Aiden hadn't been back for three days.
Three whole days of hiding like some terrified pup—ducking into abandoned cabins, sleeping in trees, running from shadows because any shift of wind might've carried his scent.
He hated it.Hated feeling cornered.Hated that it was Theron he was running from.
"Can't continue being a coward… right?" he muttered to himself, rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes.
Today, finally, he forced himself back through the border of the pack territory. The familiar calming scent of home washed over him—fresh pine, warm earth, the faint burn of smoke from the kitchens. His muscles loosened instantly, and his wolf lowered its guard as if sighing in relief.
Warm footsteps thundered toward him.
"Aiden!"Ronan appeared, ears perked high on his head and his fluffy dark-brown tail wagging in agitation. His wolf was practically vibrating. "There you are—where's Theron? Wasn't he with you?"
Aiden froze.
"What?" His own wolf ears popped out, betraying his tension. "He hasn't come back? …I—I thought—"
"I thought he followed you," Ronan said, voice tightening. "He's not in the territory. No one's scented him for days."
Aiden's stomach twisted.
If Theron hadn't returned…
If he'd stayed in rut…
"Oh, fuck."
He spun on his heel, sprinting toward the border so fast Ronan shouted after him. His wolf senses opened wide, picking up something—dark, stormy, unbalanced—faint but familiar.
Theron.
He tracked it all the way to the human world.Into a city.Through neon lights and dirty streets.Until the scent stopped at a bar.
Aiden shoved the door open.
The smell hit him instantly—alcohol, sweat, smoke—and under all that, thick and simmering like barely cooled lava:
Alpha rut.
Theron sat alone at the end of the bar, slumped over a half-empty bottle. His usually immaculate hair was a mess, shirt half-unbuttoned, throat streaked with red where he'd clawed at himself.
His scent was all wrong—feral at the edges, desperate, hurting.
Aiden walked straight to him.
"Theron."
The alpha lifted his gaze sluggishly.
Even half-drunk, his eyes locked onto Aiden like prey.Or salvation.
"Aiden," he rasped. His voice was wrecked, low, vibrating with something primal. "Why are you here?"
Aiden swallowed hard."Why are you here? Why aren't you with the pack?"
Theron huffed something like a laugh and lifted the bottle again.
"The alcohol," he muttered against the rim, "keeps me from thinking about marking you."He drank."Keeps me from claiming you."
Aiden's heart stopped.
"You're still in rut?" he whispered.
Theron's eyes flickered—dark gold, burning and foggy all at once.
"You ran," he said simply. "If I'd stayed near you, I would've put my teeth in your neck."His fingers trembled on the bottle."I still want to."
Aiden's breath hitched.Not in fear.In something dangerously close to heat.
He stepped closer.
Theron's eyes widened just slightly—his wolf pushing forward, hopeful, hungry, aching.
"Aiden," he growled softly, warningly. "Don't… don't come any closer. I can barely control myself as it is."
Aiden ignored that.
His voice dropped, steady and sharp like a blade.
"Get up, Theron."
The alpha didn't move.
Aiden leaned closer, grabbing his collar and pulling him forward until their foreheads nearly touched.
"You're the damn Alpha King," he growled quietly. "But you're hiding in a bar because of me?"
Theron's breath hitched.
Aiden's voice softened, but only barely.
"Let's go. I'm taking you home."
Theron swallowed, throat working visibly."You shouldn't be near me," he whispered. "I won't be able to resist you."
Aiden's eyes flashed.
"Then try."
Theron inhaled sharply—Aiden's scent hitting him like fire.
And the rut surged.
Hard.
His grip on the bar tightened enough to crack wood, his wolf rising, pupils blown wide as he fought the instinct to drag Aiden against him.
"Aiden," he groaned, shaking, "if you don't leave now—"
Aiden grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look up.
"I didn't come here to run again."
Theron shuddered.
He was losing control.
And Aiden—finally, finally—saw it for what it was:
Not dominance.Not danger.Not some alpha threat he had to fear... Just a man breaking under the weight of wanting him.
Aiden's voice dropped to a whisper, "Let's go home, Theron."
The alpha exhaled shakily "…Okay."
Aiden hooked his hand around Theron's wrist—not gently, but not painfully either—and tugged him off the barstool. Theron's balance swayed, his heat-heavy scent spilling into the air as he steadied himself with a low growl.
Aiden snorted."Come on, big guy. Move."
They'd barely taken two steps when a sharp click of heels approached.
"Um—excuse me?"
Aiden stiffened immediately.
A woman stood in their path—tall, glossy hair, lipstick too red, perfume too sweet. She fluttered her lashes at Theron with the confidence of someone used to getting exactly what she wanted.
"I couldn't help noticing you were alone earlier," she said, her hand drifting toward Theron's arm. "If you're heading out, maybe I could—"
Aiden stepped between them so fast she blinked.
His wolf ears threatened to popped out—traitors— Aiden think while forcing his wolf side down.
"No," he snapped.
The woman blinked, eyes darting between them. "I wasn't talking to—"
"You are now," Aiden growled, voice dropping several degrees. "He's not interested."
She raised a brow. "He can't speak for himself?"
Theron opened his mouth—
—and Aiden slapped a hand over it without thinking.
Theron went still.The entire bar went silent.
Aiden's heart hammered.
