Dying Mercenary Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"You bastard... how dare..."

Fortunately, the suppressant the manager had given him must have been very powerful, as the alpha could barely speak properly.

It is a real suppressant, right? Not an anesthetic?

Kinaine looked at the syringe in his hand suspiciously for a moment but soon threw it to the floor without hesitation. What did it matter anyway?

The bed rippled slightly with a low groan. The alpha must have collapsed onto the bed.

"You dare do this to me... do you think you'll make it out alive?"

Despite the menacing content, his voice was drained of strength. Kinaine, who had staggered down from the bed, looked down at the alpha whose silhouette was barely visible.

"I think I will."

"You...!"

Kinaine stepped back to avoid the hand that swept out trying to grab him. Though he felt dizzy for a moment, fortunately he managed to stand straight without falling.

"Even in rut, you shouldn't forcibly subdue an unwilling partner."

Dominant traits were born with better conditions than others. One shouldn't abuse that to treat others carelessly.

"Someday you'll find an omega you like. You'll regret acting like this then."

"Nonsense..."

The alpha mumbled. There was no need to speak further and wake him, so Kinaine also kept quiet.

The pheromones that had filled the space gradually subsided.

After confirming the alpha's breathing had become regular, Kinaine opened the windows wide for ventilation. Thanks to the moonlight entering through the parted curtains, the alpha's face that had been hidden in darkness was faintly revealed.

"He's quite handsome."

More than just handsome, he looked like a statue carefully crafted by the god of beauty.

Silver hair like gathered moonlight, transparent white skin, and features that stood out as gorgeous even with his eyes closed. Though Kinaine knew dominant traits came with superior looks, this man was exceptional even among those he had seen.

Having been born with such good looks, it would be nice if he cultivated a beautiful heart to match.

'After all, personality matters more than looks.'

Kinaine thought of his lover. Though others had pointed fingers calling him hideous, his inner self had sparkled more beautifully than any jewel.

"Hah."

Exhaling hot breath, Kinaine wiped away the tears rolling down his cheeks.

How long had it been since he had cried like this?

However, he couldn't tell whether the tears flowing now were merely physiological, or due to longing for his lover.

***

"Oh, oh what should I do. This time he'll really try to kill me."

A man with fox ears paced anxiously up and down the stairs. His nine tails drooped like wilted flowers.

"I just wanted to help him relax a little since he was in such a bad mood! I didn't know the drug would work so well!"

The man, Fei, muttered excuses that no one was listening to.

The dragon's mood before the selection was absolutely terrible.

'I keep having shitty dreams lately.'

How murderous those eyes had been when saying that.

Worried that he might kill the bride candidates on sight, Fei had done his best to improve the dragon's mood.

He had told amusing stories, plied him with expensive alcohol. When that didn't seem to help at all, he had only tried to get help from the currently popular 'mood-improving drug.'

He had put it in the drink without hesitation, confident that unlike others, it would only have a slight mood-lifting effect on the dragon.

"How was I supposed to know his rut was imminent!"

Fei pulled at his hair. Though he was the leader of the tailed tribe, this generation's dragon wasn't one to consider such things.

Just then.

"Hmm?"

Fei's nose twitched.

"What's this?"

The alpha pheromones that had filled everywhere were gradually fading.

"No way, did they use the suppressant I gave them?"

Though he had given the suppressant to the tearful manager, he hadn't expected much. One would need to get close to the dragon to inject the suppressant, which seemed impossible given the dragon's state.

It was a rut that had burst unstably due to the drug. It was obvious how much worse the dragon's already bad temper would be.

If it was an alpha, he would want to kill them, and if it was an omega...

He would want to kill them all the same.

'At least it's fortunate he's not in 'that state.' It hasn't been long since he received purification from Shinsurial.'

If not for that, it really could have been disastrous. No, actually it was already disastrous.

For such reasons, he himself, being an alpha, couldn't even approach the area, but for some reason the dragon's pheromones had started to disappear.

"Hmmmm."

Fei quietly went up to the seventh floor. Indeed, the dragon's pheromones were barely detectable.

Knock knock. Fei carefully knocked on the door.

"Um, Lord Asad, are you alright?"

