By Zephyria 
Overwhelmed by the force that seemed ready to grab him by the collar and shake him, DeAndre instantly shrank.
“Well, you know… it’s been quite a while… and it didn’t seem like that guy was particularly trying to find out…”
His stammering excuses continued, but his colleagues’ attention had already wandered elsewhere.
“Why is Miller taking an interest in Dane, anyway?”
“I was actually worried from the moment he followed him to lunch. Why didn’t anyone stop him?”
“How could we stop him? It would have been too obvious!”
“Yeah, and what could happen in just one time? They weren’t alone, either; another guy was with them…”
“Dane went out there with ulterior motives, so he wouldn’t have said anything dangerous. There’s no reason to bring up what happened back then, anyway. It was ages ago.”
“Then why is that guy suddenly curious about Dane?”
“Maybe something suspicious was said earlier?”
“Suddenly?”
The question returned to square one. They exchanged glances with serious expressions, but no one spoke.
Desire Me if you can
Grayson was lost in thought alone in the empty training room. He stared intently at one spot, then swept back his hair, then stroked his chin, standing there like that for quite some time.
Should he use that method after all?
To get the answer he wanted, it was the simplest and most certain method Grayson could use. All that remained was to choose a suitable target.
The sound of the door clicking open made Grayson look up. Their eyes met, and the other person flinched and froze.
Yes, someone like that guy.
Grayson smiled broadly and said, “I have something to talk about. Do you have some time?”
The man’s eyes widened as he looked around. But Grayson and he were the only ones there. Hesitantly, the man pointed at himself, and Grayson nodded.
“Yes. You and me.”
Grayson deliberately pointed at him, then changed direction and pointed at himself, tilting his head and smiling.
“Please.”
There was no one who wouldn’t fall for him when he smiled while saying this. As expected, the man, who had been tense and wary, hesitated before finally nodding.
Desire Me if you can
What the hell? This guy.
Ezra couldn’t control his anxiously beating heart as he stole glances at Grayson, who was sitting across from him. It had been a mistake to go back to the training room. He had hesitated because he had left an important item behind, and when he went back, he ended up running into Grayson alone.
He never imagined he would still be there alone.
Giving himself absolution, Ezra drank his beer. He had ended up accepting the ridiculous proposal in this terribly awkward situation. Drinking alone with Grayson Miller. Who would call that sane?
He only asked to have one beer together, so he just had to drink this and get up. Ezra made a vow to himself. That was the best he could do.
He ostentatiously tilted his head back and gulped down his beer, and Grayson watched him silently from across the table. Ezra, who had emptied half his beer in one go, slammed the bottle down and stared straight at Grayson.
“So, what do you want to talk about?”
His pronunciation was somewhat slurred, as if he was already drunk. Of course, he would be, drinking that quickly, even if it was just beer. Grayson narrowed his eyes and thought. He wasn’t a Dominant Alpha who was immune to alcohol or drugs.
Hiding the contempt or cynicism he felt for the man sitting across from him, he put on a bitter expression and opened his mouth.
“There’s something I’d like you to help me with.”
“What is it?”
Ezra said the one word loudly and leaned forward. It was an attempt to look threatening, but to Grayson, he just looked like a meerkat. Facing the insignificant man who looked like he would be knocked away if he was nudged, Grayson opened his mouth, pretending to be troubled.
“I feel like you guys are distancing yourselves from me. I was wondering if it’s… because of Dane Striker.”
Grayson deliberately paused and checked the reaction. As expected, Ezra was startled and didn’t know what to do.
“Da, Dane? Why Dane? What does he have to do with it? Why, why would you think that?”
“Because…”
In contrast to Ezra, who was stammering, Grayson dragged out his words slowly before closing his mouth. Ezra was waiting with a tense face, even holding his breath. His face clearly showed the silent plea, ‘Tell me, tell me!’
Grayson sighed between words, then opened his mouth so slowly that Ezra was about to urge him on, “I showed him an unsightly side of myself, and I was wondering if that’s why you guys are avoiding me…”
Ezra, who had been holding his breath and not moving at all, suddenly exhaled. The words came after that.
“…What?”
Grayson silently met the gaze of Ezra, who was looking at him with a blank face. A bitter smile on his lips.
Desire Me if you can
The bar was packed with people after dinner. The noisy sounds mixed with the voices of others, and people often shouted loudly, but their table was quiet. Ezra blinked blankly, as if he didn’t know what he had just heard.
