Python, trust me. I work in JavaScript and C++ for Nathaniel's startup. You can guide me, but you're not programming in your condition, for sure!"

"Why would you even do that?"

"Why did you help me with my essay?"

I didn't answer.

He nodded and said, "Then for the same reason you did it for me, I'll do it now."

Seeing his determined (and distractingly handsome!) face, I pressed my lips together. Unreal. Not only was he incredibly good-looking, but also… kind. Sighing, I pointed to my laptop.

Skye got up and brought it over to the bed.

After a moment, I showed him the piece of code and gave him some instructions.

To my surprise, Skye got to work, and I watched his progress over his shoulder. He worked for an hour while I lay quietly beside him. I was pleasantly surprised that he did everything correctly without needing constant guidance.

He finished and showed me the result.

"Thank you, everything looks okay." I swallowed, feeling stupid. "Send it to this guy, here's the address."

Skye's face seemed to freeze for a second as he stared at my director's name: Winter Nolan. But he made no comment. He did as I instructed and sent the code to my boss, then put the laptop aside.

"I'll make you some tea," he said, noticing the electric kettle in the room.

I didn't say anything, feeling increasingly foolish. Why was he doing this? Why was he being so kind… when there was no future in it, I knew that without a doubt. Someone so handsome and kind—a catch—that all the omegas wanted. I'd seen their looks at him more than once and wanted to slap their faces hard.

He placed a cup of hot tea on the table next to me, then returned to the bed and hugged me again.

With some relief, I nestled into his warm, inviting chest. I knew the worst part was starting. I knew I would really need him now.

A wave of pain shot through me. It was a strong cramp, and I groaned in pain, clutching Skye's shirt, feeling something wet dripping on my thighs.

A warm trickle… Blood. I squeezed my eyes shut, hating this so much, just wanting this day to be over.

"Please," I breathed out. "It's happening. Tell me a story… something that'll take my mind off this."

He hesitated and slightly furrowed his eyebrows.

"Well… I can tell you a story that will certainly distract you. It's a big secret in my family."

"Sounds intriguing…"

"But you have to swear that you won't tell anyone, ever. Never, ever."

That caught my attention and cut through the rising pain.

"Wow, that serious?"

"Yeah, it's… about the death of two people. Bad people. But you have to swear. Swear you won't spill it, like ever."

Excitement really decreased my pain. "Tell me. If it's about bad people, I won't spill. I swear."

"It's about the death of two rapists."

"Even better. I'll keep it to myself. I promise."

Skye sighed.

"My dad was always stunningly beautiful. When he was eighteen, he got bought at an illegal auction by two degenerates. They abused him. My uncle Van… by the way, he's the father of Gabriel Nolan, whom you probably know, a sophomore student here. Anyway, Uncle Van was a cop back then. He helped my dad and took him to my father's house to give him a safe haven."

I felt a chill run down my spine. "God, I'm so sorry about what happened to your dad. Illegal auctions are horrible…"

"Yeah, it's awful. But luckily, my father helped him, and they fell in love. Turned out, they were True Mates, so my dad found happiness and love beyond anything he ever dreamed of."

A tingle of joy hit me for him, but there was a bittersweet feeling in it for me. As a beta, I wasn't destined to find my True Mate. That wasn't in the cards for us.

"So… you're a child of True Mates?"

"Yeah. But there's more to the story."

"Yes?"

"Those two rapists ended up in jail for a long time, but… they somehow found us."

I blinked, noticing Skye's frown. "What happened?"

"I was eight then. My brother Storm was about ten and a half. He was already pretty big for a kid, being a purple alpha and all."

Wow, another shocker. His family seemed pretty interesting.

"My brothers were at school, and since Storm and I had a cold, we were at home with our dad. Storm told me he saw a man in the small grove behind our lot. I believed him—he has even better eyesight and hearing than normal alphas. He said we should check it out. I wanted to tell Dad, but Storm was stubborn as always. So, we went there. The grove was maybe fifty yards behind our yard. We went there cautiously, but of course, they noticed us. Before we could react, they grabbed us—"

"Fuck…" I muttered, feeling an uneasy wave, as if I was experiencing it with Skye.

"They were older alphas, big and dirty-looking. They introduced themselves, surprised we didn't recognize their names. Our dad had this rule that he wouldn't tell us about his past until we turned eighteen, so we had no idea who they were. One of them called us ‘pretty boys' and said we had our dad's turquoise eyes, but not his platinum hair, which was a pity."

"Don't tell me they—"

Skye snorted. "They tried, that's for sure. One of them grabbed Storm, which was a big mistake. Storm, being a purple alpha, can extend those spiky thorn things, they can stand up from his body. He's got these purple lines made of alien tissue along his spine and limbs, and he can push out long bony spikes through it… and he did. The thorns shot through the line on his spine and pierced the guy's chest, stomach, and neck. He screamed, and I screamed—so loud, my dad had to hear it. The other alpha tried to pull his buddy off Storm, but the spikes weren't straight." Skye raised his hand, showing slightly crossed fingers. "They jammed together, ripping the living flesh from his body, and he screamed like a slaughtered animal. But by then, our dad was already on his way. He had a gun—" Skye trailed off and let out a huff. I could sense that this event still had some influence on him. "And you should know, my dad's the sweetest, kindest person I've ever known. But when he saw them, he raised the gun and shot them. One, then the other—the guy stuck on Storm's spikes too. No hesitation, nothing. Then he called my father, who showed up more shocked and nervous than our dad. They wrapped the bodies in carpets and… drove away. We never knew what they did with them. Yeah, so… Years later, when I turned eighteen, I found out who those guys were. Back then, Dad just told me they were very bad people who hurt him in the past and would abuse and kill us. I trusted him, and that was enough for me. My dad wouldn't kill anyone without a massive reason."

"God… Skye, but that's actually a great story!"

Skye's eyes widened, and he chuckled slightly. "Seriously? I didn't expect you to say that!"

I snorted impatiently. "Of course! They deserved it and got what was coming to them. They could've left you alone after getting out of jail. Life is all about choices—stupid, destructive choices. Some people just make one too many. Trust me, I know all about stupid choices."

A pang of pain shot through my abdomen, and I scowled, whimpering. Skye pulled me closer, tighter, and the cramps eased a little right away.

"This one wasn't your choice…"

"But the others were."

His hand slowly moved to my wrist, where the scar was most prominent, hidden under the tattoo. His eyes traced the thick line, then… his lips made a trail of soft kisses, almost like soothing stitches.

Almost, but not quite.

In some way, they were opening the wound again.

Skye leaned in closer to my ear. "Show me all your scars, Soren. Tell me the story behind them…"

But I just pressed my lips tighter. "There are too many. And I just don't wanna add another to the collection. Do you understand?"

His gaze shifted to my face, some confusion visible in his eyes. I didn't want to explain it, but I knew I was on my way to yet another horrible scar—on my heart. Skye would make the cut.

I clenched my jaw as a strong jolt of pain shot through my abdomen. I knew the worst was coming. In every meaning of the word.