Beneath his charcoal designer suit, Kang Tae-hyuk was a veritable wasteland of angry, throbbing pain.
Every languid step he took across the polished marble floor sent sharp jabs of discomfort skittering down his back from the fresh claw marks gouged into his shoulder.
And the deep, angry bite on the meat of his collarbone was a brutal souvenir from a very particular Omega who’d battled him to the bitter end, marking him with possessive teeth and winning with eyes of burning sapphire.
Tae-hyuk had expected as much, really.
He’d expected a grueling and humiliating campaign to earn Han Seo-jun’s trust, to kneel before the proud boy and his fickle Omega heart, to waste years coaxing and chasing until he could finally claim the reluctant prize.
He would let Kwon Enterprise’s full resources bare their fangs at the stubborn boy, waste every icy stare and cutting word in the man’s arsenal to pry out a single, yes.
He would court the infuriating Omega properly, down to the very last bruised syllable.
What he did not expect was the ambush that awaited him in his own home.
The moment Tae-hyuk crossed the threshold of the double mahogany doors in the main hall of the Kwon Estate, he was unsurprised to find himself in the midst of a dragon’s den.
The vast chamber opened before him, all floor-to-ceiling glass and dark wood and an oppressive atmosphere that would have made even the most seasoned businessman reconsider his life choices.
Seated at the head of the long, dark conference table, his father Kwon Seung-ho radiated the heavy, smothering aura of an Eclipse Alpha, his dark eyes cool and assessing as they landed on Tae-hyuk’s frame.
To his right sat his eldest brother, Kwon Do-hyun, an insufferable Enigma whose calculating demeanor hid a mind several steps faster than anyone in the room.
Across from him, his wilder twins Jae-ha and Hyuk-jae rolled in a tangle of limbs over a single leather chair, their Alpha senses warring as furiously as their fists.
And at the far end of the table, his sister Chae-won lounged with an easy languor, swirling her glass of sparkling water with idle fingers as her sharp eyes searched the room for blood.
It took a long, lingering moment of Tae-hyuk silently withering under his family’s piercing stares before the familiar rustle of silk announced the arrival of his husband.
Han Min-jae swept into the room with all the elegance of a Pureblood Omega, his long, flowing sleeves catching the light as he strode effortlessly across the marble floor.
He barely seemed to notice – or perhaps, care – about the imposing presence his husband’s family made.
But the moment his calculating gaze landed on his son, the Pureblood’s expression softened immeasurably.
“Look at you, my boy,” Min-jae murmured, his voice a rich, velvety purr as he crossed the room.
He sent a fond smile Tae-hyuk’s way before coming to a stop directly in front of him, long fingers bunching the fabric of his son’s shirt in a possessive, affectionate gesture.
“Come, come,” he crooned.
“Let me have a good long look at my boy.” For one brief, shining moment, Tae-hyuk allowed himself to be soothed by the careful ministrations.
He exhaled a shuddering breath, resting his forehead against his father’s shoulder with a small, fond smile playing on his lips.
Then Min-jae stiffened, his grip on Tae-hyuk’s lapels tightening immeasurably.
The embrace was abruptly broken.
His husband’s nose twitched in a way that always signaled one particularly unpleasant conversation to follow.
As a Pureblood Omega, Min-jae’s keen senses were sharper and more sensitive than most – which meant he could smell the faint, tell-tale scent clinging to Tae-hyuk’s collar even after the younger Kwon had buried his face in his father’s chest.
Buried beneath the heavy musk of his Prime Alpha’s natural pheromones was an entirely different aroma, one that had no place whatsoever in the Kwon Estate.
Freshly blooming winter camellias, soaked in the rich earth and the electric tension of a stormy night.
Min-jae stepped back just enough to give his son a long, slow once-over.
His nostrils flared slightly as he took a shallow breath, his fingers flexing over the silk of Tae-hyuk’s jacket.
Then, the Pureblood’s lips parted in slow, delighted shock, his sharp eyes locking onto Tae-hyuk’s with newfound interest.
“Who,” murmured Min-jae, and there was something almost feverish in the way he spoke.
“Does this belong to?” Something in Tae-hyuk’s chest gave a very undignified lurch.
He could feel his face flaming, his vision swimming with white-hot heat.
His mouth opened and shut soundlessly, his throat constricting around a wealth of eloquent explanations he could offer.
