Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Lottelance First Military Academy Medical Bay.

People were coming and going hurriedly; a security team carrying firearms had formed a perimeter twenty meters from the medical bay, yet made no move to approach.

Outside the exam room, an intern looked anxious, lowering their voice to report to the supervising physician, "The Alpha inside has been there for half an hour, and the pheromone concentration still hasn't decreased."

The supervising physician double-checked the data hovering near the critical threshold, thought it over for a moment, then shook their head, "Wait a bit longer. If it hasn't dropped in another half hour, we'll subdue and remove him by force."

"Understood," the intern nodded, then couldn't help but mutter, "Top-tier Alphas are such a pain in this regard. Once their rut hits, ten oxen couldn't hold them back..."

"Shh—" The supervising physician raised a hand to stop them, giving a stern look, "Be careful."

No top-tier Alpha was ever simple.

Inside the spacious exam room of the medical bay.

A dark-eyed Alpha hunched over, sitting silently on the corner bed. The silver-gray hair at his nape was completely soaked with sweat, clinging to the side of his neck, which rose and fell with each swallow.

The surveillance feed couldn't capture his expression, only the tense line of his jaw and the sharp arch of his brows.

Cold metal muzzles and chains adorned the Alpha's neck and wrists, occasionally trembling faintly with his suppressed breaths, emitting soft metallic clinks.

An Alpha in rut possessed astonishing destructive power. No one believed these restraints served any practical purpose; compared to the Alpha's taut muscles, they were little more than psychological comfort.

The air was thick with the Alpha's suffocating pheromones, running rampant through every inch of the space, leaving no corner untouched.

The intense scent surged restlessly, battering against the surroundings, churning with boundless craving and dissatisfaction, as if frantically searching for something, clawing and roaring to possess it fiercely.

To drag whatever could satisfy it from the void, then devour it voraciously, swallowing it into bone and blood.

...

An Alpha in rut desperately needed the soothing pheromones of their Omega mate; otherwise, the entire rut would be pure torture.

But Meng Shijiu was not an Omega.

Even if he were, facing an Alpha on the verge of losing control, he would likely be utterly consumed, leaving nothing behind.

And the pain of being unable to mark could potentially cause irreversible consequences for an Alpha in rut.

This prolonged torment seemed endless. Jue Ning remained like a tightly strung bow, silent and motionless. Occasionally, from within the room, came the chilling rattle of chains.

In the monitoring room, the supervising physician observed him for a while, sensing that this Alpha—who, aside from the bulging veins in his neck, showed almost no visible signs of his struggle—was not, as people assumed, forcibly suppressing himself out of fear of harming his mate.

He seemed more like someone who had simply never considered such a possibility, as if a command were deeply ingrained in his genes, telling him the sequence was off.

As if, in the Alpha's cognition, certain steps could never be reversed, certain rules must be obeyed even amidst the chaos of rut.

*

The repeated agony had almost dulled Jue Ning's senses.

Until—"Boom!"—a heavy, muffled boom suddenly tore through the superficially calm air from somewhere not far away.

The Alpha sitting by the bed slowly opened his eyes. Sweat trickled from his temple into Jue Ning's eyes, dampening those dark, abyssal pupils.

...Xiao Jiu.

The Alpha swallowed silently.

Faint voices came from outside the door.

"Oh my god, what happened? Where was that?!"

"...Something collapsed..."

"...Which area?!"

"Let me check—"

"...Looks like it's near the central stadium."

"Isn't there still a competition going on there?"

"Should be over by now..."

...

For a moment, a buzz of discussion broke out.

Just then, the intern noticed in surprise that the Alpha in the exam room had moved.

"Beep— Beep—"

The supervising physician rushed to the door, urgently slamming the alarm button.

"Emergency, emergency! The target is moving—he's approaching the door!!!—Target is taking action, appears to want to communicate—Target..."

Jue Ning's hand was already pressed against the door.

The chaotic noises instantly ceased. The security team stormed in. Everyone raised their weapons, holding their breath as multiple gazes fixed intently on the Alpha in the surveillance feed.

The air froze solid.

Fortunately, just as the unsettling silence was about to shatter, hurried footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor.

The Jue family had arrived.

...

The Alpha paid no attention to who had come. Those dark eyes bypassed the layers of guards, locking directly onto the intern in the distance. Two words were rasped from his throat, "My terminal."

