SKYE

I could see it in him, and with every hour that passed as we sat next to each other. I started to feel it too. At first, I didn't know how to interpret it. I only knew how omegas' heat pheromones smelled. I had never, ever smelled any heat pheromones from a beta before, but now I was fully exposed to them. They were more subtle, I admit, yet still very enticing. I noticed a few alphas sitting nearby shifting uneasily in their seats, looking around as if trying to sniff an omega.

Soren's heat had definitely started building, growing more intense with each passing hour. His fingers were clenched, his lips red, his breathing quick. I could hear his heart pounding and see the way his eyes kept darting to me instinctively, pupils wide and hungry, almost like I was an oasis in a desert and he was a thirsty traveler.

It still wasn't the thing itself. It was just a build-up, but it was strong enough to keep Soren distracted and on edge.

By lunch, I knew it was bad. Soren ate in large gulps, his hands trembling.

"It's building up… building up," he mumbled, looking frantic. "Skye, you have no idea how badly I want you to just fuck me right now—"

My dick loved to hear it, and I took a sharp breath. "We can go back to the room if you want," I whispered. "And I will make love to you," I added, reaching out my hand, but he quickly pulled away.

"No, it's not the peak yet. I can handle it. There's just one more class. I don't want to explain to your brother why I left for some strange reason. I can hold out… just don't touch me."

So, we went to the last class, but things were only getting worse. Several alphas in the area started persistently glancing at Soren. One even got up to sit closer, but I let out a loud growl that quickly made him back off.

"Soren, we really need to leave. Soon, all the alphas in this room will focus on you, and it could get ugly—"

Soren cursed under his breath. "Just another half an hour, then we'll go."

That half-hour felt like an eternity. I spent it glaring at anyone who turned toward Soren, their pupils dilated as they picked up on his scent, even if they were confused because he was a beta. The purely instinctive, pheromone-based reaction was there, but that confusion was to our advantage. If he were an omega, the scent would be ten times stronger, and nothing could stop them. It could easily turn into a frenzy, and in a closed room, things could get very dangerous.

The only good thing was that alphas were the minority here. Most course attendees were betas and omegas. Betas were ignoring it, and omegas were glancing toward us with their noses crinkled in disapproval. From what I've heard, some omegas find the smell of another person's heat somewhat repulsive, so they were not happy to have the odor fill the room.

Finally, the class ended. It was really the last moment. The actual part of the heat was just beginning. Soren started to bend himself slightly forward, his forehead on the edge of the desk, his pelvis tilting back—his body priming for a breeding position.

I grabbed him by the waist, and we practically ran out, trying to get out before the others. We hurried back to his room, and as soon as we got there, Soren put his hands on my shoulders and said, "First, a shower. I've been sweating all day."

"Maybe we should take it together?"

"Not in that tiny stall. You can go after me… think you can wait that long?"

I clenched my teeth. He was asking a lot of me, but if this day was going to be anything like yesterday, we'd both be better off showering. Adding layers of sweat on top of everything else wasn't tempting either of us.

Heated already, I sat there with my fists clenched for ten minutes while he showered, fighting off an erection so hard it physically hurt. I knew my body had picked up on the heat pheromones and was gearing up for action.

Finally, Soren came out, cheeks flushed, wrapped only in a towel, smelling like ripe heat.

"Shower's free."

Barely controlling myself, I let out a low, guttural growl that, in AO language, was a request for sexual intercourse. Of course, he didn't understand what it meant or only picked up some odd part of the sound spectrum.

"What does that mean?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Nothing that wouldn't be obvious," I muttered.

"Skye, I'm not an omega. I don't know your secret, stupid language. Is it some kind of question?" He made a face.

"You could say that. It's a request for sex."

Soren grinned. "The request is granted."

I stood up. "You said it yourself, shower first."

Soren didn't respond, just bit his lip slightly. I brushed past him, catching the intense scent he was giving off now—sweet, tempting, like a smoothie made of raspberries, strawberries, and rose petals—impossible to resist.

I took the fastest shower of my life and hurried back to the room.

Soren was lying on the bed, naked, in a position… I froze. It was, in fact, a classic breeding position.

"I thought you weren't an omega," I whispered, tilting my head slightly, eyeing him approvingly.

"Now I feel like an omega," he muttered, glancing at me seductively over his shoulder.

Presented as he was to me, like an omega at the peak of his heat, he looked divine. His slender body, adorned with tattoos, contrasted with the dark burgundy bedding. His upturned buttocks were two enticing round spheres that I had to…

Making a throaty sound, I leaped onto the bed, landing between his thighs. He squealed slightly, in surprise, but not in fear. There was no shadow of fear in him—only desire.

"Slick is dripping down your thighs," I muttered, making a lewd inspection of his butt.

"There's a wave starting, Skye. I can feel it. I want to have the void inside me filled…"

I reached into my pants, which I had brought with me, wanting to take out the condom, but he growled slightly. "It's too late for that now, Skye!"

I knew what he meant, so I lowered myself between his legs and just spread his buttocks. The image that appeared to me was the pinnacle of eroticism. It looked different than yesterday, more puffy and open, slick covering the opening, glistening slightly, thin rivulets running down his thighs. The rim tissue was dark pink, not from the intensity of our last night's sex, but the typical color of an orifice in omegas that were in heat. I could see a slight pulsation, involuntary clenching, a sight that made me bend over and slide my tongue along the ring of his muscles. Soren groaned incessantly.

"I beg you…"

But I wasn't going to hurry. My tongue slid inside him in a slow, languorous move, swirling along his heated walls. I massaged him with it, tickling and teasing. Soon, Soren's moans became almost desperate.

"Please, please, fuck me…"

"I will never fuck you, Soren. It's not what I ever wanted to do with you…" I muttered, still pressing my lips to his dripping, quivering entrance.

There was a moment of silence. He probably needed a moment to digest it.

"Then make love to me, Skye…"

"Just a bit longer."

And then I turned onto my back and, in one move, slid my head between his spread thighs.

Now his dick was hanging heavily over my face, so I put my lips around it, sucking on the head, slurping from his dripping slit, licking all the trickles of pre-cum.

Soren lowered his gaze, looking down at me lying beneath him, and his eyes flickered with arousal. "Oh, fuck, gonna fuck your mouth…" he mumbled, and did exactly that.

But the fucking didn't last long. He made maybe five thrusts down my throat before I felt my mouth fill with his cum—I even managed not to cough.

"I need more, Skye. I need to be filled!" he moaned out. "Dick orgasms are not enough in heat!"

I slid out from under him and turned him onto his back, wanting to look into his face.

He was very red, trembling slightly.

"Please, don't let me beg, Skye."

"I don't want you to beg. I'll give it to you without begging. I just want to enjoy this moment, savor it, seeing you here, in front of me, wanting me, and not pushing me away, as you always do." There was a hint of bitterness in my voice.

Soren swallowed; our eyes locked.

"You know that half of me never wanted to push you away. My heart never pushed you away, Skye! It's my damn mind."

