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Bound by His Alpha #3
Played by Design
I never questioned why Kain was always there. Was that a mistake?
I’ve spent years building my life around my best friend Kain. He reminds me to eat. To sleep. To shower. He keeps track of everything I forget and somehow always knows exactly what I need before I ask.
Kain says it’s because we’re friends, and I’ve never had a reason to question him.
When he’s hired to help revive Dusk Protocol, the game I’ve loved for half my life, I finally get the chance to explore its forgotten history. But buried inside the restored archives, I find traces of something that doesn’t belong.
Hidden messages.
Dead accounts.
Secrets powerful enough to get someone killed.
The deeper we dig, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Then someone comes after Kain.
For years, he’s been the constant at the center of my world. The one person I never had to worry about losing. But as old secrets surface and the people behind them close in, I start discovering secrets much closer to home.
Because Kain hasn’t just been protecting me. He’s been playing me.
And the more I learn about the life he built around us, the harder it becomes to tell where devotion ends and obsession begins.
Scroll up to one-click Played by Design, a dark MM Alpha/Omega romance.
Played by Design is a dark contemporary MM Alpha/Omega romance featuring childhood best friends, oblivious mate, possessive Alpha energy, a touch him and die mentality, forced self-discovery, gaming obsession, hidden identities, criminal conspiracies, found family, protective caretaking, relationship sabotage, explicit consent, and a love story hidden in plain sight.
I’ve spent years building my life around my best friend Kain. He reminds me to eat. To sleep. To shower. He keeps track of everything I forget and somehow always knows exactly what I need before I ask.
Kain says it’s because we’re friends, and I’ve never had a reason to question him.
When he’s hired to help revive Dusk Protocol, the game I’ve loved for half my life, I finally get the chance to explore its forgotten history. But buried inside the restored archives, I find traces of something that doesn’t belong.
Hidden messages.
Dead accounts.
Secrets powerful enough to get someone killed.
The deeper we dig, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Then someone comes after Kain.
For years, he’s been the constant at the center of my world. The one person I never had to worry about losing. But as old secrets surface and the people behind them close in, I start discovering secrets much closer to home.
Because Kain hasn’t just been protecting me. He’s been playing me.
And the more I learn about the life he built around us, the harder it becomes to tell where devotion ends and obsession begins.
Scroll up to one-click Played by Design, a dark MM Alpha/Omega romance.
Played by Design is a dark contemporary MM Alpha/Omega romance featuring childhood best friends, oblivious mate, possessive Alpha energy, a touch him and die mentality, forced self-discovery, gaming obsession, hidden identities, criminal conspiracies, found family, protective caretaking, relationship sabotage, explicit consent, and a love story hidden in plain sight.
- GenresM M Romance
446 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 16, 2026
About the author
Sophie O'Dare
58 books125 followersSophie O'Dare is the alter ego of paranormal and sci-fi author Lyn Forester. She loves writing stories about guys falling in love with each other and all the shenanigans that go along with romance!
When Sophie isn’t writing, she enjoys curling up with a cup of coffee and her cats, when she can convince them to snuggle. Video games and reading are her go-to way to unwind after a long day, offering a perfect escape into other worlds. Between writing, gaming, and cat cuddles, Sophie’s life is fueled by creativity, relaxation, and coffee.
Visit her website to stay up-to-date on future releases and sales:
Follow her Newsletter: https://geni.us/sophie-odare-NL
Visit her website: https://geni.us/sophieodare
When Sophie isn’t writing, she enjoys curling up with a cup of coffee and her cats, when she can convince them to snuggle. Video games and reading are her go-to way to unwind after a long day, offering a perfect escape into other worlds. Between writing, gaming, and cat cuddles, Sophie’s life is fueled by creativity, relaxation, and coffee.
Visit her website to stay up-to-date on future releases and sales:
Follow her Newsletter: https://geni.us/sophie-odare-NL
Visit her website: https://geni.us/sophieodare
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 29, 2026
I wasn't sure I would like this book because I'm not a gamer and the gamer references were a little foreign to me. I caught on quickly, though, and I'm very glad I stuck with the book. I've really enjoyed this series so far and this book was a real page-turner I couldn't stop reading.
Bunny is a highly-skilled neurodivergent omega who relates to the world through his gaming framework - and he's very good. Kain is his alpha high school best friend and roommate with benefits. Kain, a master coder, keeps Bunny on track - remembering to eat, hydrate, and sleep.
This story easily stands alone, but there also is a longer series arc and this adds another piece to the puzzle of what's happening with trafficked people in the city. I greatly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one in the series!
Bunny is a highly-skilled neurodivergent omega who relates to the world through his gaming framework - and he's very good. Kain is his alpha high school best friend and roommate with benefits. Kain, a master coder, keeps Bunny on track - remembering to eat, hydrate, and sleep.
This story easily stands alone, but there also is a longer series arc and this adds another piece to the puzzle of what's happening with trafficked people in the city. I greatly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one in the series!
