“Fuck,” the other alpha said before he followed him inside. Nylune stood there frozen for a moment before he shook it off and walked to the porch. He glanced at the wall as he dropped the weeder on the bench. He wondered who the alpha was. He sounded so sad. He stood there for a minute, as if he could catch a glimpse of him. Nylune realised what he was doing and roughly took off his gloves.
“No…no…no…no…” he said, dropping them on the bench before he walked through the door, closing it behind him. He might be starved for contact, but alphas were a no for him. His body reacted to them in a visceral way; he craved them. The drug they had used to poisoned him had fucked him up. It heightened his base omega instincts. And worst of all was his need to breed, to cling to an alpha until he fucked him senseless.
A whiff of his scent alone could undo every single shred of control he’d fought for over the years.
Why did it have to be an alpha that moved next door? Now he had to find a way to avoid him, even though the other man didn’t know he was even there.
Dammit.
He walked to the cooking station and poured himself a glass of water. He leaned against the counter as he slowly drank it, staring at his garden. From there he could see his precious queen of the night illuminated by the lights. It looked so beautiful. He hoped he got to see it bloom. He might not be able to, because of the alpha next door. Nylune’s eyes drifted to the wall. He’d have to go out there a little later than usual. Most people went to sleep around midnight. Hopefully the norm was true for the new alpha. But with his luck…
Nylune groaned. He had the worst luck. That whole incident five years ago could have happened to anyone, but it had to happen to him.
Damn, he was fucked.
Chapter 2
Adew
Please don’t ask to stay again, Adew Pax silently begged as he watched his manager hesitate at the door. Lars scratched his nose, ran his fingers in his stubble, shuffled his feet, and touched the doorhandle, only to let it go a few seconds later.
Fuck, he was killing him.
Adew moved towards the door and opened it for him. The simple move caused pain to stab in one side of his back and come out the other. He’d been standing in the WAB for too long. He clenched his hands into fists as the pain tightened his back muscles and neck, pulling on his injury.
Sonofa… he swallowed the oath that almost gave him away. He was trying his best to keep his cool and get the alpha out of the door before Lars realised that he was lying when he said he was okay. He wasn’t okay. He was in so much pain, he could feel it in his skull. Thank the heavens he didn’t have any hair anymore, or he’d feel it there to. Sweat beaded the top of his lip and he resisted the urge to wipe it away. Lars would notice. From that one move, he’d know he was lying.
Adew wanted him gone. Well, at least for tonight. He wanted to be alone for the first time since his fight. For a whole year he’d been hovered over, prodded, and stared at as if he’d never walk on his own again without the Walking Assist Bot. The WAB held him upright, braced his back and practically dragged him anywhere he wanted to go, while giving him the illusion that he was walking on his own. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t walk on his own. He could, though haltingly so. Dr Micha had invented the machine to assist patients to build their strength and confidence back safely without straining their bodies. Adew wished he didn’t have to wear the damn thing, but he didn’t have a choice if he wanted to regain his strength and return to the sphere to fight as he was born to do.
They stood there awkwardly, staring at each other.
Lars sighed and walked outside.
Finally, Adew reached for the door. But his manager turned back, stepping back inside the house.
Damn. He was worse than a clingy ex.
“Seriously?” Adew said impatiently. Lars blushed, but then his eyes fell on his okie, Calla, lying a few paces from them. Calla was big and aggressive, as most of their kind were. His massive furry body spanned a few feet across the floor, gleaming red and gold. Two black horns jutted from the middle of his skull and curved around his pointy ears. His short snout and wide mouth were the only pleasant features on his body – well, if one ignored the double rows of sharp teeth that appeared whenever he pulled his mouth back. He was a little scary.
But right then he looked calm and relaxed, his head braced on his paws. He didn’t look like the vicious predator he truly was. His bushy tail thumped as he noticed them watching him. His red eyes glowing with interest, he bounded to his feet, his claws scratching the floor as he moved. He walked to Adew and rammed his massive head into his side playfully, like he’d used to do. It wasn’t hard but he felt it.
Adew bit the inside of his mouth, taking the impact. He swayed a little, leaning against the door.
Fuck, he’d forgotten how powerful Calla was. Adew grasped the okie’s right horn to stop him from ramming into him again. He loved their roughhousing, but fuck, his body ached all over. It was going to take a minute for him to be able to play with him like they used to. He felt bad for stopping him because he’d missed him too. A whole year without him must have been torture for the animal.
Lars stared at him as if he could tell this was too much for him. “What about him? Are you going to be able to take care of him? You’re not the same as you were before your fight. You won’t be able to handle him with…” he trailed off pointing at the straps of the WAB under his long shirt. Adew gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to pull on the cloth of his shirt to cover them. “He missed you so much. He probably wants to go out and play.”
He did. Adew could feel his tightly coiled energy inside him.
“We’ll do that tomorrow,” Adew said.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. He’s my pet and I’ll take care of him. Now, please leave. I’ve been on my feet for too long. You know it’s not good for me to wear the WAB for too long,” Adew said.
Lars’s lips flattened into a displeased line. Adew silently groaned. And then he suddenly stilled as he remembered something. He looked down at Calla and then back at Lars. “I hope you didn’t forget to send out a notice to my neighbours that I have a wild animal living with me,” he said. Lars’s eyes widened. “Lars?”
“Shit.”