𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 || 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐊𝐰𝐚𝐧

Chapter 32

Seungkwan woke to find himself in Vernon’s arms, laid out in the alpha’s bed.

Something had changed, he could feel it. As he lay there, mulling it over, Vernon’s nose pressed against the nape of his neck. The alpha inhaled deeply, making a rough noise of contentment as he woke.

“Kwan?”

He sounded sleep-addled but curious. So Seungkwan wasn’t the only one who knew something was different. But what?

Seungkwan turned in Vernon’s arms, a smile on his face, ready to greet the alpha.

And then it hit him.

“Fuck. I’m in heat.”

It was like an icy bucket of water thrown over him, dousing the warm comfort from moments before. He jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom, slamming the door closed and locking it. He stayed there, pressed against it, breathing hard. This couldn’t be happening, could it? Not now. Not yet.

He felt another unmistakable wave of lust run through his body, making him shudder right down to his toes. Oh yeah, this was happening alright.

There was a knock on the door, and he jerked back, eyes wide.

“Kwan?” Vernon said quietly, his voice rough with sleep. “It’s just me. Can I come in?”

“I need a minute,” he called back, hating how his voice cracked. “Or a week,” he muttered, letting his forehead rest against the door.

Talk about bad timing. What was he going to do now?

“Hey,” Vernon said softly. “I know you’ve had a really horrible few weeks, and maybe this just seems like another problem piling on.”

Seungkwan snorted at that. That’s exactly what this was. No ‘seems’ about it.

“But it doesn’t have to change anything. Not if you don’t want it to. Please, Kwan. Come out, have some breakfast, and we’ll talk this through.”

Seungkwan was far from ready to face Vernon, not in his present condition.

“I think I’ll stay put, thanks all the same.”

“Kwan—”

“Back off, Vernon. This is me asking for space, not to be pestered with twenty questions.”

There was a short, heavy silence.

“Okay. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me. Or if you want to go back to bed, I won’t disturb you.”

Seungkwan didn’t believe that. The second there wasn’t a locked door between them, Vernon would be by his side, checking on him. That thought gave him pause. Other alphas would be testing the waters, seeing if Seungkwan was up for sharing his heat, getting pushy about it. Vernon wasn’t like that. He’d make it clear what he wanted, but he’d never assume his needs superseded Seungkwan’s. It was refreshing for all that it could be annoying sometimes.

After another few minutes of leaning against the door, Seungkwan pushed away and started the shower. He turned the heat down to barely warm, wanting the chance to clear his head. As he undressed, he caught sight of his face in the mirror and stepped closer, confused by what he was seeing—his bruises and cuts from yesterday looked better, not worse. As if they were well on their way to healing up.

By the time he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around himself, he could hear a new voice in the cottage. He moved closer to the door and listened, his ear pressed to the wood. It was Joshua.