Adrian stands, pulling his sweatpants back up without looking at her. "I- Anna can never know about this."

Nyra blinks.

He finds his shirt from the pile of discarded clothes. "I’ll go get you contraceptives."

---

Adrian steps out of the condo and closes the door behind him with a loud thud. His chest tightens immediately, guilt crashing over him like ice water.

He can still taste her on his tongue, feel the ghost of her tight heat around his c*ck, the way she had moaned his name when he knotted her.

His hands shake as he shoves his car keys into the pockets of his hoodie, forcing himself down the long hallway.

*You’ve betrayed Anna.* The thought repeats like a curse in his mind.

Nyra might be his mate, but Anna is the girl who has been with him for years. Now he’s slept with her sister after promising he would never touch her till they found a way to break the bond between them.

He didn’t even last one month.

The stain on the couch flashes through his mind again. Nyra had been a virgin, and he also took that from her in a rut-fueled haze.

Surprisingly, though, his rut cleared up pretty quickly after that. His rut usually lasted at least a few hours, but one time with Nyra and the heat was suddenly gone.

"Fuck," he mutters, slamming the elevator button hard. This is all the Goddess’ fault. He has to blame someone, and unfortunately she is the reason for this entire madness.

The bond forced him. The proximity, her scent, the way she looked at him when she saw him in those stupid glasses. Everything else is at fault except him apparently.

But deep down, he knows the truth, and it makes him sick. He liked it. He loved the way she felt with him, the soft sounds she made, the way their bond sang when he was buried inside her.

He hates that he even feels like this.

The drive to the 24-hour pharmacy is a blur. Adrian keeps the windows down, trying to air out Nyra’s scent that still clings to his skin and clothes.

It doesn’t help.

He finally steps into the brightly lit convenience store down the street. He yanks his hoodie down, pulling the strings tight before he heads straight for the family-planning aisle.

Morning-after pills. He grabs two boxes, just in case, along with a bottle of water. The cashier gives him a knowing look but says nothing. Adrian pays quickly, cash only, then leaves for his car.

"Adrian, is that you?! Bro, I thought you were busy with the assignments?"

John’s voice stops him cold. His friend is standing near the entrance with a bag of snacks, grinning like an idiot.

"Anna sent you out again or what? You look like you just ran a marathon."

Adrian forces a smirk. "Something like that..."

John steps closer, clapping him on the shoulder. "I didn’t come with my car. Maybe you could drop me--"

He freezes, nostrils flaring.

For the first time, the jokester’s grin slips off his face, his expression turning serious.

"Wait... that’s not Anna’s scent on you."

Adrian looks away, gritting his teeth.

"That’s Nyra. Holy shit, man. You smell like you just fucked the defective--I mean, the mate."

He stares at Adrian incredulously.

"Seriously? After all that talk about Anna being the one? After all the promises? You really went and did it with her?"

Adrian’s immediately tense. He grabs John’s arm and pulls him toward his car. "Keep your voice down!"

John looks around. "The parking lot is practically empty, Adrian. And that doesn’t answer my question."

"Just shut the fuck up, it wasn’t like that." He exhales loudly, sinking into the red leather seat of his car. "I-it was the rut. It hit hard and fast. Anna was stuck at practice and couldn’t come, and I didn’t have suppressants."

John stares at him, in obvious disapproval.

"Still... Nyra? In your own condo? While Anna thinks you’re waiting for her?"

Adrian’s grip tightens around the steering wheel. He already knows how messed up everything is, he doesn’t need John rubbing it in his face.

"You don’t say a word to Anna. Promise me, John. Not a single fucking word. This stays between us. I’ll handle it."

"How are you .?" Adrian glares at him.

"Just promise me."

John hesitates, then sighs. "Fine. I promise. But you’re digging yourself a deep hole, Adrian. Anna’s going to fucking lose her mind if she finds out."

"Can we.." Adrian swallows heavily. "Can you just stop talking about it for a moment and tell me where exactly I’m dropping you off!?"

John is still frowning.

"My apartment. You can just drop me off at the entrance."

Adrian nods and starts the car. But as the car pulls out of the parking lot, his phone vibrates again--Anna calling for the fifth time.

He declines it, just like the others before it.

He really can’t talk to her right now. Not with Nyra’s scent still on his skin and the memory of her tight heat clenching around his knot fresh in his mind.

John shoots him a look as the car slows in front of John’s apartment. He sighs and turns to his friend.

"Adrian, be honest. Do you regret it?"

Does he regret it..

Adrian opens his mouth, then closes it.

He can’t answer that because if he says yes, then he’ll be lying.

And if he says no, he’ll be betraying Anna.

John sighs, shaking his head. "This is so messed up, Adrian. You have to fix it, you can’t play both sisters like this."

He pats Adrian’s shoulder reassuringly before stepping out.

Anna calls again. It makes his chest tighten as he ignores it for the sixth time.

He feels too guilty to talk to her right now--especially because sex with Nyra had somehow felt right in a way it never had with Anna, and that terrifies him more than anything.

Back at the condo, he stands outside Nyra’s door for a long moment, steeling himself to face her again. He slips his cold mask into place--this should nothing between them, and he needs Nyra to understand that Anna is the only one in his hear, and one rut doesn’t change that.

The door opens slowly. Nyra stands there, wrapped in a robe, her eyes red and puffy. She looks like she’s been crying.

Adrian’s wolf stirs with the urge to soothe its mate, but he shuts it down hard.

"Here," he says, holding out the box of pills and the water. His voice is flat, emotionless. "Take them. Now. I want to watch you do it."

Nyra reaches for them, her fingers shaking slightly. But before she can grab the bag, the condo door bursts open.

Shit..he had forgotten to lock it.

Anna storms in, her eyes blazingwitb worry.

"Babe! Why the hell aren’t you answering my calls? I finished practice early and--"

She stops dead in the hallway, her nostrils flaring as she takes in the heavy scent of sex and rut still lingering in the air.

Her gaze snaps between them--Nyra’s red, puffy eyes, Adrian’s guilty face--and her own face turns red with anger.

"Adrian..." Her voice trembles. "What the fuck did you do?"