Between The Predators

The shadows didn’t just move, they swallowed the light whole.

The room got freezing cold in seconds. Jay’s breath came out in white clouds. Frost crawled across the window like someone was drawing it with icy fingers.

Kael’s sword hissed out of its sheath. “Show yourself.”

“I am showing myself, General,” the voice answered, deep and cold like winter wind. “This is all your weak mortal eyes can take without burning.”

The darkness gathered and took shape. Taller than Kael. Wider. A figure made of pure shadow that hurt to look at directly. Two glowing crimson eyes burned where a face should be.

Jay felt his pocket turn ice-cold. The crystal.

The Shadow King.

“Step away from him,” Kael ordered, moving between Jay and the shadow. Protective. Possessive.

Shit. Alpha bullshit already. This is about to get ugly.

“Possessive already?” The Shadow King sounded amused. “You’ve known him for what… twenty minutes? I’ve been watching him for days.”

Jay’s old CEO instincts kicked in hard. Two powerful Alphas in one room, both acting like they had a claim on him. He refused to be the prize they fought over.

“Both of you,” Jay said, stepping around Kael despite the low warning growl he got, “need to back the fuck off.”

Neither of them moved.

“This Omega is under my protection,” Kael said, sword still raised, eyes locked on the shadow.

My protection. My Omega. Jay’s jaw tightened.

“I’m not yours,” Jay cut in, voice sharp and steady—the same tone he used to shut down arrogant executives in boardrooms. “I’m not anyone’s. So either treat me like a person or get the hell out of my room.”

Silence.

Kael lowered his sword a little. “Jay—”

“Prince Jayvyn,” Jay corrected coldly. “We’re not close enough for nicknames, General.”

The Shadow King flowed closer, shadows sliding across the floor like liquid night. “Finally. An Omega with a backbone. Do you know how rare that is, little prince?”

“Don’t call me that,” Jay said, holding his ground even though every instinct screamed at him to run. “You want my attention? Earn it. Start with your name.”

The crimson eyes narrowed, then the voice came, smooth and dark. “Nyx. Nyx Valdris. Most people call me the Shadow King.”

“Nyx,” Jay repeated, testing the name. “Better. So tell me, Nyx—what do you want?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Nyx stopped just an arm’s length away. The cold coming off him was unnatural. “I want you.”

Straight to the point. No games. Jay liked that.

“Why me?” he asked. “You’ve rejected every Omega sent to you for three hundred years. What makes me different?”

“You ask the right questions,” Nyx said, sounding pleased. “Most Omegas just cry and submit. You negotiate. You fight. I like that.”

“I’ll ask again,” Jay pressed. “What exactly do you want from me?”

“I want to see what you become,” Nyx murmured, his shadowy hand hovering near Jay’s face without touching, “when no one is breaking you. When you’re given power instead of chains. When you choose strength over safety.”

That… wasn’t what Jay expected.

Kael’s voice was hard. “If he doesn’t bond with someone by the Mate Selection, the King will have him married off or killed quietly. Those are his only options.”

“He’s right,” Nyx agreed. “Your father sees you as a problem. Without an Alpha’s claim, you’re worthless to him.”

Jay’s hands curled into fists. Same old story. Different world.

“So my choices are: bond with Kael, bond with you, or die,” Jay said flatly. “Great options.”

“There’s a fourth choice,” Nyx said quietly.

Both of them looked at him.

“Bond with both of us.”

Kael snarled. “Alphas don’t share.”

Nyx’s voice dripped with amusement. “Prince Jayvyn isn’t ordinary. And I don’t follow mortal rules.” His burning eyes stayed on Jay. “Two Alpha bonds. Double the power. Double the protection. You’d never have to choose between strength and safety. You could have both.”

Jay’s mind went blank for a second.

[Hidden Quest Updated: The Shadow King’s Game]

[New Option Unlocked: Dual Bond]

[Warning: Unprecedented. No success rate available.]

“Absolutely not,” Kael growled.

