Disheveled

As if to give the Omega, worn raw by torment, a little sweetness, Shang Sui held out his hand before Shi Qi, his fingertips carrying the scent of honey.

The Alpha's long-jointed fingers, their knuckles faintly pink, looked like some delicious dessert. Shi Qi drifted toward them before he could stop himself, his fever-blurred mind seduced.

He stuck out his tongue and, obeying instinct, licked Shang Sui's fingertip.

They both froze.

When he came back to himself and realized what exactly he had done, Shi Qi's expression began to change.

Just because Pheromone smelled sweet, how could he really start treating Shang Sui like food?

But he did taste pretty good...

His brain had to be burned to mush. What the hell was he even thinking?

A soft laugh came from behind him.

'Are you hungry?'

Before Shi Qi could answer, Shang Sui bent down and bit the back of Shi Qi's neck again.

Why again...?

He did not give him a second to prepare. One moment he was talking to him just fine, the next he had turned on him and bitten him.

Shi Qi's fingers scraped helplessly at the bed, his legs kicking in disorder. The movement seemed to provoke the Alpha; his slender wrist was seized in a tight circle.

Before Shi Qi could resist, his other hand was caught too.

As if he were arranging a little doll, Shang Sui gripped both his wrists in one hand and lifted them over his head, pinning his trembling arms into the pillow.

The marking did not stop. The feeling of Pheromone being driven into his body sent something like an electric current through every limb and bone.

A breaking sob forced its way out of Shi Qi's throat. All at once he began struggling without care, his fine wrists grinding against each other, but they could not shake the Alpha's manacle-like hand.

'Let go... let go of me!'

At that moment Shi Qi wanted desperately to scratch at something, anything. He could not bear it; he only wanted an outlet.

Shang Sui acted as if he heard none of his cries. Perhaps he had seen through Shi Qi's bad habit of sharpening his claws and that was why he was restraining him like this.

Realizing he could not break free at all, Shi Qi's eyes widened in shock.

There were several Alphas in the Dance Club. Once, when everyone had been arm-wrestling, Shi Qi had taken every one of them down by himself. They had all accepted it and lined up like applauding seals, clapping for him.

He could beat every other Alpha, yet here with Shang Sui, he could not even move.

No... he was... he was about to stop breathing.

Whether this was simply what being marked by an Alpha felt like, or whether Shang Sui made him feel especially dangerous, Shi Qi was almost starting to feel mildly suffocated.

Shang Sui was not hurting him, so why was his whole body shaking?

As if even his soul had been branded as belonging to someone else, invisible Chain wrapped around his limbs and dragged him into an abyss he would never escape.

No, he seemed to be... again...!

The Alpha's sharp canine pierced his skin and pushed in the last trace of Pheromone.

Shi Qi's eyes rolled faintly upward. He lost the will to resist completely, and the wrists that had been struggling dropped limp.

With the mark complete, a fierce satisfaction took its place.

That feeling came over him again, as if his mind were dissolving; his whole body seemed steeped in warm water.

When awareness finally returned, Shi Qi sluggishly realized that tears had already run down his face.

How could this be so embarrassing?

He had even... even while he was being marked...

The heavy floral scent in the air was like spring in full life, declaring exactly what the Omega, a complete mess from head to toe, had done. Shang Sui looked at his reddened eyes. Shi Qi seemed unable to accept that he had come just like that during the marking, and suddenly let out a whimper.

Shang Sui fell silent for a moment, then laughed. 'How are you this pitiful?'

Shi Qi seemed just as unable to bear the effect the marking had on him. Already half out of his mind, he instinctively wanted to curl up and hide the chaotic evidence of his crime.

Seeing him cry, Shang Sui could hardly keep pinning him down. Without a word, he bent one leg and sat on the bed.

Afraid Shi Qi would have trouble breathing in a moment, he reached out, gathered him up, and patted his back lightly.

His Pheromone was different from that of ordinary Alphas. Normally, once a Temporary Mark was complete, an Omega would recover their reason.

But his Pheromone was too overbearing. Shi Qi might be even less clear-headed now than before, more completely ruled by instinct, and that was why he could not control his emotions.

