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Ainosuke and Tadashi stood before the blazing fire, unable to move under Aichirou’s commanding presence.
“So Tadashi,” his name blasphemous on Aichirou’s tongue, “What do you think? Is this an appropriate past time for my son?”
The words were cruel, sadistically meant to pit Ainosuke’s long term companion against him. It was a lesson: such friendships were unnecessary.
Tadashi remained frozen, unsure of what course of action to take. If he disagreed with Aichirou, the master of the Shindo household, he would be disavowed and forced to leave the Shindo estate, never to see Ainosuke again. But if he agreed . . .
Tadashi looked into Ainosuke’s manic eyes, who was watching his last piece of solace, the last part of himself that didn’t belong solely to the Shindo name, burn, and he knew the choice he had to make.
“It’s just a hobby—a form of stress relief—it’s useful—“
“Useful?” Aichirou sneered. “You think this is useful? My son has become a retrobate! Gallivanting around town with low lifes and who knows what else! No. This childish hobby has become a nuisance and a hinderance to my son’s growth.”
And with those words, he tossed Ainosuke’s board into the fire. The flames greedily licking at the wood, devouring it. The heart symbol on the bottom of the board—drawn there by Ainosuke and Tadashi when they were children—withered, before being overcome and turning into cinders.
And with it, their entire relationship.
“It’s time you become the man your supposed to be—I won’t tolerate a worthless son.”
Tears streamed down Ainosuke’s face and yet despite the clear rage in his expression, he couldn’t speak a word against his father.
It had always been that way. The Shindo’s were an old family, with a long lineage that traced so far back into time that they even had a founding myth. The Shindo family was said to have descended from a wolf god. The wolf had fallen in love with a human woman and taken her as a mate. Their children and their descendants were then blessed with the wolf’s powers. It was the reason given for the Shindo family’s beauty, their commanding presence, and their red eyes. It was also the the reason given for why the family only ever produced alpha heirs.
Whether the myth was true or not, Ainosuke and Tadashi were powerless under Aichirou’s dominant alpha aura.
“I expected better of you Tadashi.” Aichirou sighed like it was a great pity. “You were so loyal to our family and had the makings of a great secretary, so I thought you’d be the one to lead my son on to the right path. Get out of my sight.”
Tadashi choked down a protesting cry. His heart shattering. Hot tears streaked down his face as he glanced towards his dear friend—but Aichirou moved between them—and Tadashi cast his eyes downward. He turned away from the horrific scene, every step he took heavy and leaden, as his body screamed to return to Ainosuke’s side.
He’d never see Ainosuke again.
Ainosuke watched Tadashi walk away and felt something inside him break. His body burned hot, and something burst forward unbidden, something powerful, something dark and possessive that stained his soul. It stitched him back together and imbued his him with an overwhelming purpose: reclaim what was lost.
Aichirou should’ve known better than to try and take what the wolf had claimed as its own.
———————————————
Tadashi walked the world like a ghost. He was lost without his master. It was like a wound had been opened up inside of him, flesh torn from his body when he was forced to part from Ainosuke. He tried to stay in city, but every college he applied for turned him away, every job refused to hire him, and eventually even every landlord he sought to rent from kicked him out.
The Shindo’s reach had no limitations. They wanted him lost and broken with no possibility of ever reaching Ainosuke again. He drifted north, eventually winding up in a small dilapidated town in the mountains of Hokkaido. The towns population had been dwindling over the last decade and they were desperate for teachers for their children. Tadashi, was put together and intelligent enough that they were willing to accept him, even going as far as to help him forge credentials.
He had almost no money to his name but thankfully a nice older man, let him use one of his properties on the outskirts of town. The house was large but worn down to its bones. It would take a lot of work to fix but Tadashi had nothing but time. He adapted to living in the town, cut off from the world, so much so that even some of his old habits died. He stopped religiously taking his omega suppressants. He had been taking them since he was fifteen, when he first presented, knowing that if anyone had found out he was anything but a beta, he would be forced to leave the Shindo estate. What a pointless endeavor that turned out to be.
It was freeing being off the suppressants, finally allowed to embrace his omegan nature. He hadn’t realized how much his own emotions had been numbed by the suppressants; looking back, he could see why Ainosuke was so frustrated with his passivity in his later teens. With his emotions no longer hindered, he felt his yearning and longing for Ainosuke in its full effects, coming to terms with the fact that he had loved Ainosuke as more than a master or friend. He embraced the pain and grieved the loss of their relationship, the melancholy of their shared memories a comfort to once was and never could be.
