Perfect Omega Chapter 8.1 - Such a Noisy Courtship

Owen’s panting seems to have gotten a bit heavier. Nick carefully lifted Owen’s upper body and sat him up. He positioned Owen between his legs, letting him lean back against his chest. Compared to lying on the floor, this position made it much easier to feel Owen’s condition. Nick thought he should have held Owen like this from the start, but in truth, he had deliberately kept his distance, pacing around.

The scent emanating from Owen is anything but subtle. It’s been a while since Nick could even stand up straight. He’s barely holding back the beast within him with sheer rationality.

He cautiously wrapped his arms around Owen’s heated back. Like fastening a seatbelt to ensure he wouldn’t let go, Nick encircled Owen’s waist and chest with his arms. He has no confidence he can avoid going into rut here. But he’ll do it. Nick took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. After repeating this deep breathing a few more times, he gradually released his pheromones, as if priming a pump.

“Owen, I’m here. Can you hear my voice?”

The incessant beep… beep… sound continues to grate on his nerves. Nick released a bit more of his pheromones.

“Owen, let it go naturally. It’s okay to do that. You’ll breathe easier soon.”

He says this, but if he can’t properly help Owen release his pheromones, breathing won’t get easier. As if to prove it, the long beep… beep… sound shifted to a shorter pattern. Even without checking the monitor, Nick could tell it was a warning that the rate of blood pressure increase was dangerous. The pulse he felt under his palm had already changed.

Nick gritted his teeth and released more pheromones. Still, there was no reaction as he’d hoped. Owen remained in his panting state, and the loud mechanical noise from the monitor persisted.

Should he have tried earlier? Is it too late? Anxiety grew. To hide the urge to cry, Nick buried his head in the crook of Owen’s neck, where only shallow, rapid panting could be heard.

Then, suddenly, a captivating musk scent spread thickly across the floor. Like mist being sprayed, Owen’s scent rapidly filled the room.

Nick’s head shot up. The concentration of the scent mixed in the air above had also grown stronger.

“Owen?”

But there was still no response to his call. Owen’s eyes remained closed.

Nick took a deep breath and released his pheromones fully to stimulate Owen further.

“Ugh…!”

The strategy of priming the pump was sound, but the influence of Owen’s scent was far beyond his expectations. He knew it would be like this, but still.

Hoo… hoo…

Nick couldn’t even muster the strength to lift his bowed head and focused solely on regulating his breathing. Because he was holding Owen so tightly, the slick starting to seep from Owen had already soaked the front of Nick’s tactical pants.

Even trying to exhale as long as possible and inhale briefly was futile, since pheromones don’t just enter through the nose. He knew it was pointless, but he had to try. Taking advantage of an unconscious Owen, even if Owen later understood, was something Nick could never forgive himself for.

He clenched his teeth harder. If that repulsive choker were around his own neck, the room would be even more chaotic with two warning alarms.

“…Nick.”

Owen’s voice came from above his bowed head.

“Owen?!”

Nick called Owen’s name again, overjoyed.

“It feels… like you’re here. It’s not… bad.”

He hadn’t misheard. The voice was faint, broken by labored breathing, but it was unmistakably Owen’s.

“Owen, this is real. I’m right here.”

Owen, whose eyes had been half-closed, suddenly opened them wide.

“Nick…?!”

Perhaps due to excitement, his panting grew louder.

“Owen. Calm down. It’s me.”

Thinking Owen’s sudden twisting was an attempt to break free, Nick hurriedly clarified that it was him holding him.

“Get… out…”

“Owen, we have to stay here for now. I know you’re disoriented, but I’ll keep this brief. Your condition right now—”

“Get out!! Nick, I can’t control it…”

“….”

For a moment, Nick was at a loss for words.

It wasn’t about leaving together. Owen was shouting for Nick to get out.

“Call Dr. O’Riley… Tell him there’s been another… incident. He’ll know.”

Then Owen kept repeating “get out.” As if he’d used up what little strength he had, his subsequent words were whispered so faintly they were barely audible.

Owen believes he’s going to harm Nick. And somehow, with an incomprehensible willpower, Owen was trying to control his pheromones again. Unbelievably, if Nick’s senses were correct, the pheromone concentration was slightly weaker than before.

“Owen, what are you…!!”

“Nick, just… get out. Please, stay away from me.”

Owen’s breathing grew more labored, and he stopped after that. His final words were almost a plea.

It was a desperate plea, one Nick wanted to honor. In response, Nick unleashed his pheromones.

“Stay away from you? That’s the most hurtful thing I’ve heard since becoming an adult. I’ll remember it for life.”

His voice barely came out, yet he still expressed his hurt to Owen.

“Don’t do this, Nick!”

Owen, wide-eyed, looked terrified.

“Trust me.”

Nick tightened his embrace.

“This is insane.”

“There’s no problem. Trust me.”

If the dose had been moderate, Acid Pheromone, at its core, is a drug used for pleasure. It’s just a stimulant that ends after indulging in the overwhelming sensations. The problem is the excessive dose, but surviving the shock is enough.

“Nick… haa… haa… stop, stop it.”

But Owen’s will was far stronger than Nick had imagined. Despite Nick releasing more pheromones, Owen began reining his own in.

“Owen, stop it! You can’t do that! …You almost went into shock earlier! You have to let it all out.”

“Nick… you didn’t see. You don’t know… what I did to Locke. I’m—”

“If you say ‘monster’ one more time, I’ll really get mad. You’re not that.”

Nick lowered his head, quickly regulating his breathing while searching for tactics to apply to the current situation.

Hoo… hoo…

Owen’s will couldn’t be broken externally. Then Nick had to persuade him.

“Owen, I know it’s hard right now, but try to recall. The incident from your childhood was a defense against violence trying to overpower and wield you with pheromones.”

Owen’s lips moved slightly. Nick knew what he was about to bring up. The bitter regret of his own hasty mistake made his stomach churn.

