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Zane didn’t say a word on the way back.
The city was the same as before—wet stone, dim lights, distant noise—but he didn’t take any of it in. He didn’t look at Alex. Didn’t ask questions. His movements were tight, like he was holding something back.
Alex stayed silent.
He could feel the tension. Not just see it—feel it. Zane was like a storm about to break.
When they stepped inside, Zane didn’t slow down. He kept moving, pacing, turning back on himself again and again like he couldn’t settle anywhere.
Alex lingered near the door before moving, slow and deliberate, careful not to get too close.
“What was that?” Zane asked, sharp.
Alex held his gaze, but didn’t answer immediately.
“What do you mean?”
Zane’s focus locked onto him.
“You stopped me.”
Something shifted in the air between them.
Alex didn’t move. His voice stayed calm.
“I helped you stop.”
Zane started toward him, slow and measured.
“How?”
The distance between them closed. Alex felt every step. He knew he could stop him—knew he could use it.
“The bond,” he said quietly. “Between us.”
Zane stilled.
“Bond?”
Alex shifted slightly, just enough to keep space between them.
“When I turned you… it formed.”
Silence didn’t last.
Something changed in Zane’s movement.
The tension didn’t disappear—it reshaped itself.
When he moved again, he wasn’t the same predator as before. Softer. Smoother.
“So… it wasn’t accidental.”
Now he was close.
“None of it was, right?”
Alex didn’t answer.
That was a mistake.
Zane didn’t stop.
One step—too close.
Alex moved back. The wall caught him.
Zane’s hand hit the wall beside him.
No way out.
Alex felt the proximity, sharp and immediate. He knew he should say something. Do something.
He hesitated.
Zane’s focus pressed in on him—almost tangible.
Too late.
The answer didn’t matter anymore.
“I know where this is going.”
And then he kissed him.
Alex tensed—caught completely off guard. Not like this. Not now. For a second, everything slipped.
By the time he could react, Zane had already pulled him closer.
“This isn’t what you think—”
Zane didn’t let him finish.
Again and again, he pressed against his senses.
Light touches. Patient. Persistent. The kind that couldn’t be shaken off in a single motion.
Alex tried to pull back—not fully, just enough to regain control.
It didn’t work.
Not because Zane was stronger.
But because at some point… the resistance wasn’t there anymore.
There was no clear moment.
He only realized that the tension he had been holding onto had simply… vanished. Not eased—gone.
He didn’t pull away. Didn’t stop him.
The realization wasn’t loud.
Just quiet.
I don’t want to stop this.
Something shifted in the bond between them.
What had pulled tight and strained now… held.
Zane felt it immediately.
He didn’t understand it.
But he answered it.