"For longer than this life," Arik said.

The words settled between them with the weight of something ancient.

Liam stared at him.

The white ether crawling through the support ribs overhead painted shifting light across Arik’s face, catching in his golden eyes until they looked almost unreal against the shadows of Lab V. The Vanguard turned below them in slow mechanical thunder, its massive rings refining red ether into blue and blue into white, the entire chamber humming with power vast enough to feed cities.

And still Liam’s entire world had narrowed to the man standing against him.

"For longer than this life," Liam repeated softly.

Arik did not look away.

Liam’s breath caught somewhere in the middle of his chest.

That answer should have frightened him more than it did.

Instead, it opened something dangerously warm beneath his ribs.

Arik’s hand slid from Liam’s hair to the side of his throat, thumb brushing once over the rapid pulse there. The touch was gentle enough to feel almost careful.

"You are thinking too loudly," Arik murmured.

"That is because you say terrifying things with the expression of a man discussing weather patterns."

A faint smile touched Arik’s mouth.

"You prefer lies?"

"No."

The answer came too quickly. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Liam saw Arik notice it immediately.

That unbearable attention sharpened in his gaze once more, focusing entirely on Liam with the terrible steadiness of someone who had already determined what was important to him.

"You prefer honesty," Arik said quietly.

"I prefer manageable honesty."

"I have nothing manageable to offer you."

Liam actually believed him.

That was the problem.

Nothing about Arik felt temporary anymore. Not the heat in his hands. Not the restraint fraying visibly every time Liam touched him back. Not the way he had said, mate, like the word belonged to something sacred and catastrophic at once.

The realization should have sent Liam running in the opposite direction.

Instead, his fingers tightened slightly at the back of Arik’s neck.

Arik inhaled sharply through his nose.

The sound went straight through Liam.

"You react to me like that," Liam muttered, mostly because the alternative was acknowledging what his own body was doing.

Arik’s eyes darkened.

"You are touching me," he said, his voice low and rough. "I am trying very hard to remain civilized about it."

"That explains the near-mauling."

"You kissed me first."

"You looked at me first."

"I looked at you weeks ago."

"That sounds obsessive."

"It is obsessive."

Again. No hesitation. No shame.

Liam was beginning to understand why entire governments found Arik Lyon deeply exhausting.

The prince leaned closer again, slowly enough for Liam to stop him if he wanted.

Liam did not.

Arik’s forehead rested briefly against his.

"You are trembling," Arik murmured.

"That is your fault."

"Yes."

Liam closed his eyes for one dangerous second.

Warm stone and caramel surrounded him completely now, thick enough to taste in the back of his throat. Beneath it lingered something sharper from Arik’s arousal, rich alpha heat wrapped around restraint stretched almost painfully thin.

And still... Still, Arik had not bitten him.

The realization slid through Liam slowly.

Every instinct in Arik’s body had been screaming at him for the last several minutes. Liam could feel it in the tension beneath his hands, in the way Arik’s grip kept tightening and loosening against his waist like he was physically forcing himself not to lose control.

Yet the scent gland at Liam’s throat remained untouched.

Liam opened his eyes again.

Arik watched him carefully enough that Liam immediately knew he had noticed the shift in his thoughts.

"That look means trouble," Arik said.

Liam’s voice came out quieter than intended. "You could have bitten me."

Arik went very still.

The air itself seemed to tighten around them.

Then... A low laugh escaped him.

Arik let his forehead fall briefly against Liam’s shoulder, the movement oddly soft for a man who carried power like a weapon beneath his skin. A faint smile touched his mouth, hidden partly against the fabric near Liam’s collarbone.

"You are cruel, Liam."

The words vibrated low against him.

Liam’s breath caught.

"Why would I mark an omega in heat willing to do anything?" Arik continued softly. "Why would I take advantage of instincts already burning through both of us?"

His hand slid slowly up Liam’s spine, steady and grounding.

"Liam..." The prince lifted his head just enough to look at him again, golden eyes darkened by want and something infinitely more dangerous beneath it. "I am a greedy man."

Liam swallowed.

That smile deepened slightly.

"I want you clearheaded when you choose me." His thumb brushed once against the side of Liam’s throat, dangerously close to the untouched scent gland beneath his skin. "I want you to want the mark. I want you to crave the bond between us as much as me."

The words hit Liam like a physical thing.

