Bai Yue never thought she would be afraid of anything.
In the business world, she had faced ruthless competitors who ate people alive without spitting out the bones; in the dating scene, she had encountered cunning hunters playing hard to get; within her family, she had dealt with smiling relatives hiding knives behind their backs. She had seen too many life-or-death situations.
Yet at this moment, she tasted fear for the very first time.
It was not the fear of death.
It was the fear of this person.
Bai Yue’s body temperature skyrocketed to thirty-nine degrees, and her pheromones spilled out uncontrollably, the scent of dark ebony so dense it was suffocating. Her body trembled, and every inch of skin screamed with desire. She craved touch, craved embraces, and craved an Omega’s pheromones to pacify this storm.
And that person simply sat by the bedside, watching with cold indifference.
“Feeling terrible?” she asked, her voice soft.
Bai Yue gritted her teeth and said nothing.
Sweat trickled down her temple, soaking the pillow. Her wrists were still bound, the rope biting into her skin and leaving red marks.
The Omega reached out, her fingertips brushing lightly across Bai Yue’s cheek.
It was warm.
Instinctively, Bai Yue turned her head sideways, trying to chase that trace of warmth.
But that hand pulled back.
“Want to touch?”
Amusement filled the Omega’s eyes, yet there was no warmth in it, only the look of someone watching prey struggle.
“You…” Bai Yue spoke, her voice so hoarse it did not sound like her own. “What on earth do you want?”
“Those who deceive me must accept punishment.”
Bai Yue closed her eyes.
Punishment.
Just because she did not take that dose of suppressant.
Just because she had tricked her.
She had never seen an Omega with such a strong desire for revenge. Strong enough to tie her to the bed, inject her with forced-rut inducement serum, and then do nothing at all.
Just sit there and watch. Watch her struggle, watch her suffer, watch her be tortured to the brink of death by her own instincts.
“You can beg me,” the Omega’s voice sounded again. “Beg me, and I might help you.”
Bai Yue opened her eyes.
She looked at her.
And smiled.
On her pale face at that moment, the smile appeared somewhat eerie.
The Omega pressed one hand against Bai Yue’s waist, leaned in close to her ear, and said, “Feeling so tough?”
Bai Yue took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Time ticked by second by second.
Bai Yue’s body temperature climbed even higher. She began to tremble uncontrollably, her pheromones crashing wildly around the room like a trapped beast.
In a daze, she felt a hand rest upon her forehead.
It was cool.
It felt wonderful.
“Want me this badly?” The Omega’s voice was exceptionally clear in the darkness as she chuckled. “You know what? You look quite cute like this.”
Bai Yue ignored her. It was not out of toughness, but because she no longer had the strength to bicker with her.
The Omega’s hand did not pull away; it continued to wander haphazardly across her body like scratching an itch through a boot, offering no substantial comfort whatsoever.
Bai Yue’s breathing grew even more chaotic.
“Bai Yue, let us play a game!” The Omega seemed to have thought of a new mischievous trick, her voice turning excited.
Bai Yue suddenly realized that the other person was enjoying this process. She was enjoying watching her lose control, watching her struggle, and watching her break down bit by bit.
“Let’s hear it.” She had no other choice.
The Omega’s fingertips traced across her collarbone, lingering at that hollow depression.
“Choice number one,” she said. “I leave. Then I call your wife to come help you; she is right next door.”
Bai Yue looked at her. “And then?”
“And then?” The Omega smiled and continued. “Your wife will naturally save you. You can continue being your good Alpha, playing the role of a loving couple with her. As for tonight, pretend it never happened.”
The corners of Bai Yue’s mouth curved upward.
“And number two?”
The Omega’s fingers slid upward from her collarbone, past her jaw, across her cheek, and finally paused on her lips.
“Choice number two,” she said, her voice dropping lower. “I untie you, and you do it with me.”
Bai Yue raised an eyebrow. “Sounds decent.”
“But there is a condition.”
“What is it?”
The Omega leaned down, close enough for Bai Yue to clearly see the contour of those eyes. They were amber, currently so profound and deep that the bottom was invisible.
“After tonight,” she said word for word, “we will never see each other again.”
Bai Yue’s hard-maintained consciousness instantly snapped awake.
“What do you mean?”
“It means this is the last time.”
Bai Yue stared into those eyes, finding no trace of a joke within them.
“Must it be like this?”
The Omega tilted her head. “So? Which one do you pick?”
Bai Yue did not answer. She looked into those eyes as many scenes flashed through her mind. The darkness on their honeymoon night, that retreating figure, that text message, that farewell.
“I choose two.”
The Omega pressed her entire weight downward. “Made up your mind?”
Bai Yue smiled. “If I get to sleep with you tonight, we can deal with tomorrow’s matters tomorrow.” Her face carried that unwavering certainty of someone who never regretted a thing. “Besides, how do you know I will not be able to find you?”
“Then give it a try.”
The Omega reached out, her fingertips hooking onto the rope tied around Bai Yue’s wrist, and gave it a gentle pull.
The knot came undone.
Bai Yue’s wrists were free.
In that very instant, without any warning or foreplay, the Alpha surged forward like a beast released from its cage, pinning her down into the mattress.
The Omega let out a muffled gasp, her brow furrowing. A knee wedged between her thighs, one hand pinned both of Bai Yue’s wrists above her head, and the other clamped down on her waist.
Her breathing was heavy.
Her gaze burned hot.
She looked like a starving wolf that had finally spotted its prey.
The Omega lay flat on her back, pinned and unable to move. She looked up at the pair of eyes above her, which were so deep they seemed capable of sucking a person in.
“You…” she began, her voice somewhat unstable. “Go easy.”
Bai Yue lowered her gaze to look at her. That look swept down from her face to her collarbone and her parted neckline.
“Go easy?” she chuckled. “You tied me up all night and injected me with an induction serum, and now you want me to go easy?”
“So what?” The Omega stared back at her.
“So,” Bai Yue leaned down until her lips nearly brushed the other’s earlobe, “bear with it.”
The Omega turned her head away, trying to dodge. But Bai Yue’s hand was faster, catching her jaw and forcing her face back around.
“Don’t hide,” she said in a low voice. “You gave me a choice, and I made it. Now, you belong to me.”
Something churned deep within the Omega’s eyes.
It was not fear; it was excitement.
Bai Yue saw it too.
Yet before she acted, she remembered something.
“Your rules.”
The Omega paused for a moment. “What?”
“You have a whole bunch of rules,” Bai Yue reminded her, enduring her own discomfort. “No asking about the past, no marking, and what else? I cannot remember them all.”
The Omega looked at her, her eyes filled with complete surprise.
She had thought Bai Yue forgot. She thought the other would take advantage of tonight, of this final time, to break her rules, forcibly marking her so she could track her down through the bond.
After all, this was their final meeting. Once dawn broke, she would vanish. If Bai Yue wanted to keep her, this was her only chance.
Yet Bai Yue had not forgotten.
She asked anyway.
The Omega gazed into those eyes. Profound, burning hot, currently fixed upon her while awaiting an answer.
Suddenly, she smiled.
It was not a cold threat, nor a dangerous provocation, nor the annoyance of being seen through, but something much softer.
“Same as before,” she said.
“Good,” Bai Yue replied. “I’ll play by your rules.”
She lowered her head and captured her lips in a kiss, her movements mirroring those of a more primitive, instinctual beast.
Yet that beast remembered the rules.
The Omega closed her eyes in response, raising her arms to wrap them around her neck.