The middle of the big room felt very large and empty as Prince Jing Yuchen dragged Li Yan toward a big metal post that held up the high roof. The strong smell of crushed lilies was still rising from Li Yan’s skin, filling the place with a thick pink fog that made it hard to see the door clearly.
"Get your hands off me," Li Yan said, his voice flat and cold as he tried to pull his collar out of the prince’s tight grip. His legs were shaking from the heat inside him, but his eyes were filled with pure fight.
Jing Yuchen did not answer. He did not look down at Li Yan’s face either. He simply turned his head toward the general, who was walking right behind them with long steps.
"Hold him against the metal," Jing Yuchen ordered, his voice completely calm but stripped of any human warmth. "The front gate is already starting to bend again. We do not have time to wait for him to talk this out."
General Zhen Sheng did not wait for a single second. He stepped forward, his big body completely blocking out the dim light from the hallway lamps. He reached out with his large, scarred hands and grabbed Li Yan by both wrists with a rough force that left no room to move.
With one quick shove, the general turned Li Yan around and pressed his back flat against the cold surface of the metal post. He dragged Li Yan’s wrists behind his back, locking them together against the metal with a very tight grip.
"Let me go, you big animal!" Li Yan shouted, his body twisting hard as he tried to kick his legs out.
His boss pride was flaring up like a wild fire. In his past life as a company leader, people listened to him; they respected his space and followed his orders. Now, these two men were handling him like a broken machine that simply needed to be fixed or shut down for their own safety. The sheer shame of the situation made his blood boil with pure hatred.
"Keep still, Mingxuan," Zhen Sheng growled, leaning his chest right against Li Yan’s shoulders to stop his movements. His hot wood smell came out, thick and strong, wrapping around Li Yan’s head like a blanket. "We are trying to keep five thousand people from ripping this house apart. If you want to fight someone, go fight the crowd outside the gate."
"You are doing this to save your own things, not me!" Li Yan spat out, twisting his neck to glare at the general through his hair. "You think you can just lock my body down whenever it fits your schedule? I hate your guts, both of you."
Jing Yuchen stepped into his line of sight, his face entirely blank as he looked at Li Yan’s angry face. He did not seem to care about the insults or the raw anger in Li Yan’s voice. To the prince, this was just a job that required immediate work.
"Your anger is useless right now," Jing Yuchen said smoothly, raising his right hand. His long fingers were perfectly still, but a visible layer of pale blue light began to hum around his skin. The cold ozone smell grew so strong it began to burn the back of Li Yan’s throat. "If we do not close your core lines, the entire place will fall before midnight."
"Find another way," Li Yan panted, his breath coming in short, rough gasps as the cold power neared his chest. "Use your guards. Use your royal army. Do not touch me."
"There is no other way," Jing Yuchen replied, his violet eyes locking onto the base of Li Yan’s throat.
The prince leaned down, his face coming close to Li Yan’s collarbone. He reached out with two fingers, pressing them hard against the soft skin right over Li Yan’s primary smell spots.
Instantly, a freezing wave of Enigma power shot straight from the prince’s fingers into Li Yan’s inside paths. It felt like a stream of liquid ice was being forced directly into his blood. The cold power ran down his chest, actively searching for the sweet lily energy and choking it out by force.
"ARGH!"
A sharp cry of pure pain escaped Li Yan’s lips. His head snapped back against the metal post with a dull thud, his eyes rolling back a bit as his body went completely stiff under the double push. He tried to pull his hands free, his knuckles scraping raw against the rough metal behind him, but Zhen Sheng kept him pinned flat, using his big weight to take every single struggle.
"Hold him steady, General," Jing Yuchen muttered, his face tightening as he pushed more ozone power into the spot. "His core is fighting back. The resistance is higher than I thought."
"I have him," Zhen Sheng grunted, his fingers digging deeper into Li Yan’s wrists until the skin began to turn dark blue. "Just finish it before the guards at the gate lose their focus."
Li Yan pressed his teeth together so hard he could taste blood in his mouth. He looked at the prince’s pale face just inches from his own, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. The sheer push of their powers was trying to force his mind to give up and accept their control.
But his mind refused to break. He held onto his hatred, using it as a wall to protect his inner thoughts. He stared at Jing Yuchen with wide, wet eyes that were completely filled with anger. If I ever get out of this world, Li Yan thought wildly, I will ruin both of you.
Jing Yuchen gave one final push with his fingers, sending a big jolt of cold power deep into the core line.
The thick smell of lilies in the room stopped instantly. It was like a water tap being turned off by a strong hand. The pink fog that had been rolling across the floor tiles began to thin out, turning gray and vanishing into the air until there was nothing left but the smell of cold metal and burning ozone.
Outside in the yard, the sudden change was immediate. The wild shouting at the front gates began to die down into a confused murmur. The thousands of mad warriors and beasts could no longer smell the sweet bait that had drawn them out of the woods. They stood in the dirt, looking around in total confusion as the wildness slowly left their minds.
Inside the room, Zhen Sheng slowly let go of his grip, stepping back from the metal post.
The moment the general’s weight left his back, Li Yan slid straight down the surface of the post, his knees giving out completely. He fell onto the cold floor, his chest moving hard as he tried to pull air into his burning lungs. His body was shaking from head to toe, and his skin felt incredibly hot to the touch.
The forced lockdown of his natural smell had caused a big, violent reaction inside his paths. The energy had nowhere to go, turning into a thick heat that began to bake his body from the inside out.
Li Yan raised his hand to his head, his sight blurring fast as a sharp chime rang out directly inside his ears. The familiar blue glass screen popped up right before his eyes, but the text was flashing in a deep, dangerous purple light that seemed to pulse with every beat of his heart.
[WARNING: Dual Alpha suppression has caused an immediate ’Core Fever’.]
[Host’s internal body temperature is currently rising to dangerous levels.]
[Pheromone stability has dropped to 15%. Internal energy pathways are blocking.]
[Current status: Critical core variance in progress.]
Li Yan closed his eyes, his forehead pressing against the floor as the heat in his chest grew even more intense.