Jay raised a hand. “Relax. I haven’t agreed to bond with either of you yet.”

He looked between the two Alphas, heart pounding but voice steady. “The Mate Selection is in two days. Kael, you chose me publicly—that buys me time. But I’m not bonding with anyone until I’m ready. In the meantime, both of you are going to help me get stronger.”

He turned to Nyx. “You want to see what I become? Then give me training, resources, and protection while I’m vulnerable. That’s your part.”

Nyx’s smile was sharp and delighted. “Clever boy.”

Then to Kael: “You want an Omega who won’t submit? Fine. Train with me. Push me. But don’t expect me to fall at your feet just because you picked me at some ceremony.”

Kael studied him for a long moment, then slowly sheathed his sword. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Prince Jayvyn.”

“I’ve been playing dangerous games since I woke up in this body,” Jay replied. “At least now I’m playing to win.”

After Kael left with one last warning look, Jay turned to Nyx.

“You said you’d help me. So help me open my second meridian. Right now.”

Nyx went still. “That’s reckless. You almost died opening the first one.”

“Or it could make me strong enough that no one can force me into anything,” Jay said, meeting those crimson eyes. “You wanted to see what I become. Help me become it.”

Nyx laughed, low and hungry. “Oh, little prince… you’re going to be magnificent.”

The shadows rushed forward and wrapped around Jay.

“Sit,” Nyx commanded, voice coming from everywhere at once.

Jay sat on the cold marble floor and closed his eyes, focusing on the qi inside him.

Nyx’s power slammed into him like a freezing tidal wave.

Cold. Dark. Overwhelming.

It didn’t force the meridian open—it guided Jay’s own energy, pushing it through channels that burned and resisted. The pain was instant and brutal.

Jay gasped, body jerking hard.

“Fuck—” he bit out, teeth clenched.

The cold sank deeper, spreading through his chest, his stomach, his groin. Nyx’s energy felt alive, stroking along his meridians like icy fingers tracing every sensitive nerve.

Jay’s cock twitched and started to harden against his will as the power flooded lower, teasing and burning at the same time.

The second meridian fought back, but Nyx poured more power in—relentless, intimate, invasive.

Jay cried out as the channel tore open. Pain and pleasure crashed into each other. His back arched violently off the floor, hips bucking as dark energy surged straight through his core, stroking his cock from the inside like a lover’s hand made of ice and shadow.

“Oh shit—ahh!” Jay moaned, shameless and broken. His dick was fully hard now, throbbing painfully against his clothes, leaking as the energy fucked through his body in waves.

Nyx’s voice whispered right against his ear even though the Shadow King hadn’t moved. “That’s it… let it rip you open. Feel me inside you.”

Jay came with a strangled shout, cum spilling hot and sudden into his pants as the meridian finally shattered open. Qi exploded through him in violent, ecstatic pulses.

He collapsed forward, gasping, shaking, cum still dripping from his spent cock while blood trickled from his nose.

[Breakthrough Complete]

[Second Meridian: Opened]

[Cultivation Rank: Body Refinement - Second Layer]

[Warning: Shadow King energy detected in meridian structure]

[Warning: Partial Alpha bond formed]

Jay’s eyes flew open.

He could feel Nyx now. Not just see him—a thin, dark thread connected them. A mark. A claim.

“You… marked me,” Jay rasped, voice hoarse from moaning.

“I gave you exactly what you asked for,” Nyx replied, crimson eyes glowing with satisfaction. “Power. And a taste of what a real bond with me would feel like.”

Jay should have been furious.

Instead, his mind was already spinning with possibilities. Two Alphas now competing over him. Two sources of power. Two very dangerous, very hungry men who both wanted to own him.

He pushed himself up on shaky legs, cum cooling in his ruined pants, body still buzzing from the forced pleasure.

“Deal’s still on,” Jay said, voice rough but eyes sharp. “Just know I’m using both of you.”

Nyx’s laugh was dark and delighted. “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

Jay smiled, small and dangerous.

“Let’s make this interesting.”