Ji Chi struggled to flutter his reddened eyes open and look at the Omega before him.
The man was really tall, almost half a head taller than him.
This wasn't the type of Omega he liked.
Ji Chi had vowed to find a sweet, soft Omega-pretty, cute, fond of acting spoiled, and preferably not inclined to boss him around.
The Omega before him made his heart sink.
An Omega with a build like this would have been shocking anywhere in the world.
He was even taller than Ji Chi, an Alpha. Terrifying.
Destined to die alone.
He looked more like an Alpha than an actual Alpha. Who would like a muscle-bound Barbie of an Omega?
Ji Chi certainly didn't.
Even so, Ji Chi knew that he was desperate to smell the man's pheromones. This was a primal urge beyond his conscious control.
He wanted to be soothed. At the very least, getting closer to this man would help.
Without suppressants, an Alpha in his rut had to stay beside his own Omega.
An Omega's pheromones had a soothing effect, effectively calming an Alpha's volatile emotions.
Otherwise, he would lose control and go berserk.
Every nerve in his body was screaming.
Ji Chi clutched the man's clothes, convinced that this Omega had probably set him up. After all, far too many Omegas wanted to marry him, and this wasn't the first or second time someone had schemed against him. The thought irritated him, and he couldn't help saying in a low voice, "Give me... your pheromones."
Ji Chi's voice was faint. It took him several attempts to get a firm grip on the man's hand, and his words were only clear enough for the two of them to hear.
The man wore a loose black casual shirt. His expression was languid and unafraid, yet his pitch-black eyes held nothing but danger-distant, cold, and as imperceptible as a quiet breeze.
He didn't answer, and the dim sound-activated light went out.
Only the moonlight remained, leaving the man's face half-lit and half-shadowed. His deep-set features looked even sharper and more defined, carrying a cold gravity that only the passage of years could hone. His eyes were like hooks, poised to drag Ji Chi into eternal ruin.
The man didn't look fierce, but he was detached and unfeeling.
Even now, faced with a situation like this, he showed no trace of uncertainty.
The man lowered his eyes to the young man clutching him.
"I don't have pheromones." His answer was cold to the extreme, his languid voice like flowing water stirring ripples along a stream bank.
Ji Chi thought he was lying.
He'd marked me.
How could he possibly have no pheromones?
Ji Chi's brows knitted, and he was about to lash out, his fingers tightening their grip.
"If I did, you'd have smelled them already, standing here." That indifferent voice sounded again.
Ji Chi felt a little dazed. The man was right. He was so close to this Omega, and his own scent was so strong. How could he possibly fail to smell the man's pheromones?
An Alpha's pheromones frightened Omegas.
Normally, this Omega should already have yielded to his pheromones and reacted, or been frightened into tears.
Yet this man was far too calm.
There was only one possibility...
This Omega had a pheromone disorder?
No wonder he looked so unlike an Omega.
Ji Chi's eyelids trembled, and his bright eyes darkened. No pheromones on the surface...
Then...
He remembered that people with pheromone disorders...
Could have their pheromones obtained through kissing.
Blood, bodily fluids, saliva-all of them worked.
Ji Chi shook his head hard and drew a deep breath, his body on the verge of sliding to the floor.
Every ounce of strength he had went into breathing. His heart rate was several times above the danger threshold, his blood vessels felt ready to burst, and the sweat on his face was alarmingly hot. If he didn't get pheromones soon...
He would suffocate.
The instinct to survive could strip away many of a person's principles. All Ji Chi knew was that he needed to have sex with this Omega.
Ji Chi tightened his grip on the man's shirt and looked at the Omega pleadingly. "Do it with me."
"Why should I?" The man looked down at him, the emotions deep within his eyes unreadable.
The veins on Ji Chi's hands throbbed. "Why should you? Why do you think? We both got each other into this!"
As soon as he spoke, he realized that the man's build had once again made him forget he was an Omega. Adopting an Alpha's sense of responsibility, he added, "I can take responsibility."
Without waiting for the man's agreement, he touched the side of his neck. His skin felt cool, like rippling chills beneath the moonlight.
Ji Chi tipped his head up slightly and leaned toward the man, his breath burning hot.
He was going to pry his mouth open.
Ji Chi lunged at the man's thin lips in a fierce, clumsy kiss.
The instant they touched...
He smelled those faint pheromones.
They held the icy chill of glacial rivers and springs, like snow forming mountains and rivers.
It was like opening a door in the scorching summer to find snow-covered peaks before him. Wisps of cool fragrance seeped into his heart and bones, dissipating his heat and melding with his body temperature.
It felt so good.
At its deepest note was the scent of red sandalwood.
He liked that scent.
Before you continue