Alta waved as Rian drove away, a slight smile coming to his face. As soon as they woke up to Rian's eyes being normal, the alpha asked for the day to think about things. Honestly it was more than Alta had expected so he simply said yes, and Rian called his boss to explain his decision.

Despite the argument, Ysemna emailed a work excuse for Alta under the guise of an “unusually long” heat and Alta had borrowed Rian’s phone to call Neralle and let them know he was okay. He also asked about the sickly beta and Neralle confirmed that they had been coming in almost every day since Alta disappeared. He had asked them to let the beta know he was coming in to talk to them, and now, he took a deep breath as he pushed the door to the bakery open.

Valentine's Day themed desserts already lined the case and Alta barely stepped inside he was accosted.

“Alta! You better–”

“Here.” Alta interrupted the daytime supervisor as he shoved the excuse in her face. He watched as her face went from upset, to understanding, to worry. Sometimes it was nice to work with a bunch of omegas. 

“Omg, Alta are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I'm fine. They took care of me.” Alta did his best to smile. “I just came back to get my bag and talk to someone.”

“Your bag is still in the back, and I think Neralle is sitting with your friend.” The quick switch from angry to accommodating almost made Alta want to roll his eyes but he resisted. She was just doing her job. “Take all the time you need, okay? Benny’s been handling overnight, so you can take tonight off too. Come back tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” his voice was a little more sincere as he headed behind the counter, walking to the break area to retrieve the bag he had abandoned the month prior. He quickly dug his phone out and nearly froze when he saw his lock screen.

It was still of him and Beth. 

Alta quickly unlocked his phone and changed the wallpaper, opting for a default. Rian said they would talk about their pairing once Alta was done with his master, and while he was hopeful, Alta wasn't stupid. He hadn't exactly done things the right way. 

Stepping back into the bakery floor, he quickly noticed Neralle sitting in one of the fancy booths and headed for them. As he got closer, he noticed the beta and could finally overhear their conversation. 

“I… are you…like him?”

“I'm what he should be.” Neralle's calm assertion made Alta's heart twist, and he swallowed down the guilt that rose with it. He stepped up to the booth and paused just long enough for Neralle to look up at him and nod.

Alta slid into the seat across from the beta, their eyes locking with his in that quiet, almost unsettled way he remembered. They looked thinner than he recalled, the curve of their shoulders a little more sunken, but there was a quiet kind of resolve beneath the exhaustion.

“Sorry I gave you my name, but I didn't get yours,” Alta started, smiling gently at the sick man. 

“It's Ryan.”

Of course it fucking was. “I'm guessing Neralle told you a bit?”

“She told me that you're something called an ifrit and it means you can shapeshift and cast magic.”

“I would be one, but I'm under what we call a genie curse,” Alta explained voice softening, though a spark of dry amusement flickered at the edges. “Since I gave you my name, I’m yours now. Until you die, my magic is yours to use through wishes.”

“So I just say ‘I wish’ and you'll–”

“Make it happen, within what I can do. I can't poof someone with magic and unfortunately, I can't magically heal your cancer. All I could do is temporarily fix it and it's likely it would come back suddenly and worse.” Alta spoke as gently as he could, watching as Ryan merely nodded slowly, as if he hadn't ever expected him to. “I also can't create something that has never existed, like sci-fi gadgets or fantasy creatures. Otherwise, it's pretty limitless.”

“No rules about love?”

“Love is just a chemical process. It's not that hard to do, but I can't make it permanent or last,” Alta shrugged, noting just how unsurprised by all of this Ryan was. He glanced at Neralle and they nodded, confirming his suspicion. They already proved magic to Ryan to save Alta time. “Is that something you want?”

“Huh? Oh no! No, I… just thought there would be more limits… ” Ryan's voice devolved into a cough and Alta gently laid his hand on the beta’s shoulder. “I wish… for the pain… to go away.” 

Alta felt the pull of his magic, watched as his body became translucent for a moment and allowed himself a small smile as Ryan looked relieved. He carefully released the man, sitting back in the booth as his body became corporeal again. He had really gotten lucky with both Ryan and Rian. 

“I… thank you.”

“You're my master. Your wish is my command.” Alta winced as the words left his mouth. No matter how many times he said it, it would always make him cringe. “If I'm not nearby and you want to make a wish, calling for me will make me come to you. Any version of ‘Khezen, come here’ will do.”

“But what about you? Is there anything I can do for you?” Ryan's sincerity hit Alta as hard as any blow. It wasn’t pity in the beta’s voice, and that made it worse. “Like a way to break your curse?’ 

Alta took a deep breath. This was always his least favorite part to explain and he was grateful for Neralle grabbing his hand under the table. 

“No. There is a way to break it, but it's not anything you can help me with,” Alta answered, doing his best to smile. “I just wanted to know how long you have, if you know?”

“Oh… I was originally told a year before Christmas…” Tears started in Ryan's eyes and Alta felt his heart sink. He squeezed Neralle's hand under the table, a gentle grounding in the wave of helplessness that washed over him. There was a weight to Ryan’s answer, one Alta had half expected but still hadn’t been prepared for.

“And now?” Alta gently prodded, his voice careful.

“Two, maybe three months,” Ryan finally answered and Alta felt his heart sink into his stomach. Only three months. “ I couldn't afford the medicine before New Year's and so apparently things got a lot worse. I'm on it now but I can't undo what's been done.”

