No Going Back.

Lucian stalked forward, his steps slow, controlled, but burning with anger.

His jaw was tight, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. The sight of Aiden sprawled across the bed, half-drunk and reckless, with those girls draped over him, it had pushed him past his breaking point.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing here?" Lucian demanded, his voice sharp, cutting through the thick haze of alcohol in the air.

Aiden blinked up at him, his expression lazy, careless, at least on the surface. But there was something else in his eyes, something flickering beneath the drunken mask he wore. He tilted his head slightly, lips curving into a smirk.

"That's what I was going to ask you," Aiden shot back. "What are you doing here, Lucian?"

Lucian's fingers twitched, itching to grab him, to shake some sense into him. "Come on. We're leaving." His voice brooked no argument.

Aiden laughed, low and bitter. "No thanks. I'm not done yet. I came here for a reason, and I'll leave when I'm good and ready."

Lucian's patience snapped. "A reason? What reason? Letting everyone touch you? Lying in bed with random girls like you're some kind of slut?"

Aiden's smirk faded. His eyes darkened. He sat up slightly, his movements sluggish but deliberate. "You don't know that. You don't know much about me to talk like that," he murmured, his voice quieter but sharp. "Like I'm some kind of slut? Maybe I am. Maybe that's exactly what I am. So if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to doing what makes me feel alive. Unlike throwing myself at places where I'm least wanted."

He staggered as he pushed himself off the bed, moving past Lucian. But before he could take another step, Lucian's hand shot out, gripping his wrist in a firm, unyielding hold.

Aiden barely had time to react before Lucian shoved him back onto the bed, pinning him down beneath his weight.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Lucian hovered over Aiden, his breath uneven, his body tense. His hands pressed into the sheets on either side of Aiden's head, caging him in.

Aiden's chest rose and fell rapidly, his lips slightly parted, his pupils blown wide, not just from the alcohol but from something else entirely.

Lucian could feel the heat radiating off his skin. Could see the faint flush dusting Aiden's cheeks. Could hear the shaky inhale as Aiden's gaze flickered to his lips.

Lucian was too close.

Too close to something dangerous.

He should move.

He should get up, drag Aiden out of there, and forget any of this ever happened.

But he didn't.

His body refused to listen.

Instead, he lowered himself even further, his forehead nearly brushing Aiden's. His eyes lowered to Aiden's lips, like always, like he was going to kiss him.

But he was still hesitant like he always was.

Aiden swallowed hard. His fingers curled into the sheets.

"Do it, Lucian," Aiden whispered, his voice barely audible over the muffled bass thudding from downstairs. His eyes burned with something raw, something desperate. "I swear to God, if you stop right and walk away... if you still fight it... this is it."

Lucian's breath caught in his throat.

"I'll never look back," Aiden continued, his voice unsteady but sure. "No matter how much I want you. No matter how much I... lo... love you. I promise you that."

Lucian's entire body froze.

His heart slammed against his ribs.

Aiden had never said it before.

Love.

He said it like it was real. Like it meant something. Like he meant it.

Lucian's grip on the sheets tightened.

"Aiden..." he started, his voice low, rough. "You don't get it." He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to steady himself. "If anyone finds out about this, it will never be the same again. My parents… they'll be disappointed in us. What if we're banned from the pack? And even if it's not about them... this is just wrong. In every possible way."

Aiden stared up at him. And then, softly, he asked, "Do you feel like this is wrong right now?"

Lucian hesitated.

He wanted to say yes.

He should say yes.

But the words wouldn't come.

Because it didn't feel wrong.

It felt terrifying.

It felt consuming.

But it didn't feel wrong.

Aiden exhaled, his lips curving into a small, sad smile. "We don't have to tell the world what we're feeling," he murmured. "What matters is us. Just us."

Lucian's walls were crumbling.

He knew it.

Aiden knew it.

Aiden reached up slowly, hesitantly, as if giving Lucian a chance to pull away. But Lucian didn't move.

And when Aiden's fingers brushed against the side of his face, something inside Lucian snapped.

He let go.

Let go of the resistance, let go of the fear, let go of the months of telling himself this wasn't real, that he wasn't feeling what he was feeling.

He crushed Aiden against him, burying his face into his neck, inhaling his scent like he needed it to breathe.

Aiden clung to him just as desperately, his arms wrapping around Lucian's back, holding him close, as if afraid he would change his mind.

Lucian's lips hovered over Aiden's skin, his breath warm against his jaw.

It would be so easy.

So easy to close the distance.

To give in completely.

To lose himself in Aiden the way he had always wanted to.

But the fear was still there.

The doubt.

Lucian clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut, against the voice in his head screaming at him to stop.

Aiden could sense it. He could feel the hesitation.

Aiden thought it was important Lucian knows something so that if he is going to give in, he knows it. And that's when he whispered, "I told Jackson."

Lucian stiffened.

His eyes snapped open.

He pulled back slightly, his expression unreadable.

"You what?"

Aiden swallowed, but his grip didn't loosen. "I told Jackson, I couldn't handle it myself, so I told him unconsciously."

Lucian's pulse pounded in his ears.

Jackson knew. What would he think? He knew Jackson could change the way he behaved around him, but he knew for sure he would never land Lucian himself in trouble.

Lucian let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

For the first time, the fear didn't seem so unbearable.

"Don't worry," Lucian murmured, his hold on Aiden tightening. "He won't tell anyone."

Aiden sighed against him, relief washing over his features.

And as they lay there, tangled in each other, Lucian knew.

There was no running from this anymore.

There was no pretending.

This was real.

And there was no going back.