CHAPTER 201: CHAPTER 201: ETERNITY

Victor’s mouth curved in that lazy way that made Elias reconsider every decision that had led him here. "You’re not a candidate," he said, his low voice sending shivers down Elias’s spine. "You’re already mine."

Elias blinked, towel tightening in his grip. "That’s not how logic works."

Victor ignored him, taking a slow step closer. "I’ve decided something," he said, his tone too calm, too measured, the exact sound of danger when it came from him.

Elias’s stomach sank. "Oh, gods. What now?" He opened his mouth to argue, but before he could speak again, Victor moved.

He stepped forward in one smooth motion and gathered Elias into his arms. The movement was effortless and so sudden that Elias barely had time to react. At first, he thought it was just a hug, something grounding, human. He even let himself lean into it for a heartbeat, the damp heat of his skin meeting the cool press of Victor’s clothes.

Then Victor’s arms tightened, one slipping beneath his knees, the other steady at his back. Elias realized, too late, that his feet no longer touched the floor.

"Victor..." he began, startled, his voice catching as warm air brushed against the bare curve of his shoulders.

Victor ignored him, already crossing the room. His stride was unhurried, his balance perfect, as if Elias weighed nothing. "You’ve been standing too long," he said mildly, his breath stirring the hair near Elias’s temple.

Elias could feel the subtle thrum of divine energy beneath Victor’s skin, that faint hum that wasn’t quite human warmth; it was steadier, older, like standing too close to a storm held in check. "Victor, for the love of God, I’m barely in the first weeks; I can walk, and you had no problem with it yesterday at training."

Victor’s lips twitched, amusement flickering in the faint light from the fireplace. "Yesterday you were my student," he said smoothly. "Today you’re carrying my child. Different priorities."

"Different..." Elias cut himself off, glaring as Victor lowered him onto the couch with absurd care, as if he were made of spun glass and not a man who had survived ether storms and a god’s temper. The cushions sank beneath his weight, soft and faintly perfumed with iris and smoke, Victor’s scent clinging to everything he owned. "You’re unbelievable."

"I’ve been called worse," Victor replied, kneeling on the thick carpet with one knee, his hand already reaching to adjust a blanket over Elias’s back. His movements were graceful and annoyingly gentle until Elias stopped him with a bare foot pressed against his shoulder. The towel at his waist loosened slightly, a dangerous slip of skin catching the golden firelight.

Victor froze. His crimson eyes flicked from the pale curve of Elias’s ankle down to the point where his towel parted, then back up to the omega’s flushed face. His mouth curved slowly, dangerously, into a smile that melted reason and made the air too heavy to breathe.

"Careful," he murmured, the sound sliding like silk across the small space between them. "You keep testing me like that, and I’ll start thinking you’re trying to seduce your way out of training again."

Elias’s foot didn’t move, but his pulse did, quick and traitorous. "I’m trying to stop you from tucking me in like a toddler," he shot back, his voice steady only by sheer will. "And for the record, this isn’t seduction; it’s self-defense."

Victor’s gaze dropped briefly to the towel that had slipped lower against Elias’s hips. The edge of his smile sharpened, but his voice softened into something that made Elias’s skin prickle. "You’re terrible at self-defense," he murmured.

Elias could feel the warmth of his breath against his knee, the faint vibration of that godlike voice reverberating through the air between them. He swallowed hard. "Don’t start."

Victor’s eyes glowed faintly in the dim light, twin embers in a face that seemed far too composed for the chaos he caused. "You’re the one who started it," he said, rising to sit beside him. The couch dipped slightly, and Elias’s shoulder brushed his arm, sending a shiver through both of them.

"I’m imagining ways to escape this room," Elias muttered, crossing his arms. His skin still buzzed from the contact.

Victor tilted his head, studying him with the kind of lazy focus that could peel a man open. "You wouldn’t get far," he said quietly. "You’re glowing."

Elias blinked. "Glowing?"

"It’s faint," Victor murmured, reaching to brush his thumb along the hollow of Elias’s collarbone. His skin was warm from the shower, his pulse quick under Victor’s touch. "But it’s there. Your ether is resonating with mine. That only happens when the bond begins to shift on its own."

Elias froze, heartbeat thundering in his ears. "Shift?"

Victor’s eyes lifted, and the red in them deepened until they looked like molten glass. "You’re changing, Elias. The bond between us is evolving, responding to the life you carry. It’s preparing for permanence."

Permanence. The word sank like a stone in his stomach. "You mean..."

Victor smiled, the slow, devastating kind. "Soulbonding."

Elias stared at him, the crackle of the fireplace filling the silence between them. The room felt suddenly smaller, the air thicker. "Victor, no. We’ve been over this. You don’t get to upgrade the laws of existence just because you’re in a sentimental mood."

"I’m not sentimental," Victor said, though his voice wavered with the ghost of laughter.

"You just tucked me in, told me I’m glowing, and said you want permanence," Elias said flatly. "You’re practically writing vows."

"That’s called foresight," Victor countered, his tone infuriatingly even. "And as your mate and future husband..."

"Victor."

He ignored the warning, his hand settling lightly against Elias’s abdomen. The contact was warm, electric, sending a ripple through Elias’s ether. "I have every right to ensure our child and my omega are properly bonded. A soulbond is stronger. Safer. Eternal."

Elias gaped at him. "You just described divine fusion like it’s a new warranty policy."

Victor’s grin flashed. "I like to think of it as a lifetime guarantee."

"Victor," Elias groaned, pressing both hands over his face, "you can’t possibly think this is how normal people propose marriage."

"Who said I was normal?" Victor murmured, leaning back against the couch, his scent curling around them like smoke.

Elias peeked through his fingers, tired and half amused despite himself. "You’re impossible."

"Only with you," Victor said again, this time softer, his gaze lingering on Elias with something dangerously close to tenderness. "Rest. I’ll handle everything else for now."

Elias let out a long breath, sinking back into the cushions. The warmth of the fire, the faint hum of divine energy in the air, and Victor’s presence pressing close, all of it blurred together until he could no longer tell whether he was exhausted, comforted, or both.