by J. K. Jones
Sensei Musashi trains them relentlessly, wears them down to the bone.
Amaya is pleased with his progression; she visits often and brings lots of treats. She speaks endlessly of Ryu’s talents and her praise makes him feel stronger than a hundred men. He loves her. And Amaya loves him too. Micah congratulates him of course, under the cover of darkness, with his head bowed and eyes downcast, a faint blush covering his cheeks.
Ryu remembers this.
Because later on, that very same night he had his first heat. For days he spent withering, wanton, bursting with agony so hard it nearly ripped through him. Ryu felt like a knife had pierced him, and he could do nothing but leak sweet white nectar all over the sheets. It lasted for days. He thought of nothing else. Micah’s black eyes, tanned skin, and mocha face. His hair is so ebony it nearly stonewashed into the night sky.
Ryu came.
For the first time, he ascended to the heavens, with Micah’s name on his lips. Those fantasies lasted for a long time, even after his heat died off. Ryu felt riddled with shame. How could he think of his friend like that? He was revolted. After an Omega’s first heat, most Alphas were not supposed to be around them anymore, mostly because it wasn’t proper. Everything about their friendship was improper. Ryu knew this—he was aware of it, but he couldn’t stop. They were friends. Best friends. Secret friends. He had no one else.
And as the months wane and fade, Ryu settles within himself, his skin no longer foreign or itching with self-contempt, but brimming with something else—something akin to happiness.
-
They meet again by accident.
Ryu is under a cherry blossom tree, mindlessly cleaning his Katana in his lap. The seasons' flitter and flutter in the Silvercrest Clan, making the flowers almost pure white, tinged with pale pink, especially the stem.
The wind carries them to and fro, making it seem like a sea of petals. He’s been here for hours, wading in the calm waters, he feels at rest.
However, like all things it doesn’t last.
The disruption comes.
Micah sprints down the low hills, chasing frantically after a small kitten, while a fox is hot on its tail. With a graceful jump, Micah intercepts the kitten, scooping the tiny creature into his arms right before the fox can close its jaws around it.
He lands easily, before twisting into a back handspring, laughing as the fox looks thoroughly affronted by the loss of its dinner.
Micah grins, cupping the tiny creature in his arms before walking towards him. “Ryu,” he says gracefully, sitting down beside him.
His eyes haunt his footsteps.
“What should we call him?” Micah asks, his voice a deep tenor. Ryu turns to look at the kitten, it’s scrawny, with barely any fur, shivering in Micah’s arms.
“Where did you get that?”
“I found it,” Micah responds, petting its head. “There’s a whole litter of them in the back.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
“I don’t know…. sell them maybe? Or donate them to the shelter?” Micah responds, then lies back, placing the kitten on his stomach. “They procreate like crazy. Worse than wolves I think.”
Ryu laughs at that, petting the kitten. “He isn’t much to look at. How about we call him Kukkī?”
Micah wrinkles his nose but doesn’t offer an alternative name. “We will have to find a place soon. I don’t want people to talk too much. Having him around might turn heads.”
Ryu wasn’t sure if there were laws against pets but given the way the council behaved he was sure there was. Ryu stares at Micah, noticing the way his bicep curls, he feels heat rush to his face.
“You turn heads,” Ryu says quietly.
“That almost sounds like a compliment. Are you trying to say I am beautiful?” Micah says, turning on his side.
Ryu feels his ears go hot.
“That’s sweet,” Micah sighs. “You don’t know true beauty until you’ve seen the Silvercrest at dawn. There’s no place like home.”
He stiffens immediately.
Ryu never had a home, so he wouldn’t know. Micah changes the conversation immediately, almost like he had forgotten that Ryu was only here, in the Silvercrest Clan due to war.
The air grows cold.
Micah seems to notice how his expression has a slight gleam of frost.
“Sorry. That was insensitive.”
“It’s fine,” Ryu responds dismissively. “How was your day?”
-
Sensei Musashi comes to him, face looking more and more troubled.
They are on the training grounds; Ryu is just finishing cleaning off some of the wooden weapons. He uses a small cloth, wiping each one down with strict precision.
“Ryu,” Sensei Musashi says to him. “Come with me.”
Ryu leaves what he’s doing, following Sensei Musashi to a vacant room down the hall. It’s a quiet day, most of the other boys are out with their families. Since Amaya came to visit the day before, she often splits her time between Ryu and Alhazred, knowing that the two of them would never get along. Today she spends it in the city with Alhazred and Listeria, shopping in the capital. Due to his low-status, Ryu was never allowed to attend such ventures, but Amaya always brought him back lavish gifts, so he endeavored to live vicariously through her stories.
Sensei Musashi puts his hands behind his back, face solemn as he stares back at Ryu. “I knew one day it would come to this.”
