"Damn… my head~" Gabe groaned, his voice low and ragged as he shifted weakly on the bed. His whole body ached, pain rippling through his muscles. He winced, clutching at the sheets beneath him. "Just what the fuck happened? I feel like I was run over by a truck… or whatever…" His voice faded into a murmur, raspy and strained.
Slowly, his lashes fluttered, and his eyes cracked open only to land on....
"Damn…" His lips parted, breath hitching. A god?!
Seated before him was a man who looked like a god had decended. Worry was carved into his handsome face as he leaned forward, water dripping from his silver curls down onto his hand.
Gabriel's wide eyes drank him in. He was beyond striking, curly silver hair plastered to his forehead from the rain, ocean-blue eyes, lips tinted a soft rosy pink. Gold glinted at his nose and ears, piercings catching the light. Tattoos drawn across his neck and arms, their dark ink running along skin.
Gabe blinked hard. Now that I think about it… I remember. I remember running into a car. That bastard driver speeding through the heavy rain like the zebra crossing was invisible. That useless bastard who didn't know when to stop…!
His hand tightened on the sheets. But wait. I'm really not dead though… right?
His gaze slid down, almost against his will. The man's chest was bare, droplets of rainwater rolling slowly over firm muscle and ridges of abs, sliding downward toward the waistband of his shorts.
Gabe's throat tightened. He's beyond hot… dangerously hot. But he's also giving me serious playboy vibes.
"You're finally awake."
The stranger's voice pulled him out of his daze. Smooth, velvety, not too cold yet not overly warm, just balanced, just commanding enough to sink into Gabe's ears and set his chest trembling.
It was only then Gabe noticed the glint of a tongue piercing when the man spoke.
"And," the man added with a faint smirk, "it's not nice staring at people like that."
"I....I'm not staring," Gabe shot back almost immediately, his voice cracking as he swallowed hard. His cheeks flushed against his will. "Besides… you're also staring daggers at me."
Silence.
The man didn't answer right away, only tilted his head slightly as if amused, then let the corner of his mouth lift into a slow smirk. Without another word, he reached for a white shirt lying on the back of his chair.
Gabe's eyes followed every movement. The man's muscles flexed as he slid the fabric over his shoulders, his arms rippling as he buttoned it one by one. The motion made Gabe's mouth dry. He swallowed harder, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly.
"Uhm…" Gabe finally croaked, tearing his gaze away with effort. He shifted uncomfortably against the pillows, his voice trembling with confusion and anger all at once. "Where the fuck am I?" His eyes darted around, scanning the unfamiliar room, the sleek furniture, the faint scent of leather and cologne.
"I am Alexander," the man replied smoothly, his voice carrying calm authority. Then, with the faintest hint of charm, he added, "Alex, for short. And you're in my office." He released a heavy sigh.
"I'm not asking for your damn name, fool," Gabe muttered under his breath, though his heart betrayed him by skipping a beat. He hesitated, then whispered under his breath, "Even though… you are hot…"
Alex ignored the mutter with a slight arch of his brow. "You ran straight into the front of my car," he explained evenly. "You didn't get hit, but you fainted from the shock. I decided to bring you here instead of leaving you on the street, just to make sure you'd be okay." A warm, brief smile touched his lips unexpected and disarming.
"Oh, I see now…" Gabe's expression turned into rage as he realized the truth. His voice rose, harsh and furious, startling Alex with its intensity. "You're that bastard after all! The one who almost ruined me further like my legs being crippled isn't enough!"
"The last time I checked…" Alex's tone sharpened slightly, irritation bleeding through as he placed one hand on his hip and let out a low scoff. "…you're the one who ran into my car."
"The last time I checked," Gabe snapped right back, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance, "there was a fucking zebra crossing on that road. Why didn't you stop when you saw it?!" He mirrored Alex's stance, his hand going to his waist as well, his eyes narrowing with defiant fire.
"You're mistaken here. There was no fucking zebra crossing and the road you crossed is a busy one," Alex snapped, annoyance sharpening his tone. "To avoid accidents the government put up bridges, but slow people like you still refuse to use them and prefer to die instead."
Gabe's brow arched. He swallowed hard, disbelief and confusion warring across his face. "Huh? There really was a zebra crossing? Like… seriously?"
A long, slow exhale escaped him. "Oh. I see." He forced a weary smile that turned into a bitter little laugh. "Okay. I'm sorry…and thank you."
Only then did he notice his clothes different, dry, folded neatly on a chair nearby. He glanced down at himself and a cold flush of realization crept across his skin. Di....did this bastard have his way with me? His nostrils flared as he tried to read the scent. He couldn't sense the usual pheromones. He's not an Omega… and I can't tell Alpha or Beta.... he's on suppressants. The thought prickled at the back of his neck.
"What did you do to me?" Gabe finally demanded, anger creasing his features as he pushed himself up on one elbow. "Y...yo..."
"Relax," Alex said with a short, amused chuckle, the corners of his eyes softening despite the barbed words. Rain still clung to his curls. "I changed you out of your wet clothes into something dry so you wouldn't catch cold. Whatever idea you've got in your head, throw it away."
"I wasn't thinking anything like that," Gabe snapped, rolling his eyes but unable to hide the sting in his voice. "I was only asking a question." He forced his shoulders to relax. "The world's dangerous. I wanted to confirm what actually happened."
"Yeah, yeah." Alex scoffed once, then moved with deliberate calm and set a small chair down across from Gabe. He sat, folding one leg over the other, his posture casual but watchful. "Anyway…you can tell me why you decided to take your own life." His voice was deceptively light, as if the question were nothing more than small talk.
Gabe's laugh was short and bitter. "Take my life? That'll be the last thing I do, huh?"
"It was the last thing you almost did," Alex said, eyes narrowing. "You put yourself directly in front of my car. That's not an accident. That's deliberate." His words came out blunt, and Gabe felt anger boil up at the accusation.
"I wasn't trying to kill myself!" Gabe barked, leaning forward despite the ache in his limbs. "I thought there was a zebra crossing. I thought it was safe. I apologized already." He scrubbed a hand over his face and glanced toward the window, where the sky had turned dark. "It's late. I should go."
"You think I don't see it?" Alex's tone shifted, softer but incisive. "I'm a therapist. I'm trained to read eyes, posture, avoidance. You led yourself to the road. Maybe you didn't plan to die, but you walked close enough to it that if I hadn't braked, you would have woken up in heaven." He let the idea hang between them.
A therapist? Gabe thought, a cynical scoff escaping him even as curiosity prickled. He scanned the room more carefully now. The walls were lined with framed quotes about healing and relationships, a neat bookshelf held tomes on attachment theory and trauma, and a discreet plaque identified the practice as specializing in broken marriages.
Oh yeah my marriage is broken beyond repair, he'd thought. He felt like a fraud sitting in a stranger's office, exposed and raw. Maybe this is the kind of help I need.
Alex leaned forward slightly, voice even and steady. "You can tell me anything you're going through. You don't have to perform strength for anyone right now. Give me a chance to help. Open up."
A therapist, huh? Gabe thought inwardly with a smirk on his face. Maybe that's what I need not to mend my marriage, because that's dead, but to mend myself. To get out of this mess with a little money, some independence…to walk away from Alphas and their bullshit. I want to find myself again. To wheel myself out of that marriage and start over. No more Sebastian's commands, no more people pitying or using me and with a hot therapist....I believe it'll be possible.