Chapter 39: Worsening

Chapter 39: Intensifying

Night had fallen.

All was silent.

Pei Ju opened his eyes. The beta beside him snored faintly.

He was fast asleep.

His body felt sticky and clammy, like he was sweating.

Water.

Thirst overwhelmed him. He got up, found a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and chugged the whole thing.

It still wasn't enough.

His shirt seemed to carry a hint of Omega pheromones. He undid his collar and took a sniff.

A faint floral scent clung to the collar, but it still wasn't enough.

A star flickered in his mind, guiding him somewhere.

Pei Ju shook his head, shaking off the crazy urge to break in through a window.

In the dark, his senses went into overdrive, and the beta's faint scent, so different from what he remembered, was unbearable.

This wasn't what he needed.

Xiaojin smacked his lips, rolled over, and took up the whole bed.

Pei Ju stepped into the courtyard. It was dark outside, and he could see the Omega's white shirt hanging on the clothesline.

The cotton fabric was thin, and unlike his own simple style, the collar and cuffs were a bit fancy.

The fabric was so thin, moonlight seemed to shine right through it.

Pei Ju started breathing harder.

He walked over and grabbed the shirt Xu Shaoen had worn that day, clutching it in his hands.

**

Xu Shaoen had sharp hearing. He was a light sleeper to begin with, and he'd been taking suppressants lately, so his mind was more settled. Still, he kept an ear out for any movement in the yard.

The clothesline rustled, then the rack knocked against the wood.

A thief? That didn't make sense. The place they rented was a backwater, full of poor folks with houses crammed together. If a thief showed up, the whole row of neighbors would wake up.

Xu Shaoen slipped out of bed, padded to the window, and peeked through the curtain.

He clapped a hand over his mouth.

Pei Ju, for whatever reason, had taken his clothes down in the dead of night and was pressing them to his nose, inhaling deeply.

From the side, Xu Shaoen could only see his broad shoulders and back, rising and falling as he breathed.

When Pei Ju glanced his way, Xu Shaoen yanked the curtain shut.

For a long while, there was silence outside.

He peeked through the curtain again and locked eyes with the Alpha, who was standing rigidly at the window.

His dark eyes looked even deeper in the night, their intent impossible to read.

Xu Shaoen flinched and stepped back, but then heard a soft tap on the window.

He couldn't help but move closer and saw Pei Ju still standing at the window.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Can't sleep," Pei Ju said, his voice rough, though he seemed fully awake. "I want some water."

Then drink it—didn't he have water in his room?

Xu Shaoen glanced at the floor of his room, where an unopened case of water sat.

"Hold on, I'll grab you one."

Xu Shaoen unlatched the window, then turned to grab a bottle from the floor.

But the window swung open, and a figure faster than the night breeze vaulted in, one hand on the sill.

It was like a wild beast had been let loose in the room, staking out its territory, closing in on its prey.

Xu Shaoen clutched the water bottle, watching Pei Ju's state, dread creeping into his chest.

"Here, take it."

He handed the bottle over, and his fingertips grazed the back of Pei Ju's hand.

The heat was like a branding iron, and he yanked his fingers back.

"Pei Ju, you..."

His heart hammered. Xu Shaoen thought, no way—he seemed fine this afternoon. He'd already gotten a whiff of his pheromones and seemed better. Why was it happening again?

Pei Ju unscrewed the cap and chugged most of the bottle.

He set the bottle on the wooden rack beside him.

"This water isn't doing anything."

Xu Shaoen swallowed hard, his throat dry.

"Then what kind of water works?"

He got no answer.

"Shaoen..."

A scorching hand gripped his chin. Pei Ju leaned in, head bowed: "Just let me have a taste, okay?"

Refusing Pei Ju had always been Xu Shaoen's hardest challenge.

**

His breath ghosted over Xu Shaoen's ear, surrounding him.

The Alpha who'd warned him so sternly during the day had, by night, completely lost his mind.

How the hell did he climb in through the window?

And when he kissed him, it was like he had no idea what he was doing.

"I want to bite you."

In the darkness, Pei Ju's eyes were fixed on him, like they were glistening with moisture.

Xu Shaoen's lips had already taken on the color of rose nectar, impossibly bright in the dark.

Sweet.

Irresistible.

Pei Ju caught Xu Shaoen's lips without a shred of doubt, kissing him deep, swallowing him greedily, nearly draining every last bit of his pheromones.

That desperate thirst eased up a lot.

But a new fire blazed up in his chest.

"I want you."

His low, rough voice breathed the bluntest words right into his ear.

Xu Shaoen's ears and cheeks went bright red, and he stuttered out a refusal: "No, no, no..."

"Not allowed?" Pei Ju finished the sentence for him.

Then he settled for the next best thing, silently taking it as Xu Shaoen picking the easier option.

"Then I'll just bite you, then."

He ran his fingertips through Xu Shaoen's soft hair.

The chestnut-gold strands had grown a bit longer, and a quick twist of his hand was enough to tie it into a little bun.

He lifted the hair, baring Xu Shaoen's red earlobes.

He tilted his head a little, and the request—not too much to ask—was clearly a yes.

