RAFE

Luca was burning hot; I could feel it even before I reached him. His scent filled the air, more intense than anything I'd ever experienced. It wasn't just sweat or heat. It was need, a raw, overwhelming need, and it was coming from him.

One moment I was fighting the urge to tear off any remaining garments and drag him into my arms, and the next I was fighting all my instincts not to claim him right there on the grass.

Damn, what was happening to us?

"Luca," I whispered, kneeling beside him, but he didn't look up. His face was pressed to the ground and his whole body was trembling.

I touched his shoulder and shuddered; he was burning up.

I knew what it was; at least I'd heard rumors from the older wolves about the omega rut. The stories were mostly jokes or scary tales told during nighttime runs to frighten the younger wolves. I never paid much attention to them, until now.

Because Luca was going through it and I was the reason.

The memory of the previous night hit me like a punch to the gut: the way I'd lost control, how my wolf had surfaced during the rogue's attack, and how it had bitten Luca. I told myself it was to protect him, to scare the rogue away, but deep down I knew it wasn't.

My wolf knew what he was doing, he marked him... I marked him.

Not only had he protected Luca, he had created a bond, a damned couple bond.

My chest tightened when Luca let out a soft moan, his hips twisting against the ground, and I cursed under my breath, forcing myself to breathe through my mouth. His scent was affecting me; it was as if I'd been drugged, and my body was responding without my consent.

I leaned towards him: "I need you to breathe, okay? Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth."

He nodded weakly, but when I tried to move away, his fingers closed around my wrist.

"Don't go."

His voice sounded broken, needy, and vulnerable, and that was all it took for my resolve to waver. I lay down beside him, keeping a small distance between our bodies. We were close, but not touching, because if I touched him again, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop.

"I'm not going anywhere," I told him.

He turned to me, her eyes glassy, ​​as if he were holding back tears. "Why do I feel like this? Why does it hurt?"

I could lie to him and tell him it was just a side effect of the transformation, but he deserved the truth.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, I bit you last night, I promise it wasn't my intention... not like that. But I don't know, my wolf recognized something in you and now... now we're united."

His eyes widened: "Wait, what?"

"Not entirely... only partially, the bite activated the bond, but we are not completely joined, and now your body is trapped, it wants to finish what we started."

Luca looked as if he'd been punched. Then, as if he'd broken inside, he got up and stood, ret

rocketing

"Did you bite me? Rafe, you knew what that meant!"

I stood up slowly, my hands raised. "It wasn't my intention! I didn't even know what I was doing. The renegade was coming for you, and I just... lost control."

His breath caught in his throat. "And what does this mean? That I'm yours now? Is that it? You know very well that bonds between male wolves are forbidden."

I swallowed hard. Well, the bond said yes, but I couldn't tell him.

"It means we are connected, but we don't have to do anything about it; we can fight against it."

He let out a bitter laugh. "Do you think I can fight this? You touched me and I practically begged you to... to..."

His voice broke and she turned away, but not before I saw the tears filling her eyes.

"I can't do it," she whispered.

I took a step towards him, but he stepped back, so I stopped.

"You don't have to do it, we'll think of something, okay? Nobody has to know, we'll keep it between us, we'll stay away from each other until the bond fades."

But even as he said it, he knew it was a lie; the bond wasn't fading, not really. Unless it was broken, and to do that...

Luca looked over his shoulder, his expression unreadable: "Do you think they'll find out? About me?"

He didn't say it out loud, but I knew what he meant, being an omega.

I hesitated and then shook my head. "No, we're careful, but your scent... it's different now, it's stronger, and we'll have to mask it."

"As?".

"I'll get you some odor blockers, just... don't transform again until we sort this out."

Their shoulders relaxed with relief, but immediately tensed again, almost in unison, and they both turned around at the sound of twigs rustling behind us.

Voices, many voices!

Pack members.

Luca's eyes locked onto mine, wide open with fear.

"Just act normal," I whispered to him. "And let me talk."

He nodded, trembling.

A second later, Caleb, the son of alpha Cain, emerged from the undergrowth, flanked by two others, and his eyes fell upon Luca, narrowing almost immediately.

—What the hell are you two doing here alone?

Luca stiffened beside me and I looked into his eyes, but my heart was beating strongly, so I put on a serious face and answered.

"We were training and lost track of time."

He didn't seem convinced; his nostrils flared slightly. Then his gaze fell on Luca, and he smiled.

"You smell different, Luca, has something changed?"

Luca paled and I stood in front of him before I even realized I had moved.

"Back".

Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Relax, Rafe, I'm just having a conversation."

But we both knew it wasn't just that.

Caleb lingered for another second, his gaze shifting between Luca and me, as if he were putting two and two together, and he was too sharp to feel comfortable, then he smiled mockingly.

"I'll make sure to mention this little training session to my dad, and you know how much he hates secrets."

Then they disappeared among the trees, their footsteps crunching under the leaves, but the tension did not go away with them.

Luca froze, his breathing was shallow, and I reached out to him, but he backed away again.

I lowered my hand; this bond was already costing us more than I expected, and as his last footsteps faded away, a dull growl formed in my throat.

Because now he knew something: they were watching him, and if he didn't act quickly, he would lose him.