“That night… I misunderstood and pushed you too. I startled you. That won’t happen again, Owen. If you don’t reject me, it won’t happen. Owen, are you scared of me or dislike me right now?”

Owen’s lips moved to say “no.”

“I knew it.”

Nick brushed back Owen’s sweat-soaked hair and briefly pressed his lips to the spot.

“Then trust me. I might be much stronger than you think. Maybe even if you wanted to, you couldn’t harm me. Owen, be honest. Do I seem like a weak alpha?”

Despite his feverish face, Owen flashed a brief smile. The smile that said “no” made Nick’s heart ache.

To be honest, Nick is strong, but Owen might be even stronger. Proving his astonishing willpower, Owen was still controlling his pheromones in this state. Not completely, but he was clearly holding back what needed to be released. Paradoxically, the noise from the monitor grew louder.

“Owen… I’m not leaving. Do you think you could push my arms away? Why so stubborn?”

Owen could no longer open his eyes. His chest heaved rapidly. Nick lowered his head too. Burying his forehead in Owen’s shoulder, he only tightened his embrace.

“I’m staying right here anyway. You’ve got two choices: show me yourself dying in my arms or try this with me. Please… don’t be cruel.”

Even threats were running out, and Nick wasn’t sure if Owen was even listening anymore. Owen was slipping away in his hands.

“Owen, let me feel your scent. I’m begging you.”

“….”

Owen’s hand weakly climbed onto the back of Nick’s gloved hand.

“…!”

When the sweet musk scent hit his nose again, Nick nearly crushed the fragile, interlocked fingers in his relief.

The monitor’s sound indicated that the blood pressure was dropping and the dangerous heart rate was stabilizing.

Haa…

Was the relief so overwhelming that it transformed into a sensation of ecstasy, or was this scent simply ecstatic? There was no need to question anymore. Owen’s pheromones poured out. It felt like they were rushing toward him, even overwhelming him. There wasn’t a hint of threat in it.

Nick opened his lungs wide and breathed in Owen’s pheromones fully. Would it be an exaggeration to say he could feel Owen melting into his body?

Owen and he were mixing at a molecular level. Every part of Owen, infiltrating every corner of his bloodstream, was ecstatic. If this was what “devouring an alpha” meant, Nick would offer himself up a hundred times more. It was so ecstatic…

Drunk on Owen’s scent, Nick tilted his head back to its original position. He bent down to check below. Damn it.

So ecstatic and at the same time, a feeling like he might explode.

Owen’s eyes were still closed. Nick tried shaking his head a few times to clear his mind but gave up and simply rested his forehead on Owen’s shoulder.

His lower body felt like it might burst, but if it didn’t and they both survived, they’d both be happy. He’d endured over a day in a bunker when his body was paralyzed. Holding Owen for a few hours was a blissful torture.

Nick closed his eyes, resolving to focus only on regulating his breathing. He was about to indulge in the hazy, floating sensation when voices broke through.

Nick slowly lifted his head from Owen’s shoulder. It was definitely voices.

He’d told everyone to stay out, so had someone entered? He sharply scanned the entrance, but the door was still closed.

His team members strictly followed his orders. The only possibility was an emergency where they couldn’t reach him and had to act. Nick reached for the in-ear cord he’d tossed over his shoulder and plugged it back into his ear. But no one was calling him.

“….”

The next possibility was that he was hallucinating from the drug. But that was too far-fetched. Owen was the one dosed with Acid Pheromone, and it was being burned off through pheromone release.

Even if, through some inexplicable route, Nick was also drugged and hearing things, the voices were too realistic.

He could recognize them. Hugh and Simon.

“Think they’ll call us before Team Doc arrives?”

“Told us to stay on alert, so we stay on alert. It’s an island, so any approach would be by chopper. If anyone’s coming, that is.”

“It’s not a hard structure to monitor, so how’d they miss us arriving?”

“The security staff don’t have access to CCTV footage. Crazy Locke was probably too focused on Chairman Rose at the time.”

“What’s the point of slapping cameras everywhere if you’re doing it all alone? Gaps are bound to show.”

“Exactly. Fewer staff than I expected.”

The more he listened, the less it seemed like a hallucination. Hallucinations should be disjointed and nonsensical, like dreams. This was too realistic.

“…!”

Now hallucinations were starting. He could even see where Hugh and Simon were.

The team often joked that the boss’s goggles had a map hack installed, and it seemed that joke had become reality. It felt like such a program was installed in Nick’s eyes alone. He was sitting in the middle of a locked lab, yet he could see the surrounding situation as if through a blueprint.

No, blinking again, he realized he wasn’t seeing. It was so vivid he’d mistaken it for seeing, but this was sensing!

…!

Normally, Nick’s senses focused on threats. Sensing anything else required immense energy.

Hugh and Simon weren’t threats. And right now, Nick wasn’t expending any effort to sense them.

Why? How?

Nick released one of the arms holding Owen and spread his hand in front of his face. It felt like electricity was tingling at his fingertips, but outwardly, nothing seemed amiss.

While his hand was raised, Nick tore off the repulsive choker around Owen’s neck. There was no longer a need for the machine’s monitoring. He could hear Owen’s heartbeats calming. They were steadily syncing with his own.

This doesn’t make sense…

“It’s all coming through.”

This is definitely happening now.

It feels like every cell in his body is waking up. If a thirty-six-year-old Nick Stockton could still have untapped potential, that potential seems to have awakened now. And he thinks he knows what woke it.

Nick looked down at Owen, leaning against him, breathing a bit heavily.

It sounds absurd, but there’s no other variable. The flood of Owen’s pheromones into his body seems to have just awakened something in him. Nothing else explains it. He doesn’t know if this is imprinting, but Owen has awakened him.

As a test, Nick scanned the building.