Even if Ainosuke forgot him, Tadashi, forever loyal, would never forget him.
———————————————-
Tadashi dropped his dinner on the ground when he saw on the news that Aichirou had died. Leaving the meal and broken plate on the ground he sat before the TV, gazing upon Ainosuke’s face for the first time in years. He was beautiful; a rising star that enthralled everyone around him. He played the part of a grieving son so well that everyone bought it. Only Tadashi knew just how much Ainosuke despised the man he called father.
The broadcast reignited his passions for Ainosuke and he took to following every bit of news and information about the alpha that he could get his hands on. Ainosuke had taken over his father’s position as leader of the Shindo family and was quickly making a name for himself in political circles. In his free time Tadashi began researching various bills and political opponents, stockpiling information that would never be used. It’s what he would’ve done had he remained by Ainosuke’s side.
He even researched potential marriage partners and the rumors of potential matches Ainosuke’s aunts were working on making. It didn’t matter how well bred a potential partner was; Tadashi found them all lacking.
However, all the rumors about Ainosuke’s potential match, disappeared when news broke about his three aunts dying in an unfortunate crash. The witches were finally dead! Ainosuke played the part of a grieving family member exceedingly well. They were his only remaining family who had helped raised him so he’s sure that Ainosuke did care for them, especially since they practically conditioner him to through abusive methods, but he couldn’t imagine him falling apart and sobbing before an audience about them. Tadashi watched as Ainosuke announced he would be taking a break from his political activities for the time being for a period of mourning.
Tadashi’s bow furrowed and his lips pursed. He wouldn’t be able to see Ainosuke’s face for awhile.
Lately Tadashi felt like he was being watched. Even stranger, it wasn’t a bad feeling . . . it felt protective in a way. He’d feel the gaze the strongest during his night time tea routine. He’d make a cup and sit out on his porch and gaze at the stars or listen to the sounds the forest at night. Logically, he should be concerned about this, but instinctively he couldn’t be bothered.
His heat was fast approaching. Having the let the school know that he would need the week off, he began the process of making his nest. Despite all of the various pillows and blankets he had accumulated from the kind townsfolk, after they had found out he was an omega, he never felt like his nest was complete. The fabrics only ever carried his rose floral scent, and his instincts nagged at him that an alpha’s scent was missing. Multiple townsfolk had tried to set him up with their sons but he always refused. He only wanted the alpha he could not have and only Ainosuke’s scent would be able to soothe his anxious omega.
Ainosuke’s scent smelled like freedom: it was as fresh as spring when calm and happy, as heated as a balmy day when excited, and as ominous as a storm when angry. His scent much like the wind and air was ever changing depending on his mood. The memory of it lingered in Tadashi’s mind and sometimes he would catch wiffs of scents that reminded him of it, although nothing could ever compare to the real thing.
His heat set in, desire burning through him as he called for his alpha to come and soothe him. With each unsatisfactory orgasm, he called Ainosuke’s name desperate and needy and so very lonely. The pleasure was never very satisfying when he was a sobbing mess.
He missed Ainosuke fervently.
A loud bang echoed through the house. A door? But that wasn’t possible; Tadashi was sure he locked them.
Footsteps echoed through house.
Surely just heat induced hallucination.
But then his bedroom door slammed open to reveal a tall figure with glowing red eyes. Although Tadashi was in a compromised state, he bared his fangs, ready to fight off his would be attacker—refused to let any alpha other than Ainosuke touched him. The figure didn’t move, staying in the door frozen, not even bothering to acknowledge Tadashi’s fierce growls and acrid scent telling the figure to get the fuck out. His mind was so caught up in his fight or flight response that he missed the warning bells ringing his mind. A strong alpha scent filled the room, a familiar one, but carrying an unfamiliar smokey note.
The figure moved forward and Tadashi moved back. As the figure entered the beam of moonlight from the window Tadashi was finally able to make out the person’s features.
And then Tadashi knew for sure that he was hallucinating.
Because there before him, was Ainosuke with glowing red eyes, wolf ears on his head, and a tail swishing excitedly behind his back. He belatedly realized that the scent was Ainosuke’s and the smokey note in the alpha’s scent that he hadn’t recognized was arousal, judging from the engorged (mouth watering large) cock standing proud against his stomach.
Oh, Ainosuke was naked. Tadashi was immensely confused.
