Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Someone else

Max didn’t answer the provocation.

He just went still, and Adam felt the air tighten around him as if Max had cinched a leash around his own instincts and refused to let them show. The silence dragged, heavy, as if Max had chosen restraint with his teeth clenched.

An alpha who could take advantage of him refused to give in to instincts. That should have soothed Adam.

It didn’t.

It made him feel dismissed. Managed. Like Max had filed the request under biological noise and moved on.

Adam’s heat pulsed, angry and insistent, and his pride—always too fierce to get him to beg without biting back—clung to the only weapon left.

“Fine,” Adam said, voice rough. “Don’t.”

Max’s gaze stayed forward. His jaw flexed once. Nothing else.

The car rolled on, smooth as a lie.

Outside, the city thinned into quiet streets and iron fencing, ether wards humming softly like invisible wire. Gates rose ahead, tall and swift, reading their signatures before the driver even slowed. The entrance opened with the unquestioning obedience of infrastructure built for one man.

Adam watched it through the tinted glass and felt something in his stomach twist.

Not awe, but a sense of being trapped and aware of the distance closing behind him.

The car passed through, and the gates shut.

The manor rose in front of them, classical lines blending with modern style as if the architect were motivated by spite.

The car curved up the drive and stopped at the entrance.

The driver got out. Opened the rear door. Looked anywhere but at Adam, as if discretion could erase reality.

Max waited for Adam to move first.

Adam remained exactly where he was, pressed against the far side of the seat, hood up, mask on, breathing hard as if the car had become his last source of autonomy.

“Out,” Max said quietly.

Adam’s laugh came out broken and sharp. “No.”

Max’s eyes flicked to him. Green. Cold. Controlled. “Adam—”

“No,” Adam repeated, louder, because if he didn’t raise his voice, he might fold. “If you don’t want to help, then don’t. I can find someone else.”

The words left his mouth before he could soften them into something less suicidal.

And Max… Max reacted.

His pheromones rose, swift and sharp, filling the car with a pressure that made Adam’s lungs stutter. It wasn’t the crude dominance of an alpha trying to pin an omega into submission. It was jealousy, sudden and ugly, restrained only by training.

The air went heavier.

The wards on the manor walls outside flickered faintly in response, a quiet shimmer like the estate itself noticed the spike and adjusted.

Adam’s stomach flipped away from the immediate, animal part of his body, recognizing the change.

Max’s voice remained low, but there was a new edge to it, something feral carefully woven into civilization.

“Someone else,” Max repeated.

Adam swallowed. He forced himself to keep his tone flippant. “Yes. Someone who actually wants to—”

Max leaned forward a fraction, and the ether in the car seemed to tighten, a thin crackle only Adam could feel against his skin, like static collecting before lightning.

“Finish that sentence,” Max said softly, “and you will regret it.”

Adam’s heart slammed.

He should have backed off.

He didn’t, because heat made fools brave.

And because Adam had never been good at respecting warning signs painted in gold.

“Why?” Adam snapped. “You’re the one who said no. You’re the one who wants to keep me safe. Fine. Keep me safe while I handle my own body.”

Adam’s words hung between them like a challenge to a man who had just declared his territory with a single, possessive glance.

Max was out of the car in one fluid, terrifyingly quick movement, the door swinging open to the cool night air. Before Adam could process the change, a large hand gripped his bicep, fingers biting through the fabric of his hoodie. The grip was iron and unyielding and dragged him bodily from the leather seat.

Adam stumbled, his heat-addled limbs clumsy, his pride screaming as his feet hit the gravel drive. “Get off—!”

Max didn’t let go. He dragged Adam to the manor’s grand entrance, his stride long and purposeful, ignoring Adam’s half-hearted protests. The driver had vanished, the car door had shut with a soft thump, and they were alone under the vast, star-dusted sky, the only sounds being the crunch of gravel and Adam’s ragged, furious breathing.

The massive front door was already open. Max pulled him across the threshold into a soaring foyer of dark marble and cool, recessed light. The door swung shut behind them, leaving a heavy, final click.

Max released Adam’s arm, but the space he left felt charged and violent. Adam staggered back a step, his chest heaving and the hood of his sweatshirt falling back to reveal his flushed, sweat-soaked face.

Max turned to face him.

For a second, they just stared. Adam saw the rigid line of Max’s shoulders and the way his hands were clenched at his sides. He saw the storm in those cold green eyes, the control stretched so thin it was nearly transparent.

Then Max’s hand came up.

His fingers hooked under the edge of Adam’s mask, the cheap black fabric. He pulled it down, exposing Adam’s mouth, his parted lips, and the line of his throat.

Adam’s protest died in his throat.

Max closed the distance between them in one stride. One hand came up to cradle the back of Adam’s head, fingers tangling in his long, blonde hair. The other arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him against a body of hard muscle and simmering heat.

Max’s mouth came down on him, hot and demanding, his lips sealing over his with a pressure that drained Adam’s lungs. A low, rough sound vibrated from Max’s chest into Adam’s, a growl of pure desire after being caged for too long. Adam’s mind went white. Every nerve ending, which had already become hypersensitive due to his heat, lit up at the contact. The slick, hot slide of Max’s tongue against the seam of his lips was an instruction without words. Adam gasped, and Max took full advantage, sweeping his tongue into Adam’s mouth and tasting him deeply and possessively.

The taste of him—dark coffee, winter air, and that unique alpha scent—flooded Adam’s senses. His knees buckled. The arm around his waist tightened, holding him up and drawing him in closer until Adam felt the hard ridge of Max’s erection pressing against his stomach. A whimper escaped him, high and needy, swallowed instantly by Max’s hungry mouth.

Max’s hand in his hair tightened, tilting his head back to deepen the kiss even more. His other hand slid down from Adam’s waist, over the curve of his ass, tightly gripping him through the sweatpants and pulling their hips together in a rough, grinding motion.

Adam felt a sharp and immediate pleasure that lanced through his core, making his own cock ache and his hole clench around nothing. He was dripping, the slickness a hot, embarrassing rush he could feel soaking through his clothes.

Max pulled back just enough to let them both draw in ragged breaths, but the distance didn’t do anything to cool the feverish heat between them. His eyes dropped to the dark, spreading stain on Adam’s sweatpants, the evidence of his own body betraying him so blatantly.

The sight seemed to be the final straw.

Max’s nostrils flared, inhaling deeply the scent of Adam’s slick and his own arousal, and his jaw clenched so tightly that Adam could hear the click of his teeth. He hooked his hands under Adam’s thighs and lifted.

Adam let out a startled yelp, his arms instinctively flying up to wrap around Max’s neck as he was hoisted into the air. “Max—”

“Mine,” Max rumbled, the word vibrating against Adam’s chest.

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