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In the shadowed halls of Okhema, the Eternal Holy City, silence gathered like a held breath.
The stones themselves still trembled with the residue of battle, humming faintly from the clash of Chrysos Heirs and the encroaching cold of the black tide’s influence. Lantern-light pooled against the walls in molten shapes, as though the city bled gold to match the man who walked its wounded halls.
Phainon’s blood still burned from the fight, that ancient Worldbearing flame pulsing in his veins like a sun refusing to dim. Every inhale tasted of ash, every exhale left scorchlines in the air.
Across from him, Mydei leaned against a cracked pillar, breath steady but body quivering with the familiar aftershocks of Strife, its unyielding rhythm drumming beneath his skin like a war hymn refusing to die.
Two alphas in too-small a space with nowhere left to go.
Their scents clashed before their eyes did. Phainon’s was deep and grounded, like rain hitting hot stone, earth warmed by divine fire, thunder trapped beneath ribs. Mydei’s was sharp enough to draw blood: all iron and adrenaline, the electric smell of battlefield dawn when everything is possible and nothing is forgiven.
Even exhausted, they circled one another in the dim corridor as though the fight had never ended, as though some invisible tide kept dragging them closer, daring them to break or fuse.
The wards glowed on and off like a slow pulse, throwing stripes of light and darkness across their bodies. Every time the light shifted, the silence between them seemed to sharpen, as if the air itself was tightening around them.
They had driven each other to breathless edges more times than either would admit. Too many moments where a touch lasted one heartbeat too long, where a glare sank too deep into flesh. No other rival burned like this; no other presence threaded itself so easily into the rawest parts of their nerves.
There was another truth thrumming beneath the silence, one neither of them ever dared voice: In Okhema, alphas should not touch alphas.
Their cores, forged from opposing divine origins, were not meant to intertwine. The priests called it sacrilege; the wardens called it destabilization. Two scents like theirs colliding could warp the balance of their entire universe.
Phainon had abided by that law longer than he cared to admit. He had spent years mastering the art of distance, teaching himself to breathe shallow whenever Mydei stepped too close, forcing his longing into the quiet, disciplined places duty allowed. He had been telling himself balance mattered more than desire; that the fate of Okhema outweighed the reckless pull in his chest.
But today, during the clash at the boundary of the sanctum, he had watched Mydei fall.
Just one misstep, a blade slipping past Strife’s rhythm, and Mydei’s body hit the earth with a sound that carved straight through Phainon’s spine.
In that instant, every rule he had ever followed burned away. The flame inside him roared; not with righteousness, but with fear.
He realized then, with a clarity that tasted like divine fire and ruin, that losing Mydei would destroy him in ways inconceivable to him.
That knowledge followed him now into the wounded halls, coiling beneath his ribs, turning restraint into a brittle, cracking thing. It was the reason he stepped closer, why the air between them felt like something already breaking open.
Mydei’s gaze lifted first, pupils blown wide. Phainon’s answering look was molten, the kind of heat that didn’t ask permission before consuming.
Neither spoke; words would have been far too small for whatever was unfolding.
Instead, their breathing aligned, matching the way blades do when struck together. The world around them dimmed, leaving only the charged space between two alphas who had spent far too long pretending the tension didn’t already own them.
And in that trembling quiet, something fierce and inevitable stepped forward in their place.
Phainon cornered Mydei against the cool stone wall of an abandoned sanctum, his blue eyes, sharp as the dawn he was destined to bring, locking onto Mydei's defiant gaze.
"You got hurt today, Mydei," Phainon murmured, his voice low and steady, carrying the weight of their shared fate. He stepped closer, the heat from his body radiating like a forge, his alpha pheromones thickening the air until Mydei's nostrils flared involuntarily.
Mydei sneered, though his pulse quickened beneath the surface. "Spare me the aggro, Deliverer. I don't need your worry." His words were sharp, but his body betrayed him, leaning ever so slightly into Phainon's proximity, the alpha in him warring with an unfamiliar urge to yield.
The scent of Phainon's rut lingered faintly, not yet overwhelming but enough to stir Mydei's own instincts, making his skin prickle with heat.
Phainon didn't back down. Instead, he reached out, his fingers brushing Mydei's jaw with a gentleness that belied his strength. "No," he said softly, thumb tracing the line of Mydei's cheekbone. "But I do need this."
