O1uwapelumi

Synopsis:
In a world where Alphas rule with absolute power, Alpha Caidren Thorne stands above them all—a warlord feared for his cruelty, a ruler whose hands are stained with the blood of both enemies and kin. His lands are harsh, his rule even harsher, and his name alone is enough to strike terror into the hearts of those who hear it.

But there is a darker truth hidden beneath his legend.

Every Omega sent to him has perished.

No one knows why. No one dares to ask. Some whisper that his presence alone is enough to snuff out their fragile lives, that no Omega can withstand his brutality. Others say that he is cursed, doomed to be alone forever. But Caidren does not care. He has never let anyone close—not a mate, not a lover, not even his own people. His heart is stone, and his hands are weapons.

When the noble House Velmire is forced to offer him an Omega, they do not send their treasured daughter. Instead, they send Elias—an adopted outcast, a boy without a place in their world. Elias has spent his life alone, unwanted, and now, he is being sent to a fate worse than death.

And when he arrives at the Bloodfang Stronghold, he is welcomed by a scene of horror.

A man clothed in black can be seen writhing in agony. Blood soaking the ground. And standing above it all, delivering judgment with cold precision, is Alpha Caidren.

Elias’ fear takes root instantly. This man is no savior. He is death itself.

Caidren barely acknowledges him, dismissing him with a single glance. Another Omega. Another life that will soon disappear.

But Elias does not die.

Days pass. Then weeks. And for the first time, an Omega survives.

Elias is not weak. He is not fragile. He is not like the others. And against every instinct, every warning, Caidren begins to take notice.

What starts as indifference turns to fascination. What was once just another burden soon becomes something the Alpha refuses to let go of.

For the first time in his life, Caidren is afraid—not of war, not of death, but of the one thing he never thought he could have.

And when enemies rise and threaten to take Elias away, Caidren will burn the world to keep his Omega safe.

scarred by the Alpher, claimed by his touch.

He should have shoved the Alpha away, should have forced himself to breathe past the suffocating heat curling through his body.

Because the moment the Alpha moved—slow, deliberate, unbearably confident—the last remnants of control slipped through Elias's fingers.

"Let's see how long you can last," the Alpha murmured, golden eyes gleaming with wicked amusement.

A teasing brush of fingers along Elias's wrist, a slow drag of nails against overheated skin—just enough to make Elias shudder, his breath coming faster, his body betraying him completely.

"There it is," he murmured, his voice low, triumphant. "You're burning up, little one."

Elias gritted his teeth, hating how his body reacted—how the drug had stripped away his defenses, leaving him raw, vulnerable, aching for something he refused to name.

"Stop?" The Alpha chuckled, tilting his head as if amused by the very idea of it. "Elias, you're the one holding on to me."

Elias's fingers had curled into the fabric of the Alpha's clothes, gripping—clinging—even as his mind screamed at him to let go.

"You hate this, don't you?" he mused, voice laced with cruel amusement. "Hate that I can feel every little reaction you try to suppress."

But then the Alpha leaned in—closer, too close—his breath warm against Elias's throat, his fingers tracing the curve of his jaw, lingering—teasing.

"Tell me, Elias," he murmured, voice dipping lower, smoother, more dangerous. "Is this still just a game to you?"

Not when his mind was a haze of heat and need.

Not when his body had already betrayed him.

A slow, deliberate shift—pressing Elias further into the sheets, making sure he felt every inch of space between them vanish.

His body arched before he could stop it, a sharp, involuntary reaction to the unbearable heat spreading beneath his skin.

Like the game was no longer just his.

"Tch," he exhaled, eyes darkening, fingers tightening against Elias's skin. "You really don't know what you've done, do you?"

His breath was ragged, his vision blurred, his body burning—the combined force of the drug and the Alpha's presence pushing him dangerously close to the edge.

"Look at you," the Alpha murmured, his voice thick with something Elias refused to name. "You're so close to breaking."

The worst part was that, for the first time—

He didn't know if he wanted to stop.

chapter 153: not a game