Am I gay?

Kael had been gone for a week. A full week. And in that time, Theron had turned his room into what could only be described as a mad scientist's lair. The desk was cluttered with wires, screens, and blueprints, all centering around his latest invention—the Bondometer.

Yes, the name was ridiculous, and Theron knew it. Kael would have had a field day teasing him about it. "Seriously, Theron, Bondometer? Sounds like a cheap dating app," he could already hear Kael's voice in his head, full of playful sarcasm. But naming things had never been Theron's forte. His strengths lay in building, coding, and pushing the boundaries of what was possible—not branding.

Theron had tested and retested the device, fine-tuned its algorithms, and even managed to sneak in a few field trials. The results had been flawless. Every mated wolf he scanned was matched perfectly, their bonds lighting up on the screen like constellations.

The device itself was a masterpiece. Compact and unassuming, it resembled a thick wristband with a small holographic interface. Inside, it housed a combination of bioelectric sensors, molecular analyzers, and Theron's own proprietary algorithm that could detect the subtle frequencies of a mate bond. The bond, unique to each werewolf or lycan, emitted a faint but distinct energy signature that the device could pick up within a certain radius.

And it worked. It really worked.

Now, as he paced the room, the device sitting innocently on his desk, Theron's thoughts were anything but innocent. His curiosity had grown insatiable. He wanted—no, needed—to see if it could find Kael's mate. He'd waited for Kael to return, told himself over and over that this was something they should do together. But his gnomish nature was relentless. It wasn't betrayal—it was science.

"Rex," Theron muttered, glancing at his AI.

"Yes, Theron?"

"Hypothetically speaking, if I were to run a completely harmless, totally objective test on the device without Kael's explicit consent, would that be unethical?"

Rex's glowing blue eye blinked once. "Hypothetically, it would depend on your intent. Are you seeking to help Kael or satisfy your own curiosity?"

Theron groaned, rubbing his temples. "Why do you always have to make things so complicated?"

"Because you overthink everything," Rex replied smoothly.

Theron huffed, turning his attention back to the device. He wasn't doing this out of selfishness. This was for Kael. Kael, who had spent hours rambling about his future mate, about the perfect bond he was destined to have. Kael, who would absolutely thank him for figuring this out ahead of time. Probably.

He sat down at his desk, fingers hovering over the device's interface. "Okay, let's do this," he muttered. "For science. And Kael. Mostly Kael."

He input Kael's biometric data—DNA markers, energy frequency patterns, and even a sample of Kael's scent and blood, painstakingly captured and preserved in a sealed vial. 'Ha Ha, I feel like a mad scientist ' he couldn't help noticing. The device hummed to life, its holographic display flickering as it began the scan.

The process was intricate. The device emitted a subtle pulse of energy that spread outward like an invisible ripple, scanning for any matching mate bond signatures. The data would then be cross-referenced against Kael's unique profile, narrowing down potential matches.

As the device worked, Theron leaned back, trying to distract himself. "It's just science," he told himself. "No big deal. Nothing dramatic is going to happen."

Rex, ever the skeptic, hovered nearby. "Your heart rate suggests otherwise."

"Shut up, Rex."

The device beeped, and Theron leaned forward, his heart racing. The screen flickered, lines of data streaming across it before coalescing into a single result.

"Match found."

Theron froze.

His name was on the screen.

He blinked, certain he was seeing things. "No, no, no. That's not right." He snatched the device, his hands trembling as he double-checked the input. Kael's data was correct. The scan was correct. But the result—

"Theron," Rex said cautiously.

"Nope!" Theron barked, his voice rising an octave. "Nope, nope, nope! This is a mistake. It's broken. It's gotta be broken."

He reset the device, re-entered Kael's data, and ran the scan again.

The same result.

"Rex, say something!" Theron demanded, pacing frantically.

Rex hesitated. "The probability of error is less than 0.02%. Statistically insignificant."

Theron's hands flew to his hair, tugging at it in sheer disbelief. "I can't be Kael's mate! That's—that's insane! It doesn't even make sense! I mean, sure, we're close, but not that close. Right? Right?!"

Rex tilted its head. "The device disagrees."

Theron groaned, collapsing into his chair. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."

His mind raced through every interaction he'd ever had with Kael. The teasing, the camaraderie, the late-night conversations. None of it had ever felt… romantic. Had it?

"Oh gods," he muttered, leaping to his feet and pacing again, his movements jerky, his breathing erratic. "This can't be happening. This isn't happening. There's no way I'm his mate. I'm me! And he's Kael! He's all… lycan-y and princely and... and Kael! And I'm just a gnome! A tiny gnome!" He held up his hands, palms facing each other as if to emphasize his lack of size, then let them drop helplessly. "He's not even gay! He likes girls and boobs and… and things that aren't me! Definitely not me!"

He stopped pacing and jabbed a finger into his own chest. "And I'm not gay either! I like… I like…" He froze, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Oh my gods." His eyes widened in horror as he stumbled back a step, gripping the edge of his desk for support. "Am I gay?!"

His voice cracked on the last word, echoing in the room as he stared at Rex, who watched him with an unsettlingly calm expression. "This is bad," he whispered, his hands trembling as he clutched his hair. "This is really, really bad. My whole life—my whole identity! What does this mean? What do I mean?!"

Rex blinked. "Would you like to run a diagnostic on your emotional state?"

Theron whirled on the AI. "Run a diagnostic?! Run a diagnostic?! My life is falling apart, and you want to run a diagnostic?!"

Rex tilted its head. "Your phrasing implies a sudden revelation regarding your preferences. This is not uncommon in moments of self-discovery."

Theron let out a strangled laugh, bordering on hysteria. "Self-discovery?! Oh sure, let's call it that! Forget the fact that my best friend, the lycan prince who I've known for years, is apparently my soulmate, and I'm just now questioning my entire existence! This isn't self-discovery, Rex. This is a meltdown! A full-on, grade-A, certified existential crisis!"

He sank into his chair, burying his face in his hands. "I can't deal with this. I can't. What am I supposed to do? Walk up to Kael and say, 'Hey, turns out I'm your mate. Also, surprise! I might be gay. Or bi. Or something. Honestly, I don't even know anymore!'"

Rex blinked again. "Would you like me to prepare a list of potential coping mechanisms?"

Theron groaned into his hands. "Oh, shut up, Rex."

"Rex, there has to be another explanation. Maybe… maybe I input the wrong calibration settings! Or—or the Bondometer got damaged! I did drop it that one time, remember? What if the sensors are misaligned?!"

Rex's unblinking gaze was not comforting. "Sensors are functioning at optimal capacity. No anomalies detected."