Alex spent the entire ride back to the Mastersons' villa with his gaze fixed outside the car window, watching the world slip past in a blur of shadows and fading sunlight. One hand rested instinctively over his lower abdomen.
His thoughts churned relentlessly. Dr. Addison had been clear—an alpha-omega bond wasn't something to be taken lightly. It was transformative, irrevocable. A shift in physiology, emotion, instinct. And it was happening to him… with Damien of all people.
Eventually, Damien would have to know. There would be no hiding it for long—not when the effects of the bond would soon become undeniable. He wouldn't be able to sense other people's pheromones anymore, and in turn, others wouldn't be able to sense his. His scent would dull to every omega around him—except for one. The one he bit. The one who bonded with him.
And then there was the intimacy issue. Once the bond was complete, his body wouldn't respond to anyone else. Physically, emotionally, sexually—only his bonded omega would be able to reach him on that level. It was nature's way of ensuring lifelong unity. Commitment. Monogamy.
Which was exactly why alpha-omega bonds were so rare these days. No one wanted to take that kind of risk anymore—not in a world where relationships were fluid and trust was harder to come by than gold. You had to be sure. Absolutely, painfully sure. Because once it happened, there was no turning back.
And yet… here they were.
Two people who could barely look at each other now tied together for life by biology and fate.
Alex exhaled slowly, his breath fogging the glass for a moment before vanishing. Where had everything gone so catastrophically wrong?
Was it his fault? Was he to blame for not telling Damien he was an omega?
Maybe. Maybe partially. He had meant to tell him. He really had. But Damien had disappeared before he ever got the chance. And then, when they finally reunited, he wasn't the man Alex had shared quiet smiles and lingering touches with. No, he was cold, calculated and vengeful. A man determined to make Alex suffer for something his family had done.
That disgusting "agreement" Damien had proposed and that still made Alex's stomach churn with resentment was to blame. Had he not called Alex to his office that night, he wouldn't have been compelled to mark him like this.
But the baby... The baby had come before the bond, so the baby would still be here.
Alex lowered his eyes to his lap, hand tightening over his abdomen. The child growing inside him had been conceived the very first time they were together. Before all the lies and cruelty. Before the betrayal had fully bloomed. That night, he'd felt something real—something raw and confusing—but not violent. Not vengeful. That night, he had believed Damien cared for him and wanted him. And maybe, for a second, Damien had believed it too.
So, no. The baby would have existed either way. But if Damien hadn't manipulated and seduced him out of spite, if he hadn't treated him like a disposable toy, then maybe—just maybe—things could have been different. Better.
Alex closed his eyes, a dull ache throbbing in his chest.
Yes, he should've been honest about being an omega. He could admit that now. But Damien… Damien had done worse. Much worse.
And that meant he had no right to explode in fury when the truth finally came out. No right to judge. No right to punish.
Because Alex was going to tell him. Everything.
He had already made the decision to keep the baby. It hadn't been a rational choice, not at first. He'd gone back and forth a dozen times, wavering on the edge of despair. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that this small, unplanned life inside him had become the only thing anchoring him to the world. A quiet, beating heart that reminded him he was still alive. Still capable of protecting something. Still human.
The baby had given him purpose—something to fight for when everything else seemed lost.
Even if he had to do it alone.
Even if Damien wanted nothing to do with them.
"Another week," he murmured softly to himself, his voice barely audible in the hum of the car engine. Dr. Addison had told him that the bond hadn't fully stabilized yet. The bite had stopped bleeding, but the bonding process had slowed down, almost paused. Without his alpha's pheromones to reinforce the connection, it would take at least a week to finish.
Alex swallowed thickly. There was a part of him that considered asking Damien for help—to complete the bond quickly, to get it over with. But it was better like that.
He would use the time he had left to figure out what came next. How to protect his child. How to protect himself. And how to tell Damien the truth.
The silence in the car remained unbroken, but it wasn't the calm kind. It was the kind that screamed with unspoken questions, with walls built too high to climb over.
He felt the weight of Damien's glances though—hesitant and confused. Maybe even concerned. But none of that mattered until they had the conversation that could change everything.
Soon, he thought. Just not today. Not until I'm ready. And until then, he would hold on to the one thing that still felt pure: the tiny, growing life beneath his hand.
Alex had never known what it felt like to be truly loved, not by his family, not by anyone who claimed to care. Acceptance had always been conditional—something dangled in front of him like a reward for obedience he could never quite give. But now, for the first time in what felt like forever, a tiny flame of hope flickered in his chest.
The thought of having a family of his own filled the hollow parts of him with something that resembled light.
