2. Chapter 2
Tarymn
W hy is it so dark in here? Tarymn wondered as he stepped into the house, his boots echoing against the wooden floor.
The shadows clung to the high ceilings, shrouding the entryway in darkness until Pitra, trailing behind him with his bags, flicked on the lights.
Warm golden light flooded the space, chasing the darkness away.
“Where is everyone?” Tarymn asked, more to himself than to Pitra. Not that he expected a welcome parade of smiling faces and open arms, he just…the emptiness unnerved him.
What did he fucking expect?
He’d bolted the moment his schedule gave him the smallest excuse, dumping Luci and Ludiin in Hym’s lap without a second thought.
He’d run. Fast. And far.
“I’m sure Hym’s at work. Luci and Ludiin should be somewhere inside,” Pitra offered.
Tarymn nodded distantly.
“I’ll take these to your room. Will you be needing anything else?”
“No. Just leave them there. You must be tired. Go home and get some rest. It’s been a long trip,” he said, already turning toward the stairs, a small knot of guilt tightening in his chest.
They were probably fine. They didn’t need him to hold their hands like fragile cubs.
Well, apparently, they did.
Tarymn halted, his eyes narrowing at the sight ahead. Boxes. Dozens of them, crowded the hallway like a barricade, nearly blocking the path to his bedroom.
What the fuck is this? His irritated huff came out sharp and ragged, guilt rapidly mutating into irritation. The house was massive. There was no reason for their shit to be dumped right in front of his door.
Tarymn stormed down the hallway, every step fueled with anger to tear into them, only to stop mid-stride. His nostrils flared, chest rising as a scent curled through the air.
Sweet. Thick. Heady and cloying, it twined around him like invisible silk, burrowing into his bones, dragging on his instincts and short-circuiting his brain. Heat. Someone was in heat.
Who…? His mind barely formed the question before the door across from his room creaked open.
A soft shuffle of feet. And then…Ludiin.
Standing there. Eyes unfocused. Cheeks flushed. Looking like something out of a fever dream.
Tarymn blinked. But the image didn’t go away.
Ludiin stood frozen in the doorway, bathed in dim hallway light.
His face was streaked with tears, his eyes wide and glassy.
His hair spilled in wild, tangled waves around his pale face, and the oversized shirt he wore looked like it was swallowing him whole, hanging off one delicate shoulder, brushing against his knees.
“Ludiin…” Tarymn took a single cautious step forward.
“Tary?” came his voice, soft and needy.
The sound made something inside him lurch.
"Tary?" Was that what he called him? Tarymn blinked, a frown tugging at his brow. Ludiin stumbled toward him, like his body no longer belonged to him, moving only toward the sound of Tarymn’s voice.
“What’s wrong?” Tarymn asked, the air thinning around him.
“Help me,” Ludiin whimpered, the words barely making it out before his knees buckled. He pitched sideways, hitting the stacked boxes with a dull thud before crumpling to the floor like a marionette with cut strings.
“Oh shit, Ludiin!” Tarymn lunged, catching him before his head hit the floor.
From the first touch, heat blazed through his palms.
Shit. The omega was burning up. Shaking. Hard. Like his body was trying to come apart.
Tarymn gathered him into his arms, holding him close. And that’s when it hit him again.
The scent.
It rolled over him, hot, and intoxicating. His muscles tensed. His jaw clenched. Something primal pulled at his core, curling low in his gut and dragging a growl up his throat he barely managed to swallow.
Oh, this was bad.
“My heat,” Ludiin sobbed against his chest. “It’s terrible. I can’t stand it. Please…please help me.”
Tarymn’s throat tightened. “Hold on,” he rasped as he pushed to his feet with Ludiin cradled against his chest. The moment he crossed the threshold, he staggered.
The scent in the room was thicker, cloying and sweet, a heavy blanket of heat that clung to the walls and sank into his skin, testing every shred of control he had left.
He sucked in a deep breath of clean air still lingering in the hallway, and strode toward the bed like a man running from fire. But just as he reached it, he froze, breathing hard, arms tightening instinctively around the omega trembling in his arms.
Don’t look at it, Tarymn told himself.
But he couldn’t stop looking at it. His eyes were glued to the cock shaped pleasuring bot, carelessly abandoned in the middle of the bed, glistening under the low light, with what Tarymn could only assume were Ludiin’s juices. The sheets were damp, darkened by the liquid.
Fuck. He must have done something bad in another life to go through shit.
He turned toward the only chair in the room, parked beside the window like an afterthought.
