The birds chirped joyfully outside the window. Slowly awakening, Dasse rubbed his cheek against the soft pillow, involuntarily catching a very pleasant scent.

— No, nonsense — why would there be the scent of the second son of the Rutias family in my room? — he thought. But the strangeness did not end there: someone hot was embracing him from behind, wrapping an arm around his waist. Dasse moved, and suddenly froze in amazement, realizing that this someone was not only behind him, but also inside him. The whole night, during which Etienne had been with him, raced before his eyes in a frenzy. The dream evaporated in an instant. His heart thumped excitedly in his chest. What should he do?! Dasse had no intention of waking up in the same bed as Mr. Etienne - in fact, he never thought he would actually end up in his bed, considering that the alpha had found his chosen one. Therefore, having received what he came for, Dasse wanted to quietly slip away and not lie like a sack of potatoes next to his forced lover. But cruel reality painfully struck him in the head.

Etienne awoke, fully prepared to argue with anyone that this was the most exquisite awakening of his life. He lay there, buried in the silken tresses, inhaling the scent of his beloved mingled with his own. He propped himself up slightly and, in the dim light of the room, began to study his boy: the slender waist, the lithe, sun-kissed body, the bronze hair, the delicate cheekbones, and the straight little nose... He recognized. Or rather, he had always known. It was as if a mosaic had finally come together in his mind, with the missing pieces finally slotting into place.

— Dasse.

He uttered the name, and it was as if the very sound of it vibrated through him. Dasse! So sweet, so beautiful, so tender—how had he not felt this before? Why had he wasted time on others when this treasure was right under his nose?!

Dasse had naively hoped that the knot would loosen before the alpha woke up, allowing him to slip away safely. However, his dreams were not meant to come true: Etienne panted behind him, inexplicably inhaling the scent of his hair. Omega lay there, afraid to open his eyes. And when Etienne called him by name, Dasse realized that he was indeed caught. A shiver ran through his body. Frantically trying to figure out what to do, he blushed with shame. He reached down between his thighs in a desperate attempt for a quick release, but his fingers (not without a suppressed pleasure) touched the tender skin of the alpha. And it seemed that his actions from behind were interpreted a bit inaccurately: Etienne suddenly started gently caressing Dasse's stomach, sighing almost next to his ear:

— Touch me like that again...

Omega sharply withdrew his hand, blushing furiously to the tips of his ears. How embarrassing! Incorrect! He wished he could sink into the ground. He could distinctly feel Etienne's gaze, but was too terrified to look back. Alpha gently moved his hips, and Dasse unwittingly emitted a brief, sweet moan, but instantly froze, unable to think of anything better than to hide his head under a pillow.

Etienne was somewhat puzzled by his beloved's reaction. And when the other actually hid under the pillow, completely red, like a tomato, he didn't know whether to rejoice or cry over such metamorphoses. In any case, Dasse was incredibly adorable. Even when pretending to be a bed ostrich.

— So what are you doing? — the young man chuckled amiably, — Will you also hide under the pillow every morning out of embarrassment after our wedding?

— What? — Dasse was bewildered, hearing something so strange from Alpha's lips that he even peeked out from his "shelter," momentarily forgetting his embarrassment. Now it was time to be amazed by Etienne:

— Why what? You are my chosen one, I love you. We will get married.

Dasse stared intently at the suddenly subdued alpha. What was he up to?! What did this mean?! Yesterday he was the chosen one, today he was second?! So, what if they had slept together — it wasn't the alpha's first time, but why say such a thing?! The chosen one is not something that can be changed like gloves! Run! Run to hell out of this room! And Dasse jerked violently.