No one could react in time.

The intern, intimidated by the cold ferocity in his gaze, instinctively shrank back.

Quickly, a man in uniform stepped forward, handing over the terminal that had been confiscated from Jue Ning before he entered the room.

Jue Ning took the terminal, and only then did the terrifying aura around him ease up a bit.

The man hastily retreated.

The Alpha didn't glance at anyone else, silently walking back into the room.

The terminal screen lit up. Jue Ning opened the pinned chat.

[Jue Ning]: "Darling, location"

[Location Sharing Requested]

The security team remained on high alert, forming a perimeter and cutting off all escape routes.

The Alpha hunched over, his knuckles gripping the edge of the terminal until the casing creaked.

Logically, he knew the silver-haired alpha was most likely fine, but he couldn't suppress the churning anxiety in his chest. He felt like a beast trapped in a cage, restlessly sharpening its claws, enduring the cruel and agonizing passage of time.

The terminal pinged with a notification.

[Bad Cat]: "[The other party has declined your location sharing request.]"

[Bad Cat]: "I'm fine."

[Bad Cat]: "My brother called me home for dinner."

[Bad Cat]: "Famished."

[Bad Cat]: "Fainted.JPG"

[Bad Cat]: "Bye."

*

A few days later.

Jue Ning's office.

Although Meng Shijiu had expressed his preference for staying in the office to play games and fulfill his "mission to accompany his lonely, cold boyfriend," Jue Ning still put off his work to take him out for a meal.

Meng Shijiu slumped onto the sofa, pulling a grumpy cat face. "I even brought my game console."

Jue Ning simply smiled and watched him, listening to him mutter a string of complaints before slowly saying, "There's a sea near the restaurant with beautiful sand. They have specialty desserts, made by the same head chef as NO3."

Meng Shijiu: "..." Why didn't you say so earlier?

Jue Ning gave him an out: "The reservation is already made. It would be a shame not to go."

Meng Shijiu blinked. "Well, what can I say? Of course, I'll go with you."

The two went to the seaside together, ate cake, and watched a performance.

By the time it grew dark, Meng Shijiu had completely forgotten Meng Shiyan's reminder to "come home early," tossing it to the winds.

...

In the following days, the two were practically inseparable.

One day in the upper city, the next in the lower city.

They went to school and came home together.

They went to class together and cut class together.

They'd fall asleep on voice chat while gaming, eat together, go for walks, and find ways to have fun.

The whole world knew the two were in love.

—As for how the "whole world" reacted, Meng Shijiu hadn't gotten a taste of it yet.

And so, they continued until Meng Shijiu's rut approached.

At first, Meng Shijiu didn't realize what was happening.

...

Jue Ning's office.

It was already dark. Having watched the sunset at the beach that evening, the two were still together.

Jue Ning had recently had a stargazing deck installed on the rooftop of his office, and Meng Shijiu was curled up there, watching the stars.

Jue Ning lifted his head from his desk and looked out the window.

Outside, the night sky hung low, cloudless tonight.

In the spacious room, everything was eerily quiet.

"Jue Ning, Jue Ning, Jue Ning, Jue Ning."

Meng Shijiu had come in at some point, popping his head in from the doorway.

Jue Ning lowered his eyes to the documents, pretending not to hear.

"Jue Ning, Jue Ning, Jue Ning, Jue Ning."

Meng Shijiu walked up to his desk.

"I hereby crown you the King of Sweet Talk," the silver-haired alpha declared solemnly, drumming his fingers on the desk.

Jue Ning responded, "Then what is Xiao Jiu?"

Meng Shijiu: "I am the King."

Jue Ning: "..."

He sensed something was off and looked up at Meng Shijiu.

The silver-haired alpha's eyes held a watery sheen, unusually bright. His porcelain-like face was tinged with a faint pink, and even the tip of his slender throat was flushed with crimson, like petals brushed by fingertips.

His ear tips peeked out from his silver hair as Meng Shijiu lowered his damp eyelashes, gazing at him.

He was drunk.

Jue Ning frowned. "How much did A.Y. give you to drink?"

A.Y. had come to discuss business and, seeing Meng Shijiu, had greeted him in passing.

Meng Shijiu drawled his words: "I am the King..."

