The morning progressed with a heavy, stifling stillness. After the villagers finally moved on to their daily chores, Ren managed to drag himself back onto the bamboo bed.

He sat there now, his back pressed against the rough wall, his fists clenched so tightly on his thighs that his knuckles were white.

He watched Cilian through the corner of his eye. The Alpha was busy cleaning himself with a damp cloth, moving with a leisurely, satisfied grace that made Ren’s stomach churn. Cilian looked refreshed—as if the crash, the wound, and the night of debauchery had only served to revitalize him.

Ren’s mind, however, was a dark spiral of ’what ifs.’

How long? How long would they be trapped on this island before help came? Every hour spent under the tropical sun felt like a day added to the sentence. If they stayed much longer, he knew exactly what would happen. The effects of the nectar might fade, but Cilian’s obsession wouldn’t.

Ren would keep giving in, his body betraying his mind until the nightmare in his gut became a physical reality.

He didn’t want a child. He didn’t want a permanent, living anchor tying him to the man who had burned his world.

As soon as we get back, Ren promised himself, his breath hitching. The moment I see a city, a hospital, a pharmacy... I’m getting suppressants. I’m running every test. I’m scrubbing every trace of him out of me.

But then, a colder thought surfaced, one that made his blood turn to ice.

Would Cilian let him?

The Alpha held every card. He held the power, the money, and most importantly, he held the leash on Toby’s life. If Cilian realized Ren was pregnant, he wouldn’t see it as a burden. He would see it as the ultimate cage.

He’ll use the baby to torment me, Ren thought, his chest tightening. He’ll threaten Toby again. He’ll force me to carry it just to prove he owns even my womb.

Ren looked down at his flat stomach, his hand trembling as he hovered over it. Was it already there? Was the nectar and Cilian’s knotting already weaving a life he would hate before it even drew its first breath?

"You’re thinking too loud again, Ren," Cilian’s voice broke the silence. He had finished dressing and was now standing by the door, the sunlight catching the sharp angles of his face. He looked back at Ren, his expression unreadable. "Don’t worry so much about the future. Focus on the present."

Ren did not respond. What was in the present that he had to focus on? It was all a nightmare.

"We need to head to the shore. The tide might have brought in more than just flower petals this morning, you know."

Ren looked up, his eyes hard and glassy. He didn’t move. "And if help doesn’t come, Cilian? What then? Do we just stay here and play ’husband and wife’ until I can’t run anymore?"

Cilian tilted his head, a slow, fox-like smirk spreading across his lips. "Would that be so bad? You seemed to enjoy the ’husband’ part of me quite a bit this morning."

"I hate you," Ren whispered, the words familiar and hollow.

"I know," Cilian said, stepping out into the sunlight. "But you’re still here. Now, get up. We have a ’life’ to maintain."

Ren trembled. He was frustrated and angry, but... what could he do? He stood up, his legs still shaky, and followed Cilian out.

As he stepped onto the sand, he felt the heavy, invisible weight of the island—and the man walking in front of him—closing in like a trap that had finally, perfectly, snapped shut. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The humid jungle air was thick, smelling of damp earth and crushed ferns as they followed their guide, a young male Omega named Kaelo. Kaelo moved with a nimble, effortless grace, as if the twigs on the ground or the vines hanging from the trees were his playground.

He was nice and sociable. But there was one thing about him that was quite the sour blanket. And that was his tongue over just as fast as his feet.

He wouldn’t stop talking.

Ren walked several paces behind Cilian, his legs still feeling heavy and his lower back throbbing. Every time he stepped over a protruding root, he was reminded of the floor of the hut and the absolute disaster of the morning.

"Want me to carry you?" Cilian whispered into his ear, but he ignored him, pretending like he never said anything.

"It is a truly beautiful thing," Kaelo said, glancing back at them with a bright, unabashed grin. "The village hasn’t been this lively in seasons. Your... enthusiasm... it has quite the effect, you know?"

Ren felt the heat climb up his neck again. He kept his eyes fixed on the back of Cilian’s head, wishing he could somehow set the Alpha’s blonde hair on fire with his mind.

"Is that so?" Cilian asked, his voice smooth and entirely too relaxed. He moved through the bush with a lazy confidence, occasionally reaching back to swat a low-hanging branch out of Ren’s path—a gesture that only served to make Ren’s jaw tighten.

"Oh, yes!" Kaelo chirped, ducking under a massive palm frond. "The other married couples, they hear you. They say, ’If the travelers from the sky can love with such fire after a fall, why are we being so quiet?’ Many have decided to ’work harder’ at loving each other because of you. The elders say the village spirit is lifting. We might have many new cries in the huts by the next moon!"

Ren nearly tripped. Work harder. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, a wave of nausea hitting him.

They were an inspiration for a baby boom. It was a sick, twisted joke. He looked at his own hands, still seeing the embarrassing image of how he had jerked himself off while Cilian watched.

"Glad to be of service to the community," Cilian murmured, casting a sidelong, fox-like glance back at Ren. The smirk on his face was sharp enough to cut.

"Cilian, shut up," Ren hissed under his breath.

"You should be proud, Ren," Cilian teased, his voice dropping so Kaelo wouldn’t hear. "You’re a muse for the masses. A twinkling star of fertility."

Ren’s fist clenched. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to find a sharp rock, and I’m going to finish this.

"Help will be here by tomorrow," Cilian said, suddenly switching back to a more serious tone as he scanned the horizon through a break in the trees. "Three days was my estimate. My people are efficient, and the transponder on that plane was top-of-the-line. They’ll find the wreckage first, then they’ll find us."