Why did he care?Why did seeing someone touch Theron make something in his chest burn?
The woman folded her arms. "Wow. Possessive much?"
Aiden felt heat crawl up his neck—anger, embarrassment, something else he refused to name.
"You don't want him," he said, jaw tight. "Trust me."
"Oh really? And why's that?"
Aiden's eyes flicked back to Theron.
He didn't know why.He didn't have the words.He just knew the idea of her touching Theron made him want to snarl.
"Because he's—" Aiden hesitated, looked at Theron's glassy rut-stricken eyes, then blurted:"He's sick."
Theron made an offended sound behind Aiden's hand.
Aiden smacked his chest lightly. "You are."
The woman wrinkled her nose. "Oh. Ew. Okay, then."
And with that, she walked away.
Aiden exhaled sharply, adrenaline slowly dropping.
Theron lifted a brow as Aiden removed his hand."You think I'm sick?" he asked hoarsely.
"I panicked," Aiden muttered, ears flattening. "Shut up."
Theron's lips twitched into the faintest, exhausted smile.
"You were jealous," he murmured, voice rumbling low.
Aiden froze."I was not."
Theron leaned a little closer, breathing in Aiden's scent like it grounded him.
"Yes," he whispered, "you were."
Aiden's heart stumbled.
He grabbed Theron's sleeve and tugged him toward the door before the alpha could say anything else.
"Let's go home," he muttered.
Behind him, Theron followed willingly—rut-lost, unsteady, and wearing a soft, knowing smile Aiden didn't see.
Aiden wrestled Theron into the passenger seat and slammed the door before the alpha could slump out again. Theron's breathing was heavy, uneven, his pupils blown wide. The dim streetlight outside cut a gold edge along his jaw, highlighting the faint tremors running through him.
Aiden slid into the driver's seat.
He'd barely clicked his seatbelt when a hot hand curled around his thigh.
"Theron—!"
Theron inhaled sharply, pressing his nose to Aiden's hip, voice rough and too close,"Aiden… your scent…"
Aiden's heart leapt straight into his throat.
"Stop."No change.
The alpha dragged in another breath, low and desperate.
Aiden's ears snapped flat.Not because he was scared—but because Theron was about to lose it.
"Theron," Aiden snapped, voice dropping sharp and commanding, "sit. Back. Now."
The command hit like a physical force.Theron froze.
A growl rippled under his breath—pained, resisting—but he pulled back, spine pressed to the seat, fists gripping the fabric instead of Aiden.
Aiden exhaled shakily."Good. Stay like that."
His fingers curled around the wheel so tightly it creaked.
The entire drive home was a battle—Theron trembling, scent flooding the enclosed space, head falling back with ragged breaths. Twice he lurched forward again, and both times—
"Theron. Down."
The alpha shuddered and obeyed.
Aiden didn't breathe properly until the pack lands came into view.
Aiden parked and rushed around the car to yank Theron to his feet before the alpha collapsed into him.
"Come on," Aiden muttered, hauling one of the strongest wolves in existence like a sack of stubborn potatoes. "You're ridiculous."
Theron's nose pressed into Aiden's neck again.
"Aidennn… your scent helps…"
"It also makes things worse, apparently," Aiden grumbled.
They stumbled toward the den, Aiden's arm locked tightly around Theron's waist. Wolves who caught their scent trail respectfully stepped aside, realizing instantly what state the alpha king was in.
Ronan approached first, eyes widening.
"Whoa—he's still in rut? That strong?"
Aiden dragged Theron past him."You have no idea."
They made it to the den door. Aiden pushed it open and guided Theron inside.
Theron swayed, reaching blindly for Aiden again—but this time Aiden pushed him gently down onto the furs.
"Stay," he whispered.
For once, Theron stayed.
Later, after soaking his clothes in cold water to get the bar smell off him, Aiden stepped outside for air.
Ronan was leaning against a tree, tail wagging lazily."So…" he began, a smirk already forming. "I heard something funny."
Aiden groaned. "What."
"Someone said he saw you at a bar—growling at a human woman because she talked to Theron."
Aiden's ears shot up, then pinned back so hard it almost hurt."I wasn't growling. And I wasn't jealous."
Ronan's grin widened."That's exactly what a jealous wolf says."
Aiden bristled."I wasn't jealous! I—I was protecting him. He was drunk. And stupid. And… rutty."
"Mhm."
"I mean it!"
Ronan shrugged. "Sure. You were totally calm. No possessiveness at all."
Aiden's face heated."My wolf just—reacted. Instinctively. That's normal."
Ronan raised an eyebrow."For an omega?"
Aiden hissed."I'm. Not. Omega."
"Right. You just happened to shove a woman five feet back with your voice alone." Ronan winked. "But yeah. No jealousy."
Aiden groaned loudly and shoved Ronan's shoulder."Shut up."
When Aiden finally returned inside, the den was dim and quiet.
Theron lay on the furs, eyes half-open, watching Aiden with a dazed but focused intensity—like Aiden was the only thing holding him together.
His voice was low, rough.
"You came back."
Aiden's throat tightened for reasons he refused to look at.
"…Yeah. Someone has to keep you alive."
Theron's lips twitched, softening.
Aiden sat down beside him, pretending it was purely out of duty, not relief.
But his wolf…his wolf curled right next to the alpha's warmth without hesitation.