“So, um…”
Ezra barely managed to start, but he didn’t seem to know what to say, so he waved his hand around, stalling for time, before frowning deeply and asking, “You showed an unsightly side of yourself? What does that mean? When? How?”
Ah, maybe he’s talking about fainting?
A sudden thought made Ezra tense up again. In an atmosphere that felt like he was back to square one, he was thinking about glossing over the situation and running away again when Grayson opened his mouth.
“I mistakenly opened a door thinking it was the bathroom, and Dane was inside. I should have just left, but I turned around and hit my head on the door and fainted.”
So he was talking about that day. But the content was different from what Ezra knew.
“Hit your head on the door? You? By yourself?”
Grayson nodded readily. Seeing that reaction, Ezra took a sip of beer instead of swallowing hard and looked at him again.
“W-when was that?”
It was an important question, but Grayson answered as if it was nothing.
“That day, at the bar where my welcome party was held.”
Ezra blinked blankly. What was going on? He had naturally assumed that Dane had beaten this guy up and knocked him out.
…Or so he thought.
He realized belatedly. Wasn’t this all just our assumptions? Dane had said it himself, that this guy had fainted on his own. So what Miller was saying now was the same thing?
Thinking that far, Ezra looked up at Grayson again. Already looking more than halfway convinced, he cautiously opened his mouth.
“So, um… really, you hit your head and fainted by yourself? Really?”
Grayson nodded at the twice-repeated word ‘really’ and added self-deprecatingly, “It happens often because of my height. Funny, right? I’m a bit of an idiot.”
Watching Ezra’s expression, he counted in his head. It would take five seconds at most. After that, the desired result would come.
Grayson had experienced this situation many times. No matter how strong the wariness and hostility towards Dominant Alphas were, this method always worked.
Showing a weakness.
The bigger the weakness, the better. Grayson adjusted the size depending on the person and got what he wanted from them. Sometimes it was material things, sometimes it was something invisible. He had never failed, and this time was no different. Watching Ezra’s face gradually brighten, Grayson subtly raised the corners of his mouth. …3, 2, 1.
“Ah, ahahaha, so, that’s what happened, ahaha!”
Ezra laughed loudly and pounded the table. Grayson could tell that he had completely let his guard down.
“No, it’s a common mistake. I even peed in front of my house once. You have no idea how angry my wife was. She didn’t talk to me for a month because I peed on her precious flower bed.”
“Oh, I see. That must have been embarrassing.”
“You have no idea, it was torture… ”
Ezra chattered on, excited by Grayson’s response. Grayson, who had been listening with a smile, muttered in a low voice.
“So you did come.”
59 – 59
Ezra, managing to hear Grayson’s words amidst the noise, asked while taking a sip of his beer, “Huh? Are you talking about Dane? Didn’t you say you met him too?”
Grayson, facing his questioning look, replied, “Yeah, I did.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips. “I met him.”
“See? I told you so.”
Ezra excitedly chattered on, constantly emptying his glass. Grayson half-listened, already thinking about what was next.
Desire Me if you can
“What? You want us all to go to a club?”
Dane frowned, repeating the question after hearing it from Ezra. Ezra, who had delivered the news with a cheerful expression, nodded and added, “Miller doesn’t really mix well with us. So, I thought this would be a good opportunity to get closer. We’re on the same team, after all…”
Of course, Dane didn’t see it that way.
“He’s only going to be here for a year, right? More like ten months now.”
After subtracting the time that had already passed and roughly estimating the remaining time, Ezra frowned and tapped his arm a couple of times.
“Dane, still, it would be nice to get along while he’s here.”
Ezra added, as if trying to persuade him, “Miller is just a normal person like us. He just has a different Trait.”
Dane’s reaction was immediate. “Ezra, are you drunk?”
Instead of answering, Ezra looked at Dane with a scolding expression. Soon after, Ezra sighed and changed his tone to coax Dane.
“Dane, we were wrong about him. Miller isn’t such a bad guy. If we just help him a little, he’ll be much better, I promise?”
“You’re too soft, Ezra.”
Dane still didn’t change his mind. But Ezra knew exactly what to do in these situations. He already had three daughters who were well into their stubborn years.
“Okay, okay. I understand what you’re saying. Anyway, let’s all go together. He’s reaching out to us, saying he wants to get to know us, so it wouldn’t be polite to refuse, right? Let’s just go, hang out for a bit, and then leave. If you’re busy, you can make up an excuse about Darling and leave early, right? The important thing is that you showed your face. Okay?”
Ezra continued to persuade him. Dane stubbornly kept his mouth shut but eventually let out a deep sigh and ran a hand over his face.