Hugh and Simon are two floors below, standing to the right of the building’s entrance. In the room next to them… there are people Nick doesn’t know. No hostility. Probably researchers or staff working here. They’re not moving, likely tied up.

“Ha…!”

A laugh burst out.

It’s like a lie, but he can sense the entire building, inside and out.

“Owen… Owen. What have you done to me?”

Owen’s eyes are still closed. Even when Nick gently chides him, brushing his feverish neck with the back of his hand, there’s no response.

“It feels like I’ve become an incredibly precise, advanced sensor. I can feel everything.”

Just in case Owen was listening, he added an explanation to avoid misunderstanding, assuring him nothing was wrong. Smiling faintly, he pressed his lips close to Owen’s ear, detailing everything he’d just sensed, until his gaze landed on the wall where Locke had disappeared, and he stopped.

Curious if he could sense through a panic room wall, Nick focused his senses on detecting Locke.

…!

He can see. It’s just a dark silhouette, but there’s definitely a person. They’re in pain from an injured arm, suffering. They haven’t climbed onto the bed and are sitting on the platform holding the mattress.

Anxiety. Stronger than the pain, anxiety is palpable.

Of course. All communication lines have been cut.

In Nick’s arms, Owen still hasn’t regained consciousness.

If Nick hadn’t met Owen at Pier 6 heliport that day. If there hadn’t been a team to come for Owen today.

Though he’d fast-forwarded, the victims’ pain in the footage was easy to imagine. Nick glared at the collar he’d torn off and thrown. He briefly glanced at the lab bench cluttered with empty vials. The monitor that had blared warnings and the grotesque chair beside it. Surely, they’d brought Owen here to do the exact same thing. Hot anger surged within him.

“Ugh…”

Nick didn’t think he’d tightened his embrace, but a discomforted groan escaped Owen’s lips.

“Damn… I’m sorry, sorry. I’m not angry at you. Never could be.”

Nick kissed Owen’s forehead, repeating apologies. Owen’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly.

Nick reined in his clumsy anger to prevent it from spilling out again and glared at the closed iron wall.

If that door opens, he’ll torture Locke in the cruelest way he knows. There’s no intention of handing him over to the authorities. Locke W. Rose has committed unforgivable crimes.

If that door opens, he’ll start by crushing every tiny bone in his fingers, as promised. Since Locke seems to take great pride in being an alpha while simultaneously harboring an inferiority complex, that needs to be targeted too.

What did it feel like to be overwhelmed by pheromones…? According to O’Riley, it’s nauseating, causes headaches, and above all, feels filthy. Yes, that’s perfect. A filthy feeling. You can’t wash away a feeling with a shower.

If that door opens, he’ll tear into that rotten mind…!

He was only running a simulation, so why did the lunatic cousin in the next room start screaming?

—Boss, boss!!! You hearing this?

This voice wasn’t sensed. It was actual comms audio.

Come to think of it, the in-ear draped over his shoulder had been calling him for a while. Nick plugged the in-ear back into his ear.

“What’s going on?”

John and Team Doc are still far from arriving, so Nick mentally ran through possible scenarios while asking.

—Finally! I’ve been calling forever. You’re the one who needs to explain what’s going on!

It was Cooper calling Nick.

“Speak clearly.”

—That crazy cousin guy, did he use some biochemical weapon or something? All the alphas are acting weird. Vomiting, chaos. Team Doc’s still far off, so what the hell’s happening?

“You?”

—I’m fine. Seems like only the alphas among the staff here are affected. Hey, what’s this guy’s designation?

“Alpha,” came the response.

—There you go, this guy’s an alpha too. What do we do? Evacuate our team first? You okay, boss?

Cooper mentioned a biochemical weapon, but if there were such a threat, Nick would’ve known. More importantly, he’s completely unaffected.

“No biochemical weapon. Since when?”

—Just now. They suddenly clutched their heads and collapsed. The team’s ECG graphs went wild. I asked if they’re okay, but no response. Just vomiting.

The team’s vests have devices to monitor vital signs. There are various sensors, but they’re mainly for confirming death. They’re used to decide whether to send support or deprioritize rescue, so a slightly elevated heart rate wouldn’t cause this much fuss.

“Still happening?”

Nick could check via the monitor on his arm, but both his arms are holding Owen.

—Uh… it’s calming down now.

Cooper confirmed after checking his own device.

“….”

Nick wondered if this might be a reenactment of that childhood “incident” and examined Owen’s complexion.

No. The pheromones being released from Owen’s body are indeed an immense amount, unlike anything Nick has ever experienced, but they’re not threatening at all. Moreover, Owen’s pheromones, as if cleverly recognizing their alpha, are entirely focused on pouring into Nick. Owen isn’t attacking anyone, including the lunatic alpha in the next room. If anyone in this room has shown aggressive intent, it was… Nick himself, just moments ago.

Could it be?

Nick opened his senses to try detecting the entire building. As expected, it worked effortlessly.

Hugh and Simon are crouching. Nick tested focusing his anger in one direction.

“How’s it now, Cooper?”

—It’s fine now. Found the cause? No need to evacuate?

Hearing Cooper’s bewildered voice, Nick stared at the iron wall. Unlike the alphas on the first floor, a pained scream came from beyond the wall again.

“Yeah… I found it.”

Nick pulled the in-ear out of his ear again. This time, he aimed his anger precisely at Locke’s deranged mind.

He thought he heard screams, but it was just a feeling. The panic room’s walls are too thick for screams to penetrate. The surroundings were silent, and a stillness hung in the lab. On the surface, nothing was happening. Just two men sitting side by side on the cold floor.

But Nick is listening. He didn’t forget to monitor his surroundings to ensure he wouldn’t accidentally attack his own team. Sensing this range while simultaneously launching a pheromone attack would have been a life-or-death gamble before.

He feels a power he’s never used before. A force as strong as his anger feels like it’s taking shape, almost tangible in his grasp. It’s not an illusion—he really feels like he’s holding the warped, inferiority-ridden brain of an alpha in his hand. With just a bit more pressure, he could crush it. Nick crushed it.

