ACBAM 26: Release

Su Shijin was quite sure that the heat he was feeling now wasn’t a false alarm—it was real.

The urges in his body pushed him to go next door and find the source of the Alpha’s pheromones, while his glands clamored to be marked.

That feeling of being completely taken over by the instincts of an omega in heat made Su Shijin feel a bit sick, but he had no control over his pheromones at all. The cool, minty scent suddenly surged out, causing the approaching pheromones from next door to pause for a split second, as if startled.

The next second, a heavy, intoxicating scent of strong liquor surged in even more aggressively, as if desperate to completely merge with Su Shijin’s pheromones.

When the rich liquor and the cool mint entwined, the unexpected harmony between them was surprising.

Su Shijin felt that the other person’s pheromones were completely unlike the personality Gu Weiyang usually showed. This pheromone acted like it had never encountered an Omega before—rushing over impatiently, without a hint of restraint.

Su Shijin rubbed his temples, realizing he couldn’t just sit there and wait for things to get worse. He needed to get the suppressant from the jacket he’d left by the bed.

But his legs had gone weak. That feeling he had seen described online, being overwhelmed by an Alpha’s pheromones to the point of limp legs and a weak waist, he never used to believe it. It always sounded so exaggerated.

Now he believed it.

It wasn’t just his legs and waist going weak. His body’s reactions were so shameful and he couldn’t even bear to glance at himself.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t had these reactions in previous heat cycles. He had but there was always some kind of transition. Most of the time, Su Shijin would realize he was going into heat and manage to get a suppressant shot in time.

But today, because of the effect of that pheromone next door, he didn’t get even a moment of warning. Now his whole body felt awkward, and he was so ashamed that his fingertips, clutching at the hem of his shirt, had turned pale from how tightly he was gripping it.

Su Shijin felt that he had been too quick to trust Gu Weiyang.

Gu Weiyang had clearly stated in the agreement that his susceptibility period would absolutely not affect him, that he would use suppressants to handle it.

So what was this now?

Going back on his word on the very first day after getting their marriage certificate?

There’s no way the guest room next door wouldn’t have any suppressants, right?

…

At that thought, Su Shijin paused, a strange hesitation creeping in.

Maybe, probably.

It wasn’t entirely impossible…

After all, Gu Weiyang had always stayed in this room. A normal person wouldn’t think to keep suppressants in the guest room, would they?

Su Shijin felt like he had figured out the truth, and for a moment didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

If that really was the case, then no matter how awful he felt right now, he had to pull himself together. He needed to give himself a suppressant shot, then find a way to get one over to Gu Weiyang.

Su Shijin bit down on his lip, closed his eyes, and pressed hard on his injured ankle. The sharp pain made cold sweat break out instantly, but at least it jolted him awake. He wasn’t as feverish and desperate to relieve himself as he had been just moments ago.

After steadying himself against the pain in his ankle, Su Shijin braced against the wall and slowly pushed himself up from the floor, inching his way over to the bed.

He finally reached the clothes he had changed out of earlier, and the first thing Su Shijin did was find the suppressant he always carried with him. Without hesitation, he gave himself a shot.

The suppressant would take a bit to kick in, but the psychological effect alone made Su Shijin feel the heat in his body ease slightly the moment he injected it. A wave of relief washed over him as he reached for the suppressant ring he had left by the bed before his shower and put it on, finally blocking out the alpha’s pheromones completely.

After easing the pain in his ankle, Su Shijin took a spare suppressant, ready to bring it to Gu Weiyang next door.

The heavy scent of liquor lingering in the air seemed to grow even more agitated now that it had suddenly lost track of the omega’s pheromones. Sitting in his wheelchair, Su Shijin opened the door and was immediately hit by an even stronger wave of alpha pheromones than what he had felt in the room.

Fortunately, the suppressant had already taken effect. Now, aside from leaving its scent all over him, the alpha’s pheromones had no other impact.

Su Shijin wheeled himself to the guest room door and gave it a gentle knock. “Mr. Gu.”

The alpha’s pheromones in the air suddenly froze for a moment, then scattered in a frantic, disoriented rush.

Su Shijin waited quietly outside the door until he heard hurried footsteps from inside the room, followed by a loud thud as someone crashed into the door, startling him.

“Mr. Gu, are you alright?” Su Shijin asked, a little worried.

“Why did you come over?” After a long pause, Gu Weiyang’s low, hoarse voice came through the door. “Did I affect you? I’m sorry, I just messaged a friend. He’ll be here soon to take me away.”

Su Shijin hadn’t expected Gu Weiyang to be this clear-headed during his susceptibility period. It actually made him see the man in a new light.

“I brought you a suppressant. I’ll just leave it at the door, is that alright?” Su Shijin said. “You did affect me, but considering this might’ve come up unexpectedly on your end too, I won’t hold it against you—for now.”

A low chuckle came from behind the door. “Thanks for your understanding. I really didn’t expect…”

Before he could finish, heavy breathing cut in from inside the room. It sounded like he was already being pushed to his limit by the susceptibility period.

Gu Weiyang sat on the floor while leaning against the door, every breath he exhaled burning hot.

He lowered his head and looked at the liquid in his palm. He truly hadn’t expected his susceptibility period to push him this far.

He couldn’t go on like this. Just hearing Su Shijin’s voice was making it even harder to keep himself under control.

