CH4: Edward's POV

I hadn’t planned to see more after what I’d witnessed earlier, after what I’d heard.

Though he hesitated, Luca had eventually let me go in the hallway, right after those strange voices had echoed, mocking me.

He hadn’t said a word. That silence was unexpected—unlike him.

I didn’t stop to process it. I just walked away, fast, needing somewhere private. Somewhere to hide and cry my heart out.

I am an Alpha’s son. An heir with Alpha blood running through my veins. Crying is weakness, and weakness is not tolerated. So I’ve learned to hide when the weight gets too much, learned to weep only in secret.

But just as I was nearing the exit, I ran into Sydney, Rebecca’s brother.

He’s been my friend since childhood, and seeing me in such a broken state despite not knowing the reasons, he pulled me into a hug and congratulated me on my upcoming union with his sister. Further adding salt to my open injury.

I think he must’ve just returned from abroad, tonight or maybe the day before. It’s been nearly ten years since I last saw him. So to have him appear like this, so suddenly, hugging me, speaking of the wedding—it all felt strange and off-kilter.

Thoughts of what I’d heard kept replaying in my head, Rebecca’s voice, then Luca’s.

I couldn’t shake them off. And without thinking, without caring if someone saw me, I slipped into the loud buzz of the party where everyone else was still celebrating the bridal shower.

Everyone except my bride-to-be—the one the celebration was meant for.

I reached for a glass of alcohol from a bartender weaving through the crowd with a tray perched on his arm and downed it in one go.

Then I took another. And another.

Three glasses, even though I wasn’t a drinker. This was my first time tasting alcohol. I’d stayed away from it ever since I hit puberty.

And I remember exactly why.

My father had punished me once, just because a boy my age had been in the news for drunk driving. I had just turned eighteen. My final year in high school.

That night, he’d dragged me into the bathroom and poured hot water over my skin. Boiling water. Scalding and threatening me

He said he’d rather kill me himself than let me become a disgrace to his name and legacy.

Since then, I’ve made sure never to touch alcohol. I stayed sharp and careful.

But now? His words no longer mattered. Not after what I saw and heard tonight. Not with the weight of it pressing into my chest like stone.

Sydney had left after his phone alarm rang. He seemed to have come for a reason—one that had nothing to do with being invited by his sister.

These were my thoughts. They crowded in.

I shoved them away and walked down the hallway, heading for the last room. It would be free. I could lock myself inside and fall apart in peace, drown in silence until morning, then get dressed and go through with the wedding.

That was the plan and I was ready to live it.

But when I reached the door, I froze.

People were inside.

That wasn’t what startled me. It was the sounds—their voices. The moans, rising and falling, thick in the air and rippling through the silence like smoke.

I leaned closer, pressing my ear to the door.

The soundproof walls made it difficult to catch anything clearly, even my wolf’s heightened senses struggled to pick it up. I had to squint and strain to hear.

But once I did, I wished I hadn't.

“For how long are you going to stand there and just watch?”

A voice cut through the haze in my head, yanking me back to the present.

My eyes widened, flushing hot with embarrassment.

In my daze, I had walked into the room. The door was now shut behind me.

And I was just… watching them. Two men tangled in each other’s arms.

He had seen me. One of them.

I had been caught staring.

I—Edward, the groom-to-be of the lady having this bridal shower.

“Come on, Edward. Haven’t you seen two men enjoying themselves before?” the voice came again—calm and amused this time.

Edward.

He knew who I was.

The room was dim. The lights were off, but the windows were open and the city lights bled in just enough to outline their forms.

Yet somehow… he had recognized me.

How?

How did he know who I was?

Why did his voice sound so familiar?

Why did the air carry the scent of that cologne I knew too well?

The second man beside him was clearly drunk, murmuring incoherent words as he pressed soft kisses across the other’s body.

Completely unaware of my presence.

“Come on, Ed,” the voice urged again.

I didn’t know what happened in that moment.

But I had always known this truth about myself. I didn’t like women.

I’d known since childhood and had buried it deep, locked it away like a prisoner.

My father would kill me before he ever let me live in that truth.

But now… after everything I saw earlier…Watching them like this Hearing his voice urging me to come closer…

It didn’t seem wrong. Not anymore.

Just for tonight. Just this night, i told myself.

A gamble and a taste of freedom, to do what I wanted without fear nor rules. Without my father.

Just one free day.

My heart thundered in my chest as I took a step forward toward the bed where he waited.

The first thing I noticed as I walked toward them was the second man’s back. Broad, toned and marked with a massive tattoo. A snake. A long, twisting serpent that slithered from his shoulder blade down to his lower back.

But I couldn’t see his face. He had already collapsed into the sheets, seemingly asleep, lost to drunken stupor or exhaustion—I couldn’t tell which. I, however, was still caught in the shock of it all when I finally recognized the first man—the one who had spoken to me. The one who had beckoned me closer.

It was Sydney.

My bride-to-be’s brother.

Blood drained from my face.

Did he know what he was doing? Was he aware of what he was inviting me into?

I asked myself again, this time with desperation laced in fear and lust.

Yes, I might be half drunk. Yes, I might be buried in this chaos of desire and defiance, but with him? Of all people?

“Sydney, I...” My voice cracked as I tried to say something, anything, to pull myself out of the madness.

I’d mumble a few words. Tell him being in this room was a mistake. I’d walk out before I did something I couldn’t undo.

Surely, he wouldn’t make a scene.

Surely, he wouldn’t sabotage me, his sister’s groom, for a foolish, misguided moment of lust.

Right?

But he hushed me before I could finish.

And before I knew what was happening, he’d pulled me onto the bed and started smothering my body with kisses.

I was unclad within minutes, pinned beneath a hot, hungry man licking every inch of me.

And to my utter dismay, I couldn’t even resist him.

Minutes later, he seized my hips and began thrusting back and forth like a man possessed. And then, without warning, he rammed himself deep inside my right ass cheek.

I gasped as I felt his cock stretch and expand, gripped tightly by the frantic, pulsing muscles of my ass. He let out a low growl of triumph and settled into a rhythm, pumping into me with firm, deliberate strokes.

I couldn’t believe it was happening.

Couldn’t stop it either.

But then again... hadn't Rebecca done worse?