"You're early—I thought you'd come later," Valentina said, surprised.
"Have you considered locking the door? Something could happen," Lucas replied, turning the key.
"Ha, ha, ha—what do you mean? I live in the countryside, who would attack me?" Valentina stared at him.
In the city, leaving the door unlocked was almost inconceivable; paranoia had become routine. But in the countryside, life was different. Almost everyone knew each other, and the idea of being attacked still seemed exaggerated—though many were starting to say times were changing.
As night approached, their comfort with each other grew more palpable. It had been weeks since they cooked and watched movies together.
Although an easy normalcy had returned, they still hadn't addressed the unspoken reason for their meeting.
At some point, Valentina paused, looked at Lucas lying on the couch, took a breath, and began. She poured out everything that had troubled her: her daily worries, and what was happening in her heart and mind.
Each confession made her feel more guilty—admitting her attraction to Bastian, that they hadn't been intimate because she didn't think it was right, that she doubted whether her behavior was appropriate given her age, and that she wasn't used to becoming physical so quickly due to her last relationships.
Her hesitation with Bastian after a couple of dates was due to her own fears, but also from getting to know him deeply. She knew she fell in love extremely fast, and that would only bring consequences.
When the night arrived, and she had almost nothing left to say, she sat on the floor in front of Lucas and, looking at him with uncertainty, said:
"I shouldn't be here. We had agreed I'd visit this weekend, but something happened and, just before heading to the train station, he canceled on me. Do you think he's seeing someone else?"
Without skipping a beat, Lucas answered his best friend's doubt with irony:
"Do you think he's upset because you haven't given him your *mumu yet?" Lucas said with a big fake smile, baring his teeth.
Lucas joked, but then grew serious. They both knew that if Bastian's reason was that, he wasn't worth it.
"I don't know, but this is bothering me. Maybe I should push a bit more, right?" she said, rubbing her arms.
"Valentina, regardless, it's been a year since you've had sex. You can't survive on your fingers forever," Lucas reproached her.
Her best friend was right. Reproaching her again, he made her think: though she could satisfy herself a bit, she needed to try other methods for health reasons. Not mere vanity—her body made itself known every month.
The consequences for a beta not passing heat weren't the same as for an omega or alpha. They were less severe, but time still took its toll.
That was why she set a goal: to do it with Bastian. Otherwise, she'd need to find something else to satisfy herself or suffer worsening migraines and other symptoms.
"Alright, alright. I'll text him to see how he's doing. By the way, tell me—what happened with Andrea?"
"Uff, okay. I'll start," Lucas said, staring at the ceiling.
"WAIT, WAIT! You think I forgot? Okay, repeat that bit about Raffael…" Valentina said, narrowing her eyes.
"SHIT, SLOW DOWN! Let's go step by step…" Lucas said, sighing.
Calm as he seemed, Lucas was often very much like Valentina—explosive, as well as critical and mocking of their lives.
He recounted in detail how they'd handled the situation so far, and his suspicions that Andrea had a jealousy attack. But somehow, as he got deeper into his thoughts, he felt he couldn't tell her everything.
The Lucas Valentina knew wasn't patient with complicated people—especially after what happened with his ex.
For several seconds he stared at the floor, clenched his fists, sighed, and realized he felt embarrassed and distrustful—that his best friend might mock his behavior with Andrea, that he wasn't as strong as he appeared.
But Valentina knew him well. She got up from the floor and moved closer to him. As a beta, she noticed Lucas's breathing had changed—slower, deeper—and that he was avoiding her gaze.
"Lucas, if you don't want to tell me, I understand and respect that—but don't lie or change the subject for no reason," Valentina said, taking his hands.
"Am I that obvious? Damn beta," Lucas said, teary-eyed.
He took another breath and hugged Valentina in the corner of the couch. He couldn't hold back anymore. He asked her not to look at him, but also not to judge him—because he didn't understand himself either.
Not only that, but he made a joke, saying he was getting old and therefore softer, or that Andrea was so beautiful, and he missed the signs—but most of all, that he missed being with someone.
Valentina never even thought to judge him because she'd noticed that he wasn't the only one who was different or changed. But she agreed that age sometimes made them more naive.
"I think they've cursed us, hahaha," Valentina said, squeezing Lucas's cheeks.
"Do you think so?" he said, surprised.
"It's a joke, idiot. Witchcraft doesn't exist. Well, I don't believe—I mean, at least not me," she said seriously.
"I know, stupid. Let me joke, at least," Lucas said, getting serious again.
When their laughter subsided, Lucas returned to the main topic: his doubts about Andrea's behavior, and whether it stemmed from jealousy or something else. But he emphasized that if Raffael hadn't intervened, he wouldn't have noticed.
For a moment, Lucas fell silent and began thinking about the things that had happened recently. He even thought he should thank Raffael for the heads-up, but then remembered it came as an apology from the alpha.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he told Valentina how he'd reconnected with Raffael, and about the last "accident they had."
Valentina felt uncomfortable—not because something might happen, but because even after working with him for years, she didn't really know him. She only knew the rumors.
"Stay away from those people as much as possible. You know we're just ants to them," Valentina said worriedly.
She wasn't sure whether Raffael was a bad person—she only had gossip about his flings and his inseparable bond with Erick.
She noted that they truly were from different worlds. The difference between being an alpha—who already had weight in society—and being the "alpha" was worlds apart.
Though she didn't deeply understand the other castes, at 32 she'd witnessed enough exceptions. Something told her Raffael's circle were not easy people—and that it wouldn't be hard for them to crush many ants with a single step.
They decided to change the subject abruptly since it was late. The hours flew by, so they finally agreed to sleep.
"If you snore, I'll kick you," Lucas said with a fierce look.
"Don't mess with me, it's my house."
"I don't care."
As Lucas reached to switch off the bedside lamp, Valentina let out a scream: she'd forgotten to mention Lorenzo's party, coming in less than a month.
Lucas eyed her suspiciously and, before she even spoke, interrupted to refuse. Valentina hadn't asked yet, but he knew her perfectly and knew she'd drag him into something complicated.
"You tell me to be careful, then you want me to walk into the wolf's den, you crazy cat," Lucas said, scolding her.
"It's work, it's money…" she pouted.
Lucas could never say no to Valentina—or at least not when it came to having her back. He knew she'd do the same for him, but his initial refusal was because he had no intention of getting into more drama—and even less of seeing that kind of people again.
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Glossary:mumu: colloquial term for vulva in their country.