Chapter 7 #2
The latter possibility was what always stayed his hand whenever the urge to confess bubbled to the surface. Fortunately, those times were few and far between. Sarang knew logically that he couldn’t risk it. He refused to put his family in the same shitty position his dad had.
They may have made a similar mistake, but Sarang wouldn’t abandon his mom and sister at a mere chance at the world.
No, Shiloh was stubborn. And that stubbornness came with a pride Sarang thought even the prince wasn’t aware of.
There was no way he’d tolerate the truth once he learned it.
He’d no doubt come to the same conclusion that Sarang had—that his attachment wasn’t natural, but instead borne of a decision Sarang had made without his consent.
He’d toss Sarang aside on principle.
Sarang would lose everything.
His family would lose everything.
He couldn’t do it.
Another reason why he needed to find this other omega he’d bedded at the Wardrobe.
He’d offer them a deal, the bite in exchange for security and station.
Very few would turn something like that down.
With a claiming bond in place, the weaker Gray life-bond would ideally diminish over time on its own.
He would no longer need close proximity to the prince to survive, and the prince’s misguided feelings would fizzle.
He wasn’t a complete idiot. Sarang knew Shiloh had a crush, but it was a trauma bond at best, and a result of the act he’d committed when they’d met at worst. Either way, it wasn’t real, and Sarang couldn’t take advantage of it.
Besides, if Shiloh really did have true feelings for him, the prince never would have gotten with that shitty alpha, Lane.
The two had seemed happy enough together, though Lane had refused to exchange mating bites, no matter how openly Shiloh asked for it.
On the one hand, if he had, Shiloh never would have been kidnapped, but on the other…
Sarang shut those thoughts down, inhaling slowly before attempting to refocus on the conversation at hand.
“She’s doing well,” Yuna was saying. “The doctors told us this morning that the new drugs are working. There’s hope that she’ll be well enough to travel soon.”
Their mother had shown signs of a pheromone disorder when he’d been in high school, which had progressively worsened over the years.
She and his father had been unable to form a claiming bond, since he was of a different species, but she’d refused to find a Syn or Glyphian mate to potentially help her regulate, which had left them with no other options but to seek medical aid.
The disorder was only serious if left untreated, but the problem had been how expensive the medicine was. At the time, the farm had already been in the decline, and Sarang had ended up taking two afterschool jobs to be able to afford a single dose of what she needed.
Now, after joining the mafia, money was no longer an issue, and their mom’s control over her pheromone fluctuations was almost completely back to normal.
The goal was to move them to Glyph, but Sarang had wanted to wait until they were sure she was healthy enough for the trip.
Yuna had also begged to finish out her high school years with her friends first, and he’d been unable to deny her.
Being an alpha, Yuna didn’t have to worry about the same things as an omega would on Synastry, which was also part of the reason Sarang had caved. Female alphas weren’t as common, but they were given the same level of respect and the same prospects as their male counterparts.
Female alphas were even prized in some circles, protected by the fact they had to mutually deliver a claiming bite to their mate to properly form a bond.
This meant no alpha male could claim her against her will, which was good.
But it also minimized the number of potential mates available to her, at least if children were the end goal.
While she could technically mate with an omega male, the likelihood of her getting pregnant from one was slim—and that was before birthrates had plummeted to the dangerously low numbers they had.
A male alpha would make the most suitable choice.
The mix of their dominant genes almost guaranteed offspring.
Since she was only sixteen, Yuna hadn’t been called upon by the government program yet, but eventually she would be.
To prevent this, Sarang needed to remain with the Eumia. The mafia’s connection to the Imperial family of Synastry ensured his sister would never be forced into any government sanctioned breeding programs, a very real danger that was being considered to combat the dwindling birthrates.
“Are you certain you want to stay there another two years?” Sarang asked.
“I’ve been discussing it with mom, and I think you might have been right,” she surprised him by admitting.
“Before you get too excited, I’d like to finish up this school year at least, but I think moving to Glyph and starting my senior year there makes sense.
Besides, I’m worried if I stay here, I’ll be tempted to enroll in university on planet, and then I would never make it to you. ”
And if she didn’t come, their mother wouldn’t either.
