Chapter 120

14

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

At the sight of Darling constantly sniffing and scratching the table with her paws, Dane directed a bitter gaze toward his coffee. What was a very pleasant coffee aroma to people seemed to be different for cats.

It couldn't be helped.

Reluctantly acknowledging this, Dane watched the cat scratching the table with her paws as if digging through litter box sand, then got up. After picking up Darling and placing her on the cat tower, and confirming that she had found stability, he returned to his seat.

Just as he thought he could finally enjoy a leisurely tea time, lightning suddenly struck outside the window. Fortunately, the cat, who was both deaf and blind, merely perked up one ear at the following thunder without much reaction.

Dane sat in a chair at the tea table by the window, drinking coffee and looking outside. The scenery that had captivated Dane's heart since he first entered this room, however, had a completely different atmosphere in the gloomy weather.

Dane looked outside through the window at the falling rain. Though he wasn't accustomed to such pouring rain in an area where it rarely rained, he felt a sense of relief on the other hand.

Today will be quiet...

He thought unconsciously as he drank his tea.

"Tsk."

Then he clicked his tongue briefly. On a day like this, if he had been working, he could have just killed time and gone home, but it happened to be his day off. His luck hadn't been good lately.

As he was emptying his coffee with dissatisfaction, he suddenly seemed to hear another sound mixed with the rain. The identity was soon apparent. It was because he could see Greyson's car driving away in the distance.

Where is that guy going in this rain?

The thought occurred to him, but he soon dismissed it. What did it matter?

Several days had passed since then. Greyson had quieted down as if he had given up on persuading Dane. Dane also continued to treat him as if he didn't exist, and they thoroughly ignored each other, not exchanging a single word, as if they were in completely different spaces while staying in the same mansion.

Dane planned to just get through the remaining time and leave this place. It had been wrong from the start. He didn't know what expectations Greyson Miller had of him, but for Dane Striker, dating or forming a deep relationship with someone was an impossible story. In the end, the predetermined ending had just come earlier than expected.

Only a month remained. After a month, Dane would leave this place, and Greyson Miller would look for a new partner as he had always done. And they would probably never meet again in their lifetime.

That's fine.

Dane thought as he brought the coffee cup to his mouth. It was only afterward that he realized the cup was empty.

After sitting there for a moment, he soon took the empty cup and headed to the snack bar. He washed the cup, put it away, returned to his seat, and spent some time before going to bed.

Once again, an eerie light seemed to illuminate the world brightly, followed by a roaring sound. Outside the window, the desolate sound of rain continued endlessly.

* * *

Even in the room located farthest from the hall where the party was in full swing, the pheromone scent was still thickly mixed in the air.

Greyson lay on the bed with his eyes closed, breathing heavily. His inevitably excited heart kept pounding against his ribs. It was now to the point where he was getting a headache. Looking down at him as he let out a thin groan, the host of the party asked.

"Are you okay, Greyson? What's going on, for your pheromones to accumulate like this?"

"Never mind that, where's Steward?"

Greyson asked through rough breaths.

"Where is Steward?"

The host looked down at him with a confused face.

"He didn't come today."

For a moment, Greyson's brow contorted. The host was perplexed but couldn't lie.

Norman Steward.

He was the doctor that extreme Alphas necessarily sought when they had problems. There probably wasn't anyone who knew more about phenotypes than this man. Especially regarding research on extreme Alphas, no one could match Steward. Thanks to this, it had become a natural custom to go through him for all consultations and solutions related to physical constitution.

But the time when this man was particularly useful was when pheromones needed to be extracted. When pheromone parties were held, hosts often called Norman Steward in preparation for any unforeseen incidents. Because of this, there was a high probability of meeting him here.

"I came here because he wasn't at the research institute..."

At Greyson's muttering, which sounded like talking to himself, the host answered.

"That's right, he said he's on vacation now. Instead, he said he would have staff on standby in case something happened, so emergency measures could be taken..."

"Call him."

Greyson cut off his words without waiting until the end.

"Call him, right now."

"Greyson."

The host sighed and then suggested another method.

"Instead of that, I'll send in a few Omegas, so just handle it that way. That's much easier and safer, why come all the way here to extract pheromones with an injection?"

Then he added with a frowning face.

"Chase did that so much, and now it's you?"

<I don't want to have sex with anyone I don't like.>

Suddenly, words he had forgotten came to mind. Greyson, who subsequently recalled the face of his younger brother who had been sobbing toward him, smiled weakly.

"I'm a bit of a pervert."

"Haa."

The host shook his head as if he couldn't help it and left the room. Feeling his mind becoming hazy, Greyson closed his eyes. It felt like his entire body was floating. His heart was pounding madly, but his body was infinitely limp. What was this disparate sensation? His entire body was heating up as if feverish, but he couldn't feel any sensation in his fingertips.

Haa, Greyson let out a faint sigh. Through his dazed mind, someone vaguely came to mind.

I'm sorry, Dane.

As he recited it again in his mouth, he answered.

It's okay, idiot.

Unbelievably, Dane smiled and embraced Greyson's neck. Ah. Greyson's nose stung.

I love you, Dane.

You are my...

"Greyson Miller!"

At the sudden shout, Greyson barely lifted his heavy eyelids. His vision was blurry, and he couldn't focus properly. As he was about to close his eyes again, the same voice from before called him again.

"Miller, snap out of it! Greyson Miller, damn it!"

The shout mixed with curses gradually awakened his consciousness. Only then did he vaguely realize that he had been wandering in a dream.

Reluctantly opening his eyes again, Greyson was momentarily bewildered. He should have woken up from the dream, but Dane was in front of his eyes again. What was going on...?

Oh, damn it.

Dane inwardly grew anxious at the sight of Greyson looking at him with unfocused eyes. He had no idea what was going on. Judging by the vibrating pheromone scent all over his body, he had clearly been to a party, but what was this symptom?

Until just before, Dane had been in a deep sleep. He had awakened because the intense pheromone scent had pounded on his consciousness. When he belatedly came to his senses and got up, the sweet scent had filled the entire room. He thought, could Greyson Miller have entered the room? But in the room, just as before he fell asleep, there were only Dane and Darling.

Then.

There was only one answer. It was the pheromone scent flowing from the connected room. With such an intense scent, it must be a rut.

Dane sat there for a moment. There was only one choice he had to make. To leave this mansion.

Greyson's pheromone scent was already stimulating his instincts. Feeling his face heating up and his pulse racing, Dane contorted his face. There was no time to hesitate further. Dane immediately picked up Darling and left the room.

But the moment he came out into the corridor, he realized he had misjudged. The corridor was already filled with pheromone scent. It would have been better to stay in the room. How could such an intense scent be spread in the corridor, what was going on?

Soon he found out the reason. Greyson had collapsed with his door open. The moment he saw this, Dane put Darling down in the room and rushed toward Greyson.

"Greyson! Greyson Miller!"

Though he called his name repeatedly, he hardly regained consciousness. What on earth was going on? Even if a rut came, would his condition deteriorate this much? This was like...

Like being drugged.