Before Damon could refuse – vehemently – Peter held up a hand.

"Don't say anything for now. We know you're in a tough position. All we ask is that you think about it, and when your courtship is over, if you're still mateless, we'll get in touch again. Okay?" His tone brooked no argument, and Damon found that under Peter and Hailey's kind gazes, he couldn't open his mouth to tell them how he really felt. How was he supposed to explain what Malachi had done to him to the people who were practically his second set of parents?

He left the pack leader's house in a daze. This couldn't be real. Malachi had made his feelings about Damon quite clear.

Damon had been left nearly comatose by their breakup. He'd never admitted it to anyone – but Malachi was the reason Damon had decided to go to a college so far away. There was a local college a couple miles outside of the pack territory where most members of the pack went, but Damon had chosen one several cities away to have an excuse to live away from home and avoid visiting.

Damon had sincerely liked Malachi – perhaps it wasn't love – but Damon had sincerely thought, when they were together, that one day they would be mated. He couldn't necessarily say that he had loved Malachi though. He wasn't sure if he knew what that felt like. Still, giving Malachi his virginity had been a choice Damon didn't take lightly. He only did it because he thought Malachi was serious about him.

He thought he was over it. The pack was small, but it was still big enough that Damon wouldn't run into Malachi very often, and if they did happen to meet, Damon was confident, after four years of separation, that he would be able to handle it maturely.

But this... Damon didn't know what this was. Maybe Malachi actually wanted to get back together with him for some reason. Damon thought it more likely that Malachi was being pressured to choose a mate by his parents, and had picked the person that would be most agreeable to them.

Damon was an assistant accountant to the pack, his parents were best friends with Malachi's parents, and Damon was a very stable, responsible omega who would undoubtedly a good co-leader for the pack. Once Damon made this connection, he relaxed slightly. That's probably what it was. Convenience. Suitability.

As Damon ambled along the long driveway out of the Reyne estate, he was suddenly hit with a wave of gratitude for Jun. If he hadn't been in a courtship, Damon probably would have had to make a decision back there – and for some reason, he doubted that 'no' would have been an acceptable answer for Peter and Hailey.

If there was one thing Damon had been absolutely sure of since day one of meeting Jun, it's that the boy would rather die than be unfaithful. Jun simply did not have a deceptive bone in his body, nor anything that could be construed as malicious.

Damon was still caught up in thinking about the meeting, not really paying attention to where he was walking, when he suddenly slammed right into someone. His nose collided with a broad chest and he bounced back – tripping and almost falling onto his ass.

Except the person he'd bumped into caught him, steadying him on his feet. Damon looked up to thank them and apologize for not paying attention, but the words got caught in his throat.

Excellent. Fantastic. Damon must have thought his name one too many times for Malachi to spontaneously appear in front of him like a goddamn demon.

Malachi was unfairly tall, perhaps the same height as Jun or a little shorter, and a full seven inches taller than Damon, who was five eight and by no means 'short.' He had broad shoulders that tapered into a v at his waist, short, spiky brown hair and a devastatingly attractive smile. He was hot, and he knew it, unfortunately.

Damon hated that his heart sped up seeing that smile. This was his first time seeing Malachi in four years, after all. He grimaced, taking a big step back.

Malachi's smile turned into a smirk. "What? No hello?" He took a step, mirroring Damon and forcing himself back into Damon's space.

Damon didn't bother to reply, moving to go around him, but Malachi just followed him, walking backwards as Damon walked forward to keep blocking him. Meanwhile, Damon's pulse kept steadily increasing. He couldn't tell what it was from. Anger, maybe. Anxiety, definitely. But there was some strange excitement mixed in that Damon hated.

And then he realized. The Season was starting. Malachi was an alpha.

Goddamn preheat pheromones making everything messier than it had to be. He took a deep breath in involuntarily, catching a whiff of the pheromones.

He calmed. These pheromones were familiar to Damon, of course, but after all this time, they were rather...underwhelming. Smoky and bold, but by no means as intoxicating as Jun's spicy-sweet scent.

Jun came to the rescue again. Realizing that he actually liked Jun's pheromones better seemed to sweep away his anxiety and Damon stopped trying to dodge, meeting Malachi's gaze.

"Your parents said you chose me as a potential mate," Damon said blatantly, not bothering with a greeting. "What the fuck is that about, Malachi?"

Malachi's smirk faltered. He sighed, considering Damon silently for a moment, and Damon had a brief, vivid flashback to when they were together.