"I want you to hear this, Soren: I love you. So much that it almost defies logic. It seems like a dream, impossible, and yet it's true. I love you. I want you to understand that when I become one with you—that it's not just sex for me, but much more."

"I know, Skye. I feel it. Please… take me then, because I want to give myself to you. You don't even realize how much I want to fully give myself to you!"

Even though I knew it was the heat talking through him, his words made me happy, just for a second. Then I took his hand and lowered it to my stiff dick.

"Only if you absolutely consent, invite me there."

Soren's face had an almost tormented expression now as he whispered, "Do you always ask for consent like that?"

"Not before, but with you, I always will. You weren't asked before, and you should be. You always will be from now on."

There was a moment of silence. Then, with some surprise, I noticed that Soren's eyes got slightly wet. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice breaking. "It means the world to me."

At that moment, I recognized that he still wasn't fully healed from the Don's situation. The violation of his will had scarred him—his vulnerability, his innocence broken yet again through the act of heat rape. I solemnly promised myself to never enter him without his explicit consent.

But now the heat was fully on, and Soren didn't want to wait any longer. Without further delay, he pulled my shaft toward him, and the head of my cock plunged into his hole…

Instantly, it was as if an electric current struck me again. As I dived into him, a loud moan escaped both of our throats.

It happened again—that instant orgasm, a stunning bliss that surged through our bodies like a powerful discharge of electricity.

"Fuck, we really are…"

"It's just a heat orgasm," Soren murmured, panting and shivering in the still lingering wave of pleasure. Even now, he was in denial.

Immersed in pleasure, I started to rock into him, deeply and intensely, pulling back and plunging into him all the way, feeling my pubic bone pressing against his perineum, his clenching, rippling tunnel holding me tight, milking my dick, sucking me in. How good it felt!

I drove into him rhythmically, dynamically, relentlessly, again and again, thrust after thrust, and he came… almost every other minute. He threw his shoulders back behind his head, clenched his eyelids, and a series of continuous squealing sounds came from his mouth. His stiff dick pulsed, spewing white droplets one after another. Soren's body was quickly covered with a thin layer of sweat, tensed like a bow, hips high, drawing me in and submitting to my unrepentant rhythm…

"Be mine, be mine…" I pleaded into his ear, or rather gasped, giving long thrusts with my hips, almost sliding over his skin. My chest rubbed against his hard, swollen nipples, his stiff member brushing against my stomach. "Be mine, be mine, be mine…" I continued my mantra, which I almost involuntarily let out, like some kind of trance incantation.

Soren didn't respond, only long, guttural grunts escaping his mouth as he reached orgasms, again and again…

I don't know how long it lasted. Yesterday's situation repeated itself; in one moment, my fangs came out, and I bit his still mark-free gland. Seconds after, my knot had expanded. Soren made a throaty sound, arched his back, thrashed his head against the pillow, and groaned wildly, immersed deep in pleasure. Our bodies literally oozed sweat, but I did not stop, not for a second. The powerful rut hormones, activated by his heat pheromones, did not let me slow down. I didn't run out of strength… until his mini-heat was over, about five hours later.

We both fell onto the bed, lying still, only panting, my head resting on his neck. My hand found his and intertwined with it, slowly playing with his fingers.

"I want to be next to you when this happens," I whispered.

Soren sighed. "You don't have to."

"I want to. Don't take that away from me. It's my child too."

He didn't respond for a while.

"Okay," he finally said.

And just then, I heard a soft knock on the door.

Soren must not have heard it because he still lay there, motionless on his back. The fingers of his other hand were tangled in my hair, gently massaging my scalp. It felt so good, and I didn't want it to stop, but the knocking came again.

I reluctantly got up. "Someone's knocking."

Fear flashed in Soren's eyes. "Who is it?" He sat up quickly.

"I don't know. I hear just one heartbeat, but it's pretty frantic. I have to open it," I muttered, pulling on my boxers.

Frowning, I walked over and yanked the door open in one swift motion.

Someone slipped past me so quickly, I barely had time to react.

Liam.

He rushed into the room, heading straight for Soren, who was sitting naked on the bed, covering his nipples with one hand and his crotch with the other.

Liam ran to him like a rocket, immediately wrapping his arms around Soren and hugging him tightly.

I stood there with my mouth open, staring at the unnerving scene unfolding in front of me.

"Soren, Soren… How are you feeling? Is it over? Are you okay?"

I saw Soren's face over Liam's shoulder, looking dazed and disoriented.

"Liam, you shouldn't have come here. This is going to get really uncomfortable, an unnecessary complication for all of us," he mumbled.

Liam straightened up, and I literally saw his body freeze the moment he noticed Soren's freshly bitten left gland and the scar on the right gland.

"Did he mark you?! During the heat?!"

Soren cursed but explained, "Jeez, Liam. I'm a beta! It's meaningless. It won't have any effect, my glands aren't active anyway. The change in pheromones is inconsequential."

"But he marked you before. I can see the older scar. How come I've never seen it before?"

Soren bit his lip. "No, it… it's from yesterday. It already healed and left only a pale mark."

A strange silence crept into the room.

Well, there was something very peculiar about it. Since the bite was deep and the punctures were about half a centimeter wide, it surely wasn't normal for it to heal in a day and turn into a smooth scar. There was also the case of his hickeys. They were all gone.

And who could heal each other like that in a matter of hours? Yeah, True Mates! We definitely had the whole night of intense healing during the ‘Joining' sex!

The mark on the gland was the ONLY thing the True Mate magic couldn't fully heal because the tissue there was different. It was designed to be marked and scarred, conveying information about the mating status of the partners. However, it usually changed from an open wound to a stable, pale scar, just like in Soren's case. The only problem was: For regular couples it took days of healing, not hours.

The silence was somehow heavy, and Liam…?

As it seemed, he chose not to make a comment about it because he would have to touch on the elephant in the room, and clearly, he wasn't ready to do so—he only mumbled, "You're right, it doesn't matter. And I can imagine it's hard to control yourself during a heat. I forgive you, Soren. But now, please, come back home with me. I'm begging you, come home…" His eyes were fixed on Soren's face with intense focus. "He will never be the best choice for you. He won't take care of you like I would!"

Now, that was too much. I needed to interrupt this madness. "Excuse me! I'm standing right here! You don't need to talk about me like I'm not in the room," I snapped. "And you know nothing about me. I can take care of Soren too—"

"I'm not a child for you two to take care of!" Soren hissed.

Liam sighed. "You have special needs; you're not like other betas. You've had enough hardships in your life. I can give you a comfortable life, I will be able to use my trust fund in three years, you will have everything you need—"

With a loud snort, I interrupted again, "Oh, please, I can give him all of that too! My parents have money! And I'm well aware that Soren has unique needs—"

"Stop treating me like a porcelain doll!" Soren jumped in.

A tense silence fell over the room. It was truly a strange setting, with the three of us arguing loudly, the negative energy literally vibrating in the air.

