Riley… Do You Not Like Me Anymore?

Riley's POV

In that instant, my heart seemed to stop, and all the blood in my veins turned ice-cold.

A wave of panic crashed over me. My limbs locked up in terror, and before I could think, I lunged toward the bed, yanking the white bathrobe from the footboard. My hands trembled as I fumbled to pull it on, cinching the belt tight around my waist, desperate to hide every inch of exposed skin, every telltale mark—anything that might give me away.

The door swung open. Theo stepped inside.

He carried a first-aid kit in one hand, his voice gentle as always. "Riley, I saw how badly your back was injured last night. I brought some supplies—let me take care of it for you."

I stared into those soft, pale blue eyes of his, my fingers trembling ever so slightly.

He was right, of course. Last night's mission had ended with a fallen vampire's claws tearing into my back, leaving vicious wounds. Combined with the backlash from my bloodline awakening, I was in terrible shape.

But right now, the last thing I could bear was his touch.

I was terrified that his warm fingers would brush against my skin, that he'd notice something off about me, that the humiliation I'd worked so hard to bury would be dragged back into the open, exposed all over again.

I turned slightly away, my voice stiff and cold. "That's not necessary. I can handle it myself. And next time, could you please knock before entering my room?"

It was the first time in all these years that I'd ever refused him.

Theo went still. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw hurt flicker across his face—but before I could be sure, it was gone.

His brows drew together slightly. "Riley… do you not like me anymore?"

The words hit me like a punch to the chest, a sharp, spreading ache blooming beneath my ribs.

I didn't understand him at all.

How could he use such a tender, affectionate tone to say something so unbearably cruel?

He was the one who had crushed my adolescent infatuation—shameful and fervent as it was. He was the one whose heart belonged to Isolde, who poured all his warmth and favor into her. He was the one who had never, not once, given me even the faintest glimmer of possibility.

How could I dare to still like him? What right did I have?

Bitterness surged through me, but I swallowed it down along with all my grievances and resentment. "Of course I like you."

I paused, then quickly corrected myself. "But only in the way a junior respects and relies on an elder. I won't overstep again like I used to. You don't need to worry."

Theo looked… disappointed. I didn't know what he could possibly be disappointed about. Was my rejection not firm enough? Not clean enough?

His expression darkened, unreadable, but he didn't press further. He simply set the first-aid kit down gently on the corner of my desk, his tone returning to calm neutrality. "Riley, there's one more thing. Remember—you're expected at St. Vera Academy at eight this morning to report as a new student and officially begin your duties."

St. Vera Academy was the central sanctuary that maintained the delicate balance between humans, vampires, and werewolves. The campus was divided into three independent territories, each operating without interference from the others.

The Human Domain housed human nobility and served as the primary zone for ordinary students and hunter trainees—my nominal enrollment sector.

The Werewolf Domain was the exclusive territory of the wolf clans, though it harbored rogue wolves who had lost control, devolving into violent, feral creatures.

The Vampire Domain was reserved for vampires, some of whom had fallen to Level E—degenerate bloodsuckers who had abandoned reason entirely.

My core responsibility as a hunter was to maintain the fragile equilibrium among these three domains: to eliminate rogue werewolves, purge fallen vampires who violated the peace accords and preyed on innocents, and eradicate any threat to the balance between the territories.

I listened quietly, nodding slightly. "Understood. I'll carry out my duties."

Theo's gaze lingered on me. "Isolde will also be attending St. Vera Academy. She'll be assisting the hunters in a support capacity. Riley, I need you to protect her."

He paused, then continued, his voice softening. "She still doesn't know her true identity. She believes she's an ordinary human girl. I need you to keep the secret that she's a pureblood vampire. Will you do that for me?"

Those words were like a blade, slicing through every layer of pretense I'd built, driving straight into my heart.

A searing pain exploded in my chest. Bitterness and resentment flooded through me, threatening to drown me whole.

He thought of Isolde in everything. He shielded her at every turn, unwilling to let even a trace of darkness or bloodshed touch her.

And me?

I had always been the expendable one.

I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek, forcing back the sting of tears and the ache clawing at my throat. My fingers clenched so tightly they turned white. In the end, I nodded faintly. "I understand. I'll protect her."

Everything he'd come to say had been said. Yet Theo still didn't leave. He stood there, his gaze heavy and unreadable as it rested on me. When he spoke again, his voice was soft, almost wistful. "Riley… these past two years you've been away—did you miss me?"

The question struck like thunder from a clear sky, crashing down on me with devastating force.

My entire body trembled. A tingling numbness spread through my limbs, sharp and aching.

Miss him?

Of course I missed him.

During those two years of solitary training, I dreamed of him countless times. I still had those dreams—those shameful, desperate dreams where Theo fucked me gently with his thick cock, where pleasure tore screams from my throat, only for me to wake and find it all gone.

In those dreams, I called his name over and over, pathetic and needy, clinging to fleeting moments of imagined tenderness. Those filthy fantasies had filled every lonely night for two whole years.

But there was no future for us. There never had been.

I lowered my gaze, hiding the longing and bitterness pooling in my eyes, and forced down every surging emotion. My voice came out flat, a lie. "No. I didn't."

Something shifted in Theo's expression—something I couldn't decipher—but the warmth in his eyes dimmed.

A sweet scent had filled the room at some point. I finally understood: it was my own pheromones, released only when my heart stirred.

Only when I was near the four people I'd once loved in secret did my heart react this way.

But that realization only deepened my shame. Pheromones that betrayed my feelings so blatantly were no different from shouting through a megaphone: I like you.

I'd need to buy suppressants.

At least Theo didn't seem to notice the scent.

After a long silence, he softened his tone. "Riley, you really have grown up. It's been so long since you've called me by my name properly."

Self-mockery twisted in my chest. Heat prickled at the corners of my eyes.

A long time?

In the depths of those midnight dreams, I called his name over and over, shameless and broken: "Theo… Theo… faster, harder… I love it when your cock fucks me… I love you…"

I could never say those things aloud.

My throat tightened with unshed tears, but I couldn't resist the gentle coaxing in his voice. Quietly, I whispered, "Theo."

His expression softened, the tension easing from his features. He spoke gently. "Good boy. You'll always be my most beloved son."

With that, he turned and walked out of my room, closing the door softly behind him.

The instant the door clicked shut, everything I'd been holding back—every ounce of restraint, every swallowed grievance, every buried hurt—exploded inside me.

Rage ignited in my chest like wildfire. Bitterness, anger, frustration, and heartbreak piled on top of one another, threatening to consume me whole.

I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles went white. Tears finally spilled over, hot and uncontrollable, as a silent scream tore through my mind.

I don't want to be your son.

I never wanted to be just your son.