Page 18 of Sweet Omega
Ludiin didn’t think—hemoved. Spinning around, he bolted for the stairs.
“Are you that happy? Damn, you’re easy!” Luci called teasingly after him, laughter in his voice. But underneath the mockery, Ludiin could hear the quiet pride. His brother was happy for him.
Down the stairs he flew, asking the first maid he saw where Tarymn was. She pointed him toward the alpha’s office. Ludiin followed her direction, pausing outside a tall door he’d passed a hundred times but never dared to approach. It was the only one in the house that was made of wood, while the others were more modern and used access panels to open.
So, this was Tarymn’s space.
The door loomed, heavy and imposing, just like the alpha himself. And suddenly, Ludiin’s excitement waned, replaced by the quiet awkwardness that so often wrapped itself around him like a second skin. His heart pounded.
For once, don’t be you, he told himself, steeling his nerves as he raised a hand and knocked.
“Come in,” came the gruff, commanding voice from within.
Ludiin swallowed, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Tarymn sat behind a massive desk, his presence arresting as ever. He commandedthe entire room without even trying.
Ludiin froze. His mind caught between nerves, awe and the memories from last night. He gave his head a small shake, as if the motion alone could scatter the feelings stirring beneath his skin.
He wasn’t here for that. Not for the memory of Tarymn’s hands gripping his hips as he pounded into him, or the way he had moaned and begged for him to do it harder. He was here for three things only: to thank Tarymn, to apologize, and to promise it would never happen again.
Last night was a mistake. A moment that didn’t belong to the real world. And it had to be forgotten, buried deep, sealed tight.
“Tarymn,” Ludiin began.
The alpha looked up, his golden eyes locking onto Ludiin with a slow, burning intensity.
Silence stretched between them awkward and tense.
You can do this, Ludiin reminded himself, even as his palms grew clammy and doubt clawed at his resolve.
“Uhm…” Ludiin stammered, stepping forward.
“Ludiin? Did you need something?”
Say it.Before you lose your nerve.
“Thank you,” Ludiin said softly. “I saw the den.”
Tarymn’s brow arched. “Den?”
“The room you gave me,” Ludiin clarified quickly, trying not to fidget. “It’s… it’s lovely. Thank you. And...” He forced himself forward, his footsteps echoing softly as he crossed the room and stopped in front of the desk, fingers twitching at his sides. “About last night… I… we… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
Tarymn’s golden eyes narrowed slightly, the pupils sharpening. For a second, Ludiin could’ve sworn they glowed but then he blinked, and the look vanished as if it had never been there. Tarymn stood, his movements unhurried as he walkedaround the desk. With every step, his presence seemed to grow larger, imposing and magnetic.
And his scent…
Now that Ludiin had inhaled it during his heat, he couldn’t not notice it. Earthy, dark, with a quiet strength that wrapped around him. Ludiin nearly whimpered. Every instinct screamed at him to step back when Tarymn stopped just a breath away.
He couldn’t give away the fact that he affected him.
“I know, Ludiin,” Tarymn said. “You were in heat. You didn’t do anything wrong. Next time, you should find yourself an alpha. You can’t go through your heats alone.”
The thought of another alpha touching him, made Ludiin’s stomach twist uncomfortably. His expression must have given him away.
“Don’t look like that,” Tarymn murmured, suddenly stepping forward and pulling Ludiin into his arms without warning. Ludiin stiffened, breath caught in his throat.
Don’t react, don’t move,he told himself. But the warmth of Tarymn’s body, the steady thrum of his heartbeat, his intoxicating scent—he lasted only seconds before his resolve cracked, and he leaned into him.
