Ferys was lost. Truly lost.

He'd thought he had his life figured out. His marriage to Duke Callahan McLeod was stable. They had a respectful agreement, even if there had never been any true passion between them. Ferys loved his husband in the way one loves a dear friend. They'd opted to forgo a bonding bite, and they had fallen into a pleasant rhythm.

Ferys did his duty as dam to Callahan's twin pups. He raised his boys with love. He kept himself beautiful for the formal events the couple needed to attend. Though he'd come from a failing viscountcy, he had molded himself into an omega worthy of a ducal family. He'd made something of himself, and that had been enough.

The problem wasn't that his husband had been swept off his feet by a sudden fated mate. Ferys and Callahan had always had an agreement between them—they were free to take their affections wherever their hearts desired. Callahan had Ferys's blessings. The omega wanted to see his alpha happy.

No, the problem was that his husband hadn't been the only one swept off his feet.

Ferys had never fallen for anyone before. He'd always been a pragmatic man, who had done what was best for the family he'd been born into, the family he'd married into, and the family he'd created. His heart had never been swayed by passion. His heart had never yearned for more.

Now he couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't socialize. Heavens, he was sobbing into his pillow at the knowledge that Callahan and his fated were together! How could he have fallen, at first sight, for another man's fated mate?

"It's not fair," he whispered to the empty room. "Not fair at all." The tears kept coming, and Ferys curled up under the blankets. "Foolish, foolish heart. The first time you yearn for something, it's the one thing you can't have?"

Gods, his chest hurt. It hurt, and he didn't know what to do. He'd always known life wasn't a fairytale, but this? This was cruel.

A soft knock on the door suddenly jolted him from his thoughts. It was late at night. Who could possibly...?