The pained screams that had been echoing in his mind stopped abruptly. The silhouette rolling on the floor ceased moving.

“….”

His cold, sunken eyes stared at the iron wall again. The wall is just a wall now. Beyond it, there’s no more madness, no more accusations directed at them, and no more signs of life.

Nick spread his palm wide and extended it in front of him, as if trying to distinguish this surreal sensation. He checked if it moved as he willed. He turned his palm over and examined it.

What just happened…?

He’s taken lives before. Many. It’s his job.

But never like this. He never even thought it was possible.

Perhaps because he’d used up all his body’s energy in an instant, or maybe because it shocked him too, his body suddenly trembled. He felt a chill.

What he thought—or imagined—or hallucinated—about clutching Locke’s mind… whatever it was, in contrast to the coldness of one hand, the other was warm. The heat rising from Owen’s body under his palm felt like it was spreading into Nick’s own.

“Owen, right now, I need someone to tell me I’m not a monster… I wish that someone was you.”

He pressed his lips to Owen’s sweat-soaked hair and spoke softly, but Owen’s eyes remained closed. The remarkable Owen, despite pouring out an enormous amount of pheromones, still hadn’t depleted them.

How much longer will this state last? Owen was used in Locke’s inhumane experiments, but he isn’t writhing in pain from unquenched heat or tearing off his clothes to sate his rut. The omega in Nick’s arms is still elegantly overcoming the drug’s aftereffects with control.

“The most refined flower in the world must be a rose, Owen. When we return to Rose Mansion, shall I buy flowers along with the bread we share every morning? Come to think of it, why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

There’s no one to respond, yet he’s been muttering to himself for a while, so he must be in shock. He figured this was his way of processing what he’d just experienced.

“Nick…”

Perhaps his muttering was loud enough, because Owen finally opened his eyes.

“Owen!”

Owen blinked slowly, like someone waking from sleep, then opened his eyes again. Then he closed them. It was as if he hadn’t fully woken up. There was even a smile on his lips.

“Nick. I had a strange dream. We imprinted, and it felt… I think we could try imprinting.”

“….”

“Nick, why’s the room so hot? The thermostat must be broken.”

It seems Owen hasn’t fully shaken off the drug’s effects. Nick brushed back Owen’s sweat-soaked hair and tried to wake him as gently as possible.

“Owen.”

“But why’s the floor so…!”

The moment Owen, groping for a mattress, touched the cold floor, his eyes fully opened. His shoulders tensed. The languid voice he only used right after waking vanished.

“It’s hard.”

“Owen. This is Locke’s lab, and we’re sitting on the floor. It’s a bit hard, isn’t it?”

Nick grabbed Owen’s hand, which had fallen to the cold floor, and brought it back. He placed it on Owen’s stomach and covered it with both of his, almost like he was restraining him from behind.

“Nick!”

As Owen began to realize this wasn’t a dream, his back tensed quickly. He tried to twist his body, forcing Nick to tighten his grip.

“You’re feeling hot because the drug’s effects are still lingering. You need to keep releasing pheromones for now.”

“Nick, are you… okay?”

Fear crept into Owen’s voice as he called out. Nick hugged him tightly, as if to trap him in his arms, pulling him until their faces were side by side.

“See for yourself.”

Owen’s trembling head slowly turned toward Nick. To let Owen clearly see his face, Nick stretched his neck and held firm.

“I’ve been busy since dawn with no time to groom, but I think I’m still decent. No foaming at the mouth, and I’m looking at you with clear eyes. My limbs are all intact, no injuries.”

As if to prove it, he lightly shook his ankle in his combat boots. Owen’s gaze lingered on the playfully twitching ankle, then traveled upward, as if truly inspecting Nick’s body part by part.

“Uh… Owen. It’s a bit troubling if you look at me like that.”

Owen was probably checking if Nick was unharmed, but Nick’s situation wasn’t so simple. The tension in his lower body, which had subsided while dealing with Locke, sprang back to life as if it had never faded.

“You’re really… okay.”

Nick was bowing his head, thinking of human decency, but Owen didn’t seem inclined to consider his predicament. A soft palm touched his cheek. Now, even Owen’s wrist seemed to carry his scent.

“It’s more than okay. Haa… Owen, your scent is so dizzyingly good.”

“How long have we been like this?”

Nick twisted his wrist to check the time.

“A little over an hour. Our company doctor is on the way here now.”

“…Locke said there’s no antidote for this drug.”

Owen’s cheeks were still flushed with heat. It was clear that even speaking a sentence of that length made his breathing labored.

“I know. That’s why excreting it from your body is the best option. That’s also the doctor’s recommendation.”

Nick released a bit more of his pheromones. As if in response, the pheromones lingering in the air from Owen surged toward him again. Their pheromones met and mingled like a dance. And the feeling was…

“Haa… Nick. Are you feeling this too?”

“Yes. I’m feeling it with you. Together.”

Nick barely managed a whisper in response.

He just wanted to surrender to the overwhelming sensation. Even moving his vocal cords to speak felt unnecessary and burdensome.

“What is this?”

Owen asked, leaning back deeper into Nick.

“If I were to explain it boringly, I’d say it’s the chemical bonding of two highly compatible pheromones.”

Owen let out a laugh that resonated from his chest at Nick’s explanation.

“In my terms, it means I’m your perfect match.”

“Your way is much better.”

Their laughter mingled in the air too.

“Nick, will you promise to answer honestly about something I’m going to ask?”

A faint shadow crossed Owen’s face.

“Sure. What are you curious about?”

“When I… was unconscious.”

To hear better, Nick rested his chin on Owen’s shoulder.

“Weren’t you scared? I mean, didn’t my pheromones frighten you? Be honest, Nick.”

“Owen.”

Nick cut him off there.

