The smell of parchment and ink was abundant in the air. Without realizing it, Evan blinked to see the shelves upon shelves of books surrounding him. Had he zoned out again? There were many titles on the shelves, none of which appeared in English. He wasn't sure where he was, but he was certain it wasn't in North America. Maybe he was in Europe. He'd always wanted to travel.

Evan would bump into someone carrying a large stack of books just as he rounded a bookshelf's corner. He would fall back as the stranger would take a step back to steady themselves from dropping any of the books in their arms. The books were thick, had leather binding, and had similar foreign words in fancy script. The person carrying the stack would turn toward a table and place the pile down with ease. Evan still sat on the floor and his gaze narrowed when he saw Ryker.

"Didn't think I'd run into you here," the alpha joked lightly. Evan rolled his eyes and was about to stand when Ryker offered his hand to the omega. He stared at the hand in silence for a moment before Ryker's face broke out in a reassuring grin. 

"I don't bite you know."

Placing his hand in Ryker's, there was a brief warmth blooming in Evan's chest as he was assisted off the floor.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to accept your help," he replied cooly. Ryker raised one eyebrow as though he were asking for more clarification.

"I'm not helpless. I can stand on my own." Evan announced that statement with a strong emphasis that had Ryker nodding his head. 

"Duly noted." Ryker would chuckle before standing there a moment longer before picking up the stack of books again.

"Well, it was… good…? to see you again. I have work to do though."

Evan was a little shocked. Every encounter with the alpha had been so immersive and captivating. He was always interested in Evan and being around the alpha had felt comforting if confusing most of the time. Ryker turned around and headed in the opposite direction with his stack of books. It only took a second for Evan to start to follow the alpha.

He watched as Ryker placed books back on the shelves. Ryker seemed to know what the books said which confused him. How did Ryker know what language this was in? But Evan watched in silence as he followed Ryker around.

"I can feel your burning questions," Ryker said with a thick, green tome in his right hand. Evan cleared his throat before speaking.

"What language are these in?" he asked.

"It's a lost tongue. You wouldn't know it easily."

Evan huffed at the decision. How did Ryker know it then? If it was lost then surely it was lost to everyone. Such a know-it-all alpha. Weren't they all full of themselves though?

"I can show you what I see if you'd like?" Ryker offered. Evan crossed his arms over his chest while standing at an angle to Ryker. With a scrutinizing gaze, he caved and moved over to the stack of books with a, "Fine."

The alpha only had one book remaining in his hands and he held it out to Evan with it open to a random page near the middle of the book.

"You need to focus on the letters, not the order. It's like a cipher in the book. Once you stare long enough, the words will spell out for you." he explained.

Although Evan was staring at the jumble of letters on the page, he swore it was pointless. Ciphers don't just magically jump out at a person. They need to be worked through with a pen and paper. And even then, it was a code that he would probably never be able to read fully. Evan didn't want to embarrass himself by reading at a rate of a learning toddler.

However, as he was about to look up from the page, the letters began to rearrange themselves on the page, just as Ryker had told him they would. An astonished expression ghosted over his lips before he flicked his eyes up to Ryker's.

"Is this a trick? You don't have magic or something silly like that, do you? It would explain how you just do things though." he mused to himself.

Ryker chuckled.

"What do you mean? You can do things too you know?"

A scoff came immediately after. Ryker offered a soft expression with encouraging eyes.

"You have more control than you think. You're not trapped, Evan." Ryker explained. It was hard to understand what he meant by that. Evan was dreaming of a fictional alpha. He'd been dreaming of Ryker for some time now that he thought about it. But why would he be trapped? Was that a dream phrase that never made sense unless a person were to go to the internet to interpret it? It would seem Ryker picked up on the hesitancy of belief as he sighed and shook his head.

"Do you like to read, Evan?" he asked.

Books always had a soft spot in his heart. He wasn't allowed to keep many of them though because Darren felt as though they were using up too much space. The omega didn't dispute the claim. Books were also expensive if bought in the quantities he wished he could.

