Chapter 17: The Collision

Elias POV

I couldn’t stop thinking about the note. I know your secret. Even now, on the training field, it pressed at the back of my mind, a weight I couldn’t shrug off. Ronan had seen it. I could tell. And Luca too. The way his eyes had widened, the heat in his gaze… he hadn’t said a word, but he had noticed. And that made me… exposed. Vulnerable in a way I wasn’t ready to handle.

I tried to shake it off, forcing my focus on the sparring drills.Instrictor Ray paired us for hand-to-hand exercises today, and of course, I ended up with Ronan. It felt… inevitable. My chest tightened the moment I faced him, every instinct screaming that this was going to be different.

“Ready?” I muttered, trying to keep my voice steady.

Ronan gave a small nod. “Always.”

I swallowed. That one simple nod made my pulse kick faster than it should. The pheromones between us buzzed in the air, subtle at first, then sharp, warm, impossible to ignore. I forced myself to step back, to create distance, but it felt like the mat itself was shrinking around us.

Instructor Ray blew the whistle. “Spar!”

We moved. I started cautiously, circling him, my fists were up, and my eyes scanning. My mind tried to run through tactics, strategies, anything to distract me from him. But every step, every breath, reminded me of him…..of Ronan. And before I could plan anything, he struck.

Not hard, not aggressive, just a feint to test me. I dodged, but the movement carried me forward, and then our bodies collided. Shoulder to shoulder, chest to chest. My stomach pitched. My heart thundered. I could feel him through the fabric of his training shirt, warm and solid, grounding and maddening all at once.

“Elias…” His voice was low, almost a warning.

I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t even think. His scent hit me fully, a wave of heat and sharpness that clawed through my suppressants. I gasped and stumbled back slightly, trying to regain control.

Ronan didn’t move. He didn't flinch either. He simply watched me, his eyes narrowed, and calculating… but there was something more there too. Something dangerous. My knees shook, my hands trembled, and the air between us felt electric.

“Focus,” I whispered to myself, but the word was hollow.

He stepped closer, just a fraction, adjusting my stance. His hands brushed mine, lightly at first, and then the pheromones hit me again, stronger this time, mingling with my own. My vision blurred for a split second. My suppressants were useless. My instincts rose like a tidal wave, overwhelming my reason.

“Elias, steady,” Ronan murmured, but I could hear the strain in his voice. He felt it too. He always did.

I tried to step back, to regain space, but my foot caught on the edge of the mat, and suddenly I was stumbling again… directly into him. This time, chest to chest, our foreheads nearly touching. His arms instinctively came up to steady me, and the warmth of his body sent everything spiraling. My heart hammered in my chest, my lungs felt too small, and every instinct I had been suppressing screamed at me to surrender.

“Ronan…” I gasped, my voice trembling.

He didn’t let go. He kept me upright, his hands firm on my shoulders, grounding me even as the rest of the world spun. I could feel the pulse of his body through mine. Strong. Steady. And maddeningly alive.

“I…” I tried to speak, to explain, to command myself to think, but words failed me. My body betrayed me, trembling uncontrollably. My suppressants were melting away under the weight of his proximity. My scent, warm and sharp, hit him full force. I knew he could feel it. I knew it.

“Elias…” he breathed again, just a whisper, and the sound made my knees wobble.

I stepped back too quickly, but not enough. The air between us still vibrated with the clash of pheromones. My chest rose and fell unevenly, my vision tunneled, and the world felt impossibly heavy.

“Focus!” Ray shouted somewhere in the distance. The words barely reached me through the storm inside.

Ronan reached out, his hand lightly brushing my arm, trying to steady me again. The touch was enough to make my mind go blank. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move properly. Every nerve in my body was alive, screaming, demanding.

I stumbled once more. My vision blurred. My legs felt weak. I tried to breathe, tried to pull back, tried to control anything, but the pheromones, the instinct, the pull of him, it was too much.

“Elias!” His voice broke through, close, urgent. I heard his heartbeat thrum against my cheek, and the overwhelming response of my own body tipped me over the edge.

The last thing I remember before everything went black was his strong hands on me, grounding me even as I felt myself slipping. The world tunneled, the lights dimmed, and then… nothing.

I fainted.