⚠️ TRIGGER / CONTENT WARNING:
This sub-chapter contains descriptions of sexual assault and dubious consent that some readers may find disturbing or unsettling.
Please skip this sub-chapter and proceed to the Final Part (TO BE PUBLISHED SOON).
He doesn't love me anymore. He's no longer in love with me, nor is he going to fall back in love with me. He wants me to stop trying.
But how can I make myself stop?
It tore Wren apart. Saliou's cruel words instilled a primal fear that lodged deeply in his heart, creating a dark chaos he couldn't fathom.
How can Saliou so carelessly and ruthlessly demand him to throw away something that's tantamount to breathing? In all his twenty-nine years of life, Wren had pushed hard to focus on the belief that he and Saliou were soulmates, bound to meet halfway no matter the obstacles that come their way. But now, Saliou was practically demanding him to cut off their bond. It's like asking him to end his life. Preposterous.
All these grim thoughts penetrated his mind and soul; besieged him with a flood of emotions ranging from disappointment to despair to sorrow. And it's those thoughts that enabled him to do something he never imagined he would do, like drugging Saliou up in a desperate effort to bring out his true desire – his true nature.
Wren had kept Mason's "birthday present" hidden in one of the drawers in his bachelor pad. He should have thrown it away a long time ago but now, part of him was glad he hadn't. He took out two capsules from the plastic bag, broke them open, spilled their contents carefully into his hand, then dumped the fine white powder into the wine decanter. In a steady motion, he poured his finest wine into it, then gently shook the content just enough to dissolve the powder. Once the foam had subsided, he lifted the decanter against the light, nodding to himself in satisfaction when no residue showed. Or so he thought.
He smelled the liquor. He didn't detect anything abnormal. Pleased with himself, Wren shoved the last remaining capsule back into the drawer and returned upstairs with the wine and glasses.
Things went rather smoothly after that. It didn't even take much persuasion for Saliou to share a toast with him.
Had he really drunk that full glass of wine? Wren could only remember Saliou taking two huge gulps and the glass was empty in an instant. Laced with the heat inducer, it didn't even take ten minutes for his Omega to start releasing his pheromones.
Mason wasn't exaggerating when he said it was "fast-acting". It was beyond his expectation. Potent and quite honestly easy to abuse.
Whatever.
Everything was in order. Things were turning in his favor...
Saliou was barely aware of Wren carrying him upstairs, into the master bedroom. The whole place was thick with the Alpha's scent, and the Omega in him could only whimper in silent, rebellious yearning. Wren's hands and lips were all over him, caressing him, kissing him, possessing him. The whirlwind of chaotic sensations left Saliou dizzy and panic-stricken.
Wren threw back the covers and gently but firmly put Saliou down onto the large bed.
What's happening? Saliou wondered. He rolled over so he could turn away from Wren. He tilted his head to the side and looked out the window. It was getting dark. He could see the vermillion sunset from where he was. The room was gradually growing dim, the only other illumination from the bedside lamp to their left.
Saliou was lying on his stomach when the Alpha's hand rested at his waist, heavy and warm. "Saliou," Wren whispered, fingers slithering down his thigh. His heart thumped wildly, and his mouth went dry. Once again he was trembling, not from excitement but from fear. His will was struggling to fight back against his primitive urges.
Wren's face came down next to his. "I'll be gentle, Sal, so just relax. Okay?" His arms were around Saliou's shoulders now. He pressed his lips against the other's cheek, his temple, his ear, the corner of his lips.
Saliou's heart pounded in his ears. He's doing something to me. I don't like this at all. I'm scared. I'm scared to death!
"Please don't do this, Wren," he said, voice quivering. "I'm about to get married. Didn't I tell you? Please... just let me go."
"Lies," Wren hissed as his hand drifted down over Saliou's belly to his pants. "You should learn to tell better, well thought-out lies next time, Sal. Or at least tell your mother to ride along with them."
Saliou cursed under his breath. Of course he'd ask Mom! He didn't think things through and now he got himself in even more trouble.
Slowly, Wren pulled Saliou's shirt up, kissing his bare back as he went. His other hand was just as busy, sliding it between Saliou's legs until his fingers found where the other was already damp and burning hot. "How many more times do I have to tell you that my feelings are real, Sal?"
The Omega's body responded with a shudder, his skin scalded with Wren's touch. It should have disgusted him, filled him with a deep repulsion, yet it didn't. He found it almost impossible to believe that his own body and senses were betraying him so treacherously. The helpless fury was driving him to the brink of madness.
"Fuck your feelings, Wren," he rasped, voice laced with disgust and resentment. "If you love me, you won't be doing this to me!" A constant stream of hot, angry tears cascaded down his cheeks. "You only see me as a challenge – nothing more!"
