Unnatural - Alessandra Hazard Page 0,16

ruts together: it was a recipe for disaster.

“Sorry,” he said gruffly, loosening his collar and pointedly not looking at the prominent bulge between Haydn’s legs.

Haydn sighed. “Not your fault,” he said, throwing himself onto the bed and groaning. “It’s okay. It’s hardly the first rut I’ve spent alone.”

“What?” Royce looked at him in confusion. “Why?”

Haydn turned onto his back. Royce couldn’t see his face well from that angle, because the camera was on Haydn’s desk.

“My ruts are weird,” Haydn said in a quiet voice. “I alternate between being very aggressive and very… needy, I guess. It’s hard to describe. But Xander—my friend—he described his ruts completely differently from how I experience them. When I’m in rut, I want to—to consume someone. But no matter how deeply I stuff my knot into an omega, it feels unsatisfying, you know? It’s frustrating as hell. So I guess I’m used to being frustrated. Spending my ruts alone is just a little more frustrating than that.” He laughed humorlessly. “See, I’m really a freak.”

Royce didn’t like how defeated he sounded. “Don’t call yourself a freak,” he said curtly, not knowing what else to say. He couldn’t say he knew what Haydn meant. His own ruts were pretty standard as far as Torryn alphas’ ruts went. He didn’t turn into a mindless, feral animal that thought only with its knot like Xeus alphas did during their ruts. He just became very horny and very territorial.

“Maybe it’s because your cycle isn’t attached to any moon,” Royce said.

“Maybe,” Haydn said, closing his eyes. “Maybe not.”

“You going to sleep? Do you want me to hang up?”

“No,” Haydn said, his eyes still closed. “I’m going to try to take a nap while I still can. Go back to working, but don’t hang up. I like hearing you type. It’s soothing.”

“You’re so weird,” Royce said with a laugh.

Haydn smiled, without opening his eyes. “Yeah,” he said in a strange tone of voice. “Maybe I am.”

Royce returned his gaze to his computer and resumed working on the bill his party wanted to push.

By the time he finished it, an hour had passed. Turning his head, he was startled, realizing that he’d forgotten to end the video call.

He stared at the projected video on the opposite wall and slowly walked closer. It appeared Haydn had turned in his sleep and was now sleeping with his face to the camera. The picture quality was so good that Royce could see every little imperfection on Haydn’s face.

He stared at it for a long moment until he realized he was possibly being creepy.

Reaching for the remote, Royce ended the video call.

He was left looking at the blank wall, the familiar uneasy, unsatisfied feeling gnawing in his gut.

Chapter Eight

“Someone’s eager,” Devlin said.

Haydn shrugged, waiting for the airstairs to be lowered. “I just can’t wait to be on firm ground again,” he said. “The turbulence made me dizzy.”

“Are you sure that’s the reason? And not the hot guy waiting for you over there?”

Haydn laughed. “Royce is my friend. We’re just friends, Dev. I told you: he’s an alpha, too.” He still felt a little guilty for telling Devlin about Royce’s designation, except he knew Devlin would never betray his confidence. They were as close as brothers, and Haydn trusted Devlin as much as he trusted himself.

“So?” Devlin said, his green eyes full of lazy amusement. “It’s not like alphas don’t ever fuck alphas.”

“Royce isn’t into alphas,” Haydn said, turning away.

“Royce isn’t into alphas,” Devlin repeated slowly before laughing. “You’re only proving me right, Hay-dn.”

Haydn shot him an annoyed look. “I’m beginning to regret taking you with me.”

“As if you would have been able to stop me from coming. It’s bad enough I wasn’t invited to the wedding.”

“Only my parents were present, Devlin,” Haydn said distractedly as the airstairs were finally lowered. He walked down the stairs, his gaze on Royce.

But Royce wasn’t looking at him. His narrowed eyes were fixed on Devlin, assessing and faintly displeased.

“Your husband is me,” Haydn said pointedly, smiling as he approached Royce.

Royce finally shifted his gaze to him, his nostrils flaring.

Before Haydn could say anything else, Royce yanked him close and hugged him, his face coming to rest close to Haydn’s neck, but not quite touching. Haydn could feel how tense his body was. Royce probably wanted to scent-mark him, but obviously he couldn’t do it in the presence of a stranger. Betas didn’t scent-mark people, after all.

“Hello to you, too,” Haydn said with a chuckle, his eyelids growing heavier as the