He leaned in, capturing Mydei's mouth in a kiss that started firm and unyielding, his lips pressing with the authority of one who carried worlds on his shoulders. Mydei resisted at first, his hands pushing against Phainon's chest, but the taste of salt and fire undid him. He parted his lips on a growl, allowing Phainon's tongue to delve deeper, exploring with deliberate strokes that made Mydei's knees weaken.
The kiss deepened, Phainon's hand sliding to the nape of Mydei's neck, fingers tangling in golden hair to hold him steady. He nipped at Mydei's lower lip, drawing a sharp intake of breath, then soothed it with a slow lick.
Mydei's hands fisted in Phainon's coat, pulling him closer even as he muttered against his mouth, "HKS."
Phainon chuckled at that foreign yet familiar word, the sound vibrating through them both, and broke the kiss only to trail his lips along Mydei's throat, where the pulse thrummed wildly under sensitive skin. He lingered there, inhaling Mydei's scent, wild but with a hint of sweetness, an undercurrent of budding arousal that made Phainon's alpha instincts roar.
"Your pride is intoxicating," Phainon whispered, his breath hot against Mydei's ear. He grazed his teeth over the gland at the base of Mydei's neck, not biting but teasing, sending jolts of electricity through Mydei's body.
Mydei shuddered, his hands clenching tighter, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, exposing more skin in silent challenge.
Phainon accepted the invitation, tracing slow, open-mouthed kisses down the column of Mydei’s throat before drifting sideways, following the curve of his neck toward the place a claiming mark would one day bloom. Mydei’s breath hitched, a low moan slipping free despite his effort to swallow it.
"Don't... don't think this means anything," he ground out, voice rough. Phainon smiled against his skin, one hand slipping under Mydei's robe to trace the hard planes of his pecs, fingers splaying possessively.
"It means everything," Phainon replied, his tone reverent yet commanding. He pushed Mydei's robe up and off, exposing flushed skin marked by the faint scars of battles past and his conspicuous crimson marks.
Phainon's eyes darkened with desire as he mapped every inch with his gaze, then his hands, callused from wielding his sword, yet gentle in contradiction. He pressed Mydei back against the wall, one knee nudging between Mydei's thighs to pin him in place.
Mydei's alpha nature rebelled, a snarl building in his throat, but Phainon's pheromones wrapped around him like a vice, coaxing submission from deep within. Phainon kissed down Mydei's chest, pausing to leave attention on a sensitive spot just below his collarbone, tongue circling before teeth nipped sharply enough to sting. Mydei arched, a hiss escaping him, his hands flying to Phainon's shoulders —not to push away, but to grip, nails digging in.
Phainon soothed the bite with soft kisses, then continued lower while tracing Mydei’s tattoos, dropping to his knees with a grace that spoke of his unyielding control. He unfastened Mydei's pants with steady hands, pulling them down to expose him fully. Mydei's cock twitched in the cool air, already hardening under Phainon's intense stare. "Look at you," Phainon murmured, voice laced with awe. "So fierce, yet so responsive for me."
Mydei glared down, cheeks burning, but his hips canted forward involuntarily. "Shut up and do something already," he snapped, though the words lacked their usual bite. Phainon obliged, wrapping one hand around the base of Mydei's length, stroking slowly from root to tip with a firm grip that made Mydei's head fall back against the stone. He thumbed the sensitive head, smearing the gathering precum, while his other hand parted Mydei's thighs wider.
Leaning in, Phainon pressed a kiss to the inside of one thigh, then the other, his breath ghosting over heated skin. Mydei trembled, his pride fracturing under the onslaught of sensation. Phainon teased him further, lips brushing the crease where thigh met groin, before finally taking Mydei into his mouth without shame, enveloping him in wet heat.
Mydei's hands shot to Phainon's hair, tugging sharply, but Phainon didn't falter. He sucked with measured pulls, tongue swirling around the head on each upstroke, hollowing his cheeks to increase the pressure.
Mydei's moans grew ragged, his body taut as a bowstring. "Phainon..." he gasped, hips bucking despite Phainon's steadying hand on his hip.
Phainon hummed in response, the vibration sending shockwaves through Mydei, pushing him closer to the edge. But Phainon pulled back just as Mydei's breaths turned desperate, leaving him aching and unsatisfied.
