Scars of Silence(MxM)

The party was too loud.

Glasses clinked. People laughed. The air smelled like expensive perfume and money. I smiled until my cheeks hurt, my hand resting lightly on my fiancée’s arm.

Alessia was beautiful. Blonde, smiling, perfect in her white dress. Her father, Richard, had said this marriage would save our family’s company. I looked at her, trying to feel something. Anything. All I felt was tired.

“Darling, there’s someone you must meet.” Alessia tugged my sleeve. “My stepfather just arrived. He’s… well, you’ll see.”

I let her lead me through the crowd. The noise seemed to fade as we approached the tall doors to the main hall.

He stood near the fireplace.

For a second, my brain just stopped. He was… a lot. Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in a navy uniform covered in medals. His hair was dark, cut short. His face looked like it was carved from stone – sharp jaw, straight nose. He was talking to an older man, but his eyes…

His eyes were gray. Like a winter sky just before a storm.

He turned his head. Those gray eyes landed on me.

My breath caught. My heart did a weird, hard thump against my ribs. The room felt suddenly too warm, too close.

“Father!” Alessia let go of me and ran to him, hugging his arm.

A slight, barely-there smile touched his lips as he looked down at her. “Alessia. You look lovely.”

His voice. Low. Smooth. It wrapped around me like dark velvet.

He looked over her head, at me. The smile vanished. His gaze was heavy, serious, like he was measuring me. Judging me.

“This is Ethan,” Alessia said, pulling me forward. “My fiancé. Ethan, this is my stepfather, Admiral Lorenzo Rossi.”

I stuck out my hand, hoping it wasn’t sweaty. “Admiral. It’s an honor.”

He looked at my hand for a beat too long. Then he took it.

His hand was big, warm, rough with calluses. The moment our skin touched, a jolt of electricity shot up my arm, straight to my chest.

I gasped. My vision blurred for a second. A weird, hot-cold feeling rushed through my veins. It felt like… like waking up from a deep sleep. Like something inside me cracked open.

Lorenzo’s eyes widened. He snatched his hand back as if burned. His jaw tightened. He stared at me, his gray eyes now sharp and alert, scanning me from head to toe.

“What…” I breathed, feeling dizzy. The scent of the room changed. I could smell the flowers, the wine, the people… but over it all, a new scent. Clean, cold, like the ocean and pine trees after a snowfall. It was coming from him. It was everywhere. And I wanted to breathe it in forever.

“Ethan? Are you okay?” Alessia’s voice sounded far away.

“I…” My skin felt too tight. My head swam. “I’m… I need some air.”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I just turned and walked away, pushing through the crowd. I could feel his eyes on my back. That heavy, storm-gray stare. It felt like a physical touch.

I stumbled out onto a large balcony overlooking the city lights. The cool night air hit me, but it didn’t help. The weird feeling was still there, buzzing under my skin. I braced my hands on the stone railing, head down, trying to breathe.

What was that? Some kind of panic attack? I’d never felt anything like it.

Footsteps behind me. Slow, deliberate. I didn’t need to turn around. I already knew.

The scent of ocean and snow got stronger.

He stopped beside me, not too close, but close enough. I could feel the heat coming off him. My heart was pounding again.

“Your scent,” he said, his voice quiet but hard. “It’s wrong.”

I looked up at him. In the dim light, his face looked even more severe. “My… scent? What are you talking about?”

He took a small step closer. My whole body went tense. Every hair stood on end. It wasn’t fear. It was something else. Something wild and awake and screaming inside me.

“You’re not a Beta,” he said, his eyes locked on mine. “What are you?”