November 4, 2026
FREAKINGGG LOVE THIS!!!!! SUCH A UNIQUE PLOT AND STORY MAKE ME HOOK FROM THE START TILL THE END😭😍
Gaming obsession/ more like hyper fixation Omega X Alpha who freaking love him and know they are mate for years, stay by his side, create healthy routine for him, understand his omega hyper fixation and help him with it that didn’t make him feel less or like a burden 😩🥹 Damnz i need my own Kain 😭😭 the way he even wrote a care manual for years about all the things that Bunny needs, dislike and like… to further understand him and make him happy🫂
Bunny have such a unique way of thinking and Kain understand him so deeply which make Kain works around on how to make Bunny fall for him and be his mate without forcing the information from the start because he knew that Bunny will just go along with it… which he didn’t want, he want Bunny to love him and willingly choose him🌳
I also love how their friend also understands Bunny and try to give advice in ways that Bunny needs 🥹 such a beautiful group of found family♥️
Excited to read more from the series😍
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
The Novella (BONUS CHAPTER) is a definitely must read 😭 Kain never stop wanting to learn about Bunny and keep wanting to know more about things he love. For once we get to read Kain POV and we get to witness Bunny reincorporate Kain love language which what Kain didn’t realize he even needed 🥹
“I need more pages, too,” he says.
I blink up at him. “What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean?” Reef’s eyebrows pull together. “I only have a Kain’s Care Manual. I want to know what you like. What you want to eat. Where you’d want to go if the choice didn’t have to be built around me.”
“I like what you like,” I say automatically. “I’m fine with whatever works for you, Bunny. You know that.”
Reef purses his lips at me. “That’s not an answer.”
I open my mouth. Close it. Open it again. Nothing comes out. I don’t have a ready response.
Reef flips to the back of the workbook, where he had started his own notes, and uncaps the pen.
In messy handwriting, he writes out:
Dates Kain Likes
I stare at it as a lump forms in my throat. “Bunny, I don’t—”
“Start small,” he says, gentle enough to make my chest ache. “Food. What do you want to eat?”
“There’s a place in Rockhaven,” I say, the words foreign in my mouth, a language I haven’t spoken in years. “A pub. They make a shepherd’s pie with short rib, and the crust is... it’s good. Thick. Buttery.”
Reef writes it down.
“Next.” Reef’s eyes are bright behind his glasses, focused on me with an intensity unrelated to games or any of the thousand things capable of pulling him away.
This is Reef choosing to see me. Really see me. Not as the person who takes care of him, but as a person who needs taking care of, too.
I look at him. At the honey-blond hair falling across his forehead, still damp at the temples. At the green button-up hanging off one shoulder, wrinkled beyond saving. At the Mark on his nape, visible above the collar, the scar tissue pale against his skin.
He chose me. Twelve years ago, he chose me without knowing what it meant, and he’s choosing me again now, with a care manual in his lap and a stubborn jut to his chin, waiting for me to tell him what I need.
Sitting up, I grip his chin and kiss him. “I love you, Bunny.”
“I love you, too. Obviously.” He clicks the pen. “Now, stop avoiding the subject.”
“Yes, sir.” I fall back to the couch, tucking my arm behind my head again. “Where should I start?”
Excerpt From
Romanced by Design
Sophie O'Dare
This material may be protected by copyright.
Gaming obsession/ more like hyper fixation Omega X Alpha who freaking love him and know they are mate for years, stay by his side, create healthy routine for him, understand his omega hyper fixation and help him with it that didn’t make him feel less or like a burden 😩🥹 Damnz i need my own Kain 😭😭 the way he even wrote a care manual for years about all the things that Bunny needs, dislike and like… to further understand him and make him happy🫂
Bunny have such a unique way of thinking and Kain understand him so deeply which make Kain works around on how to make Bunny fall for him and be his mate without forcing the information from the start because he knew that Bunny will just go along with it… which he didn’t want, he want Bunny to love him and willingly choose him🌳
I also love how their friend also understands Bunny and try to give advice in ways that Bunny needs 🥹 such a beautiful group of found family♥️
Excited to read more from the series😍
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
The Novella (BONUS CHAPTER) is a definitely must read 😭 Kain never stop wanting to learn about Bunny and keep wanting to know more about things he love. For once we get to read Kain POV and we get to witness Bunny reincorporate Kain love language which what Kain didn’t realize he even needed 🥹
“I need more pages, too,” he says.
I blink up at him. “What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean?” Reef’s eyebrows pull together. “I only have a Kain’s Care Manual. I want to know what you like. What you want to eat. Where you’d want to go if the choice didn’t have to be built around me.”
“I like what you like,” I say automatically. “I’m fine with whatever works for you, Bunny. You know that.”
Reef purses his lips at me. “That’s not an answer.”
I open my mouth. Close it. Open it again. Nothing comes out. I don’t have a ready response.
Reef flips to the back of the workbook, where he had started his own notes, and uncaps the pen.