'All right, all right. It's fine.'

'The mark is done. In a little while you'll start to recover, and your head won't spin anymore.' Shang Sui coaxed him softly. 'This is all perfectly normal. You don't need to feel bad.'

Through his blurred tears, Shi Qi listened to the patient comfort at his ear and found Shang Sui more and more irritating the calmer he looked.

He wanted to see Shang Sui cry too.

Better if he cried a total mess. Then they would both be humiliated, and if both of them were humiliated, it would not count.

With something like a grudge to vent, he suddenly leaned in and bit down on the Alpha's pale neck.

Shang Sui paused, not expecting Shi Qi to erupt so suddenly.

The next second, Shang Sui laughed instead. His chest trembled faintly with it, as if he were genuinely delighted.

Shi Qi was so startled by the laughter that he let go in a daze and leaned back to look at him.

Even in his haze, Shi Qi still remembered that Alphas were innately aggressive and deeply hated having their glands touched, much less bitten in open provocation.

Except for a mate they had acknowledged, anyone who dared touch an Alpha's glands was asking for trouble.

Shi Qi had bitten him, and instead of getting angry Shang Sui was laughing. Had he been driven mad?

Shi Qi had always dared to do what he did and own it, but faced with a Shang Sui he could not read, even he felt a chill.

'I didn't mean to,' Shi Qi explained without much conviction. 'My teeth started itching the second I saw you just now...'

'I almost forgot. Our Xiao Qi has quite a temper.' When Shang Sui spoke, scattered laughter still lingered in his eyes. 'My gland is here, a little to the left.'

He turned his neck cooperatively, lifted his somewhat long hair himself, and bared the smooth nape of it, instructing Shi Qi like an indulgent older gege: 'Here. Bite down hard right here.'

An Alpha like Shang Sui, teaching someone to bite his gland harder, was probably only possible if he was insane.

But Shi Qi licked his lips. His mind, still uncleared, was no longer equal to weighing consequences, and in the end he could not resist the temptation.

Shang Sui's fingers had tasted sweet before. If it was his gland, it should taste even better, shouldn't it?

The scent there was especially rich, like a honey cake.

Eyes unfocused, Shi Qi nosed closer. His canine brushed skin, then found Shang Sui's gland with perfect accuracy.

Even knowing it was Shi Qi biting him, Shang Sui's body tensed on instinct, ready to strike back in an instant.

The Omega pressed against him gave off a fresh, lively scent, like flowers in bloom through a mountain valley.

Under Shi Qi's Pheromone, Shang Sui forced down that violent instinct, and his body gradually relaxed.

Remembering that Shang Sui had told him to bite hard, Shi Qi did as asked and bore down harder, drawing a sound from the Alpha.

His voice already carried a rough, husky grain. Now it trembled in a way that hooked at the ear.

The sound made Shi Qi's bones go soft, and he caught Shang Sui's shoulders with both hands on instinct.

'Right... just like that.' Shang Sui gave a low hum, the smile at his lips deepening. 'You're so good at biting. Impressive.'

What was with that grin?

And why did he sound so... debauched?

Shi Qi was deeply displeased and bit harder still. The tips of his teeth broke skin, and he tasted a little blood.

How strange. Why was even Shang Sui's blood sweet?

The rich Pheromone in the blood deepened his dizziness. At last Shi Qi gave Shang Sui's neck a lingering lick, and when he released him he finally said what had been on his mind.

'Why aren't you affected?'

Compared to how disheveled and out of control he was, Shang Sui looked almost untouched.

The gap made Shi Qi unbearably restless. He wanted Shang Sui to be as wrecked as he was. Part of it was the simple logic that if they were both embarrassed then embarrassment no longer counted, but underneath that hid a disappointment he did not want to name.

As if... he was not that attractive to Shang Sui at all.

Even with him in this state, the other man could stay unmoved.

'I'm not affected?'

Shang Sui repeated it under his breath. The desire he had been strangling to death finally split open under Shi Qi's torment; one lapse, and it would break loose.

Before Shi Qi could react, the Alpha pressed close.

