STIDM 2

An omega on the verge of heat, pheromones leaking from every pore, while an alpha waits outside the door.

There are two options.
One: If it’s the person you love, drag him inside for an earth-shattering fuck.
Two: Lock every door, grab a baton, and make sure no one gets in.

For Yan Lu, both options sounded equally stupid.

He impatiently pressed the voice button and cleared his throat, the sound a little hoarse. “What do you want?”

“Uncle Yan told me to come.”

“Well, now you’ve come. You can leave.”

“Uncle Yan said if you won’t let me in, he’s cutting off your allowance.”

“Fuck!” Could his old man stop using the same damn trick?

Yan Lu angrily slammed the screen off, grabbed a bottle of beta perfume from the shoe cabinet and emptied half of it on himself.

The moment Zhong Zong stepped inside, the overwhelming scent hit him hard enough to make him sneeze.

He was holding a bag, which he shoved into Yan Lu’s arms, then casually ruffled his hair.

Yan Lu seriously hated Zhong Zong. One big reason was that his dad liked him way too much.

Zhong Zong had the kind of face that made women swoon. Good-looking to the point where Yan Lu always wanted to mock him.

And the guy was nearly one ninety tall. Yan Lu wasn’t short, but still ended up a full head lower. It pissed him off.

He tossed the bag aside without even looking inside and stood in front of the uninvited guest, arms crossed, one brow raised. “I got the stuff. You can leave now.”

Zhong Zong was taking off his shoes, looking up as he replied. His voice was calm, even lazy. “Move.”

Yan Lu’s back tensed. After being steamrolled so many times, his body reacted before his brain could argue.

Reluctantly, he stepped aside.

Zhong Zong smiled. His pale eyes looked like calm water, just enough rippling at the edge to draw you in.

Then he reached out and touched Yan Lu’s bare stomach. “Hot enough to walk around naked?”

Yan Lu slapped his hand away. He had long gotten used to Zhong Zong’s habit of being handsy.

But Zhong Zong wasn’t like Shi Ying. Shi Ying was a friend. Zhong Zong was the enemy. The kind who grew up with you, side by side.

Zhong Zong didn’t know he was an omega. If he ever found out, Yan Lu could already picture that smug face, the surprise flashing across his expression, followed by a long, playful mess of mockery.

That guy was rotten to the core.

Yan Lu hugged the plastic bag filled with supplements while Zhong Zong sprawled across his sofa like he owned the place. His legs were up on the coffee table, casually fanning his cheek with a magazine.

“What’s up with this place? It’s hot, stuffy, and reeks of beta spray.”

“Exactly. No one asked you to come over.”

Yan Lu started taking out the items and stuffing them into the fridge one by one.

The moment the fridge door closed, a hand landed against it from behind, long limbs boxing him in with no room to move.

That faint alpha scent brushed right under his nose, subtle and teasing.

A vein in Yan Lu’s temple twitched.
“Get the fuck off me.”

Zhong Zong’s eyes dropped slightly, staring at the mark tattooed on the back of Yan Lu’s neck. His warm breath brushed over it as he spoke, his words stirring the skin with every shift.

Like he was drawn in, Zhong Zong reached out and pressed his long fingers against the spot.

If Yan Lu were an omega, this would be where the mark went. But instead, what covered it was a tattoo of thorns and blade. Too sharp. Too aggressive for any omega. Besides, this childhood friend of his wasn’t an omega.

Something flickered across Zhong Zong’s face. He leaned closer, his nose brushing against the tattoo on Yan Lu’s neck.

Yan Lu’s fists clenched tightly.

“Why does it smell like an omega in heat in here?”

“Did you just crawl out of some woman’s bed and forget how your brain works? What’s with the dog nose sniffing around?”

Yan Lu threw the insult, then followed up with a hook. Zhong Zong stepped back and caught his fist mid-air, gripping it tightly before slamming him straight back against the fridge with brute force.

Yan Lu was beyond pissed. But from childhood until now, he had never managed to beat this pretty-faced monster. There was no way today would be different.

If it weren’t for how terrifying Zhong Zong’s strength was, Yan Lu’s temper alone would have kept anyone he disliked ten kilometers away.

So damn annoying. He rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth as he tried to dodge that dog head shoving closer to his neck, sniffing like crazy.

Part of him gave up. Let him sniff. Alphas had heightened senses anyway. He had already emptied half a bottle of beta perfume on himself. If Zhong Zong kept going, he’d only be torturing himself.

“Sure enough, Zhong Zong soured and eventually pulled away from his neck. Then he turned and headed upstairs.

Yan Lu’s heart skipped. He cursed out loud, trying to provoke Zhong Zong. He would rather start a fight than have him walk into the bathroom and see that empty bottle.

That suppressant capsule bottle would give everything away. Zhong Zong would know exactly what was going on.

Yan Lu knew him too well. As expected, after being hit with one of his favorite lines, Zhong Zong stopped.

He turned his head slowly. His eyes were cold.

He reached out, grabbed Yan Lu by the jaw, and shoved him against the wall with force.

His head slammed against the floor, and everything turned fuzzy. Yan Lu pried his eyes open. The fury in Zhong Zong’s eyes made his heart skip a beat.

The tension was sharp enough to snap, but Zhong Zong’s eyes landed somewhere and his expression began to soften.

His grip loosened. He leaned in close, his breath warm against Yan Lu’s skin.

“Don’t push me. I’ve got plenty of ways to deal with you. Want to relive how it felt the other day?”

Yan Lu snapped out of it fast. Of course. Zhong Zong had planned it from the start.

He clenched his jaw. “You did it on purpose. You brought those women and blocked my way.”

Zhong Zong chuckled. He rubbed his thumb along Yan Lu’s lower lip, voice laced with pleasure. “How could you say I blocked you? I simply didn’t step in to help. And when you got beaten up, Yan Yan, I really did feel bad for you.”

“Heartache? Wow, I’m fucking honored. Didn’t know you still had a heart. Thought it rotted black ages ago.”

“Mhm, I’d happily breathe in your secondhand smoke anytime, Yan Yan. But…”

Zhong Zong suddenly stepped back and took off running up the stairs.

Yan Lu stood there, dumbfounded, watching him vanish in an instant. A moment later, Zhong Zong’s voice floated down from upstairs, light and mocking.

“Too much smoking makes you impotent, you know.”

Yan Lu froze for a few seconds before exploding. “Fuck!”

How could he be this stupid? He knew damn well the more he tried to stop Zhong Zong, the more that guy would do exactly what he wasn’t supposed to.

With no other option, Yan Lu bolted after him, only to find his bedroom door wide open. Zhong Zong was sitting on his bed, holding one of his shirts.

Yan Lu stopped dead in his tracks. His whole body stiffened, and a flicker of retreat crossed his mind.

Zhong Zong stood up, still holding the shirt, a half-smile on his face. “So I was right. You hooked up with that omega? Let him wear your clothes too?”

By the time he finished speaking, his voice had turned sharp and cold.

Yan Lu forced out a crooked smile.
Well… how to put it? A misunderstanding like this was better than him finding out that he was the omega.

But when he saw the shadow in Zhong Zong’s expression, a cold sweat broke out down his spine.

Something felt… off.