"Not yet, kitty," Phainon said, rising to his feet with a predatory grace. He captured Mydei's mouth again before he could insult him, letting him taste himself on Phainon's tongue.
Mydei kissed back fiercely as a retort, a clash of teeth and dominance, but Phainon guided it, turning it slow and consuming. He maneuvered them toward a nearby shrine, where forgotten cushions from ancient rituals provided a makeshift bed.
Pushing Mydei down onto them, Phainon stripped off his own clothes, revealing the golden glow faintly pulsing in his neck, a mark of his divine blood.
Mydei watched, eyes hooded with lust, his alpha scent spiking in response. Phainon settled over him, skin to skin, the friction exquisite. He reached between them, fingers slick with oil from a vial he'd carried, and circled Mydei's entrance teasingly.
"Tell me you want this," Phainon demanded softly, pressing one finger in just enough to breach.
Mydei bit his lip, stubborn to the end, but his body clenched greedily. “...I do," he admitted, voice breaking. Phainon rewarded him by pushing deeper, crooking his finger to find that spot inside that made Mydei cry out, back arching off the cushions. He added a second finger, scissoring slowly, stretching Mydei with patient thoroughness, thumb rubbing soothing circles on his perineum.
Mydei's hands clawed at Phainon's back, leaving matching red trails, but Phainon only growled in approval, his own arousal pressing insistently against Mydei's thigh.
"You're so perfect like this," Phainon whispered, nuzzling Mydei's neck as he worked a third finger in, thrusting in rhythm until Mydei was writhing. “I wish I could impregnate you. We would have such beautiful kids…”
When Mydei was trembling on the brink again, Phainon withdrew his fingers, aligning himself.
"Look at me, please" he commanded. Mydei's eyes met his, defiance mingled with need. Phainon pushed in slowly, inch by inch, the stretch burning sweetly until he was fully seated. Mydei gasped, legs wrapping around Phainon's waist instinctively.
Phainon paused, forehead pressed to Mydei's, giving him time to adjust. "Breathe," he murmured, one hand stroking Mydei's side. Then, with Mydei's nod, he began to move —deep, rolling thrusts that hit every sensitive nerve.
Mydei met him thrust for thrust, their bodies slamming together in a rhythm born of rivalry and passion. Phainon's knot began to swell, catching on each pull out, and Mydei keened, nails raking down Phainon's arms.
Sensing the building intensity, Phainon slowed his pace, not wanting it to end too soon. With a low growl of possession, he carefully withdrew, just enough before the knot could lock fully, earning a frustrated whine from Mydei at the sudden emptiness.
"Patience," Phainon murmured, his voice rough with restraint. He guided Mydei with firm hands, turning him onto his stomach amid the cushions, Mydei's cheek pressed against the soft fabric, his hips lifted slightly by Phainon's grip.
Mydei glanced back over his shoulder, eyes flashing with a mix of irritation and anticipation. "What are you—" he started, but the words cut off as Phainon positioned himself behind, one hand steadying Mydei's hip while the other traced the curve of his spine in a soothing, worshipping caress.
The new angle allowed Phainon to press his chest flush against Mydei's back, enveloping him completely, their scents mingling even more intensely in the confined space.
"You're mine in every way," Phainon whispered against the shell of Mydei's ear, nipping lightly at the lobe before aligning himself once more. He pushed back in with a single, deliberate thrust, deeper now, the position letting him grind against that sensitive spot with unerring precision.
Mydei arched beneath him, a muffled moan escaping into the cushions, his fingers clutching the fabric as Phainon set a new rhythm —slower at first, savoring the way Mydei's body yielded, then building to powerful, claiming drives.
The change amplified everything: Phainon's dominance felt absolute, his weight pinning Mydei in place, yet his touches remained tender, one hand slipping around to stroke Mydei's neglected length in time with his thrusts. Mydei's pride warred with the vulnerability of the position, but the pleasure overrode it, his hips pushing back instinctively to meet each movement.
Phainon's gaze fixed on the exposed nape of Mydei's neck, where the skin flushed invitingly under his glands. A surge of possessive frustration welled up in him; their shared alpha nature meant any mark he left would fade too quickly, a temporary claim at best, but he couldn't resist it.
Leaning down, Phainon grazed his teeth over the sensitive spot, inhaling Mydei's scent deeply.
