Dolls Chapter 2.4

His heart began to pound fiercely. The tingling pain surged again in his slightly raised chest. Joy, biting his lip lightly to endure the sharp ache, felt Noah gently wrap an arm around his shoulder. Startled, Joy looked up at him.

Noah, without meeting Joy’s gaze, spoke to Adrian in a resolute voice.

Whether he intended to kill him or not, that is not the important issue. Even during my last visit to the institute, OE01 was left alone in Dr. Jace Miller’s lab. You know this well, don’t you?

That’s right.

If the test subjects are not being properly managed, or rather, if certain test subjects are being treated differently, it will inevitably cause problems in some form later on. No matter how independently the institute operates, as it is under Perth Corporation, I believe the headquarters has the right to intervene directly in such matters.

At Noah’s words, Adrian crossed his arms and looked at Joy. Joy found it utterly terrifying to meet Adrian’s gaze. It was uncomfortable and frightening. If he could, he wanted to hide behind Noah to avoid those eyes, but he felt the same fear from Noah as well.

Standing still with a tearful face, unable to move forward or backward, Joy was watched by Adrian, who then spoke to Noah.

So, are you planning to take him to the Seifried estate again, like before?

Joy flinched at the chilling tone in Adrian’s voice. No. He never wanted to go back there. That day, when he was left alone in that room, burning with fever until he nearly fainted, Noah hadn’t checked on him. No one had cared to know what was happening in that room. He never wanted to experience that lonely, frightening, and sorrowful moment again.

That’s not a bad…

I don’t want to go!

Cutting off Noah mid-sentence, Joy’s shout made everyone turn to look at him in surprise. With tears welling in his eyes and his hands trembling, his entire body screamed “I’m terrified,” yet he gripped his clothes tightly with both hands, mustering strength, and spoke again.

I don’t want to go. I want to stay at the institute.

Adrian let out a scoff, as if he found Joy’s words absurd.

Why?

The institute is my home. I’m not Noah Seifried’s Omega. Noah Seifried is not my Alpha.

Not your Alpha?

No.

Your Alpha doesn’t even exist in the first place.

Joy’s body trembled faintly at Adrian’s cold words. But he gripped his clothes tighter, looked straight into Adrian’s eyes, and said.

No. I have an Alpha too.

You have an Alpha?

Joy… Joy doesn’t have an Alpha, so Dad… Dr. Jace Miller promised to be Joy’s Alpha.

At Joy’s words, both Adrian’s and Noah’s faces contorted sharply. Did this Omega even understand what he was saying?

Jace Miller is your Alpha?

Noah’s voice carried a hint of anger. Unable to respond verbally to his piercing gaze, Joy only nodded repeatedly.

OE01. You calling yourself Joy, that was Jace Miller’s doing too, wasn’t it?

…It’s the name Dad gave me.

Haha… Jace Miller, that crazy bastard.

Joy flinched and stepped back at the curse that spilled from Noah’s mouth. He didn’t know what a curse was, having never learned it, but Noah’s angry face, looking as if it could devour him, was overwhelmingly terrifying.

His few steps backward were in vain as Noah strode forward and roughly grabbed Joy’s shoulders.

Ugh… It… hurts…

Don’t be ridiculous, Joy Green. Your Alpha isn’t Jace Miller. It’s me. Noah Seifried.

As Noah spat out the words, the lavender scent began to overwhelm Joy again. His body trembled uncontrollably, and his lower body started to grow wet.

No… please…

Noah whispered into the ear of Joy, who was staggering as the strength drained from his legs.

Joy Green. You’ll bear my child.

Joy’s face was filled with horror. Noah, stroking Joy’s face, gave a gentle smile and lightly kissed his lips.

Hng.

A soft moan escaped Joy’s lips, and Noah, with a smirk, spoke to Adrian.

Chairman, may I take this Omega back with me?

Do as you please. But make sure he undergoes proper genetic testing. I’ll send researchers to the Seifried estate.

Thank you.

