By Zephyria 
The charity party was held at the same bar as always. As if it were only natural, the place was packed with people gathering for any and every occasion.
“Grayson, welcome!”
Valentina, who spotted him at the entrance, waved her hand. Grayson gave a perfunctory smile and raised one hand in acknowledgment, but his eyes were searching for someone else.
He’d heard they’d rented the place for the day. Grayson glanced at the garlands hanging here and there, inscribed with words like ‘recovery,’ ‘health,’ and ‘get well soon,’ before immediately shifting his gaze elsewhere. From guys who already looked completely drunk to those sipping carbonated drinks and chatting, seemingly out of place in the atmosphere, he scanned them all. But he couldn’t find that one face anywhere.
Could it be that he didn’t come?
He seemed quite close to Ezra, so Grayson had been sure he would be here, but perhaps he was wrong. Could Dane Striker even have someone he genuinely opened up to? If someone were to bet on that, Grayson would bet that he didn’t. Ezra would probably be the same. Dane might care for him to some extent, but it wouldn’t be much different from how he treated other colleagues.
…And it would be the same for me.
Grayson added bitterly, then frowned. No, am I even below that?
A sudden unpleasant feeling washed over him, but he ignored it. Grayson was on a different level from those guys. After all, he knew that Dane was a Dominant Omega…
Not that he seemed to be trying to hide it.
Recalling the sight of Dane revealing his Trait to another woman right in front of him, he quickly corrected his thoughts.
Anyway, I’m the only one who knows he’s a Dominant Omega.
Feeling a little relieved, he continued to add thoughts. I’m the only one who’s slept with Dane out of everyone here…
-Wouldn’t there be women among the women you’ve slept with who’ve slept with Dane?
“Damn it.”
Grayson cursed under his breath at Ezra’s words that suddenly popped into his head. No, but I’m the only man, right? …Probably.
I’m the only one after that.
The thought that followed made him feel at ease again. Only then could Grayson afford to take a moment to assess the situation. To find out where Dane was, he needed to join the conversation with the other guys first. Reluctantly, he moved towards Ezra, the main figure of this party.
“Miller, welcome. You’re late.”
Ezra, who spotted Grayson first, raised his hand in greeting. As Grayson stood across from him at the standing table, Ezra finally smiled and spoke.
“I thought you weren’t coming. Thanks for coming.”
“You’re welcome.”
At a typical party like this, one would usually say something flattering like, ‘Thanks for inviting me,’ or ‘You look great.’ But this was different. Grayson hesitated for a moment, as those options weren’t on his list, then smiled and said,
“I hope you raise a lot of money.”
Everyone stared at him. Was that not it? Grayson thought inwardly, but there was nothing he could do now. What did he care if he had upset them? Only one person was important to Grayson.
“Am I the last one to arrive?”
Grayson asked, pointedly looking around. DeAndre replied in a surly tone.
“Why don’t you find out yourself? It’s such a mess here, who would know who’s come and who hasn’t?”
“Everyone’s probably here.”
Ezra hurriedly cut off DeAndre’s words.
“Thankfully, everyone said they’d help me and even created this event… so they must have come, of course.”
His smiling face was flushed with alcohol. A colleague next to him patted him on the back as if to cheer him up. But DeAndre didn’t stop there.
“What brings you to a place like this? Do you even know why this party was held?”
“What’s wrong, DeAndre.”
A flustered colleague tried to stop him, but DeAndre continued.
“You all know, Dominant Alphas don’t have emotions. So why would he come here? We’re all here to comfort and encourage Ezra, but does this bastard even know that? No. He probably just came to find someone to take his Pheromones, right? Hey, tell me. Am I right? Am I right?”
“I think he’s drunk.”
Someone tried to gloss over his words in embarrassment, but DeAndre didn’t stop.
“We’re all suffering, but this bastard just came here to get laid.”
“DeAndre, stop it.”
Ezra, unable to listen any longer, stopped him. At the stern look, DeAndre downed his beer, wiped his lips with his arm, and said,
“Ah, right. Wasn’t it yesterday or the day before that those bastards set off another bomb?”
“Those bastards? Who?”
To the puzzled colleague, DeAndre deliberately looked at Grayson and said,
“You know, those guys who try to kill any Dominant Alphas they see.”
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
five
Loud music echoed from all directions. The bar was a complete mess, filled with laughter, chatter, and screams, but the area around Ezra, the main figure of the party, remained as cold as ice.
