Lucian's POV
*****
"Hey, what's your problem?!" Elian yelped but Lucian ignored him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him close until he was pressed against his sweaty chest.
He glared at the Omega, looking past his purple blazer and perfectly permed white hair. No, his focus was on his violet eyes which glinted with... Arousal?
Lucian held himself back from smirking as Beta Axel barked behind him.
"Let him go, Lucian."
His voice was calm but the authority lingering behind it was hard to miss.
Well, well, well... The Beta was trying to command the Alpha Prince, eh? All because of this pretty little Omega.
"Are you here to distract me?" Lucian ignored Beta Axel and asked Elian with a low growl, bringing his lips close to his ear.
He smirked when he felt the way Elian stiffened under his hold.
But then...
"Ugh, get a room or something," Aurora grunted beside Elian, rolling her eyes.
Suddenly, Elian placed his free hand on Lucian's chest, pushing forward ever so slightly in a way that made the latter's skin heat up with desire.
Blood rushed to his dick, hardening it as he clenched his jaw.
And the worst part?
Elian had a small smirk, fixing his gaze on Lucian's eyes and monitoring his facial expressions.
"Lucian, that's enough." Beta Axel finally grabbed his arm from behind, pulling him away from Elian. "You're clearly—"
"Clearly what, Beta?" Lucian snarled, swerving around to face him and pulling his arm out of his grip.
He squinted his eyes, sizing the Beta up with a single step forward. "Your audacity is astounding. Really. You just flung me across the training hall and now you're telling me what to do with my mate?"
"Oh, so you remember he's your mate now?" Axel sniggered, shaking his head. "Also, he's MY mate as well. And I don't appreciate how you treat him like shit any chance you get."
Lucian raised an amused brow, his smirk widening as he took another step forward until he was only inches away from Axel.
"Do something about it then..." Lucian whispered daringly, tilting his head. "Come on. Since you want to be the hero no one asked for."
Axel's jaw tightened but before either of them could do anything, Elian cleared his throat, forcing them to turn their gazes to him.
"Uh... Hi. I'm still here." He waved at the two of them, his gaze trailing Lucian with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I'd appreciate it if no one fought on my behalf."
Lucian scoffed. "You have an exaggerated sense of your importance if you think I'll waste a breath because of you."
"You're wasting your breath and more right now, dear mate." Elian shrugged, plastering a clueless expression on his face as he took a step closer to Lucian. "Also, do I really have an exaggerated sense of my importance or are you too scared to see it?"
"See what?" Lucian's eyebrows furrowed.
"My importance, of course," Elian said smoothly.
Lucian drew in a breath, glancing first at Beta Axel and then at his sister, who stood beside Elian with a judgmental look, her arms folded in front of his chest.
After a few seconds, he finally stepped away from Elian. "This is pointless."
He didn't say anything else and brushed past the Omega, but before he could move past a few steps, a soft hand grabbed his wrist.
Lucian stiffened, his eyes widening as he slowly turned his head only to meet Elian staring at him suggestively, his grip on his wrist tightening.
"Giving up already?" Elian asked, whispering in a tone that made Lucian's head spin.
Where the fuck did this newfound confidence come from?
"You..." Lucian tried saying something but he was exasperated, struggling and failing to break eye contact from Elian.
Just staring into his eyes made him feel like pinning him against a wall and kissing him. The thought of his soft lips meeting his made Lucian so hard that his pants felt like it was going to explode.
"Ahem!" Aurora suddenly feigned a cough, snapping Lucian out of his reverie. "Again... Get a room. Ugh, I don't know why I'm even still here."
She turned and walked out of the hall, her heels clicking on the marble floor. She glanced over her shoulder one last time. "Honestly, if you two don't at least kiss already, I'll be charging for admission."
Lucian's eyes twitched. He yanked his hand free of Elian's hold, glaring at him.
"You've got some—"
"Guts? Balls?" Elian chimed, folding his arms. "Well, yes, Lucian... I've got those in abundance. At least now you know how it feels for someone to hold you like you stole their sanity."
Lucian stared at him—this cocky, maddening, intoxicating Omega—with a thousand thoughts running through his head and only one dominant one:
Take him. Now.
But he didn't make a move. Not with Axel watching silently and definitely not with his pride still tethered by the thinnest of threads.
Elian tilted his head and offered him a knowing smirk. Where the hell had this fire been hiding?
Lucian clenched his fists, trying to breathe through the tension pulsing between them like a live wire.
Elian took a step closer. "What? Cat got your tongue again?" he purred, echoing Lucian's own words from earlier—but with a venom-laced sweetness that made Lucian's skin crawl in the best way.
Lucian didn't answer. He lunged forward instead.
His hands found Elian's waist and shoved him back against the cold training hall wall with a soft thud that echoed through the empty space. The Omega gasped, his eyes widening just enough to make Lucian feel victorious.
He leaned in, one palm braced beside Elian's head, the other gripping his hip possessively.
"You want to play this game?" Lucian breathed against Elian's ear. "Then you'd better be ready to lose."
Elian exhaled shakily but his gaze didn't waver. "I don't play games I can't win."
Lucian's chest heaved.
His heart was pounding. Their faces were inches apart, and the only thing keeping him from kissing Elian was… restraint. The very last shred of it.
But it was fraying.
"Say it," Lucian whispered.
Elian blinked. "Say what?"
"That you want me to kiss you."
Elian chuckled, brushing his hand lightly along Lucian's chest. "Oh, but I don't beg. Especially not you."
Lucian growled. "Fine. Then let me make you."
He leaned in until their lips almost touched.
But then...
"Lucian."
The voice came like a thunderclap from behind him.
Beta Axel.
Lucian's hand clenched harder on Elian's hip. His other hand slammed against the wall beside the Omega's head.
"What?" he snapped without looking.
Axel's tone held controlled anger. "If you're going to screw him in front of me, at least let him breathe first."
Elian let out a snort of laughter, breaking the tension, but Lucian didn't move.
"I'm not going to screw him," Lucian muttered, glaring at Axel now. "I'm proving a point."
"Oh?" Elian murmured, brushing his nose along Lucian's jaw, his breath hot. "And what point would that be?"
"That I always win," Lucian spoke hoarsely, glancing at Elian again.
The latter smirked. "Then why does it feel like you're the one losing control?"
Lucian froze.
Fuck this!
He stepped back like the wall had burned him. Like Elian had burned him.
"Whatever," he muttered. "You're not worth this."
Elian shrugged, brushing nonexistent dust from his shirt. "You say that... But your body disagrees."
Lucian blinked, realising too late that his hardened dick was still very much… visible underneath his pants.
He spun on his heel, ignoring Axel's pointed smirk and Elian's victorious giggle.
And with that, Elian only gave a wink and walked out of the hall as if this whole thing had been merely a game to him. There was a glint of something in his eyes as he left— relief? Satisfaction?
Lucian didn't even realise he'd been holding his breath until Elian disappeared around the corner.
Axel stepped beside him with a clap on the back. "You lost."
Lucian growled. "Shut up."