Something he had been deliberately hiding was nudging against him. Even through their clothes, its size was impossible to miss.

'What do you take me for, a saint?' Shang Sui's voice grew heavier, his breathing a touch unsteady. 'Of course I'm affected.'

Looking at the utterly stunned Shi Qi, Shang Sui said again, 'I told you. This is perfectly normal.'

Strictly speaking, an Alpha in a Special Sensitivity Period was not affected by an Omega's Pheromone.

Years ago, some extreme scholars had even claimed that Alphas in a Special Sensitivity Period were a higher form of being. Unlike Beta, who could not sense Pheromone at all, only such Alphas truly commanded Pheromone and represented a fully evolved species.

They possessed stronger bodies, could suppress other genders with Pheromone, yet were themselves untouched by it; even an Omega in heat could be watched with cold detachment.

That sort of openly discriminatory claim was soon drowned in condemnation. Shang Sui had never cared much one way or another, but while everyone around him avoided the chaos Pheromone could cause, it was true that he had never known what it was to be lured by an Omega's scent until his head spun and nothing remained but physical desire.

But Shi Qi's scent held a fatal allure for him. Clear as stream water though it was, it stirred all kinds of strange thoughts under his skin. If he let himself go, he could not be sure he would stay reasonable.

He had to put some distance between himself and Shi Qi for now.

Otherwise, he could not predict what he would do.

Shi Qi seemed frightened by something in him. Shang Sui forced himself to shut his eyes for a moment, then stepped back.

A bead of sweat ran down his forehead. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, and when he spoke again his voice was roughened. 'Wipe the dirty places off with some tissue first.'

'Do you want to bathe?'

Shi Qi shook her head. She had no strength anywhere in her body. If she went into the bathroom now, she might faint outright.

'The suitcase is over there. Do you see it?'

'I'm going to bathe. If you're uncomfortable, you can change your clothes first.'

Seeing that she did not answer, Shang Sui added, 'If you don't want to move, lie down on the bed for a while and wait for me to come back.'

Probably because he could tell how bad a state she was in, Shi Qi nodded obediently this time.

Worried that something might happen if Shi Qi was left alone, Shang Sui forced himself to finish giving instructions before getting up and going into the bathroom.

Besides the shower, the room also had a half-open circular bath, curtained on all four sides with gauze tied back.

As Shang Sui passed it, he thought Shi Qi might want to wash up later, so he filled the bath on the way and let down the outermost curtain.

Shi Qi sat alone for a while and vaguely heard running water from the shower.

She wiped the mess off her body first, then, unable to stand it any longer, got out of bed.

She was still drowsy, but not uncomfortable. Unlike the burning sensation from before, her whole body now felt steeped in water at exactly the right temperature, every bone loosened, a soft languor running through her.

Shi Qi's legs were still weak. She made her way to Shang Sui's open suitcase, wanting to find something clean to change into.

There was a jewelry pouch in the suitcase, clothes on the other side, and also the Alpha's Isolation Agent, Inhibitor, a sketchbook, and a few simple drawing tools.

Why had Shang Sui brought so many clothes and accessories? Was he here to walk a show on the mountain?

Right. Shang Sui's necklace was still with her. She would have to find a chance to return it.

Very quickly Shi Qi spotted an oversized black shirt. The other clothes in the suitcase were unfamiliar, but this one she had seen Shang Sui wear a few days ago.

At the time he had paired it with a long silver-and-green tie, but had not properly knotted it, leaving it hanging loose like an ornament.

Shi Qi reached out without hesitation, tugged the shirt free, and stripped off every piece of her own dirty clothing at the same time.

She wanted to change her pants too, but after holding them up for size, she found they were far too big for her to wear.

This would do. The shirt was big enough anyway.

The shirt on her body carried a faint rosemary-like scent that called up the summer sea. It was probably the smell of detergent.

After changing into clean clothes, Shi Qi felt much lighter.

But through the mark at the back of her neck, she could feel that the other person in the room was not in a good mood at all. Restless was putting it mildly.

Shi Qi hesitated, then wanted to go look for him.

