Aiden didn't stay.
Not physically, at least.
He slipped past Theron the moment the alpha's hand dropped from the wall. He didn't shove, didn't snap, didn't storm out like he usually did—he just slid sideways, heart pounding so hard it hurt, and walked out with the stiff, uneven gait of someone doing everything not to run.
Theron didn't follow.
That somehow made it worse.
Aiden made it halfway down the hall before he had to stop. He pressed his palms to his knees, bent forward, breath shaking.
His wolf was in chaos.Not angry.Not afraid.
Just confused.Too warm.Too hopeful.
"Stay," Aiden whispered under his breath, mocking the word, mocking himself. "Like that's something I can just—just do."
His wolf growled at him.Not in defiance, but in frustration.
"You shut up," Aiden muttered.
He straightened, wiping the heat from his cheeks. He wasn't blushing. He refused to be blushing. He started walking again, heading for the training grounds. Training always helped. Punching things helped. Sweat helped. Bruises helped.
Feelings did not.
He pushed open the door—then froze.
Theron was already there.
Aiden blinked. "Did you—did you run?"
Theron stood in the center of the room, tense, shoulders rigid, as if he'd been pacing. But what startled Aiden more than that was the look in his eyes.
Not anger.Not dominance.Not even frustration.
Concern.
"Aiden," Theron said quietly. "We aren't done."
Aiden grabbed the nearest dumbbell as if it was a weapon. "Yes, we are."
"We're not." Theron's voice kept that quiet, focused edge that made Aiden's chest tight.
Aiden lifted the weight just to have something to do with his hands. "What do you want now?"
Theron didn't move. "I want you to answer me."
Aiden glared. "About what?"
"Why," Theron said, "you think you can't stay."
Aiden's hands tightened on the metal handle.
Theron took one slow step forward.Then another.
Aiden didn't back away.But he didn't lift his eyes either.
Theron stopped in front of him, close enough that Aiden felt heat radiating off his skin.
"Aiden," he said softly, "did I push you too far?"
Aiden snapped his head up, anger flaring. "That's not the problem!"
"Then what is?"
"You!" Aiden nearly shouted.
Theron didn't react with dominance. He didn't bare his teeth or growl. He just watched him—quiet, open, waiting.
That only made Aiden angrier.
"You don't get it," Aiden said through clenched teeth. "You're… you. You're the alpha king. You're powerful and strong and steady and—" Aiden swallowed hard, jaw tightening. "And I don't know how to stand next to that without feeling like I'm burning alive."
Theron's gaze softened, a flicker of something heavy and warm passing through.
"You think I don't struggle with you too?" Theron asked.
Aiden froze.
Theron stepped closer—one measured step that made the air tighten around them.
"You think it's easy for me," Theron continued, "to hold myself back? To see you every day and feel my wolf push at me? To smell your fear, your anger, your… everything… and not react?"
Aiden's heart raced, loud enough that he swore Theron could hear it.
Theron's voice lowered. "You think you're the only one fighting something?"
Aiden swallowed. "I'm not—fighting anything."
Theron raised one brow. "Aiden."
Aiden looked away. "I'm not."
"Then look at me."
Aiden's breath stuttered.
Because that was the one thing he couldn't do.
Theron stepped closer—slow, careful—and lifted a hand. Aiden flinched—not in fear, but in something too raw, too unguarded.
Theron froze immediately, hand still in the air.Not touching.Just waiting.
"Aiden," he said, voice almost a whisper. "Let me in."
Aiden shook his head. "I can't."
"Why?"
"Because—" Aiden's voice cracked. He backed up until his shoulders hit the wall. "Because I don't know what happens after that."
Theron lowered his hand, but didn't step back.
"Then we find out," he said softly.
Aiden's chest tightened painfully. "Theron…"
"Aiden," Theron replied, "you don't have to run. Not from me."
Silence stretched between them—thick with everything neither dared say.
Aiden finally whispered, "I don't know how to stay."
Theron's expression softened into something devastatingly gentle.
"Then let me teach you."
Aiden's breath caught.
His wolf melted.
And for the first time, Aiden didn't bolt. He didn't lash out. He didn't lie.
He just whispered:
"…okay."
Aiden didn't know how long they stood like that—Theron close enough to touch, close enough to breathe him in, close enough that the air felt thick and heavy with everything between them.
He hadn't run.He hadn't looked away.
That alone felt dangerous.
Theron watched him with those amber eyes that always seemed to see too much. Not just the anger or the fear or the defensive snarling—he looked past all of it, straight into the parts Aiden kept locked down.
"Aiden," Theron murmured again, quieter this time, "look at me."
Aiden's breath trembled.
He lifted his eyes.
Slowly.Reluctantly.Like it cost him something.
And when their gazes met—Theron exhaled as if he'd been holding his breath for years.
Aiden felt it too.Something unclench inside him.Something warm and terrifying slide up his spine.
Theron didn't touch him—not at first.He just stepped close enough that Aiden's back pressed fully against the wall, close enough that their chests almost brushed with each breath.
"Aiden," he whispered, voice barely a breath, "tell me to stop."
Aiden tried.
He really did.
His mouth opened——but nothing came out.
Theron's hand lifted, slow and gentle, fingertips brushing Aiden's cheek like he expected Aiden to break at the slightest pressure.
Aiden leaned into the touch.
Barely.Instinctively.But he did.
Theron froze, eyes darkening, breath catching.
"Aiden," he whispered, reverent, "don't do that unless you mean it."
"I don't…" Aiden swallowed hard. "I don't know what I mean."
Theron's thumb grazed Aiden's cheekbone, trailing to the corner of his mouth.
Aiden's lips parted.Just a little.Just enough.
"Aiden," Theron said again, voice rough now, "tell me to stop."
Aiden whispered:
"…I can't."
That was all it took.
Theron moved——but not with hunger.Not with dominance.
With careful, aching slowness.
He leaned in, his forehead touching Aiden's, noses brushing, breaths mingling. Aiden felt Theron's lips ghost over his—barely there, a whisper of warmth that sent shivers racing through his whole body.
His wolf whimpered inside him.Soft.Needy.Wanting.
Aiden's fingers curled into Theron's shirt.
That tiny movement broke whatever restraint Theron had left.
He kissed him.
Not crushing, not overwhelming—the opposite. A soft, devastating slide of lips against lips. A kiss that tasted like every moment they'd fought and survived and denied themselves.
Aiden inhaled sharply.
Theron's hand cupped the back of his neck, steadying him, holding him like something precious. Not fragile—precious.
Aiden's knees nearly buckled.
The kiss deepened slowly, as if Theron was savoring every second he'd been forced to wait. Aiden's fingers tightened in Theron's shirt, pulling him closer without realizing it.
Theron groaned softly against his mouth—the sound low, rough, helpless.
Aiden's heart exploded.
He didn't feel weak.He didn't feel small.He felt seen.
Wanted.
Theron broke the kiss only when they both needed air. But he didn't move far—just far enough to rest his forehead against Aiden's again.
Their breaths mingled, uneven and warm.
"Aiden…" Theron murmured, voice shaken, "if you walk away now, I won't stop you. But don't say this isn't real."
Aiden swallowed, chest tight.
"I…"His lips still tingled.His wolf was practically purring.
"…I don't know what this is."
Theron brushed his thumb over Aiden's bottom lip, slow and tender.
"We'll find out," he whispered.
Aiden didn't pull away.
For the first time—he didn't want to.