Then Soren sighed and added quietly, "Well, okay, yes, it's true. I'm not like other betas. I have… other issues, but that's not what we're talking about."

"Come back with me, Soren. Please. You mean everything to me," Liam whispered pleadingly.

He was now kneeling directly in front of Soren, who was still naked, dried streaks of cum visible on his stomach. They stared at each other.

"Please, Soren. I love you, come back with me…" This awkward begging was just a tad too much for me. I closed my eyes for a second, feeling like I was on a cheap soap opera set.

Liam raised his hands and lightly touched Soren's face, caressing it gently, and I loudly gritted my teeth.

"Really, Liam? Is this how you're going to play it? I love him too! And I want him to come back with me—"

"You're an alpha! And he's a beta. You'll never be a good match! You'll break his heart, sooner or later!" Liam growled.

"You don't know that. What if we're True Mates?" I shot back, feeling a nervous contraction in my stomach. Yep, I threw it out there.

The silence was deafening.

They both stared at me like I was some babbling madcap. So, I cleared my throat and added in a more neutral tone, "What? You can obviously see the pretty strong hint that's the case." I pointed at Soren's neck.

Liam snorted with laughter and turned his head to Soren, as if wanting to gauge his expression. Another moment of loaded silence followed as he studied Soren's face. What he found there must have strengthened his conviction that I was out of my mind.

"You're clearly delusional," he said finally. "He's a beta, and you're an alpha. It's just a statistical error to find one's True Mate in such a pairing!"

"With that, I agree," Soren said quietly, avoiding my gaze, looking almost embarrassed.

Wow… he really said that. After the fucking Fireworks Show when I entered him for the first time! An immense wave of painful disappointment washed over me.

Soren wouldn't even consider it a possibility, despite it being right in front of him. I didn't know why, but it hurt—like a strange betrayal of what had been slowly growing between us.

Something had surfaced, revealed itself… but he rejected it. The constant rejection—on so many levels—of me, of us—was unbearable, and I turned away, fixing my eyes on the wall, grinding my teeth.

"Okay, we should probably talk alone for a bit. Can you give us a moment, Skye?" Soren said, seemingly trying to compose himself and distance from the situation.

"Soren, really?" I couldn't believe it, I took a step toward them, but Soren shook his head sharply.

"Don't, Skye! Just don't. Please, leave us alone." His tone became cold, his eyes averted, his lips pursed.

For a moment, I stared at them both, in this bizarre arrangement—Liam kneeling, Soren—still naked, but again impenetrable, fenced off.

So I gnashed my teeth and nodded.

"Okay, as you wish."

Watched tentatively by Liam's cappuccino eyes, I dressed and left the room. Silence followed me out.

I felt like an idiot, and a heavy exhaustion settled over me. I went back to my room, lay down on my bed, not wanting to think about any of it. I closed my eyes… and soon, I fell asleep.

***

My eyes opened again at… 10 am the next day! I jumped to my feet immediately, realizing Soren hadn't come to me, whatever that might mean. I threw on some pants and a T-shirt and rushed over to his room. I knocked, but there was only silence. Closing my eyes, I listened for any sounds from inside, but there wasn't anything—not even a heartbeat.

Then, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw a text message:

"I'm sorry, Skye, but I'm going back home with Liam. I need to think things through and clear my head. Thank you for your patience and understanding, but I haven't made any decisions yet. I need time. Can you give it to me?"

I stared at the screen, blinking in disbelief.

"He needs fucking time," I muttered under my breath, feeling a wave of shock hit my system. I really wanted to throw the phone at the wall, but that would be senseless. It was a good phone, after all. So, I only let out a loud growl and tilted my head back, staring at the dim hotel lamps lined on the ceiling.

Liam clearly hadn't given up and had kept asking Soren until he finally agreed… and left, just like that.

A sharp pang of pain ran through me, but was it really that surprising? I knew Soren had been struggling with a constant internal conflict about what to do.

Standing there with the phone in my hand, staring at his message, I tried very hard to control my negative emotions. It took a lot out of me. Like, a hella lot. But what could I fucking do?!

I knew that Soren didn't react well to any kind of pressure. In an ideal world, I just had to wait as long as he needed and hope for a positive decision. But it was damn hard.

Bitterness, disappointment, anger, and sadness mixed in my body, almost replacing my blood. I felt like I was breathing misery, toxic fumes filling my lungs—it was all just… too much to bear.

***

On Saturday afternoon, I went back to my rented apartment. I didn't reply to Soren's text—I simply didn't know what to say to him, and I didn't have the strength to deal with all these shenanigans one more time.

I was feeling so exhausted by this constant battle for him, by this strange triangle that had formed between him, Liam, and me. If Soren was going to choose me, it had to come from him. But could it ever happen? Let's be real—Soren's main problem was his inability to decide firmly and stick to it.

The only option would be… freaking kidnapping him! Which was ridiculous.

What else was left to do? Confront Liam? Kick his ass? That would surely make things worse. Soren wasn't the type to respond well to me brawling with his longtime friend. He'd think it was ‘so alpha', another reason for him to despise us.

But as Sunday passed, I started to realize there might be another factor influencing this whole situation.

Something unexpected but also… VERY expected at this stage: a strange, undefined longing spread through my entire body—I missed him. It had only been two days since I last saw him, yet against my own will and resolution, I began to feel an increasingly strong need to see Soren.

Could this be the famous ‘Pull' between True Mates—but this time, the proper, intense version of it? Well, we had sex, so the second stage of bonding should start now—at least in theory. I remembered that the article I read predicted that beta+alpha would now feel exactly what alpha+omega felt… from the beginning!

This would now include the impossibility of being separated. If we stayed apart, we would die within two weeks.

Scurrying around my apartment, going in circles, muttering madman stuff under my breath, I almost cackled darkly to myself—wow, that would be something if that turned out to be true. The ultimate irony, a true crème de la crème of ridiculous situations.

Soren wanted to escape from me? No fucking way, there was no escaping a damn TM!

Monday brought me some temporary relief when I saw him for the first time—in the parking lot, holding hands—damn it!—with Liam. Bittersweet and disconcerting.

I suppressed another useless wave of anger because, really, what was the point? It made no sense. The rest of the morning I spent in a kind of strange state of conscious disconnection from everything I felt.

Soren hadn't been at work for a week, so he arranged a meeting where the other employees updated him on their progress. His substitute, Fay, had handled things well, so there wasn't much for Soren to do. He assigned us all new pieces of code to work on, but the entire time, he avoided looking at me.

So, we were back at square one.

At certain moments, I just wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all—this game of cat and mouse. I couldn't keep playing it any longer. I decided I wouldn't ask him for another chance. I had the feeling that if I did, he would give me a definite no. His text message was clear: he needed more TIME. I could see it on his face as he worked, focused on his laptop—how determined he was to ignore me. Okay.

