Desire Me If You Can Chapter 23

“Why do I have to roll around in the mud just because we need to tire that bastard out?”

To his obvious protest, Wilkins calmly persuaded him.

“You can do it, sure. But we need something to absolutely crush him. I’m saying we need a control group to show that no matter how good Miller is at picking up women, it’s all useless in real-world scenarios.”

Wilkins gripped Dane’s two arms tightly to keep him from running away and said,

“In this plan, your participation is mandatory.”

At those glowing, dark eyes, Dane let out an “Ugh,” his face twisting as if he had goosebumps.

“Doesn’t the fact that you have to include a ‘mandatory’ condition when making a plan mean the plan itself is a failure?”

To Dane, who was attempting to escape until the very end, Wilkins persuaded him with a serious face, unlike before.

“Dane, I didn’t plan this just because I wanted to prank Grayson Miller. Shouldn’t that guy experience firsthand that he’s in a different league than us so he’ll be a bit more obedient from now on? A year is a long time. Do you know what kind of trouble he might cause in the future? We need to seize the initiative early, don’t we?”

Of course, as the team leader, his top priority would be to manage Grayson Miller somehow. Since imagining him following orders obediently was impossible, it was a natural thought for a team leader to try to make him follow along, even if it was semi-forced like this, but…

While he was still reluctant, Ezra suddenly chimed in.

“You’d better cooperate, too. Think about it—what if that guy gets isolated while out in the field? Someone has to go and save him. Who else among us can do it?”

Dane twisted his face and pointed at himself with his index finger without a word. As if to say, Do I really have to be the one to save him? Ezra nodded firmly.

“Exactly. Of course, I or others will go in together, but you’re essential. Why? Because your physique is the best among us! You’re the only one who could even drag Grayson Miller out!”

The heated explanation was nothing short of sophistry, but it seemed difficult to escape this solid trap.

“Now, Dane Striker.”

Following the cruel reality, Wilkins called out Dane’s full name. He looked at Dane with a face more serious than ever and spoke.

“Should you do this? Or not?”

“…Hah.”

In the end, Dane covered his face with one hand and let out a deep sigh. That decided everything.

It was a sunny midday with the sun blazing down.

The sky stretched out in a vivid blue without a single cloud, and the strong sunlight shone brightly upon the earth. The window glass of the buildings in the distance sparkled dazzlingly, and the breeze made the air feel a bit cooler. A perfectly clear day. However, the moment he saw the sight that unfolded at their destination, Dane suddenly felt like he wanted to cover that sun with his hand.

The other team members were already waiting at the location. Seeing a group of female employees gathered there, fitting for the purpose of this absurd test, Dane let out a sigh automatically. They were already overflowing with adrenaline. Seeing them waving their fists, cheering for Dane, and booing Grayson, Dane suddenly wondered if he should just turn around and go home.

“Alright, come here. I’ll explain the course. Dane, Dane! I’m telling you to come here!”

At Wilkins’ shout, Dane had no choice but to slowly head toward him. Grayson had arrived first and was waiting for him. As the two men stood on either side of him, Wilkins unfolded the map he had brought and said,

“Alright, this is our fire station.”

Wilkins explained, tapping the map with his finger.

“You start here and go around like this, understand? If you finish quickly, you’ll be back within 30 minutes. Look, if you pass through here and go like this…”

Dane was just listening while standing indifferently and glancing at the map. It was no surprise, as this course was a route he was already familiar with. This route, which went around the low mountain behind the fire station, was not much different from the course they took during occasional physical training, so there was no need to memorize it. The only difference might be the secluded curved road off the path. It was clearly added to try and raise the difficulty higher than the usual tests. Since it was just a physical test in name only, and actually a scheme to prank Grayson Miller, it was understandable that it had been modified.

Even then, it wouldn’t be much different.

While he watched indifferently with one hand on his waist, he suddenly felt uneasy. The moment he lifted his head, Dane met purple eyes staring intently at him.

Since when was he watching?

He couldn’t tell, but it was certain that the time spent staring at Dane like that wasn’t short. Was this a battle of nerves? It was a series of truly trivial matters. However, he had no intention of avoiding his gaze, so Dane met his eyes squarely.

At that moment, the deep purple eyes grew even darker. Along with the pupils that had turned almost black, the sweet scent that always drifted around Grayson became several times more intense.

A sensation as if even the air had turned sticky. The intense pheromones that swept through the surroundings in an instant caused a change immediately.

“Ah!”

“Jane, are you okay?”

“Mark, what’s wrong? Mark!”

“Does anyone have medicine?”

The colleagues with the Omega trait were momentarily staggering under the influence. Some were gasping for air, looking panicked. Hah, Dane let out a short sigh in disbelief. It was because of the scent overflowing from this damn Alpha-Prime.

A terribly sweet scent of pheromones.

For someone with such an absurdly huge build, his pheromones were excessively sweet.

As if, if you were to bite into them, your teeth would all rot away.

Of course, Dane wasn’t unaffected, but thanks to his long experience and special trait, he was able to easily brush off such situations. The problem was the ordinary Omegas who were affected. To scatter pheromones like this as he pleased—he was a guy who didn’t have even an ounce of consideration for others. As all Alpha-Primes were.

He felt an impulse to just knock this annoying guy out, but he firmly suppressed it. It wasn’t good to solve things this way every time.

For the first time, he thought that following Wilkins’ words and playing it cool for this occasion wasn’t so bad. Humans of this type would likely have muscles built by just eating protein shakes at the gym, so they were prone to panicking or falling behind when doing brutal training that required using every muscle in the body. So, there wasn’t much time left for him to pull such provocations. Dane thought as much and softened his heart.

“…and so, do you understand? Did you both catch that?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

Dane and Grayson answered in succession, but their gazes toward each other remained the same. Wilkins looked back and forth between the two, shrugged, then rolled up the map and held it in his hand.

“Alright, then let’s start now. Go to the starting line, hurry.”

It was when he was following Wilkins, who was urging them, “Come on, come on,” that someone called him.

“Dane, Dane.”

The person who called him in a low voice was Diandre. He glanced around and pulled $10 out of his pocket, pressing it into Dane’s hand.

“Beat that guy up a bit when no one is looking, if possible, aim for his face.”

He was serious. Dane, looking down at Diandre’s menacing face, glanced at the bill, folded it, and put it in his trouser pocket.

“$10 worth is all it’ll be, right?”

At the indifferent question, Diandre hesitated. Immediately afterward, he hurriedly searched his pockets and put crumpled bills he pulled from here and there onto Dane’s palm in a rush. To Diandre, who was wearing an expression as nervous as if waiting for a referee, Dane checked the amount, unfolding them one by one without a word, and then nodded.

“$38… and 25 cents. Got it.”

When Diandre even emptied the coins left in his pocket and gave them to him, Dane put even those in his pocket, tapped the client’s arm, and turned around.

“I’m counting on you, Dane! I believe in you!”

Toward Diandre, who was shouting urgently from behind, Dane still kept his back turned and waved only one hand. And he walked toward the starting line where everyone was waiting.