After years as inseparable friends, Sage and Kaiden have always known they could count on each other until hidden feelings start to bubble up. Kaiden, a beta, has secretly loved Sage, who is also a beta, since their school days. But with Sage eyeing someone new, Kaiden offers to help his friend pursue this new love interest. However, Kaiden’s “help” might not be as innocent as it seems, as it brings them closer than ever and unveils a possessive streak in Kaiden that neither expected.
Lihat lebih banyakKaidenI slept at my place after the detective dropped me off. He was looking at me like he had a lot to say about what happened but I didn’t.Yes, I overreacted but I couldn’t go back there. I felt suffocated and the only thing I needed was freedom. I needed to find my answers and not let it extend to my relationship.I decided to go see Detective Bryan. The man in charge of narcotics. The one who might know what the hell was really going on. I hadn’t told Sage or the professor anything. Not yet. I couldn’t, not until I had something real. Something more than just paranoia and late-night shadows tailing me.I sat hunched over my laptop in a dingy little café two blocks from my apartment, the place reeking of burnt espresso and desperation. I typed in “Detective Bryan, Narcotics Division, city PD” and hit search. A few articles came up. He was decorated, involved in several high-profile raids. One article had a photo, square jaw, stern face, early forties. Not someone you’d expect to
SageI woke to silence. Not the peaceful kind, the kind that sets your skin crawling with dread, like the air itself is holding its breath. The clock on the wall read a little past 3am and I could see the shadows stretched along the floor, motionless. I looked around and noticed with a slight disappointment that Kaiden wasn’t here. I blinked twice and turned my head toward the small couch across the room. No professor either.My heart sank.They were gone. Both of them.I have never felt so alone. I thought they would both stay with me so I won’t be scared. But I was a big boy and could handle myself.I sat up slowly, the sheets slipping off my chest as I scanned the dim room. Maybe they went for a walk. Maybe Kaiden needed air and the professor tagged along. Maybe I was being paranoid.Or maybe something was very, very wrong.I was about to slide out of bed when the doorknob turned.I froze.The door creaked open, and the harsh fluorescent light from the hallway spilled into the r
KaidenI left the hospital with a gnawing unease in my gut. I hadn’t told Sage or the Professor the full truth, that I needed to test Raines myself, to see if he was really on our side or if he was playing us. If I had voiced my suspicions, the professor would have warned me against it, and Sage… well, Sage would have insisted on coming with me, injuries be damned. But this was something I had to do alone. I couldn’t pretend for the life of me. If the detective wasn’t on our side then I needed to know now, to save myself the trouble of finding out later.I know that the professor was just trying to be cautious but the detective was kind of my friend so I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.I stared at my phone for a long moment before making the call, my thumb hovering over his contact. This was a gamble, if he was dirty, I might be tipping my hand. But if he was clean... I needed to know. Taking a steadying breath, I hit dial. He answered on the third ring. "Kaiden?"
KaidenThe note terrified me, I wouldn’t lie. I kept the smile on my face for the nurse’s benefits. I didn’t want them to be asking if I was okay and interrupting my peace.Those words, scrawled in jagged letters sent a chill down my spine that lingered long after I first read them. I had spent the night restless, checking the locks on the doors twice, then three times, before finally settling into a chair beside Sage’s hospital bed. He was still unconscious, his face bruised, his breathing steady but shallow. Whoever had done this to him had a message, and now it seemed that message was meant for me. I had no idea how to protect him or even protect myself. It felt like everything we did was a waste of time and we were heading nowhere.I didn’t bother sleeping again because I was so anxious. I was tempted to call the professor and explain to him but I knew he would drive down here the second I call him.By morning, Sage was stable, still asleep but no longer in danger. I made sure
Kaiden I stood next to the professor, watching the detective’s face shift between concern and indifference as he closed his notebook with a heavy sigh. “We’ll look into it,” the detective said. “But if you’re asking me for guarantees—” “I’m not,” I cut in, trying to keep my voice steady. “Just… do your job.” He gave me a nod that felt more like a dismissal. And then he walked off, disappearing into the murmuring noise of the precinct. When I called detective Raines, he said he had been assigned to a case and directed us to his partner in the precinct. We had to go there but it didn’t seem like it was working out for us. The professor hadn’t spoken since the detective left us. His arms were crossed tightly, jaw locked, his usual calm gone. He looked like a man barely holding himself together, and that scared me more than anything. He usually had answers. He always had a plan. But now? His phone rang. He glanced down, muttered something under his breath, and answered. “Hello?”
