16. Chapter 16
Tarymn
T arymn stood in front of Ludiin’s door like an idiot. He wasn’t sure how he got there. One second, Ludiin was tripping over his own feet, and the next, Tarymn was following him down the hall like some kind mad man.
Alpha hunting.
The phrase had lit a fuse under his skin. Luci had tossed it out so casually, and suddenly Tarymn's brain had short-circuited. Next thing he knew, he was marching up the stairs like he had a plan.
He didn’t.
What was he even doing?
Knocking?
Barging in?
Demanding… something?
What exactly?
That Ludiin not go?
That he stay in his den, in his room and not exist in public where other alphas could see him?
Tarymn dragged a hand down his face, exhaling hard. His whole body was wired like he was on high alert. But for what?
Ludiin wasn’t in danger.
He was just… going out. With Luci. Like a normal omega.
Still, Tarymn didn’t move. He stared at that damn door like it had personally offended him.
He should walk away. Really. Right now. He didn’t.
He stood there for a second… then a minute… long enough to start questioning his life choices. What are you doing? Waiting for the door to open itself? For Ludiin to magically read your mind and not go alpha hunting? The silence mocked him.
If Ludiin opened the door right now and found him just… standing there?
Yeah. No. Tarymn moved. Fast.
Spinning on his heel, he rushed away, his heart pounding so hard it drowned out all thought. He barely made it a few steps before nearly crashing into Hym, who was stepping out of his room.
His twin arched a brow, gaze flickering over Tarymn’s shoulder to Ludiin’s bedroom door. A slow smirk tugged at Hym’s lips, a glint of mischief sparking in his eyes.
Tarymn didn’t need to hear a word to know what conclusion his brother had come to. He clenched his jaw, barely resisting the urge to groan aloud. He wasn’t in the mood for Hym’s teasing.
The past five years had been torture. A slow, aching kind of torment.
But nothing compared to the agony of the last few minutes. Keeping his distance while Ludiin lived under his roof had nearly unmade him, but at least he’d known where he was. Safe. Close.
But now? Knowing he was out there, somewhere beyond the walls of this house, brushing shoulders with strange alphas, ones who might look at him, touch him, scent him...
Tarymn’s hands clenched at his sides. It felt like his insides were being clawed out. Fucking alpha hunting. Tarymn’s jaw ticked. What the hell was Luci thinking?
Fuck.
Tarymn dragged a rough hand down his face as he strode down the hallway, as if he could physically wipe away the feelings clawing at him from the inside. But no amount of scrubbing could erase them.
Beside him, Hym fell into step, silent.
The lack of teasing should’ve been a relief, but somehow, it only irritated Tarymn more. Didn’t his twin have something useful to do?
Surely Makar had a job or two for him, anything other than hovering around and making Tarymn’s already impossible situation worse.
“Tell me you were in Ludiin’s room and you two were finally fucking,” Hym said.
Nope. It could get worse.
Ignoring him, Tarymn made his way to his office, hoping for some damn peace.
Hym followed.
“What, Hym?” Tarymn snapped as he rounded his desk.
His twin merely shrugged, amusement flickering in his eyes as he made himself comfortable on the couch.
Grinding his teeth, Tarymn yanked out his chair and sat down. His connector buzzed, a welcome reprieve from both his brother’s scrutiny and his own gnawing thoughts.
“Pitra, did you make it to the office?” Tarymn asked.
“Yes, master…” Pitra replied, already jumping into work.
Tarymn barely heard a word the beta said. Something about schedules, meetings, maybe a travel briefing, he wasn’t sure. It all blurred into background noise, drowned out by the pounding of his heart. His mind was somewhere else. With Ludiin. Out there. Alpha hunting.
The words made his jaw clench so tightly it ached.
He had no right to interfere. But fuck, he wanted to.
Because he couldn’t let Ludiin find an alpha.
Not when he was his mate. But he fucking believed he wasn’t, because Tarymn told him so.
And no matter how much he’d tried, Tarymn hadn’t found a way to to tell Ludiin.
Or found a way to get close to the omega.
So Ludiin kept his distance, and Tarymn had no choice but to respect it.
But God, it was killing him.
He’d never thought he could want someone so much. At this point, the longing was a part of him, woven into his very being. He couldn’t even remember a time when he hadn’t ached for the omega.