"I love to read, but I don't think I can here. Waiting for your magic books to translate themselves would take forever." he joked.

Ryker laughed heartily at that sentiment and Evan felt his heart fluttering at the sound. The alpha smelled like strawberries and summer. His laugh was beautiful in harmonious sound… What more could Ryker do that would amaze Evan? But as that thought collided in his head with Darren, the omega's face flushed and he turned away. Darren would be mad for him liking another alpha's laugh.

Ryker nudged his shoulder and Evan looked back over at him with a quizzical expression. 

"You're allowed to have your own thoughts you know."

It was a simple statement from the alpha but hit so extremely close to home that Evan looked away again. How was this alpha so observant of his mental thoughts? It could be because Ryker was simply a figure of his imagination, but Evan knew deep down, in the depths of his mind, that wasn't completely true.

"What about you? Do you like to read?" Evan asked with a hesitancy which was greeted with a casual eyebrow raise.

"I do. Mysteries are always fun but romance holds a strong spot in my favourites." he said. With a nod of his head, Evan looked at Ryker with a more scrutinizing gaze. Most alphas liked action and thrillers. Yet Ryker appeared to be a romantic at heart, hopeless even. It was entirely refreshing.

"Most alphas wouldn't admit something like that. You must have an amazing mate, y'know, since you seem so caring and kind." Evan said with a small chuckle. It was a deduction he thought he'd hit the head of the nail on. But Ryker shook his head.

"I don't, actually. My job takes up a lot of my time. It's hard to find someone so willing to overlook my crazy schedule." he said with a slight shrug. That made sense to Evan. He didn't have any demanding schedules to adhere to, aside from daily routine meals. Darren expected his food on time. But that was normal.

"You should try harder then. You seem like quite a catch." the omega's simple words made Ryker wince. Evan's brows knitted together in confusion before he tentatively reached a hand out to place his palm against Ryker's shoulder. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean for that to be so harsh…" 

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean anything by it." Ryker's consoling words did little to ease his now anxious thoughts.

"Hey, why don't we talk about Darren? I bet you two have a ridiculously romantic story." This comment from Ryker made Evan shrug.

"I wouldn't say it was something you'd find in a book or a movie. But we met at a coffee shop in highschool. You could say we're highschool sweethearts. He's my world though," his words drifted off while his face sported a frown. It was a downplayed summary of their relationship. While he was getting to know this fictional alpha in his head, Evan knew there was no need to tell all. If Ryker was in his head, he probably knew everything already. 

"I think if an alpha treats you right, then it's worthy of being in a movie or book. Darren is a good alpha."

For whatever reason, that didn't feel correct to Evan. Darren was his alpha, the one he belonged with. And yet, there was an underlying feeling of guilt and sadness that came from hearing that Darren was a 'good alpha'.

"... he is."

It would seem that the conversation would stop at that moment as they remained among the magically translating books in silence.

"Evan!"

The loudness of his name made Evan shrink into himself as he covered his ears. What was that?

"You can escape Evan. You just need a reason. Let me help you!" Ryker offered. There was a panicked expression on his features as he placed the books down.

"Evan, when I find you…!"

"I don't know what's happening, but I feel scared," Evan said with a whimpering to his voice. Ryker chose that moment to hug Evan and run his hand over the back of the omega's head.

"It's okay! I'll be here when you return. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Evan felt the comforting waves of scent coming off Ryker. It was so pleasant and warm.

…

The feeling of a hard stinging comes to my cheeks as my eyes fly open. Darren is standing next to me as I see the world from a horizontal point of view. I was dreaming again. 

"How many times am I going to find you sleeping? You need to be more attentive to my needs." Darren says.

I nod my head. He's right. I shouldn't be living in a fantasy world with a fictional alpha. It isn't real. As I sit up and reorient my vision, I see the calendar behind Darren as he walks over to his recliner chair. January 5th. Another great summer day in Ontario. I think it's supposed to be sunny today.