When he made the decision to keep the baby, everything else faded into background noise. The lies, the pain, the betrayal… all of it blurred around the edges. The only thing that mattered now was his child. His baby.
And honestly? If Damien didn't want to be a part of that, it was a relief.
It would be easier that way. Cleaner. No pretending. No bargaining. No illusions. Just Alex and his baby.
He could raise this child on his own. He would.
He had enough savings stashed away from years of working part-time jobs and in the kitchen. He also had a modest inheritance from Aunt Emma, the only member of his mother's family who ever treated him like he was something other than a disturbance. Between those two things, he could vanish. Find a quiet town. Rent a small place. Spend the next three or four years pouring every second of his time into being a parent. Into building a life free from manipulation and pain.
He just had to get Damien to cooperate in one small, essential thing: offering enough of his alpha pheromones for the baby to develop properly.
That was it. The only string Alex needed to tug. After that, Damien could go back to whatever cold and loveless existence he preferred.
As for the bond… Alex couldn't find it in himself to care about what it meant for Damien. So what if the arrogant bastard couldn't sleep with anyone else ever again? Good. Let that be his punishment. Let him stew in his own frustration.
Alex had no intention of taking another lover. Ever. His heart had been bruised too deeply, his trust burned down to embers. And besides, the bond did have its perks. Now that his identity as an omega would become impossible to conceal, he would start releasing pheromones—his body wouldn't let him hide what he was anymore. But, thanks to the bond, no one would be able to pick up on those pheromones. No leering eyes. No unwanted advances. No predators sniffing him out like prey. He would be invisible, protected, untouchable.
The only tricky part would be the heats. Without a bonded alpha nearby, they'd be weaker, less overwhelming—but still inconvenient. Still painful. But that's what suppressants were for. He could manage. He would manage.
He didn't need Damien for anything else.
As for the Masterson name… The only reason he kept returning to that suffocating house was because he hadn't yet reached the finish line. Not financially. Not logistically. But he was close. So close. Every sacrifice, every degrading moment had inched him toward freedom.
Soon, he would apply for a new surname, just like he'd planned. Something his. Something fresh. Then he'd take his savings, pack up what little he had, and disappear into the night. No goodbyes. No guilt. Just a clean break and a chance to live a peaceful, anonymous life with his child.
But first… first, he had to ensure the baby was born safely.
He couldn't afford to be reckless. Not now. The baby needed a stable environment, a calm pregnancy, and the presence of their biological alpha father.
Alex had to make sure the arrogant bastard did his part, even if it meant stomaching his presence a little while longer.
He sighed and let his head fall against the cool windowpane, eyelids heavy with exhaustion.
A moment passed in silence before Damien's voice broke through the quiet. "Everything alright?"
Alex turned his head slowly. "Yeah," he said flatly. "Just trying to figure out what new and creative ways you might come up with to torture me next. Because rough sex? Off the table."
His tone was sharp—cutting. He looked Damien dead in the eyes now, defiant and unflinching. "If you think you moved into the Masterson villa just so you can repeat what happened in your office, you're in for a fucking rude awakening. Try to force anything on me again, and I will strangle you. Don't let my size fool you—I'll go down swinging. And if you even think about using my friends against me again—"
"I won't," Damien said, cutting in quickly. His voice was quiet, almost guilty. "I… I swear, I won't. I shouldn't have done that in the first place. I'm… sorry, Alex."
Alex's gaze didn't soften. "I don't need your apology. I need your word. We can't undo what's already happened. But let's at least not screw things up any worse than they already are."
"Okay," Damien said, his voice low, barely above a whisper.
Silence returned, thick and uneasy, as the car rolled to a stop outside the Masterson villa. Alex took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever fresh disappointment waited behind those doors. He couldn't stay here much longer. The second his belly began to swell, it would be over.
He needed a new living arrangement—temporary, quiet, hidden—just until the baby arrived. Then he could vanish.
Eric could probably help but Alex had already made up his mind. It was better not to involve his friend any further in this mess. His life was already complicated enough. No, cutting ties with Eric was going to be hard, but necessary. A clean slate required sacrifice.
When they got out of the car, Damien walked with him toward the main entrance and to his bedroom door.
"You know," Alex said, eyebrow twitching with irritation, "I'm familiar with the layout of my own house. You don't need to escort me to the door like some sad puppy."
Damien blinked, startled. "I wasn't. I was just heading to my room."
He walked past Alex without another word and slipped into the guestroom beside him.
Alex stood there in the hallway, stunned. Brows furrowed. Chest tight.
What the actual fuck?