Chapter 8
“Before?” Sky felt a small spark of hope before he dashed it. Either he was reading into things, or Kian was messing with him. It’d become abundantly clear that the alpha wasn’t as kindhearted as Sky had always been led to believe.
Though, if he’d bought into a fantasy that wasn’t real, it was entirely his own fault.
Kian had always been known as a troublemaker. He was cold and aloof, but didn’t have any enemies. He’d fight someone if they pissed him off, and the next day act like it never happened.
Things may have been strained between them when Kian had left, but his parents had always openly cared for him.
The love for their son was obvious, and if asked, Sky would have said Kian loved them back.
The alpha picked up on things most didn’t, little things that Sky had always noticed and swooned over.
Mrs. Erskine was always forgetting to turn off the tea kettle, and Sky had seen Kian move through the kitchen after her to take care of it himself.
Sometimes he’d make his dad a cup of coffee before leaving, taking the time to bring it to his study.
If the family ordered out for dinner, he always made sure Sky’s favorite soda wasn’t forgotten.
“You said you’re not nice,” Sky licked his lips, certain he didn’t want to continue this conversation, but needing to. “What about thoughtful?”
Kian tilted his head. “What about it?”
“The version of you in my memory was always thoughtful.”
“Calculative,” he corrected without skipping a beat. “That’s the word you’re looking for, actually.”
He shook his head. “No, that can’t be right.”
“Think you know me better than I know myself?”
“Clearly not.”
“Exactly.” Kian leaned back against the window, stretching out his legs, getting comfortable on that side of the room.
Did that mean he’d stop playing with Sky’s body?
Was Sky…disappointed? No. No, he couldn’t be. It’d been wrong, on the cusp of bullying, even. He wasn’t a masochist. He didn’t like or want Kian to take control of him. Didn’t want him to make him do things he’d otherwise say no to.
Even if that would make all of this slightly easier to handle.
Even if it would make the perfect excuse, something tangible Sky could hold onto at the end of the day, once all of this was over and Kian inevitably went back to ignoring him.
Because he would. The only reason the alpha was here now was because Sky had pulled that particular stunt first. His omega pheromones had momentarily clouded Kian’s judgment.
Without them, the alpha never would have given him the time of day.
Proof was in the fact he’d been able to control himself last night.
Kian hadn’t knotted him, hell, he hadn’t even mounted him. An alpha controlling themselves in the presence of a prime omega in heat? That took serious mental strength. All Sky had to do was tell him he didn’t want it, didn’t want to risk getting pregnant, and Kian had rolled over and acquiesced.
And now Sky was complaining because he hadn’t been taken advantage of.
“I think there’s something wrong with me,” he mumbled, reaching up to rub at his temples.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Kian straightened. “Is it your head? Are your hormones fluctuating?”
He was asking if Sky needed to release again, even though he wasn’t presenting any signs of still being in heat.
“It’s probably because some asshole alpha keeps screwing around,” Sky snapped before he could help it.
He didn’t bother taking it back or cowering once it was said, though.
At this point, why bother being submissive?
In fact, he should be doing everything in his power to fight against the urge to bear his throat to Kian.
“I’m fine. It’s just been a weird couple of days.
Keep talking. I’d rather be distracted.”
The last thing he needed was to fall back into old patterns. Daydreaming about being pinned down and pumped full of alpha spunk on his own was one thing. But now he was here, with a very real alpha who had made it clear last night he was just playing around.
Kian was having fun teasing him, but that’s all it was.
That was fine. More than fine, really. It’d become painfully obvious that he wasn’t the friendly, boy-next-door type Sky had always believed him to be. The type Sky was desperate to find and settle down with.
He didn’t want to fantasize about being hunted down in the woods and forced to mate. Joining the Hunt on Synastry like Elm had suggested would have been the perfect excuse if he had. But Sky wanted normalcy. He wanted what his parents had. Safe, comfortable, wholesome love.