“It’s not an excuse about the cat. Darling gets worried if I’m late, really.”
“Yeah, of course, he does.”
Ezra, as if he knew everything, patted Dane’s back and quickly changed his tune, saying, “Then it’s settled, right? I’m counting on you to be there, okay?”
At the repeated confirmations, Dane waved his hand up and down as if telling him to leave now. He would definitely get angry if he bothered him any more than this. Ezra knew very well that this was already quite a concession from Dane’s perspective, so he quickly backed away.
Now I can clear up the misunderstanding with Dane.
A smile appeared on his lips as he walked away with light steps. Drinking with Grayson the day before had been a very good choice. During that beneficial time, Ezra had cleared up many misunderstandings about Grayson and now even considered him a pretty decent guy.
The first impression wasn’t very good, but we were the ones who attacked first, so…
Anyway, all’s well that ends well. This will put the first button that was wrongly fastened back in its place.
Desire Me if you can
Watching Ezra’s retreating figure with a refreshed expression, Dane brought the can he was drinking to his mouth and emptied it in one go. The bubbles of the soda popped loudly in his mouth, stinging his throat.
What’s he thinking, that guy.
Dane frowned as he thought. Grayson Miller turning out to be a good guy? That’s ridiculous. Ezra is completely mistaken.
Usually, he’s such a good person that one of his few flaws is seeing the whole world through rose-colored glasses. He doesn’t even think about why Dominant Alphas are called psychopaths.
Well, that’s how all humans are.
It’s not just because they’re psychopaths. Humans are inherently cruel and shameless. So, Ezra’s words might not be entirely wrong. Dominant Alphas are just normal people like us.
Normally shameless, normally brazen.
Thinking that far, he soon chuckled. It’s not like I’m any different.
Desire Me if you can
Loud music echoed all around. The ear-splitting noise made Ezra feel dazed. Making his way through the swaying bodies of people dancing under the flashing lights from all directions required a considerable amount of energy. By the time he finally reached the bar and ordered a beer, he already felt completely drained.
“Are you okay? Snap out of it.”
DeAndre grinned as he spoke. Only after chugging the cold beer did Ezra finally shake his head and answer, “I never liked places like this. It’s amazing, really. I’m already exhausted just from getting here, but those people are even going out there to dance.”
Ezra, who had spoken in admiration, slowly lowered the beer bottle he was about to bring to his mouth. DeAndre, who was standing next to him, was also staring blankly in the same direction.
There was Dane, dancing. The sight of his body naturally swaying under the chaotic lights, with a woman he had never seen before pressed tightly against him, moving together, made it clear to anyone that he was enjoying himself a thousand percent. After seeing him put his arm around the woman’s waist and kiss her neck, DeAndre burst out in frustration and asked, “Didn’t that bastard say he didn’t want to come?”
“He did.”
Ezra replied. DeAndre snorted and brought the beer to his mouth.
“Unbelievable, he seems to be enjoying himself the most?”
“I know.”
Ezra replied again with a dazed expression to the resentful tone. Suddenly, he looked to his side and saw Grayson leaning against the bar, drinking beer. Feeling unnecessarily awkward, Ezra glanced at Grayson, but it was difficult to read his expression because of the dazzling lights.
“Hey.”
At the loud call, Grayson paused and looked down at him. Seeing his softly curving eyes, Ezra felt even more weighed down.
“Have you talked to Dane?”
Grayson silently shook his head in response to the question, which he had shouted with all his might. Ezra slumped his shoulders in disappointment.
Haa, I knew it. He thought inwardly. I should have suggested changing the venue when he said club. It’s not like people come here to drink in the first place, and there’s no way Dane would come to a place like this and quietly drink and go home.
He regretted it, but it was already too late. This was Grayson’s fault for choosing the club in the first place. He said he wanted to get closer, so he must have chosen a place that Dane would like, and this fun atmosphere might be helpful, but…
He should have considered the other person before deciding. Bringing a man who always hooks up with someone for a one-night stand on his days off to a place like this is like putting an aquarium in front of a cat.
Ezra shook his head again and brought the beer to his mouth, thinking that he was the one who should go home early, not Dane.
Desire Me if you can
“Why don’t we go to my place together?”
The woman, pressing her chest against Dane’s body, asked. She said that she had come with two friends and that she shared everything with them, including where she lived. In other words, that included doing that. It wasn’t that he had never dealt with three people at once, but it was too late today.
“Sorry, maybe next time.”