Arik could have taken advantage of every vulnerable moment. Liam knew it. Every instinct in the alpha’s body was practically vibrating beneath his hands already, strained tight enough that Liam could feel the restraint in the way Arik held himself.

Yet he was still waiting.

That realization burned hotter than the heat already crawling beneath Liam’s skin.

"You say things," Liam said weakly, "that make it very difficult to maintain healthy levels of suspicion."

Arik’s expression softened into something almost unbearably fond.

"Would you choose me back, Liam?"

Liam closed his eyes immediately.

Because that... That was a trap.

A calculated, unfair, devastating trap delivered in a voice roughened by restraint and honesty and the kind of hope Liam did not know what to do with.

Arik knew exactly what he was doing.

He knew Liam liked him already. Knew it well enough now to stop circling carefully around it and start pressing directly against the vulnerable places instead.

Liam inhaled slowly through his nose.

Warm stone and caramel wrapped around him completely.

"Yes," he admitted quietly after a short pause.

The single word changed Arik’s entire face, something deeper settled into his expression, something so relieved and impossibly soft that Liam immediately regretted allowing him access to any emotional truth whatsoever.

Arik closed his eyes briefly, as if hearing it was more important than Liam realized.

"Then promise me something," Arik said softly after opening his eyes.

Liam narrowed his eyes. "That tone is suspicious."

"Promise me you will never reach for Felix or anyone on his side." Arik’s hand slid slowly through Liam’s hair. "Don’t try to find the Gate blueprints alone. Don’t disappear into some dangerous investigation because you think protecting everyone means handling it yourself."

Liam looked away.

Arik noticed immediately.

"You do that," the prince said quietly. "You carry dangerous things alone until they start carrying you back."

Arik continued before Liam could open his mouth to object out of principle alone.

"If something involves Felix, the Gate, or anything remotely suspicious," he continued softly, "you tell me first. And if you are going to do something reckless..."

A faint smile touched his mouth.

"...at least take me with you."

Liam huffed out a breath that almost became laughter.

"You make this sound very reasonable."

"It is reasonable."

"It is emotionally manipulative."

"Yes."

Liam stared at him for another second before sighing softly.

"Fine."

Arik’s brow lifted. "Fine?"

"I promise," Liam muttered. "No Felix alone. No secret Gate investigations. No reckless behavior without informing the terrifying Agaron prince first."

A quiet relief crossed Arik’s face before he could hide it.

Then he leaned down and pressed a slow kiss just beneath Liam’s jaw, directly over the faint mark he had left earlier.

Liam’s breath caught instantly.

"That," he informed Arik shakily, "was manipulative too."

"Yes," Arik murmured against his skin. "But effective."

The prince did not move away afterward.

If anything, he seemed to lose what remained of his restraint the moment Liam stopped resisting him entirely.

His mouth traced slowly along the side of Liam’s throat again, softer this time at first, lingering, kisses pressed against skin while his hand tightened possessively at Liam’s waist. Warm stone and caramel thickened around them until Liam could barely think through it.

"You are doing that intentionally," Liam whispered, though the accusation lacked conviction.

"Breathing?"

"Seducing."

Arik’s low laugh vibrated against his neck.

"You chose me back. I am celebrating."

"That is an alarming sentence."

"It becomes more alarming the longer you let me continue."

Liam should have answered.

Instead, his fingers slid into Arik’s hair again.

Arik inhaled sharply, the sound rough enough to send heat spiraling lower through Liam’s stomach. The alpha’s composure frayed visibly after that, kisses deepening against Liam’s throat, his mouth lingering longer over the places that made Liam’s knees weaken.

"Arik—"

The prince made a quiet sound against his skin that almost resembled approval.

Then his teeth grazed lightly beneath Liam’s ear again.

Liam’s head tipped back before he could stop himself.

"Dangerous," he muttered weakly.

"You keep saying that," Arik replied softly, "while pulling me closer."

Liam laughed breathlessly.

Arik lifted his head just enough to look at him again, golden eyes darkened almost unbearably now, focused entirely on Liam like the rest of the world had ceased to exist.

Then a comm rang, piercing the silence.

Arik froze.

Liam blinked.

The comm rang again.

Slowly, very slowly, Arik closed his eyes like a man reconsidering every life decision that had led him here.

Liam’s mouth twitched instantly.

"That sounds important."