Lowering himself carefully, he shifted Ludiin in his arms, trying to set him down, but the omega’s thighs locked around Tarymn’s waist as if letting go would shatter him.
His head tucked into the crook of Tarymn’s shoulder, his warm breath brushing his skin in soft, pleading pants, he moaned as he rocked his hips, rubbing his very hard cock against Tarymn’s stomach, too far gone to care what was happening between them.
“Fuck, Ludiin,” Tarymn hissed. “You can’t do that.”
But Ludiin didn’t listen. Or maybe he couldn’t. His hold only tightened, his body pressing closer, his hips rocking harder.
“Ludiin… Ludiin, you need to let go,” Tarymn said through clenched teeth.
He fought against the overwhelming pull, forcing himself to pry the omega’s limbs from around him.
He managed to ease Ludiin down onto the chair, but the sound that came from him then — a broken, needy whimper, sliced through Tarymn like a knife.
“It’s okay,” Tarymn murmured. He pressed a soft kiss to Ludiin’s damp cheek, tasting salt and desperation. “I’m not…”He found Ludiin’s rosy mouth, brushing his lips against his in a fleeting kiss, “going…”Another kiss. Slower this time. Deeper. “Anywhere.”
A broken whimper escaped Ludiin as his arms curled around Tarymn’s neck, clinging, dragging him closer as he opened himself to him, asking for more.
Tarymn pulled back. His breath caught, heart pounding as reality slammed into him. What the hell had he just done?
Kissing Ludiin? His stepbrother? What was wrong with him?
He stumbled toward the bed, yanking the sheets off in one swift motion.
His movements were clumsy and uncoordinated, betraying the chaos storming inside him.
With a jerk, he opened the clothing cubicle and grabbed fresh linens, tossing them onto the mattress.
His hands smoothed out the sheets getting the bed ready, working as fast as he could.
He needed to get this done, needed to get out of this room before he lost whatever smidgen of control he still had.
Once the bed was made, he returned to Ludiin and gently gathered him in his arms again.
The omega felt hot, fragile, like he might shatter if held him too tightly.
Tarymn laid him down carefully, pulling the covers over his trembling body, trying not to think about the warmth of his body, the scent clinging to his skin.
He had just turned to leave when a small, broken voice stopped him cold.
“Am I going to die?”
Tarymn turned back, and his heart twisted painfully at the sight of Ludiin’s flushed face, wide eyes shining with tears, fear and confusion.
It was his first heat. He was probably scared.
Fuck.
Instead of leaving, Tarymn crouched at the bedside, reaching out instinctively. His fingers curled gently under Ludiin’s chin, lifting it so their eyes could meet.
“You’re not going to die,” Tarymn said quietly. “It’s a lot the first time. Overwhelming. But it won’t kill you. Just…” He paused, searching Ludiin’s face. “Don’t fight it. Breathe through it. Let go, Ludiin. It’s supposed to feel good.”
“I’m not fighting it. Nothing seems to be working. I tried everything.” Ludiin moaned. “Please help me. I don’t know what to do.”
Tarymn’s heart twisted painfully. “I can’t.”
“But it felt good when you kissed me.”
That was a fucking mistake.
“I can’t, Ludiin.”
“Please… just… oh, shit….” Ludiin’s back arched suddenly, his body wracked with a violent shudder. His breath hitched, and he bit down on his lower lip so hard that when he exhaled, a thin trickle of blood welled up against his lip.
“Don’t. You’re going to hurt yourself,” Tarymn said, reaching out without thinking. His thumb brushed against Ludiin’s lip, trying to ease the tension, but the omega was too far gone. He wasn’t listening. Wasn’t thinking. His teeth sank deeper into his lower lip. More blood welled up.
Then without meaning to, Tarymn’s thumb drifted away, and his lips took its place in a soft kiss.
What was meant to be soothing, ignited like dry kindling catching fire.
Hunger, and raw need surged between them, fierce and impossible to stop.
Ludiin moaned into the kiss, dragging Tarymn on top of him.
And Tarymn let him.
He let him clumsily flick his tongue against his lips. Suck on his tongue. Sink his teeth into his bottom lip.
He let him do everything until he felt like he was burning from the inside out.
Drowning in Ludiin’s taste. His scent. The soft, desperate moans that curled around him.
It took everything he had to pull away. His heart thundered against his ribs, wild and furious, as he stared down at the omega trying to summon the will to walk away.
But he couldn’t.
“Please…don’t stop,” Ludiin begged him again, shamelessly seeking his lips.