Chapter Ten #3
“You don’t know alphas well. Not in this context, not when it comes to pair dynamics and pregnancy.
So trust me on this, okay? Alphas are possessive by nature.
It’s hardwired into their biology, it’s not something they can just turn off regardless of what one tells you.
And when they decide they like something—or someone—they don’t let go.
” She holds my gaze, steady and unflinching.
“Hyunwoo already liked you before any of this started. That much was blindingly obvious to literally everyone except apparently you, given how much that man hangs around you, keeps you by his side, spends every free moment with you, pays for everything you need, takes care of you like it’s his full-time job.
” She pauses, then continues. “Now you’ve got his baby growing in your belly?
That’s more than enough for an alpha’s animal brain to classify an omega as his, Yugyeom.
No matter what words are coming out of his mouth about arrangements and agreements and keeping things casual. ”
She straightens up and looks me over from head to toe, her gaze lingering on my midsection where the bump is pressing against the fabric of my hoodie.
“Has he bitten you yet?”
I wrinkle my nose. “No. We have a clear understanding on that. No biting, no bonding. It’s a one hard line.
” And it’s true—of all the boundaries I set at the beginning that have since crumbled like wet sand, that one has held.
Hyunwoo respects it. Even during my heat, even when his teeth grazed my bond gland and every instinct in both our bodies was screaming for him to bite down, he pulled away.
He caught himself. He’s never pushed on it, never asked, never tried to negotiate or weasel it the way he does with everything else.
“He respects it,” I say again, more firmly.
Ye-eun rolls her eyes. “Sure. Whatever you say.” She picks up her tablet and tucks it back under her arm, turning to head toward the cardio section for her next task, but she pauses and looks back over her shoulder at me.
“But in my opinion? It’s just a matter of time.
” Her voice is flat and certain, the way people sound when they’re stating a fact they consider self-evident.
She gives me one last look. “You’d better think long and hard about whether you actually want to be bonded to him, Yugyeom.
Take it from someone who can’t fall for alpha bullshit because she’s a beta who’s immune to pheromone influence. ”
She walks away, and I stand behind the counter for a long moment, my hand resting unconsciously on the curve of my belly through my hoodie.
She has to be wrong. Hyunwoo has never thought of me that way—we understand each other, we’ve been clear about the terms from the very beginning. This is business with benefits, nothing more.
But her warning plants something I can’t quite dig out, a small persistent thought that lodges itself between my ribs and refuses to dissolve no matter how many times I tell it to.
On the way home that evening—Hyunwoo picking me up as usual, coming around to open my door, asking about my day with an easy half-smile—I find myself turning it over and over in my head while I watch his profile in the amber glow of the dashboard lights.
Would I hate it? If Hyunwoo did bond me?
I’ve never considered it a possibility before, never let myself think about it because there was nothing to think about.
But what if it was a possibility? What if Hyunwoo wanted to?
The thought makes my pulse kick up. And worse, what if it happened not because he wanted it but because he truly couldn’t control it, his alpha instincts overriding his conscious choice in a moment of vulnerability?
Would that be something he regretted? Would it ruin everything between us—the friendship, the ease, the years of history that make us who we are to each other?
I shake my head as we ride the elevator up to the apartment, Hyunwoo beside me scrolling through something on his phone, one hand resting on the small of my back the way it always does now.
His thumb traces a small, mindless circle against my spine through my shirt, and I don’t think he even realizes he’s doing it.
There’s no way. I know Hyunwoo. Our arrangement is clear. We’ll both go back to living our bachelor lives after this is all over. We both prefer women, after all.
Of course, I’ve already done a lot of things I said I’d never do at the start of this arrangement.
I said I wouldn’t let Hyunwoo touch me beyond what was strictly necessary for penetration—now I crave his hands on me, lean into his touch without thinking, feel restless and unsettled on the rare occasions he’s not within arm’s reach.
I said no kissing—now Hyunwoo kisses me every morning when we wake up and every night before we fall asleep and I meet him halfway every single time, tilting my chin up before he even leans in.
I said no pheromones—now I bury my face in the crook of his neck to breathe them in while we’re knotted together, the rich warm scent of him flooding my lungs and making every muscle in my body go slack with a satisfaction so deep it feels like sinking into warm water.
I said it was just business—now I sleep in Hyunwoo’s bed every night with his arm draped over my waist and his chest pressed against my back and I feel cold and wrong on the nights he comes home late and the bed is empty when I crawl into it.
I tell myself it doesn’t mean anything. Proximity and hormones and convenience. It’ll pass when the pregnancy’s over and things go back to normal.
The elevator doors open and Hyunwoo steps out first, holding them for me with one arm, his other hand finding the small of my back again as I pass.
Kal and Machete are already at the door, tails going, and Hyunwoo crouches to greet them while I toe off my shoes and head for the kitchen, my hand drifting to my belly as I walk.
I almost believe it.