“And that bothers you.”
“It does,” Hayce said smoothly. “You have a far too idealised illusion of me. There were moments I considered tying you to me and condemning you to that life. I’m not proud of that.”
There was an odd thrill in that, having an alpha choose you, but Ehlian understood just as much that after being locked up in prison indefinitely, you latched onto anything you could. Now, Hayce could have whoever he wanted. He had endless choices, and it was clear he was going for each of them.
But Hayce was also wrong. Ehlian knew he quietly calculated his decisions, planned, and rarely did anything that mattered without a reason, just as he had cruelly cast Ehlian away in the end. So him being here, right now, was a calculated move too. The only question was: what was the reason?
“You want me to testify in your brother’s case?” Ehlian asked, because there was no way Hayce didn’t already know about Sandar’s visit.
Hayce gave him an oddly insulted look. “I wouldn’t put you through that.”
“You didn’t bother looking my way for months, Hayce. And you clearly had plenty of time on your hands. There’s a reason you’re here,” Ehlian said. “So why now?”
“My brother was captured tonight,” Hayce said. “You would know if you hadn’t been busy entertaining your soft alpha.”
Hayce had the audacity to look frustrated. Better yet, offended. As if Ehlian, gods forbid, had dared to move on with his life while Hayce had a different omega on his arm every other day.
Ehlian tore himself away from the door violently and stormed into the living room—but now what?
He felt raw. Restless.
After straightening his clothes, he finally turned back toward Hayce. Aside from the faint creases left by Ehlian’s hands, Hayce’s dark suit was immaculate. He now stood by the chest of drawers, picking up a framed photo of Ehlian and Willian.
“What does that have to do with me?” Ehlian demanded.
“You, Ehlian, have a way of understanding things others would miss,” Hayce’s eyes flicked to him. “Yet sometimes, for the life of it, you can't grasp the obvious.”
“You can’t expect me to figure out what you’re thinking every time,” Ehlian shot back. “You give what you want to give, and that’s barely anything.”
Silence stretched between them before Hayce finally spoke. “Yes, I did contact your lawyer and made sure no one finds out. Conveniently, Geald gave me the perfect cover. He’s an idiot,” Hayce said, tone mocking. “But a useful idiot.”
“Useful…” Ehlian echoed. “So you could deceive me.”
“It wasn’t meant to deceive you,” Hayce said. “It was to deceive my brother. I’ve never done the same for any of my omegas and I knew Sandar would find it too telling.” Hayce set the photo frame back down. “I had my men following you over the past few months. Not my preferred method, but in this case I had little choice. They could’ve kept you safe for a while, but eventually my brother would’ve found a way to get to you. His last resort would’ve been to go after anyone who matters to me.”
“I don’t matter to you,” Ehlian said flatly. “I only matter to your dick.”
“My brother wouldn’t care either way,” Hayce said dismissively. “You’ve met him. That was only a small taste of how far he’d go. He doesn’t care who you are. He only wants to make me suffer and take away whatever he can. And I won’t beresponsible for anyone’s death—least of all yours, Ehlian. So… the less I showed I care about you, the better.”
Ehlian swallowed, the weight of Hayce’s words pressing down on him. They unsettled him… scared him a little. The last man he wanted coming after him was Sandar, a lunatic who carefully and viciously masterminded his own father’s murder.
“So what now?” he asked.
“Sandar can do little from a cell,” Hayce said. “Whatever connections he has will be lying low, but I’ll have my men on watch. No one will get close to you.”
“Alright,” Ehlian murmured, worrying at his fingers. While Hayce’s promise made him a fraction better, he suddenly didn’t feel safe in his own flat anymore.
Something unexpectedly gentle softened Hayce’s eyes, and he moved, stepping closer—
“No.” Ehlian’s voice sharpened, even though what he wanted most was a tight, reassuring hold. He craved the sense of safety only one alpha could ever give him. “I’m not going back there. I might need protection again, but this isn’t prison. You don’t have the same hold over me anymore.” Ehlian let out an exhausted breath, the last few weeks of emotional clusterfuck catching up with him. “I want you to leave.”
“I would,” Hayce said, unfazed. “But that’s the last thing you need… or want.”
Ehlian’s face burned, suddenly aware of how paper-thin his mental shield had become, letting his emotions slip through. Hayce achieved with ease what his brother never could. The oldest trick in the book… or maybe just the raw intimacy shared by couples who let their guard down around each other. Somewhere deep, Ehlian still trusted Hayce blindly, even after Hayce had made a fool of him over and over.
Ehlian reinforced his mental shield, pulling a dense barrier across his mind again.
“And I’m not leaving you in this state,” Hayce said, but his actions twisted those words into something else, his gaze dropping to Ehlian’s bond point, lingering there, possessive. “Or in the hands of your incompetent, soft alpha. You have a remarkable talent for choosing the ones with the weakest core.”