“…Yes.”

Tension laced Owen’s responding voice.

“I actually have something to say too.”

Owen has been haunted by lifelong trauma. He treated himself like a ticking bomb that could explode without suppressants. The word “monster” invaded young Owen’s mind far too easily.

And today, Nick saw how absurd that misunderstanding was and who the real monster was. Now he has to tell Owen. So Owen can leave those unjust misconceptions behind here.

“Do you remember when I told you about my sensing ability?”

“Yes, but why bring that up now…?”

“I also said it saved my life and my team’s lives multiple times.”

“….”

“I didn’t lie. But on the other hand, I didn’t think I survived solely because of that ability. Being able to sense more acutely than others is convenient, but real-world experience, appropriate heavy weaponry, and my team’s strength were more important. To me, my sensing ability was just a supplementary tool.”

“….”

“Now, whether you believe what I’m about to say is up to you. I’m going to confess the true extent of my hidden ability to you.”

Owen listened silently, as if trying to guess where this conversation was heading.

“Owen, I know how many people are in this building right now. I can tell who’s trembling in fear, who’s anxious, and who’s planning to attack me. And if I want, I think I could kill someone. Right from this spot.”

“….”

This is a different league from saying he can tell if someone’s targeting him. It’s a story that requires a cinematic imagination, and Owen fell silent for a moment.

“Nick, could it be that you, without realizing—”

“Inhaled Acid Pheromone?”

Owen nodded cautiously.

“Are you going to write me off as someone high on drugs for talking about something unheard of?”

“No! That’s not what I—”

“Then it’s simple. If that doesn’t work, you could call me a monster.”

“No! Nick!”

Seeing Owen’s flustered face, Nick couldn’t help but laugh.

“But honestly, for a moment, I did think that. Not about you, Owen, but about me.”

“….”

“To answer your question, no. I wasn’t scared. Your pheromones are still nothing but intoxicating.”

“….”

“Even if you’d tried to attack me, you’d have failed. Sorry, Owen, but you overestimated yourself if you thought you could knock me out. You’re nowhere near strong enough to take me down. Your lifetime achievement is sending a weakling like Locke to the hospital. I just took down every alpha in this building. Compared to the abnormality of my ability, you’re far behind.”

“Nick… if you’re joking to cheer me up, it’s not funny.”

“Good. It wasn’t a joke.”

Owen’s confused eyes looked at him, seeking answers. Nick drove the point home.

“We’d need to start by questioning what’s normal or abnormal, but if you’re asking who the monster is between us, it’s me.”

“No!”

Owen shouted.

“Of course, if we include mental state, Locke is undeniably the top monster. No debate there. But purely in terms of the power to cause physical harm, I was clearly the monster.”

“Don’t use that word! You’re not!”

Owen’s denying gaze was resolute.

“Then don’t use it about yourself either. I’ll really get mad from now on. And it turned out it wasn’t even true. I’m sorry for pretending to be more ordinary while you were suffering beside me, but in my defense, I didn’t fully know my own potential either.”

Nick is certain that the flood of Owen’s pheromones into his body played a role. He couldn’t have done this alone before today. But that doesn’t mean Owen gave him an ability he didn’t have. It was within Nick. So there’s no need to say Owen’s pheromones awakened him.

“You completed me, Owen. In this inappropriate place, that’s the one thing we salvaged today.”

All that’s left is to share one final truth.

“….”

Owen lowered his head. He’s probably deciding whether to believe his longstanding misconceptions or Nick’s shocking confession.

Nick quietly buried his face in Owen’s back and inhaled his scent deeply but softly. Amid the silence that settled between them, Owen began to move slightly. One hand carefully slipped out and tapped the back of Nick’s gloved hand, as if to say, “look here.”

“…Did that really happen?”

“What do you mean?”

Nick asked playfully.

“Did my pheromones really…”

“They’re intoxicating. Even now, Owen.”

As if to prove it, Nick buried his nose in Owen’s neck and took a long, deliberate inhale of his pheromones.

“You can release more, Owen. You need to let it all out anyway.”

He has to keep reminding him, because from the moment Owen opened his eyes, he’s been trying to suppress his pheromones out of lifelong habit.

“Nick, but where’s Locke now?”

Ah. Right, that issue too.

Reluctantly, Nick lifted his head from Owen’s neck to answer.

“There’s a room next door. He went in there to hide.”

“So… are we okay? Or are we trapped?”

Since Owen was unconscious during Locke’s rampage, it was a natural question, but as expected, Owen has no memory of it. That means Nick can explain slowly.

Nick could be unfazed by a corpse in the next room, but he couldn’t expect the same indifference from Owen. It’ll have to stay like that for a few hours, so telling him would only cause unnecessary discomfort.

“It’s Locke who’s trapped. We’re fine.”

“…It’s strangely quiet.”

“I cut the comms lines. He was being noisy. A tech who can crack the code is coming with Team Doc. Either he comes out on his own before then, or we wait.”

He won’t come out on his own. Nick opened his senses again to check the next room. Still no signs of life. But since he hasn’t confirmed with his own eyes, it’s not entirely a lie, he could argue if questioned later.

“I see. So we just stay like this.”

Finally seeming relieved, Owen leaned back comfortably. Perhaps reassured that no one would enter after Nick held him this long, Owen began naturally releasing more pheromones bit by bit.

“Ha… Owen. Why does it have to be here… Shall we ignore social decorum for a bit and just go home?”

“While releasing this much pheromone?”

Owen made a troubled expression, then boldly did something nonchalant.

“Ugh…! O…wen!”

That was definitely an intentional burst of pheromones aimed at him. And at a concentrated level.

“Actually… I can’t control it anymore. …Is this what drugs are like? I thought I was okay, but now it feels like it’s starting again.”

Owen’s sentences were getting shorter again. That meant his breathing was becoming labored. Team Doc said the dose was too high. No one really knows how it’ll act in his body. Maybe that lunatic Locke was right about it taking hours.

