Chapter 17

"Dane!"

"What, you were here?"

"Where have you been? Why are you so late?"

As soon as they saw Dane Striker, the gathered team members asked in surprised succession. But instead of answering, Dane threw something onto the floor. Thud, at the somewhat heavy sound, they saw someone collapsed and momentarily forgot their questions, turning pale.

A silence fell as if time had stopped.

Greyson Miller lay unconscious on the floor.

His massive body lying limp on the floor looked like a giant beast that had lost its strength. Thick forearms, a body covered in solid muscle, a build far larger than an ordinary man's. Seeing this monster-like being lying there defenseless, everyone's minds went blank.

"Wh-wh-what, what is this?"

"Miller, Greyson Miller, right? What happened? Why is he like this?"

"Dane, did you hit him? What happened!"

To the team members screaming different questions in succession, Dane just answered briefly with a furrowed brow.

"Don't know, he suddenly fainted. Must have anemia or something."

Anemia? That's nonsense!

There's no way a man over 2 meters tall and well over 100 kilograms could have something like anemia. No one would believe that. But the fact that Greyson was now lying unconscious was undeniable. Therefore, they all had to come to the same conclusion.

This bastard knocked Miller out again.

Wilkins, clutching his throbbing head and letting out a deep sigh, asked.

"You didn't run into Miller, right?"

"Maybe?"

When Dane answered halfheartedly, a vein bulged on Wilkins's temple.

"Answer clearly, did Miller see you or not!"

"Maybe?"

Just as Wilkins was about to explode at Dane's continued noncommittal answers, Ezra cut in.

"What happened, tell us the situation, even roughly!"

When everyone looked on anxiously, Dane again answered without enthusiasm.

"Nothing much. I was having sex in the storage room when this bastard suddenly opened the door and watched, then collapsed on his own."

The listeners inserted 'I beat him' between 'watched' and 'collapsed.' Ah, now it makes sense.

After roughly piecing together the situation, they moved in unison while coordinating their story. One person stuck close to Dane, linking arms, and advised in a serious tone.

"You weren't here today, got it?"

Someone turned to the others and shouted.

"Everyone knows, right? Dane wasn't here today!"

Then, as if of one mind, they all pushed at Dane's back.

"That's enough, you go quickly. Today never happened. Okay? You understand?"

"We'll handle the rest. Go quickly, hurry up and go!"

At their urgently spilled words, Dane stood awkwardly, looking bewildered. Why are these bastards suddenly acting like this? Is there some problem? Surely these people who had planned such an elaborate welcome ceremony couldn't be worried about Greyson Miller, but they were all making such a fuss.

As he neither acknowledged his colleagues' urgency nor moved, Ezra, burning with impatience, shouted desperately.

"This bastard is looking for you! So get out of here quickly before he finds out!"

But his words only further piqued Dane's curiosity. Rather, he stopped firmly and asked back.

"Me? Why?"

Looking at his handsome face with furrowed brows, Wilkins said.

"You knocked Miller out then, right? Miller came here to find you."

For a moment, Dane hesitated. Seeing his eyes waver unusually, Ezra quickly added.

"Miller is looking for whoever hit him and knocked him out. We told him we don't know, so you stick to that story too. You were never here today, got it? Now go, hurry up and go!"

With their continued pushing, Dane had no choice but to leave as told. The remaining team members quickly tidied up the area. Fortunately, everyone in the bar was too drunk to notice the commotion that had occurred among them. Though they had drunk quite a bit themselves, the situation before them had sobered them right up.

"Let's move him first, ask the owner if there's somewhere we can lay him down."

"I'll go check!"

At Wilkins's instruction, Ezra hurried off to find the owner. The remaining team members awkwardly gathered to each take a limb of the man over 2 meters tall and carried him away.

Until then, Greyson remained completely unconscious. Though the area was heavily permeated with an unfamiliar Omega's pheromone scent mixed with the pheromones he usually released, the drunk team members didn't notice at all.

* * *

When Greyson opened his eyes again, through his blurry vision he saw several pairs of eyes looking down at him with concern. The ceiling lights blurred dizzily, and surrounding noises seemed distant. His ears rang as if stuffed with cotton, and his body felt buried in the floor, limp and heavy.

What... situation is this?

Before he could fully come to his senses, voices burst out all at once as if they had been waiting.

"Miller, are you okay?"

"Are you feeling unwell anywhere? The doctor will be here soon, just wait a bit"

"What happened? Were you not feeling well? Could it be your pheromone control..."

Though questions poured in, Greyson couldn't answer a single one. Because he himself couldn't understand the situation at all.

"Wait, until the doctor comes..."

When Greyson tried to get up, the employees anxiously tried to stop him. But he paid no attention and stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes. Among the employees fidgeting helplessly, Wilkins finally showed his face.

"Miller, what exactly happened? We found you collapsed in the hallway and brought you here. Do you remember what happened?"

While he asked fussily, the team members were internally tense. What if he had seen Dane's face? While desperately hoping for luck to strike once more, Greyson twisted his face instead of answering.

"I can't remember."

"What?"

Everyone looked at him with worried yet puzzled expressions. Though he felt their gazes focused on him, Greyson spat out irritably.

"I can't remember, at all. What happened."

The gathered people looked at each other and closed their mouths. Thank goodness...! As silence filled with relief flowed, Greyson cursed under his breath.

"Damn it."

No one opened their mouths as they watched him roughly run his fingers through his hair. In the awkward silence, only Greyson bit his lip anxiously while turning thoughts over in his mind.

* * *

What the hell happened?

In the car on his way home, Greyson recalled irritably. No matter how hard he wracked his brain, he couldn't remember anything. The last thing he could recall was leaving the party venue and opening the door while looking for the bathroom. He couldn't remember anything after that no matter how hard he tried. He had definitely seen someone inside. He couldn't recall their face or even their gender. All he could remember was a vague Omega pheromone scent. And that damn chest that had been incredibly luscious.

<Must have slipped or something.>

That's what the team members who had waited for him to wake up had said. The CCTV installed in the hallway showed Greyson opening the door and suddenly collapsing to the floor a few seconds later. The people inside, probably a couple, came out to check on Greyson before holding hands and leaving. And shortly after, the man returned alone, picked up Greyson, and walked out of frame carrying him. Given that they were alone in such a place, what they had been doing was obvious.

It's the same person.

He could be certain. This time was just like the last. The moment he smelled the Omega's pheromone scent, his consciousness disappeared. It was definitely them from that time. The method was identical too.

The problem was that he couldn't remember the process at all. He knew that extreme Omegas could cause pheromone shock in extreme Alphas, making them lose consciousness or memory. But to fall for the same trick twice.