Chapter 14
Sky felt…off. He couldn’t put his finger on it at first, lying there, blinking against the light streaming in from the window.
The sky was overcast, but it still hurt at first. It took a while for him to process that he was on a bed, navy silk sheets cradling him.
The piece of furniture was large, much bigger than his twin-sized bed in his apartment.
His fingers twitched, and he decided to take stock, slowly moving into a sitting position. All of his muscles ached, and he was practically out of breath by the time he was upright, needing to lean against the headboard to brace himself.
He was too uncomfortable to react when his eyes found Kian’s across the room, too busy focusing on getting control of his breathing to bother telling him to fuck off when the alpha took a step closer.
The bedroom was in a loft, with an empty rectangular center and long walkways at either side leading to the opposite end.
There was a seating area and two closed doors on the other end of the loft.
The color palette was made up of varying shades of gray, with golden light orbs set on their lowest setting.
Sky could catch sight of a kitchen below, but not much else from his vantage.
Everything looked neat and tidy.
It didn’t feel lived in.
The alpha had come from one of the open hallways and was carrying a tray. There were two steaming mugs, but Sky couldn’t smell the contents.
He couldn’t pretend everything he remembered was a bad dream either.
Tears prickled at the corner of his eyes, and he stubbornly fought them off. He’d done enough crying for Kian and had realized at some point that the alpha enjoyed seeing him weepy for him.
“You’re supposed to feel guilty,” Sky broke the silence first, his voice sounding crackly and raw. “A normal person would be begging for forgiveness right now, not doing whatever it is you’re doing.”
“I’m bringing you tea. It’ll help your throat and it’s rich in antioxidants. The doctor said you need to regain your strength.” Kian set the tray down on a small wooden table to the right. A table that only had two chairs.
“I saw a doctor?” Sky glanced down at himself self-consciously. He’d been dressed in a silk robe the same color as the sheets, but the material left little for the imagination. He was covered in bites and bruises. His nipples were still puffy, and there were scratches on his arms.
“You did that yourself,” Kian indicated the scratches.
“I did?” He didn’t remember. Most of the events were there, but things got hazy toward the end. He recalled waking in this room a few times, always impaled on Kian’s cock. How intense and overwhelming the pleasure had been. How suffocating it’d gotten. The desperation for it to end…
“You threatened me with self-harm.” Kian brought one of the steaming mugs over, but he didn’t hold it out. Instead, he placed it on a low shelf that was built into the wall the bed was propped against. “You won’t do that again.”
Sky bristled. “I want to go home.”
“This is home.”
“My home.”
Kian lowered onto the edge of the bed, still keeping some distance between them since Sky was seated in the center. “This is your home.”
“Are you kidnapping me?” He clenched his hands into fists over the comforter, and the alpha’s gaze dropped to them momentarily before returning to his face.
Kian’s expression was enigmatic. There wasn’t a hint of pity or shame for what he’d done. “No. In the eyes of the law, I have every right to bring you here. And to keep you here, under my watch.”
“That’s not true. I have rights.”
“Sky,” he held his gaze unblinkingly, “did you forget? You have an alpha now. An alpha’s job is to protect and care for their omega. Don’t fret. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“An alpha’s job is to please and respect their omega,” Sky snarled. “This isn’t Synastry. Don’t sit there and try to feed me some bullshit about ownership. You can’t do this, Kian.”
“I already did.” He sighed heavily, as though he was the exhausted and frustrated one here.
“You can’t!” Sky didn’t care if he sounded like a broken record, he’d repeat himself a million times if he had to.
“I get to decide. I get to choose which alpha I accept, or if I even accept one at all. The bond isn’t meant to be something forced onto an unwilling participant! This isn’t a hundred years ago!”
“Do you really believe that?” Kian tipped his head. “Do you really think people are safe just because some old man with a crown said so? Do you think bad things don’t happen to the innocent because of laws?”
“Kian.” Sky scrambled forward, ignoring the pain in his limbs and his lower region as he did. He knelt in front of the alpha and took his wrist in both of his hands, clinging to him. “Please. I’ll do whatever you want. If you want to see me beg, I will. Just don’t do this.”
