12. Chapter 12
Ludiin
A s the planet plunged deeper into chaos, Ludiin threw himself into his work, isolating himself in his den trying to build another pleasuring bot to help him through his next heat. He only left the den to eat and bathe. And even then, his thoughts never strayed far from his project.
Tarymn and Luci visited often, bringing food, sometimes teasing him, but Ludiin barely acknowledged them. Especially Tarymn. The more distance he put between them, the easier it would be to forget.
Or at least, that’s what he told himself.
But when the signs of his heat began to stir in his body again… Ludiin got a little anxious.
He wasn’t sure if his new pleasuring bot would work.
But he needed it to work. Desperately.
Because he couldn’t go to Tarymn.
Not again.
Not ever.
And Tarymn must have had the same thought because on the day Ludiin’s heat finally arrived, he did the one thing Ludiin hadn’t truly believed he would do.
He came. And he wasn’t alone.
There was another alpha beside him. Ready. Waiting.
And just like that, something inside Ludiin cracked open.
Ludiin had somehow convinced himself that he wouldn’t bring another alpha. Not really.
He’d foolishly thought that he wouldn't want to see him with someone else. Because Ludiin hadn’t stopped wanting him.
He still liked the way Tarymn listened to him ramble on about nothing.
Still craved his presence. Still clung to the way Tarymn said his voice soothed him, like he needed him for something more.
The sight of them at his door was like a punch to the gut. Ludiin didn’t think. He just moved and slammed the door shut in their faces before engaging the full locking system with trembling fingers.
“Ludiin?” Tarymn’s muffled voice came through the door. “Open the door.”
“No. I don’t need an alpha,” Ludiin said, his voice trembling even as he tried to sound strong. His heart ached, a deep, dull throb that refused to go away. It was ridiculous. Pathetic. And yet… his fucking feelings refused to die.
“You have to open the door, Ludiin,” Tarymn said from the other side, his voice muffled through the metal but still carrying that infuriating calm. “He’s here to help you.”
“No, I’ll be fine,” Ludiin lied, pressing his forehead to the wall beside the doorframe. He wasn’t sure he’d be fine. He was fucking scared.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You know you can’t do this alone.”
“I will,” he said, barely holding himself together. “Please… just go away.”
There was a pause. Then Tarymn’s voice hardened. Commanding. His alpha voice slipping through. “Damn it, Ludiin. Open the door.”
Ludiin shivered, biting down a whimper as his body reacted instinctively, wanting to obey, to open the door, to fall into Tarymn’s arms and let everything else fade away.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it?
He didn’t want just any alpha. He wanted him. And Tarymn had brought someone else.
Ludiin’s knees gave out as he sank to the floor, his back against the door. Tears blurred his vision and he didn’t bother to stop them. A raw sob escaped and then another.
Why did it have to be like this?
Why couldn’t he just be normal? Why did he have to be such a tangled mess of nerves, tripping over his own words and fumbling everything? Other omegas seemed to meet alphas with ease, while he turned into a hopelessly awkward wreck.
Why couldn’t he want someone else, anyone else? Why couldn’t he just be like others? This would’ve been so much easier.
He dragged himself off the floor and collapsed onto the bed, burying his face in the pillow praying like hell his heat would show him mercy this time. Maybe it would burn out quickly, leave him numb instead of aching and needy.
He couldn’t go to Tarymn. Not ever.
Ludiin squeezed the pillow tighter, teeth digging into his bottom lip as a fresh wave of desire and dread knotted in his stomach. He couldn’t keep living like this, teetering between desperation and desire, wanting someone he shouldn’t. He had to find a way out.
Maybe he and Luci should go somewhere. Disappear.
He could make money selling pleasuring bots. He already had a few made. He could find a manufacturer and set up an online site. It could work.
It could.
But…the planet was in chaos right now. No one knew what was going to happen.
The alpha king was gone and in his place was his brother Maxus.
Everyone was waiting to see what was going to happen.
Will omegas be restricted from public spaces?
It remained to be seen. Ludiin had a feeling it was only going to get worse.
“Ludiin?” Tarymn’s voice broke through the haze. “Open the door. He’s gone.”
“I’m fine, Tarymn,” Ludiin called back, voice hoarse. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“You’re not fine,” came the growl. “Open the door. Now.”
Ludiin winced as Tarymn’s alpha voice struck him like a punch. His body obeyed before his brain could argue. He pushed himself up, his skin flushed, his body trembling, and unlocked the door with a shaking hand.
Tarymn stepped inside immediately, shutting the door behind him with a firm click. His scent flooded the room, intoxicating and painfully arousing. As if he wasn’t aroused enough.
