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Mel sat at her vanity, her face as calm and composed as ever, but her hands were tense in her lap.
Viktor leaned back in his chair, his cane propped against his leg, his fingers drumming quietly on the armrest. Between them, an unspoken worry filled the room.
Jayce was overworking himself—again.
The signs had started small. Missed meals here and there, long hours spent locked in his lab or at council meetings without so much as a break to drink water.
At first, Mel and Viktor had tried gentle nudges. Mel had arranged his schedule to give him lighter days, while Viktor had slipped snacks and tea into the lab.
But Jayce, stubborn as ever, had brushed it all off.
He was fine, he’d said. Just tired. Just busy. Always just something.
But this morning, when Viktor had seen Jayce’s reflection in the mirror, he’d stopped in his tracks.
The once-powerful build of their omega was thinner, his shoulders more slouched, dark circles smudging under his eyes.
Viktor’s chest had tightened painfully at the sight, and he’d exchanged a grim look with Mel.
“We can’t keep letting him do this to himself,” Viktor said quietly, his voice sharp with frustration but tinged with guilt. “He won’t listen to us.”
Mel sighed, her fingers tightening around the edge of her vanity. “He’s too proud,” she murmured, her voice softer than usual. “But he’s also ours, Viktor. And if he won’t stop… we have to make him.”
There was a long silence between them as the weight of her words settled.
Using an alpha command on their omega—it was taboo, a violation of trust.
Something only done in cases of life-threatening emergencies. And yet, looking at Jayce now, his exhaustion wearing him down to the bone, this felt like one of those emergencies.
“It will hurt him,” Viktor said, though he didn’t argue against her.
Mel turned to face him, her golden eyes steady and resolute. “But letting him destroy himself will hurt more.”
Jayce was in the lab when they found him, hunched over a half-finished piece of Hextech, muttering calculations under his breath.
The room smelled faintly of soldering metal and ozone, but beneath it was the sharper scent of his omega stress—something both Mel and Viktor had grown painfully attuned to.
“Jayce,” Mel called, her voice calm but firm as she stepped inside.
Viktor followed close behind, his cane tapping lightly against the floor.
Jayce didn’t look up. “Hey,” he said absently, his eyes fixed on the project in front of him. “I’m almost done here. Just give me a few more hours—”
“You are done,” Viktor interrupted, his tone clipped.
That made Jayce pause. He glanced up, his brow furrowed in confusion. “What? No, I just need to finish—”
“You need to stop,” Mel said, her voice low and steady.
Jayce blinked at her, then at Viktor, his confusion giving way to frustration.
“Guys, I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. Really. Just let me—”
“No,” Viktor cut him off sharply, his amber eyes narrowing. “You are not fine, Jayce. You have not been fine for weeks.”
“I’m not—”
“Stop,” Mel said, her voice sharper now, layered with the unmistakable weight of an alpha command.
Jayce froze, his eyes widening as the compulsion washed over him.
His body stiffened, and his mouth fell silent, his instincts forcing him to obey.
The room was heavy with tension. Viktor stepped closer, his voice softer but no less firm as he added his own command. “Sit.”
Jayce’s legs moved before he could stop them, and he sank into the nearest chair, his hands trembling slightly as they gripped the edges of the seat.
His breathing was shallow, his expression a mixture of shock and hurt.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he whispered, his voice raw.
Mel crouched in front of him, her golden eyes meeting his with an unwavering gaze. “We did, Jayce,” she said softly but firmly. “Because you won’t listen to us otherwise.”
Viktor moved to stand beside her, his cane steadying him as he looked down at their omega. “You are killing yourself, Jayce. And we cannot stand by and watch that happen.”
Jayce opened his mouth to argue, but the weight of their combined commands kept him silent.
He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as his eyes flickered between them.
Mel reached out, placing a hand gently over his. “We love you,” she said quietly. “That’s why we’re doing this. You need to rest, Jayce. You need to eat. To sleep. To let us take care of you.”
The next few days passed in a blur of forced rest and reluctant compliance.
Mel had immediately taken over Jayce’s council duties, her commanding presence ensuring that no one dared to question her authority.
Viktor, meanwhile, had stepped into Jayce’s role in the lab, overseeing the work with his usual precision and efficiency.
Jayce, on the other hand, had been firmly confined to their shared quarters.
It wasn’t easy at first. The omega instincts that had forced him into submission clashed with his natural stubbornness, leaving him frustrated and restless.
But Mel and Viktor were patient—relentlessly so.
When Jayce refused to eat, Viktor sat beside him and coaxed him with quiet persistence, holding the spoon to his lips until he finally relented.
When he resisted sleep, Mel curled up beside him, running her fingers through his hair until his exhaustion overtook him.
Every step of the way, they were there.
One evening, as the sun dipped low on the horizon, Mel guided Jayce into the bath.
He resisted at first, mumbling about how he could do it himself, but the soft, commanding edge in her voice left no room for argument.
She helped him undress with careful hands, her movements slow and deliberate to avoid making him feel helpless.
“Sit,” she said gently, guiding him into the warm water.
Jayce sank into the tub with a sigh, his muscles relaxing for the first time in weeks. Mel knelt beside him, a soft cloth in her hands as she began to wash him with tender care.
“You don’t have to do this,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion.
“I want to,” Mel replied simply, her golden eyes meeting his. “Let me take care of you, Jayce. Please.”
By the end of the week, the changes were undeniable.
Jayce’s shoulders no longer sagged with exhaustion, and the dark circles under his eyes had begun to fade.
He was eating regularly, sleeping soundly, and—most importantly—smiling again.
Mel and Viktor watched him carefully, their own exhaustion evident but overshadowed by relief.
They had pushed boundaries, broken rules, and risked his trust—but it had been worth it.