So, for the next few days, I woke up, ate, slept, showered, and worked. Like a robot. I only spoke to him when it was absolutely necessary for work, but unfortunately, my body had other ideas and cravings. I still wanted him. I was constantly turning my gaze away because the sight of his beautiful face and slender body sent a fever through me that couldn't be cooled. But I consciously chose to fight those emotions.

And there was something else.

Soren's natural scent of dahlia and mint seemed to have changed a bit. There were not one but two additional flavors present; however, I just ignored it. Mostly.

I buried myself in work, in coding, shutting out everything I could just to get through another day. Wednesday came and went, then Thursday—almost a full week since the last time I held him in my arms…

He was apparently doing the exact same thing I was—avoiding looking at me, avoiding any interaction with me, working, working. Just like before, before we slept together, he returned to the habit of going to lunch with Liam, and both of them ignored me.

Pathetic. Unhealthy. Our situationship was so fucked up.

Since Wednesday morning, I have had this new stream of thoughts.

A suspicion that maybe Soren's doubts about whether we were True Mates were, paradoxically, justified!

Perhaps we weren't that compatible after all? I never heard of such a crazy push and pull between any True Mates. I even did some digging on the internet, and most stories about meeting TMs were very uplifting. Some had bumps along the way, but almost NINE months of struggles? Not a single story.

My inner dialogues and arguments seemed never-ending.

Could it merely be just some strange obsession I'd developed because he kept resisting me? I'd heard of such cases—the more someone runs away, the quicker you want to chase them, to capture what doesn't want to be caught.

Was I one of those cases? But what about that electric orgasm we shared? Let's be honest, could you quantify something like that? Could you compare one orgasm to another? I was drunk, let's not forget that. I probably imagined it. Maybe I had just waited so long to finally sleep with him that I'd blown it all out of proportion?

Now, Soren's behavior and his clear rejection were only adding to my doubts and frustration, beneath which I was hiding my overwhelming pain. Partially I was aware that my mind, trying to protect itself, started rationalizing what we had, convincing me it was just some pitiful cat-and-mouse obsession, nothing real.

But no matter how much I tried to rationalize, and be angry at him, the pain just kept growing! Every day. So much worse and faster than after graduation.

Caught in this loop of my own personal hell, I couldn't find a way out.

***

By Thursday, I was in really bad shape. I felt like I had a constant low-grade fever, with waves of hot and cold crashing over me. I was so desperate that, against my better judgment, I lifted the ban on watching Soren. I looked up, and found myself staring at him again. He was sitting at his desk, looking pale and out of it. He absentmindedly nudged his lip ring with his tongue, and I was hypnotized by this for a while.

And my mind started slipping. I started imagining us together again, wrapped up in each other, joined as one. All I had to do was close my eyes for a second, and I could feel him with every fiber of my being. When we were connected, his emotions; I saw the split in him—the desperate desire to be with me, and the fear and resistance that kept winning out.

What could I do to stop this suffering? The only thing I could do was… let him go! Yes. I couldn't solve his dilemma. There was no way to force him to feel the same way or change his priorities.

At some point, the doubts regarding us being TMs intensified, growing more and more—should I continue to pursue him, exposing myself to constant rejection? How long could I really take it? With his mindset, we were doomed from the start anyway.

Friday was hellish.

The struggle hit me hard the second I woke up. I didn't even know how I got into the company building. Forcing myself to look away from him was torture. My head was pounding, and I could barely work, so I got up and left the room maybe an hour after I arrived. Feeling Soren's eyes on me, I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face.

Then I stared at myself in the mirror.

What was I supposed to do now? Should I wait for this ‘Pull'(if that was it?) to wear him down, to the point where he'd finally come to me? The tragic truth was that Soren would never come to me on his own. He didn't love me—it was just chemistry. So even if he did, would it feel real, knowing it was the Pull dragging him back, not his true feelings?

The realization was brutal.

My eyes suddenly welled up. I wanted to sob, to wail, but I forced myself to stop. Enough crying. The romantic part of me still believed there might be a chance for us, but at the same time, I felt this weird sense of resignation, like I was finally surrendering to the impossibility of it all.

The conclusion came to me in silence. There was no happy ending for us.

What I needed to do was disappear from Soren's life permanently—to free both of us from this misery. For the first time, that thought settled firmly in my mind as I reached my breaking point. The pain was just too much.

It was impossible that we were True Mates! My real True Mate would never treat me like this, reject me, push me, or make me suffer.

It was all one big mistake.

I needed to correct it.

And at that exact moment, I made the decision to move on… the door slammed behind me.

I turned and saw him.

Soren. Painfully beautiful. The painful part—just a tad too much.

I didn't say anything. I just looked at him, feeling only sorrow and exhaustion.

"You hate me, don't you?" he choked out, his lips trembling slightly.

"Quite the opposite. But what can I do? This is your decision, Soren. And unlike Liam, I'm clearly at a disadvantage. I'm a damn alpha. I lost by design."

"In my heart, you have every position. In my heart, you're the absolute winner, Skye."

My laugh was bitter, almost hostile.

"Stop it. That's bull. And the problem is, even if that were true, your heart isn't the one making the decision."

He took two steps toward me. I caught his scent, and something about it hit me again—it intensified, with a new note. Vanilla, and something else hovering in the background. A subtle hint of… lime?!

"Your scent, Soren. It's changed. You're pregnant."

There was no point in mentioning the other one. Soren's lips were a deep pink, slightly parted. He stared at me, seemingly ignoring my words.

"Every day, I wake up thinking about you and fall asleep thinking about you, Skye. Every day is torture."

"Jeez, give me a break, Soren! It's a torture you can so easily end. I'm waiting for your decision, and I'm suffering just as much. But you're free, and it's solely your choice."

"I want to… I want to end this misery. I can't take it anymore! I can't!"

He took another step toward me, lifting his hands to rest them on my chest. I shivered; it was such a powerful feeling, like a wave of sweet energy washing over me. I let out an involuntary groan, and I felt myself harden instantly. But I didn't touch him. I stepped back, and his hands dropped.

"For the love of God, Soren, don't touch me if you don't want to kill me," I groaned.

"But it's killing me that I can't touch you!"

"Tell me once and for all—do you want to be with me or with Liam? You asked for time, and I gave you the time. But enough is enough. Stop playing with me, stop tormenting me. I've reached my limit! The last few days, I've started to regret ever wanting you, ever chasing you. For the last nine months, I've known nothing but misery! I want out!"

But then he stepped closer again, wrapped his arms around my neck, and his lips brushed along my jawline. I didn't give in; I didn't lower my head to meet his lips with mine.

"Stop playing with me, Soren! Tell me your decision. Have mercy," I choked out, feeling tears lurking under my eyelids. "I'm a human being, not just a fucking alpha! Don't reduce me to my gender! I have feelings, and you're being cruel to me!"

Soren almost growled, his teeth biting into my neck painfully, but I didn't mind. If only that was the sole pain he caused me.