He was fucking dying.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?” he snapped, his eyes blazing. “You can’t spend your fucking heat alone. I thought you understood that.”
Ludiin’s heart clenched, throat tight with everything he couldn’t say.
“I…”
Tarymn gripped his arms, dragged him close and crushed their lips together.
Ludiin’s skin prickled, a shiver rolling down his spine as goosebumps rose along his arms. Tarymn’s touch was different now. Raw. Consuming.
He wasn’t just dominant. He was feral .
And something deep inside Ludiin. Something primal, something he barely understood, answered. He whimpered, arching into the alpha as he devoured his mouth.
They shouldn’t be doing this. Every nerve in Ludiin’s body screamed it but fuck he need it. He clung to Tarymn, surrendering completely to the fire that burned through him.
Then, Tarymn suddenly pulled away. Ludiin whimpered reaching for him.
“Take off your clothes, and get on the bed,” Tarymn commanded. The dark tone of his voice sent a shudder racing down Ludiin’s spine. Ludiin swallowed hard and did what he was told. With trembling hands, he pulled off his shirt, shorts and walked to the bed.
“On your hand and knees.”
“Tarymn…”
“Now, Ludiin,” he said.
Was he angry? Ludiin asked himself as he climbed on the bed and got on his hands and knees, clutching the sheets. He held his breath when he felt Tarymn behind him, fully clothed. Was he going to fuck him with his clothes on?
Ludiin shivered, the thought both arousing and maddening.
“Hold on,” Tarymn growled against his neck, gripping his hips firmly as he brought his cock to his hole. With one powerful thrust, Tarymn was inside him, sending his body soaring.
“Fuck!” A strangled cry tore from Ludiin’s throat. Tarymn stilled, hovering close, his breath warm against Ludiin’s flushed skin, making him shiver.
He started to move, pulling out and slamming back, over and over until Ludiin’s mind was spinning and all he could do was hold on for dear life. It felt like Tarymn was bending him to his will. Demanding submission.
Ludiin whimpered as the omega in him responded. Instinctively he tilted his neck, offering himself to be claimed.
When he felt Tarymn’s teeth graze his neck, he lost his mind.
A scream ripped from his throat as his body exploded into a million pieces. He gasped for air as a dizzying wave of pleasure crashed over him. His arms trembled, barely holding him upright, but still, Tarymn fucked him. Each thrust felt harder, deeper than the last.
“Please,” Ludiin whimpered. He couldn’t take anymore.
Tarymn finally halted. For a fleeting moment, nothing happened only the taut stillness of the room, punctuated by Ludiin’s ragged, breathy moans.
Then, he felt it… Tarymn’s knot. Thick, pulsing, burrowing into his hole, stretching him wide and deep. His toes curling into the mattress, Ludiin buried his face into a pillow as another orgasm ripped through him so hard his arms gave out. Tarymn followed him down, keeping them connected.
"Are you okay?" Tarymn murmured after a while, drawing him close, his lips grazing the tender spot on Ludiin’s neck where he had almost bitten him.
Ludiin nodded, a moan escaping his lips as Tarymn’s knot pulsed deep inside him. His cum filling him up, warm and soothing.
He fucking loved this part. Loved feeling Tarymn’s cum inside him.
Pleasure rippled through him, pooling in his veins like molten fire. His lashes fluttered shut as a deep sense of bliss settled over him.
But it didn’t last.
“Why didn’t you open the door?” Tarymn asked, snapping him out of his blissed-out haze. “You didn’t like him?”
Ludiin bit the inside of his cheek, the words stinging more than they should, especially with Tarymn still buried inside him. Couldn’t they just not talk about another alpha right now?
“It was my fault,” Tarymn continued. “I should’ve introduced you to Wulfric beforehand. Let you get to know him. Maybe then you’d have felt more comfortable. We can do that after your heat ends.”
Ludiin grimaced, a sharp ache blooming in his chest. “Please stop,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.
“What?”
“I don’t want…” He swallowed hard, bile rising with the humiliation. “It won’t make any difference. I won’t like him.”
“You don’t know that. Wulfric might look intimidating but that’s because he’s a UA fighter. He’s a nice alpha. You’ll like him once you get to know him.”
“I won’t,” Ludiin said, heart thundering. “Because I want you .”
The silence that followed was brutal. Heavy. Suffocating. He never should’ve said it. Not now. Not like this. Not while Tarymn’s knot pulsed deep inside him and he couldn’t fucking get up and leave. Shame curled hot under his skin. He wanted to vanish. To melt into the mattress and never come out.