“It seems the drug’s effects will linger for a while.”

“He said three hours… haa…”

“…!!”

Over an hour remains.

Though he’s probably dead, Nick silently vowed to kill Locke if he wasn’t, then lowered his head. He resolved to hold out for two more hours without moving, but his nose was already sniffing at Owen’s neck. Instinct and reason were operating separately.

“Nick… it’s hot.”

One of Owen’s arms arched gracefully backward, wrapping around Nick’s bowed neck. Unlike the vulgar taste of that pervert Locke, an elegant, high-class shackle began to bind Nick’s neck.

Pheromone glands are anatomically near hormone glands, so the richest scents should come from the neck or near the genitals. But somehow, Owen’s scent is emanating from everywhere.

“Nick… my stomach’s been burning for a while.”

“….”

Perhaps upset by Nick’s lack of response, Owen lifted Nick’s arm and placed it on his stomach himself. Nick clenched his jaw and swallowed dryly.

“Nick… I’m really glad you’re such a strong alpha.”

Before Nick could tease about how he sounded like he was leaving a last will, the hips seated snugly between his legs moved.

Nick squeezed his eyes shut while holding Owen’s waist. He pressed his forehead to the back of Owen’s neck, breathing shallowly to calm himself. He wanted to beg Owen to just make him explode.

Disliking the halted touch, Owen twisted his hips. Nick gripped Owen’s waist tighter. Realizing he could no longer move on his own, Owen turned his head back to meet Nick’s eyes.

“Owen.”

In that brief moment, his voice came out hoarse, as if his vocal cords had dried up.

“Are you really okay with this, here?”

To the foolish question asked through gritted teeth, Owen answered not with words but by twisting his hips further to find Nick’s lips. It was a truly foolish question.

Nick stripped off Owen’s pants and tossed them aside. His own pants were only unbuckled. He turned Owen around, embracing him, and sat him on his thighs. Grabbing Owen’s hips with both hands, he thrust downward.

“Ahh!”

“…Hah!”

He’d held back for too long. The moment he entered, Owen was already climaxing. The pulsating inner walls stimulated Nick. Holding Owen’s waist, he lifted him up and slammed him down a few times, and the sensation of release was already building.

There was no room to ask if it was okay today. The tip of his erection was already tingling. Nick gripped Owen’s hips with both hands and thrust in roughly. He lifted Owen’s hips and slammed them down as if hammering a nail. He drove his hardened penis into Owen’s depths with hammer-like thrusts. Grasping Owen’s firm hips, he plunged in deeply with a squelching sound. He thrust hard, penetrating deeply, hitting Owen’s inner points. Rapidly and shortly, he pounded, making Owen’s depths resonate with a thud-thud-thud-thud.

“Hah! Hah!”

Even if Owen hadn’t clung to his shoulders and called for a timeout, Nick couldn’t move anymore. He could feel the tip of his overheated erection splitting.

Even with his mouth closed, a sound scratched out of his throat. Nick thrust deeply one last time and gripped Owen’s waist with both hands. Ejaculation began. Owen’s inner walls pulsed as if trying to contain the swelling glans. They enveloped the sensitive skin, throbbing.

Ha.

Nick tilted his head back. Inhaling Owen’s thickly layered pheromones, he endured the torturous pleasure. To avoid reacting to Owen’s grip on his glans, he summoned every ounce of remaining patience.

Until Owen’s soft, pleasurable inner walls surrendered and stretched taut, the glans continued its slow but certain transformation.

The swelling finished, and Owen could no longer move. It was nice that he was clinging to Nick, crying out, but with reduced movement, Owen slowly lifted his head. He seemed lost to the drug and pheromones, yet he could still feel what was happening inside his body. He lifted his head from Nick’s shoulder and began touching his stomach.

“Is something wrong, Owen?”

Nick placed his hand over Owen’s stomach, asking gently. Knotting doesn’t make the stomach bulge, but Owen tried pressing it with his hand.

“Ha— Owen, what are you doing? That only makes it more stimulating.”

Nick hissed a warning through his teeth, but it was too late. It had already started moving inside. Perhaps sensing Owen’s touch, it moved more boldly than usual.

“Ngh…”

Perhaps the stimulation was intense, as Owen immediately grabbed Nick’s shoulders again. It seemed like a signal to stop, but that was one thing Nick couldn’t grant. Unfortunately, it doesn’t move according to Nick’s will. It didn’t come out because Nick wanted it to, nor can he make it retract on command.

So, pretending to soothe him, Nick hugged Owen’s waist more tightly. He held him firmly to prevent any escape attempts. Owen wrapped his arms around Nick’s neck and buried his face in it. Only muffled, choked sobs could be heard. But Nick knew they weren’t from pain or dislike.

Owen can’t speak properly right now, but his body is expressing itself. His thighs trembled finely, and sweat beaded on his smooth back. The inner walls had started intermittent spasms, and the muffled sobs came in rhythm with them.

The “moving something” Owen mentioned from previous knottings is the corpus spongiosum that emerges when the glans transforms. Remarkably, Owen described it accurately based solely on the sensation of his inner walls. As Owen said, it’s tongue-like, but Nick doesn’t know more details. He only saw it once, during his first rut.

The frenzy of his first rut was overwhelming enough, and seeing something grotesque attached to a man’s most precious part, he struggled to tear it off. He thrashed until he fell off the bed, but realizing it wouldn’t detach, he accepted it as part of his body.

That was the first and last time he saw it. He never saw it again. Without Owen, he would’ve dismissed it as a hallucination from the heat of his first rut and lived treating it as a separate parasitic creature he never wanted to encounter again. But inside Owen, it seems to do some good.

Generally, alphas feel the greatest pleasure during knotting, but omegas are said to experience both pleasure and pain.

For Owen, that grotesque thing rewarded enduring the knotting with pleasure.

