CHAPTER TWo
Three days.
Three long, miserable days.
Rylan lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment he ever had with Kai, searching for what he might have done wrong. Why Kai stopped replying. Why he disappeared. Why the silence felt like a knife slowly twisting in his chest.
His mind wouldn't rest.
His heart wouldn't rest.
His body, especially, wouldn't rest.
For some reason lately, his skin felt too warm… his chest too sensitive… and his body kept craving—
him.
Kai.
His scent.
His arms.
The way he touched him like he was precious.
Rylan groaned softly and covered his face.
This is embarrassing…
But the ache between his thighs only grew worse, pulsing with every thought of the Alpha who still hadn't answered a single call.
He bit his lip, trying to ignore it.
Trying to breathe through it.
But it was useless.
His hand moved on its own, sliding under his shirt, down his stomach. His breath hitched. His wolf purred with want, whispering:
He's not here. We can comfort ourselves until he comes…
Rylan squeezed his eyes shut, imagining Kai's hands instead of his own. Imagining Kai's voice in his ear, the low growl he loved, the heat of his touch—
It didn't take long before he was trembling, heart pounding, breath heavy. He finished with a soft gasp, wrist weak, chest rising and falling in uneven breaths.
But instead of relief…
the emptiness came back stronger.
"I can't take this anymore," he whispered.
He sat up, wiping his eyes.
He needed to see him.
He needed to know he was okay.
Even if Kai rejected him… he needed closure.
Rylan grabbed a hoodie, sneaked out through the back door of the house, and slipped into the night.
If his parents found him gone?
He'd suffer later.
But he was used to suffering.
---
The walk to Kai's place felt endless. Each step made his stomach twist with worry.
"What if he's sick?"
"What if something happened to him?"
"What if he's avoiding me on purpose?"
His wolf growled anxiously, pacing.
Something feels wrong…
Rylan rubbed his arms.
"Probably just stress…"
But the uneasy feeling wouldn't disappear.
When he finally reached Kai's house, his heart hammered in his chest. He pushed the door open—
—and froze.
Kai was sitting on the couch…
playing video games.
Alive.
Relaxed.
Laughing at something on the screen.
Relief washed over Rylan so fast his knees almost buckled.
But then another emotion hit him:
Anger.
How could Kai be here playing games while he was dying inside?
Rylan marched forward and pushed open Kai's bedroom door without knocking.
"Kai—" his voice cracked. "Why? Why haven't you answered my calls? My texts? I called you over twenty times, I was— I was worried sick!"
His bottled-up feelings exploded all at once.
"Do you even care? I thought— I thought something happened to you! I thought you didn't want me anymore!"
Finally out of breath, Rylan stood there panting, chest heaving, eyes glassy with hurt.
Kai slowly stood up from the bed.
His expression wasn't cold.
Or annoyed.
Or distant.
He looked at Rylan the way he always did — like he was the only person in the world he wanted.
He walked toward him, gently cupping Rylan's chin.
"My parents took my phone," Kai said softly. "They went through our messages. They told me to stay away from you."
Rylan's heart dropped.
"But I couldn't," Kai continued, brushing his thumb along Rylan's cheek. "So I stayed home, because if I went out, they'd follow me. Gaming was the only thing distracting me from thinking about you."
Rylan swallowed hard.
Kai's eyes softened, turning dangerous and tender at the same time.
"Come here," he murmured.
He took Rylan's hand and guided it down to the unmistakable hardness in his pants.
Rylan gasped, face flushing deep red.
Kai's voice dropped to a low growl.
"That's how much I missed you."
Rylan's knees almost gave way.
Kai leaned in, lips brushing his ear.
"I especially missed your eyes," he whispered. "The way they look at me… like I belong to you."
Rylan's breath stuttered.
Kai backed him against the wall, tilted his chin up, and kissed him — slow at first, then deeper, hotter, hungrier.
Rylan whimpered.
Kai smirked against his mouth.
"Shh. Don't moan too loudly."
Rylan's body shivered.
"Kai… I-I missed you…"
Their lips crashed again, desperate and messy, hands roaming, bodies pressing close. The room grew hotter, thicker with scent and tension.
It wasn't full-on sex.
But it was everything close to it — passionate, intense, breath-stealing.
Kai kissed down his neck, biting gently.
Rylan clung to him, thinking:
I missed him… I missed this… more than I realized…