But none of them came out, because it all sounded far too ridiculous when put out loud.
The ruthless business magnate whose words carved through steel and whose presence could make enemies turn to ash in the blink of an eye was rendered mute and stammering by the simple, childish sight of a flower.
It took a moment for the sheer ridiculousness of it to sink in.
Then another – and a third – for Tae-hyuk to recall his carefully constructed persona as one of the most powerful men in the country.
His stern jaw clenched as his fingers twitched at his sides, phantom images dancing before his eyes.
Within hours, forty separate luxury vans would be pulling up outside the small, damp apartment Han Seo-jun shared with his equally destitute twin.
By noon, the twins would be waltzing through the Omega’s neighborhood with nothing but a single, hand-crafted gift to “test his character” and a very bad idea.
And by dusk, Seo-jun himself would be straddling Tae-hyuk’s neck in the middle of the corporate labyrinth, choking him slowly and methodically to death for dragging him into the Kwon family web.
No, no, no, no, no.
Jun would kill my brothers and then me.
“Seungho, look, look at your son’s face!” Min-jae crowed happily, bouncing on his heels as he gestured wildly at Tae-hyuk’s flaming cheeks.
His fingers tightened around his son’s lapels in a very possessive manner.
“He’s blushing, darling!
Oh!
Ohohoho~ Does your little prince belong to someone else?” “T-It’s a private matter!” Tae-hyuk blurted, his voice coming out in an undignified squeak that sent his cheeks burning an even deeper shade of crimson.
“A private matter?!” His father echoed, nearly choking on his own laughter.
“He’s blushing like a little schoolgirl, Min-jae!” “I’m not blushing!” Tae-hyuk protested, swatting at his father’s hands.
“I’m just…
just not interested in dating anyone right now, okay?” “Ahhh~” Chae-won said, folding her hands together as she gave her older brother a very amused look.
“Translation: Brother tried to act all proper Alpha and got rejected.” “I did not get rejected!” Tae-hyuk snapped, his hands tightening around his wine glass.
His knuckles whitened as he stared furiously at the liquid in the glass.
Do-hyun was silent for a long moment, swirling his own delicate porcelain cup of tea with thoughtful amusement etched into his every line.
He watched as his eldest brother stiffened, as his Adam’s apple bobbed uncharacteristically, as the color drained from his face.
Then Do-hyun’s lips curved into a small, knowing smile.
He knew better than to pry, to ask what had his brother’s tongue so tied in knots and his cheeks so flushed with humiliation.
But the gleam in his eyes told Tae-hyuk that his brother had most certainly not “gotten rejected”.
“Speak, son,” said Min-jae softly, his eyes never leaving Tae-hyuk’s face.
“I’ll have your driver’s logs if you don’t.” “Please,” Tae-hyuk sighed, taking a hesitant step back.
He raised his hands in a placating gesture, sweat beading on his brow.
“Please, Father, I swear, I’ll tell you everything…
just not today.
Not right now.” Across the table, Do-hyun nearly choked on his tea.
Then, he set his cup down with a small smile playing on his lips, watching his brother with sharp, amused eyes.
He could see exactly what had happened, just as he knew exactly why this was happening.
Tae-hyuk had crossed the path of a very particular Omega – and then, he had crossed it again and again until he had been utterly and completely bested.
“Translation: Brother tried to act like a big, bad Alpha and got kicked in the nuts by his Omega,” Chae-won said with a wicked grin.
“I did not get kicked in the nuts!” Tae-hyuk snapped again, his mouth moving faster than his brain.
The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he’d made a horrible mistake.
The entire room grew very still, very quiet.
Silence stretched from one end of the room to the other before the twins let out a very undignified gasp.
“OH MY GOD HE GOT REJECTED!” Jae-ha cried, slamming his palms against the table so hard that the glasses all clattered at once.
“THE MONK GOT DUMPED BY A CAMELLIA!” Hyuk-jae shrieked, collapsing backwards onto his chair and bursting into unadulterated laughter.
Tae-hyuk groaned, pressing his palms to his eyes as his face grew even redder.
He needed to win over Han Seo-jun’s heart.
He needed to learn to properly court the stubborn Omega who’d bested him so soundly and whose very presence haunted his dreams.
He needed to learn the language of those searing sapphire eyes and know their secrets, for if he failed, he’d never live to see his own family again.