The Alphas were still standing. The Betas were still coming.

  And Deux?

  He didn't hesitate.

  He dived back into the fray.

  Power exploded around him, raw, unrestrained, a force of nature tearing through the battlefield. Bodies fell. Chaos reigned. And Deux—Deux was at the center of it, a storm with no mercy.

  I wanted to help him.

  I wanted to fight by his side.

  But my body—

  It wouldn't move.

  "Deux!" I shouted, my voice raw, desperate. My throat burned, but I didn't care. "You got this! Don't let them win! When this is over, I'll cook for you as much as you want! You can sleep at my pce! You can take my damn bed!"

  I didn't know why I said it.

  I didn't even think.

  The words just tore from me, reckless, frantic. A promise—an offering—something real in the middle of this chaos.

  And then—

  Deux...

  He smiled.

  Deux.

  The coldest Alpha I knew.

  The Alpha who never smiled.

  Smiled.

  It wasn't cruel. It wasn't mocking. It was something else—something I couldn't name, something that made my chest tighten like a vice.

  A strange warmth bloomed inside me, a heat that had nothing to do with the battle raging around us. It spread through my ribs, curling in my stomach, twisting in my lungs. It was terrifying, this feeling—because I didn't understand it, didn't know what to do with it.

  All I knew was that for the first time...

  Deux wasn't the monster I feared.

  He was something else entirely.

  Something dangerous in a different way.

  Something I wanted to look at forever.

  I stood there, frozen, caught in the gravity of that moment—

  Then—

  Pain.

  A crushing grip.

  Fingers like steel cmped around my throat.

  And yanked me backward.

  The world blurred—spun—before smming to a stop.

  Air—gone.

  My back hit something hard, a jagged explosion of agony blooming down my spine. My hands cwed at the grip, nails digging into skin, but it was like trying to pry open a locked vault.

  A breathy chuckle ghosted against my ear.

  "Gotcha," a voice rasped—low, guttural, filled with sick amusement.

  My eyes widened in shock—I hadn't even sensed Silver's presence until now. His scent had been completely overpowered by the commanding, all-consuming presence of Deux. But now, none of that mattered. Silver had me in his grasp, his hold unbreakable, his strength overwhelming.

  "Now... I will finally cim what is rightfully mine," Silver decred, his voice dripping with triumph.

  Deux, who had been locked in battle, suddenly froze.

  The remaining Alpha and Beta males around us crumbled to their knees, their strength drained by the sheer force of Silver's presence. Even I could feel my energy slipping away, my body betraying me—but I refused to give in. I fought against the weakness consuming me.

  "Let go of Champ, Silver!" Deux's voice thundered through the battlefield.

  And he was the only one left standing. The only one unfazed by Silver's suffocating presence. The only one capable of facing this nightmare head-on, as if it were nothing more than a mild inconvenience.

  "It's too te, Deux," Silver said, tightening his grip on me. "The one you covet is already in my arms."

  Deux's eyes darkened, a storm brewing in their depths. "Don't make me end your life right here and now. I still consider you my family—so let him go."

  And then, I understood. The reason Deux was the only one who could stand against Silver... was because they shared the same blood. They were equals in power. Two unstoppable forces.

  Silver ughed—softly at first, then louder, until it became a manic, unhinged sound. "You don't need to threaten me, Deux. I will do as I please."

  His right hand seized my chin, tilting my head back, while his left held me in pce like an iron vice.

  "There is nothing you can do, Deux. This... this is my victory." His voice was ced with a sick satisfaction. "Do you see his fwless neck? Not a single mark. Smooth, untouched. I want you to take a good look at it, Deux—because this will be the st time you ever see it unmarked."

  Panic exploded inside me.

  "N-No! Please! Don't do this!" I struggled, but it was useless. He was too strong.

  If he marked me, it would be over. My fate would be sealed.

  I turned to Deux, my vision blurring with desperation.

  "Deux..." My voice was barely a whisper, my strength fading fast. "Please... help me."

  Silver smirked. "Watch closely, Deux. Witness how my mark will sink into this neck. The neck of an Omega—" he sneered, "—pretending to be an Alpha."

  Silence.

  Deux's expression shifted. His breath caught. He was... shocked.

  And in that moment, my greatest secret unraveled before him.

  The truth I had fought so hard to conceal from Deux—because it would mean my downfall—was now id bare.

  Now, he knew.

  Now, there was no escaping the cruel reality of this world—where an Omega male like me had no pce.

  I felt Silver's breath against my skin. The sharp graze of his fangs. The moment was inevitable.

  "Silver!" Deux's voice shattered through the suffocating tension like a bolt of lightning.

  My heart smmed against my ribs.

  A force rippled through the air.

  Silver's grip faltered. His body staggered as if something had struck him from within.

  I fell to my knees, gasping for breath.

  And when I lifted my gaze—my trembling, exhausted gaze—it locked onto Deux.

  His eyes burned like fire.

  This was the same Deux I had seen before—the one who had unleashed his true Alpha nature. But now, it was different. This time, he was in complete control. Yet, his presence was far more terrifying.

  Even Silver, a being of immense power, could not withstand the force radiating from Deux. His body trembled, his breath uneven. For the first time, Silver looked... afraid.

  Deux moved forward, slow and deliberate, each step like a silent death sentence. His eyes—once filled with the warmth of familiarity—now regarded Silver as nothing more than an insect, a nuisance that needed to be crushed.

  "Deux..." I whispered, my voice barely escaping my lips as I watched him approach Silver's broken form.

  Silver gasped, his arrogance crumbling beneath the weight of Deux's dominance.

  "D-Deux, w-wait! I was just joking!" His voice cracked, desperate.

  And then I saw it. The first trickle of blood slipping from Silver's nose.

  Deux hadn't even touched him yet. His presence alone was enough to break him.

  This was the true power of Deux.

  A force so absolute, so unrivaled, that even those of the highest bloodline could do nothing but kneel before him.

  To Deux, no one was above him. There was no being greater. No force stronger.

  No one... except himself.

  "You... should die." Deux's voice was cold, emotionless.

  And in that moment, I realized—he wasn't even seeing me anymore. He wasn't seeing anything except the one thing his instincts demanded...

  Silver's death.