After a moment, a faint voice was heard from beyond the door.

"...Please open the door."

Fei startled at the unfamiliar voice.

It wasn't the dragon. Then who could it be?

When he carefully opened the door, he saw someone crouched pitifully in front of it.

Fei's green eyes widened.

The black-haired man's eyes were red as if he had been crying, and there were clear marks of strangulation on his neck. Even his clothes were soaked with what might have been sweat or other bodily fluids.

But that wasn't what surprised Fei.

"An o-omega?!"

Fei covered his nose with a reddened face.

The man reeked of the dragon's pheromones as if he had bathed in them. That scent was also faintly mixed with a sweet omega fragrance, making one imagine what had happened in the room.

While it would be stranger if nothing had happened between an alpha in rut and an omega alone together, the problem was that this wasn't an ordinary alpha, but 'that' dragon. The one who spent his ruts seeing blood instead of having sex.

But how was this omega still alive?

'Gasp, could it be. Really??'

Did this unremarkable omega really spend the rut with the dragon?

Whether he was shocked or not, the omega staggered to his feet. Only then did Fei properly see the omega's appearance and was surprised once again. This time it was because of the omega's expression.

Unlike his disheveled appearance and the lewd smell emanating from his body, the omega wore a surprisingly indifferent expression. Usually one would be out of their mind after being doused with this much alpha pheromones.

The omega's composure, as if nothing had happened, was enough to make Fei feel disconcerted instead.

"Um..."

Before Fei could say anything, the omega spoke.

"As you can see, I'm in quite a state. May I leave first?"

What could Fei say to someone who spoke like that while clearly looking like they'd been through something terrible? He could only blankly watch the stumbling figure leave.

"Ah! This isn't the time!"

Only after the omega disappeared did Fei come to his senses and hurriedly entered the room.

"Hmm, what's this?"

Though he expected it to be thick with the dragon's pheromones, surprisingly there wasn't much smell in the room. Fei's gaze turned to the open windows.

And then finally his gaze fell on the empty syringe on the floor.

"Hmm, no way."

Fei carefully walked toward the bed, making sure his footsteps made no sound. His eyes shook greatly when he saw the silver-haired man sleeping there.

"Lord Asad?! Eep!"

Fei quickly covered his mouth after unconsciously raising his voice. However, the other had already opened his eyes.

As his eyelids opened, golden eyes that shone as bright as the sun even in darkness stared at Fei.

"...What is it."

His voice was sleepy, suggesting the suppressant's effects still remained. The suppressant, made specifically for the dragon, was so strong that an ordinary person would be unconscious for a week after taking it. Though it wouldn't work on the dragon for even a few hours.

"Um, that, are you alright?"

The dragon, Asad, blinked slowly. With a face as beautiful as a god from human religious paintings, he said:

"No. I feel fucking awful."

"I thought as much."

"Where did he go?"

"Who do you mean..."

"The omega who was here."

Fei instantly knew who he was talking about.

"My goodness, there was an omega here?"

However, seeing the light flashing in Asad's eyes, he simultaneously felt an instinct to pretend ignorance.

It wasn't out of concern that the dragon might harm that omega. He had no interest in the life or death of someone not even from his tribe. He was merely acting on the near-prophetic instinct that the tailed tribe leader possessed.

Fei made a show of jumping up and down.

"I told the manager not to let any omegas anywhere near, but some shameless person snuck in? Please tell me who it was. I'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"

Golden eyes stared steadily at Fei. His liver shrank under that mysterious gaze that seemed to pierce through everything. Had he been found out?

"Never mind."

Whew. While secretly swallowing a sigh of relief, Fei looked at Asad. The dragon was staring intently at his right hand.

"What's wrong? Is there some problem..."

Fei's eyes rounded as he discovered the black smudge on Asad's hand. Where did that come from? As Fei tilted his head in confusion, his eyes widened.

Because the dragon, who was not only temperamental but also somewhat of a neat freak, was bringing his dirty hand to his nose and sniffing it. Like a dog tracking traces left by prey.

Under the moonlight, beautiful golden eyes blazed brilliantly.

Those were unmistakably a hunter's eyes.