3.18 Unstable
3.18 Unstable
"No, let me go! I want to go back!" Oliver pushed, clawed and thrashed around, tears trickling down his face. "I don't want to see you!"
"Oliver!"
Oliver hissed and bared his teeth in anger and in a spur of the moment, bit down on Lu Yizhou's arm to vent his grievance. His bite was hard and unrelenting, instantly drawing blood. Nevertheless, the pang of rust and metal in his mouth stunned him and he froze, barely registering the thing he had done.
Lu Yizhou's brows didn't even twitch. Using his arms and wings, he wrapped Oliver in an embrace that he couldn't escape from and caressed his hair softly. "Calm down. It's okay, just bite as hard as you want. I'm sorry to make you cry. Listen to me, hmm?"
Warm tears slid down to Oliver's mouth and he gave a soft whimper. Why...why was he still so kind and gentle? Oliver couldn't fathom what was in the Alpha's mind and it made him anxious. He was scared that it was only him who loved; scared that everything was just a product of his own imagination and from the start, Altair had never felt the same. However, he couldn't go against the Alpha's gentle tone no matter how hard he wanted to bolt from this place. The soft massages on his scalp made his body relax but he loosened his teeth albeit his mouth still stayed there as a form of punishment.
The stretch of silence felt especially long as Oliver waited for the Alpha to speak. He grew tense again but sensing that, Lu Yizhou bent down to press a fleeting kiss on his temple, so soft and gentle that Oliver's breath hitched and his eyes became hot again. "First and foremost, you're not a task to be fulfilled. Not for me." It did start with a mission but Lu Yizhou didn't know when everything began to change. He did everything because he wanted to, not because he was told. He nuzzled his chin on the crown of the Omega's head and heaved a helpless sigh. "For me… you are more real than anything."
Oliver smelled the sincerity in the Alpha's scent. Tears pooled in his eyes and he finally let go of the bite. Guilt arose in his heart at the bloody, circular teeth mark and he carefully licked it, gentle and affectionate.
"It's just…" Lu Yizhou sighed. "I don't know. I am not a person with many feelings to begin with and Oliver you...you made me feel things I thought were beyond what I could possess."
Oliver blinked and lifted his head, heartbeat quickening by the second. "What does it mean...?"
Apparently it was the most Oliver could draw from him. Lu Yizhou pressed his mouth into a thin line and averted his gaze. "Exactly what I mean."
Oliver grunted in dissatisfaction but in spite of that, his mood had been completely lifted, all of the dark haze dispersed by the Alpha's awkward explanation. He knew that Altair wouldn't lie to him but the previous events had made him more anxious than he expected. He yearned for stability and affirmation; it was all he ever wanted after knowing his omega father's tragic fate. Maybe that's why he was so insecure and possesive. Now that he had calmed down, the embarrassment flooded in. Ugh, how could he lose control of his emotions just like that? Oliver swore he wasn't such an unstable person! He groaned inwardly and was ready to end the conversation when an unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out.
"Um...should we come back another time?"
Oliver flinched in shock and belatedly realized that Altair's wings were covering him fully so there was no way he could be seen except for his legs. However, he was still shaken up by the unexpected intruder and buried his face into the Alpha's shoulders, face as hot as boiling lava.
Lu Yizhou frowned and tugged Oliver closer to himself, softly caressing the Omega's back in comfort. "How did you get in?" There was a snarl in his tone which Oliver hadn't heard before.
Derek rolled his eyes. Behind him was the royal doctor who tugged along awkwardly. "Have you forgotten that I am supposed to be by your side 24/7? Of course I have the password to your place. Who's sick? Your omega?"
Damn it, he had forgotten all about the royal doctor and Oliver's cold. Lu Yizhou cursed under his breath. He whispered into Oliver's ears. "It's okay. We're just going to give you a check-up to make sure you don't catch a cold." With one arm around the Omega's back and another under his knees, Lu Yizhou started to carry him into his room. He turned sideways and said in a tone so cold that it made Derek wonder whether the gentleness he showed a few seconds earlier was only an illusion. "Do it as soon as possible and scram."
Lu Yizhou put Oliver down on the bed and stayed by his side as the royal doctor performed a series of tests. Derek crossed his arm as he leaned on the door frame, his eyes shifting back and forth between Lu Yizhou and the omega prince. He rubbed his chin. Hmm… he sensed something different in the air. If he could smell pheromones, he would certainly perceive that Oliver's scent had changed at a point of time but he couldn't. Thus he only connected the dot from how the omega tugged on Lu Yizhou's sleeves and the possesive palm of the Alpha behind the Omega's small back. He blinked and the corner of his lips tilted into a smirk. Oh God, the sexual tension between them was so strong and that... was that teeth mark on his Prince's arm?!
"How is it?" Lu Yizhou ignored the strange chuckle coming from Derek and asked the royal doctor. "Is there any problem?"
Oliver blushed. "Altair, I am fine…" Of course, his weak argument fell on deaf ears.
"He's fine." The royal doctor confirmed with a smile. "Just a bit shaken and unstable. Did you scent him?"
Derek sputtered in his laugh. "What?!"
Lu Yizhou gave him a glance and he instantly shut up. Turning to the royal doctor, he admitted unabashedly even though Oliver's face was so hot that steam was coming out of his ears. "I did. A few minutes ago."
"That explains it." The royal doctor gathered his things and stood up. "There's no problem with his body. Because his health has always been fragile, he needs to adjust to the change in the pheromones. Give him a bit of time, let him get used to your presence and he will be fine."
Lu Yizhou nodded. "Thank you. Derek will escort you out."
Derek was flabbergasted. He wanted to hear more of the details—part of it because he ought to report about the Crown Prince's wellbeing to His Majesty, certainly not because he was curious!—but one glance from Lu Yizhou shut him up in an instant. He resigned to his fate and escorted the royal doctor out. When he returned and punched in the password as usual, what he got was only a series of beeps that made him dumbfounded. [The password you entered is incorrect. You have two more chances before the emergency alarm is activated.]
Derek's jaws hung open. He had just used the same password to get in less than half an hour ago! How maddening, after the crown prince had gotten his omega, he instantly forgot about Derek, this best friend of his!
.
.
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Mini theater
After that day, Oliver kept on thinking about what the Alpha said; regarding how he was the one who made Altair 'feel' things although he couldn't comprehend why the Alpha said that those feelings were beyond what he could dream to possess. Somehow, he could imagine the desolateness that he often saw behind the Alpha's eyes and it made his heart squeeze in pain.
Why did he have to derogate himself so much?
He was Altair, the Crown Prince of Versatine Kingdom, the only hybrid and unique existence and he certainly deserved every best thing the universe had to offer. So why...did he sound like he was a sinner who ought to receive his due punishment? Oliver couldn't fathom it no matter how hard he pondered.
But he was the one who introduced these new feelings to Altair. Didn't that mean something? Even though the Alpha didn't say anything explicitly, didn't that mean that he, too, felt the same thing Oliver did? His cheeks warmed up with the thought.
It was a confession, Oliver surmised after days of pondering, a very awkward and endearing confession. Maybe Altair himself didn't even realize but Oliver kept it deep inside his heart and regarded it as his treasure. He swore that he would teach Altair what it meant to love and be loved in return. Just like how Altair always made him happy, Oliver also wanted to make him feel the same.