"No." Wren's eyes burned with intensity. "Your stubbornness only pushed me to dig deeper into what we both need. This was the push I needed, Sal. You pushed me into doing this."
Saliou couldn't help but let out a scoff. "You just have to gaslight me, even during moments like this," he said bitterly and without recrimination. "You only care about getting what you want, Wren. You're so fucking selfish."
"You know that's not true."
Saliou let out a frantic gasp as Wren's fingers wrapped around his member and gripped it just enough to send shockwaves through his body. He looked down to his thighs, feeling a wetness against his own skin. He was already erect himself. This was the worst traitorous reaction he could ever show the Alpha.
"You're leaking so much down here, and this one says otherwise. Do you really despise me right now, Sal?" Wren remarked sarcastically, stroking Saliou's slick-coated length fondly, all the time keeping his eyes on the other, watching his unbridled lust tearing him apart.
Saliou wanted to beat Wren bloody. He wanted to make him suffer and make him beg for mercy. He wished he'd just drop dead this very instant.
Yet he was stuck in place, his hips pinned between the edge of the bed and Wren's weight against him. In his seemingly drugged state, he couldn't fight back either. And despite his pleas, his words just fell on deaf ears.
Then Wren was undoing Saliou's belt, drawing down his zipper, struggling to push his pants down, all while pinning him to the mattress. He loosened his grip on Saliou's still-erect member to skim along the waistband of his boxer shorts, sliding them down his legs.
Before he knew it, Saliou was naked from the waist down, clothes entangled in a pool around his feet. Wren pushed him back onto the bed, pressing himself closer, letting Saliou feel his steel length straining against his jeans.
Wren's thoughts were clouded by sheer lust now, nearly in the throes of rutting, ready to give in to his primal instincts. He pressed his lips to Saliou's neck, to kiss the scent gland where he exuded the most amount of pheromones. His Omega's scent was like a drug he couldn't get enough of – and certainly something he couldn't easily give up.
"I want this, Sal. I need this. I know you feel the same way. I know you do."
Before Saliou could turn around, Wren grabbed his hips and held him back down by the shoulders, jamming his knees between the other's legs. Saliou knew what was coming next and he had never been so frightened. Never felt so helpless.
The Omega didn't need any further preparation, he was already wet with need. Wren carefully coated his slicked rear entrance with a finger, slowly worked it in, trying to get the other to relax. He slipped in one finger, and then another, as if to give Saliou time to adjust. And then, he began to slide his fingers in and out, struggling to open him further.
Saliou wanted to kick and scream and claw at Wren, but he was so heavy on top of him that he couldn't move a muscle. He closed his eyes as tightly as he could. Tried desperately to ignore all the sensations, to deny himself of this treacherous, repulsive pleasure only his body yearned for.
"Shh," Wren whispered to his ear. "Shh." He pulled his fingers out of Saliou. And then, he started unbuckling his belt.
Saliou gritted his teeth and bit back the angry retorts that now tangled in his throat. He mustered all the remaining strength he could and clutched the sheet around him. That was all he could do to keep himself from screaming with dread and fury.
Was his body really molded along with Wren's, as if it was never meant to be separated from him? Is this the true nature of Fated Pairs? But isn't this supposed to make him feel good? Why then, does it make him feel like such a whore instead, to the point it disgusts him? He'd never felt more humiliated in his life!
He's going to rape me. Wren Dumont is going to rape me.
Saliou's physical reaction to the situation made him feel horrible, but the emotional agony was the worst. All he had now are fading recollections of good times he once shared with Wren, replaced with vivid memories of this current pain and dread. And then, a rush of emotion came over him – one he never felt before.
He hated Wren Dumont with a hatred he never knew he was capable of having.
"Turn over," Wren said softly, a stark contrast to his cruelty.
Saliou didn't so much as flinch. Didn't say a word. In the same soft voice, Wren ordered him to do as he said, yet Saliou remained unmoving. Wren twisted his face so he could look at him. What he saw was a face that looked utterly broken and resigned to his fate. Or so he thought.
Instead, Wren saw the fear. The anguish. The painful truth he so desperately denied. Saliou had a terrible look in his bloodshot eyes. They were hollow and lifeless, yet they were staring at Wren as if memorizing his face.
Wren could now sense pure loathing from the other. The emotions that were stirred in him were powerful enough to subdue the effect the Omega's pheromones had on him. Suddenly, he swam in a wave of clarity. He stopped unbuckling his belt, dropped his hands at his sides as he smiled sadly at the other.
"If you had a knife in your hand now, you'd kill me, wouldn't you?"