Though grotesque, this ingenious secondary organ slipped out during knotting and caressed Owen’s insides. It licked Owen’s soft, wrinkled inner walls, rolled gently to soothe, and did commendable work while the penis, tightly lodged, couldn’t move to hit the right spots.

…!!!

Semen poured from the fully swollen glans. If Owen’s inner walls would just accept it quietly, it’d be fine, but they rushed in as if waiting, enveloping the glans. The pulsating walls swallowed Nick’s penis as if devouring it. They didn’t need to rush so eagerly. The glans swelled to prevent leakage.

“Ha…! O…wen!!!”

Owen began panting again. He moved as if experiencing this inside his body for the first time. It sounded like he was crying out to stop, but this was truly unfair. Owen started this one. Owen’s spasms stimulated Nick again.

As the second ejaculation approached, Nick hugged Owen tighter. Owen’s hand returned to his stomach. As if trying to dislodge the firm bond formed inside, he kept touching his stomach. It’ll end when it’s meant to end.

With no other words to offer, Nick gently brought Owen’s tear-soaked face to his and sought his lips. When Nick slipped his tongue in, Owen, despite crying, parted his lips. As if mimicking their kiss, it moved. The difference was that Nick kissed Owen’s lips reverently, while it seemed to have no intention of sparing Owen, no matter how much he cried.

ꕥ

“Cooper, find a clean blanket.”

Nick thought the world had ended, but it wasn’t the world—just Nick momentarily losing his senses. Not passing out, but literally clinging to Owen in a daze. Otherwise, the sofa wouldn’t be this soaked.

“And some drinking water.”

It’s so wet that he might need to worry about dehydrating Owen’s body.

After releasing a wave of heat, Nick finally noticed the daybed sofa by the window. Unable to keep Owen on the floor, he moved him to the sofa, but naturally, it didn’t end with just moving him.

Nick’s gaze at the sofa was fierce. Now that he’d come to his senses, he remembered whose furniture this was. He’d brought Owen here because there was nothing else in sight, but seeing it soaked with Owen’s bodily fluids twisted his mood. Moving Owen elsewhere and burning it would be the cleanest solution.

—Boss, finally hearing your voice. No matter how much I called, no response.

Simon answered instead of Cooper.

“I told you to stand by. Why’d you call?”

—John and Team Doc have arrived.

It’s shocking that so much time has passed. Not that he didn’t believe Simon, but Nick twisted his wrist to check the time himself. Six hours had gone by.

“Got it. Wait a bit longer. Before that, I need a clean room. Ask the staff there.”

He didn’t want to lay Owen in a room where who-knows-what happened, but he couldn’t keep him on that soaked sofa either. Something came up that needed resolving before leaving the island. He couldn’t send Owen off alone in a chopper, so they’d have to stay here for a few hours.

—Boss, I’m at the door.

Cooper’s voice came through the in-ear.

Before opening the door, Nick stood to block the view of Owen’s position.

“Decided to live like a beast now, boss?”

Nick opened the door wearing only pants. His shirt was currently being used to faintly maintain Owen’s body temperature.

“You know Simon and Hugh can’t come anywhere near here, right?”

The pheromone scent had spread beyond the lab door.

“Tell them to stay far away from us.”

No matter how hard the air purifier worked, it couldn’t filter out the pheromones poured out over hours.

“There’ll be a guest. If a chopper arrives, don’t shoot it down.”

“A guest? Who? When?”

“Go now. Details over comms.”

Even though Cooper’s a beta, it bothers Nick that Owen is lying naked just a few steps away. Nick took the blanket and, like shooing a kid, pushed Cooper’s feet out the door while closing it. Cooper said something incredulous as he was pushed out, but he wouldn’t understand the situation anyway.

It’d need testing to confirm, but they’ve likely imprinted. With that much pheromone poured into each other, the imprint is etched into their bones. Betas don’t understand the irrational obsession with a freshly imprinted partner.

“John.”

—Yes, boss. Been waiting for your call. Should I bring the codebreaker up now?

“No, later. It’s not urgent.”

—What? Didn’t you call me to open that door?

“That was then, but Locke died in the meantime.”

—What?

—What, boss?

—Huh?!

Each listening team member chimed in.

“I didn’t see it myself, but that’s what I sense.”

—If you say so, it’s true.

—Dead for sure, then. But why? Or rather, how? Did you open the door alone?

“No, I said I didn’t see it. We’ll confirm later. John, tell Milstone to stand by and dig through Locke’s computer to prepare materials for Victor Rose.”

Milstone is the contract law attorney for Security Solutions. He helps draft contracts to protect Nick’s company from losses.

—Got plenty of that already. Overflowing. What do you think I’ve been doing while waiting for your call? This lunatic cousin is seriously deranged. Total pervert. Ugh. Show the lawyer half of this, and he’ll talk 300 years without parole.

“Good. Brief Milstone and convince Victor to come here.”

—I’ll contact him now. But boss, from what I see, Victor doesn’t seem involved in Locke’s crazy stuff, including Acid Pheromone development. No traces.

That could be true. He might fund his pathetic son endlessly, but criminal conspiracy is another matter. It risks their own future.

“Call him anyway. The island and lab owner, and Locke’s family, needs to come to wrap this up. Then we can go home.”

—Okay. Good thing it’s just one person. I’ll do it now.

“Simon, the room?”

—Was just about to say. The view’s not great, but they say it’s never been used, so it’s definitely clean. That’s what you wanted, right?

“Right. Guide me. I mean, verbally. Clear anyone lingering on the way.”

Owen will be covered with a blanket, but even rolled up, no one should see him.

ꕥ

The claim that it’s never been used seems true. Scanning the room with heightened senses, Nick only smelled dust. He leaned against a corner of the starkly decorated staff room.

“How is he?”

“Uncomfortable, boss. Staring like that would make even a skilled doctor slip up.”