In messy handwriting, he writes out:
Dates Kain Likes
I stare at it as a lump forms in my throat. “Bunny, I don’t—”
“Start small,” he says, gentle enough to make my chest ache. “Food. What do you want to eat?”
“There’s a place in Rockhaven,” I say, the words foreign in my mouth, a language I haven’t spoken in years. “A pub. They make a shepherd’s pie with short rib, and the crust is... it’s good. Thick. Buttery.”
Reef writes it down.
“Next.” Reef’s eyes are bright behind his glasses, focused on me with an intensity unrelated to games or any of the thousand things capable of pulling him away.
This is Reef choosing to see me. Really see me. Not as the person who takes care of him, but as a person who needs taking care of, too.
I look at him. At the honey-blond hair falling across his forehead, still damp at the temples. At the green button-up hanging off one shoulder, wrinkled beyond saving. At the Mark on his nape, visible above the collar, the scar tissue pale against his skin.
He chose me. Twelve years ago, he chose me without knowing what it meant, and he’s choosing me again now, with a care manual in his lap and a stubborn jut to his chin, waiting for me to tell him what I need.
Sitting up, I grip his chin and kiss him. “I love you, Bunny.”
“I love you, too. Obviously.” He clicks the pen. “Now, stop avoiding the subject.”
“Yes, sir.” I fall back to the couch, tucking my arm behind my head again. “Where should I start?”
Excerpt From
Romanced by Design
Sophie O'Dare
This material may be protected by copyright.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2026
Honestly I didn’t understand all of the gaming stuff in this book, but the way that Sophie O’Dare has written about it makes it fairly obvious to follow. Aside from that I found this book to be a fascinating look at what it means to try to control someone and is it control or trying to understand and love them.
Of course there are the characters from the previous books and the found family that they have and the secrets they keep. There is a new problem behind the gaming company that Kain works for and the crew has to help. I always love found family stories like these.
Honestly I understand Reef/Bunny because my husband is a computer nerd and I have to remind him to eat, etc. too. I adored the dynamic between Kain and his Bunny and how Kain had figured out what Reef’s love language was. The couples in this series are all into some type of kink and it took me a while to realize that the relationship between these two guys is also that way or at least could be called kink lite. It’s a fun interpretation of the idea and a lovely love story.
Now you will need to excuse me because I have to go remind my husband that he is late for lunch! Lol!.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Of course there are the characters from the previous books and the found family that they have and the secrets they keep. There is a new problem behind the gaming company that Kain works for and the crew has to help. I always love found family stories like these.
Honestly I understand Reef/Bunny because my husband is a computer nerd and I have to remind him to eat, etc. too. I adored the dynamic between Kain and his Bunny and how Kain had figured out what Reef’s love language was. The couples in this series are all into some type of kink and it took me a while to realize that the relationship between these two guys is also that way or at least could be called kink lite. It’s a fun interpretation of the idea and a lovely love story.
Now you will need to excuse me because I have to go remind my husband that he is late for lunch! Lol!.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 1, 2026
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Stars!
I really enjoyed this one! Sophie O'Dare did such a great job bringing these characters and their story together!
I loved the relationship between Kain and his best friend and how Kain had always been there taking care of him, even when there was so much more going on behind the scenes. Kain's possessive and protective side was definitely one of my favorite parts!
The mystery surrounding the game, all the hidden secrets, and the twists along the way made the story even better. I loved how the romance and suspense were woven together, and I couldn't wait to see how everything would play out.
The characters had great chemistry, the storyline kept me interested, and I loved watching everything unfold. Definitely another great read from Sophie O'Dare, and one I would recommend!.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this one! Sophie O'Dare did such a great job bringing these characters and their story together!
I loved the relationship between Kain and his best friend and how Kain had always been there taking care of him, even when there was so much more going on behind the scenes. Kain's possessive and protective side was definitely one of my favorite parts!
The mystery surrounding the game, all the hidden secrets, and the twists along the way made the story even better. I loved how the romance and suspense were woven together, and I couldn't wait to see how everything would play out.
The characters had great chemistry, the storyline kept me interested, and I loved watching everything unfold. Definitely another great read from Sophie O'Dare, and one I would recommend!.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2026
Fantastic! Kain and Reed, were friends who didn't really know each other. Their adventure leads them down the path of frienship intimacy. They related on a certain level of acceptance, that many people never achieve. Excellent adventure, great characters, fun flow. DG handles circumstances with dignity and sensitivity that teaches us while entertaining us. Well done! I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 31, 2026
Ok. I’m had a very hard time rating this book because it’s so completely outside my life. Guess I’m just too old to fully understand the nuances and vernacular. The full on gaming segments bored me to tears, doesn’t mean this was bad, only not my jam. The mystery parts were intriguing, maybe enough for me to try another? 🤔
October 21, 2026
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. I liked this story with its strong characters who accept each other and themselves. I really liked the way Kain and Reed love each other.
November 9, 2026
Overall I love Kain and Bunny. I could tell from the previous books that they were special together. What made this book difficult for me to connect with is I'm not a gamer so a lot of this made me zone out not in a good way.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews