2

Jules spent the next few days jumping at every little sound, scared that Uncle Wayne had found out about his visit to the basement. What if they noticed that someone had used a blood stancher on the Xeus? Jules could only hope they’d think it was the Xeus’s superior healing at work.

But as three days passed without any trouble, Jules relaxed—enough to start considering going back.

He knew it was crazy. It was a miracle he hadn’t gotten caught last time. He shouldn’t tempt fate again.

But he had promised. Not to mention his own curiosity wouldn’t let him forget about the Xeus. Who was he? Why was he locked up in their basement? What did his uncle want with him?

Okay, research time. He needed to research it. Or rather, he needed Eric to research it for him. Jules wasn’t the smart Blake brother, after all. He liked to think he was fairly intelligent, but he wasn’t embarrassed to admit that his baby brother was the resident genius.

“Why are you interested in it?” Eric asked.

“It’s a totally hypothetical question,” Jules said, putting on his most innocent face.

Eric, bless his precious soul, didn’t suspect him of lying, of course. For all his intelligence, Eric wasn’t good at people. Or reading people. Or talking to people. Jules kind of dreaded Eric’s debut in society: there was little doubt it was going to be a disaster, and Jules could only hope some asshole alpha wouldn’t use his baby brother’s social cluelessness against him.

Eric hummed and started typing on his computer. “I’d normally say it’s impossible for a Xeus alpha to shift into his beastly form outside of Xeus being full, but there’s an obscure drug that can force a Xeus to shift. It’s called kerosvarin.”

Jules perked up. “Do you know a cure?”

Eric shook his head, pushing his light-brown fringe off his eyes. Physically, he was the middle ground between the fair-haired Liam and brown-haired Jules. He wasn’t quite as gorgeous as Liam—no one was—but Eric was still very lovely. Definitely prettier than him. Jules was glad. He was A-okay with being the plain Joe of the family, and he wanted Eric to have it easier. Because as much as it sucked, an omega’s worth to their family was still in their marriage prospects. Jules had heard that things were different in Kadar for omegas, but Pelugia was still stuck in the dark ages when it came to social issues like omega rights.

 Jules hoped his baby brother would be able to find a nice match. That said, everyone knew Liam was the brother who would be marrying up: he would probably marry some rich, handsome, and important alpha, maybe even one from the upper crust of society. As for Jules… Uncle Wayne said Jules would be lucky if he got any marriage offer at all. Jules kind of hoped he wouldn’t get any marriage offers, but obviously he didn’t share that opinion when Uncle Wayne was around.

“There’s no cure,” Eric said, his forehead wrinkling as he read something on the screen. “It’s funny that you asked about that, actually. I can see increased activity for search terms ‘Xeus’ and ‘kerosvarin.’ Something is up. Considering the rumors…”

“What rumors?” Jules said.

Eric shrugged, his eyes still on the screen. “There have been all sorts of rumors circulating since the Opal House event last month.”

“Really? I thought the event was NDA-locked?”

“It was,” Eric said. “But the NDA technology wasn’t enabled immediately, so some things were still leaked. For example, the video of Prince Haydn choosing his husband over King Stefan was leaked before the NDA tech locked everything down. And there are reports of a feral Xeus alpha attacking guests—there are some blurry pictures—but those reports are really confusing, and no videos had leaked before the NDA tech was enabled… Interesting...”

Jules frowned. “Why would they even use the NDA tech for such an event? It’s weird.”

Eric shrugged. “If the rumors of a feral Xeus were correct, the Xeus might have maimed or killed someone important. Or the Xeus was someone important. In either case, they’d want to protect the Xeus’s identity. It’s actually common practice at high-profile events, especially political events.”

Damn it. So Jules was pretty much back to square one: he had no leads. The feral Xeus in their basement might or might not be the same feral Xeus that attacked people at the political event last month, but since the event was NDA-locked, Jules had no way of ascertaining it.

“All right, thanks,” he said, dropping an absentminded kiss on top of Eric’s head before wandering away.

He was disappointed by how little he’d learned, but even if he still had no clue about the Xeus’s identity or how to help him, it didn’t mean he couldn’t try to help him.

Jules spent the rest of the week planning. This time he knew what to expect and prepared accordingly. He grabbed a flash drive, intending to copy files from the computer he had seen in the basement, his first aid kit—and some food. He had noticed how thin the Xeus was. Jules didn’t doubt that the alpha could still easily snap his neck, but he really was thin, all muscle and skin, with no body fat at all. He could definitely use some food.

When everything was ready, Jules went to Liam and attempted to talk him into distracting the guards again.

This time his older brother wasn’t as cooperative, though. “Why?” he said, looking at him suspiciously.

He looked ridiculously endearing.

Jules patted him on the head. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

He got a punch to the gut for the “pretty little head,” but eventually, Liam grudgingly assented after Jules promised to tell him everything later. They agreed that Jules would message him when he wanted to leave the basement so Liam could distract the guards again.

As soon as Liam successfully did his part, Jules darted downstairs. He had been half-afraid that someone would already be in the basement despite the late hour, but his concern turned out to be unfounded.

The Xeus was alone. He was still shackled to the metal table, his long, powerful body covered in bruises and cuts. Jules winced in sympathy. It looked worse than last time.

“Who are you?” said a hoarse voice.

Jules froze.

His gaze snapped to the alpha’s face. He found him looking at Jules with narrowed eyes. It was bizarre. The Xeus’s face still looked ugly as sin, his features harsh and predatory, but there was real sentience in his eyes. How was it possible? He couldn’t communicate last week at all.

“Hello,” Jules said when he recovered from his surprise. “You don’t remember me?”

The Xeus’s nostrils flared. He was inhaling his scent, Jules realized with morbid fascination. It seemed it was true that Xeus alphas had much better senses. Jules couldn’t smell him from such distance. Granted, his own senses were dulled by the suppressants he was on. All Dainiri omegas were on suppressants after their first heat.

“You smell familiar,” the alpha said. His voice was hoarse and gravelly, and it seemed every word took an effort. The suspicion in those glowing green eyes wasn’t gone completely, but his body relaxed a little.

It wasn’t surprising, Jules mused. He had heard that untouched, unmated omegas smelled sweet and soothing to alphas, and it seemed Xeus alphas were no exception.

His heartbeat becoming steadier, he walked closer and clicked his tongue in dismay when he saw the cuts on the alpha’s body. They looked worse up close. “I was here last week,” Jules said, pulling out the supplies from his first aid kit. “I helped you, remember?”

“No.”

The alpha’s muscles tensed a little but he didn’t make a sound as Jules applied an antiseptic to the deepest wounds, even though it had to be painful.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” Jules said, applying the blood stancher. “Don’t be such a suspicious grump. By the way, it’s convenient that you’re suddenly talking, but couldn’t you talk to me last time?”

“Don’t remember,” the Xeus said, boring a hole in Jules with his eyes. “Who are you? Did they send you?”

“No one sent me,” Jules said, applying the blood stancher to the cut on the alpha’s stomach and trying not to blush. He resolutely didn’t look below the alpha’s waist. This close, he could smell the Xeus’s scent: something rich and dark he couldn’t quite identify. The scent was… it wasn’t unpleasant. Jules cleared his throat. “In fact, I’ll be in a world of trouble if they find out I’m here.” He poked at the alpha’s ribs. “Do you want to eat? I brought food.”

The Xeus didn’t say anything, still watching him warily, but his stomach growled.

Jules smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes. Here.” He pulled out the food he’d brought—chicken—and then paused, glancing at the manacles. Oh. “I’ll have to feed you.”

“Free me,” the alpha said, flexing his clawed hands.

Jules laughed a little. “Do I look like someone who has keys to those things? Sorry, but I’ll have to feed you. And I forgot to bring a fork I’m afraid. Promise not to bite my hand?”

The Xeus just stared at him for a long moment before nodding with obvious reluctance.

Feeding a grown man, especially a naked one, was… strange. Jules found himself blushing as he brought chicken pieces to the Xeus’s mouth. He watched his mouth as he chewed, watched his muscular throat work as he swallowed.

Jules found himself inhaling deeper, breathing in the alpha’s scent—he smelled so good. He was a little disturbed by the sudden warmth in his nether regions. Well, this was just embarrassing. But maybe it was a normal physiological reaction. He’d never been this close to an alpha unrelated to him. Maybe it was totally normal.

Except he was becoming hard between his legs.

Hard and slick.