“My magic can… always relieve the pain, and you're more than welcome to wish for anything you want,” Alta felt his hands shaking, but he struggled to keep it together. It wasn't Ryan's fault. “I can also teleport us anywhere you wanna go.”

“If… if I make it until then, I'd love to go see the cherry blossoms. I haven't seen them…since I was a kid,” Ryan's voice sounded so hopeful and Alta felt his heart breaking. 

“I'd love to make that happen.”

“And when… When it's about to happen, I want it to be in Japan. My mother still lives there and I want to be with her.” Ryan's voice was more desperate and Alta nodded. “I don't have enough to fly so if you–”

“I can do that, Ryan.” Alta confirmed, noticing the relief on the beta’s face. A little longer. He just had to hold it together a little longer. “If there's nothing else you need right now, I need to use the bathroom before I leave.”

“Oh, of course, and if you ever think of something you want,”

Free me. 

“Let me know and I'll–”

End this curse. 

“–wish it for you.” Ryan's smile was so bright and honest, and Alta could only nod as he released Neralle's hand and headed for the bathrooms. He vaguely heard Neralle say his name, but he didn't hear it. Not really. Nothing was louder than that sentence in his head. 

Three months. 

Alta slammed the door open to the omega bathroom, not really caring if it echoed through the bakery. His bag slid from his shoulders as the nausea hit him and he left it as he walked into the nearest stall. 

Three. months. 

As he gripped the edge of the porcelain, watching as the nothing he had thrown up swirled away, everything felt too small.

“Alta?”

He was too small. His body started to shake as his anger and grief started to swirl together inside him. 

It needed out.

“Alta, Don't!”

Alta punched the wall, not able to contain his form as he grew, expanding to his full height. He could see the red hair rippling to silver and worse, his clothing changed, replaced by hers. Pink lines snaked along his bare arms and chest and Alta screamed, digging his nails into his own skin. 

He wanted to rip them out, every last thread is this curse. He wanted his magic back. He wanted his name back. 

He wanted his body back. 

“FUCK.” Alta screamed again, collapsing back to his knees as he scratched long lines into his arms, black blood dripping into the sterile white tiles.

Three. Months.

“Alta…” Neralle's voice was softer as they wrapped their arms around him and he could feel from the volume of their hair that they had transformed as well. The same, but no curse decorated their skin. No one else controlled their life, no one stole their choices away from them. Their right to make mistakes. Their right to decide who got to know the truth. 

Alta released his arms, feeling another wave of nausea as he glared at the pink lines through tears. The smell of his own blood made the nausea worse, but he smeared it on his skin anyway. Black was better than pink. 

“You're marked.” Neralle's voice was gentle. 

“I am.”

“Her alpha?”

“No. Mine.” Alta felt the tears building in his eyes again. He felt as Neralle squeezed his midsection and he lightly tapped their arms. “Mine too until… Ryan dies.”

He felt Neralle freeze and Alta leaned back, gently resting his head on theirs. He knew he didn't need to say more, but he wanted to be able to tell someone. “His name is Rian too. He doesn't know.”

“I'm so fucking sorry, Alta.” Neralle adjusted their hold, sliding their arms to wrap around his chest as he felt their tears against his skin. Neralle's touch was always so gentle and right now, it was the only thing keeping him from doing more. From hurting himself more.“I'm so sorry.”

“I can't even tell him,” Alta scoffed, closing his eyes as he felt his tears building again. “Three months is…” 

A joke. But Alta couldn't bring himself to say it, and he quickly leaned forward as his empty stomach emptied itself again. He felt as Neralle quickly grabbed his hair, pulling the silver strands to safety. The clinking of the gold chains around his waist annoyed him and Alta glanced at his ruined arms. He was going to have to hide the scars before he went to see Rian. 

Neralle said nothing but they held him tighter, anchoring him with presence more than words. Their silence wasn’t empty; it was deliberate, a shared understanding that some griefs didn’t require language. Alta let himself sit in it, the way the pain made space in his chest that no breath could quite fill, and the ache that grew there each time he pictured Ryan’s hopeful smile.

“Three months,” he whispered again, quieter this time, like if he said it softly enough it might change. “I won't even get to see them.”

Neralle shifted behind him, chin gently pressing into the small of his back. “I know.”

They didn’t ask if he wanted to talk more. They didn’t offer platitudes. That was one of the reasons Alta had always trusted them. They weren’t the kind to try and slap hope over a wound like a cheap bandage. They just stayed, arms a tether, presence an anchor.

Alta sighed heavily, allowing his body to shrink, silver slowly darkening to red once again as he collapsed into Neralle’s lap. Their glowing red eyes were filled with tears for him, and Alta reached to touch their face. Their bright green hair nearly glowed under the fluorescent lights and he gently ran his hands through the strands.

“Ehretia,” Alta whispered, using their real name as if it might offer him some kind of grounding. They stared back, not reacting.  

“You deserve your name back.” 

“Doesn't change that it's not mine.” Alta complained, closing his eyes as he gently rested his hand over his midsection. “And soon, it never will be again.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Neralle promised and Alta allowed himself a soft smile. “I’ll find you no matter where she tries to hide you and I’ll give you your name back. So you can give it to someone who deserves to hold it again with no chains attached.”

“You shouldn’t tease old men like me.”

“You tease yourself.” Neralle whispered, slowly shrinking as their eyes and hair faded, replaced with the black curls and soft green they had chosen for this century. Alta closed his eyes, gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly, the shirt Rian had let him borrow. He had already felt awful as soon as he realized, had done his best to hide it from the alpha and now…

He couldn’t even tell him.