Coming out today was a mistake.
“Like… this.” The man stepped toward him, leaving the bathroom to corner Elijah against the wall. The cold plaster limited him, and Elijah’s concentration scattered. Escape. He needed to escape. How—
The man put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him hard against the wall, then he brought his head down to nose Elijah’s neck. Alphas at The White Lotus had done the same, but those conditions had been secure and monitored, and Elijah understood what was expected of him. Back at The White Lotus, Elijah hadn’t been interested in sharing his life with anyone.
What was Silas going to think of him if he saw? The bond between them would be decimated.
Trembling, Elijah turned his head away and tried to duck along the wall, but the Alpha pinned him and held him firm.
“Not getting away, baby. You’ve got a sweet face. Wanna make you mine.”
Normal people didn’t behave like this. Normal alphas didn’t pin omegas on their way to the bathroom and thrust themselves upon them. There were services to fill those urges, and it was why Elijah had worked the job he’d worked.
He didn’t want to do this here. Not anymore.
“No,” Elijah uttered. He struggled against the alpha’s hold, but he wasn’t strong enough to break away. “I don’t want this.”
“You will, babe.” The words were hot against his skin. “I can smell it on you. You’re gonna want me so bad, you won’t be able to help yourself. Why don’t you come home with me and we can spend the rest of the weekend together?”
Smell it? Elijah parted his lips and took in a shuddering breath through his mouth. The beating of his heart and the racing of his mind dulled his senses, and he struggled to piece together the clues.
The sudden, inexplicable paranoia. The urge to bond and make a family when he’d never wanted to previously. Now, the reaction of the alpha.
Elijah had gone into heat without realizing it.
“I don’t want to go anywhere with you.” Elijah spoke louder, terror swelling. “I have a boyfriend. H-he’s back in the lobby. If you don’t get off me, he’s going to fuck you up.”
The man chuffed and pressed his nose into Elijah’s neck again, shamelessly scenting him. The humid huff of his breath sickened Elijah.
“Gonna fuckyouup,” the man murmured in response. He ran a hand down Elijah’s chest, dipping low. “Treat you so good this weekend…”
There was no other choice—Elijah screamed. No matter what Silas thought of him, no matter how scared he was, if he didn’t take action now, he’d regret it forever.
“Shut up!” The man clamped his hand over Elijah’s mouth, and Elijah tossed his head back and bit the man’s palm. The angle made it difficult, and his teeth only scraped the man’s hand. It was enough to cause pain, and he yanked the hand back and shook it. “You little shit!”
What happened next took place so quickly that Elijah only registered it in sensations. The rush of air in front of him, the sickening crunch of bone, the thump of flesh on flesh, and the blinding panic of the unknown hit him all at once. In the second that followed, the man who’d assaulted him dropped to the floor. Silas stood in his place, chest heaving, eyes narrowed with anger, and body geared for a fight.
Elijah had never seen him look so rugged before. As his shoulders navigated each of his strained breaths, Elijah saw the strength in them first hand. Concealed beneath the professional clothes he wore, Silas was ripped. With one blow to the back of the head, he’d knocked the aggressor unconscious.
Nothing happened for what felt like an eternity. Elijah’s sense of time was warped, and his mind had begun to dissociate from his body. The dizzy tingling inside his scalp inched down the back of his neck and disseminated through his spine. As it did, the reality of the situation struck.
He’d almost been raped.
Not even four months ago, Elijah wouldn’t have cared, but now he couldn’t stop trembling. For once in his life, he had a goal to work toward and someone to be faithful to. The days he’d spend mindlessly exchanging sex for a roof over his head and food on his plate were over. For as long as he had Silas in his life, Elijah didn’t want to trade sex for anything ever again—even if Silas didn’t want him as a partner. Silas had taught him his worth by standing by him, and Elijah didn’t want to let him down.
Tears struck all at once, and Elijah choked back a sob.
“Are you okay?” Silas asked. The pitch of his voice was deeper than it had been before, darkened with aggression and dominance. Elijah longed to give in to it. How easy it would be to hang his head, press himself against Silas’ chest, and senselessly obey.
It was the heat, he told himself. The first stirrings of heat always left his thought process intact, but subtracted from him in other ways. This weakness was a surefire sign that he was entering peak fertility. Elijah hadn’t wanted it to happen like this. Without birth control and suppressants, what was he supposed to do? The heat wasn’t supposed to come now. He thought he had a few more days. That morning had been non-stop, and he’d had every intention of going to the nurse in order to get the injection.
It was too late now.
Elijah rubbed his tears away with the back of his hand in the hopes they’d stop. They didn’t. He choked back another sob and pinched at the bridge of his nose as though it might help. A small part of him realized it was a gesture borrowed from Silas. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.” Silas stepped forward and grabbed him by the arm. “Did he hurt you?”
“N-no.” Shameful tears streamed down Elijah’s cheeks, and he was sure that the scent of his heat was gradually building. How long would it be before Silas noticed it and acted on it? This wasn’t how he wanted it to be.
