Chapter 22
Something was wrong with Lucas.
Very wrong.
Danny noticed it immediately three days after the “mine” incident.
At breakfast, Lucas nearly snapped a silver spoon in half because Danny sleepily climbed into his lap wearing one of Lucas’s loose shirts.
At lunch, Lucas stared too long at Danny licking cream from his thumb before abruptly leaving the room.
And by evening-
The Alpha King looked one inconvenience away from losing his mind entirely.
Danny sat curled on the massive sofa eating fruit while watching Lucas pace across the study.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Like an extremely handsome stressed tiger.
Danny blinked slowly.
“…You okay?”
Lucas stopped moving instantly.
Dangerous question.
Because no.
He was absolutely not okay.
Heat season had started.
For normal wolves, it was manageable.
For unmated Alphas?
Difficult.
For an Alpha forced to sleep beside his oblivious mate every night while deeply in love with him?
Actual torture.
Lucas adjusted his collar slowly.
“I’m fine.”
Lie.
Danny narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“You’ve been weird all day.”
His wolf growled low inside him.
Mate scent everywhere.
Mine.
Danny smelled sweet tonight.
Warm vanilla and strawberries and something uniquely him.
Lucas’s control was hanging by threads.
Especially because Danny kept doing things unknowingly.
Like now.
Danny stretched lazily across the couch, Lucas’s oversized shirt slipping slightly off one shoulder.
Lucas immediately looked away.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Danny noticed instantly.
“…Why do you keep avoiding looking at me?”
Because if I look too long I’ll pin you against the nearest wall.
Lucas inhaled slowly.
“Danny.”
“Mhm?”
“You should probably stay farther away from me tonight.”
Silence.
Danny blinked.
“…Rude.”
Lucas closed his eyes briefly.
Cute.
His mate thought this was rejection.
If only he knew.
Danny stood dramatically from the couch and walked toward him anyway.
Lucas’s entire body tensed instantly.
Mate close.
Danger.
Danny stopped directly before him.
Then reached upward and pressed his palm against Lucas’s forehead.
“Are you sick?”
Lucas nearly lost control right there.
Warm hands.
Mate touching us.
His wolf practically snarled possessively.
Danny frowned softly.
“You feel hot.”
Lucas grabbed Danny’s wrist gently before he could touch him again.
The contact sent heat straight through his body.
Danny looked down at their hands.
Then slowly upward.
Lucas’s breathing looked uneven.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
“Lucas?”
Lucas stared at him silently.
Eyes darker than usual.
Sharp.
Hungry.
Danny’s heartbeat suddenly stumbled.
Something about the way Lucas looked at him now felt different.
Heavy.
Like being watched by something dangerous pretending to behave.
Lucas released Danny’s wrist immediately and stepped backward.
“Go to sleep early tonight.”
Danny blinked.
“…Why?”
Lucas laughed quietly.
The sound lacked warmth this time.
“Because your husband is struggling.”
The honesty startled Danny slightly.
Lucas rarely admitted weakness.
Danny watched him carefully.
“You’re really not okay.”
Lucas ran one hand through his dark hair tiredly.
“No.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Danny slowly walked closer again despite every instinct telling Lucas this was a terrible idea.
“You know,” Danny said softly, “you can tell me things.”
Lucas’s chest tightened painfully.
Mate.
Sweet stupid mate.
Danny looked genuinely worried now.
And that somehow made everything worse.
Lucas stared down at him silently.
Then suddenly Danny noticed it.
Oh.
His eyes widened slightly.
Because Lucas was hard again.
Very obviously hard.
Danny’s face immediately burned.
“…Oh.”
Lucas looked away.
“Exactly.”
Silence.
Danny’s brain malfunctioned briefly.
Wait.
Was Lucas like this because of him?
Lucas’s jaw tightened sharply.
“You should stop looking at me like that.”
Danny blinked.
“Like what?”
Lucas stepped closer slowly.
Too close.
The air suddenly felt warm.
“You’re curious.”
Danny swallowed slightly.
Maybe he was.
Lucas leaned down near his ear.
“And curiosity around an Alpha during heat season is dangerous.”
Danny froze.
“…Heat season?”
Too late.
Lucas went still immediately.
Silence.
Oops.
Danny stared upward slowly.
“…Alpha?”
Another dangerous silence.
Lucas’s wolf sighed internally.
Well.
That secret lasted longer than expected.
Danny pointed weakly.
“…You said Alpha.”
Lucas watched him carefully now.
Then softly-
“You already knew something was strange about me.”
Danny immediately remembered glowing eyes.
Growls outside the mansion.
Pack leaders.
The throne.
King.
Oh my god.
Danny gasped dramatically.
“You’re a WEREWOLF?!”
Somewhere downstairs, several wolves choked on air hearing that scream echo through the mansion.
Lucas closed his eyes briefly.
“…Yes.”
Danny stared at him in absolute shock.
Then-
“That’s so cool.”
Lucas blinked.
“…What?”
Danny looked genuinely amazed now.
“WAIT.”
He grabbed Lucas’s shirt excitedly.
“The dogs outside weren’t dogs!”
“No.”
“And the whole pack thing-“
“Yes.”
“And your eyes glowing-“
“Yes, Danny.”
Danny looked like he just discovered magic was real.
Lucas stared helplessly.
His mate truly was unbelievable.
Most humans would panic.
Danny instead looked delighted.
Then suddenly Danny paused.
“…Wait.”
Lucas braced himself.
Danny narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“So your heat season means…”
Lucas immediately answered-
“Yes, I’m attracted to you.”
Silence.
Danny’s heartbeat stopped briefly.
Lucas’s gaze softened slightly despite the tension burning beneath his skin.
“Painfully attracted to you.”
Danny’s face became violently warm.
“Oh.”
Lucas stepped closer carefully.
“But I won’t touch you unless you want me to.”
The words settled softly between them.
Careful.
Gentle.
Danny stared at him quietly.
Even now-
Even struggling-
Lucas still prioritized Danny’s comfort first.
And somehow that made Danny’s chest ache more than anything else.
