Keion

I shove my mouth down Walter’s dick, taking all of him into my throat until my lips press against his base. His body quivers violently, his moans breaking into the air as he releases inside me. The hot flood of cum washes over my tongue and slides down my throat, filling me with a delirious sense of delight.

I pull back slowly, letting his trembling length slip free from my mouth, and swallow every drop with satisfaction.

This is a feast, a decadent dessert after a good meal, and I savor it as if it completes me. Rising from my knees, I catch his lips in a kiss, our tongues tangling, our scents colliding in perfect harmony. My voice is husky when I whisper against his flushed mouth, "I fucking love you." My hand cups his cheek, feeling the heat radiating from his skin.

"I love you too," Walter chuckles, his voice shaky but warm. He rises on his toes, tugging my head down so he can press a kiss to my forehead, his tenderness cutting through the rawness of the moment.

"Bold of the two of you to be fully naked and having sex in the kitchen when Torin’s mother is in the house and could walk in at any second," Oril’s voice intrudes, breaking the sexual tension like glass shattering. He stands at the top of the staircase, arms crossed, his black suit stretched tight over his body, the hard outline of his arousal tenting the fabric of his pants. The sight makes me pause, why the hell is he wearing a suit at this hour?

"You’re just jealous you aren’t me right now," I laugh, calling him out without hesitation.

"Oh, please, not at all," he scoffs, though the jealousy in his tone betrays him. "I’m just concerned someone could’ve seen."

"Too late to worry about that. Someone did see." I lift my hand innocently, and Walter gasps beside me, his face paling.

"Yuerana saw us?" he blurts, horrified. He tries to pull away from me, but I catch him, dragging him back against my chest. My hips grind against him, and the moan that escapes his lips shoots fire through my veins, my arousal surging back to life.

"Relax. It wasn’t Yuerana. It was the Omega in the shed," I murmur, biting his ear as my hand trails down his chest, sliding lower until I grip his dick again.

"That’s even worse," Walter groans, his body stiffening as he struggles against me. "I was so caught up in the moment I didn’t even notice." His frustration is adorable, his grumbling only making me chuckle. My boy wonder is too damn cute when he’s flustered.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to join us?" I ask, my eyes flicking to Oril, who hasn’t moved, his gaze locked on us.

"As tempting as that offer is, Augi’s on my ass. I’m heading to the station to deal with him," Oril says, his voice tight, though his eyes linger longer than they should.

Of course. Augi. Only Augi could drag this stubborn man out of bed and into a suit in the middle of the night. I smirk. "Shouldn’t Oracle be the one going? Wait, where the hell is Oracle anyway?

Oracle

Lorali, Lorali, Lorali, Lorali, Lorali, Lorali, Lorali, Lorali. Her name pounds through my skull like a drumbeat that’s relentless and merciless. Lorali, Lorali, Lorali. That face, those eyes, I see them everywhere. My chest aches with the phantom sensation of her head falling against it, again and again, as if the memory refuses to fade. My blood runs cold. This is madness. I am mad.

I need her the same way I need the air I breathe.

I clutch the veil tightly in my hand, curling my body against the vast mattress. My room is a chaos of papers stacked high, files scattered, reminders of the court cases I should be preparing for instead of doing this. Darkness cloaks everything in the room, broken only by the faint touch of moonlight slipping through curtains left half‑closed. My heart beats so fast it shakes me, trembling through my bones. Thoughts of her consume me, from the moment we met today until now.

Those lips, rosy, soft, so close to mine. Her voice was like an angel’s, divine and pure. She is an angel sent to save me. And those eyes... oh god, those eyes. They have trapped me in a trance. I cannot close my own without seeing them, without seeing her. I am lost, yet I feel found.

I am falling into an abyss, and I do not want to be saved. I don’t even know how I got here. When did I leave the floor of the hallway? When did I crawl onto this bed? When did I clutch this veil?

This veil... her veil.

I squeeze it tighter, the fabric digging into my palm. This is hers. She must be the omega from the gala. She must be my omega. My fated one.

No. No, no, no. This cannot happen. Not now. Not her.

I sit up, veil still in hand, staring at it as though it holds the answers. Why am I only feeling this now? I met her at the gala, and I felt nothing like this then. Why now? Why does the bond burn through me now?

I cannot be with her. We can never be. I already have a pack I love, a pack I would die for. I have to let her go. But how? How do I let her go when being in the same room as her feels like life itself, and being apart feels like death?Oh no, not death, death would be better then this.

I stand, pacing the room, breath uneven and my chest tight. She is my fated mate, chosen for me by the moon goddess herself. How can I let her go? My lungs seize, my body grows light, but I don’t care. My mate is right outside my door, and I am here, hiding like a coward.

"I need to go to her," I whisper, giving in to instinct, moving toward the door. My hand hovers over the knob, but I stop. I retreat back to the bed, clutching the veil to my chest. "No. What I need now is to calm down before I go feral and tear this place apart."

I need a plan. A sensible plan. What would Torin do? Torin is rational, cold, the one who makes the hard decisions without a heart. He wouldn’t run. He wouldn’t hide. He would act.

Torin... Torin... Torin.

My body freezes. My eyes widen. The word, the idea, strikes me like lightning.

Rejection.

Yes. That is what I must do. I will reject her. Reject the bond.

It sounds extreme, but rejection of a fated mate or scent match is possible, even if rare. People forget it can be done. It severs the bond, cuts the pull and frees you from the pull you fill to the person you are bonded too. But it comes with consequences, illness, madness, even death for the weaker race. For omegas, rejection can be fatal. But they survive sometimes if they are strong. And she will survive. She is an Alma omega. They are strong. Even if she wasn’t, I cannot let this feeling consume me. I must cut it down before Torin returns. He cannot find out.

I collapse back onto the bed, defeated, clutching the veil against my heart.

I’m sorry, Lorali. Had we met in another time, another world, you and I could have been great. I would have loved you. I would have cherished you. But we met here, in this world, in this life. I have a pack. I have an omega. Your existence in my life will only hurt those I care for.

I’m sorry, Lorali Alma. Tomorrow, I will reject you. A single tear slides sideways down my face, soaking into the pillow.