Chapter 46: Almost surrendering 

Victor's hands didn't move.

For a moment, the room felt too small, air thinning between them as if the sight itself had stolen it. The faint threads along his skin pulsed once, dim light ebbing like candlewick glow behind frosted glass.

Elias's voice broke again, barely a whisper this time. "How long have they…?"

Victor's eyes shuttered, lids lowering as though he could hide it, but he didn't step back. He didn't release him. His breath slid uneven, close enough that Elias felt it on his jaw.

"Too long," Victor said finally, a rasp beneath the calm, something frayed in a man who had been composed for far too long. "I was good at pretending. Until you."

Elias's fingers slackened on Victor's shoulders, his pulse stumbling in his throat. He wanted to demand an explanation, wanted to push him back into the chair and shake the truth loose, but the weight in Victor's tone held him in place, something more dangerous than anger. Pain.

"You're burning yourself out," Elias said, his own voice low, uneven. His hands rose without thinking, catching Victor's face, thumbs brushing along sharp cheekbones that felt too warm under his touch. "You're…"

"Breaking?" Victor's mouth tilted faintly, but it wasn't a smile. The glow along his neck flared again, then flickered out. He leaned into Elias's palms, just slightly, as if to steal a steadiness he no longer had. "Not if you stay."

Elias swallowed hard. He hated how those words wrapped around him, hated how his body trembled because some deep, buried part of him responded, because his omega instincts surged hot and sharp at the edge of danger, whispering that he could stop it. That he could fix him.

But instincts were never safe things.

"I don't even know how," Elias whispered, his voice shaking despite his best effort.

Victor chuckled like Elias asked him how to turn on the light. "You just have to kiss me and accept to regulate my divine power."

Elias swallowed hard, memory sparking like static through him, the taste of power rushing through his veins, the weight of Victor's grip, the terrifying intimacy of their kiss and how much it affected him. 

Elias hesitated for a heartbeat, his mind screaming at him to pull away, to run. But his body didn't listen. His hands lifted almost of their own accord, cupping Victor's jaw. The faint rasp of stubble against his palms sent a shiver through him, the warmth of Victor's skin almost too much to bear. Victor inhaled sharply, his breath hitching as Elias raised his head to him.

Their lips brushed, a fleeting ghost of contact that sent a jolt of electricity straight to Elias's core. Victor stilled, his muscles tensing, and then he exhaled softly against Elias's mouth, the sound low and dark, sending tremors down Elias's spine. The alpha didn't push, didn't take control. He simply waited, his lips barely touching Elias's, as if giving him the chance to pull back.

Elias's heart thudded hard enough that he felt it in his fingertips, in the tremor running through his arms. His breath caught, a thin, shaky sound, and for a second he hovered there, lips grazing Victor's, the space between them so fragile it felt like glass.

Victor stayed perfectly still beneath his touch, save for the faint rise and fall of his chest, the low hum of power under his skin like a distant storm. Crimson eyes closed slowly, lashes brushing Elias's thumbs, as though savoring the moment before it broke.

Elias could feel it, how close the current sat beneath Victor's skin, waiting, hungry, dangerous. 

He tilted his head a fraction, closing the gap, pressing fully into Victor's mouth with a kiss that was nothing like caution. Heat unfurled through him the instant their lips met, a surge of power rushing in like a tide breaking loose, spilling through his chest, flooding his senses until he couldn't tell where Victor ended and he began.

Victor's grip shifted, the fingers of his right hand sliding to Elias's nape and the other sprawled on his back, bringing them together until their bodies were flush. 

The pulse of divine energy threaded through every nerve, a low hum becoming a roar, and Elias felt his knees weaken, his instincts spiraling between fight and surrender. He clung tighter, fingers curling into Victor's hair, pulling him closer as though he could steady both of them by sheer will.

Victor's breath deepened, a low growl curling at the back of his throat as the energy threaded tighter between them. The hand at Elias's nape pressed gently, tipping his head to deepen the kiss, while the other mapped slow, steady lines down his spine, grounding him against the rush that threatened to swallow them both.

The taste of the alpha flooded his senses, rich and dark, faintly sweet, like sugared smoke, and it overwhelmed him, intoxicating and dangerous. Elias shuddered as the flavor of him melted into every breath, a sharp ache coiling in his chest.

And then Elias's own carefully controlled pheromones broke free. For years he'd kept them locked tight, until now. The air thickened, heady and floral, the scent of imperial irises blooming into the room with startling clarity, soft and commanding all at once. It wrapped around them both, silk and sunlight and something darker underneath, an omega's call laced with power.

Victor's grip flexed at the surge, the growl in his throat deepening, his lips parting against Elias's as though drawn deeper by that unexpected sweetness. Victor's hands slid under Elias's shirt, his fingertips brushing against the omega's bare skin, leaving trails of fire in their wake. Elias arched into the touch, a soft moan escaping him as Victor's lips moved to his collarbone, nipping and sucking gently. 

"Tell me to stop," Victor murmured against his skin, his voice low and rough with desire. But even as he said the words, his hands were sliding lower, his fingertips dipping just beneath the waistband of Elias's pants, teasing and maddening.

Elias's breath caught, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. He knew he should tell Victor to stop, knew he shouldn't be letting this happen. But the heat of the alpha's body and the way his touch sent electricity racing through him made it impossible to think clearly. Instead of pushing him away, Elias found himself leaning into the touch, his hips shifting slightly as Victor's fingers brushed against the sensitive skin just above his hipbone.

"I…" Elias started, his voice trembling, but the words wouldn't fully form. Instead, he gripped Victor's shoulders, his nails digging into the fabric of the alpha's shirt as Victor's lips found his earlobe, sucking gently. The sensation sent a bolt of pleasure straight down Elias's spine, and he couldn't stop the soft whimper that escaped him.

Victor chuckled darkly, his breath warm against Elias's ear. "That's what I thought," he murmured, his hands sliding lower still, until they were cupping Elias's ass through the thin fabric of his pants. The omega gasped, his body arching into the touch as Victor squeezed gently, pulling him even closer until their bodies were flush together.

The hardness pressing against him sent a thrill through Elias, heat pooling low in his belly as his own arousal grew. He could feel the slickness beginning to gather between his thighs, his body betraying him even as his mind screamed at him to stop. But Victor's hands were everywhere, his touch electric and demanding, and Elias couldn't find the strength to pull away.

Victor's hands tightened just slightly, his thumbs sweeping over the curve of Elias's hips as if he could brand the moment into him. Elias's breath came fast and shallow, his forehead tipping against Victor's shoulder, lost in the dizzying rhythm of heat and scent and power. The taste of him still lingered on Elias's lips, sweet, smoke‑tinged, addictive, and the air was thick with the bloom of imperial irises, heady and lush, a haze that curled around them both like silk.

Victor's mouth grazed the hollow of Elias's throat, his voice a low rasp.

"Just like that… stay with me…"

Elias's nails dug into Victor's shoulders, his own soft sound catching in his throat as Victor's hand slid lower, fingers tracing the line of his spine with devastating patience. The rush of divine power surged again, raw and consuming, until Elias could barely keep his knees under him.

And then...

A sharp knock splintered the air.

"Victor." The voice beyond the door was taut, urgent. Ashwin. "You're needed. Now."