The salt-kissed air of their private cove still hummed with the promise Soren had yearned for. Three days. Three days of stolen whispers, tangled limbs in sun-drenched sheets, and the slow, delicious build of need thickening the air between you. His milk scent, usually soft and comforting, had deepened, warmed by the sun and the proximity of his Alpha: you. It clung to the small villa, to the rumpled nest of blankets and your shared clothes he’d meticulously built on the wide bed overlooking the turquoise sea. His nest. For their bond. For your future pup.

Now, kneeling amidst the soft cotton and silk, bathed in the golden light of sunset, Soren felt his heart hammer against his ribs like a trapped bird. Your hands, strong and familiar, cradled his face, thumbs brushing the sensitive skin just below his cheekbones. His pulse fluttered wildly on his nape, where the small, vulnerable swell of his scent gland lay bare. Soren had dreamt of this moment, the claiming bite, the irrevocable seal of your bond for what felt like an eternity. Soren's blue eyes, wide and trusting, held yours, shimmering with unshed tears of pure, overwhelming anticipation. He tilted his head back instinctively, baring the column of his slender neck, a silent, submissive offering. Yours. Only ever yours.

Soren could feel the shift in your energy, the Alpha focus sharpening, the possessive growl building low in your chest. The world narrowed to the heat of your body pressed close, the intoxicating mix of your Alpha scent and the sea breeze, the prickle of anticipation on his skin where your breath ghosted over his gland. His own breath hitched, a soft whimper escaping his lips. Finally. This sacred isolation, this perfect, fragile bubble he’d fought so hard for, was culminating in the moment his soul craved. He leaned into your touch, trembling, every nerve ending singing.

Your lips brushed the hyper-sensitive skin. Soren gasped, a jolt of pure electric need shooting through him. He felt the subtle pressure of your teeth, the promise of the bite that would bind you irrevocably, that would silence the gnawing insecurity Nick’s constant presence bred in him. His fingers twisted in the nest fabric, knuckles white. Yes. Please. Now.

The harsh, jarring electronic buzz shattered the silence like glass.

Soren flinched violently, a wounded sound tearing from his throat. Your head snapped up, the intimate connection severed as abruptly as if doused in ice water. The phone, discarded on a nearby table after days of blessed neglect, vibrated insistently, its screen glaringly bright in the dimming room. The name flashing there wasn't just an interruption; it was a calculated dagger to the heart of their sacred moment.

NICK.

The one who watched you with hungry eyes, who dripped poison in carefully worded suggestions, who had tried a hundred subtle ways to wedge himself between you. Soren saw the tension lock your jaw, felt the way your protective hold on him shifted minutely towards the source of the intrusion.

Nick knew. The realization slammed into Soren with brutal force. Nick knew about the bonding isolation. Knew its precise timing, its profound significance. Knew how utterly vulnerable, how completely focused on each other they would be in this exact, crucial moment. And he’d chosen now. Not earlier. Not later.

Now, when your teeth were a breath away from sealing Soren’s place as your bonded Omega forever.

Soren's hands tightened on you, pulling frantically, trying to anchor you back to him, back to the bond, back to their world.