Lowering the spoon, Ehlian studied the alpha properly. He tried to hold himself together, careful not to show too much weakness, but there were cracks in his composure. He must have gone through a severe craving, so intense it had begun to manifest as pain. Bondmates could be apart for as long as a month without trouble, so his omega must have been released for a while now.
“Is he always back?” Ehlian asked.
“He is,” Hayce replied. “Usually for a year. But I give it little time before he does something that earns him a life sentence here. His bondmate is never getting out.”
That sounded like a cruel fate, turning eventually into a vicious killer, throwing your entire life away for your bondmate.
“There has to be some kind of law to help bondmates,” Ehlian said.
“There is,” Hayes said. “Extended visits and occasionally a night.”
“That’s it?”
“If a bondmate granted amnesty, there wouldn’t be a single adult on Arox without one.”
Ehlian cast a pitying look at the alpha, then turned away quickly when he caught him staring back. They must have bonded before their arrest. No one would be mad enough to bond in prison.
He pushed away his tray for good, scratching at an itching spot under his shirt. He felt increasingly restless and impatient, wanting nothing more than to return to the cell and curl up under the soft blanket.
When he stepped into the dressing room of the showers a few hours later, he could barely tolerate the rough material of his uniform against his skin. The itch was unbearable.
He only felt relief when he was pressed close, tucked into the shadows of Hayce’s body. Bubbles burst against Hayce’s skin as Ehlian soaped his chest, his hands gliding down the firm planes of his stomach before stopping at his hips. His fingers itched to wander lower, but he reminded himself they weren’t alone.
He sighed softly as Hayce’s palm slid down his back, tracing the curve of his round cheeks. Almost instinctively, he stepped closer, their cocks brushing. A quiet, disapproving whine escaped his lips when Hayce’s hands moved back to his waist, settling there with maddening control.
The hot water stung, even though he usually loved letting it warm him to the bone in the cold prison. Now, his skin and core radiated heat like—
Low murmurs swept across the shower room, and Ehlian felt the alphas’ eyes strained on him. He could sense their hunger, their lust.
Oh, shit.
His heat must have been only a week away, gaining steady strength in throttled, weak power waves. A call for an alpha.
Hayce’s jaw clenched, and his fingertips dug into Ehlian’s waist almost to the point of pain. His commanding voice thundered through the room. “Everyone out.”
Most of the alphas shuffled away, but a few lingered, practically foaming at the mouth.
“You heard him,” Aric stepped forward, his sharp eyes slicing through the lingering crowd. “Out, unless you all want to end up like 665.”
That did the trick. Moments later, the room was empty, save for the two of them.
Ehlian cautiously raised his eyes to meet Hayce’s thunderous glare.
“You didn’t use aBlock Seal?”
Ehlian shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “I—I forgot.”
“You forgot,” Hayce echoed flatly, but his dark expression betrayed his calm tone. “You want to be torn apart by a pack of feral alphas? I thought you’d understood by now that the word ‘no’ means nothing in here. Quite the opposite. It’s anencouragement.”
“I did. I do!” Ehlian snapped. “Aren’t you here to protect me?”
“It’s cute that you think so highly of me,” Hayce replied, his tone tinged with dry amusement. “But I can’t protect you from over a hundred feral alphas. I’m a Low-Class telepath like most Aroxans, just using my power a bit smarter. Not to mention, I have full access to it, while the rest here don’t. That gives the false illusion that I’m stronger than any of them.”
Hayce did feel stronger, at least to Ehlian, maybe because Ehlian’s own power was throttled, making everything he did feel more intense too. If he had to guess, he’d have said Hayce was a High-Class telepath.
“Alright,” Ehlian said finally. “I’ll do aBlock Seal.”
“It’s already too late for that. Your heat has started.”