Malachi and Damon dated for two months when they were in their early twenties. Malachi had been the one to pursue Damon, and he was persistent enough about it that Damon had finally given in. They went on a dozen dates – all of which were romantic and completely not awkward the way most early dates were between new couples. Malachi was smooth and he knew how to make people comfortable around him, so Damon never experienced any of the awkward pauses or weird eye contact moments. Malachi had also inherited that politician slickness from his father, and he was able to convince Damon to have sex with him after a month and a half.

All Damon could say in his defense was that he was curious. As someone with low libido, he couldn't imagine that there would be many other times in his life where he would want to sleep with someone, so when he realized that he actually did want to sleep with Malachi, he took the chance. Maybe it was also just to say that he had – to sate that curiosity every teenager has.

And it was great. Malachi was absolutely not a virgin when they got together, so he was able to take charge and guide Damon through it. It was sloppy and wet and unbearably hot and Damon had enjoyed himself. It was comforting too, because Malachi had been super affectionate with Damon in the weeks afterward, looking at Damon like he held the moon in his hands.

Damon had felt – loved. He'd felt wanted. And to this day, he had no idea what he'd done wrong to make Malachi decide to break up with him in the cruelest way possible.

He remembered that moment with too much clarity. He wished he couldn't. He had relived the act of walking in on his boyfriend balls deep in an omega who's face he'd never seen because they were face down in the couch cushions too many times to count. He'd received the text to come over from Malachi and went, thinking they were probably going to spend a romantic evening hanging out.

Instead he was greeted with tacky high pitched moans and the wet squelch as his boyfriend drove into a stranger like he wanted to fuck them through the couch – ferocious and passionate, much more so than he'd been when he'd slept with Damon.

Damon had walked away before either of them could see him. He locked himself up in his house, ignoring his parents' concerned looks, and applied to the farthest college he could that his parents were willing to send him to, ignoring his previous insistence on not going to college at all. When he'd graduated high school, he had been wary of comitting to four more years of education because he hadn't had a desire to learn anything in particular, or have any particular career. But after that, he needed to go as far away as possible, and so he began college much later than most of his peers, which is why he'd only come back now, at twenty-six.

Malachi had never tried to contact him in that time either.

And now the man himself was standing in front of Damon in the driveway, backlit by the gold sunlight and framed by green trees and all Damon could think about was seeing his dick pistoning in and out of a stranger's hole. That is all Damon saw when he looked at Malachi.

Malachi hesitated. "About that...I'm serious. I know I'm probably the last person you would consider – "

"That's right. I wouldn't and won't. So take me off your list of choices. I'm sure there are dozens of other omegas in this pack who would be more than happy to be your mate. I'm in a courtship as well, but even if I wasn't you wouldn't even be on my radar. Now get out of my way," Damon said, voice even, emotionless, as if he was remarking on the weather.

Malachi's lips twitched with another little, infuriating smile. "That's what I missed about you, Damon. You don't get upset, and when you do, you don't show it. All I'm asking is that you give me a chance to prove myself worthy of you," Malachi said, peering into Damon's eyes earnestly. "Once your courtship is over, I'd like to offer my own courtship claim."

Damon rolled his eyes. "And what makes you think I won't accept my current courtship?"

This was apparently funny – if Malachi's twitching lips was any indication. He snorted. "You? With Jun Harper? I don't think it'll work out."

Something hot and fragile was curling low in Damon's gut. Something that felt like indignant rage. "Why do you say that?"

Malachi clearly suppressed another snort. "Well, for one, he'll probably be pretty unsatisfying in bed."

Damon had to consciously keep his mouth from popping open. "Why?" he gritted out through clenched teeth.

"I'm sure you're well acquainted with the guy by now. He's an idiot, and even if he knows how to fuck he probably can't give it to you the way you need."

Damon was speechless. What – who thought it was okay to just talk like that? Malachi noticed Damon's expression and held his hands out innocently.

"Look, I know we've only slept together once, but I know how you like it, Damon. You don't get aroused easily, but when you do you need it hard and rough. That's the only kind of sex you respond to. That Jun guy looks like he would cry if he hurt you."

Damon felt like he was floating above his own body he was so lit up with rage. His fists were clenched so hard he was surprised he hadn't broken skin. He took a trembling step into Malachi's space, glaring up at him viciously.

"Jun is not stupid, and I would take being celibate with him for the rest of my life over letting you ever touch me again, you piece of shit."

With that, Damon skirted around the alpha, storming away, wishing desperately that he was home so he could cry into his pillow.