Toxic (Eden’s Omegaverse #3)

SKYE

I woke up just before 6:00 am. The light was still a bit pink, that dim, early morning glow. I was lying there holding Soren in my arms, his head resting on my shoulder. I looked at his face; in the warm sunlight, he looked better than yesterday, not as pale. I watched him for a moment.

Once again, I was struck by how captivating he was. To me, his features were flawless. His nose was straight, his lips full and inviting, perfect for sweet, soft kisses. And his eyelashes… they seemed so long. I’d never seen anyone with naturally long lashes like his. They lay on his cheeks like black butterfly wings, thick and dark. I admired them for a while. And his eyebrows? Was it even possible for someone to have such perfectly shaped brows without grooming? On his cheekbones, if I looked closely, I could see very faint golden freckles, visible only in the right light. He was the epitome of winter beauty: pale skin and jet-black hair.

I glanced at his tattoos. They were done in black ink, resembling intricate coils of barbed wire or perhaps some kind of thorny vines creeping up both sides of his neck, onto his jawline, then reaching his temple. The sides of his head were shaved in a fade, progressing from a very short shave, maybe 1 mm, to gradually longer hair on top of his scalp. It was an extravagant, almost avant-garde style, likely a hindrance for public-facing jobs, but Soren wanted to be a programmer. That meant spending hours in rooms where no one saw you, so he probably didn’t worry much about his tattoos making a bad impression on employers. I also took a moment to look at his piercings. He had several small ones in his eyebrow, each ring adorned with tiny crystals, one small diamond in his left nostril, and another small ring in the corner of his mouth. I wondered what it would feel like to kiss with that ring being there. Would it be cold? Or did his body heat warm it? I really wanted to find out, but Soren was firm about kisses. Whenever I moved my lips to the edge of his jaw, he’d turn slightly away, making it clear he didn’t want to be kissed.

Strands of his silky black hair were scattered on my shoulder. Holding him so close was absolutely wonderful, my heart sped up, and I wanted to lean in and kiss his forehead, but at that moment, he seemed to sense my emotions, and his eyes opened. From this close, in the morning light, his irises looked almost silvery, bordered by a darker graphite ring, with the inside resembling the color of storm clouds. His eyes were truly breathtaking; I could stare into them, mesmerized, wishing he would stare back at me… with warm feelings.

I yearned for him to be mine so badly, to belong to me. But that wasn’t possible now, I knew I had to be patient.

"How are you feeling today?"

In his painfully beautiful eyes, I saw a flicker of unease. I could almost see the light of awareness returning to them, the realization that he was lying in my arms, and the discomfort that came with it—not the physical kind, but the worst kind—mental.

"Way better. I have classes at 9 am, and I’m going."

"You can’t be serious. You just had a miscarriage!"

"I need to go there. I’m shooting for an A, and I can’t miss it," he said firmly.

"Don’t forget, I’m in those classes too. I can take notes and give them to you, no big deal," I assured him.

He frowned slightly. "It’s not about that. It’s about being present—Professor Allen is strict about attendance. Missing class puts you on his bad side."

"Come on, Soren, don’t risk your health. You should be resting; you could still be bleeding a little—"

"I know, that’s why I’ll use a small pad, like omegas do after giving birth. I’ll be fine, Skye. I’ve been through this before, remember? I know how I feel, and I know I can handle going to class."

He sat up, only then realizing that he was completely naked.

I saw that he blushed slightly when my gaze slid to his nipples. They looked particularly interesting—dark pink, like raspberries, slightly swollen, with hard, long nubs. Unwittingly, my eyes fixated on them. The awareness of how sensitive they were, and how many times he had come just from me caressing them, made me swallow hard, feeling a twitch in my dick. But I quickly willed my gaze up, not wanting to take advantage of him in this vulnerable situation.

"You have a beautiful body," I mumbled, feeling that it came off as inappropriate and insensitive, especially at a time like this.

"Thanks," he muttered. "I'll go wash up now. And I advise you to go back to your room. You’ve got some blood smears on your T-shirt," he finished in a rather sour tone, pointing toward my stomach.

I sighed, sat up, and nodded. "Fine, I’ll do that. I'm getting out of here now, but I'll see you in class?"

He nodded again. I realized that the whole time we were talking, he didn’t cover his chest, even though he could have easily—but he didn’t! I wondered why. He just sat there naked, letting my gaze glide over his tempting shapes with impunity. Soren had such a narrow waist, and his buttocks formed two pleasant swells. He looked at me, noticing I was staring at his body again, but still allowed me to indulge in this eye-feast.

With some difficulty, I tore my gaze away from his beauty and stood up, adjusting my tented boxers. I admit, it took me a moment. It felt strange. I had been staring at him for maybe a full minute, probably looking like a drooling dog. But Soren… said nothing. He didn’t protest or tell me to get a grip or stop being disrespectful. He just sat there, his eyes focused on the edge of the bed, his eyelashes on display, waiting for me to satiate myself with him. Perhaps he found some mysterious pleasure in seeing me so entranced by his body? I had no idea.

I would've expected him to be angry. After all, he had miscarried last night, and here I was, ogling him like some sick pervert.

Why didn’t he scold me? He should have. He really should have. But he didn’t.

In the end, it was me who put a stop to the madness. I gathered myself, doing the right thing by turning my gaze away.

Putting on my shoes, I muttered, "Well, take care," my head low, as I walked out of the room, leaving him still sitting naked on the edge of the bed.

Returning to my room, I felt weird, almost out of place. My mind was blank, but my body felt weighed down with undeciphered emotions.

When I opened the door, Alvin was already up, getting dressed. He raised an eyebrow and smirked lightly at my appearance.

"I have a feeling you had an interesting night," he remarked.

Annoyed, I grimaced slightly. I couldn't tell him the truth—it was a private matter, what had transpired between me and Soren.

"It was eventful, but I can’t talk about what happened, so don’t even ask."

Now Alvin seemed even more intrigued.

"Soren. You were with him. Hence the secrecy."

I didn’t respond.

Alvin shook his head disapprovingly.

"You're an idiot for getting involved in this. Seriously. He'll break your heart. I told you, he hates alphas; he's made his feelings pretty clear several times, even in front of me. He ranted that he would rather kill himself than have a relationship with one of us again!"

What could I say to him? I remained silent. He’d just think I was deaf and blind to the voice of reason, and he’d be right! I was. All I wanted was… Soren.

Crazy, incomprehensible, stupid, but I couldn’t help it. Everything in me… was drawn to him. Like a moth to a flame.