Saliou just kept staring at Wren with all the courageous defiance left in him.
"You know I'll never hurt you."
This time, Saliou turned his head to one side, eyes closed. "I've no way of knowing that now," he said, voice weak and flat with resignation. "The only thing I know now... is that I never should've trusted you. I never should've loved you."
Wren's face fell as if Saliou's words had hurt him physically. It cut him deeper than he was prepared to let the other see. His mind slowly cleared as reaction was finally setting in – only it wasn't a reaction from the other's pheromones, but to the whole situation. To him. To everything.
His body trembled against Saliou. Slowly, he pressed his shaking hands against the mattress and eased himself off the other.
For the first time, Saliou witnessed fear and confusion on Wren's face. Slowly he sat up to get a better look at the other's darkened expression, and with a hiccupping breath said, "You hurt me. You must realize what you'd done to me, what you intend to do, and how much you scare me. You hurt me!"
Droplets of tears ran down Saliou's cheek and he moved to wipe them away, but it triggered something in him. He buried his face in his hands and began to sob. And, like a dam that had broken, he was flooded with unwept tears of anguish. He cried and cried, weeping loudly in a way Wren had never heard him cry before.
It frightened Wren and before he knew it, he began to cry with Saliou. He braced his hands on the edge of the bed and stood up. For a long minute, they faced each other, neither one of them moving. The silence droned on, dotted only by their occasional sniffles and whimpers.
Finally, Wren said in a broken voice, "I don't know what came into me..." His eyes were red and wet and Saliou was afraid that he'd reach out to touch him. Instead, Wren turned away and walked out of the bedroom. In the doorway he stopped and without turning to look at the other, said, "I'm sorry, Sal. Please forgive me."
Saliou hugged his knees as he curled up on the bed, a trace of unfathomable emotion flashing across his puffy eyes. "Rhys. Call him. Please. I need him..."
Wren nodded weakly. "I'm sorry," he said repeatedly, before leaving Saliou alone in the room.
Wren headed downstairs and went to the front door where he found Saliou's smartphone lying on the floor. He picked it up and scrolled through the contacts list until he found Rhys' name. He tapped the Call button and walked into the bathroom while the phone rang a few times.
It took five rings for someone to pick up the phone. "Sal?" said a deep, male voice that was unmistakably Rhys'.
Wren opened the medicine cabinet and rummaged through rows of medicine bottles until he finally found the bottle of rut suppressants he'd kept for emergencies like this. He wrestled off the cap and swallowed a pill with a gulp of water from the faucet. He then leaned over the sink and massaged the bridge of his nose in a pinching motion, letting the pill work its magic. He couldn't stop his hands from trembling. He had a raging headache, on top of a still-raging erection. Saliou's pheromones were still hanging heavily in the air, it's driving him insane.
"Sal?" Rhys' voice snapped him back to attention. He could hear a sort of curiosity and worry in the man's voice. "Sal, listen. I'm sorry I should've called sooner but – "
"Hey," Wren said with sigh. "It's Wren. I... I don't know how to begin explaining, to be honest, but – "
"Where's Saliou? Why's his phone with you? Why are you with him?" Rhys' voice was aggressive, accusatory. "Get him on the phone. Let me talk to him."
"That's the problem, he can't be on the phone right now." Wren bit his lower lip before continuing, "Listen. Calm down. I need you to come over to get him as soon as possible."
"What's going on here, Mr. Dumont? Let me talk to Saliou, god damn it!"
Rhys' frantic voice only made Wren's headache worse. He screwed his face into a frown and sighed in exasperation. "Listen here, buddy. If you don't get your ass down here, I'm going to make it so you'll never see Saliou again. You hear me? Come down to Idomouth right now."
Rhys cursed. "Listen, you piece of shit. If you try something funny, I'll make sure you bleed to death. Swear to god I fucking will!"
"I'd like to see you try," Wren said in a deadpan voice. "You know where I live. Thirty minutes. The front door's open." He hung up before Rhys could say another word.
Knees weak and shaking, Wren set the phone down on the countertop and leaned back on the sink. He washed his hands, submerged in his own thoughts as he stared at his pale, haggard face in the mirror. He shook his head as dread began to well up.
The demon in him had won over, and he didn't even put up a fight. He hated himself for it and he was disgusted with himself. Without thinking about it, he threw a punch and shattered the mirror, cutting his hand deeply that bright red blood dripped down the sink.
Upstairs, Saliou listened to his anguished and soul-destroying wails. He rocked back and forth as he closed his eyes and covered his ears with his hands.
This is all your fault. You brought this upon yourself. You're not the victim here, Wren Dumont, you're the cause of it.
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE FINAL PART...