“Stop moving.” Ainosuke ordered.
And he obeyed.
He would always obey his master.
Ainosuke brazenly entered his nest and pinned him down, burying his head into the junction of Tadashi’s neck. “To think you were hiding yourself from me omega, all those years . . .” His voice trailed off as his mouth became occupied with licking the pheromone laced oils off of Tadashi’s scent gland.
Tadashi’s mind was consumed with only thoughts of the alpha; the person he desired most in the world was finally in his arms. He didn’t even care about the wolf ears or tail, he was just happy to be with the man he never thought he could have. He had cherished their childhood friendship deeply, but as they were slowly forced apart by Ainosuke’s father and aunts as they drew a clear line between master and servant, he accepted that the only relationship he would have with the boy who once sweetly chased after him would be one of servitude.
“My puppy’s so pretty . . .” Ainosuke cooed, brushing the tears from Tadashi’s eyes. “Did you miss me that much?”
Oh, he was crying. This was just a hallucination but even so, he was so immensely happy.
He missed Ainosuke.
He slammed his lips against the alpha’s own and from there, they devolved into endless love making. Ainosuke knotted Tadashi and claimed him, making promises to breed him properly. Tadashi eagerly accepted all his master offered him: he was but a worshipper laid upon his god’s altar asking to be defiled.
When Tadashi’s heat finally died away, he dumbfounded that Ainosuke—and his ears and tail—were in fact real. The mythology of the Shindo family wasn’t just a myth as Tadashi found out, and Ainosuke’s family didn’t die by natural or accidental means.
The day that Tadashi was banished from the Shindo Manor was the day that Ainosuke’s latent powers awoke. As Ainosuke discovered, the full blessing of the wolf god had dimmed over the course of the last few generations as greed grew and a lust for power overruled the instincts of the wolf—the instincts to protect and care for one’s pack, to grow happiness and prosperity. Ainosuke’s desire to protect and reclaim his mate had reinvigorated the blessing. With its boost, he carefully built a network of influential individuals while he attended college abroad. Some of them were his peers but others were his father’s associates charmed by Ainosuke’s charisma and dominance that overpowered his father’s. He kept the changes within himself a secret as much as possible, surreptitiously setting the stage for his family’s downfall while mascarading as the Shindo family’s perfect heir.
He had made sure he had an alibi during his father’s death just in case suspicions were knocked his way, but in the end, Aichirou’s death had been ruled a heart attack. Ainosuke was the poor son who had been having a phone call with his father when a medical emergency had occurred. He had even contacted emergency services. They’d never know that hidden in a bouquet of red roses, placed in the room that morning was a small voice recorder with a powerful command spoken in Ainosuke’s voice.
A command to die.
The red roses were a message. A symbol of his most treasured love for the lowly gardener’s son who had once diligently tended to the roses with his father. He wanted his father to understand and agonize in his final moments, that his downfall was ultimately because of the snake who had tempted his son into sin. Like a Greek tragedy, through his own actions, Aichirou ironically sprinted faster towards his demise.
He should have listened to the ostensible superstitions of their ancestors.
The archaic rules of their family were based on truth after all.
Never harm another wolf’s mate.
His aunts were killed in a similar manner. His command forced their driver to crash the car. The car and the bodies within were mangled beyond recognition. Ainosuke would have felt bad for driver had he not been his aunt’s favorite snitch.
Tadashi listened to Ainosuke’s recap of the last few years with rapt attention, wrapped in his alpha’s arms, his back against his chest, Ainosuke lavishing the raw mark on Tadashi’s neck with kisses and nuzzles inbetween his words.
“It took so long to find you—you know how to hide too well.” Ainosuke’s hands squeezed his hip with bruising strength. “But I followed our connection to the north. I watched you for days, taking you in, noting every change: a new scar on your hand, a few faint wrinkles from furrowing your brows, and a less tense demeanor. I saw the townsfolk trying to set up with their sons and daughters.” Ainosuke let out a low growl and Tadashi bared his neck further. The alpha responded with a pleased hum before resuming his ministrations. “Had you taken a spouse I would have killed them.”
Ainosuke let out a satisfied purr upon smelling Tadashi’s pleased scent. Truly only Tadashi could bare the oppressive and all consuming weight of Ainosuke’s love.
“But of course you wouldn’t have accepted anyone else,” Ainosuke let out a bellowing laugh, “a secret omega pining for years for an alpha that was lost to him.”
