control
852 Words
The morning sun sliced through the curtains, too bright, too revealing.
Evan sat on the edge of the bed, still shirtless, the duvet bunched around his waist. His entire body felt heavy—like the gravity in the room had doubled overnight. Or maybe it was the dull throb radiating from the fresh bite on his scent gland.
He touched it gently, fingers trembling.
It wasn’t just a bite.
It was a mark.
And no matter how clean the room looked now—how the air was aired out and the sheets were changed—it still smelled faintly like him.
Like Jace.
Evan shoved the thoughts away, standing up and walking to the bathroom. He avoided his own reflection as he turned on the water. Steam filled the space quickly, the scent of mint and citrus body wash chasing away the last traces of heat—but not the sense of violation he couldn’t name.
He wasn’t supposed to let this happen. He didn’t do this. One-night stands, yes—controlled, discreet, with vetted partners. Never spontaneous. Never with a stranger.
And never, ever with an Alpha he didn’t fully understand.
His fingers brushed the mirror, clearing the fog, revealing sharp cheekbones, dark eyes, and the fading red mark at the base of his neck.
It pulsed beneath his skin like a bruise he couldn’t hide.
This wasn’t just s*x.
This was a bond.
Unregistered. Unwanted. And completely irreversible.
He barely finished dressing before his phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Unknown Number.
He hesitated, then answered.
“Evan?”
His stomach turned.
“Delete my number,” he said coldly.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine. Don’t call me again.”
There was a pause on the line.
Then Jace spoke, softer now. “It wasn’t intentional.”
“You shouldn’t have been there at all.”
“I didn’t know it would happen like that.”
“You’re lying.” Evan’s voice cracked like glass under pressure. “You knew what you were doing the moment you walked into my hotel room.”
Another pause.
Then, “...Maybe.”
Evan ended the call.
---
By mid-afternoon, he was back at the Yue International office, seated behind his immaculate desk, sipping black coffee as though nothing had happened.
Business as usual.
Emails. Schedules. Investor calls. Market updates. He buried himself in routine, in numbers, in things that made sense.
But even then, his instincts betrayed him.
Every time the elevator dinged outside his office, his heart jumped.
Every time someone walked past the frosted glass, he looked up too fast.
Like he expected him to be there.
The bond wasn’t strong—yet. But it whispered to him, like a splinter under skin. Just a faint tug of awareness. A scent memory. A heat he couldn’t shake.
He was still trying to focus on a quarterly report when a soft knock came at the door.
“Come in,” Evan said without looking.
The assistant peeked in. “Mr. Yue, the new logistics liaison is here. For the vendor contracts meeting.”
“Send them in.”
Footsteps.
Then the door clicked shut.
Evan looked up—and his breath caught.
Jace stood there.
In a suit this time. Tailored, sharp. A lanyard with Yue International branding around his neck.
He looked nothing like the reckless Alpha from the night before.
And yet everything about him was exactly the same.
Smug. Controlled. Dangerous.
Evan’s jaw tensed. “This is a joke.”
Jace raised a brow. “I work here.”
“You never mentioned that.”
“You never asked.”
“You’re a logistics liaison?”
“Among other things.”
Evan stood, placing both palms flat on his desk. “yo..u..
Jace’s eyes didn’t waver. “I know.”
“And now you’re what—showing up at my company? Trying to play house?”
Jace stepped forward slowly, his tone calm but unreadable. “I’m not here for that. This assignment was arranged weeks ago. I didn’t know you were the client lead.”
Evan stared at him. The silence between them hummed with something volatile.
“Stay professional,” Evan said tightly.
“I planned to.”
Evan’s eyes flicked to the mark beneath his collar, hidden by his shirt but there, nonetheless. “No one can know.”
“They won’t.”
“I’ll schedule a suppressant injection to override the bond. Temporary suppression, nothing more.”
“Right,” Jace said quietly. “Because none of it meant anything.”
Evan hesitated—just a second. Too long.
He looked away.
“Meeting’s canceled,” he said sharply. “I’ll have someone else handle logistics.”
He turned his back, dismissing Jace like any other employee. Like he wasn’t the Alpha who had just altered the course of his life.
Jace didn’t speak again.
He just walked out, the door closing with a soft, final click.
Evan stood there for a long time, breathing in silence.
Then, finally, he sat down again.
Back straight. Hands still.
......
- Writer