"You think this is a game?" he muttered. "Do you know what I felt when Anton left? I loved him with everything in me, to the point of madness. His leaving destroyed me. I wanted to kill myself. That's why I have these tattoos on my forearms—to cover the scars. Now I feel ashamed of them! I can't—I just can't give myself to someone like that again! Don't you understand? Because I'm the kind of person who's either all in or all out, and it scares me that you could be my ‘all' just like Anton was. But I don't want that—I can't let myself go through that again. Don't you understand? I'd end up six feet under!"

I stepped back, firmly pulling his hands off my chest.

"Then leave me alone, once and for all. Next week I'll hand in my letter of resignation to Winter. Because just like you, I don't want to suffer. Your suffering is still just a possibility, but mine is very real, here and now. I can't do this anymore, Soren. I need to leave, to free us both from this hellhole."

Soren's eyes, gray like a stormy sea, were fixed on me with terror, tears streaming down his cheeks. "No! Don't you do that, don't leave," he gasped, his lips quivering. "Please, just don't… No!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to see his pain, but it didn't help; it flowed toward me almost telepathically. "Then be with me. Let's go to Liam's place today, grab all your stuff from there, and bring it to my place. Let's just be together! It's that simple!"

A sob tore from his chest.

"But then he'll suffer. He loves me; I'm everything to him, I can't crush him like that. I promised him a chance to be with me. He adores me so much!"

"I love you too, and you're everything to me as well. Right now, we're all suffering, can't you see? You, me, and him. There's no way out of this messed-up trap, except for one of us leaving. It will be me. I'm the logical choice here!"

"No! Listen, Liam agreed that I could be with you sometimes… you know, sexually, like before, we could—"

"No, don't even finish that sentence. Don't insult me with a proposal like that. ‘Friends with benefits' again? We're way past that stage, Soren. I don't want leftovers anymore. I want it all, everything—everything you gave Anton, I want you to give to me and let me prove that I'm not him!"

Tears flowed down his pale cheeks, one after the other.

"Please, don't make me choose, Skye! Don't make me do this, I'm not ready, I'm too scared, I can't hurt Liam again!"

"When you say that, you're leaving me no choice. By not wanting to choose, you're forcing me to make the choice for both of us."

I tried to move past him and leave the bathroom, but he grabbed my hand, holding me in place. Then he pressed his whole body against mine, and a loud sob broke from his throat.

"Liam saved my life."

I froze.

"When I was lying in the bathtub with my wrists cut. After Anton left. Liam couldn't reach me by phone, so he drove over. He rushed into the dorm where I lived, came into my room, and found me unconscious in the bathroom, bleeding. He wrapped my wrists and called an ambulance." Soren's voice trembled as he spoke. "I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him! We never brought it up or discussed it, and he doesn't use it against me or remind me that I owe him. But we both know—if not for him, you wouldn't even know me."

I stared at him for a long moment, then slowly nodded, feeling a cold wave of total defeat.

"It's a shame you didn't tell me this before we slept together. I would've backed off. If you have such a huge debt to him, and you feel obligated to stay with him because he saved your life, I wouldn't have gotten between you two. So maybe it's a good decision for me to transfer to another company."

"No!"

"Soren, you can't leave him. You owe him your life—I now understand that's how you feel. In your mind, he owns you, your life is his, right? So no matter what I do, I'll always lose. I didn't save your life; I don't have this card in my hand—"

"You held me in your arms when I had a miscarriage."

I closed my eyes tightly. "That's nothing compared to what he did. We… we have to end this, Soren. We can't keep going on like this. It's killing both of us."

"No!"

I tried to pull my hand away from his grip, but he held on even tighter. He grabbed my shoulder so firmly, I couldn't pull away without using force—and I couldn't do that to him.

"Please, let me go… You know I would never hurt you, but I need to go."

"No, please agree to Liam's proposal! We could be… a triangle. I'd be with him and with you, but I'd only sleep with you!"

Anger flooded through my entire system. I turned to face him, as much as his grip on me allowed.

"You know, Alvin and Archer used to call me a simp. They laughed at me, and I felt like that was my second name—someone who begs for scraps from someone else's table, never having anything for himself, because he doesn't feel he deserves it. Settling for crumbs! But I'm done with that, dammit! I'm like you in that—it's all or nothing. This is goodbye, Soren. Please don't try to stop me—it's over."

Soren trembled. I could see his pupils dilate with fear. "No, I won't let you go; I don't agree, fuck! No way! Never! Do you understand? You're not allowed to leave!"

Our eyes met, his were full of panic and anger.

I clenched my teeth. "Fine. Then here's the deal. I'm taking you to my car today, then we're going to your place, and you're packing your stuff. After that, I'm driving you to my apartment, where you'll stay with me as my boyfriend. Liam is out of the picture. That's my final offer. I'll be waiting by the elevator after work."

He stood there like he'd turned to stone, pale as a ghost, staring at me in shock.

"If you don't show up, I'm putting in a resignation letter to Winter on Monday. This ends either way. I'm tired of your indecisiveness. For once, I'm going to act like a fucking toxic alpha jerk in our relationship because being the second beta and a fucking simp for you… isn't working! It's bringing us misery! So it's either now or never. That's my final word."

Soren let out a sharp breath.

He hit me with his clenched fist on my chest and pressed his head against my neck. His scent enveloped me again—the pregnancy vanilla but also… dahlia, mint, and a hint of lime—a part of my scent. Was he mated to me? He was a beta, how was that even possible? But if it was true, if he was mine now… wasn't this the ultimate proof of…?

"I might be a toxic whore, but you're a fucking asshole!" Soren groaned out.

Finally, I managed to gently pried his hand off my T-shirt, without hurting his fingers. "Then this'll be the first time being an asshole solves an impossible dilemma."

Fuming, I turned and walked away.

I sat down at my computer and tried to focus on work as much as I could. Soren came back about half an hour later, smelling like a pack of cigarettes. He sat down and stared blankly at his screen.

Was I an asshole?

Yes, I was, definitely. I blackmailed him.

But… fuck if I cared. Not now, anyway. Living together could give us a real chance. Soren could see that being with me wasn't such a tragedy. Slowly, gradually… every day would work in my favor. I could build us!

I was so determined that I didn't dwell deeper into my conscience, instead keeping my focus.

When lunchtime came, Soren didn't go to eat anything. He just stayed at his desk. I went with some other coworkers, then came back and kept working until it was time to leave.

Right at 5 pm, I got up from my chair, and without looking at Soren, I headed toward the elevator, positioning myself there in a way, so I wouldn't see if he left the room or not—I didn't want to know.

A few other employees started gathering, waiting for the elevator. Among them, I spotted the only other alpha in DevApp, Sariel Lowen, with his unusual minty hair and eyes. He gave me a curious look and even seemed like he wanted to say something, but I stayed silent, wearing an unapproachable frown on my forehead and staring mostly at the glowing elevator call button.

Finally, it dinged. The doors slowly opened, revealing an already partially filled interior. Feeling the painful clench in my jaw, I stepped inside, and only then did I turn around. The hallway was empty. The doors slowly closed… no one appeared there.