Sarang sighed. “You don’t have to make sacrifices like that, Yuna. Mom and I are the adults. We’ll take care of things. You just have to—”
“Focus on school,” she chuckled, “yeah, I know. I’m top of my class, did you hear?”
“You texted me last week as soon as your results came out.”
“Well? Aren’t you proud?”
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Sarang turned in time to see Shiloh walking out of the back entrance of the club.
“I’m so proud,” he told his sister, nodding in greeting at the prince, whose eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
“Anyway, I just called to say happy birthday. I’ll leave you alone now.”
“You’re never a bother.” He didn’t want her to think that.
“I know, but I’m sure you’ve got business to take care of. If Shiloh is there, he’s giving you the stink eye.”
“No, he’s—” Sarang glanced at the hovercar, where Shiloh was waiting by the driver’s side, and saw that his sister was right.
“He’s jealous,” Yuna laughed. “You can pretend not to notice all you like, but eventually, you’re going to have to acknowledge his feelings for you. Even if you don’t feel the same.”
Interesting that she was able to pick up on Shiloh’s emotions, a man she barely ever interacted with and had met in person less than a handful of times, and yet when it came to her own brother she was clueless.
Although, Sarang supposed that was because he went out of his way to hide it from her and their mother.
If either of them ever discovered what he’d done to Shiloh against his will…
Sarang cleared his throat. “We’ll talk later.”
“Who was that?” Shiloh asked as soon as he’d ended the call, but before he could get an answer, added, “You went out last week for your rut, Rang. Who did you spend it with?”
Sarang stared at him, momentarily caught off guard. “Did you have me followed?”
“It’s within my right.”
His hand tightened on the handle of the passenger’s side door. Technically, even though he was the underboss, Shiloh was the prince. He could do as he pleased unless that directly contradicted an order given by Kian.
“I wasn’t on the phone with an omega,” Sarang found himself saying, tilting his head when Shiloh hummed confidently.
“I know.”
He frowned. This was…odd. Ever since the attack where he’d supposedly lost the baby, Shiloh had been acting differently.
Before, Sarang had attested that to the grief, but after learning that it was all fake, he was left to wonder.
Could it be the new setting? Glyph universities weren’t much different from the ones on Synastry, as far as he knew.
There was less to worry about on this planet even, considering most of their rivals remained on their homeworld.
Aside from the few odd attacks and what had happened with Elm, things were relatively quiet here.
And yet the softspoken guy who’d rather blend in with the crowd than stand out had been replaced with this snarky, intense prince with an attitude problem.
“Did I do something to displease you?” Sarang asked.
“Yes and no.”
The furrow between his brow deepened. “Since when did you beat around the bush with me?” He wasn’t used to Shiloh being vague.
“Since always,” the prince said with a shrug. “You still haven’t answered my question. Who did you spend your last rut with, alpha?”
A prickle of unease appeared in the center of his chest, but Sarang tried to ignore it. “I don’t know. I never saw his face.”
“I did.”
He froze. “What?”
“Get in.” Shiloh pulled his door open and jutted his chin out, motioning for him to do the same. “We’re going to be late for your party.”
Sarang was left to scramble in after him as Shiloh started the hovercar. “What are you talking about?”
The plan was for them to drive to a restaurant where Shiloh had organized a celebration for him.
The original party at Caelum Kian had intended to throw had been canceled in the wake of Elm’s disappearance, but Shiloh had insisted the two of them still go out.
Sarang didn’t know the name of the restaurant, had been told it was a surprise, but he couldn’t get a read on Shiloh now.
It was like he was sitting next to a stranger.
He didn’t like it.
“Buckle up, Rang.” Shiloh revved the engine and slammed on the gas, reversing them out of the parking space fast enough to slam Sarang against his seat.
“Slow down!” Usually he was the one driving. Another thing the omega had strangely insisted on.
“Aren’t you curious about your birthday gift?”
Sarang snapped his buckle into place and glared. “I’m done playing whatever game this is. You’ve been acting—”
“Like what?” Shiloh cut him off, speeding down the street. “How have I been acting?”