Page 99 of Sweet Omega
He was on the edge, ready to snap and turn into the very thing he despised. He forced a breath into his lungs, trying and failing to calm the storm clawing inside him. Tarymn’s gaze drifted out the window, straight to the garden where two figures walked too closely. His jaw clenched when Ford brushed his fingers along Ludiin’s cheek.His cheek!
“I thought he said he wanted to be his friend,” Tarymn growled, the heat in his chest threatening to boil over.
“What?” Hym asked, stepping beside him. His eyes followed Tarymn’s.
“That’s how it always starts,” Hym said simply.
“What does?”
“Love starts with friendship. If you’re not going to claim him, at least let him fall in love,” Hym said quietly. The words dug under Tarymn’s skin because he’d noticed it too. The way Ludiin had remained still while Ford got closer, flirting with him in the den, he hadn’t pulled away.
“You need to decide what you want,” Hym added in frustration. “Either let him go or fucking claim him. The tension in this house is unbearable.” With that, Hym left him alone withhis churning thoughts. Tarymn closed his eyes, dragging in a ragged breath.
He was losing it.
The rage. The ache. The need to mark, totake, to hold—it was all spiraling inside him like wildfire.
He stormed out of the office to go find Ludiin.
The omega wasn’t in the garden where he’d last seen him.
He’d better not be upstairs with that damn alpha.
Tarymn took the stairs two at a time, his heart pounding. Anger and longing twisted together in his gut, until they were indistinguishable.
He found him in his den, standing at his workbench, staring down at his e-reader.
The one he’d used to draw earlier. Something inside Tarymn snapped. All reason vanished.
Fuck.
Tarymn dragged in a deep breath. He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles ached, barely restraining the primal urge to reach out, drag Ludiin into his arms, and claim him right then and there.
He wasn't going to do that. He wasn't a fucking animal.
His voice came out rough, laced with frustration. “Is he really just your friend? I saw him touch you here.”
He reached out, his fingers brushing the curve of Ludiin’s cheek exactly where Ford’s hand had lingered. The contact was light, possessive, tinged with something darker. Then he leaned in and released his scent, flooding the space between them with it, blotting out any trace of the other alpha.
Ludiin’s breath hitched. His eyes fluttered shut for a second, lips parting as the scent settled into his senses.
Then, just as quickly, he snapped out of it. His gaze sharpened, slicing through the charged air between them. He stepped back, out of reach.
And still, he didn’t speak.
He just looked at Tarymn. A flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes.
“Is he?” Tarymn pressed again.
But Ludiin only stared at him, letting the question hang between them.
Say something,Tarymn silently pleaded, his chest aching with want, need.
The silence pressed down on them, thick and suffocating.
“Yes,” Ludiin finally said, voice cool. “He’s my friend and a model for my future pleasuring bots.”
Tarymn stiffened, prowling closer before he could stop himself, yanked forward by something he couldn’t fight nor deny. He wanted his mate. Now. “You shouldn’t have other alphas near you. You’re going to be bonded soon. Your alpha’s not going to like that.”
