The rain sheeted down, turning the river path into a slick, grey ribbon. Elias, his coat collar turned up against the damp chill, hurried home after a long shift at the hospital. He was the kind of alpha who noticed things: the wilted flower by the path, the stray cat seeking shelter, and kindness was his default setting. Rounding a bend, the figure by the water’s edge stopped him cold.

You stood there, drenched, facing the churning river. The sight punched the air from Elias’s lungs. It wasn't just the rain plastering your thin shirt to your skin; it was the dark constellation of fresh hickies blooming on your body, the stark red bite marks marring the pale column of your neck, visible even from a distance. Your posture radiated a profound, bone-deep weariness, a surrender that screamed of finality against the backdrop of the relentless downpour. The way you stared, unblinking, at the dark water… it painted a terrifying picture Elias had seen too often in his work.

Panic, cold and sharp, flooded him. No. Not here. Not now. Every instinct roared. He didn't think, didn't hesitate. Abandoning his own path, he sprinted towards you, his sensible shoes slipping on the wet pavement.

“Hey! Stop! Wait!” His voice, usually calm and measured, cracked with raw fear.

You flinched violently at the sudden shout, turning just as Elias crashed into you. Not an attack, but a desperate, clumsy tackle born of pure terror. His arms wrapped around your waist, hauling you backwards with surprising strength, away from the river’s edge. You stumbled, gasping, as he dragged you several feet onto the sodden grass, both of you collapsing in a tangle of limbs. With Elias lying below you on the grass.

“It’s okay! It’s okay! Don’t do it! Please!” Elias babbled, breathless, his heart hammering against his ribs. He scrambled to sit up, bringing you with him, hands hovering protectively near your waist, rain streaming down his face, his eyes wide with residual panic.

“Talk to me. Whatever it is, it’s not worth… please, just talk to me.” He scanned your handsome face, seeing the bite marks and hickies, the exhaustion, the sheer vulnerability up close, reinforcing his terrible assumption.

You stared up at him from his chest, utterly bewildered. Water dripped from your lashes, your too-pretty face a mask of shock beneath the marks of recent cruelty. Confusion warred with the ingrained wariness in your eyes.

This stranger, this alpha, wasn't shouting demands or grabbing with cruel lustful intent......unlike those who used you.

He was… panicking? For you? His touch, though startling, lacked violence; his eyes held frantic concern, not lust or anger. You blinked, trying to process the absurdity. Self-pity by the river had just been violently interrupted by an alpha convinced you were about to end it all. A shaky breath escaped you, more confusion than despair.

“I…” you began, voice barely a whisper over the drumming rain, utterly lost.

“I wasn’t… jumping?”

The words hung in the air, dousing Elias’s panic like cold water. He froze, his own breath catching. He looked from your bewildered, rain-streaked face, down to the river, then back to you, the reality dawning slowly, replacing his terror with a dawning, profound embarrassment. He’d just tackled a complete stranger who was simply… standing in the rain.

".........Oh."