Out of Bounds

10

"Where have you been, young man?" Judith Cross asked, her arms crossed as she stood in the living room waiting for him.

Shiloh scratched the back of his head sheepishly before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around his mother in a quick embrace.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I was out partying with friends and couldn't contact you or Auntie," he replied.

"You had me worried," Judith said as she pulled back slightly to look at him. "What if you went into heat and got attacked? I don't know what I would do if I saw you hurt," she added, her voice filled with concern.

"Mom, I can beat thugs like that," Shiloh said with a small chuckle. "Just reminding you that I'm the team captain of the basketball team," he added.

"I know," Judith replied softly, "but you can't erase the worry in me. You're still my son."

She looked closely at Shiloh's face, studying him for a moment.

Her eldest.

The thought always brought a quiet ache to her chest. She still couldn't bear the pain of knowing the difficulties Shiloh has to faced in society the moment they will know about his gender. Sometimes she secretly blamed herself, thinking she had somehow failed him when he became as an Omega.

"I'm sorry, Mom. It won't happen again," Shiloh said gently, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Alright," she said after a moment, letting out a small sigh.

"Oh, Mom, by the way," Shiloh continued, remembering something. "There's this Omega kid on campus who's on the verge of getting kicked out because he faked his gender. I gave him our family lawyer's number, okay? I want to help him," he added.

Judith's expression softened immediately.

"Of course, son. We can do that," she said without hesitation.

Their family had already helped dozens of misunderstood Omegas over the years. After Judith found out about her son's gender, she had made it her quiet mission to help others like him.

If she wanted her sons to grow up in a world where they truly felt like they belonged, Judith was willing to do everything in her power to make that happen.

Shiloh went up to his room, but as he passed by the slightly open door of the room next to his, he saw Slade sitting inside, eating something.

He pushed the door open and stepped in.

"What?" Slade asked immediately, eyeing him suspiciously. "I won't give you these. Auntie made them just for me," he added protectively, pulling the plate a little closer to himself.

Shiloh chuckled and shook his head.

"I won't take them," he said. Then his expression turned more serious. "Do you know Cyan? Was he really an Omega?" he asked.

Slade glanced at him briefly before returning his attention to the food.

"Yeah, I know him," Slade replied casually. "He's an introverted guy and barely talks unless someone asks him something," he added between bites.

Shiloh nodded slowly.

"So... what was your reaction when you found out he's an Omega?" Shiloh asked.

He swallowed nervously after asking. Part of him was hoping to hear Slade say something—anything—about what he really thought of Omegas.

Slade paused for a moment before answering.

"I don't care," he said simply.

He took another bite before continuing.

"He's not pestering me, so I'm good. And I don't think all Omegas are like what everyone says they are," he added with a shrug.

Shiloh quietly watched him, letting out a small breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Because one day, when Slade eventually found out about him being an Omega, Shiloh didn’t want his younger brother to hate him.

The thought lingered in his mind for a moment.

Shiloh reached out and ruffled Slade’s hair playfully before turning around and leaving the room to head to his own.

Once inside, he closed the door behind him and let out a quiet breath. The day had been exhausting.

He removed his clothes and stepped into the shower. Turning the knob, he let the warm water run over his body. Shiloh closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly as the water streamed down his face and shoulders, hoping it would help clear his thoughts.

But instead, an unwanted memory suddenly flashed in his mind.

The scene from last night—him giving Archer a blowjob.

Shiloh’s eyes snapped open.

"What the hell was that? Did I really f*****g gave him a blowjob in my drunken state?" he muttered under his breath, his face flushing with embarrassment.

He quickly finished showering, rinsing off and turning off the water before stepping out. Grabbing a towel, he dried himself quickly and put on fresh clothes.

After that, Shiloh picked up his bag and searched inside until he found his medicine.

He grabbed his tumbler from the table, took out one of the pills, and swallowed it without hesitation, chasing it down with water.

On the other hand, Archer was back at Groove again, but this time he was in a foul mood. Not only had he woken up without Shiloh by his side that morning, but Shiloh had also ignored his messages.

"Yo, Capt.! You missed the fun part of training earlier," Jaden said, his junior and teammate, as he leaned back in his chair.

"What happened?" Archer asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Dmitri got punished for his errors," Jaden replied.

Dmitri immediately shot him a glare, which only made the others burst into laughter.

"I had a raging headache, okay? And Coach was merciless," Dmitri complained, groaning as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"But you're here again, drinking," Archer pointed out.

"Well, that—and I want to get laid," Dmitri said with a careless shrug. "So see you later, bitches," he added.

With that, he stood up and headed toward the dance floor, already scanning the crowd for someone to hook up with.

Jaden chuckled as he watched him go before turning back to Archer.

"What about you, Capt.?" Jaden asked, taking another sip of his whiskey.

"Not in the mood," Archer replied shortly.

Just then, his phone vibrated on the table.

Archer picked it up and saw Shiloh's name on the screen.

"I'm at the store."

Archer's grin slowly widened as he read the message. Without wasting another second, he grabbed his wallet and tossed some cash onto the table.

"Here. I'll be going first," Archer said as he stood up.

Jaden raised his brows and smirked.

"Oh, he's getting laid!"

Archer only smiled as he turned to leave.

"I hope so," he muttered under his breath before walking out of the Groove Club.