Tadashi, while an expert at deciphering political circuitous political jargon, compex contracts and bills, and the doublespeak of the elite, was never very verbose with his own words; it had caused numerous misunderstandings with the alpha that he was currently pinned beneath. He was even less articulate than normal after being fucked and bred for three days straight. Feeling both lazy and invigorated with peaceful contentment and passionate love swirling inside him, he chose to deign Ainosuke’s impromptu monologue with a deep kiss.
How uncharacteristically forward of him.
But it was worth it to feel Ainosuke perk up. And when he pulled away Ainosuke’s eyes were shining.
Noon was fast approaching, but clearly plans to get out of bed would need to be delayed.
————————————
Tadashi soon found himself smothered in all of the love he could ever desire, and he chose to drown it, now that he could once again stand at Ainosuke’s side.
When they returned, the papers called it a fairy tail romance. Ainosuke, an expert at manipulating the public, spun his romantic tale of a grieving alpha who retreated to the countryside only to be united with his childhood friend. His friend helped him heal his broken heart, and they fell in love. His constituents ate it up and soon their wedding was plastered in magazines.
When Tadashi returned to the Shindo manner, now the lawful mate of Ainosuke, he found that all of the staff had been replaced. Not only that, but all other traces of Aichirou and the aunts had been removed from the manor.
As they sat in the rose garden, having afternoon tea, Ainosuke commented, “A fresh start. The Shindo household needed a reset, back to its origin.
A few months later, it became obvious to the public that Tadashi was pregnant. His duties as Ainosuke’s secretly were scaled back, not because he wasn’t capable of working while carrying a pup, but because Ainosuke’s protective nature had grown tenfold, his wolf instincts urging him to keep his mate and unborn pup safe in their den. Tadashi—who had witnessed Ainosuke almost exposing his wolf heritage when an alpha senator came over to shake hands—agreed to the confinement.
Tadashi spent most of his days in Ainosuke’s office, stilling compiling useful data to help his mate, but by his eight month, he found himself working from his nest in their bed and frequently napping.
Tadashi awoke, when he felt movement on the other side of the bed and a warm body press up against him.
“Ainosuke?” Tadashi inquired.
Ainosuke only, hummed and buried his face in the crook of his mate’s neck, inhaling deeply. He placed a hand possessively on Tadashi’s stomach, laying a kiss on the omega’s mating mark, and grinning when he felt their pup give a strong kick.
“It’s noon.” Tadashi pressed.
“So?” The alpha challenged, his kisses growing hungrier as he painted more bruises on his omega’s skin.
Tadashi let out a breathy whine at a particularly harsh nip, slick already beginning to wet his thighs.
“You have multiple meetings—and the proposal—ah!” Tadashi’s reason died away the moment Ainosuke sneakily reached down and stroked his cunt.
Victory tainted the alpha’s scent as lowered his body and buried his face between his mate’s thighs before moaning deeply as Tadashi’s hands found purchase against his sensitive wolf ears. Tadashi could never find the will to deny Ainosuke anything he desired—even himself.
Ainosuke pulled away briefly from his self inflicted sweet suffocation to comment. “You look so gorgeous, look at you, swollen with my child, I bred you well didn’t I?”
Tadashi’s cried out as he climaxed, Ainosuke’s words sending him over the edge.
“Such a good omega,” Ainosuke purred, laying a kiss on Tadashi’s inner thigh. “All mine.”
“All yours.” Tadashi affirmed.
————————————
Tadashi watched his mate walked through the rose garden, tenderly holding their one year old pup, talking to her animatedly as she giggled and mimicked his energy. She wore a cute sundress and hat, picked out by Ainosuke, already instilling his sense of fashion into his daughter. Her shoes were missing, having ripped them off and ran away the moment they went outside.
However she was quickly scooped up by her father before reaching a puddle of mud. She looked so much like her sire, the Shindo genes coming through strong but unlike previous generations, she shared her father’s infectious energy, freely expressing herself in the ways that Ainosuke had been forbidden too, only able to be himself when he skated with Tadashi in secret.
But no longer was the Shindo household stifling and oppressive, now it was full of laughter and abundant with life.
Tadashi tried to take a secret candid photo of his mate and pup, but Ainosuke caught him, smiling sly as he whispered to his daughter that her mother was here. They both turned towards him and smiled brightly, their red eyes filled with mirth matching the swaying of the red roses blowing in the wind.