Chapter 7

Calm down, there's no evidence. An extreme Omega? That's something you might see once in a lifetime.

Greyson was lucky enough to know two extreme Omegas. One was Koi who gave birth to him, and the other was Angel who gave birth to his friend Keith Pitman. But literally, he only 'knew of their existence' and they were beings that had nothing to do with his life.

But like this, out of nowhere? Does this make any sense?

Continued doubts raised their heads, but emotion betrayed reason. A heart beating this wildly couldn't be wrong. Until now, he had lived suppressing his instincts with reason. The only exception was when he got the 'feeling' that he had found his destiny.

Despite regretting falling for the same illusion every time, he was swaying again just like before. Perhaps the one he had been searching for so desperately was that person.

'Fire.'

In this unreasonable belief, he recalled the fortune teller's words. What he had laughed off as nonsense now felt like the only light illuminating his path forward. It was no longer speculation but certainty. That that person was the real one. The method of confirmation was simple. He just needed to meet them again.

How?

Greyson resumed pacing after momentarily stopping.

Should he start a fire? What if he set fire to this hospital right now? How would he find that person among the responding firefighters? They might be off duty.

Unfortunately, his hazy memory provided no clues. He recalled the person he had briefly looked up at in the final moment. But because they had been wearing a helmet and approached from behind, he didn't know what they looked like. Though he seemed to have heard their voice briefly, he couldn't remember now what was said or even what kind of voice it was. He didn't even know if it was a man or woman. No, it must be a woman. The fortune teller had said they had a large chest.

But there were no other clues. Even the voice had been close to a whisper, so even if he heard it again, it would be difficult to recognize.

Then should he keep starting fires until he finds who it is? That's too inefficient. Isn't there a more effective method?

...That's right.

He soon came up with an ingenious plan. It was just hours later that Greyson headed east to meet his father, Ashley Miller.

***

The most likely next president. Former representative of North America's top law firm and former lawyer, now a senator. Former high school ice hockey team captain and VIP. An extreme Alpha with striking looks that could take one's breath away, standing over two meters tall with platinum blonde hair.

That was Ashley Miller.

Father of six children, he looked at his second son standing across the desk with his usual expressionless face. After hearing Greyson's words without showing any change in expression, he slowly opened his mouth after a moment of silence.

"What did you just say?"

Though his voice remained quiet, asking to repeat what he had heard was unlike him. Greyson looked at his father with a bright smile.

"I want to become a firefighter. But since it's not currently the recruitment period, I'd like to enter through special appointment. So I was hoping you could help with that."

He repeated what he had said earlier with some additional explanation. Ashley continued to look at him without expression before moving his lips.

"What did you just say?"

"I want to become a firefighter, Father. Since it's not the recruitment period now, I'd appreciate if you could use your influence to help me enter through special appointment."

Despite having to repeat the same words for the third time, which would normally be irritating, Greyson maintained his smile. Ashley stared at this practiced smile of his son that he was well familiar with. After another silence passed, Ashley Miller finally seemed to accept reality and sank deep into his chair's backrest.

"Your motivation?"

"Because helping people is a noble act."

Though it sounded like something pulled straight from a textbook, that was certainly not the answer Ashley wanted. It wasn't the kind of statement his son would make. Greyson, seemingly having anticipated his father's cold reaction, added without hesitation.

"I heard my destined lover is at the fire station. I'd like to go and confirm it."

"Aah..."

Only then did Ashley narrow his eyes and let out a long sigh. Though his reaction seemed indifferent, as if saying 'of course that's it,' Greyson continued undeterred.

"Of course, there's always the possibility I'm wrong this time too. But how can we know without trying? You said I could do whatever I want as long as it's not criminal. Helping others isn't a crime."

Ashley showed no reaction to the words that flowed smoothly as if well prepared. He stared at his son, who became particularly passionate whenever the word 'destiny' was involved, and asked with a twisted lip.

"You do know how many fire stations there are in the country?"

Greyson hesitated for a moment but soon smiled and answered.

"Of course, I checked."

"From the fortune teller?"

"With tarot cards."

Though he knew Papa was being sarcastic, Greyson skillfully played along. The reason he didn't bother explaining that 'there was an extreme Omega among the firefighters who came to extinguish the fire at the pheromone party venue, and that person is my destiny. I want to become a firefighter to find them' was because he firmly believed this would invite even more ridicule. For Ashley Miller, the nonsensical story of 'I got my fortune told and that's what it said' would actually be more palatable. The latter could be dismissed as his usual nonsense, but the former would raise suspicions that he had finally gone mad from pheromones. Greyson waited for Ashley's response with this in mind.

Ashley stared intently at his son's smooth face that particularly resembled his own father, Dominic. He tried to suppress the instinctive revulsion that welled up and somehow find traces of his mate in him, but unfortunately, it was a futile effort. Having repeated the same failure every time, Ashley readily accepted reality this time as well.

"Having motivation for anything is good."

At his indifferent voice, Greyson's eyes sparkled, and simultaneously his ears twitched briefly. Only then did Ashley's mood soften somewhat. Keeping his gaze fixed on Greyson's ears, which shared the same habit as his only Omega, Ashley continued.

"Fine, I'll pull some strings. But there's a condition."

"Yes, anything."

Greyson answered promptly without even listening. Though Ashley thought this blind attitude of his always created bad situations, he had no intention of warning him. Failure also provides important life lessons.

"You have to stay for at least a year, without quitting."

Once again, Greyson froze. The reason for the longer silence was obvious. If this attempt failed too, he would surely want to quit immediately. Because he would need to search for the next partner as soon as possible.

Not a chance.

Looking at his son who was delaying his answer in contemplation, Ashley added one more thing.

"Jackson complained to me. Said you ruined his precious twins."

"It was self-defense. They tried to rape me."

Though Greyson hesitated at the forgotten name, he soon defended himself with a smile. Ashley's eyes narrowed, and he spoke in an even more cynical tone than usual.

"Because you provoked them first by releasing pheromones."

As Greyson tried to argue back, Ashley continued before he could.

"I'm saying to take responsibility for that through public service. Your petty destiny-seeking is your business, but you need to take responsibility for what you've done. Did you come begging me to use underhanded methods to find that great destiny of yours without even that much resolve?"

He deserved to hear these words. They were so right that there was no room for excuses. Greyson hesitated to answer, haunted by the ominous feeling that this attempt might fail too. Hadn't he repeated countless mistakes until now, trusting only his feelings? Who could guarantee this time would be different?

But what if this time was real?