Page 26 of Undone
Anthony felt the man under him tense up.
Then, Michael’s eyelids lifted. His dark eyes were still glazed with pleasure, but after a moment, horror dawned in them. Horror and wariness, as if he were bracing for a blow.
Anthony’s gaze traveled down to his own hand still wrapped around Michael’s throat. Then at the raw, bloody bite mark on Michael’s neck. The mark he’d left.
He had trouble tearing his eyes away, oddly transfixed by the way blood trickled from the small wound. Something that felt a lot like satisfaction twisted his insides, mingling with a deep unease.
Modern alphas didn’t bite each other’s throats. They certainly didn’t draw blood. It wasn’tdone. It was taboo for a reason.
In prehistoric times, alphas used to bite each other to establish dominance. It was commonly believed that was how the alpha gene emerged: cavemen that displayed more aggression and dominance passed down traits that eventually formed a subspecies that became known as alpha. There had been just alphas and regular folk—betas—in the beginning.
Modern scientists tended to adhere to the theory that the emergence of omegas was the natural evolution of homosexuality, that alphas and omegas were simply perfectbiological counterparts, regardless of sex. Omegas soothed the fire that burned inside alphas, serving as the ideal outlet for their aggression and protectiveness, and so it was widely regarded as the natural order of things.
But there were theories that disagreed about the origin of omegas. Some historians believed that first omegas had beenmade. Ancient alphas were highly territorial and aggressive, often prone to violent clashes during the full moons. They fought each other to the death—or raped the other into submission. Some believed that was how omegas had first come to be: through the subjugation of other alphas, through dominating them so brutally that they broke. After several generations, omegas began to be born naturally, and the practice of making them eventually disappeared.
Anthony had always thought that belief was ridiculous, as did most alphas. It seemed unthinkable to any alpha that they could be converted to an omega. But regardless of any skepticism, it was taboo to bite other alphas, to draw their blood with teeth, to hold their throat and force submission. It just wasn’t done.
“Let go.”
The voice seemed to be coming from very far away.
He couldn’t tear his gaze from the bloody bite mark on the other alpha’s neck. From his own hand around it. The sight was oddly enthralling. He squeezed.
“Ant,” said a shaky voice. “Get off me.”
He didn’t move.
“Anthony!”
He flinched—and suddenly became aware of several things at once.
He was still lying on top of Michael.
Michael’s bare legs were splayed to accommodate Anthony’s thigh between them.
His thigh was wet with Michael’s come.
Michael was still half-hard.
Anthony washarder.
“Let go,” Michael whispered harshly, meeting his eyes. He looked more than a little freaked out. He could undoubtedly feel Anthony’s erection against his thigh. “Let’s just—let’s just pretend this hasn’t happened. It’s not too late.”
He was right. It wasn’t too late yet. He could get up and pretend this hadn’t happened. Pretend to be a normal alpha who didn’t get hard from choking and dominating another alpha.
It wasn’t too late yet.
He heard himself say, “Unzip me.”
The rational part of him tried to surface, but the beast within smothered it. It didn’t like that Michael had used his body to get off. It didn’t like that Anthony had another alpha’s come on him. It wanted to rectify that, to sully the other alpha with his bodily fluids. It felt like aneed, burning and overwhelming, his instincts overruling his brain. All he could focus on was the throbbing ache of his cock, the primitive, vicious urge to use and dominate. The man under him smelled wrong. Too strong, too alpha.Hewas supposed to be the only alpha here. The other had to be subdued. Brought to heel. Marked with his scent, covered in his fluids.
He pressed his thumb against Michael’s pulse. It was hammering, like a bird trapped in a cage.
“Pull my cock out,” he commanded, staring at the sluggishly bleeding bite mark. Unable to suppress the urge, he leaned down and licked the wound, pushing his pheromones into his saliva. He wanted to cover the other alpha’s stink with his own scent, mark him through his blood, from the inside.
Michael made a punched-out noise, his body jerking. “Ant...”
“Do it.”