He conveyed his apology by giving each of them a very passionate kiss in turn before saying goodbye. After lightly waving his hand, Dane came down from the floor, swept back his sweaty hair, and walked to the bar where his colleagues were waiting. The other men bitterly watched him order and drink a beer, just like the rest of them. Ezra, who had been silently watching him gulp down the cold alcohol, his Adam’s apple bobbing, finally opened his mouth after Dane took the bottle away from his lips.
“You seem to be having a lot of fun, you.”
“Not bad.”
“What? Not bad? Not baaad?”
DeAndre, who was standing right next to him on the other side, immediately shouted exaggeratedly.
“You’re only going to say it’s not bad? How much and how are you going to do it if it’s good? Huh? You were just with three women, huh? Your bodies were like this, like this, huh? And then what? Not bad?”
“He even kissed them! Three of them!”
“You bastard, you’re an enemy of humanity! Be cursed!”
Voices condemning him poured out from all directions. Dane emptied the remaining beer with a nonchalant expression. The loud music continued to ring in his head. Should I just go home? Looking at the time, it was quite late.
Of course, he had no intention of going back without doing anything. As he slowly looked around the room to find a suitable partner, he happened to make eye contact with a plump, cute-faced man with a bit of meat on him.
60 – 60
He was startled, but soon smiled brightly, but Dane simply turned away. The man seemed disappointed and drooped his shoulders, but Dane didn’t look at him again.
Today is just not a good day.
If there was someone to his liking, he couldn’t take them, and if not, there was no need to pay any attention at all. Rejecting those three perfect women earlier was just something he did reluctantly. He had his own standards when it came to women: he wouldn’t do it in a nasty place like a bathroom. If there wasn’t time to go home and fool around, he would simply take care of it in the bathroom, but the problem was that they were women. He didn’t want to take women, especially three of them, to a dirty bathroom to do that. He shouldn’t.
So, the only option left was to find a suitable man, take care of it, and go back. To the house where Darling was waiting.
He was thinking that as he looked around again.
Suddenly, he met Grayson Miller’s eyes. Grayson’s position, standing side by side at the bar, was quite a distance from Dane. Dane had deliberately avoided him, but Grayson hadn’t particularly tried to be close to him either. Thanks to that, they had maintained a reasonable distance…
The problem was that Grayson didn’t stop there. He came over to Dane with a beer bottle and spoke to him.
“Hi.”
It was a simple greeting, but Dane just drank his beer instead of answering. He was showing his intention not to deal with him through his actions. As expected, Grayson cleanly ignored him.
“What are you looking for? I hope it’s not a person.”
“Someone to fuck.”
Dane answered without bothering to choose his words. He glanced at him next.
“Not you.”
“Ahahaha.”
Grayson suddenly burst out laughing. What, is this guy crazy? Dane frowned and looked at him, then averted his gaze. Despite repeatedly expressing his intention not to deal with him at all, he was still not getting through.
“Dane, I’m curious about something.”
Dane didn’t even respond. But Grayson continued to speak as he pleased.
“Do you really need to change partners and fuck so often? You don’t even have a Trait that requires you to control your Pheromones.”
“……”
“Huh?”
“……”
“Huh?”
“……”
“Huh?”
“……”
“Huh?”
“……Damn it!”
Dane finally cursed, as there was no sign of him backing down.
“I just do it because I want to, because sex is good! Is that enough? Get the hell out of here, and stop bothering me!”
“Wow.”
At Dane’s rough shout, Grayson raised both hands as if to defend himself, with an exclamation. Of course, it wasn’t because he was scared or embarrassed. It was just the result of learning.
Seeing Grayson’s face, which was soon smiling again, Dane turned away as if he was disgusted. Grayson, who had let out a short laugh, stared at Dane drinking his beer, then bent down. He whispered so close that his breath touched him.
“You’re an Omega, aren’t you?”
The loud music continued. The voices of the people were so loud that you couldn’t hear them unless you shouted, but Grayson was sure. He was sure that Dane had clearly heard him.
Slowly, Dane turned his gaze. Grayson smiled at him, who was looking at him with a blank face. And.
Thwack!
Following the loud noise, Grayson felt a dull pain in his head.
…Huh.
Something sticky was flowing down his temple. He casually touched it and lowered his hand, only to find that his palm was soaked with red fluid. And in front of him, Dane was glaring at him with a fierce face, holding a broken beer bottle. Only then did Grayson realize that this man had broken his head with the beer bottle he had been drinking from.
“……Ha.”
A dumbfounded sigh escaped from Grayson’s mouth.
“This crazy bastard……”
“Look who’s talking, you even crazier bastard.”