“Little omega, it’s already done.”
“Then undo it!”
When Kian lifted his free hand, Sky shot back, releasing him in the process.
He landed on his rear and winced, closing his eyes to give himself a moment to breathe through the discomfort.
How long had they been at it for his body to be in this poor a state?
Without warning, Kian stood and then scooped Sky into his arms. He tried struggling, but the alpha clicked his tongue at him and then released a wave of soothing pheromones that instantly had Sky’s head lolling onto his shoulder.
Sky could do nothing as he was carried down the open hall on the left, his eyes catching sight of the bustling city out the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the entire left wall.
It was hard to tell what time of day it was, because the sky was bleak.
Some of the buildings had their lights on, and people were carrying umbrellas.
“They can’t see us,” Kian told him.
“Are you telling me not to bother trying to signal for help, or are you reassuring me no one can catch sight of me in nothing but a robe and bruises?”
“Both.”
“I really fucking hate you, you know that? I wouldn’t take you as my alpha if you were the last—”
“Does it make you feel better?” Kian cut him off. “Pretending that you aren’t at least somewhat pleased? You’ve always wanted me, Sky.”
“I wanted you the same way a person wants Yuze Quint.” He named the first celebrity that came to mind.
“That model isn’t an alpha. He wouldn’t be able to satisfy you.”
“That’s not the point.” Sky quickly took in the living space at the end of the hall before he was brought through one of the open doorways and into a bathroom. A strangled sound escaped him when he was lowered into a tub that was already filled, his feet connecting with the hot water. “Slow down!”
“This will help with the sore muscles,” Kian said, as though that were enough of a reason to boil Sky alive.
“It’s too fucking hot! Are you trying to burn me?!”
The alpha paused and then just as swiftly scooped him back out. He turned and settled Sky onto the gray marbled counter of the sink, before going back to the tub to flick on the cold tap.
Sky considered making a run for it, longingly eyeing the exit, but he doubted he’d get very far in his current state.
“You’ll only make it worse for yourself,” Kian said as though having read his mind. He didn’t even look away from what he was doing.
“Elm will notice when I don’t come home,” he pivoted. Maybe there was a chance he could get through to the alpha by mentioning his brother. Kian had always cared about his family’s opinion, even when the rest of the world’s had been worthless.
“He knows you’re here,” Kian replied. After testing the water again, he stood and returned for Sky.
Sky pressed a hand against his chest and leaned away. He was no match for the alpha, but that didn’t mean he had to make things easy for him. “What did you tell him?”
“I texted from your multi-slate and explained that the two of us got together at the carnival.”
“You did what?”
“He believed it.” Kian placed a palm on either side of Sky. “He congratulated you and then gave you a final warning about me. My brother is smart. He’s always known there was something off, but he cares for me anyway.”
That was true. Even when Elm was trying to get Sky to get over his crush and reminding him about all the ways they wouldn’t be a good match, he never said anything inherently bad about Kian. He’d always looked up to him, even when Kian was sneaking out late or mouthing off to their parents.
“You care for me too,” the alpha added, and when Sky glared, he smirked.
It was devilish and beautiful—a far cry from the scary blank expression he’d had on, though no less terrifying.
“If you didn’t, Elm never would have believed it so easily.
He knows you’d give in to me if given the opportunity, so why do you keep denying it, Sky?
It’s nothing but a waste of energy to pretend. ”
“You pretended to be me texting Elm.”
“Semantics.”
“I want—”
“Sky.” Kian lifted a hand and lightly captured his face, one long finger slipping beneath the length of Sky’s left jawline, thumb pressing just below his chin. He urged Sky’s head back, gaze dropping to his mouth, and when he licked his lips, Sky’s heart leapt.
That wasn’t the reaction someone in his position should be having.
Confused, he risked further embarrassment and sniffed at the air, checking to see if the alpha was using his pheromones on him.
Aside from the occasional brush of soothing ones, however, there was nothing.
He wasn’t forcing Sky’s body to respond through lust pheromones.