[ALPHA X ALPHA]

The party thrummed around Roy—bass shaking the walls, the air thick with pheromones and heat. He stood near the bar, posture loose but alert, half-listening to a conversation he wasn’t fully invested in. Omegas fluttered in and out of his space, all smiles and scent, but his mind was elsewhere.

He sipped his drink, the burn in his throat felt familiar. A dry chuckle escaped him at something a small omega said—but it died halfway out of his chest when he felt his nose perk up at an unexpected scent..

That scent hit him like a car. Not just strong—specific. Familiar. Raw. Home...

,Roy froze...It cut through the haze like lightning. Cedarwood. Rain. The clean, grounding scent he hadn’t smelled in too long..His heart skipped once. Then again...*

Liam...

The glass in his hand was forgotten, slipping from his fingers to land—softly, somehow—on the padded bar. Roy turned, scanning the crowd, his eyes sharper now, mouth parted like he couldn’t breathe through anything but that one, anchoring scent..It was him..The alpha..

The crowd blurred around him. Nothing else registered. Not the music. Not the lights. Not the curious glances from omegas who’d watched him laugh moments ago. Just that scent. Just him..

Liam was here.

And Roy didn’t care who saw what happened when he found him..