What were these people talking about? Joy shook his head, trying to clear his dazed mind, but it was hard to grasp the situation. Why were they trying to separate him from his dad? After leaving him so lonely and scared, why now?

No. I don’t want to.

At Joy’s muttered words, Adrian sneered and said.

You don’t have a choice.

But…

Behave like a test subject should. Don’t defy your master.

Master…

Oh, not “master,” but “Alpha,” was it?

…!

Your Alpha isn’t Jace Miller. It’s Noah Seifried.

No!

It was decided from the beginning.

No! It’s not!

No, it isn’t. So why are you getting so wet down there, OE01?

At Adrian’s words, Joy’s face flushed with embarrassment as he looked down. The lower part of his clothes was soaking wet.

*

Inside the car heading to the Seifried estate, Joy struggled to regulate his increasingly rapid breathing, trying not to lose consciousness. He knew well that no one could defy the Perth Chairman’s orders, but he didn’t want to return to that place.

Tears kept blurring his vision, and he blinked hard several times, biting his lip. He was worried about what had happened to Jace and terrified of what would happen to himself, not knowing what lay ahead.

—How are the 70 hyungs doing?

AE70 and OE70, who had gone to the Seifried estate with him, suddenly came to mind. Having entered a heat cycle upon arrival and been separated from them, he didn’t know how they were faring at the estate.

Typically, the Alphas and Omegas at the institute are created with synchronized rut and heat cycles. Born as pairs from the start, they experience what regular people call “mating seasons” at the same intervals.

Since they are usually dispatched ten days before their mating season, AE70 and OE70 were likely about to enter their rut and heat cycles soon.

That aside, what Joy couldn’t understand was his own condition. His heat cycle had clearly ended, so why was his body heating up like this? The lavender scent, which used to feel violent, like it was hitting him, now caressed him, sending shivers down his spine. But far from being unpleasant, it stirred something deep inside him, making his lower body wet and leaving him humiliated.

Hng…

At the involuntary moan that escaped his lips, Noah, sitting beside him, turned to look at Joy intently. It was embarrassing. Both the sound that came from his mouth and the fact that Noah was looking at his soaked clothes.

Joy.

…Yes.

Doesn’t that name bother you?

What do you mean…

Never mind. I forgot you’re not intelligent enough to understand such intentions.

As Noah spoke with a smirk, Joy lowered his head, overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of shame. Trying to suppress the tears welling up again and picking at his cuticles, Noah’s hand covered his. Startled, Joy looked up, and Noah shook his head, saying.

I told you not to do that, didn’t I?

…

Isn’t it fascinating, genetics?

What?

You wouldn’t know, but all your habits are Joy Green’s.

Joy… Green…

Oh, is that the first time you’ve heard the full name? Joy Green. Your template. Also, my fiancée.

Fiancée…

At the word “fiancée,” Joy tilted his head and asked.

But Joy was Dad’s fiancée.

Who said that? Jace Miller?

Noah laughed as if he found it absurd. His twisted lips seemed to mock Joy, making him shrink further.

You think someone like Miller could be Green’s fiancé?

…

There’s a limit to delusions.

…

If it weren’t for that lunatic.

…Please.

With a cold expression, Joy spoke in a small voice to Noah, who was crossing his arms and calling Jace a “lunatic.” Though he didn’t fully understand the term, he could tell it was something bad about Jace. Noah frowned at Joy.

What?

Don’t… speak badly about Dad.

…

He’s not a bad person to be spoken of like that by Mr. Seifried.

Ha…

Don’t speak badly about Dad in front of me.

Noah stared silently at Joy, who spoke resolutely. This Omega, trembling and crying, was telling him with such firm eyes not to speak ill of his dad? What was Jace Miller to him? Noah’s eyes grew cold.

Master.

What?

You should call me Master. Not Mr. Seifried.

But…

I told you. Your Alpha isn’t Jace Miller. It’s me, Noah Seifried.

Speaking coldly, Noah leaned down and took Joy’s lips. As he bit and gnawed at Joy’s lower lip roughly, then parted his lips and slipped his tongue inside, Joy instinctively sucked on it.