Partly because she wanted to see how Shang Sui was doing and what trouble he had run into, and partly because after the Temporary Mark she felt an instinctive, intense dependence on the Alpha who had given it.

Shi Qi slowly made her way to the outside of the shower room and knocked, following her own impulse. 'Shang Sui?'

The person inside did not answer, so Shi Qi knocked again.

Without warning, the bathroom door was pulled open from inside, and Shi Qi nearly collided with him.

A bath towel was wrapped around Shang Sui's lower body. He was wet all over, long hair hanging loose over his shoulders, but his eyes were razor-sharp, dark with the threat of an outburst after being interrupted.

Water was still dripping from his face, running from his neck down over his chest. His shoulders were broad and straight, and every inch of muscle carried exactly the right amount of strength.

Heat flared across Shi Qi's face, and all at once she had the absurdly apt thought that he really ought to be walking a show here.

'What. Do. You. Want.'

Every word Shang Sui spoke sounded pressed out through his teeth.

The pressure coming off him was too strong. Shi Qi stumbled over her words. 'I-I wanted to...'

Only then did Shang Sui notice that Shi Qi had changed into his shirt. It seemed too large on her, and she was wearing only that.

His eyesight was sharp; he caught a glimpse of a tiny beauty mark on her leg.

In fairy tales, the mermaid who came ashore was granted a beautiful new pair of legs.

Shi Qi's legs were smooth in line, evenly made of bone and flesh. She looked a little like that mermaid too, as if she had never walked a day in her life.

Seriously...

He was going out of his mind.

And at a time like this.

Watching his expression, Shi Qi hesitated, then said, 'You don't seem well. I want to help you.'

If she released Pheromone, Shang Sui should feel a little better, right?

She did not know what exactly was wrong with Shang Sui, but their Compatibility Index was high. Her Pheromone ought to have a calming effect and improve his mood.

After being needled again and again by Shi Qi, Shang Sui's eyes darkened completely.

'Help me?' He shoved a hand into his damp hair and dragged it back, his voice pressed low. 'Will you help me with anything?'

If he had been alone today, he might well have gone straight from the mountain to a hospital.

Shang Sui had helped her that much. Without a second thought, Shi Qi nodded.

Once she agreed, the Alpha picked up the black sleep mask from the vanity and put it into Shi Qi's hand.

Shang Sui tipped up his chin slightly toward the bath filled with warm water.

'If you want to help me, go sit in there and put the mask on.'

'Don't talk. You don't need to do anything else either.'

It was a strange request. Shi Qi did as she was told, got into the bath, sat down, and put on the sleep mask, still unable to work out what help she was supposed to be offering.

Shi Qi's pale blond hair was a little rumpled, and her cheeks still held a flush.

She had no patience for dressing. The shirt was buttoned wrong, and the top button had been left undone altogether, exposing a wide sweep of right collarbone. Against the black shirt, her skin looked white as snow.

The hotel sleep mask was too large for Shi Qi. It covered most of her face, leaving only the neat tip of her nose and the vividly red lips that had only just licked blood.

Shang Sui stood where he was and watched her without blinking, a faint brightness coming into his eyes with excitement.

The sleep mask blocked out all light. Shi Qi could only hear vague, indistinct sounds, and the Alpha's low, occasional breaths.

What exactly was Shang Sui doing?

Did he think she was no help at all, so he had simply put a sleep mask on her to keep her quiet and set her aside?

The more Shi Qi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and the more she felt looked down on.

But after soaking in the bath for a while, her whole body felt good, and the water temperature was just right.

The sleep mask made her drowsy too, leaving her in the comfort of being half awake, half asleep.

Shi Qi decided not to argue with him. If Shang Sui did not want her help, then fine.

She had no idea how much time had passed when Shi Qi's nose twitched and she suddenly caught a rich honey scent.

She had never smelled anything so fragrant. It was like falling into a jar of honey.

'Shang Sui?' Shi Qi could not help asking. 'Are you still there?'

In an instant, the scent grew even heavier.

So sweet.

Shi Qi's lips parted slightly on instinct, and she felt hungry all over again.