Don't call him that

"My Omega," Pei Ji said coldly. "Isn't he?"

Pei Li gave an equally cold laugh. "You might think so. He might not."

There were people in this world who could exert an overwhelming pressure just by sitting there.

Pei Ji and Pei Li were that kind of person.

The same stern features, the same ruthless air.

Their equally forceful pheromones collided in the air.

The atmosphere abruptly grew stifling.

As though pronouncing a verdict, Pei Li spoke slowly.

"Shen Que, former supreme commander of the First Fleet."

"Graduated from the Imperial Military Academy at seventeen and took command of the First Fleet's A-2 mecha squad. Promoted to deputy supreme commander at eighteen, then supreme commander at twenty-one."

"During that time, he commanded seven large-scale starship battles, fifteen medium-scale battles, and thirty-seven small-scale battles."

"Never suffered a defeat."

"Personally granted the title Messiah's Blade by the Empress."

"In Star Year 2155, he participated in the Eden Zerg Extermination Campaign as supreme commander of the Empire's seven fleets. A complete victory."

"And became the undisputed First Commander of the Empire."

He paused deliberately, slowing his speech even further.

"A genius like that."

"Yet he lost a minor encounter with space pirates, was gravely wounded, and could never return to the battlefield?"

Pei Li scoffed.

"Does Carolina take us for fools?"

Pei Ji listened without a word, then said coldly, "What are you trying to say?"

Pei Li crushed the cigarette butt in his hand. "What do you think I'm trying to say?"

Injury, resignation, marriage.

How much of it was true, and how much was false?

The announcement of Shen Que's defeat back then had stated it plainly:

[Errors in judgment by the supreme commander resulted in the First Fleet's defeat in an encounter with space pirates, with severe losses.]

Space pirates were a disorganized but exceptionally cunning bunch. Even battle-hardened generals could fall prey to them.

But this was Shen Que.

That Shen Que.

Anything Pei Li could think of, Pei Ji could think of too.

Under the older Alpha's watering, the doubts buried deep in his heart suddenly broke through the soil.

Every night he had kept watch over Shen Que as he slept, Pei Ji had asked himself.

How exactly had he been injured?

Why had the Empress married him off to me?

Was it really just because we were compatible?

Was there no other reason?

What did this marriage... mean to him?

But Pei Ji disliked railing against fate, and he disliked tormenting himself even more.

Shen Que had come to him, so he would love him well.

As for the issues behind it all.

He had his own ways of resolving them.

Slowly letting out a heavy breath, Pei Ji said, "I don't care how many unanswered questions there are about his injury. The fact is, he's hurt."

"I'll make sure he recovers properly..."

A mocking smile curved Pei Li's lips. "Make sure? How are you going to do that? He belongs to the Empress!"

"Don't you know how badly Carolina wants to bring control of sand gold back into the Imperial Court's hands?!"

Pheromones like charred wood suddenly erupted, scorching the earth like a blazing sun as they clashed fiercely with Pei Ji's scent of dust and sand.

For an instant, the dim room seemed to become a boundless desert.

The heavy voice of White Sand Star's lord reverberated around them.

"He's the key Carolina will use to unlock White Sand Star! My boy."

"Don't forget.

"Besides Messiah's Blade, he has another name."

"-The Empress's lapdog."

The grains of sand burned.

The corners of Pei Ji's mouth turned down, and he enunciated every word.

"Don't call him that."

He neither flew into a rage nor raised his voice in protest.

But the scorching sand made it clear that the young Alpha had not yielded to his elder in the slightest.

Two fierce emotions twisted and intertwined in Pei Ji's heart, and he forcibly suppressed them.

Pei Li smiled faintly. Fine wrinkles spread at the corners of his eyes, making him look unexpectedly kind.

"I'm only reminding you not to foolishly offer up your heart, only to have it trampled to pieces and lose yourself in the process."

"It isn't worth it."

"Pei Ji."

"It isn't worth it."

In the hours before dawn, the dew was cool.

Pei Ji strode through the gardens, large and small, of Moon Palace.

Plump leaves brushed his forearm, dampening the coat draped over it.

The scenery slipping past on either side was steeped in intoxicating moonlight, like dreamlike bubbles, accompanying the countless images flashing through Pei Ji's mind.

At last, the images settled on a night three days earlier.

Beneath a sky full of stars, the beautiful dancer exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"You want me to investigate Shen Que?"

"Mm."

Pei Ji leaned against the railing of Fallen Star Palace's high tower, the red glow between his fingers flickering.

After considering his request, Safiya asked another question. "Which aspects?"

"Every aspect." Pei Ji paused. "I want to know why he lost."

"You suspect him?" Safiya frowned.

"No."

Pei Ji tipped his head back and looked toward Morning Star in the sky.

"I'm worried about him."

After crossing the last Night Lotus pond, Pei Ji suddenly noticed someone standing beneath the eaves of Zhiyue Garden's covered walkway.

At the same time, that person saw him.

Their eyes met across the rippling water.

For some reason, at that instant, Shen Que's tense body seemed to relax.

After a brief moment of surprise, Pei Ji quickened his pace.

"What are you doing standing here? And wearing so little?" His voice carried a note of displeasure.

When he felt the chill coming off Shen Que, that displeasure reached its peak.

Without waiting for a response, he draped the coat in his hands over the Omega.

Shen Que was still wearing the beautiful formal outfit from earlier that day. His bare shoulders had lost all their warmth, and his lips, which had only just regained a little color, had turned pale from the cold.

Pei Ji was angry enough to curse, but couldn't bear to scold him. All he could do was complain. "Didn't I tell you to get some proper rest?"

Shen Que's face remained expressionless, and he didn't resist when Pei Ji drew him into his arms and led him inside.

The Alpha reeked of alcohol, but even that couldn't conceal the scent of dry sand.

An Alpha who'd stayed out all night and came back smelling of alcohol...

Lady Ai Fan's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

[Did you make him apologize to you?]

[Or do you simply not mind, and not care at all?]

Did he care?

He probably didn't.

But when Pei Ji didn't come back, he couldn't sleep.

He liked his pheromones.

Shen Que quietly explained:

"I slept too long during the day, so I couldn't quite fall asleep tonight."

"Then you still have to stay in bed!"

Pei Ji settled him on the bed, wrapped him in a blanket, then poured a cup of hot tea and pressed it into Shen Que's hands.

In the process, he brushed against the wounds on his forearm and hissed. He glanced down and was about to give them a quick wipe with a tissue when a slender hand suddenly supported his arm.

"You're hurt?" Shen Que frowned slightly, carefully examining the small wounds that looked like cat scratches.

"Oh... it's nothing." Pei Ji spoke offhandedly.

Cool fingertips rested against his skin. Pei Ji kept his elbow raised, watching the Omega's serious expression.

"I drank too much and mistook a cactus for a bed."

Shen Que glanced at him. "How impressive."

As he spoke, he set down the hot tea and took a tube of healing ointment from the pile of medications by his bed.

"Hold out your arm," the commander ordered.

Pei Ji obediently held out his arm and watched as Shen Que applied the cool ointment to his forearm by lamplight.

The warm light softened one side of Shen Que's face. His long lashes cast shadows over skin so pale it seemed translucent, like the wings of a butterfly at rest.

In that moment, the lofty commander became extraordinarily tender.

For no apparent reason, Pei Ji suddenly murmured, "Worth it."

Shen Que looked up. "What?"

Something warm touched the corner of his mouth without warning, and Shen Que's eyes widened slightly.

His sneak attack successful, Pei Ji chuckled softly and leaned close to Shen Que's ear. "I said... you're so beautiful."