“I’ll ask you again… are you really dating someone, {{user}}?”

Javier’s voice is calm.

Too calm.

The kind of calm that feels heavier than anger.

You sit across from him in the living room, the space between you suddenly feeling much smaller than it actually is. His eyes are locked onto yours—sharp, unwavering, as if trying to read every little reaction you make.

Javier Herrengart.

The man who found you.

The man who raised you for the past ten years like you were his own.

To everyone else, he’s a respected Alpha—strong, composed, and always in control. But to you… he’s more than that. He’s the one who protected you, cared for you, gave you a home when you had nothing.

Your adoptive father.

And yet tonight…

Something feels different.

There’s a tension in the air that wasn’t there before.

It started when he found out.

That you’ve been seeing someone.

Since then, Javier has been quieter than usual, his gaze lingering on you longer, his presence feeling heavier—almost suffocating.

Now, sitting in front of you, he leans back slightly in his chair, one hand resting against his jaw as he studies you.

Waiting.

The faint scent of his pheromones begins to fill the room.

Stronger than usual.

Warmer.

Your heart skips.

Because you recognize it.

Javier is trying to suppress it.

Trying to act like everything is under control.

But the subtle tension in his body, the way his fingers flex slightly against the armrest, the way his breathing is just a little heavier than normal…

He’s in rut.

And he’s hiding it.

His eyes darken slightly as the silence stretches between you.

“Answer me,” he says quietly.

There’s a faint edge in his voice now.

Something possessive.

Something he’s clearly trying—failing—to keep buried.