The heavy clang of their cell door rolling shut broke the moment, but Ehlian didn’t flinch this time. The guards had finally regained control, their commanding voices echoing faintly through the small, barred window.
The distant sounds began to fade, and a comforting stillness settled in the room. Ehlian let himself sink into Hayce’s safe warmth, his eyelids growing heavy. Before long, sleep claimed him, pulling him into a deep, dreamless slumber.
Chapter 8
Next day, Ehlian couldn’t meet Hayce’s eyes.
The lounge was in utter chaos. Heaps of broken chairs, flipped tables, and smeared food littered the floor. The guards moved among the inmates, their harsh commands ringing through the air as they demanded the mess to be cleaned.
Ehlian was grateful for the commotion. It gave him something to focus on. It kept his thoughts from wandering to the previous night. It was no use. He still felt the warmth of Hayce’s arms lingering around his body, like an extra layer of protection.
He felt embarrassed and infuriated at himself for seeking comfort in someone like Hayce. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the faint whisper in the back of his head, the treacherous part of him that wanted it again.
He wanted itnow.
Ehlian shoved the thought away.
It would pass.
In a few days, he’d be back to normal.
By the time they finished cleaning, the trays of lunch arrived. Grasson’s table was sparse, Grasson himself and several members of his pack missing. Maybe he had been killed last night. Maybe Ehlian wouldn’t have to see that ugly, sneering face again.
Ehlian sat in his usual spot at the table, right next to Hayce, but kept his distance. It was just for show anyway, and now that Grasson wasn’t there, there was no one else to entertain.
Especially not his boiling, irrational feelings.
Hayce suddenly stood, his confident steps echoing over the murmur of conversation in the lounge as he headed to the fragile omega, who had tucked himself away at a small, empty table. He seemed to welcome Hayce with ease, most likely because Hayce had saved him last night.
Ehlian couldn’t hear their conversation, but Hayce must have made an offer. He glanced toward his pack’s table at someone over Ehlian’s head. Ehlian followed his gaze and found Aric with his omega beside him. Judging by Aric’s expression, he already knew about the plan. Sometimes it seemed he devoted his life to Hayce, always following his lead without question. Ehlian couldn’t quite figure out their relationship.
When a small, hopeful smile brightened the fragile omega’s face, even worse feelings swamped Ehlian than the need for quiet intimacy—a tender warmth at Hayce’s willingness to protect him.
The agreement seemed swift and final when the omega took the empty seat next to Aric.
Hayce sat back beside Ehlian, placing his hand on the usual spot above his knee. It took a painful, physical effort not to reach out and squeeze it, to thank him for listening to his plea.
Like an alpha pleasing his omega.
Satisfying him.
Gods fucking damnit, he couldn’t—shouldn’tthink like that.
But those feelings persisted,torturinghim. His body already leaned closer, his shoulder and arm brushing against Hayce’s.
“No one will challenge it?” Ehlian asked when he noticed a few alphas staring in disapproval, clearly unhappy with the arrangement.
“Aric’s omega will be released in two weeks,” Hayce said. “But if anyone does, I’ll deal with it.”
Like he’d dealt with 665.
A cruel, hot shiver ran up Ehlian’s spine at the memory—that intoxicating display of competence, the force of Hayce’s power.
The safety it had given him.
Unwittingly, Ehlian kept glancing toward the pair flaunting their love for everyone to see. He still thought of them as fools, but could he judge them when he was even a bigger fool? Because, with terrifying clarity, he realised that he wanted what they had.
The illusion of care and love. Safety and protection. He’d tasted it yesterday night, cradled in Hayce’s arms. For a brief moment, it had felt selfless, as though Hayce expected nothing in return.
