Unnatural (The Wrong Alpha 1)

Not this time.

This time, Royce still felt like an agitated wreck, his nerves alight. He couldn’t even keep his attention on the pretty omega in the bed waiting for him to join her. He couldn’t fucking focus.

He forced himself to look at the omega, at her full, bare breasts, her slim waist and long legs. She smelled good. Not in heat but aroused, which was to be expected around an alpha in rut. She was a tiny, curvy blonde—and entirely his type.

Royce still couldn’t bring himself to fuck her.

The mere idea felt… wrong. Wrong not in the sense that it would be morally wrong because he was married, but wrong as in, it wasn’t what his body wanted. Haydn’s alpha scent seemed ten times stronger to his heightened senses, and the urge to go find him and assert his dominance was far stronger than the urge to screw the pretty omega in his bed.

Fuck, this wasn’t going to work.

Ignoring the omega, Royce walked out onto the terrace and breathed in the cool night air as deeply as he could. The sky was cloudy, and Xeus was the only moon completely visible in the sky.

Glancing at Xeus’s reddish hue, Royce was suddenly grateful his ruts didn’t follow that moon’s cycle. If they did, he would have been feral in less than an hour and would have likely killed the other alpha in the house.

As it was, he was simply struggling to focus on anything but Haydn.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he initiated a video call.

Haydn looked surprised when he answered. He also seemed fresh out of the shower, his hair still moist and his muscular torso glistening with droplets of water.

Royce gritted his teeth. Seeing Haydn’s strong physique just made him more worked up, as though he was being challenged. The fight-or-fuck instinct was often indistinguishable for alphas in rut.

“Royce?” Haydn said. “I thought you would be… busy by now.”

“This isn’t going to work,” Royce bit out, running a hand over his face. “I can’t focus on the omega while you’re in the house.”

Haydn’s lips pursed. “I can go for a walk?”

“You aren’t going anywhere!” Royce snapped. He took a deep breath, ashamed of himself. “Sorry. Just—”

“I understand,” Haydn said, his voice calm. “It’s fine, I’ve been there, too.”

Royce sighed. “It has never been this bad, and it isn’t even the full moon yet.”

“How can I help?” Haydn sounded sympathetic.

Looking at him, Royce hesitated. “Can you come here, be with me during the rut?” He flushed, realizing how that sounded. “Just to be around,” he said stiffly. “We can share the omega.”

Haydn stared at him. “You can barely stand my scent when you’re not in rut. You actually want me around when you are?”

Royce grimaced, brushing a hand through his hair. “I don’t fucking know. But I know that I can’t focus on the omega when I can sense you in the house but can’t see you. I think having you close would help. It should settle my territorial instincts.”

“You’ll likely attack me,” Haydn said, looking skeptical.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s not like you can’t handle yourself.” Royce smiled wryly. “You’re a soldier. I’m a politician. You can probably kill me with your bare hands.”

That made Haydn smile. “I probably can.” He reached for his clothes. “Fine. I’m coming, but I’ll leave if my presence makes it worse.”

“Thanks.”

Haydn laughed. “Don’t thank me yet.”

As the call disconnected, Royce looked at Torryn’s full disk peeking out of the clouds. He hoped he hadn’t just made a mistake that would cost him their friendship.

Chapter Ten

Haydn wasn’t sure what to expect as he entered Royce’s bedroom. The room smelled overwhelmingly of wet soil and the air after a thunderstorm, the sweet smell of an omega barely distinguishable.

There was a naked female omega on the bed, tracking Royce with her eyes. She smelled puzzled, and no wonder: alphas normally didn’t ignore naked omegas when they were in rut.

The moment Haydn entered the room, Royce was in his personal space. He shoved Haydn against the wall and crowded him, a low growl escaping his throat.

Haydn went pliant and bared his throat, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible.

Royce scent-marked him, rubbing his face against Haydn’s neck like a big, dangerous feline. It was nothing unusual, except Haydn wasn’t used to Royce being naked and aroused while he did this. He was acutely aware of Royce’s cock against his stomach, hard and thick. Although Royce wasn’t grinding it against him, it was still very much there. Another alpha’s cock.

It wasn’t as disgusting as it probably should have been.

Before Haydn could decide what to think of it, Royce hauled him toward the bed.

Haydn didn’t resist, forcing himself to be as docile as possible, knowing that any initiative would only infuriate Royce when he was in rut.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the omega watching them in puzzlement as Royce started stripping Haydn with swift, efficient movements of his hands.