The suppressant shot he had taken earlier that evening had basically worn off. Gu Weiyang had already messaged Tan Zhao to come pick him up. Staying here any longer might affect Su Shijin, and he needed to leave.

Reaching out, Gu Weiyang grabbed a sharp shard from the broken vase nearby and sliced his arm. The pain snapped his mind back into focus, if only slightly.

He continued the sentence he hadn’t finished earlier, “Things are a bit unusual today. Dr. Su, please go back to your room and don’t come out.”

Even through the door, Su Shijin could sense how much he was holding back. Though he did feel a little sorry for Mr. Gu at that moment, Su Shijin still gave a quiet “mm” in response. After placing the suppressant by the door, he turned and left.

This had already been agreed upon in the contract they signed before getting their marriage certificate.

A contract marriage with no crossing the line.

During susceptibility periods, each party would handle their own suppressants. Su Shijin would not provide any help.

—

As the sound of the wheelchair faded from the doorway, Gu Weiyang covered his eyes with his arm, tilted his head back, and let out a bitter laugh. He couldn’t help but think he had brought this suffering on himself.

He had known full well that they had a near-perfect compatibility rate, yet he still allowed himself to keep Su Shijin by his side.

In the past, during susceptibility periods, even though Gu Weiyang had some resistance to suppressants, he had never lost control like this. At the very least, he had been able to keep his pheromones contained within the room, without letting them leak out.

At most, he just had to endure the heat from his glands, take care of it himself a few times, and get through the first couple of days then things would gradually improve.

Who would’ve thought today, of all days, would be the exception.

It was as if his subconscious knew Su Shijin was right next door. The suppressant, unusually, failed, and his pheromones burst out uncontrollably, almost driving Gu Weiyang to the brink of losing consciousness, leaving only raw instinct behind.

In that moment, he even had the urge to rush next door, pin that slender omega beneath him, and mark him as his omega.

It wasn’t until the pheromones from next door suddenly flared up. It was an icy, piercing scent of mint rushing in and mixing with his own agitated pheromones that Gu Weiyang finally managed to claw back a shred of reason.

With an omega pheromone this intense, Gu Weiyang guessed that Su Shijin had likely been triggered by his own scent and entered a heat cycle.

After all, a near-perfect compatibility rate wasn’t just for show. Even when an alpha wasn’t in a susceptibility period, if he wanted to, he could force an omega into heat.

Let alone now—his pheromones had clearly burst out uncontrollably just moments ago and affected the room next door.

The moment his mind cleared, Gu Weiyang immediately sent a message to Tan Zhao, telling him he was in the guest room, that his suppressant had failed during his susceptibility period, and to bring a few more people to tie him up and take him away.

Tan Zhao replied almost instantly: [On my way.]

Only after seeing that response did Gu Weiyang feel slightly more at ease.

But in truth, even now, there was still that crude alpha instinct churning inside him.

He couldn’t stop himself from thinking that maybe Su Shijin needed his help. After all, an omega’s heat was hard to endure.

His thoughts took a darker turn, imagining himself biting into the omega’s gland and forcefully flooding him with his own pheromones, the two scents mixing together until a temporary mark formed on the back of Su Shijin’s neck.

But then, the cool scent from next door suddenly vanished, and Gu Weiyang’s pheromones flared up again, growing restless once more.

He frantically searched for the fading scent of mint, but the other was far too stingy. It was so stingy that not even a trace was left behind.

The alpha thrashed and roared on the bed, instincts screaming at him to go mark the omega, while reason spat in disgust at his own vile thoughts.

Then came a knock at the door, and Su Shijin’s calm voice sounded faintly from outside. “Mr. Gu.”

Just those three words were enough to drag Gu Weiyang out of the despair of losing track of the other’s pheromones. He stumbled off the bed, knocking over a vase and injuring his calf in the process, before finally slamming into the door with a loud thud.

The alpha clung to the door like he had finally found salvation, pressing himself against it, and desperately trying to catch even the faintest trace of that pheromone but he still couldn’t smell a thing.

It was fine—even without pheromones, it was fine.

Just hearing his voice was enough. Just knowing he was outside the door was enough.

The alpha lifted his shirt, breathing heavily as he tried to relieve the ache brought on by the susceptibility period.

In the very next moment, after it was over, Gu Weiyang wanted to slap himself hard across the face. What difference was there between what he was doing now and a pervert?

So he picked up a sharp shard from the broken vase and used the pain to force his mind back into clarity.

After Su Shijin left, Gu Weiyang leaned against the door for a long time, steadying his breathing, before finally opening it and reaching for the suppressant left on the floor.

Blood dripped down his arm onto the ground, but the Alpha clearly couldn’t care less about the wound right now.

He only held tightly onto the suppressant that carried a faint hint of mint, resting his forearms on his knees, pressing it against his forehead like a prayer.

He had no idea how much time passed.

His glands were still throbbing, his body still burning with the heat of the susceptibility period, but his emotions gradually calming with the presence of that suppressant in his hand.

In the final minute before losing consciousness, he heard the sound of an ambulance downstairs, followed by hurried footsteps approaching the door.

“Gu Weiyang!”

The person outside seemed unable to open the door and simply kicked it in. As the door burst open, Gu Weiyang’s body collapsed to the floor with the force.

When he saw that it was Tan Zhao, with several people in white coats following behind him, Gu Weiyang finally relaxed completely.

Still clutching the suppressant tightly in his hand, he closed his eyes.