Chapter 41

"Where the hell did he go? That bastard."

"He can't even stay put in one place when he has nothing to do."

"It's obvious. He's probably in some woman's house in this neighborhood, getting laid."

No one could deny these words. They had seen firsthand how promiscuous Greyson was. Moreover, no matter how much his colleagues were worried sick, it wouldn't matter to that man.

"Let's just go."

Ezra, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke. When everyone looked at him in surprise, he spat out roughly with an unusually angry face.

"He's not a child, he'll find his own way back. Whether he gets a ride from a woman, calls an Uber, or walks back, why should we care? It's his responsibility for following us here and then disappearing during work. There's no reason for us to suffer more, let's go!"

As Ezra, who rarely expressed anger so openly, rapidly spat out his words, the rest were momentarily dumbfounded but soon all joined in as if they had been waiting.

With the feeling of, how bad must it be for even Ezra to say such things.

"Alright."

"I agree, let's go! That bastard can take care of his own business!"

Words of agreement continued from here and there, and they eagerly climbed into the car as if they had been waiting. Dane didn't say anything, but that was simply because it was a matter that didn't concern him. Just thinking about getting back to rest soon, he leaned against his seat.

The car left without any lingering attachment, and it was a full day later when they learned that Greyson Miller had gone missing.

2

"For heaven's sake, if you were short on people, you should have found and brought him back! You just abandoned him and came back? Are you colleagues? A team? Go die, you disloyal bastards!"

Under the chief's thundering reprimand, Wilkins couldn't lift his face and silently stared at the floor. Though he hadn't even been there, he couldn't avoid responsibility as the team leader. By the time Wilkins came out of the office after being scolded with all sorts of words by the chief for a long time, he was in a state where half his soul had left his body.

"Mr. Wilkins..."

Seeing their team leader return staggering, the team members didn't know what to do. As they just exchanged glances without being able to continue speaking, Wilkins, who had tilted his head back and covered his face with both hands, let out a deep sigh and then looked around at the gathered guys.

"So, still no contact from Miller?"

"Y-yes, that's right."

At first, they had thought it was just an unauthorized absence. They had all been happy, thinking he had simply lost interest and changed his mind, but unfortunately, that time didn't last very long. The chief, noticing Greyson's absence, had wondered about it and searched for his whereabouts.

After confirming that Greyson Miller not only wasn't answering his phone but had been missing since the previous day, the chief became furiously angry. Only then did everyone realize that Greyson had truly gone missing. They had thought he had just disappeared on his own the day before, but in reality, the problem had already started then. Ah, they should have searched more thoroughly. Though belated regret washed over them, it was already too late. The incident had already grown beyond control.

"Isn't Miller an adult? And look at his size, who would harm such a huge guy? He probably just went into hiding because he didn't want to come out."

DeAndre poured out complaints in the gloomy atmosphere. He still believed that Greyson's disappearance was an absurd speculation. Of course, the rest had similar opinions, but voicing them was too tactless. Sure enough, Wilkins bulged his eyes and immediately shouted harshly.

"You stupid bastard! Don't you know why extreme Alphas always have bodyguards? Do you know how many criminal organizations specifically target those bastards! From those who cause terrorism claiming it's God's will to frequent kidnapping threats! And you're saying such carefree things? How do you know what kind of state Miller is in right now!"

The gathered guys became dazed at the ear-splitting shouts. While some were even staggering, one who still hadn't grasped the situation lowered his hands that had been covering his ears and opened his mouth.

"What do they use those bastards for after kidnapping them? Money?"

"Sperm."

Another guy reluctantly tipped him off.

"Extreme Alpha sperm is worth whatever price is asked. Everyone wants superior genes."

"No, then he should have had bodyguards, why alone... Never mind."

This time, DeAndre seemed to realize his mistake while complaining and quickly shut his mouth. But it was already spilled milk, and naturally, what came back was Wilkins's thundering voice.

"What bodyguards! So many people were right beside him, what did you all do! Are we worse than private bodyguards? You all, firefighters who are supposed to be this country's protectors, are you saying you're worse than mere bodyguards! Do you deserve to be called heroes by citizens after this? Huh?"

Everyone became quiet again. Ezra, who had better discretion than DeAndre, stepped forward.

"Let's first do what we can. Um, like reporting to the police..."

As the person who had first suggested returning, he couldn't ignore his responsibility. Though he tried to propose a solution, before his words were even finished, tremendous opposition followed.

"Police? The police?"

"Are you crazy! Police? What can those incompetent guys do!"

"Can those bastards do what we couldn't? Huh?"

"If the police can find him in a day, we can find him in an hour! Why bring in the police?"

Amid the outpouring of outcries, Ezra immediately shrank back. Though he regretted having spoken unnecessarily, the resentment didn't stop. They mercilessly disparaged the police force, with whom they were usually at odds. Of course, the police also often belittled them, so there wasn't much difference between them.

"Alright, alright. Everyone calm down."

Wilkins, who soothed the shouting men with both hands raised, opened his mouth with a much calmer face.

"If the police can do it, we can do it too. No, we all know we can do it much faster and more accurately, right? So, I've been thinking about what we should do first. The answer must be in the area where Miller disappeared, right? Let's go there first, okay? Come on, move out. Quickly, quickly."

Wilkins, who took the lead, kept waving one hand back and forth to urge them on. The gathered guys had no choice but to shout in determination and run out as instructed to get into the car. And the last person to get in was Dane with a deeply furrowed face.

* * *

Always causing trouble.

Dane was grinding his teeth, sitting in his seat and shaking one leg noisily. From the first time he saw him, that bastard had always annoyed Dane. Making Omegas go crazy by releasing pheromones in a situation where they needed to escape quickly, forcing him into a ridiculous race by suddenly deciding to become a firefighter, barging in and interrupting while he was having sex at the bar. When thinking of Greyson Miller, all his memories were equally shitty.

If he was going to disappear, he should have just quietly vanished, not caused a commotion and bothered me again.

"Ah, fuck, damn it."

When Dane roughly spat out curses, the guys riding in the car with him looked at him in surprise. It was uncommon for Dane to curse consecutively in such a noticeably loud voice. Thinking that his mood was clearly quite twisted, they closed their mouths and just watched Dane's reactions. And until they reached their destination, Dane didn't unfurrow his brow, occasionally spitting out curses.

***

Weeeeee, weeeeee.

At the sudden loud siren sound in the peaceful neighborhood, people who had been leisurely relaxing inside their houses emerged one by one with puzzled expressions. When they realized it was the same firefighting team from the day before, they were surprised once again and began to whisper among themselves.

"What's going on?"

"There's no fire, did someone else's cat climb a tree?"

"I wonder if it's the same team as yesterday? Did that sexy firefighter come too? I didn't see him yesterday."