Ryu frowns, but says nothing.
“Your smell—Freesia,” Sensei Musashi explains. “It is potent. Do you know why Omega’s have scents?”
Ryu shakes his head.
“It is a signal, a beacon some say, for their Alpha. Most of them aren’t as…refreshing as yours…you must always be on your guard. Now, that you have bloomed. You will have many suitors…. have you had your first heat?”
Ryu blushes hard, his ivory skin turning splotchy red.
Sensei Musashi looks even more disturbed. “I see…. You must not forget your training. Do not allow yourself to be led astray.”
“What do you mean?”
Sensei Musashi regards him closely. “I heard rumors of a match being arranged…. for Micah and Francesca from The Midnight Nightstalker’s Clan. It would strengthen our alliances if we are to go to war with the Filthy Claws.”
Ryu feels his heart stop. A match? A betrothal? His stomach rolls. He should have known better.
“You should train with someone else. I will speak to Micah later today. No good will come of this if they visit and she scents another Omega on him. It would be unseemly.”
He knows that. He knows—but it still hurts. Ryu bows deeply, knowing that there is no point trying to argue. He will have to start training with someone else, lest there be a talk of scandal. Such things could ruin Micah’s chance of becoming the leader of the Silvercrest Howlers.
Sensei Musashi’s face softens. “I knew you would get attached. The heart of an Omega is forgiving. Remember your training. Focus. You will have many other suitors, trust me.”
Sensei Musashi offers a small smile. “There is nothing left to teach you. Soon you’ll be off to war. Guard your heart Ryu and your thoughts. Many people will seek to destroy you. I wish you well.”
He pats his arm reassuringly before he turns away.
Ryu stands there for a while, heart beating wildly in his chest.
He swallows thickly, feeling a thick lump in his throat. Why does it hurt so much? He doesn’t understand this. Micah is his friend. Nothing more and nothing less. Perhaps, it’s because he is the only one left, that Ryu feels like he is being shredded, that his soul is being torn apart.
He turns around, taking off into the forest, running and running until his legs burn. At some point, he falls, feeling utterly and completely worthless.
Even if he became the greatest swordsmen in the Silvercrest Howlers, they would still see him as nothing—nobody. A Filthy Claw. An Omega.
Never suitable for thei
r Alpha.
Chapter 27
Micah finds him there.
At their spot, wallowing in a deep pit of despair. He hides it though, wiping away the tears, and forcing a smile the minute Micah’s scent crests the trees. Ryu sits on a boulder—back hunched, face ashen. Micah is wearing casual clothing today, a black designer t-shirt with matching blue jeans. Much better than Ryu’s baggy beige pants and simple grey t-shirt. Although Amaya brings him clothes to wear, Ryu finds that he is much more comfortable in his servant's clothing.
“You weren’t with Sensei Musashi,” Micah says by way of greeting, as he enters through the trees. “I got worried.”
Ryu chews his lip, wringing his hands together. “I lost track of time. Sorry.”
“You shouldn’t be so careless,” Micah replies, he sits down at a boulder next to him. “They are watching your every move now.”
Ryu nods but finds his words have left him.
Micah sits with him silently, before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out another candy. Ryu’s face lights up, he laughs as Micah hands him the red candy.
Ryu eats it heartily, sucking on it momentarily relishing the saccharine taste, knowing that it paints his lips a deep cherry red. Once he’s finished, he gazes up at Micah, who regards him softly, eyes fixated on the stain on his lips.
Ryu looks away, recalling Sensei Musashi’s voice in his ear. “I—I heard you are going to be married. Congratulations.”
Micah clenches his fist. “It doesn’t matter.”
“How come?”
“Because I’ve never met her,” Micah grits out; then calms down. “She is important to our goal—we will defeat the Filthy Claws once and for all with The Midnight Nightstalker’s on our side.”
“Oh.”
Micah stares off into space. “I am—not allowed to choose. Father says it is expected of me. He says it is my duty as Alpha.” Then suddenly his face spasms, twisting so deeply into a sneer that it startles Ryu. “I don’t want to do what the council says,” he spat. “I don’t even have a choice—I don’t even have a voice—I’ve never seen her. All they do is dictate my whole life. I can’t go anywhere; I can’t see anyone—Alpha this and Alpha that—ever since mother died it’s been the same crap!” Micah fumes, chest heaving.
Ryu is stunned into silence.
He knew it must be difficult, of course leading a clan couldn’t have been easy. However, he never knew Micah felt like this. Like the whole world is caving in. Ryu licks his lips, staring down at his hands. In all his life, he never had much of a choice. All he wanted was to serve the Silvercrest Howlers, be in their regiment, and prove himself worthy. There wasn’t room for anything else. Micah was different. He couldn’t just be in the Silvercrest regiment—he had to be their pillar, their strength—their Alpha. If he falls, there would be nothing holding them together.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
“I am sorry.”
