The dining hall of the Vane estate felt less like a room and more like a lion's den. Mika sat stiffly in a high-collared black suit, the fabric chafing against the fresh, sensitive marks on his collarbone. To his left, Soren sat like a dark god, his presence so heavy it felt like the oxygen was being sucked out of the room.
Across from them sat Jax, a rival Alpha who was swirling a glass of deep red wine. "I must say, Soren," Jax drawled. "You've always had an eye for the finer things, but this... this silver-haired beauty is a masterpiece. It's a shame he looks so... suffocated."
Jax leaned forward. "Does the King of the Black Shadow actually know how to handle something as delicate as you? Or do you need someone with a... softer touch?"
The air in the room turned freezing. Beside him, Soren didn't move, but the low, primal rumble from his chest sounded like a warning.
"Mika," Soren's voice was like velvet dipped in glass. "Come here."
Mika hesitated. "I said. Come. Here." The Alpha Command hit Mika like a physical blow. His body moved on its own as he stood and walked to Soren's chair.
Before Mika could breathe, Soren grabbed his waist and hauled him onto his lap in front of everyone. "Let them look," Soren growled. He wrapped one massive hand around Mika's throat—not to hurt, but to control. He forced Mika's head back, exposing the dark mating mark. "Look at the color of his skin where I claimed him. He's saturated in my scent."
Soren bit down on Mika's earlobe, making him let out a sharp gasp. Suddenly, Soren's hand moved to the back of Mika's head, tangling in his silver hair. Without warning, he crashed his lips against Mika's.
It was a forced, dominant claim. It tasted of bourbon and raw possession. Soren used his tongue to invade Mika's mouth, claiming his dignity in front of his enemies. Soren pulled back just an inch, his lips smeared with Mika's gloss.
"He doesn't need your 'softness,' Jax. He needs to remember who he belongs to."
Just then, the heavy oak doors at the end of the hall swung open. A man in a pristine white suit stepped into the shadows. He looked powerful, but his energy was different from Soren's—it was warm, yet commanding.
Mika's heart stopped. The blood drained from his face. "Lucian...?"
"Mika," the man's voice was soft, filled with a heartbreaking familiarity.
Lucian wasn't just anyone. He was the son of the Thorne family, a rising Alpha empire. He had been Mika's childhood sweetheart. In their school days, everyone called them the 'Perfect Couple.' Lucian had protected Mika from every bully, every cold breeze. But his family had been forced into exile in a foreign land years ago. He had worked tirelessly to build his own empire, all for the sake of coming back to confess his love to Mika.
But he was too late.
"I heard the news in the North," Lucian said, his eyes scanning Mika's bruised neck. His jaw tightened, and his own Alpha aura began to flare—not as cold as Soren's, but burning with a protective fire. "I came back for you, Mika. I didn't think I'd find you being treated like a trophy in a cage."
Soren stood up, still keeping Mika pinned to his side, his scent turning violent and acidic. "Lucian Thorne. I heard your family crawled back into the country. You've grown a little bit of power abroad and now you think you can walk into my home and look at my Omega?"
Lucian smiled, though his eyes were lethal. "I don't care about your home, Soren. I care about the boy I promised to protect when we were sixteen. I know he didn't choose this. I've built my own empire just to take him away from monsters like you."
Soren pulled his gun from his holster, the cold metal clicking as he aimed it at Lucian's chest. "He is my 'Fated Mate.' His blood is mine. You're just a ghost from a school hallway, Lucian. Leave, or I'll make sure you never see the sun again."
Lucian didn't flinch. He took a step forward. "Mika, look at me. Tell me you want to stay here. If you say the word, my men are outside, and I will start a war to bring you home."
Mika felt his soul tearing in two. He looked at Lucian—the boy who represented his happy past—and then at Soren, the monster who owned his present and his future.