The kind of love you could bet your entire life on. With a person you never had to second-guess or fear would leave.
“Why’d you decide to come back?” Sky asked. “Why not stay on Synastry?”
“The twins convinced me I’d be better off here,” Kian replied. “After some consideration, I agreed.”
“The twins? Won’t Arbor be taking the throne soon?”
The current emperor had been preparing them for the handover for a little over a year now.
It was all anyone could talk about. Many feared the direction things would go once Arbor Idris sat on the throne, but his grandfather insisted on passing the crown before his death.
Perhaps he thought he could better guide Arbor that way.
Sky doubted it.
Kian watched him closely. “You’re afraid of him.”
“I’m afraid of both of them,” Sky corrected. “I’m not stupid.”
“Ah, so you’ve picked up on the fact there’s something off about Arbor and Avi, yet somehow managed to overlook the same darkness within me?” He clicked his tongue. “The jury is out on you being dumb if that’s the case.”
He bristled at the insult. “It was sort of hard for me to miss after I watched them bash in a guy’s head.”
“Oh, right, I forgot you were there for that. How old were you anyway?”
“Ten.”
“Cute.”
Sky scowled.
Kian laughed, and then his multi-slate began to ring. Holding up a finger, he took the call, not bothering to remove the earbud attachment to the device, which meant it automatically switched to speaker mode.
“Yeah?” Kian’s voice was steady, back to being bored.
“We’ve gotten clearance. We’ll be at your location within the hour,” a man responded.
“That soon?” Kian met Sky’s gaze and there was something heated there.
“There’s something else, sir.”
“Tell me.”
“Sarang managed to track down Lane. He’s on Synastry.”
“Send two cars,” Kian said. “One will take Sky home, the other will bring us straight to the airport. We need to be on the first ship heading to Synastry.”
“Understood.”
“Pike?” Kian tipped his head at Sky and held his gaze. “Have Bowie drive. The beta is the only one allowed near Sky.”
Pike…Wasn’t that the name one of the twins had mentioned yesterday? Who was he? Who was the voice on the phone, for that matter, and why were they calling Kian sir?
“Got it.” The call ended.
“Looks like we’ll get to leave soon.” Kian got to his feet.
He came toward the table, but didn’t make any moves to reach for Sky.
Instead, he sent off a message on his device, then unclipped it and set it down.
“I’m going to shower quick. The flight to Synastry doesn’t take very long.
I hate the bathrooms in the model of ship they use for travel between our two planets. ”
“Okay.” Sky didn’t really have anything else to say to that.
Kian grunted. “Don’t be disappointed, little omega.”
“Why would I be?” He frowned and then held up a hand before the alpha could answer that. “Just go shower. Sounded like your friends will be here in no time.”
Kian winked at him but didn’t push the issue, heading off toward the bathroom at the end of the room. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, all the tension rushed out of Sky and he slumped against the table.
“This is insane.” All of it. From start to finish.
And who the hell was Sarang? Lane and Bowie were foreign names to him as well.
He didn’t know them, which probably meant they were friends Kian had made on Synastry.
At least Kian had taken the extra step and made sure Sky wouldn’t have to sit in a cramped vehicle with another alpha.
Even though his heat seemed to be over, there was no guarantee.
But had Kian done it to protect Sky or his friends?
Damn it, this was the worst.
He’d text Kenta and see about their date. Yeah, that would help. He’d get over Kian once and for all, as originally planned, and forget this whole ordeal had ever happened.
Sky’s hand was hovering over his multi-slate when suddenly Kian’s let out a notification ding.
He hesitated, but ultimately, curiosity won out, and he grabbed that device instead of his own.
He tried to convince himself it was to check if it was an update about their pickup but forgot all about lying to himself about being a good person the second his eyes settled on the screen.
Someone had texted Kian an ultrasound photo, the black and white image unmistakable. Beneath it, the sender had typed out a single sentence.
Guess who’s going to be a dad.