Chapter 78: …Touch Me!

“Don’t touch me!”

Ezra’s voice came out sharper than he intended. His hand shot up between them, palm outward, as if he were warding off an enemy instead of his prince.

Helios froze.

“Ezra…”

There was worry in his voice.

And something else.

Guilt.

“I don’t know what came over me,” Helios said quietly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

He sounded sincere. Truly sincere. As if he genuinely had no idea what he had just done.

And Ezra knew that.

It was obvious Helios had not released his pheromones on purpose. He hadn’t even seemed aware of it. He hadn’t noticed Ezra struggling to breathe, knees buckling, vision dimming.

Because if he had—

He would have stopped immediately.

Ezra swallowed.

“I know,” he whispered, voice rougher now. “I know you didn’t mean to, Helios. But please… I just need a few minutes. Just please… do not get close.”

Helios didn’t argue.

He didn’t step forward again.

But he didn’t step back much either.

And Ezra could feel it.

That stare.

Heavy. Searching.

’Stop staring,’ Ezra wanted to say. ’Please.’

But if he said that, Helios would ask why.

And Ezra did not want to answer that.

He shifted slightly on the ground, one hand braced behind him, the other lowering awkwardly to his lap.

Covering.

Shielding.

He could feel the heat of his own embarrassment rising up his neck.

The reason he didn’t want Helios near wasn’t fear.

It wasn’t anger.

It wasn’t even the lingering weakness in his legs.

It was something worse.

In that brief, suffocating moment when Helios’ pheromones had wrapped around him—

When the world had narrowed and his body had gone heavy—

Something had responded.

Against his will.

Against his pride.

His body had reacted.

He had gone hard.

Hard.

The realization made his stomach twist.

’What is wrong with me?’

Fortunately, it hadn’t triggered his heat. That would have been catastrophic. Humiliating beyond repair.

But it had stirred something.

Something very familiar.

A pull low in his abdomen. A warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time. Not like that. Not so suddenly.

And he hated it.

He hated that his body could betray him so easily.

He hated that it had happened because of Helios.

Because of his scent.

Because of him.

Ezra kept his head slightly lowered, pretending he was still catching his breath.

In truth, he was trying to calm his body.

Trying to will the reaction away.

Trying to bury it before Helios noticed.

Before Helios stepped closer.

Unfortunately, Helios’ kindness did not retreat.

If anything, it deepened.

Ezra felt him step closer.

Too close.

And before he could react, before he could shift away or protest properly, Helios moved.

An arm slid behind his back.

Another hooked beneath his knees.

And suddenly—

The ground disappeared.

Ezra sucked in a quiet breath as he was lifted clean off the stone.

Carried.

Like a princess.

“H-Helios,” Ezra hissed under his breath, grabbing onto the front of Helios’ tunic purely out of instinct. “Put me down. Please.”

He resisted the urge to raise his voice. The last thing he needed was attention. But Helios’ expression had changed.

He looked serious.

Worried.

“I could have hurt you,” Helios said firmly, adjusting his hold as if Ezra weighed nothing. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know why that happened. And I know it was my fault.”

“It wasn’t—”

“I know there is a part of you that may not want to be near me right now,” Helios continued, cutting him off. “But you nearly collapsed. I need you to get checked.”

“That’s—”

“As your prince,” Helios said, voice tightening, “this is my order.”

’Aurethys fucking damn it.’

Ezra closed his eyes for a second.

Helios wasn’t doing this to embarrass him. He wasn’t trying to dominate him. He was doing it because he was worried.

Because that was who Helios was.

And somehow that made it worse.

Worse because Ezra’s body—

His body was not cooperating.

Being this close. Being held like this. Chest to chest.

The warmth.

The scent that still lingered faintly on Helios’ skin.

The tightness in his pants had not disappeared.

If anything, it had become harder to ignore.

’This is a disaster.’

“I will summon the physician at once—”

“I’m flustered!” Ezra blurted out suddenly.

The words escaped before he could stop them.

Helios blinked down at him. “What?”

Ezra looked away immediately, jaw tight, ears burning.

“I’m not mad,” he said quickly. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose. For whatever reason, your pheromones just… burst. It isn’t uncommon. Alphas can lose control when stressed.”

His voice grew quieter.

“And I…” He swallowed. “I am still an omega. As much as I try to forget that. My body… reacted.”

“Reacted?” Helios repeated, genuinely confused.

Ezra wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole.

“Yes, reacted,” he muttered, refusing to meet his eyes. “What happens when an omega gets too close to an alpha’s pheromones.”

He said it quickly. Quietly.

Almost under his breath.

“Oh.”

Yeah.

Oh.

Understanding dawned slowly across Helios’ face.

Color crept faintly up his neck.

“Please don’t hold it against me,” Ezra whispered, forcing himself to speak through the embarrassment. “It’s not as if I wanted it. We both… reacted in ways that are natural to what we are.”

Even as he said it, a question lingered in the back of his mind.

’Why were you agitated enough to release them in the first place?’

Stress?

Jealousy?

Something else?

“I won’t,” Helios said softly.

Relief loosened something in Ezra’s chest.

“Then please,” he said again, quieter this time. “Put me down.”

Helios’ hold did not shift.

“No.”

Ezra’s head snapped up. “What?” he asks with a now slightly annoyed tone. “Helios…was I not clear enough about–”

“I know what you meant.”

“Then why–”

“I am responsible for this. So, I will help you.”

…help?

’Did he just say help?’

Ezra looks at him.

Helios looked back.

They both stared at each other.

“…”

“…”

WHAT?

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