Page 49 of Designation Prey

And then there’d been Daniel. They wound up having five days together in total. Just five. And Liam has never been the same since. Daniel was it for him. And Daniel wanted to be with Liam, though he’s aware that Daniel was susceptible to bonding with any Dominant he was put with due to his designation.

Three years ago he’d argue he was a suitable match for the deprived young man. He was confident and cocky enough to believe it.

But their bond is gone now. And the last few years have been hard for Liam. So hard that he wonders if Daniel deserves better than him. What if the kindest thing he can do is give Daniel a chance at finding happiness with another Dominant? One who wouldn’t let him go?

The man looking back at him in the mirror isn’t someone he recognizes. What will Daniel think when he sees Liam again, sees how hard the last few years have been for him?

His illustrious military career went up in smoke when he was informed that Daniel had died. He’d gotten a phone call from Daniel’s father himself, been told the news and… well, he doesn’t remember much of that time.

Liam had been hospitalized with grief. He’d been given a general military discharge and then he’d floundered for a while. Drank too much, got into fights when he shouldn’t. He’d even wound up in jail after a particularly nasty brawl.

His own brother had come to bail him out, had gotten him straightened out, and Liam has spent the last year or so speaking to anyone who will listen about prey submissive needs, because he thinks Daniel would have wanted that. Because someone needs to speak up for them. He hopes that would have made Daniel happy.

Though he doesn’t really know. He’d known Daniel for a matter of days and their relationship had been intensely sexual. They’d known each other, but it was their designations that had really bound them to each other.

In Liam’s memory, Daniel was the most perfect submissive. Sweet, biddable, hungry for his Dominant and eager to please. He’d also been emotional, traumatized by the denial and surgeries he’d endured, and it had made him shy and afraid.

He should have run away with Daniel.

But he didn’t. He was a coward and a rule follower, and he didn’t take Daniel or Dr. Chang seriously. What sort of monster would torture his own son the way General Burrows did?

If Liam had been a better man, aworthyDominant, and what Daniel deserved, he would have gone on the run with him. There are resources, rumors of submissives and Dominants who live off the grid and beyond the reach of the military.

That’s the Dominant Daniel deserved. One who would put his safety first, prioritize him above everything.

But that isn’t what Liam did, and he’s regretted it ever since. He’ll regret it until the day he dies. It weighs on him heavily, and the failure and loss of his submissive is etched into the lines of his face, the premature gray of his hair. The tremble of his hand as he accidentally nicks his jaw with the razor.

Jesus Christ. He’s probably aged a decade in the last three years. He doesn’t sleep, doesn’t interact with the world beyond work, and while he doesn’t get into fights like he used to, he still drinks too much. His brother described him as maudlin.

Is it cruel to try and claim Daniel again? The bond is severed, so it’s possible Daniel could be with another Dominant—not likely, but possible—and what if he owes that to Daniel? A chance to finally make one decision for himself, to get a Dominant who will fight for him?

Liam goes to his closet. What does one wear to meet the submissive they bonded to after years of separation and a cryogenic freeze between them?

He’s lost so much weight in the last three years that he isn’t even the same size of clothing anymore. Daniel might not even recognize him. He might not want Liam. If Daniel were meeting him for the first time today, he wouldn’t choose Liam. Not that he chose him before. Liam was just the Dominant Dr. Chang trusted in the moment.

Their bond is gone, of course. It was faint, just forming, and now years have passed. Daniel has a chance of choosing another.

And there are a lot of Dominants who don’t survive without their submissives. They take their own lives. Liam had thought about it, more than once. His brother would say his actions were so reckless that he might as well have been trying to die.

Surely Daniel deserves a Dominant who’d die for him? Run away with him, face military discharge and personal ruin to be with him? That’s what a boy like Daniel deserves.

Daniel deserves better than him. Though finding the right Dominant won’t be easy.

He dresses in a suit, wanting to make a good impression on Daniel’s brother and husband. What will Daniel think of him in a suit? Or will he be so distracted and repulsed by Liam’s descent that it won’t make a difference?

Daniel won’t be bonded to him anymore. Liam has to be prepared for the possibility that Daniel will take one look at him and be so angry that Liam didn’t fight for him that he won’t even give him the time of day.

But.

If Daniel is willing to give him a chance, if he is willing to be held by Liam, wouldn’t he prefer something more comfortable?

He has to sit down, the very idea of it overwhelming. What if he gets tohold Daniel in his arms? He can’t let himself think about more than that.

Bringing Daniel home, taking his boy to bed, keeping him safe, making Daniel his—he can’t let himself hope. He won’t survive the loss if he dares to hope Daniel might choose him.

Liam changes. Just in case. A soft, well-worn t-shirt, comfortable black joggers, knot-suppressing underwear that are at the back of his drawer. He isn’t sure what will happen when he meets Daniel again, but his boy deserves a Dominant who can be what he needs. Liam needs to at least try.

He takes his suppressants, the pills he’s on so he can function from day to day, and leaves the house.

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