CHAPTER 63: GO WHERE?

When they faced each other at the doorway, it felt as if they had both fallen into a void, forgetting everything that could be said—frozen in place, as though they had silently agreed to look only at each other. Only after Le An’s trembling voice offered a greeting did the storm inside Taras’s mind disperse, if only slightly.

But that storm, once calmed, revived again like a cruel trick of the mind, because of a certain scent drifting out from the opened door and from Le An’s still damp body.

When Taras leaned closer toward Le An and brought his nose to the hollow of Le An’s neck, Le An flinched as if something boiling had touched his heart, and a couple of incoherent murmurs slipped from his lips like a reflex. "This-, why..."

As Taras’s breath created a tense atmosphere as if devouring all the oxygen around them, Le An hadn’t even realized he was holding his own breath.

When Taras inhaled Le An’s scent and pulled back, his brows furrowed involuntarily. Le An couldn’t understand what had gone wrong, couldn’t even ask. He would only understand once Taras spoke—and when Taras’s lips parted, for a moment, because of their closeness, Le An thought he wouldn’t even be able to hear, to understand him.

"I can smell your pheromones," Taras said, looking at Le An. With only a hand’s span between their noses, Le An hesitantly released the breath he had been holding and sniffed himself hastily for a moment.

"I... I don’t smell it," Le An said while sniffing himself. Taras looked into his eyes with an even more suffocating focus and murmured, "Very faint, but it can be sensed," while still catching that teasingly stinging trace of scent at the tip of his nose.

Le An brought his hand to his neck, frozen in confusion, unable to figure out what to say. Taras, as if unwilling to let him remain paralyzed under pressure for any longer, drew back slightly and added, "Why can’t you keep your pheromones under control?"

Until now, Treasure had always been a master at never releasing his scent outside except on his most helpless heat days, so his scent in the room was unexpected. Had he released it unconsciously? Or had something happened—someone or something—that forced him to release them? Yet there was no other pheromone in the room; Taras inhaled again, as he should, and on Treasure there was no trace of another alpha’s scent.

Taras’s gaze fell on the bare skin visible at the collar of Le An’s bathrobe, and for a moment, the thought struck him that perhaps Le An had even scrubbed himself raw to rid himself of other pheromones. The muscle in his jaw twitched faintly as he asked, "Did you go to one of those private room meetings?"

"No," Le An answered immediately. Since attending three days ago, he luckily hadn’t been called to another. The sole purpose of those meetings was to keep him under control, to teach him his place, and to have some fun with him, so attending from time to time was enough.

As Le An clasped his hands together in front of him, he slowly thought about the possible cause of his pheromones and murmured while averting his eyes, "I... since I haven’t practiced exposure to pheromones in a long time, I might not be able to keep them under control. D-do I... smell too much?"

Taras shook his head faintly. "It’s noticeable."

Le An looked into his eyes for a moment, and as his shoulders dropped slightly in relief, he nodded and murmured, "Noticeable..?"

Taras let out a sound of agreement as his gaze lingered on the nape of Le An’s neck where droplets of water still clung. What was Treasure’s pheromone practice like? To what extent had that bastard of a guard covered him with his own pheromones? The memory of Theo covering him in pheromones while he slept flared in Taras’s mind, and his own glands itched, wanting to release his own pheromones for a moment.

As Le An felt the aura above him grow heavier, he tried to lift his head again but hesitated. Then Taras’s voice followed. "I assume you stopped practicing after what happened."

This assumption seemed to carry some expectation within it.

"Yes."

"How many days have you been leaking your pheromones like this?"

"This must be the first time," Le An said hastily, lifting his head while his hands clutched the edges of his bathrobe. The very idea that someone else might have caught his scent sent shivers up his spine.

At that same moment, Taras’s breath brushed against his skin, his cheek, and Le An looked up in bewilderment, not understanding why Taras was standing so close to him tonight. Taras, indifferent to the turmoil he was causing, let out the thought clawing its way through his mind as he parted his lips. "Do you lose control of your pheromones every time someone approaches you?"

The words Le An had been about to voice died in his throat; his eyes darted helplessly between Taras’s eyes and lips as he swallowed and shook his head from side to side in denial.

Taras was satisfied with the answer, but it was only when he never let go of this trembling omega that he felt certain—certain that if he held him, no one else could approach him and no one else could catch his scent. Treasure was like a feast that bugs would always swarm upon; he could never be left alone.

At a deadly closeness, Taras cupped Le An’s cheek, slowly lifting his lowered head so he would look at him. As Le An exhaled another trembling breath, he swallowed at the sensation of the firm palm against his cheek.

When Taras finally met those eyes that could no longer escape him, he noticed the coldness of the face held in his palm. "Go and put some clothes on."

As Le An nodded, Taras shifted slightly away from the doorway, and Le An hurried past his massive body. At that very moment, something pitch-black, covering his bed, leapt into the air like a shadow, and the instant Le An became aware of its existence, his quick steps froze, and he jumped in place. "Ah..!"

Taras stopped the shadow that lunged at Le An with a wave of his hand. While the shadow still drifted slowly toward Le An as if it had its own will, Le An tore his eyes from the darkness surrounding him and turned to Taras in fear.

