LOGIN/THEO/I woke up the next morning feeling like I had been run over by a truck.My head was pounding, my throat felt as dry, and my whole body was stiff and sore from the fever that had wracked me all night. The heavy rain from yesterday had finally stopped, leaving behind a dull gray sky.I dragged myself out of bed, wrapping my blanket around my shoulders as I shuffled out into the hallway. The apartment was dead quiet.“Lorcan,” I wobbled over to his room, knocking on the door and hoping he'd answer me. He had every reason to be mad at me but I didn't want him to kick me out. I actually like staying here with him.I stayed outside waiting for his reply. I called his name again and knocked but there was no sound from inside.“Excuse my intrusion,” I muttered as I pushed his bedroom door open. The room was neat and perfectly arranged as always but there was no sign of Lorcan anywhere. I walked inside his room, checking the bathroom to see if he was there but he wasn't. Where had he go
/THEO/The power died around three in the afternoon, right in the middle of a torrential downpour.Without the air conditioning, the apartment became uncomfortably warm within an hour. Rain slammed against the balcony windows, locking the flat in a humid gloom.I was lying on my bed, curled sideways with my knees pulled up toward my chest. Sweat was sticking my shirt to my back, and my skin felt like it was on fire.It didn't make any sense. I had taken my standard suppressant pill right after breakfast, just like I always did whenever my heat cycle started. Being a recessive Omega meant my heats were usually nothing more than a mild fever. A small spike in body temperature, a bit of fatigue, and faint scent that barely registered to anyone unless they were practically pressing their nose to my neck. One suppressant was always enough to keep it completely under wraps.So why was my dick aching so bad? Even my hole was twitching. This wasn't good.I grabbed the waistband of my boxer br
/LORCAN/Something was wrong with Theo.It wasn't obvious at first, but by the third day, the shift was impossible to ignore. Ever since that evening he got into my car with his face bright red, he had drawn an invisible line between us.He didn't ramble about his workday on the drive home anymore. He didn't hover around the kitchen counter while I made coffee, and he certainly didn't smile too bright around me which I found very suspicious.Instead, he had become excessively polite."Good morning, Lorcan.""Thank you for the ride, Lorcan.""I left dinner in the fridge for you, Lorcan."It was infuriating. I was used to him being a cheerful, slightly chaotic presence in the flat. This new, overly cautious version of him felt wrong. He was acting like a guest who was terrified of overstaying his welcome, and every time he quietly retreated to his bedroom right after dinner, my irritation grew.On Friday evening, I decided I’d had enough of the silence. On my way to pick him up from Pix
/THEO/"So, are you going to spill the tea, or should we keep guessing?"I paused, my hand hovering over the zipper of my satchel. Maya was leaning against the edge of my desk, her arms crossed and a mischievous grin plastered across her face. Two cubicles down, Jace swiveled around in his office chair, holding an unlit vape pen like a microphone."Spill what?" I asked, actually confused. What was this about this time?"Oh, don't play innocent with us, Theo," Jace chimed in, rolling his chair closer. "The entire department has been talking for a week. Every single evening at five on the dot, a crazy expensive black car pulls up to the curb. And every single evening, you slide into the passenger seat like a high-maintenance prince."My face instantly flushed hot. I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, trying to avoid their eyes. "It's not a big deal. You guys are exaggerating.""Exaggerating?" Maya raised an eyebrow, letting out a dry laugh. "Theo, that car costs more than my
/LORCAN/I rubbed my temple frustrated as I thought about how I ended up barely getting any sleep last night from overthinking what had happened during dinner."Good afternoon, sir," Fenton said, bringing me out of my thoughts as he stepped into the office. "The representatives from Morene Holdings have arrived and are waiting in Boardroom A.""Are both of them there?" I asked, getting to my feet."Yes, sir. Mr. Marcus Morene and his son, Andrew.""Good," I murmured, adjusting my cuffs. We left the office together and headed to Boardroom A to meet with the Morenes. "Give us five minutes, then bring in the presentation files."I walked into the boardroom, my eyes landing on Mr. Morene and Andrew. He immediately stood up and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. When Andrew's eyes landed on me, I could see the horror in them. “At least he was smart enough to put the pieces together,” I thought as I walked to my seat at the head table.“What do you think you're doing? Show some re
/LORCAN/One week laterI pulled up near PixelPulse Studio building at four-thirty. Theo’s shift wasn't over for another thirty minutes, but traffic had been lighter than expected.Instead of idling in the car, I parked around the corner and walked down the block toward a quiet café I’d noticed a few days ago. The place was relatively low-key, with simple wooden tables and a quiet atmosphere. I bought an iced Americano, sat down at a small table near the window, and opened my phone to check a few urgent emails from Fenton.I sent Theo a quick text to let him know that I was at the café across from the studio and that he should meet me here.“I'll be done in a bit, just give me some minutes,” he texted back instantly.“Doesn't he have something to do? Why is he replying so quickly?” I muttered before setting my phone down. Maybe I should be glad that he hasn't been working overtime, not that it's my problem."Lorcan?"I snapped out of my thoughts as I heard a familiar voice call my nam
/LORCAN/The apartment had been annoyingly quiet in the past few days.For the past week, I had been forced to adapt to a constant, irritatingly bright presence. There was always the sound of footsteps, the quiet humming from the kitchen, or the clumsy thud of a shoulder hitting a doorframe. Now,
/THEO/How I managed to drag myself to work on Friday morning was a miracle. My bed was in the perfect state to have that knockout sleep, it was cold alongside my pillows.“Why do I have to work?” I groaned as I ate breakfast.“Stop whining and eat your food,” Lorcan who just wanted a glass of wate
/LORCAN/A few days had passed since I had allowed Theo to continue his stay at the apartment but it was about time to go back to work.I adjusted the cuffs of my tailored suit jacket as I stepped out of the executive elevator. For the last three hours, I had been tearing through a budget dispute w
/THEO/How I woke up on my bed the next morning was still a mystery to me.I distinctly remembered passing out face-down on the kitchen island, with my laptop screen still on. Yet, here I was, tucked neatly under my thick duvet. I checked my neck—no stiffness. I scrambled out of bed and rushed int







