Unnatural (The Wrong Alpha 1)

Royce had never heard of something like that. All alphas and omegas had their mating cycles follow one of the four moons of Eila, depending on what kind of alpha or omega they were. Royce’s own rut was firmly affixed to Eila’s second-largest moon, Torryn, and like most alphas that followed Torryn’s cycle, he was relatively rational and even-tempered. Torryn alphas were considered the most civilized alphas, most of their primitive lupine traits bred out by evolution.

Royce’s younger brother’s ruts followed the cycle of Eila’s largest moon, Xeus, and Aksel was as short-tempered and aggressive as most Xeus alphas were. Not to mention that Xeus alphas were also physically different from other Eilans, their genes the closest to their primitive lupine ancestor. Unlike Torryn alphas, Xeus alphas could shift into their beastly forms when Xeus was in its full-moon phase. An omega’s estrous cycle was usually attached to one of the smallest moons, Dainiri or Vos, though there were always exceptions.

Royce had never met a person whose mating cycle was independent from any moon. Even betas were somewhat affected by one of the moons, because betas still carried recessive alpha or omega genes.

“If you’re something of a genetic anomaly…” Royce hummed thoughtfully. “That might explain my reaction to your alpha scent.”

Haydn snorted. “Nope, pretty sure that’s just you. No other alpha has ever reacted to me like that. I spend plenty of time around other alphas without them needing to rub their scent all over me.”

Royce looked away, his hand gripping the edge of his desk. His face felt warm.

“Sorry,” Haydn said with a chuckle. “I know you hate being reminded of your less-than-civilized behavior. I’ve been told I’m mean when I’m horny and frustrated.”

Royce looked around the room before returning his gaze to Haydn and finally asking the question that was bugging him. “How are you planning to spend your rut?”

Haydn gave him a flat look and raised his eyebrows. “How do you think? With my right hand. I can hardly get a pretty omega on my knot when I’m supposedly happily married.”

Royce averted his gaze. He felt irrationally guilty. Not that it was his fault—except it kind of was. Had he been a beta, he would have been able to help Haydn with his rut. A rut with a beta wasn’t as satisfying as a rut with an omega, but it was still much better than one’s right hand. But since he was an alpha, there was no way he could help Haydn even if he were willing to. Alphas in rut reacted to other alphas very badly, perceiving them as a threat. Even the rare alpha-alpha couples never spent their ruts together: it was a recipe for disaster.

“Sorry,” he said gruffly, loosening his collar and pointedly not looking at the prominent bulge between Haydn’s legs.

Haydn sighed. “Not your fault,” he said, throwing himself onto the bed and groaning. “It’s okay. It’s hardly the first rut I’ve spent alone.”

“What?” Royce looked at him in confusion. “Why?”

Haydn turned onto his back. Royce couldn’t see his face well from that angle, because the camera was on Haydn’s desk.

“My ruts are weird,” Haydn said in a quiet voice. “I alternate between being very aggressive and very… needy, I guess. It’s hard to describe. But Xander—my friend—he described his ruts completely differently from how I experience them. When I’m in rut, I want to—to consume someone. But no matter how deeply I stuff my knot into an omega, it feels unsatisfying, you know? It’s frustrating as hell. So I guess I’m used to being frustrated. Spending my ruts alone is just a little more frustrating than that.” He laughed humorlessly. “See, I’m really a freak.”

Royce didn’t like how defeated he sounded. “Don’t call yourself a freak,” he said curtly, not knowing what else to say. He couldn’t say he knew what Haydn meant. His own ruts were pretty standard as far as Torryn alphas’ ruts went. He didn’t turn into a mindless, feral animal that thought only with its knot like Xeus alphas did during their ruts. He just became very horny and very territorial.

“Maybe it’s because your cycle isn’t attached to any moon,” Royce said.

“Maybe,” Haydn said, closing his eyes. “Maybe not.”

“You going to sleep? Do you want me to hang up?”

“No,” Haydn said, his eyes still closed. “I’m going to try to take a nap while I still can. Go back to working, but don’t hang up. I like hearing you type. It’s soothing.”

“You’re so weird,” Royce said with a laugh.

Haydn smiled, without opening his eyes. “Yeah,” he said in a strange tone of voice. “Maybe I am.”

Royce returned his gaze to his computer and resumed working on the bill his party wanted to push.

By the time he finished it, an hour had passed. Turning his head, he was startled, realizing that he’d forgotten to end the video call.