SageI should have listened to the way the wind shifted. They say when your instincts are telling you something then it’s the truth.It was barely past six when I stepped out of the lecture hall, my bag slung over my shoulder, the sky overhead bleeding into a deep shade of lavender. The university courtyard had mostly cleared, and the usual evening buzz was thinning out as students filtered off to their lives. I’d stayed back for office hours, lingering too long over an unfinished paper, too caught up in making it perfect to even consider that other things could be waiting for me.Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice them at first. Maybe my mind was too full of shadows.My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I didn’t reach for it. The wind carried a chill I couldn’t place, the kind that crawled along the back of your neck and whispered you’re not alone.I turned down the path toward the side parking lot, my sneakers crunching over the scattered leaves. It wasn’t until I passed the library’s da
KaidenI couldn’t let this go undocumented."Get that one, too," the professor said behind me, nodding toward a shelf tucked beneath a peeling poster of a lingerie model. "That might be a brand marking."I crouched down and took the shot, my fingers trembling slightly. I hated this. Hated how close we were to it all. Hated that it still smelled like burnt sugar and copper in the air.When I straightened and turned toward the professor, I caught a glimpse of the client's retreating silhouette through the dusty window—he was halfway down the alley now, ducking behind a dumpster.Something about him tugged at me.“I’ve seen him before,” I said slowly.He looked over. “Where?”“I… I don’t know,” I admitted, frustrated. “Something about him feels familiar.”“Could’ve been at one of those parties,” the professor said, his voice cold. “A lot of those clients showed their faces when they thought they were invincible.”I nodded absently, trying to reach into the fog of my memory. There were so
KaidenThe morning sun cast a golden hue over the city as I slid into the passenger seat of the professor's car. I was more than excited to go out with him. I felt like Sage was always a buffer between us and it felt like he was the one we were hoping to break the ice.This time, I am hoping it will be different. Each time the professor and I spent together, it was mostly filled with us fighting so there was nothing like a good old adventure to set us off.The drive to the construction site was filled with a comfortable silence, punctuated only by the soft hum of the engine and the occasional rustle of papers as the professor reviewed some documents while he drove.Upon arrival, the site appeared deserted. The skeletal framework of the building stood tall against the sky, surrounded by scattered tools and materials left in haste. The professor frowned, noting the absence of his crew."They halted work yesterday," he murmured, scanning the area. "But something feels off. It feels lik
It still surprised me sometimes, how natural this all felt. Coming home with the two of them. Talking. Sharing space. Breathing the same still air. Kaiden met us in front because he waited. He was yet to have a key. I haven’t been to my place in a while and I didn’t even care. I was more than content to be here with them, basking in their love and growing with them. We ended up on the couch not long after, our feet tangled beneath a throw blanket, glasses of wine in hand. I couldn’t help but chuckle when I saw Kaiden trying to peel an orange with absolutely no success. “What?” he said defensively, looking up at me with mock irritation. “Not all of us had fancy childhoods where people taught us citrus etiquette.” I raised a brow. “It’s not rocket science. You just press your thumb into the top and here.” I leaned over, took the fruit from him, and began peeling. “You’re hopeless.” He grinned, leaning back against the couch as if proud of himself for getting me to do it. “You love
KaidenIn the lecture hall, the faint scent of lavender and cedar lingered, a scent I couldn’t ignore even if I tried. It was Sage’s scent, soft, alluring and a whisper of the beta’s presence that made my wolf stir beneath his skin. Sage didn’t know his own allure, oblivious to the ripple of interest he left behind everywhere he went. But I knew. I had always known.From the moment we met, I had vowed to protect Sage from everything, including himself. Alphas were predators by nature, drawn to the innocence and vulnerability of a beta like Sage. He wasn’t an omega yet he possessed qualities like one.But I wasn’t an alpha, although I was possessive, territorial, and deeply aware of how much control it took to keep myself from claiming Sage outright.The problem was, Sage didn’t belong to me. Not yet.Sage was sitting in the front row, furiously jotting down notes as Professor River droned on about some engineering stuff. His deep voice was smooth as honey, laced with that Alpha autho...
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