Page 59 of Sweet Omega
“I am,” Tarymn replied. “It doesn’t matter what you say. Your voice soothes me. Just… keep talking.”
A warm flush bloomed in Ludiin’s cheeks. “When did you find out my voice soothes you?”
“The first day we met. In the pod,” Tarymn said without hesitation.
Ludiin blinked, taken aback. He remembered that day too—how tense Tarymn had looked, how cold and distant. He’d been sure the alpha couldn’t wait to be rid of him.
“I was terrified that day,” Ludiin admitted softly. “Happy too, I guess… but mostly scared. I couldn’t even speak at first. You looked so angry. So distant. I didn’t know what to do with myself…”
He kept talking, rambling on. He didn’t even know what he was saying, just that Tarymn was listening. At some point, the alpha drifted off, breathing steady, face slack with sleep.
Ludiin stayed in his arms a little longer, his cheek pressed to Tarymn’s chest, listening to the quiet thrum of his heartbeat. A part of him wanted to stay like that. But he couldn’t. Not when he knew it meant something different to both of them.
This…whatever it was…had to end.
And it was up to him to end it.
Chapter 12
Ludiin
As the planet plunged deeper into chaos, Ludiin threw himself into his work, isolating himself in his den trying to build another pleasuring bot to help him through his next heat. He only left the den to eat and bathe. And even then, his thoughts never strayed far from his project.
Tarymn and Luci visited often, bringing food, sometimes teasing him, but Ludiin barely acknowledged them. Especially Tarymn. The more distance he put between them, the easier it would be to forget.
Or at least, that’s what he told himself.
But when the signs of his heat began to stir in his body again… Ludiin got a little anxious.
He wasn’t sure if his new pleasuring bot would work.
But he needed it to work. Desperately.
Because he couldn’t go to Tarymn.
Not again.
Not ever.
And Tarymn must have had the same thought because on the day Ludiin’s heat finally arrived, he did the one thing Ludiin hadn’t truly believed he would do.
He came. And he wasn’t alone.
There was another alpha beside him. Ready. Waiting.
And just like that, something inside Ludiin cracked open.
Ludiin had somehow convinced himself that he wouldn’t bring another alpha. Not really.
He’d foolishly thought that he wouldn't want to see him with someone else. Because Ludiin hadn’t stopped wanting him. He still liked the way Tarymn listened to him ramble on about nothing. Still craved his presence. Still clung to the way Tarymn said his voice soothed him, like he needed him for something more.
The sight of them at his door was like a punch to the gut. Ludiin didn’t think. He just moved and slammed the door shut in their faces before engaging the full locking system with trembling fingers.
“Ludiin?” Tarymn’s muffled voice came through the door. “Open the door.”
“No. I don’t need an alpha,” Ludiin said, his voice trembling even as he tried to sound strong. His heart ached, a deep, dull throb that refused to go away. It was ridiculous. Pathetic. And yet… his fucking feelings refused to die.
“You have to open the door, Ludiin,” Tarymn said from the other side, his voice muffled through the metal but still carrying that infuriating calm. “He’s here to help you.”
