All Chapters of The Enemy Alpha's Beta | MM Romance | 18+ : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The Aston Martin rolled through a set of towering iron gates just past midnight, gravel crunching beneath its tires as it wound along a long, tree-lined driveway toward a mansion that looked like it belonged to old money rather than a disgraced architect scraping by on spite. Asher barely registered any of it, his fever-hazed mind drifting in and out of consciousness against the leather seat, but even in his half-delirious state, some distant part of him noted the size of the place — the sprawling stone facade, the dark figures stationed near the gates, silent and still as statues.Julian carried him inside without a word, moving through the grand foyer and up a curved staircase with practiced ease, as though he'd done this a hundred times before, though Asher was in no state to question it. He was laid down gently on a wide, soft bed in a spacious room that smelled faintly of cedarwood and old books, the sheets cool against his burning skin."Stay still," Julian murmured, disappearin

Across the courtyard, through the roaring chaos of his own name being chanted like a coronation, Killian's gaze remained fixed entirely on Asher.Slowly, Killian's lips curved into a deadly smile."Before we announce the final decision," the lead judge said, raising a hand to quiet the still-roaring crowd, "the panel will take a thirty-minute recess. Both designs will be placed on public display for the university community to view before our verdict is made official."A fresh wave of murmurs rippled through the courtyard, students exchanging confused glances at the unusual formality, though nobody dared question it aloud. Within minutes, the doors to the exhibition hall were thrown open, and the crowd surged inside in a restless, chattering tide, phones raised, voices buzzing with speculation.Killian's fortress stood exactly where it had been unveiled the night before — a towering, obsidian monument of steel and glass, cold and merciless in its grandeur, every angle engineered to ma

Three days after the Showcase, Asher's phone buzzed with a message from an unfamiliar number.Your mother has been transferred to Cross Regional Medical Center, Private Wing 4. Full coverage, effective immediately. — K.C.Asher stared at the screen for a long moment, relief and unease warring violently in his chest. It should have felt like victory. Instead, it felt like a leash being fastened quietly around his mother's hospital bed, one link at a time, disguised as generosity."He didn't just pay her bills," Asher said flatly, showing the message to Julian across the kitchen table of the mansion. "He moved her into his own family's hospital. Now she's inside his walls too."Julian's jaw tightened as he read it, his blue eyes darkening. "That's not generosity, kid. That's leverage with better sheets."Asher didn't have time to respond before his phone buzzed again—this time from Ethan.*He's here. On campus. Asking where you are

Asher set the phone down face-first on the cold mahogany table, as if not looking at the glowing screen could somehow magically undo the harsh words already burned deep into his memory. It didn't work. Funny how funding disappears when a firm's biggest partner makes a phone call. The mocking sentence kept circling back through his mind, sharper and more vicious every single time, like something small, jagged, and venomous caught between his ribs that refused to work itself loose no matter how many times he tried to draw a steady breath past it.Julian stood motionless by the floor-to-ceiling window with his hands buried deep in his pockets, staring blankly out into the dark, tangled garden, though Asher could easily tell that the older man's mind wasn't really on the view. The heavy silence stretched across the room for so long that Asher actually started counting the ticking seconds without even meaning to, slipping right back into the childho

The sterile smell of antiseptic and old paper hit Asher the moment the automated doors slid shut behind him, wrapping around him like a familiar, suffocating shroud. The hospital corridor was quiet save for the distant squeak of rubber-soled shoes and the low hum of fluorescent lights. His hands were buried deep in his jacket pockets, fingers clenched into tight fists as he walked toward Room 412, every step heavier than the last.He hadn't slept properly in days. The confrontation with Julian, the terrifying revelation about the suppressants, and the crushing weight of Killian Cross's silent war against his future had left him hollowed out. But none of that compared to the cold knot of dread twisting in his stomach now.Before he reached his mother’s door, Dr. Vance stepped out of the adjacent chart room. His grim expression made Asher’s breath catch."Asher," Dr. Vance said, stopping a few feet away. "I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk about your mother’s condition."Asher felt t