It felt like my world was about to collapse. In a moment, in a few seconds when I reached the first floor, I'd be able to fall apart, but not just yet…

Ding!

The doors opened again.

Soren stood there, pale, his hair slightly tousled. Slowly, he stepped into the elevator, squeezing in between the tightly packed employees.

My God, my heart was pounding like the opening gong of Also Sprach Zarathustra.

We descended to the ground floor in silence, then made our way out of the building; Soren walked beside me, saying nothing.

"Where's Liam? You two usually go to the parking lot together?" I asked, trying to avoid drifting into sarcastic tones and sound as normal as I could.

"Liam has to stay late today. He has some things to finish for the graphics department," Soren replied in a rather lifeless, robotic tone.

I didn't say anything because that worked out perfectly. I really hated the idea of a parking lot confrontation; I knew it would just end in a mess of emotions. So I opened the car door for him, and he slid inside. I got in too and merged into traffic.

The next ten minutes passed in a strange quiet. On one hand, I felt a weird pain, knowing he wasn't doing it because he wanted to, but because I had cornered him. At the same time, I felt a kind of joy—finally, I had a window of opportunity to show him that I might actually deserve this chance. I was dizzy, like on high.

Did I just bet everything on one card today and win? Did I REALLY win?

Before we got out in the parking lot in front of their building, I said firmly, "From now on, you're only mine, Soren. You belong to me, and me only. He doesn't have the right to even touch you. You and Liam… are a closed chapter."

Soren was sitting next to me with a strange, numb, blank expression.

I couldn't help but wonder what Liam would do now. I felt stressed about it and… also felt pretty crappy. I wasn't a stranger to guilt. Liam really did something amazing for Soren—did he deserve what was coming? No. But this was a brutal fight, and there wasn't going to be a clear winner. It was every man for himself. If Soren had a twin, we could all have a chance, but the sad truth was, someone had to win. Life was cruel.

Without another word, we got out and went up to the second floor of the building, to their shared apartment. The first thing I noticed was that they had two separate bedrooms.

Soren quietly began packing his things. I watched him; he seemed apathetic. I searched my mind for some words of comfort, but none came. What could I say? The only thing I could offer him now was actions, not words—I'd said enough already.

When Soren finished packing, he sat down at the kitchen table and wrote something on a piece of paper. It wasn't long. Then he got up, took the first suitcase, and I grabbed the rest. Together, we carried them down to the car.

We hadn't said a word. We got in and drove off.

Since I lived close to work, we got there in about ten minutes. We carried the suitcases upstairs, and I showed him an empty closet, almost like it had been waiting for him all along. Soren unpacked in silence, but I noticed his hands were shaking.

I couldn't leave it like this, crouched down next to him, wanting to hold him, but he suddenly straightened up and said, "I'd like to take a shower."

"This is your new home, Soren. You can do whatever you want," I replied softly.

He locked himself in the bathroom and stayed there for a long time. I bit my nails nervously. When he finally came out, I noticed his eyes were red. He was wrapped in a towel and headed for the bedroom, but for some reason, I didn't follow him.

I went to shower too, feeling a strange sense of dread. Why was he so shut down, as if all the life had been drained out of him? Did it really hit him that hard? Well, of course. He wasn't here of his own free will, feeling cornered, threatened.

People called him toxic, but what about me?

Was I any better?

A strange, almost funny thought occurred:

Maybe… after all, we belonged together?

Paradoxically, it awakened a sliver of hope in me. In place of my lost faith in us even being TMs, could we be a case of just… toxic True Mates after all?

Deserving each other?

When I got out of the shower and was drying my hair, I heard Soren's phone ringing, but he didn't answer it.

After a moment of hesitation, I walked out of the bathroom and headed to the bedroom. Soren was lying on the bed, still wrapped in a towel, staring at the ceiling.

I stood there looking at him, and he slowly turned his head toward me.

"What are you waiting for?"

I blinked. "Waiting for? I don't understand."

"We're together now, Skye. You can fuck me as much as you want."

I closed my eyes tightly, yup, the toxicity was holding strong. "Clearly, you still don't get it, Soren. Just ‘fucking' you is not what I ever wanted…"

Then I walked out of the bedroom, my heart aching too much. Maybe I had Soren physically, but I knew we weren't even halfway to truly being together.

Dejected, I grabbed a blanket from the closet and lay down on the couch in the living room. Even though my body wanted him, my heart was too clenched to go into the bedroom while he was in that state. To be honest, I was on the verge of sobbing, feeling helpless and clueless. What a mess I had gotten myself into, this time of my own choosing.

I stretched out on the couch and put my hands behind my head, but then I heard the sound of bare feet in the hallway. Soren walked into the room. He looked at the blanket covering me and surely figured out I was planning to sleep there.

"You're really greedy, Skye. I'm offering you my body, I moved in with you, I left Liam for you—my best friend—what more do you want from me? This is all I can give you right now, so don't ask for more."

I looked at him, honestly having no idea what to say. My mind was blank. Maybe he was right, maybe I went way too far with this.

He took a few more steps closer and stood over me. I stayed silent.

"What do you want from me?!" he almost shouted.

"Something you clearly don't think I deserve."

He closed his eyes tightly, then turned and walked away.

And that was that. Silence crept into my apartment. Nothing to add, nothing to do… This night I spent on the couch in the living room.

***

Imagine my surprise when I woke up in the morning and heard sounds coming from the kitchen.

Everything that had happened came back to me in a second and made me ache with stress. I got up and went there, not sure what I'd find.

Soren was standing by the kitchen counter, making himself a cup of coffee. That wasn't the strange part—it was more about what he was wearing. Or rather… what he wasn't wearing.

He was facing away from me. He only had on a pair of jockstrap-style briefs with very thin straps. Black and sexy—just a thin line of fabric running between his firm, round cheeks. Other than that, he was completely naked. His hair was loose, falling in a silky black wave down his back, past the middle.

I had to admit, Soren could easily make a living as a model. His figure was impeccable—perfectly shaped shoulders, a narrow waist, narrow hips, and long legs. When he heard me come in, he turned, but only slightly, just glancing at me over his shoulder before going back to making his coffee.

My gaze fixed on his firm, round cheeks as I slowly sat down at the table. Was there anything more appealing? Pert, firm, inviting. And that thin black line of fabric… I could tug on it, lick his crack with my tongue.

I wanted to…

"Do you want some coffee?"

There was no answer, no snap out of my lascivious thoughts.

Soren just shrugged and poured himself a cup.

He turned around slowly, cup in hand, and his gray eyes settled on my face. Meanwhile, my gaze drifted down to the smooth expanse of his chest, lingering on his hard, dark raspberry-colored nipples. He had an erection, clearly and obscenely visible under the fabric of the jockstrap.

A low sound escaped my throat—a mix of arousal and appreciation. Soren grimaced slightly.

"Don't speak to me in that damn feral language. I don't understand it anyway."

"Thongs? Seriously? Are you trying to seduce me, Soren?" I let out a huff.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is it working?"

