Carter Everson considered himself lucky.
He was an alpha.
He had a great job and even better friends.
Was in a relationship with the omega of his dreams, his pretty boy, Erick. Who he was planning to propose a mating to in a few minutes.
Carter was just from a business trip where he closed a deal he had been working on for months, and thanks to his preparation, it was a success.
He had promised himself that if it went through, he would propose to Eick.
His sweet boy, Erick. They had been together since they were twenty, and now, eight years later, it was time to make their mating official.
They had agreed to hold off their mating ceremony until they were both settled in life, and now, with Carter's hotel business flourishing and Erick done with his studies, it was now or never.
Carter smiled at the doorman as he entered the elevator that would take him to his and Erick's apartment.
He was happy. Finally.
Yeah, Carter was winning in life, and honestly, he deserved each win, so he humbly accepted them when they came.
His mood plummeted the minute he stepped into their home and was greeted by a foreign scent that made his stomach churn.
A scent so masculine and disgusting that it could only mean one thing.
There was an alpha in his territory.
Alarm bells rang as he got worried for Erick.
"Erick!" He called out in horror, bursting into their room, and immediately felt his blood run cold at the sight in front of him.
"Ca…Carter." His ome- Erick wobbled out. Tears quickly filled his dazed eyes.
Carter could feel his heart beg and plead with him to look away from the sight of Erick and the strange alpha on his bed.
Erick tried to cover both of them up, but… what was the use?
Carter's eyes roved their room, taking it all in. The messy sheets, the trail of clothes.
That fucking scent of alpha.
He was going to be sick. His head felt light.
"How could you?" Carte,r whispered out.
Erick burst out crying, sobbing out "sorry's" and "I did not mean to hurt you's ".
Then the alpha dared to hold Erick protectively, as if he was the one hurting.
"He is my soulmate, Carter," Erick said, his eyes hopeful, begging him to understand.
"That means you cheat on me?" Carter asked coolly, not missing Erick's flinch.
When he did not speak again, Carter sighed in defeat. He should have known by how great his life was going. The other shoe just dropped.
"I will give you twelve hours to leave my house. Do not contact me ever again. Even if you are dying." He spat out and turned to leave.
Carter denied the pain in his heart when he realized that Erick was not following him. The choice could not be clearer.
Taking his phone out of his pocket, he dialed his secretary's number,
"Janice. I need a room at the Jacaranda Bed and Breakfast."
"Sir? I thought you were home." She questioned in confusion.
"Something came up. After the room is booked, I want you to come by the apartment at 9 am tomorrow." He ordered as he punched the elevator Basement level key.
"Clear my things and put them up for sale."
"Yes, Sir…Did something happen, sir?" Janice asked hesitantly.
Carter sighed. He trusted the beta. He almost considered her a friend.
"Carter found his soulmate, and I found them in my bed." He said, ignoring how thick his voice sounded.
"Shit." Janice rarely cursed, "I am truly sorry, Mr. Everson. I ensure your room is ready."
"Thank you, Janice." He cut the call just as the elevator dinged open.
He marched to his car, ignoring the bursting dam of emotions in his heart.
He ignored it till he drove out of the city.
They won over when his sight got blurry, demanding he stop the car and deal with his aching heart.
He pulled over with a sob. Counting his luck that it was late in the night, so not many cars were out.
Soulmates… The bane of his existence.
They were a sickness that made people forget about those who were with them longer, throwing them out just in favor of strangers they barely knew.
All of a sudden, Carter was eight years old, watching his parents forget about him as they went with their soulmates.
"You will understand when you are older, son."
All that Carter understood was that his parents were pieces of shits who abandoned him for their soulmates. Making him feel more than a burden.
He was hyperventilating. Each breath was starting to feel like sharp glass tearing his lungs apart.
A thought of death had him scared, then another whispered him it would not be so bad to die this way, would it?
No!
He was not about to give in just because of a heartbreak.
He will get over it... Just as he always does.
Deep breaths.
In….then out.
In…then out.
He was Carter Everson.
This was nothing but a rock that he would fashion into a building block and step over it.
As minutes ticked by, his heart stopped racing, and his sight came back.
His eyes felt itchy thanks to the tears, but they were clear enough that he could see the road.
He would go to Jacaranda Gardens, relax and strategize, then… Whatever came next.
The thought of Jacaranda gardens had his body relaxing. It was a quaint BnB that he visited whenever stress got to him. He is on friendly terms with the owners, an older couple who were nothing but warm and friendly to him.
He smiled at the thought of seeing Timothy and Josephine again. He met them when his hospitality company was just a start-up, tried to buy the B&B then quickly gave up when Josephine cursed him out to hell and back.
Spirits a bit lifted at the memories of their first meeting, he continued what was left of his drive, arriving at the warmly lit driveway at midnight.
He cringed at the thought of waking up the couple, but he required sleep and rest if he was to function properly. Betrayed or not, nothing was messing up his sleep schedule.
His car pulled into the parking, quietly purring to a stop, and Carter got out. Inhaling the fresh night air, reveling at how tension was already bleeding out of him.
The Jacaranda trees were not yet in season, but they did nothing to reduce the charming beauty of the B&B, even now covered in darkness.
With an exhale, he locked his car door and walked into the mansion turned B&B, ready to settle in and sleep.
Sadly, it seemed like the universe had it out for him today. That was the only explanation as to why Carter was subjected to the sight of two alphas fucking at the reception desk the second he stepped into the building.
The stench of alpha and sex and the memories of early that evening made his stomach turn again, this time nausea overwhelming him as he turned towards what he hoped was a plastic plant and retched.
He had barely had anything to eat, so his puke was watery and acidic, burning his throat as it came up and out of him. Tears welling in the corners of his eyes, his mind begging for the end.
"Are you okay, man?" Carter smacked the hand of whoever it was trying to touch him.
"Don't fucking touch me." He managed to hiss out before everything went mercifully black.