"Shh... it’s nothing." As Taras stepped between Le An and the shadow, the darkness, now satisfied by their closeness, stilled again and spread across the floor.

"I-I thought it was going to attack me," Le An murmured as he hid behind Taras’s body, watching the shadow. Taras turned his head slightly, glancing at him over his shoulder, and the faintest smile passed his lips. Attack? The shadow’s aim was less to attack than to thrill at sensing the true source of Le An’s scent. Still, he murmured, "Perhaps."

As Le An’s eyes lingered on the curve of Taras’s lips in profile, his pulse quickened, and at the thought that the shadow might attack him, he reflexively pressed closer and gripped Taras’s jacket with his fingers.

Hearing Le An’s wildly racing heart, Taras sighed and drove the shadow to the other side of the room. Turning to him, he gestured with his chin toward the wardrobe. "Go on."

Only after the shadow retreated did Le An calm down. "Th-thank you, yes."

He took a few pieces of clothing and underwear from the wardrobe and returned to the bathroom, catching Taras’s gaze on him a few times. His mind was now in turmoil, shaken by the fact that just weeks ago, this man had tried to take his life, and yet moments ago, he had hidden behind him in fear. It was foolishness. Perhaps even a foolishness Taras himself found laughable, wasn’t it?

Le An quickly changed his clothes and pressed his burning hands to his face. Before going out, he smelled himself again. Since he couldn’t feel at ease although he couldn’t smell his pheromones, he sprayed perfume on his neck and wrists to cover them. He went out.

Taras was sitting in the chair beside the plants, waiting for him.

When he walked toward Taras, he felt an unsettling gaze on himself. He sat next to Taras and slowly placed his hand between them. "I’m ready."

"What is this smell?"

"It’s... p-perfume." Le An was taken aback by the sudden question. "Since you got uncomfortable with my—"

"When did I... ha..." Taras sighed and rubbed his temples. "That only made it worse now."

Le An felt dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

"Do you know what this smell is similar to?" Taras asked.

That’s when Le An realized. It had been made specially similar to Theo’s alpha pheromones for emergency situations. Because it was the only scent Le An wouldn’t feel uncomfortable with. For another alpha, it would surely be unpleasant. But... how did Taras immediately know it was Theo’s pheromones?

"How do you even know how Theo’s pheromone smells like?"

"Are you even asking? Because he was pouring that disgusting scent over you when you were asleep."

Le An looked at his face, unable to understand his harsh tone. "That’s because I wasn’t feeling repulsed by his pheromones. You must’ve seen... all that during my... heat."

He felt Taras smelling him again, his brows furrowing even more. Le An backed away and sat a little farther from him. "I’m s-sorry... You’re right. I can guide you from afar like this then. Is this okay?"

Taras looked into his eyes, even angrier. His anger seemed to rise with everything Le An did somehow. Le An, confused, waved his hand in front of him to ask whether he would receive the guiding or not. Was the smell of the perfume that heavy?

Le An got up from the sofa and backed away more. "If it’s... too uncomfortable... If you don’t want to receive it from me then you should go-"

"Go where?" Taras asked, as if what he heard struck a nerve. Le An answered hesitantly.

"To your... home. For other guides. You need guiding righ—"

Taras got up abruptly, and at the same time, the large darkness gathered behind him. As if the shadow was preparing to swallow Le An, it grew larger with each of Taras’s steps. "H-hey." Le An stepped back, his heart trembling in fear. "What—"

Taras grabbed his arms and pushed him against the wall beside the plants. Le An, tremblimg, tried to free his arms, but Taras didn’t even falter. His eyes... were jet black now. "Hngh, it hurts—"

"How do you practice pheromone resilience?" Taras asked.

"I..." Le An murmured in panic. Taras’s hands were gripping him so tightly that his arms were nearly going numb. "Theo gradually exposes me to his pheromones until..."

"Until you can’t take it anymore."

"Yes." Le An nodded.

As Taras’s mind flooded with maddening images, when he pressed his body against Le An’s, Le An’s eyes widened, and a helpless moan escaped his lips along with Taras’s name. "Ungh, T-Taras!"

Hearing his own name from those lips for the first time, Taras’s rage subsided for a moment, his grip loosened slightly, though he still didn’t let him move.

With Taras’s body weight pressing him against the wall, Le An squirmed quietly in his grasp. "P-please..." He looked into the deep darkness of Taras’s eyes.

So, if he pushed Treasure far enough, he could hear his name from his lips. If he pressed even more... Taras didn’t want to withdraw from this body yet. Go home? To other guides?

Taras tightened his grip on Le An again, his body rejecting the idea with certainty, and trapped him in his arms. Le An, caught between the wall and him, now clung helplessly to Taras’s arms.

"I’ll release my pheromones," Taras said quietly. "I’ll receive a peaceful guiding and you’ll receive your practice."

"W-what?"

Taras grabbed Le An’s arm and began walking, bringing him before the pheromone room. Memorizing the code, he entered as if it were his own room, pulling Le An inside.

The door closed, and now before the bed, Taras released Le An’s arm. Looking into his eyes, he couldn’t even make sense of the impatience stirring within himself.

"Come on," Taras murmured, almost unconsciously as he inhaled Le An’s scent again and drew close. "Begin."