It was excruciating.
Tarymn had been dreading this day for years.
He’d always known it would come. That Ludiin would eventually want an alpha of his own.
And the worst part? Ludiin wouldn’t have to try.
The omega was heartbreakingly beautiful.
With his long, dark hair, pale skin and naturally pink lips. He’d draw alphas like moths to a flame.
“Master, are you listening?” Pitra’s voice cut through the mental spiral.
Tarymn blinked.
Shit .
“Yes,” he said too quickly.
“Okay. I’ll make the arrangements.”
Arrangements. Right. That sounded…important.
“Thanks, Pitra. We’ll talk later,” Tarymn muttered, dropping the connector on his desk and resisting the urge to bang his head on it. He needed to get it together. It wasn’t like Ludiin was getting bonded tonight.
Still… the idea of Ludiin smiling at someone else? Laughing with someone else? Letting some smug alpha touch him?
Tarymn’s eyes narrowed. He could feel his instincts sharpening like claws. When he looked up, Hym was still there, watching him.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Tarymn growled.
“No. I’m waiting for Jamue. We’re going out with Luci and Ludiin,” Hym said, reclining further into the couch, arms folding over his chest.
“Can’t you wait for him somewhere else?”
“Nope.” Hym grinned. “This is fascinating. I want to see how long you’ll keep this up.” His eyes gleamed with mischief. “You’re close to breaking, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tarymn bit out.
“I think you do.” Hym let out a full-bodied laugh, his entire frame shaking with it. A knock thudded against the door, barely cutting through Hym’s laughter, because of course he was having the time of his life at his expense.
“Come in,” Tarymn snapped.
Hym, still laughing, barely had time to wipe the grin off his face before the door opened.
“There you are,” Jamue said, stepping into the room with his arms crossed, impatience radiating off him.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I thought you were going to wait for us outside.
” His eyes narrowed on Hym. “Did you change your mind again? Because I’m not wasting another second in this house.
If you don’t want to go, fine. Luci and I will find another alpha to go with us. ”
He dramatically turned for the door.
“Hey! Wait.” Hym jumped to his feet, scrambling after his mate. “I told you I was coming!”
Jamue stopped in the doorway, arms folded. He stared at Hym, clearly trying to hold onto his irritation, then gave up, his lips twitching into a fond smile. The tension between them melted in an instant, replaced by their love for each other.
Tarymn felt it from where he sat. That warm, gooey love.
And it stung.
He was happy for Hym. Of course he was. His brother had suffered before Jamue showed up.
Tarymn was happy for him. And maybe a little jealous too.
“Give me a minute to talk to Tarymn, then we’ll leave,” Hym said to Jamue, his voice softening.
Jamue rolled his eyes but nodded. “A minute, Hym. Not a second more,” he muttered before disappearing down the hallway.
Tarymn didn’t even look up from his desk. He was already reaching for his connector, fingers moving by habit, pulling up schedules and reports. Work was the best distraction. It would keep him from thinking about Ludiin and some alpha.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked brusquely.
“Come with us,” Hym said. “It’s your chance. You can finally get things moving with Ludiin.”
Tarymn’s head snapped up, the thought tempting. But… he was scared.
“No,” he said, more forcefully than necessary. “Absolutely not.”
Because the thought of watching Ludiin flirt, or worse, be flirted with, made his vision blur. If Tarymn saw any of it with his own eyes, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. Something stupid, probably.
Hym studied him, the smile slipping from his face. His brow furrowed, like he was trying to piece together something he’d long suspected.
“He’s not our real brother, you know that, right?”
“I know.”
“Then what’s stopping you from claiming him? You want him. You’ve wanted him for years. Are you really going to keep pretending that you don’t?”
Tarymn didn’t answer.
“Fine,” Hym muttered. “Suit yourself.”
He turned for the door.
“Go,” Tarymn said. “Don’t keep your mate waiting.”
Hym hesitated like he wanted to argue, to push harder, but instead, he just sighed and walked out.
Tarymn listened to the sound of his footsteps fading, followed by the low hum of the hover pod drifting away. The silence that followed stretched on, deafening and unsettling. And in his chest, something twisted.
Yet, he sat perfectly still, staring at the closed door as if it could save him from the heartache he knew was coming.