Resisting the need to answer—but not with words—I stayed silent. He shrugged again and muttered, "If it's not working, then I guess I chose the wrong strategy."

Feeling very on edge, I got up, walked over to the refrigerator, and grabbed a gallon of juice. I drank a few greedy gulps, still silent. The tantalizing scent of his naked body was in the air, driving me crazy.

Meanwhile, he took a couple of sips of coffee, then set it down on the counter. Our eyes met, he licked his lips, then his fingers moved up and traced his perfect collarbones. His lips parted, and he let out a small gasp as his thumb brushed against his hard nipple.

Seeing it, I let out a deep growl and lunged at him, pushing him against the wall. I grabbed both his wrists and pinned them above his head. Growling, I slid my nose along his temple, down to his neck, and even smelled his armpit, which scented like vanilla. I licked his skin slowly, but after a moment I sobered up, remembering what had happened yesterday. So, I straightened up, trying to keep my composure. Soren's pupils were dilated, he stared at me expectantly.

Clenching my teeth, I struggled with my desire. No, I had to control myself. Reluctantly, I stepped back, fighting against my raging erection, but Soren reached out his hands and grabbed mine, as if wanting to stop me.

For a moment, our eyes locked, and my head felt slightly dizzy. Involuntarily, my gaze drifted to his hands—the same hands I had held so many times during the programming course. Slowly, I took them in mine and fixed my eyes on his rings. He was wearing a few I recognized from our classes.

"A striped flint stone. I really like this one," I muttered, spinning the ring, then slowly raised his slim hand to my face, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the back of it.

Soren stared, his breath hitching, clearly wanting me to continue. But I simply couldn't forget our argument and wanted to clear things up first. So again, I let go of his hands and took a step back. The disappointment on his face was obvious, and he frowned.

"I'm pregnant with your child," he hissed. "It's your duty to satisfy my pregnancy cravings."

A slight twinge of irritation rippled through me. "Yeah… The problem is, last time, I didn't see you have any cravings. You seemed to be in control just fine. So, I guess you're not one of those people who get sexual cravings during pregnancy. So what else could it be?"

Soren wasn't expecting that response. He blinked and pressed his lips together.

"Seriously? Are you going to deny me? I moved here because you forced me! You could at least give me some relief. Do I really have to beg you for sex now? Is this your idea of getting back at me?"

I stood there, my mind racing through responses, but none of them felt right.

He took a step toward me. "At least when I was living with Liam, I didn't have sex, but I had his support, warmth, kindness, a willingness to do whatever I wanted… I destroyed ten fucking years of a wonderful friendship for you, fucker! Liam and I have been buddies since middle school. I did what you wanted, damn you, I moved in, and this is how you treat me?"

He took another step toward me, our breaths mixing now.

"No one has humiliated me more," he choked out, "If you really want everything from me, acting like this puts us millions of miles apart."

"Does it?" My voice was barely a whisper. "We're in different galaxies now, Soren. So even a million miles seems insignificant."

Silence fell between us, and Soren looked at me with a strange desperation in his eyes.

"Don't do this, Skye."

"Do you really want to have sex if you're clearly so angry at me?"

"Yes."

I let my gaze roam over his face, then nodded slowly. "Fine. If that's what you want, we can go to the bedroom now."

"If that's what I want?"

"Isn't that what you just said, you moved in only because I wanted it?"

"Fuck you!"

I smiled ruefully. How did it come to this? Did I let it happen? Was I to blame?

"In a minute. But first, we don't always do what we want. Yesterday, you did something for me—something you didn't want, but I wanted. You moved in here. Because of the promise of a better future, Soren. No matter how vague and almost impossible in your mind, you still did it. I think it's only fair that I return the favor today. For the same promise. But there is a difference between us. For me, it's not vague or fleeting. I think we can really work it out. We just need more time." As I said it, I smirked. "But now… back to work."

And then, without another word, I took one last step toward him, grabbed his waist, lifted him into the air, and threw him over my shoulder.

I carried him to the bedroom and set him on the floor in front of the long mirror that was there. Now he was facing it, with me behind him. My face surprised even me; it had a certain darkness to it, something primal and angry. Soren's eyes were wide open, staring at me expectantly. With a low growl, I lowered myself over his neck and bit his gland, no questions asked, no sounds made. Soren whimpered but didn't budge; he let me do it. My body shook from the small, semi-orgasmic wave, and he trembled in a similar way. When I pulled back my fangs, there was a bit of blood on my lips, dripping down his collarbones.

Our eyes met.

"Little naughty beta, I'm gonna fuck you like you've never been fucked before…" I growled, feeling like my feral alpha side was taking over. A strange wave shook me, and I saw my eyes change color in the mirror, becoming slightly reddish in hue.

My fingers slid between his ass cheeks, found the crease already wet with slick, and in one swift motion, I slid my digits inside his hole, three at once—Soren gasped in surprise at this invasion. No hesitation, I scissored him inside, stretching his hole wide, grazing his prostate, staring straight at him the whole time, and he looked back at me in the reflective surface, panting, lips parted.

The fingers of my other hand hooked into his jockstrap, and with a loud tear, I ripped it off in one motion, exposing him completely. His dick bounced up, fully hard, now swaying slightly from side to side. Its head was red and dripping with pre-cum. There was no doubt what he wanted.

"You want to be filled with dick, fucked like a slut?"

He grunted, as I grabbed his wrists and pressed them against either side of the mirror, pushing him closer to its surface. Now our faces were right next to the glass, and up close, he was even more beautiful. I studied him for a while with an appreciative look. His long, inky black lashes were so thick they looked like he had permanent makeup, and his dark pink, full lips were now parted and wet. He was truly unflawed.

"You're so fucking mine, mine forever, do you get it?" I growled into his ear, nipping at his earlobe and playing with his earrings with my tongue. "Should I kill everyone who dares to touch you, wouldn't that be the right thing to do?"

"Yes!"

My rock-hard tool slid over his crease, and I had to lower myself down on my spread legs to align my shaft with his hole. When I pressed it there, Soren gasped and moaned, "Do it! Fuck me, Skye, fuck me like you hate me…"

The words made me shudder, my eyes, now red, widened. "Do you consent?"

"Yes!"

Having his encouragement, I forced myself inside, bottoming out in the first move. Soren screamed and tilted his head back, his head landing on my shoulder. My thick meat widened and stretched his hole. For a moment, I stayed still, savoring the sensation of having Soren impaled on my rod, like on a roast. He stood on his tiptoes, his back arched hard, his narrow hips like a bow, straining, his eyelids clenched, his lips wide open, showing a bright pink inside, and… the sight was so satisfying. There was no stopping me now—I began to fuck him.

I did it with long, powerful, rolling thrusts, dicking him, pulling my whole cock out of his ass, only the tip staying in, then jamming it back in as it would go. The motion of my hips driving the whole rod in was perfectly regular, like a metronome. Soren was mumbling something breathlessly as I pounded into him, skin slapping skin, the rhythm increasingly fast. Soren's body was almost lifted in the air by the sheer power of my thrusts, and he groaned from deep within. My hand roamed to his throat and the other to his hip, for a better grip, and I growled into his ear, "Mine!"

