The room felt too small.
The air — too thick.
And his body was on fire.
Kai laid on the mattress, limbs entangled in the thin sheet, sweat drenching his chest, his hair stuck to his forehead. His hoodie and shirt were somewhere on the floor, forgotten. The patch of the suppressant failed. His body had gone against it.
This wasn't a normal flare.
This was a full-on heat.
He should've known the moment he locked eyes with that Alpha. Something had cracked deep in his chest — like a chord pulled taut, now unraveling fast and vicious. There was no stopping it.
And gods, it hurt.
His legs were shaking as his hips moved into the sheets, instinct making him grind down for friction, for something, for relief. But it was never enough. The pain wasn't just in his stomach it went far deeper, it was deeper, needier, pulling from his core like a hunger with no end.
He groaned low, biting down on the back of his hand to silence it. No one could hear him like this. No one could know what he was — not in this part of the city.
He'd kept it hidden for years.
Fought in rings like a feral, dressed like a ghost, vanished before anyone could get close. But now, one Alpha's gaze had done what heat suppressants, years of training, and walls of rage had all failed to do:
Made him feel. And now he couldn't stop.
Kai curled on his side, hand sliding beneath the waistband of his sweatpants, seeking friction, pressure — anything. His fingers were slick already, his scent flooding the room thick and heady.
He hated it. He hated needing.
But gods… he was burning.
Visions flashed behind his eyes: silver-blue eyes staring down at him, a voice low and commanding, a hand gripping his throat just tight enough to make him moan.
No.
No, stop thinking about him—
But the bond didn't care.
That in him Alpha had put out what no one else had.
And now it was pulling.
His hand slipped lower.
Sweat slicked his skin as he pushed his pants down to his thighs, exposing the hard, pulsing heat of his body. He gasped as his fingers wrapped around himself, the touch barely enough. The mattress creaked beneath him as he moved — slow at first, then faster, desperate, chasing something he couldn't name.
But it wasn't just lust.
It was instinct.
Something ancient had taken charge — raw, hungry, starved for touch he didn't even want to acknowledge he longed for.
He threw his head back against the mattress, jaw slack, eyes fluttering closed. A moan slipped from his lips — quiet, helpless. His body was already betraying him, hips rising off the bed, thighs parting without command. Slick coated his fingers as his other hand slid between his legs, finding that aching, sensitive spot that throbbed with need.
"Fuck…"
He bit down on his lip hard enough to taste blood.
His body throbbed over the hollowness —his inner walls clenching with nothing there. The bond was pulling at him, pushing him open from the inside out, calling to someone who wasn't there.
Someone who'd only looked at him.
Someone who had no right to own his thoughts like this.
And yet…
Every time he stroked himself, every shiver that rippled through him, brought that face to his mind.
Lucien.
He didn't even know his name, not truly. But his body did. His instincts did. That Alpha had left his scent imprinted on Kai's nerves like wildfire.
He imagined rough hands — large, firm, pinning him down. A low voice in his ear. Sharp teeth dragging over his throat. That cold, unreadable gaze watching him unravel.
It wasn't enough.
He needed—
A hand.
A knot.
A bite.
A claim.
His body screamed for it.
His mind screamed against it.
But when his peak struck, it ripped through him like a bolt of lightning —white and hot, unstoppable, primal. He came with a strangled cry, body twitching, hips jerking up, chest heaving. His skin felt electric, raw, too sensitive and not enough all at once.
Even as the heat receded slightly, the ache remained.
Empty. Unclaimed. Untouched.
He lay there, exhausted but not full, breath ragged. His hands remained between his thighs, shaking. His smell filled the room like a hurricane — sweet, heavy, undeniable.
And in the silence, he whispered the name he hadn't meant to learn.
"Lucien…"