THE ALPHA'S OMEGA

(Kael's POV)

Evening sort of draped itself in, all mellow tangerine at the edges, throwing lazy streaks of sunlight across the stone walls when I finally stirred. My eyelashes fluttered open, slow-motion style, catching that last bit of dusk’s glow. Everything felt weighed down—like my bones had just called it quits and left me poured out and formless in the sheets. The curtains were just barely cracked, letting in a sliver of daylight—soft, golden, sneaky, like it was slipping in with an awkward little “sorry to bother.”

Honestly? No clue when I even passed out.

Alaric was there, face down, barely moving except for that steady rise and fall of his back. His dark hair was all over the pillow, messy, a couple strands stuck to the sweat still clinging to his skin. I spotted some faint marks down his spine—little moons from my own fingers. My throat tightened. I swallowed. Yikes.

We were at it for hours.

The memory hit me in gentle flashes—the way he clung to me like I was the air keepin