"Are you okay?"
Richie asked the man who was also his lover beside him. From the pheromone he emitted, he was clearly in a foul mood.
Richie scrunched his nose.
Keith was a dominant alpha, so the overbearing tension he was feeling right now suffocated him to his core.
He tugged Keith's sleeve and pleaded, "K-Keith, don't be angry, yeah? You're scaring me."
His lover's face turned toward him, the icy cold gaze softened when it landed on him.
"Sorry, are you scared? Let's get out of here."
Keith took off his coat and put it on Richie, enveloping him with his pheromone to calm him down. This made Richie giggle with delight.
"Let's go."
Keith stepped with Richie out of the storage room. Once they were out in the open, his cold eyes scanned around the area, as if searching for someone.
Observing the gesture, Richie asked.
"You don't like Yolan, do you? Why didn't you divorce him sooner?"
Keith paused, seemingly constructing his words. Then murmured, "I can't."
"Huh?"
"It was a vow I made years ago to him and my parents. Unless he's the one who left me, I can't leave him." He then whispered under his breath, "I doubt Yolan knows it though."
Richie thought it was such a bullshit vow and was about to comment on it. But when he saw the look on Keith's face, he stopped in his tracks.
He smiled.
That was the face of someone reminiscing about the past. And Keith's wandering gaze indicated which person he was sharing those memories with.
Yolan.
Jealousy flared inside Richie's heart. Keith was now his lover, so if he was thinking of someone else, he wasn't going to let it be.
He held Keith's face and released his strawberry jam-like pheromone, trying to grab his attention. He just had to fill his lover's mind with thoughts of him.
But contrary to his expectation, Keith slapped his hands away, glaring at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah…Uh… I was just trying to comfort you."
"I don't need any."
Keith then walked away, leaving Richie behind. Richie had to scramble to his feet, chasing Keith's wide steps.
.
.
The place I was brought into by those kidnappers was a storage room in the middle of an abandoned factory. Based on my previous life's memory, the base where their boss stayed was also nearby.
Because Keith had arrived, that meant the police had stood by near the area or he had reached a deal with the boss. Either way, I just needed to kill the gang's boss before others got him or before he ran away.
Spotting the building the boss used in my previous life, I kicked the door open. And there he was, packing all his stuff – trying to run away.
BANG!
I aimed my gun and hit his leg, making his knees buckle. Taking out his gun, he pulled the trigger.
BANG!
"Tsk!"
His speed was quite impressive, as I didn't even have the chance to dodge and the bullet grazed my shoulder. But unfortunately for him, in terms of accuracy, I was superior.
With my last bullet, I fired a headshot. Ending his life right there and then.
It was a painless death.
As the gun in my hand was now out of ammo, I threw it away and started looking for my Cecily. Fortunately, I quickly spotted her – lying untouched on top of a wooden table.
"Haah… Cecily, I missed you."
I rubbed Cecily on my cheek. The now familiar cold metal calmed me down.
"Peace at last."
"Hands on the head! Put down your gun and walk toward us."
"Tsk, just right when I said 'peace'."
The police had arrived, looking at the mess I had caused, they might be suspecting me as the criminal.
"You are arresting the wrong person. The dead man is the kidnapper."
But Keith showed up from behind, clearing me of their suspicions. Just like how the law had stated, if someone had enough reason to kill someone, they were allowed to.
In this case, because the law judged 'kidnapping and sexual assault' as morally bad, I was allowed to go without any charges on my name.
"Yolan."
Keith called out to me, this time his voice softer. I stopped, intending to listen to him one last time.
"You've changed."
"What have?" I turned toward him, glaring at him. "I have always been like this, you are just too selfish to notice anything about me, even though-"
'Even though I know everything about you.'
The words stayed in my mind as I didn't have the courage to say them out loud. I turned on my heels and left the place.
What a waste of time.
I thought he would at least say thank you to me for saving his lover, but I guess I was keeping my hopes up for no reason.
"I feel like smoking."
I wish I had a pack of cigarettes with me right now.
.
.
"It's best not to put too much strain on your shoulder, we want it to heal perfectly over time."
"Including shooting?"
"Yes."
I nodded in gratitude toward the doctor as she finished my treatment and wrapped my shoulder in clean bandages.
Stepping outside the hospital, I headed back home. I needed at least one more week before I could start training my body again.
'This would be a boring week.'
At least that's what I thought, until someone barged into my house.
"You didn't show up, you broke your promise."
"How do you know my address?"
The man in front of me smiled brightly when I asked him that question.
Haide Ritcher – the man I met by chance in the shooting center – was now standing in front of my apartment.
"I asked the shop owner for the general direction and asked around for a few hours for your exact location. Don't worry, I wouldn't do a background check on someone I have just met."
"But you would stalk that same person just to know where he lives instead of just waiting for him to come back to the shooting center?"
"Ah, let's not dive deep into moral ambiguity, shall we? I don't want to get killed this young."
I raised my eyebrows, still doubting him. Nevertheless, I asked him once more.
"So why are you here again?"
"You didn't come to the shooting center this afternoon."
"And why does that matter to you?"
"Because I miss you."
I once again raised my eyebrow, looking at him up and down like I was looking at some kind of weird specimen.
'Who would miss some stranger they have just talked to once?'
Haide smirked at my blatant look. Then he leaned closer into me.
"Are you not going to invite me in?"
He asked, still with a bright smile on his face.
"No, let me take my coat first. We'll go out to a nearby café or something."
"How cautious, that's a great mindset to have."
I wore the coat I hung on the rack and took Haide to a coffee shop near my place. We each ordered a coffee and sat down on one of the chairs outside.
Pulling out a pack of cigarettes from my pocket, I asked the man in front of me.
"You smoke?"
"Yes, but I don't think you should, it's bad for your health and it doesn't quite fit your image."
"I don't really care about what other people think about me."
Haide chuckled and took the pack of cigarettes in my hand. Opening it and pulling one of the cigarettes lazily.
His long fingers played around with the cigarette for a bit before he brought it to his lips. The red lips parted as he slightly bit its end.
It was a simple motion every smoker including me did, but for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off from every movement he made.
"Got a lighter?"
"Ah, yeah, you can use mine."
I handed Haide my lighter as I also pulled out one of the cigarettes. Watching him finish lighting it up, I gestured with my hand – demanding my lighter back.
But Haide hid the lighter and smiled mischievously at me. He stood up, walked in front of me and leaned in front of my face.
"Stay still."
His low whisper was accompanied by an intense gaze from his eyes. He looked down at the cigarette still hanging in my mouth and touched the end of his cigarette onto mine – lighting mine with his.
The heat emitted from the cigarette was strong, but this closeness between our faces burned even fiercer than any flame I had ever touched.
A feeling even I didn't know could be possible.
"You look pretty up close."
Haide smiled as he pulled away. With my cigarette now lit, I inhaled it as I replied.
"All omegas are pretty."
"But you're the most charming in my eyes." Haide sat back in his seat as a relaxed smile formed on his face.
I glanced at the man beside me.
His dark ash grey hair swayed as he moved. The sharp nose and clean jawline enhanced the masculine look on his face. Combined with his pale skin, sharp eyebrows and blood red eyes made him look otherworldly.
The perfect definition of a person straight out of a painting.
"Done admiring my looks?"
"…"
Adding the factor that he was an alpha and the confidence he emitted was top-notch, I was 100% sure people would fawn over him.
'I get it, he is at the top of the food chain, so he has every right to be arrogant.'
But still…
"When are you going to give me back my lighter?"