Chapter 4

Kael Voss  Pov 

The medical alert blared through the estate like a warning siren. Elias’s heat had spiked hard and fast. Too early. My body reacted before my mind fully caught up. I was already out of my chair and moving down the hallway, boots hitting the floor hard.

Riven tried to keep up. “Boss, the medical team is on the way. His levels look bad.”

I didn’t slow down. The new blood bond pulled at me, sharp with pain and fear. It dragged me straight to his suite. I shoved the door open.

The scent hit me first — heavy and sweet, mixed with desperation and fear. Elias was collapsed half on the bed, half on the floor. His silver hair stuck to his sweaty face. His body jerked with another cramp and he made a broken sound that twisted something in my chest.

I dropped to my knees beside him and pressed the back of my hand to his forehead. Burning hot. His eyes fluttered open, glassy and unfocused.

“Easy,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I’m here.”

He flinched hard at my touch and raised his arms weakly, trying to protect his head. “Please… don’t tie them again. I’ll be good. I swear I’ll be good this time.”

Those words stopped me cold.

Through the bond, flashes of his past hit me. Cold metal restraints. His own family’s lab room. Needles forcing heats again and again. A younger Elias curled up, whispering the same thing while they laughed and called him livestock.

My jaw clenched. I had seen the scars, but feeling it raw like this made my stomach turn. His family had used him like a tool. I wasn’t going to be the same.

The medical team rushed in with scanners and sedatives.

“Alpha, his levels are critical,” one said quickly. “Sedation might be the only way to slow this before it causes real damage.”

“No,” I snapped. “Sedation during a forced heat can ruin his fertility. You know that.”

“But sir—”

“I said no.” I lifted Elias onto the bed, ignoring his weak struggles. His body pressed against mine right away, seeking my scent. Slick had soaked through his clothes. My own rut stirred hard, my knot aching with the need to claim and fix everything.

I pushed it down. Taking him now, while he was this broken, would make him hate me. I needed him as more than just a body for an heir.

“Everyone out,” I ordered. “I’m staying. Pheromones only. Get the suppressants ready for morning if he stabilizes.”

Riven lingered at the door. “You sure? Your rut could trigger hard from this.”

“Out.”

They left. The door clicked shut.

Elias whimpered against my chest, fingers twisting in my shirt. “Hurts… everything hurts so much.”

I shifted us both fully onto the bed, back against the headboard, and pulled him between my legs so his back rested against my front. I kept all my clothes on. No skin except my hands on his arms. I let my scent roll out stronger — pine, smoke, and steady control — wrapping around him.

“Breathe with me,” I murmured near his ear. “Slow. That’s it. Good.”

His body trembled but started to relax a little. The worst cramps eased as my pheromones cut through the fever. He pressed closer, face buried in my neck like he couldn’t help it.

I stayed there holding him, one hand rubbing slow circles on his arm. The bond hummed between us. I could feel pieces of his fear and exhaustion. This Omega was getting under my skin. Not because he was weak, but because something in me wanted to protect him instead of just use him. That feeling had no place in my world, especially with Draven already circling.

Elias shifted again, a small sound escaping as another wave hit. His hand gripped my shirt tighter. “Don’t leave,” he whispered, voice rough. “Your scent… it makes it stop hurting so bad.”

I tightened my arms around him. “I’m not leaving tonight.”

The words came out before I could stop them. I wasn’t sure if I said them for him or myself. Holding him like this, feeling how his body fit against mine, made the rut pull harder. But I kept control. Barely.

This wasn’t just about the contract anymore. The bond had made it personal. And with Draven out there waiting for any opening, I couldn’t afford mistakes.

I pressed my lips lightly to the top of his damp hair and stayed there, holding him through the night as the heat continued to burn. Tomorrow would bring new problems. But for now, I wasn’t letting him face this alone.