Chapitre 18: Good Boy

His room was still the same as when He Juan left it this morning with his unpacked boxes strewn all over the floor. However, if he looked closely, he would be able to see the signs that someone had gone through his things. At least, they knew that He Juan was an Alpha and mindful not to leave their scents.

It would have bothered He Juan a bit if his attention had not been wholly focused on the sticky omega in his arms. He Juan carelessly toed off his shoes and when it came to the omega's turn, he was not able to do anything because Mu Yuze still had a tight grip on his shirt and vehemently refused to let go.

A helpless sigh escaped He Juan's lips for the nth time in the last few minutes. Gently hooking Mu Yuze's chin up, he made sure that the omega was looking at him before he said softly, "I am going to take off your shoes. You can hold onto my shoulders, Xiao Ze. Can you do it for me?"

"Taking off my shoes…"

"Hmm-mm," he chuckled. Unable to help himself, he reached out his paw to pinch Mu Yuze's cheek. As he expected, it was as soft as mochi! Goodness, how adorable! He Juan's eyes crinkled into crescents as he promised, "Don't worry. I won't let you go."

His words seemed to appease the omega because Mu Yuze loosened his grip with a grumble, allowing He Juan to drop to his knees and hold the omega's leg in his hand. Mu Yuze's ankle was so slim that the tip of his thumb and middle finger met where it circled around it— No! Get yourself together, He Juan! Mu Yuze was not quite lucid now so it was up to him to take care of both of them! He shoved the rattling desire far to the back of his mind and lifted his head with a smile. "See? I am not letting go of you, am I?"

"Mn," Mu Yuze pursed his lips and leaned against the wall, both of his hands placed on He Juan's broad shoulders.

Finally, He Juan could put all of his focus on untying the laces of Mu Yuze's boots before sliding it off him one by one. He left the socks alone, despite how much he wanted to see Mu Yuze's adorable little toes, and stood up again. Almost in an instant, Mu Yuze's arms tightened around his shoulders, fists bunching on his shirt.

"Alright, you are done." He Juan knew better than to deny him unless he wanted to earn Mu Yuze's ire. He stroked the back of Mu Yuze's head and did not forget to praise him. "Good boy. Thank you so much for being patient."

Mu Yuze offered him a slow blink, dazed. His sweet scent spiked a little; pleased and so… so proud of himself. "'m good boy…" he murmured under his breath.

Holy dear God in Heaven…! He Juan screwed his eyes shut and groaned internally. How could this omega be so adorable?!

Fortunately, the fresh air streaming in from the half opened window offered him a short respite from being intoxicated from Mu Yuze's pheromones otherwise… behind the closed door, drunk on each other's pheromones with none being the wiser, oh goodness, He Juan got shivers just by thinking about that! Who knew what kind of thing would happen after today?! The best he could do was to let Mu Yuze walk out of his door wearing his scent as a perfume and the worst, he might… he might bite him right here and now!

He Juan shook his head, willing himself not to think about it any longer. Even though he had sobered up, it did not mean that Mu Yuze had. He Juan recalled Mu Yuze's words back in the elevator and was convinced now that he was not the only one who was affected by the other's pheromones. Mu Yuze had it equally — no, it was even harder for him. Somehow, the notion made him feel so warm and delighted, he could not hide his grin.

With an arm around the omega's waist, he guided Mu Yuze toward the couch and pressed him to sit down. When he made another little noise of protest on his throat, He Juan chuckled and crouched down so Mu Yuze did not have to strain his neck to look at him. "Xiao Ze," he said softly. "I am going to bring you a glass of water. Do you want that? Are you thirsty?"

It took Mu Yuze a while to digest the words but after a few seconds, he gave a little nod.

He Juan could see that he was slowly coming back to himself, so he merely ruffled Mu Yuze's hair and gave him some space to breathe. Both of them needed that. "Good boy. I will return soon."

He Juan maintained his casual gait up until he got to the kitchen, Mu Yuze's stare was insistent on his back, almost burning in their intensity. As soon as he was sure that Mu Yuze could not see him any longer, He Juan rushed to the sink, opened the tap and pushed his head under the flowing water. The icy cold water clashed with the burning heat on his scalp, sending shivers down his spine and sobering him up even more.

He closed the tap and propped his arms on the sink, chest heaving.

This was not normal. This strong attraction they felt toward each other, the inability to pull themselves out of the other's pheromones… nothing was normal about this, He Juan was certain of it. He had caught a whiff of other omegas' pheromones countless times before and never once had he ever reacted so strongly like he did with Mu Yuze! It was like… Mu Yuze's pheromones were specifically created to strip him down to his base instinct and turn him into an animal!

He Juan fumbled around his pocket for his phone. Jia Molei… he had to seek Jia Molei's advice. That's right, he was a doctor. He was also the one who knew He Juan's physical condition best. Surely, he must have an answer to that. He Juan's fingers hovered above the green button but a second before he could call his best friend, he suddenly recalled that Jia Molei should be still in the operation room, otherwise He Juan's phone would be filled with notifications by now.

Left with no choice, He Juan could only put down his phone for now. Disturbed by the water droplets cascading down his head, he grabbed a few tissue paper to dry his face, albeit his hair was a lost cause now.

Sometime during his internal turmoil, he heard the bathroom door slamming shut, followed by the sound of water running. He let out a helpless sigh. Mu Yuze must have sobered up by now. How would he react, He Juan wondered? Just an hour ago, their relationship was still purely that between a police officer and a murder suspect, yet in a blink of an eye…

Well, there was no use thinking about that. Now that He Juan knew that Mu Yuze was also feeling the same, he would not allow the omega to pretend that everything did not happen.

He Juan prepared a glass of water, juice and tea in case Mu Yuze changed his mind and brought it to the living room. The water in the bathroom had not stopped running. He Juan's gaze drifted to the closed door. Should he knock or… No, he should not. What he had to do was to give Mu Yuze some space to think. He Juan nodded to himself, even though he was starting to be nervous now. His palms got clammy when he thought of what Mu Yuze was going to say after this.

There was no way He Juan could stay still and stew in anxiety of the wait, so he busied himself by preparing the things he was going to need and packed it in a small luggage. He had to bring enough for a few days. He Juan almost ransacked his room upside down as he gathered his basic necessities. Clean clothes, underwear, toothbrush, medicine, teaching material, car key… He Juan stood in the middle of a messy bedroom and rubbed his chin. What else did he need?

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he did not realize Mu Yuze coming close and hovering in front of the half opened door. As such, he was startled when the omega cleared his throat. With his heart in his throat, he swiveled to face Mu Yuze, a radiant smile forming on his face even without realizing.

"Xiao Ze…" the name sounded too fond and affectionate coming from him but He Juan couldn't care less. He asked in genuine worry, "Are you okay now?"

A/N: New book event winner!

Congratulations to Rune_612, tangerine_boy, Shirimasen, VitaminCdotC, ThatAnimeeLoverr, Firefly9116, Hanane_El_H, E_xcell, and JustOldLaundry! Except for Rune, Vitamin and Firefly (because I already know how to contact them ^^) please comment your discord id so I will be able to send you the codes! If you don't have discord, you may reach out to me through instagram delanasiwarka

Also, I'm sorry for those who doesn't win QAQ your reviews are either blocked due to some forbidden words, or you have submitted the review past the event period. I am very sorry that I can't include you too. But don't worry, delana will randomly drop redeem codes in this book once in a while. If you're fast *cough* then you will be able to get it