Micah stares at him for several moments. “Can I try something?”
“What is it?” Ryu asks, he feels alarm bells going off in his head. The way Micah is staring at him is very unsettling. He inches forward, cupping Ryu’s face with his hands.
“Wait for me.”
Ryu nearly chokes.
“….” Micah moves forward boldly, causing Ryu to shrink back.
“What—”
“Please,” Micah whispers, there is a desperation in his eyes, a fervor in his gaze that makes Ryu erupt with heat. It’s a plea—one that he feels he must follow.
“S-stop, there are people around…if anyone saw—ugh—”
Their lips press together, it’s electrifying. Ryu shudders violently, his body swells with heat and his pulse jumps wildly. His first kiss is stolen, taken like a thief in the night. Alpha. His aura consumes them both, Ryu feels like he might snap.
Setting all of his nerve endings alight, it’s gentle and unrestrained, more tongue and teeth caressing and fondling in an unholy battle of sin. When their lips connect in a heated graze of fervorm his insides solidify.
Their kiss is a blissful concoction of impetuosity, ardor, and rabid hunger. His tongue is temperate, seeking entry, lapping against softening flesh. Ryu moans, yielding powerlessly to him.
All at once, Micah devours him, searing hot hands gripping his delicate face and neck, thumb pressing tightly against each pressure point.
The passion between them ignites, intensifying until Ryu melts like butter beneath him. Ryu feels his heart and cock swell with need, as much as wants to take take take, he knows they can’t behave this way in public.
Ryubreaks the kiss, both of them panting madly. “Wait for me.”
He tightens his grip.
Ryu takes a stuttering breath. He feels delirious, so dizzy with want and desire he barely understands the words that are being uttered. Wait for what?
“Wait for me,” Micah stresses, his eyes blazing.
A moment passes between them, the furrow brows of Ryu’s face seem to deepen with each passing moment. “I don’t understand.”
“Wait for me.”
Micah gets up then, leaving Ryu trembling, with his lips stinging and sharp pain in his heart.
-
Ryu repeats the words to himself that same night.
Wondering what it all meant. Did Micah intend for them to be together? That thought alone sends violent shivers up his spine. Oh, God. He shouldn’t be thinking like this. Micah is engaged! He would soon be married, and that alliance is very important, it could turn the outcome of the up-and-coming war. Ryu heard the rumors, the Filthy Claws were growing bold and restless, their numbers immeasurable in the slums and the Silvercrest Howlers were struggling to maintain their ironclad hold over the city.
Michael was dispatching a large number of troops over there, and Ryu knows that eventually, they will call about Sensei Musashi’s trainees to fight. It is only a matter of time. Ryu remains troubled as the weeks go on, Micah doesn’t look at him or show any signs of wanting to be associated with him.
Ryu is used to it—but ever since their kiss he had hoped that there would be something more between them. It’s later on that he concludes that he wants Micah, not just as his secret friend, but as his lover. It makes him sullen thinking about it. Why would Micah ever want to be with him anyway? He has nothing. A poor Omega that everyone tramples on. Ryu goes to the armory that day, picking out his Katana and polishing it up so that he can begin training with Sensei Musashi later on. The armory is filled with various weapons from swords to semi-automatic guns, the Silvercrest Howlers has no shortage in weaponry.
As he’s cleaning, he hears the door click shut.
Ryu sits on one of the stools, he suddenly becomes alarmed. He gets up quickly, shoving the Katana back into its sheath. Micah rounds the corner, his face set with determination.
“Micah—what—”
“I won’t marry her,” Micah says abruptly, startling them both. “I won’t have anyone else. I only want you.”
Ryu pales.
Not because he doesn’t want that—but because he does! However, Micah has responsibilities. He is going to be Alpha—their match would never be approved by the council. “We shouldn’t talk like this. Even being alone with you now could get us both in serious trouble.”
Micah closes the distance between them.
He cradles Ryu’s face, thumbs gently at his jawline as he brings their lips together in a soft kiss. He lingers for a moment, simply tasting and nipping at his bottom lip. “Stay for a few minutes.”
Ryu turns wanton beneath him, shuddering violently as their lips meet again. The kiss is slow, sensuous, sumptuously melting his heart.
The fire in Ryu makes his body burn red hot.
Like striking a match everything ignites, suddenly they are kissing feverishly, passionately, trying to consume each other. Their lips and tongues clash dangerously, Ryu feels his lower regions swell so he breaks the kiss to stop them from getting too carried away.
/> They pant loudly, Micah looks utterly debauched with his face red and lips redder.