Pei Ju pressed his lips to the scorching shell of his ear first, then nudged the hair aside with his nose, pressing right against the gland.

Under his lips, warm, living blood pulsed; the skin felt almost magical, heat rolling off it, the gland giving off a heady scent.

The skin quivered, like a little animal pinned under a tiger's paw—no way to run, too scared to move.

With the hair fisted in his hand, the warm, fragrant gland was right there at his lips.

His teeth sank in without hesitation.

God, it hurt...

Xu Shaoen's fingers gripped the table, shaking uncontrollably.

Compared to how clumsy the first temporary mark had been, Pei Ju was a pro now.

He buried his face in the back of Xu Shaoen's neck, sank his teeth into that soft spot, and after the bite, licked it soothingly like some big, affectionate pet.

"Does it hurt?"

He sniffed at his ear greedily, like a puppy, clearly pleased as hell with the mark he'd left.

But having someone else's unfamiliar pheromones flooding in was honestly hard to take.

Unlike suppressants—the artificial pheromones in those made him feel cooler, calmer, but Pei Ju's pheromones just lit a whole new fire.

His heat wasn't over yet, but Pei Ju's had already kicked in.

The two of them crashing together—he had no idea what would happen next.

Xu Shaoen's hand shook as he reached for a suppressant; the box that used to be full now had just a few stray vials left.

One a day wasn't cutting it anymore, so he'd been trying to up the dose himself.

But the second he got it under control, one careless touch from Pei Ju would drag that unbearable ache right back up.

Pei Ju watched him knock one back.

"Okay, okay, you've marked me, you've had your water—now you can go back."

"I haven't drunk the water yet."

He leaned in, pressing his face to Xu Shaoen's soft cheek—still warm even after the suppressant.

"I know you've got some."

**

If earlier it was the lack of pheromones slowly eating away at his sanity, then once he got enough back, the sanity started to return—but he still couldn't stop.

Like a traveler on a cliff's edge, knowing full well it's a bottomless drop, but still dying to jump.

The rose scent around him had changed, mixing with gardenia, getting thicker and heavier.

The most tempting part went down his throat in a swallow.

But even just the floral scent spilling over was sweet enough to be sickening.

He noticed for the first time that Xu Shaoen had a tiny, bright red mole on the inside of his thigh.

His skin was so pale that the mole stood out like crazy.

It was like a switch—some crazy switch that, with the lightest touch, made him drip like a ripe peach.

Pei Ju looked at Xu Shaoen in his arms and couldn't stop himself from kissing him again.

His lashes fluttered, his face was flushed, and his nose was beaded with glistening sweat from the heat.

Pei Ju kissed away every bead of sweat, tender as anything, then lifted his leg.

Xu Shaoen's eyes flew wide in panic: "No..."

The refusal made Pei Ju stop what he was doing, but his lips bit down hard, tongue pushing deeper.

The words got swallowed up, like a punishment.

Xu Shaoen clung to him like a koala, burying his face in deep.

The heat was closing in, prowling right outside the door.

Right now, trusting Pei Ju would be the dumbest thing he could do.

For a moment, he thought, maybe he should just let it go—they were already close enough to the final step anyway. They'd already kissed and done everything they needed to, and the mood was just right.

The moment the door to his heart gave way, Pei Ju released him and shoved him onto the bed.

The bed was cramped and narrow to begin with—even the two of them lying flat felt tight, and with a tall alpha on top of him, it was clearly not enough room.

Xu Shaoen was in a fluster, having no idea how to react, his whole mind going blank like he was dehydrated.

His body trembled slightly. He gripped Pei Ju's arm, looking up in a panic, meeting Pei Ju's narrowed, red-rimmed eyes that were barely restraining himself.

His clothes were pushed up.

He heard Pei Ju's most severe warning yet.

"Xu Shaoen, listen to me. This is the last time."

Pei Ju's breathing was heavy.

Repeated indulgence, followed by repeated rejection—even a saint would be driven crazy by him.

His sanity was stretched to the breaking point, one second from snapping.

But at that very moment, images of Xu Shaoen—alive, smiling, crying, in every expression—flashed through his mind.

He grabbed Xu Shaoen by the chin, his eyes once again sweeping over that flushed, tempting face.

"Either stay away from me, keep your guard up against me like you would any other Alpha, or wait until you've really thought it over, then come crying and begging me."

**

Pei Ju left, leaving him alone on that cramped double bed to settle down.

The evening breeze outside the window seemed to have stopped, leaving only the sound of his heavy breathing.

Pei Ju didn't come back in.

But his presence still hung heavy in the air.

After saying that, Pei Ju went quiet.

His voice was muffled, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

When he turned his head, a bead of sweat rolled off his chin and landed on his chest.

The arms around him went from burning hot to warm, then turned cold.

He was gone.

He said there wouldn't be a next time, that he should keep his guard up.

There wouldn't be a next time, unless he came crying and begging.

Xu Shaoen curled up into a ball, covering his ears that were burning red.

He couldn't imagine himself ever doing something like that.

It was too shameful.

How could that ever happen?

==========Author's Note:==========

The flag is set (^з^)-☆

20 little red envelopes randomly dropped!