Fuck. Maybe all the debasing things people said about Dainiri omegas were true. Jules had always scoffed at them, but for the first time in his life, he wondered if omegas like him really would gladly spread their legs for any virile alpha. Because there was no other explanation for why he was suddenly getting wet just from being close to an alpha. A very ugly Xeus alpha. The Xeus’s body might be that of a large, muscular man, but his face should have repulsed Jules. It didn’t.

His cheeks hot, Jules couldn’t bring himself to meet the alpha’s eyes. Could he smell his arousal? Judging by his flaring nostrils, he could. Thankfully, the Xeus didn’t comment on it, eating ravenously. When he was done, he licked Jules’s fingers, and Jules had to swallow the whine that threatened to leave his mouth. Fuck, what was wrong with him? He was trembling, his crotch aching and needy.

Those glowing eyes fixed on him. The alpha’s fangs nipped on Jules’s finger.

His underwear uncomfortably wet, Jules snatched his hand away and cleared his throat, trying to push away the mental image of sitting on the Xeus’s face as the alpha licked him between his legs. What the fuck. Where was this even coming from?

Focus, Jules.

Turning away swiftly to hide his flushed face, Jules walked to the computer and put on his gloves—he didn’t want to leave his fingerprints anywhere, just in case. His fingers were still trembling as he turned the computer on. There was a password, of course, but that didn’t bother him. His uncle wasn’t very imaginative. It took Jules only several attempts before he guessed the password—his uncle’s birthday, pfft. He pulled out his flash drive and started copying anything that looked remotely interesting.

“What are you doing?” said the hoarse voice behind him.

“I want to find out what’s going on here,” Jules said, trying to sound casual and not at all like he still had a boner. “Why he is keeping you here.”

“He? You mean that alpha?”

Jules didn’t need to turn around to sense the hatred in the Xeus’s voice.

“Yes. Do you know him?” He nearly smacked himself. Why hadn’t he thought of it? In his defense, he hadn’t expected the Xeus to be talking. “Do you know why he’s keeping you here?”

“No,” the alpha said gruffly. “I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything until the past few days.”

“But?” Jules prompted.

“I heard them talk.”

Jules made an encouraging noise.

“They’re looking for some kind of cure,” the Xeus said.

Jules frowned. His uncle was looking for some medical cure? He was literally using the Xeus as a lab rat?

“I need to go,” he said when the file transfer was complete. He turned off the computer and said, without looking at the alpha, “I’m going to look through these files and then maybe I’ll find out what’s going on here. Please don’t tell anyone that I was here or I wouldn’t be able to help you—”

“Come here.”

Jules wet his lips. “Why?”

“Come here,” the Xeus repeated, his voice so low it was nearly a growl.

Was it Jules’s imagination or had the alpha’s scent become stronger? Jules could still smell him all the way from there, and it really wasn’t helping the situation in his pants.

He was pretty sure the Xeus wasn’t using an alpha’s Voice—Xeus alphas didn’t possess that ability—and yet Jules still found himself doing as he was told.

He put the flash drive into his pocket and walked back to the Xeus, his heart pounding.

The glowing green eyes watched him intently.

The closer Jules got to him, the harder Jules’s cock got and the wetter his hole became. Gods, it was horrible. What kind of slut was he? He was leaking. He could feel slick running down his leg already.

When he stopped by the Xeus, the alpha’s hands flexed, his sharp claws scraping over the metal table he was shackled to. “You smell good,” the alpha said, his nostrils flaring. He licked his lips. “Let me taste you.”

Jules was speechless, his face flushing scarlet. There was little doubt what he meant. “You—” he managed. “I’m not—” Glowering at the alpha, he grabbed his stuff and all but ran away.

Jules had to stop at the top of the stairs and text Liam that he wanted to leave. Leaning against the wall, he waited for his brother’s “all clear” message, his thighs squeezed tightly and his teeth sunk into his bottom lip. How dare that brute—that animal—!

When he finally got back to his room, Jules flopped down onto his bed and glared at the ceiling. That was what he got for being a nice person—treated like a slut by a Xeus! Ugh. Had that animal really thought Jules would let him taste him? Lick him between his thighs, lap at his hole with his tongue—

Jules wrenched his fly open and stroked his cock hard and fast, imagining sitting on the Xeus’s face, riding it hard, the Xeus’s tongue soft and wet against his aching hole.

He came with a weak groan, embarrassed and freaked out.

Fucking hell, what was wrong with him?