The loft had filled with a heavy silence, as if the air itself were holding its breath.
Aru remained naked, sitting on the edge of the bed, his phone still in his hand. The photos" the ones that exposed them" were circulating on social media.
He had seen the hashtags born, ignite. "AlphaXAlpha," "Degeneration," "Anomaly."
The comments were cruel. Some half-heartedly threatened. Others spoke of shame, of setting an example not to follow. Kio had stood up.
He paced the room like a wounded animal, one hand in his hair. He, the unwavering alpha, sometimes seemed vulnerable, almost broken.
"They're going to ask for my resignation. The shareholders won't tolerate that."
Aru slowly raised his head.
"And if they do... will you give in?" Kio looked at him.
For a long time. He saw the fear in Aru's eyes, but also that silent strength, that crazy courage he hadn't seen elsewhere. He approached. Slowly. He knelt before him.
"I won't give in. Not this time."
Aru placed a hand on his bare chest, pulled him against him. Kio's forehead rested against his chest, his breathing hitching.
"I'm scared, Aru. Not for me. Pour yourself out. I'm used to fangs. You weren't meant to fall with me."
"And yet I fell. And I'll only rise again with you."
Their lips met again. Less to seek comfort, more to remind themselves that they existed. That despite the world's gaze, they were there, against each other, alive, burning with truth. Kio gently pushed him back onto the bed.
Their kisses grew longer, deeper. Every movement was a response to fear. Each caress, a promise against collapse. Aru slid his hands over Kio's back, feeling his tense muscles, his warm skin beneath his palms. He whispered in his ear,
"Let me carry you. Just tonight. Let me anchor you here, with me, not in this world that wants to kill us."
Kio nodded wordlessly, her fingers clinging to him. What followed was neither rushed nor furious. It was slow, contained, deeply intimate. Their bodies joined in an unsettling silence, broken only by sighs, breaths, and murmurs.
Kio let himself go, vulnerable, eyes closed, forehead against the pillow, while Aru held him with a rare tenderness, giving him everything without restraint. Each gesture was a silent cry, an I love you that had yet to find its voice. When it was all over, they lay against each other, exhausted, but at peace. The chaos of the world seemed so distant, almost unreal.
"I don't want to live in silence anymore," Kio breathed.
"Then let's shout," Aru murmured.
"Together."
The next morning, there was no respite. Aru had barely opened his eyes when the first calls came in.
His manager, his mother, a former business partner. The messages overlapped the screen: "Is it confirmed?" "You betrayed our trust." "What did you do?"
Across the loft, Kio was already dressed, a straight figure facing the window, like a war statue.
"We're on the front page of the business newspapers. "CEO Kio Renka involved in a relationship between alphas."
"Are they going to fire you?"
Aru asked, still wrapped in the sheets.
"No. Not yet. They want a statement. A lie. A public apology. They want me to say you seduced me. That I gave in under… "hormonal pressure."
Aru's heart sank.
" And you're going to…?
" Never. "
He turned to him, his eyes cold but clear.
" I'm not going to turn our story into a fault. Nor sacrifice you for their moral comfort. "
Aru got out of bed. Barefoot, he approached him, stood in front of him.
" So we stand tall. Together. Even if they break us. "
Kio stared at him for a long moment, then placed a hand on his cheek.
" You're stronger than me, Aru. "
Aru closed his eyes, savoring the contact, even in the urgency.
They spent the day in an almost unreal bubble, cloistered in the loft. The outside world pounded on the windows: phone calls, media, ever more hateful hashtags. Some alpha influencers denounced the "decadence," others remained silent, out of fear or hypocrisy. That evening, Kio received a call from his father. The man wasted no time:
"You're a disgrace. If you don't end this relationship, you will be disinherited. And you will lose the council. "
Kio gripped the phone until the joints were white. He answered calmly,
"Then I will lose everything. But I will keep Aru."
A heavy silence, then a sharp click. The line was disconnected. Kio stood there for a few seconds, without moving. Then he turned and walked straight to Aru, who was sitting silently on the sofa.
"I have nothing left," he whispered.
"I just lost everything."
Aru stood up. He walked over to him and cupped his face with his hands.
"You have me. You are everything, Kio. Everything this world doesn't deserve to see."
They kissed again. Long. Their bodies met with a tender, almost desperate urgency. That night, they made love wordlessly, with a serious slowness, as if rooting themselves in each other. The world could burn. They had found their truth.
Three months ago and counting.
Rain pattered against the windows of the cozy lounge, drowning out the noise of the luxury cars parked below.
The atmosphere was subdued, luxurious, and a subtle scent of amber hung in the air. Aru, in a dark suit, a half-empty glass in hand, observed the guests with polite detachment.
It was a private presentation evening for investors of a fast-growing tech company. He wasn't there to mingle. Just to observe. And perhaps, if he found an opportunity, seize a useful conversation.
And then he walked in. Kio Renka. Aru didn't even need to ask. He recognized him immediately. One of the most powerful young CEOs in the country. An alpha born of ancient bloodlines, breathtakingly handsome, with that way of standing, walking, looking at the world... as if everything already belonged to him. But what struck him wasn't his name. It was her gaze. A gaze that, against all logic, came to rest on him. Aru looked away instinctively. Too direct.
Too risky. He took a sip. Then another. The kind of alpha like Kio would never have anything to do with someone like him. Not because he lacked beauty or talent
" No. "
But because they were meant to run away from each other. It was meant to be. Two alphas. Two beasts. And in this world, two beasts never danced. They clashed. Or ignored each other. But that night… there was no running away, no clash. There was a voice, behind him.
"This wine is bad. Too pretentious, not enough substance."
Aru, come back. Kio was there, less than a meter away. His glass in his hand. His gaze even more burning up close.
"Then why do you drink it?"
"So as not to seem rude."
Aru raised an eyebrow, a smile breaking into spite.
"You'd rather appear a liar than honest?"
"I'd rather appear courteous than brutal."
The silence between them was tense, charged. Not hostile. Just… dense.
"Aru," he said, holding out his hand.
"I know,"
Kio replied, without shaking it.
"I read all the reports on brilliant, too-quiet independents."
Aru felt his heart skip a beat. He was about to reply, a retort on the tongue, but Kio cut him off.
"Do you want to get out of here?"
A blank.
"I'm not that kind of alpha," Aru said,
suddenly defensive. Kio moved closer, his voice barely a whisper.
"Me neither. But I want to breathe. And you're… different."
They went outside. Together. In the pouring rain, under the blurred city lights, they walked without speaking. They didn't touch, but the connection between them was palpable. Inevitable.
That night, they didn't sleep together. They talked. About their families. About their hatreds.
About their boredom with the world. About their ambitions. About their loneliness too. And when Kio, at the edge of the sidewalk, reached out to brush Aru's hand, Aru didn't shy away. It was their first. Or perhaps their first victory.