Seo-jun’s world smeared into a chaotic blur of black rain and red neon.
His knees buckled under the sudden, white-hot lance of pain that shot through his lower abdomen, but as he staggered, his fingers caught the fabric of the coat before him, tearing through the heavy, wet wool with desperate fingers.
He couldn’t see the man’s face above him in the alley’s gloom, not with the fevered heat melting away his senses, but he knew, somehow, by the sharp line of the man’s jaw and the golden eyes burning through the downpour.
It was the same scent that had clung to the crosswalk.
A sudden, violent shudder wracked Seo-jun’s frame as his instincts peeled back the last of his pride and exposed him, raw and vulnerable.
Drowning in the sudden awareness of his own wanton need, suffocating under the sheer force of his own first unchecked heat, Seo-jun had no choice but to let the man take him.
The icy rain couldn’t cool his veins, but this man’s scent, this man’s strength, the sheer force of his will, kept Seo-jun’s racing heart from bursting right then and there.
“You…..” Seo-jun’s throat constricted around the sound, his voice barely more than a wet whisper against the downpour.
“….it….it hurts…..Help me…..” A thick arm wrapped around Seo-jun’s waist like a steel band, hauling him close against a broad chest as Tae-hyuk turned his head toward the approaching tactical squad.
Every trace of restraint melted from Tae-hyuk’s expression as he regarded the group with a look of naked fury.
“What do you want with him?” His voice was quiet, but the sheer force of it sent a shiver down Seo-jun’s spine as he struggled against the man’s grip.
The rain hissed against the pavement as the squad leader pushed himself up, rainwater streaming down his mask as he leveled a high-caliber tactical sidearm at Tae-hyuk’s temple.
“Step aside, civilian,” the man growled, his voice distorted by his comm.
“This is corporate business.
Move!” Tae-hyuk’s dark eyes narrowed at the man’s words.
“I asked you a question.” A thick silence stretched over the alley as the squad leader’s jaw clenched, weighing the man’s words against the orders he had received from Cha Do-yoon.
“We’re taking the boy,” the leader growled at last, flicking off the safety on his sidearm.
“Clear the perimeter!” Tae-hyuk’s gaze snapped down to where Seo-jun clung to his side, his fevered breaths hitching against Tae-hyuk’s collarbone.
His heart pounded in his throat as every fiber of his being screamed in protest.
His instincts, those deep, ancient Alpha instincts, roared in his veins, demanding he protect the small, trembling figure in his arms.
He looked up at the six men bearing down on them.
Tae-hyuk’s lips curled into a sneer as he regarded the squad leader.
“No.” “Take him by force, then!” Three of the men moved forward at once, their boots sloshing through the oily water as they advanced.
They never made it two steps.
A sudden wall of Prime Alpha pheromones engulfed the alley, rolling off Tae-hyuk in thick waves that sent the rain hissing from the pavement.
The very air seemed to tighten around the men as a single, overwhelming presence bore down on them, freezing them in place.
The nearest operative let out a wet gasp as his knees buckled, his body instinctively falling to the ground in submission.
Another man dropped to his knees, clawing at his throat as his lungs burned in protest, his fingers twitching uselessly as he fought the invisible force crushing his windpipe.
Tae-hyuk didn’t move as he regarded the kneeling figures with an expression of cold fury.
“If you value your lives,” Tae-hyuk said quietly, his voice rolling over the alley like thunder, “…turn around and leave.” One of the men, his survival instincts overriding his fear, drew a thick baton from his belt as he lunged blindly at Tae-hyuk.
The older man caught the man’s wrist in his palm without glancing at him, his fingers tightening until a sickening crack echoed through the alley.
The baton clattered to the ground uselessly as the operative writhed on his knees, hissing in pain.
Tae-hyuk shoved him backward with a casual flick of his hand, sending the man sprawling into two of his fellow soldiers.
The remaining men stared at Tae-hyuk in wide-eyed horror as the realization of their mistake finally sank in.
“Fall back!” the squad leader hissed, shoving his men toward the alley’s mouth.
“Get back to the vehicle!” The operatives dragged their unconscious comrade into the street as they disappeared into the night, their boots sloshing through the rain.
The sound of dripping water was the only noise left in the alley as Seo-jun’s final reserves of strength failed him.
His knees buckled beneath him, but Tae-hyuk caught him before he could hit the pavement, gathering the smaller man into his arms with a careful ease.
Seo-jun’s fevered skin burned against Tae-hyuk’s chest as he clung to the older man’s coat.
“This isn’t the place,” Tae-hyuk murmured quietly, shifting Seo-jun’s weight to his shoulder.
“I’ll get you somewhere warm.” Sliding his free hand into the front of Seo-jun’s coat, Tae-hyuk pulled the younger man closer, using his shoulder to shield him from the rain as he tucked Seo-jun’s shivering frame against his chest.
Instinctively, Seo-jun’s fingers curled into the thick wool of Tae-hyuk’s coat, his head pressing against Tae-hyuk’s shoulder as he inhaled the man’s scent desperately.
“…..Don’t…..” Seo-jun’s lashes fluttered heavily against Tae-hyuk’s collarbone.
“…Don’t leave…
me…..” The quiet plea vibrated in Tae-hyuk’s chest as he tightened his grip around Seo-jun’s waist.
“I won’t.” At his words, the tension in Seo-jun’s small frame simply melted away until his head lolled heavily against Tae-hyuk’s shoulder.
His breathing hitched unevenly before slowing to a steady rhythm against Tae-hyuk’s chest.
Adjusting Seo-jun’s weight, Tae-hyuk paused at the mouth of the alley.
His golden eyes swept up to the rooftops, where he knew the lingering figures waited.
They would not leave him be, not now.
Whoever had sent them would return.
Holding Seo-jun close, cocooned in the warmth of Tae-hyuk’s body, Kang Tae-hyuk stepped out into the rain-slick street.