Back To Normal

I let out an exhausted sigh, the anger suddenly draining out of me. I walked over to the bed, practically collapsing onto the mattress beside him.

I stared up at the canopy, my mind flashing back to the cold cave, the gold shimmer of the venom, and the absolute chaos that had followed.

"It was a complete disaster," I muttered.

"Obviously. The whole palace is talking about how the King almost took your head off," Oliver said, turning his head to look at me, his eyes full of genuine curiosity. "But what actually happened? They're saying the General almost died."

I hesitated. I shouldn't tell him. It was a state secret, a blow to my pride, and highly classified. But Oliver was my best friend, the only person in this goddamn palace who didn't look at me with pity or disgust.

And honestly, if I didn't get this off my chest, my brain was going to short-circuit.

"He was poisoned," I said softly. "The rats injected him with a gold, shimmering venom. It induced an artificial rut."

Oliver's eyes widened, but he kept quiet, letting me speak.

I swallowed hard, my voice dropping to a whisper as I laid out the details. I told him how the comms were down, how the doctor said the venom would attack his brain if it wasn't expelled, and how there was no Omega in sight.

I didn't hold back the details. I told him about the overwhelming heat, the size of Evander's cock, the way my body had completely betrayed my Alpha instincts, and how the brute had knotted me until I passed out.

By the time I finished, the room was dead silent.

I turned my head to look at Oliver.

He was sitting bolt upright now, his mouth hanging open so wide I thought his jaw might drop right off his face. His eyes were the size of dinner plates, completely frozen in absolute shock.

For a second, I thought he was going to throw up or call me a freak.

A massive, brilliant grin slowly stretched across his face, and he let out a high-pitched, deafening squeal that probably rattled the window panes.

"Shut up!" I hissed, lunging forward to slap a hand over his mouth.

Oliver’s muffled giggles pressed against my palm. I glared at him until he tapped my wrist in surrender. I pulled my hand back, wiping the slight trace of drool on my trousers.

"Theodore Eamon!" Oliver whispered-shrieked, leaning in so close his curls brushed my forehead. "You took a knot? From the General? The big, scary, 'I-have-no-emotions' Evander Valerius?"

"It was a medical emergency!" I snapped, my cheeks burning with a heat that had nothing to do with the club's pheromones.

"I saved his life. The kingdom’s golden boy would be brain-dead if I hadn't stepped up."

"Oh, you stepped up alright," Oliver teased, his eyes sparkling with pure mischief. "And based on what you just told me, you didn't just step up—you got bent over. An Alpha prince getting knotted by an Alpha general. If your father found out, he’d have a stroke."

"He already wants to kill me," I muttered, rolling back onto my pillow and staring at the ceiling. The sting of my father's slaps from earlier still felt fresh. "And don't say it like that. I didn't enjoy it. My body just... reacted weirdly to the venom pheromones."

"Right, sure. That's why you were grinding against your pillow when you woke up," Oliver said, poking my ribs.

"Shut the fuck up, Ollie!"

Oliver laughed, but then his expression softened, his gaze turning analytical as he looked at me. "But seriously, Theo. You said you went to the Cupid Den to find an Omega to fix yourself?"

"Yeah," I sighed, my voice suddenly heavy. "And nothing happened. The Omega was perfect, vanilla scent, totally willing. But I was completely cold. My body wouldn't even register him."

Oliver went quiet, his playful demeanor vanishing. He sat cross-legged on the mattress, chewing on his bottom lip. "An Alpha's body doesn't just reject Omegas, Theo. Not unless... oh. Oh, no."

I sat up, my brow furrowing. "What?"

"Theo," Oliver said, his voice dropping to a cautious whisper. "Do you think... Do you think he imprinted on you? Or worse, did you imprint on him?”

“Of course not!” I snapped. “I'm an alpha, he couldn't have imprinted on me. It's not possible Oliver.”

Oliver nodded like of course, it was impossible. Alpha's only imprinted on omega's.

“So what are you going to do? You can just think it's going to go away when you can barely get hard for an Omega.”

I glared at him. “What? It's a sensible question.”

I sighed. “I don't know, I'm just going to hold on and see where it goes. It's probably just my hormones acting up from being on the vulnerable side. Within a few days everything should go back to normal.”

Oliver did not look convinced.