"I need everyone to know you are mine," he growled low, voice laced with raw need and irritation at the impermanence. Without waiting, he sank his teeth in, biting firmly but not savagely, the pressure enough to break skin slightly and infuse his pheromones into the wound.
Mydei jolted beneath him, a sharp cry muffled by the cushions, his body clenching tightly around Phainon in a mix of pain and ecstasy. The bite sent waves of heat through them both, Phainon's knot swelling further in response. He held the bite for a long moment, tongue laving the mark to soothe and seal it, but he could already feel the alpha resilience in Mydei's body beginning to heal it.
Frustration gnawed at Phainon; why couldn't it last? He'd bite him again, he decided fiercely —every time it faded, in every stolen moment, until the world knew Mydei was his.
Pulling back slightly, Phainon admired the fresh, reddened mark, thumb brushing over it possessively before resuming his rhythm with renewed intensity, each thrust a vow to reclaim what fate denied him.
As the climax neared, Phainon's rhythm faltered, his thrusts growing erratic, deeper, as if sheer force could bend reality to his will. The knot swelled fuller, locking them tighter with each plunge, the pressure building like a storm about to break.
“You are mine, Mydei,” Phainon growled in between breaths.
Sweat slicked their skin, the air thick with their mingled scents, and Phainon's fiery dominance overwhelmed Mydei's sharp defiance, syncing their heats into a feverish haze.
Phainon buried his face in the crook of Mydei's neck, inhaling deeply, his voice cracking into a needy whimper. "Titans above... I want to fill you so badly," he gasped, hips snapping forward with bruising intensity. "Knock you up…" His words tumbled out, raw and desperate, punctuated by soft whines that betrayed his alpha composure. He drove in harder, as if the ferocity could defy their biology, could force Mydei's body to yield in ways it never could.
Mydei's cheeks burned bright, a mix of mortification and unwilling arousal twisting in his gut. "Shut up," he hissed through gritted teeth, his voice strained as Phainon's knot tugged insistently, sending sparks of pleasure-pain up his spine. "That's not —fuck— possible, you idiot."
But his body betrayed him, clenching greedily around Phainon, hips grinding back against him even as embarrassment made him squirm. The dirty talk grated against his pride, making his skin flush hotter, yet it stoked the fire low in his belly, pushing him perilously close to the edge.
Phainon didn't relent, his whimpers growing louder, even more broken. "But what if it is? What if I fuck you just hard and deep enough to make it happen?" He punctuated each word with a punishing thrust, one hand sliding down to press firmly against Mydei's lower abdomen, as if imagining the impossible life there.
"Our kids would be so perfect... beautiful and strong like you. I can breed you over and over until it sticks." His voice hitched into a plaintive whine, hips grinding in circles now, the pulsing knot fully inflated and trapping his release inside.
Mydei arched sharply, a strangled moan escaping despite his irritation. "You're delusional, Deliverer," he snapped, but the words dissolved into a gasp as Phainon's angle shifted, hitting that spot relentlessly.
Embarrassment warred with the overwhelming sensation, his nails reaching back to dig deeper into Phainon's thighs, drawing thin lines of blood that only spurred Phainon on. The fantasy, absurd as it was, wormed into his mind, amplifying every thrust until Mydei's resistance cracked further.
With a final, desperate whimper, Phainon shattered, his knot throbbing as he came in long, shuddering waves, flooding Mydei with heat that seemed endless.
The sensation tipped Mydei over, his own release crashing through him, spilling onto his stomach and the cushions in messy pulses. He cried out, half in ecstasy, half in frustrated surrender, with his alpha instincts railing against the vulnerability even as pleasure drowned him.
They stayed locked together in the afterglow, Phainon's knot ensuring no escape, his breaths coming in ragged pants against Mydei's skin. He nuzzled gently, pressing soft kisses to Mydei's temple, the whimpers fading into contented murmurs.
"You felt so good...," he whispered, thumb tracing lazy circles on Mydei's hip.
Mydei huffed, still flushed and irritable, but he didn't push Phainon away. Instead, he turned his head slightly, hiding his face in the cushions. "Next time, keep the nonsense to yourself."
In the quiet of the holy place, their scents entwined, and something warm settled between them, as if the world had finally allowed them one stolen moment of peace together.