Dane immediately retorted and threw a punch, and Grayson also retaliated. People screamed and scattered in all directions at the sudden commotion.
“Dane!”
“Dane, oh my god! What are you doing!”
His colleagues who came with him shouted from all directions and rushed in. They were beating each other to a pulp until they desperately pulled Dane and Grayson apart.
Desire Me if you can
♬♪♪♩♬♪…….
At the familiar ringtone, Joshua looked for his cell phone and checked the caller.
Dane? What’s wrong?
It hadn’t been long since they had talked. Moreover, since the result of the last call wasn’t very good, he didn’t expect him to contact him again so soon. He was definitely not the type to call often, so he tilted his head and pressed the call button.
“Dane, hi. How are you? What’s up?”
How long?
Dane asked abruptly without even greeting him. Joshua paused at the sudden question, and Dane asked the same question again.
How long are you going to keep that guy? I hope it’s a long time.
“Who? …Oh, are you talking about Chase’s brother? Didn’t you say you weren’t going to do it?”
Dane quickly continued, to Joshua, who was asking in bewilderment.
I decided to do it. So tell me, how long are you going to keep him locked up?
“Uh……”
Joshua paused for a moment to adjust to the current situation before answering.
“Well, about three days?”
In fact, Joshua, who was thinking of at most a day, or half a day at the shortest, thought that was the best he could do. That should be enough time for Chase to teach Grayson a lesson. But Dane didn’t like it very much.
That’s too short… How about a month?
“A month?”
Joshua was so surprised that he raised his voice without realizing it. But Dane didn’t stop there and asked again.
No, a month is too short. At least six months would be good. How about 11 months and 29 days? That wouldn’t be bad either?
“Wait, Dane. Wait a minute.”
Joshua interrupted him as if he was flustered. After a short sigh, Joshua carefully continued.
“I’m a little confused right now… Are you saying you want me to kidnap and imprison Grayson Miller? For almost a year?”
Of course, that wouldn’t be possible. Dane calmly accepted reality and took a step back.
I was just thinking that if we’re going to do it, we should imprison him for that long. How much do you think is enough?
“Ah.”
Only then did Joshua seem to understand a little and returned to his usual tone.
“No, it’s not that far. Half a day or a day at most is enough for us.”
Hmph.
Dane made a sound as if he wasn’t very happy. It seemed that Joshua’s nerve was too small than he had thought.
Or am I going too far?
“Dane, Dane?”
Joshua called his name from the other side. Soon, Dane, who had come out of his thoughts, answered as usual.
Yeah, why?
“I was just wondering why you suddenly changed your mind.”
Joshua continued to speak.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to last time? That was a week ago, so what happened in the meantime? Is Darling very sick?”
No, it’s not that. Darling is doing well.
Joshua’s question was only natural. Dane immediately told him about the cat’s condition and added, rubbing his forehead with his finger.
I just changed my mind. When are you going to do it?
“Did you meet that guy?”
Joshua suddenly caught him off guard. Dane paused, suddenly being hit right on the mark, and Joshua’s voice was filled with laughter as if he could see it.
“I guess that means Grayson is working at your fire station? How is it?”
He probably already knew the answer. The fact that Dane had changed his mind in just two days and was so actively offering to cooperate meant that there had been tremendous events in the meantime. As expected, Dane paused and then let out a deep sigh.
I would sell my soul to the devil if I could just get that guy out of my sight.
“It’s not worth that much, Dane.”
Joshua comforted him thoughtfully. It was too bad for Dane, but it was a good opportunity for him anyway.
What are you going to do now? You have a plan, right?
At Dane’s urging, Joshua answered, “Of course.”
“All you have to do is bring that guy to the place I told you about.”
And then you’re going to shoot that guy in the head?
Dane said, as if he was very satisfied. Unfortunately, Joshua couldn’t grant his wish.
“No, no. I can’t do that. I can’t become a criminal.”
Kidnapping is also a crime.
At Dane’s point, Joshua immediately changed his words.
“Oh, this isn’t kidnapping, Dane. I’m just going to bring him in for a little while for a conversation.”
Dane frowned and looked down at his cell phone, then brought it back to his ear. Joshua’s calm voice continued from the other side.
“It’s just that I’m going to have that conversation with my fists instead of words. And sometimes with my feet.”
Good.
Dane immediately responded.
Let me join in on that conversation.
He added through gritted teeth.
Because I want to have a very long and deep conversation.
Joshua promised to do so and then hung up, saying that they should meet up and make a concrete plan.