"You are," Jue Ning said, walking around the desk and striding over to him. He gently scooped him up. "Discuss it with Cui Suifu. Ask if you can be his father. That way, I'd have one less rival."

Meng Shijiu instinctively wrapped his arms around Jue Ning's neck. "Hahahaha."

The silver-haired alpha laughed, his lips moist and flushed red from his smile.

Jue Ning pressed his thumb heavily against Meng Shijiu's lower lip and sat him on the edge of the desk. "Where did you get the alcohol?"

His voice was low, like an interrogation, yet also coaxing.

Meng Shijiu pursed his lips, then unconsciously stuck out his tongue, lightly licking his lower lip. He mimicked Jue Ning's low tone. "What alcohol? It was juice."

Jue Ning's expression darkened.

"Baby..." he murmured with a low, husky laugh, his other hand already slipping beneath the silver-haired Alpha's shirt, fingertips pressing up along the vertebrae one by one. "Who let you drink 'juice'... hmm?"

Meng Shijiu declared arrogantly, "It was an offering from my subjects."

Warm breath suddenly drew close. Jue Ning slowly began to suck on his lips, unable to suppress a sigh from deep in his chest as they brushed together. "Baby..."

Suddenly, an extremely faint, cold, and sharp scent silently unfurled, winding around their breaths.

Like deep winter snow, rustling down in the depths of a silent bamboo forest.

Clean, thin, yet with a presence so palpable it seemed to soak through the skin bit by bit.

Jue Ning's movements halted.

— Meng Shijiu was in his rut.

... He had been keeping track of the days; it was due around now, but he hadn't expected it to arrive at such a coincidental moment.

Jue Ning loosened his hold slightly. His pitch-black pupils reflected Meng Shijiu's face, including his damp eyes and slightly parted lips.

That gaze was dark, damp, and carried a kind of drunken scrutiny.

Something thick and heavy seemed to well up from the depths of his pupils. Like a snake slowly constricting its prey in the dark, licking over the prey's skin inch by inch.

"Xiao Jiu..." Jue Ning couldn't help but sigh softly, burying his breath in the silver-haired Alpha's neck, murmuring into the ear of the person in his arms, "... Stay over tonight, okay?"

He tightened his arms, pressing the person deeper into his embrace, almost coaxing. "Think of it as... staying for your subjects, Your Majesty."

The silver-haired Alpha, whose earlobe was being nibbled, trembled his lips and turned his head away. "Reluctantly... I'll agree."

Jue Ning picked him up again.

... It seemed that all along, he had stubbornly adhered to the stages of a relationship.

Courting, confessing, holding hands, kissing, dating.

Jue Ning didn't necessarily believe the sequence could change anything.

Steps, procedures, order—they were all just repeated affirmations.

Verifying that they were together, seriously, and wouldn't part.

The king and his subject made a pact.

The subject would always be loyal to the king, and the king would always answer the subject's pleas.

The subject offered wealth, power, love, devotion—the subject offered everything, only asking the king to deliver fair and just rulings.

But the subject always knew: the king could break the covenant.

*

Jue Ning took him directly to a nearby hotel in his name. The suite was on the top floor, one he kept on reserve.

The door closed behind them, cutting off all outside noise.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling window, the lights of the upper district spread out beneath their feet like a galaxy of stars.

Jue Ning carried him to the bedroom.

He didn't switch on the main light, leaving only a dim, yellow wall sconce in the hallway. Its glow cut across his profile and also fell into Meng Shijiu's damp eyes.

Jue Ning: "Baby, time to sober up, baby."

Meng Shijiu shook his head. "Jue Ning, Jue Ning, Jue Ning, Jue Ning."

Jue Ning lowered his head slightly, their noses nearly touching, yet hovering just there.

Their breaths mingled soundlessly a hair's breadth apart, their warm breaths mingling, indistinguishable from one another's.

Meng Shijiu buried his face in the hollow of Jue Ning's shoulder, his voice somewhat muffled. "... I wanna take a shower."

Jue Ning tightened his arms and carried him into the bathroom.

Warm steam fogged the air.

As soon as he was set down, Meng Shijiu raised a hand to press against Jue Ning's chest. "... I got this."

Jue Ning stopped, his gaze lingering on those wet eyes for a moment before finally releasing his hold, not denying him.

"Okay."

...

