He Hates Me, He Loves Me Not

Dylan closes the door behind him after confirming that Damon is still breathing.

Leaning by the door, he tries to calm the nerves and frustration that has been building up since he received the news of Damon's hospitalization. He takes deep, even breaths, waiting for Collin to return after escorting everyone downstairs.

The hallway is empty, quiet; and, in the stillness of the VIP floor, he attempts to organize his thoughts, trying to keep up with everything that has been happening recently.

A drop is dangerous, Dylan knows that. He still remembers the words from his sub-gender counselor, warning him about the dangers of being rejected by his mate.

"Finding your mate and forming a bond is always a blessing," the no-nonsense Beta says to the sixteen-year-old Dylan, "but nothing comes without a risk."

Bonding is not as simple as the dramas portray it to be. It doesn't take one bite to claim a partner for life. Even if the connection and attraction between two people are instantaneous, the process takes time.. Through courtship, potential mates adjust to each other, syncing their biology to become two gears working in the same machine.

And a drop… a drop is what happens when a person's mate rejects them.

A drop is like a flood that comes with the never-ending rain, devouring everything in its path until there's nothing left. It swamps the roads and fills the streets, but it's neither unstoppable nor unpreventable.

Dylan understands it better now that he's older.

A drop is how the body cleanses itself after a rejection—a brutal and painful way of purging itself of the changes it made when it adjusted to its mate—and modern medicine allows alphas and omegas to surrender to their defense mechanisms without drowning in it. It's the main reason why a pair must register their bond with the government, regardless of their legal marital status.

Of course, with everything, there was opposition when the law was first introduced. The loudest voices were the ones who clamored about how it's an invasion of privacy—about how the government should not poke around a couple's private affairs.

Frankly, Dylan thinks that those who opposed it back then were the same people who weren't treating their mates right. Maybe because as an Omega, he has firsthand experience in seeing how people abused the excuse of having a 'traditional' mindset, but he doesn't believe that they would be so against it if they weren't hiding something.

Nevertheless, such opposition died down when the mortality rate of drops decreased at astonishing speed. It's only natural after requiring bonded mates to come in for regular evaluation. Early-stage drops became so easy to treat that most cases don't even require a week of hospitalization, and that is only after therapy and counseling are exhausted.

After all, anyone can tell when it's about to rain, either by looking at the sky or feeling the change of humidity in the air.

However, if an early-stage drop is a drizzle, then a late-stage drop is a tsunami.

It's slow-acting but sudden. Only those who know of the warning signs can tell when it's approaching, and there's no way to outrun a tsunami. Because of how unexpected it is, a late-stage drop is both rare and difficult to treat.

Then, there's a pseudo-drop. It's the symptoms of a late-stage drop but without an established bond. Most cases, although extremely few, are from those who unexpectedly lose their chosen mates before bonding. Second only to death, a person can recover but will lose the ability to bond, sub-gender no longer recognizing anyone else.

Dylan sighs to himself. Out of every possible misfortune to befall upon his older brother, why does it have to be a pseudo-drop? Is it because of his and Kaiden's high compatibility?

Stuck in his thoughts, he only notices that Collin has arrived when the Alpha pulls him into a hug.

"I wonder what's in that pretty head of yours," Collin says while rubbing his chin on top of Dylan's head, taking advantage of their height difference.

He doesn't fight back, doesn't push away the big arms surrounding him. The Omega lets his pheromones do the talking for him, emitting a thick scent of spicy cinnamon scent in the hallway.

The Alpha doesn't disappoint when he immediately smothers Dylan with his comforting pheromones.

As Collin runs a soothing hand over his back, Dylan can't help but think of how Damon was saved by mere luck. It's his luck that Uriel, his butler, found him collapsed on the bed before he spiraled into a full coma. The EMTs said that if it was any later, Damon would've been a cold body by the time they arrived.

Receiving the news was painful for him, but going through it must have been more agonizing. He wishes for his older brother to get better, but that doesn't mean he has forgiven him. Just because Damon is on the verge of dying doesn't mean that Dylan has forgotten anything.

Yes, call him petty, but even pushing aside their rocky childhood together, he can't forget the nights when Kaiden came back with that familiar scent—with his brother's scent, he realized too late—and yet smelling like sour fruit.

So, when Collin asks, "Did you tell him that Kaiden is alive?"

Dylan answers with, "No."

What's the use of telling his older brother when he doesn't know where Kaiden is? He can't even meet his best friend, why should he do the work but let Damon reap the rewards?

Dylan isn't a saint like that.

Collin wraps his arms tighter around Dylan when he senses the other's mood turning bad again. He doesn't ask more, doesn't question the Omega about his decision. Damon is his friend but Dylan is his future mate.

There's no competition; Collin decided who to side with long ago.

They stay standing in the hallway like that for a while, hearts beating together under the fluorescent lights.

--

"What do you want to do about the Westers?" Collin asks Dylan on the way back.

Dylan taps on his phone, not bothering to look up when he asks, "What about them?"

"They want to cooperate with your family."

Truly, Collin should be asking Damon this, but why bother a sick man?

"It seems they got themselves into some financial trouble."

Dylan scoffs. "Why should we?"

Collin already knows this is how Dylan will answer. Still, if only to hear his Omega speak, he asks, "Isn't Kaiden a Wester?"

"Not after they kicked him out, he isn't," Dylan says in the most venomous tone Collin has heard from him.

"It's weird though," Collin keeps his eyes on the road while he voices out his thoughts, "he grew up in a prominent household but there is almost nothing about him."

Dylan puts his phone down then. "I don't know much about his past either, but I know he doesn't want to go back," he says in a quiet voice, making Collin regret bringing up the topic.

That's not it, Collin wants to say, but he keeps it to himself.

Because he doesn't want to make Dylan sad again, he says instead, "Okay. I'll reject them for you."

"Good. They can go bankrupt for all I care."

His pride swells at the praise, his inner alpha delighted that their Omega is depending on him. Overjoyed at the thought that Dylan has been slowly accepting him, Collin ignores the nagging suspicion at the back of his head.

There's no reason for Kaiden's information to be locked away, right?

--

"We're sorry you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service," a monotonous voice repeats the message.

Heath ends the call and dials the number again.

"We're sorry you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service."

Again.

"We're sorry you have reached a number that has been disconnected or—"

Again.

"We're sorry you have reached a number that has been disc—"

His phone flies to the wall. The screen cracks.

"—no longer in service."

Heath strains his throat from how loud he yells. He runs his hands through his face, pulling at his hair, all the while not knowing what to do. He's at the end of his wits.

His family is in trouble, he just got out of a long-term relationship, and now there's no one he can ask for help.

What the hell is happening? Wasn't it supposed to be safe? What's this about people dying? What would have happened to Damon if he didn't stop earlier?

And why is this motherfucker not answering his call?

--

Meanwhile, a pale hand drops a phone on a glass of dark liquor. The glass is immediately taken away and replaced with another one.

Although there's no expression on his face, everyone can sense his irritation. After all, even the betas have their knees shaking at the oppressive Alpha pheromones filling the room.

He clicks his tongue, causing the big, burly men around him to flinch, but he takes no notice. 

"Useless," is all he says before drinking the liquor in one gulp.