The next moment, I felt him go taut, climbing up and up to a peak of blinding pleasure. A strangled sound escaped his mouth as he came, the tremors and spasms rippling his hole, in the process milking and massaging the whole length of my cock. His cum literally gushed from his cock and splashed on the mirror. Long ropes hit it, sticky streaks patterning the surface…

The view was too much, and it flung me over the edge—pleasure tore through me too, in a dizzying rush of pure sensation. My throat gave a wild roar as I impaled him even deeper, and my knot expanded in seconds, tying us together, prolonging our orgasms. We both cried out again as pleasure shot through our bodies once more, erupting along our spines, as we gasped and shuddered on the wave of bliss…

My hips were now rolling slower, barely moving, unhurriedly massaging his uterine entrance. One hand was still on his throat, but not squeezing, just possessively resting there, and the other hand was stabilizing us by grasping his hip. Only then did I open my eyes, and he did too.

Despite the strange, toxic mood between us, my body was burning with desire and… tenderness.

"You belong to me, Soren," I whispered breathlessly into his ear, kissing under it, licking over his neck gland. His back and ass were slowly rubbing against me, as if he was a cat wanting even more full-body strokes.

Now, as we found ourselves in such close physical contact, my tension finally dissipated. Being inside him, I felt him even better, deeper. Just below the surface of arousal and desire—there it was, palpable: his despair, confusion, and desperation. His sense of helplessness, not knowing how to get out of the situation or how to deal with his emotions. And the overwhelming guilt he felt for Liam.

Over the years, Liam had always been there for him, and stood by his side unwaveringly. Everything Liam did was for Soren's benefit. And Soren not only betrayed him but made him promises he couldn't keep, stringing him along just in case his other relationships didn't work out. That's exactly how Soren felt at that moment—like the worst kind of traitor, like a cruel bitch, like someone rotten to the core.

I couldn't ease his pain because the truth was that Liam was in a hopeless position. He had drawn the shortest straw of the three of us. I couldn't give up on Soren—I wasn't noble enough for that. But I also realized that what Soren had done to Liam had tainted our relationship, making it dirty and wrong. Toxic. There was no way to sugarcoat it, explain it away, or justify it. Soren knew he should NEVER have promised Liam a relationship, being aware he wasn't romantically interested in him nor sexually attracted to him. He hurt the poor guy and broke his heart.

Only now, being in my arms, this was a brief moment where Soren was trying with all his might to forget, to not think. It was one of the reasons he wanted to have sex—to dissociate himself from reality, to lose himself in a fleeting moment of pleasure. Well, I could surely give him that. It was one of the few things I could do for him because I understood, to some extent, just how shitty he felt. I was an asshole too. I took him from Liam, slept with Soren, knowing he had a boyfriend.

We were really made for each other, we both chose to be assholes to others. A perfect match made in heaven… or maybe in hell.

I grabbed him by his ribs and under one of his legs, lifted him up, and carried him to the bed. Now Soren was lying flat, and I was on top of him, thrusting into him slowly, with drawn-out, almost lazy movements, hiding my head on his neck, deliberately prolonging it.

This moment lasted long enough for Soren to fall deep into relief and relaxation. Just the massage created by my body sliding up and down his back brought him comfort and peace. He sank into the feeling of being filled from the inside out, kneaded all over, experiencing an incredible, sweet fullness in place of the terrible emptiness he had torn in his heart when he hurt Liam. He needed that fullness to substitute for the feeling that everything was in its place, fitting tightly, working well and flawlessly, as it was now, as I slid smoothly all the way into his inviting hole, eliciting quiet moans and groans from his lips.

When we both came for the second time, I turned him on his side and lay behind him and continued—because the strange magic between us caused me to literally never stop being hard, as long as I was in physical contact with his body.

The time we spent making love passed so slowly that Soren fell into a pleasant numbness, no thoughts in his head, just allowing himself to feel. Everything else was turned off, and it suited him well.

It wasn't until almost noon that I realized it might be time for us to eat. I pulled out of him, my cum dripping from his hole. For a second, I stared at the view. Soren glanced at me with a raised eyebrow, but I just spread my arms and went to take a shower.

Afterward, I headed to the kitchen and started making lunch for both of us. Soren locked himself in the bathroom for a long time, and by the time he came out, the food was ready. He stood in the doorway, looking a bit lost.

"Please, sit down. I made lunch. I hope I'm as good a cook as Liam," I said, trying to smile, but it came out more rueful than anything else.

Soren didn't react; a bitter expression flashed across his face. He sat down silently and began to eat, muttering a quiet ‘Thank you' under his breath.

When he finished, I took his plate and put it in the dishwasher. "Do you want to watch a movie?" I asked.

"I guess," he muttered, though I could tell he wasn't very enthusiastic. I probably got a taste of what it felt like for Liam to have such a passive, unresponsive boyfriend.

We spent the next two hours watching a romantic movie about a relationship between a beta and an alpha. It wasn't a random choice, of course, but Soren didn't make any comments when it ended with a sweet HEA.

Afterward, I asked if he'd like to go for a short walk in the nearby park to get some fresh air. He replied, "I guess."

So that was the drill now. And off we went. As we walked, Soren took out a cigarette and lit it. I glanced at him sideways.

"They say you're not supposed to smoke when you're pregnant," I murmured.

He rolled his eyes and huffed in irritation. "Seriously? We both know how this pregnancy's going to end, Skye. No point in quitting smoking."

I didn't respond. What could I say? It was his choice.

We walked on, and Soren must have smoked three cigarettes. Obviously, the walk wasn't having the healthiest effect on him. We didn't talk much; he was just absent, staring at the sky, the trees, the grass.

We got back to the house, took a shower, and Soren lay down on the bed, saying, "When I lie on the bed in a towel, I want you to know that it's a signal for you."

It sounded so mechanical—zero romance. But well, I had what I wanted. He'd moved into my place and broken up with Liam for me. For now, I had to be satisfied with what he was willing to give and make my peace with that. Otherwise, we'd both go crazy, and someone had to push us through it.

So I joined him on the bed, and for the next two hours, I made the same slow, lazy movements inside him, while kissing him tenderly and gently, which he accepted passively, his eyes closed. Soon, Soren reached his climax and drifted off into a slumber.

By evening, his phone wouldn't stop vibrating. We lay next to each other, still and silent, and the sound kept coming back: bzzt, bzzt, bzzzzzzt.

Finally, Soren looked at me with an impassive face and said, "Do you mind if I step out on the balcony to take this call? I have to talk to him at some point."

There was no way around it. "The balcony's all yours," I muttered.

I remained unmoved, lying down on the bed. Unfortunately, he seemed to forget that I had an incredibly good sense of hearing. He thought the balcony would be enough, but… that wasn't the case. I could hear every word.