By the time Meng Shijiu came to, he was already dressed in a soft white bathrobe, his whole body sunk into the couch.

Meng Shijiu looked around and called out softly, "Jue Ning?"

No response.

It was so quiet.

Only the sound of water running from the bathroom.

Meng Shijiu curled up on the couch, closed his eyes, and after a while, suddenly opened them again.

The air was filled with the cold, sharp scent of his pheromones, tiny snowflakes drifting down softly.

Meng Shijiu squeezed his eyes tight and drew himself into a ball.

After a moment, he suddenly tossed over again.

When he opened his eyes once more, they were already glistening.

... Nothing felt right; everything itched.

Meng Shijiu: "... Jue Ning."

His voice had gone hoarse.

Soon, he tossed over again, restless.

He didn't know that another scent of pheromones, coming from the bathroom, was quietly spreading through the room. Like invisible threads, they coiled around his ankles, waist, nape... brushing temptingly, then slyly pulling back.

All he felt was parched.

The room was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat, throbbing in his ears.

He lifted his head.

The water from the bathroom had stopped running.

*

Jue Ning left the room.

The dim light cast shadows on his face, his hair tips still wet with moisture.

He walked to the bedside, sat down, and looked at the figure curled up on the sofa. Patting the sheets between his legs, he said, "Come here."

Meng Shijiu looked at him, then slowly got up from the sofa and walked over. Turning his back, he sat down between Jue Ning's legs.

Jue Ning took hold of his waist, pulling them close, his chin lightly nuzzling the tip of Meng Shijiu's ear. "Baby, hold your hair back."

Meng Shijiu slowly raised his hands. Jue Ning waited, watching as he brought them together, obediently gathering his hair to expose the nape of his neck.

The swollen gland was exposed under Jue Ning's gaze.

Jue Ning lowered his head, his nose first nuzzling against that feverish skin.

Then he parted his lips, his teeth pressing gently but firmly against the raised gland. It was red and soft like an overripe berry, trembling faintly with Meng Shijiu's breathing.

He slowly ground his canine teeth against it, feeling the rush of blood beneath the skin and the subtle, uncontrollable shivers of the person in his arms.

Warm breaths patiently soaked the skin until it grew damp, pliant, and relaxed with a faint tremble.

Then he paused before sucking hard.

A clear, wet sucking sound echoed in the overly quiet room, seemingly amplified in the silence.

Meng Shijiu went rigid, the tears in his eyes finally falling.

The itch subsided for a moment.

Jue Ning sucked fiercely at the soft flesh, eventually releasing his waist to grip his arm tightly, using his tongue to press the soft flesh into a distorted shape.

The room filled with the slick, wet sounds of lips and teeth.

Pain and pleasure fell together, sinking deep into the marrow.

More and more snowflakes drifted in the room, yet they couldn't dispel the heat radiating beneath the skin.

"....................................................................................."

In the mirror in the corner of the room, the silver-haired Alpha's lowered face was reflected.

Through the hazy mist, that exquisite face was veiled in a soft glow, yet the expression between his eyes revealed a vulnerable, almost wet clarity, like a water-stained ink painting.

Meng Shijiu released his hands, silver hair tumbling down messily. He whimpered, "...My hands are so sore."

Jue Ning laughed against the nape of his neck, his breath searing enough to make one tremble, coaxing him, "Then let's move to the bed, baby, okay?"

Bed. Soft. Acceptable.

Meng Shijiu nodded.

Jue Ning held his waist and, without changing their position, lifted him to face him and carried him.

The white robe hung loosely, its belt coming undone with a tug, revealing nothing beneath.

As soon as Meng Shijiu clung to him, touching the scorching heat, he flinched, raising his waist and crying out.

His legs dangled, seemingly unable to close naturally.

Jue Ning rubbed against him a few times, then pressed him into the fluffy bedding.

As he sank into the soft mattress, a heavy kiss descended. A tongue pried open his teeth, delving so deep it almost stirred his throat.

It stirred Meng Shijiu awake from the last traces of drunkenness.

Jue Ning touched his neck, fingertips stroking the frantic pulse beneath the skin, calling out almost obsessively, "Xiao Jiu."

He whispered against Meng Shijiu's ear, his voice low and hoarse:

"Let's guess how many times Xiao Jiu will come tonight, okay?"