Chapter 1

She tightened the leather collar around his throat, tugging the strap until it pressed snug against his pulse.

“It looks good on you.” Her grin was sly, painted lips curling with the kind of smirk that should've ran any man down to their knees.

He offered her only a half-smile in return, his hands steady on her waist, fingers spread against the curve of her body.

Warm, but too hesitant.

But Naelis was past noticing. Her blood hummed with the restless pulse of her omega heat beginning to crest, her instincts gnawed until her thighs trembled with it, unable to still themselves.

She leaned in, brushing her lips just short of his jaw, inhaling his scent, shuddering as it tangled with her own rising pheromones.

Her thighs betrayed her, her cravings indulged her thoughts. And slowly, the collar around his throat became a tether, a reminder of what her body demanded he give her.

“Silas,” she whispered, “Maybe we—” her voice cracked, tapering off into a needy sound closer to a whimper.

"Naelis, I think you should take a cold shower and maybe...wade this one off?."

"I traveled across four countries from my pack to spend summer break with you in yours, 'wading' this off with a cold shower is not in my books."

She tugged on the collar, getting ready to render him a grunting, spurting mess. The collar strap twisted as Naelis pulled on it, but the sharp ping of his phone fractured the moment.

"Ugh, come on...."

He muttered an apology, knowing how much she disliked cockblocks.

She watched him reach for his phone, swipe upwards, and then all of a sudden, she felt him get erect. A quick shift.

“Well, well” she murmured, arching a brow. "Is that p**n you received or what?"

Before he could react, she slid off his lap,her lightning-quick fingers snatching the phone from him. Amusement glittered in her amber eyes as she waved it just out of his reach.

“Naelis—don’t,” he choked, there was a raw panic in his voice. His hand had reached halfway out. But it was too late.

“Relax,” she said, her lips curling into a teasing smirk. “What’s the worst I could find? Lexi Blaze's new red edition trailer? A fan club?”

She chuckled and tapped on the notification, completely oblivious to Silas's pale state.

But what she saw...

Her eyes narrowed and her lips parted slightly. It was a string of nudes, the kind an androgynous camboy would send.

She tapped on the first one automatically loading. It opened immediately. The image that filled the screen was that of a boy, his legs in the air, and his hole, stretched lewdly for the camera.

And the caption read,

Let me be your cum dump again.

She could've brushed off the images as something accidentally spammed to the wrong number. But she continued scrolling downwards and found a stream of very intimate messages between Silas, and the boy in the picture.

"Naelis—"

She laughed so hard her shoulders shook, Silas gulped, taken aback at the way she doubled over in laughter like a mad woman.

"I reckon this is the part where you tell me that it isn't what I think it is and that you can explain?"

He didn't know what to say.

"Don't stay silent Silas, say something."

He still didn't—

"If you won't talk, then I'll plug your phone into my PC, trace this boy, and find out everything I need to know. Either way, I'm getting answers. You know that."

Silas slid off the couch so fast the collar jangled at his throat. He dropped to his knees in front of her.

“Naelis, please,” he rasped. “I’m sorry. I swear—I was planning on telling you, everytime I tried I just couldn't muster enough courage to do it.” His eyes were already glossy.

Her mouth twitched like she couldn't decide between further laughing or baring her teeth at him.

“You think ‘sorry’ is enough after I just saw your whole secret sex life in 4K?”

His lips trembled. “I wasn’t ready to admi—I’m still not ready. You’ve always known me, you’ve always…been there for me, and I love you."

She loved him too.

But was it really the kind of love they assumed it was?.

"I thought if I tried with you, maybe—” His voice cracked, a tear sliding down his cheek. “Maybe it would make me feel normal again.”

For a fraction of a second her gaze wavered, but the sarcasm came back quickly.

“Normal?. Silas, we grew up in allied packs, we shared summers, secrets, food. We’ve been best friends since elementary school. And you thought you could establish a relationship with me when you weren't even into me?”

He looked wrecked, the golden boy mask completely gone.

“I was into you Naelis, I promise. I slowly started seeing you as more than just a best friend, that is what prompted me to ask you out in the first place. But—”

"But what?"

"Until... Jaime."

Silas’s voice shook, but his words continued to come out tumbling out like a dam breaking.

“A year before we started dating… it was after that football tournament, you remember? The one where the whole team carried me on their shoulders after I scored the hat trick?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"I had been drinking too much, celebrating like crazy. That night, a few shots led to something, which led to something and i..." He swallowed, "i... hooked up with a guy.”

Naelis’s brows arched. “Mm”

His head dipped in shame. “Jaime. He was just a stranger then. I thought it was… a one-off, some stupid mistake. I told myself it was the alcohol. But it wasn’t. It stuck with me, and I couldn't stop thinking about him.”

Naelis crossed her arms. “So, while I was waiting for you to figure out whether you wanted to hold my hand or kiss me under the pine trees, you were already playing mattress games with somebody else?”

Silas flinched. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t see him again until months later. Turns out Jaime had been taken into the pack. And he was everywhere, when he recognized me...he...he, and he…” Silas took a deep breath. “He makes everything complicated. He is loud, flirty, sweet, impossible to ignore. I tried, Nae. I swear I tried.”

She scoffed.

"Impossible to ignore?"

“At first, it was just teasing. But then—” His throat bobbed, his eyes searching hers, desperate for understanding. “I fell for him. Hard. He stopped because of you, because he said he wouldn’t be the reason I should betray your trust. But I couldn’t stay away from him. I promised him that I would tell you, that I’d end things between us properly, but every time I looked at you…” His voice cracked, breaking completely now. “I couldn’t do it. You’re my best friend, Nae. Losing you is a risk I was scared shitless to take.”

Her eyes hardened.

“This is the first time anyone has ever cheated on me, Silas. And the conflicting thing is, I don't feel enraged, well a little, but mostly, I just feel.... disappointment.”

He bowed his head, the tears slipping freely down his face.

“I was a coward. I still am. If there is anyway i—”

She leaned forward and snapped the collar from his neck, holding it in her hands.

"I think I should go back home or something,"

"Nae—"

"Shush. If my head fogs out eventually, then, I might call you when I get home. I've lost interest in staying."

She reached out for her backpack and swung it over her shoulders.