Knowing that’s not what Nick meant, Team Doc deliberately gave a cheeky response.

Nick’s brow furrowed more.

“Details need a blood test, but breathing and pulse are decent. Not perfectly normal, though.”

“What’s not normal?”

“There’s a fever. But that’s likely because the drug’s effects haven’t fully worn off.”

“Team Doc.”

Nick called out Team Doc’s name, dissatisfaction clear in his voice at the vague diagnosis.

“With testing equipment, we could speed things up.”

“Then do it now. I don’t know what you need, but it’s probably somewhere in this building. It’s a lab, so it’s likely fully equipped.”

“Yes, I thought so too. I’ll draw blood first.”

Team Doc pulled blood collection gear from his bag.

“Take only a little.”

At the absurd interference, Team Doc’s hand, tying the rubber band, paused briefly.

“Don’t hurt him.”

“Boss.”

“…Fine. Hurry up.”

Sighs escaped both their mouths simultaneously.

Nick slightly leaned off the wall, obsessively watching Team Doc’s every move. He confirmed the vial with Owen’s precious blood was safely in the bag, then pulled Team Doc up and pushed him out of the room.

“Cooper, you stand outside the door. If Owen wakes, contact me immediately. Don’t go in, stay outside.”

“Already said that. Why repeat it? It’s not hard.”

Cooper dragged a chair, likely from the next room, and plopped down on it.

—Boss, if you’re done there, come see me.

As if waiting for the right moment, John called.

“Where?”

—Third-floor lab.

“On my way.”

Entering Locke’s lab, Nick frowned harder than before.

“John, is the air purification system here broken?”

John’s here for the first time today too, but with his curious nature, he’d likely figured out the building’s management system while waiting for Nick’s call.

“No. It’s working fine.”

Nick’s nose wrinkled again at John’s response. Owen’s scent still lingered.

“Guess you overwhelmed even the machine.”

Realizing why Nick was frowning, John added his opinion.

“Hugh and Simon tried coming up but went back down. Looked like they were about to puke.”

The vomiting in the two alphas was likely caused by Nick’s pheromones. Well, they’re gone, so it’s fine.

“Why’d you call me?”

“Here.”

John pointed to the monitor displaying Owen’s vitals. The nightmare-like alarm graphs were gone, replaced by new data.

“Thought you should see this before Victor arrives. Crazy or not, the scientist kept meticulous lab logs. Look, it’s got everything from the start date of Acid Pheromone development to the dates of version upgrades.”

John scrolled the monitor with his finger, pausing to highlight and explain each relevant document.

John was right. The logs detailed changes in recipes and reactions to each version of the drug.

“I won’t replay those horrific experiment videos. But I had to skim them for context. Ugh… Anyway, watching those so-called experiments, I thought this guy might’ve hated omegas. Every test subject was an omega. Gender didn’t matter, but designation was always.”

Uncharacteristically, John’s voice lacked its usual playfulness. He closed the window and opened another folder. Inside were subfolders, labeled only with numbers.

John entered one and clicked a file. It looked like another lab log. Photos and videos were attached, but Nick had no desire to open them. The written information was enough.

“Remember that body, boss? The one that washed up at Hudson Dock. Got your bag back because of it.”

Nick remembers.

“Heard from the security firm downstairs. They were all homeless. Obvious, maybe, but these weren’t consensual experiments. They chose people no one would miss, so they likely never planned to let them live. That’s from truth serum, so it’s legit.”

“….”

The meticulously kept lab logs reveal Locke’s purpose. He wanted to conquer and destroy omegas. He started with weaker designations, then moved to stronger ones. Later, he targeted only imprinted ones.

“Total… pervert and psycho.”

Still uncharacteristically, John’s voice was subdued.

The lab logs, quickly scrolled through, were all like that. John said Locke seemed to hate omegas, but Nick felt it was closer to fear. At least enough to keep his distance from Owen.

“Why the hell did this lunatic cousin kidnap Chairman Rose?”

“….”

Nick isn’t curious about that anymore, but John seems to be.

He could mention the childhood incident, but would that justify it? Nick doesn’t think so. Is it worth the effort to find excuses to understand a criminal? There are people for that.

“Because he’s that kind of guy.”

“Hm. True. That’s it.”

That kind of guy. Warped and pathetic. With endless money and time, he could escalate things this far, but he was never capable of more.

John nodded in agreement.

—Boss, looks like the mad scientist’s dad has arrived.

Reading further was tough, and just then, the in-ear announced Victor’s arrival.

“Send him up.”

ꕥ

“Locke? Where’s Locke!”

Perhaps called from home, Victor was casually dressed. Still grasping the situation, he entered the lab and immediately shouted for his son.

Nick stood with arms crossed, waiting until Victor scanned the small lab. He observed Victor. John’s claim that Victor wasn’t involved in the crimes seems credible. Victor flinched at the suspicious dental chair-like device and the chains discarded on the floor.

“Where’s Locke?”

Not seeing his son after looking around, Victor finally addressed Nick.

Nick jerked his chin toward the wall where Locke had disappeared. To an outsider, it’s just an iron wall, but someone familiar with the building’s layout would understand.

“Locke! Come out. I’m here, so it’s okay. Come out now.”

Victor not only knew it was a room but also the camera’s location. He spoke to it.

“He’s not coming out. Locked himself in. I’d like to see it myself.”

Skeptical but moving slowly toward the wall, Victor approached. A wall impervious to machine-gun fire opened easily with Victor’s gesture. The room’s access system was registered with Victor’s biometric data too, not just Locke’s.

Sharing the key to a panic room and bedroom. Does that mean Locke trusted his father that much, or Victor didn’t fully trust Locke? It’s confusing. John pursed his lips, mirroring Nick’s narrowed eyes.

“Locke? Locke!!”

What followed was a scream-like sound. Nick shifted his feet slightly from where he stood. He was curious about Locke’s final expression too.

Hm.