Dominic POV

The bedroom was softly lit when I laid Theo down against the sheets. City lights spilled faint gold through the windows, catching against flushed cheeks and damp curls while his breathing stayed uneven beneath the quiet warmth of the room. Theo looked beautiful in a way that had nothing to do with heat or instinct. For the first time since stepping into my penthouse, he had stopped looking afraid.

That realization settled heavily inside me.

I climbed onto the bed beside him slowly, leaving enough space for him to pull away if he wanted to. Theo moved closer instead, instinctively, like his body had already decided where it felt safest. I reached for him gently. His skin felt hot beneath my hands, flushed with fever and exhaustion, and every small touch made him shiver slightly.

The moment my mouth brushed near his scent gland, Theo shuddered hard beneath me. Our scents mixed together slowly inside the warmth of the room—dark coffee and worn leather blending into vanilla and warm honey until the air itself felt thick with it.

Theo's breathing turned uneven. "It smells…" He swallowed hard before trying again. "Safe."

My jaw tightened at the word. "It's us," I said softly.

Theo's eyes fluttered shut as I kissed slowly down his throat, taking my time because rushing this felt impossible. I wanted him relaxed. I wanted him to understand this was not just instinct. It was him. Every small sound he made settled somewhere deep beneath my ribs.

"I don't know what I'm doing," he admitted softly, eyes wide and overwhelmed.

"You don't have to know," I whispered against his skin. "Just let me take care of you."

Whatever he found in my face must have eased something inside him, because his body slowly relaxed beneath my hands.

***

When he finally relaxed enough beneath me, I positioned myself carefully and met his eyes. The mixture of nervousness and quiet trust in his expression nearly unraveled what little control I still had left.

"This might hurt at first," I warned softly.

Theo swallowed before nodding once. "I trust you, Dominic."

The words seemed to startle him the moment they left his mouth. My breath caught unexpectedly. I kissed him slowly before pushing forward gently, giving his body time to adjust. Theo cried out sharply at the stretch, every muscle locking instantly.

"It's okay," he whispered after a shaky breath, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "Don't stop."

I stayed still another second anyway, waiting until his grip loosened against the sheets before moving again. Slowly, I started building a rhythm.

Theo's body learned mine little by little until the sounds leaving him no longer carried pain alone. His hips lifted instinctively against me while his fingers clung tightly to my shoulders, and the room filled with scent thick enough to feel overwhelming. Theo buried his face against my neck with a broken sound, and I tightened my arms around him immediately.

The feeling that moved through me then had nothing to do with ownership in the ugly way people expected from Alphas. It felt protective. Certain. Like some instinct deep inside me had already accepted that Theo belonged in my arms.

"Theo," I breathed against his mouth.

His eyes opened slowly, dazed beneath the warmth surrounding us. "Dominic…"

Hearing my name like that nearly destroyed me. I kissed him deeper, and Theo softened against me little by little. His body trusted mine now, and somehow that trust felt more intimate than anything else happening between us.

Then I felt my knot beginning to swell. Theo noticed the shift immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I forced myself to breathe evenly. "My knot."

He blinked through the haze clouding his expression. "The bonding?"

I nodded once. "It'll lock us together for a while."

For one brief second, I expected fear. Theo only looked at me silently before whispering, "Okay."

That single word shattered whatever restraint I still had left.

***

Afterward, we collapsed together, tangled in warmth and blended scent. I kept Theo tucked tightly against my chest while exhaustion slowly dragged him toward sleep. His body still trembled faintly in the aftermath.

"I'm here," I whispered against his hair when his breathing caught.

Hours passed in silence. Eventually, the knot loosened enough for Theo to shift slightly in my arms.

"Dominic?" he called softly.

"I'm here."

Theo pressed closer instinctively, nose brushing lightly against my throat while he breathed in our mixed scent like it soothed something inside him he could not quiet. Not long after that, sleep finally poured him under.

I stayed awake longer than I should have, holding him close while an unfamiliar calm spread through my instincts. Then I felt a sudden sting near my shoulder. I touched the spot before realizing what it was.

A bite mark.

Not deep enough to fully complete a mating bond, but close enough for every instinct inside me to react instantly. Theo had done it unconsciously. He was already asleep, breathing slow and even against my chest, one hand still loosely twisted in my shirt. He had no idea what he had just done.

I stayed very still. The peace that settled through me afterward was not something I recognized from hockey, fights, or anything else I had survived before. It was something older and deeper, the kind of certainty that settles in once something inside you stops resisting. I tightened my arms around him before sleep finally dragged me under too.

***

I woke to an empty bed.

The space beside me still held warmth. My hand moved automatically across the sheets before stopping. I pressed two fingers carefully against the bite mark on my shoulder while silence settled heavily through the apartment.

He had left. And he had still bitten me.

I walked through the penthouse without hurrying because I already knew what I would find. The bathroom door was open, his gear was gone, and there was no note. In the living room, the blanket from the couch had been folded neatly and set on the cushion.

Of course, he folded it. I stood there staring at it for a long time.

Years of hiding had made Theo careful about everything, especially leaving. He had slipped out before sunrise like someone who had learned that staying always cost more than running. My jaw tightened.

I picked up my phone and called him. It rang four times before voicemail picked up, his voice careful and composed in a way that felt painfully familiar, like the man from last night had already disappeared again. Silence stretched after the beep.

I opened my mouth to say something reasonable. Something measured. Something that would give him the distance he was already trying to put between us.

Instead, I heard myself say, "You folded the blanket."

Then I hung up.

I stood alone in the center of my living room while the city slowly woke outside and Theo's scent faded little by little from the air around me. Then I pressed my fingers once more against the bite mark on my shoulder. He had left before I woke up. He had erased every trace of himself except the one thing he could not take back. But his body had still chosen me in the dark.

Theo could run as far and as fast as he needed to. He could spend years convincing himself this had only been heat, desperation, and one broken injector. I was going to let him try.

And when the league brought him back, because it always did, I was going to be exactly where I had always been. Waiting for him on the same ice.

Except now I knew what he sounded like when he stopped pretending. And somehow, that only made me want to chase him harder.