“DeAndre, what…”
Ezra tried to stop him, but DeAndre continued to speak.
“I heard the Dominant Alpha who lived in the mansion that was bombed this time lost a leg? He won’t be able to do ‘that’ anymore, will he? Or will an Omega ride on top of him? ‘I need to release Pheromones, please release my Pheromones.’ Heehee!”
“DeAndre!”
Another guy called out his name. But DeAndre smirked and gave Grayson an presumptuous warning.
“They say Dominant Alphas are devils and try to kill them all, so you be careful too. The Miller family is probably ranked at the very top.”
“DeAndre!”
“They’ll slit your throat like this.”
He made a gesture of slitting his throat with his hand and laughed with an unpleasant ‘heehee.’ The guys standing around the table hurriedly dragged DeAndre away somewhere. Ezra, watching their retreating figures, apologized in embarrassment.
“DeAndre must be drunk, don’t take it too hard.”
“I don’t care.”
Grayson said indifferently and drank his beer. It was true. He didn’t care what anyone said. He was only looking for where Dane Striker was.
…Right there.
And the moment he finally found the man, he felt a chilling sensation as if someone had grabbed his heart with a cold hand.
“Miller?”
Ezra called his name. But Grayson had already turned his back on him and was striding away, violently pushing aside the drunken guys who occasionally blocked his path.
Dane Striker was standing against a wall in a corner. To be exact, he had one arm leaning against the wall and the other arm wrapped around a woman’s waist.
“I was disappointed you just left last time.”
The woman blinked her long eyelashes and complained. It was the same woman who had winked at Dane at Grayson’s welcome party last time. Dane smiled faintly and nibbled on her earlobe with his lips.
“Sorry, I had things to do that day.”
“And today?”
She giggled and asked.
“My shift… ends in an hour, will you wait for me?”
“I’d wait any amount of time for such a beauty.”
At the skilled playboy’s line, she rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile.
“I like it…”
She slowly stroked the long, thick erection rising above Dane’s thigh with her palm, whispering with a hot breath. Dane smiled and tilted his head. And just as their lips were about to touch.
“…?”
“Kyaa!”
Suddenly, someone grabbed Dane’s shoulder and pulled him away with great force. The woman who had been hugging his waist was also dragged along, screaming.
“What?”
Dane spat out irritably and looked at the man who had interrupted him. The moment he saw Grayson Miller, his face contorted. But Grayson’s gaze was elsewhere. He froze as cold as ice at the sight of the woman Dane was holding tightly in his arms, as if protecting her from sudden danger, and her nestled comfortably in Dane’s embrace as if it were only natural.
84 – 84
“Sandy, my love!”
“Honey!”
Ezra happily called out his wife’s name as he saw her enter the bar. Her appearance, no less than the star of the party, caused a stir, and everyone greeted her.
“Welcome, Sandra.”
“Are you having a hard time? If there’s anything we can do to help, just let us know.”
“Rest is the best medicine. Don’t overdo it and ask for help anytime; we’re like family.”
“You’ll be fine if you get good treatment, I’ll pray for you.”
Sandra smiled and responded to each word of support. Everyone was inwardly filled with pity and worry at her thinner appearance than before, but outwardly, they pretended to be cheerful, raising their voices more than usual to create a joyful atmosphere.
“I guess alcohol is out of the question?”
“What non-alcoholic drinks do you have here?”
It was when he was looking for the bartender to order a drink for Sandra.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Dane’s rough shout pierced through the loud music and struck his ears. Feeling a strange commotion, people turned their heads one by one. Sandra and Ezra, surprised, turned around and saw the men arguing in one corner. Sandra, recognizing a familiar face among the two, covered her mouth with one hand and exclaimed in surprise.
“Oh my, Dane?”
“What are those guys doing…”
Ezra also muttered in confusion. As everyone was bewildered, Sandra whispered to her husband, who was holding her waist.
“Who is that man? I’ve never seen him before.”
Ezra also replied to her in a low voice.
“That’s the Dominant Alpha I told you about before. Grayson Miller.”
“Oh my, a Dominant Alpha. I’ve never seen one before…”
Sandra, who had been startled, soon muttered with a dazed face.
“Alphas and Omegas are all good-looking, but Dominant Alphas are on another level… He really doesn’t seem like someone from this world.”
Having said that, she quickly returned to reality and smiled at Ezra.
“Of course, my husband is the best in my eyes.”
Ezra also smiled as if he knew everything and playfully responded.
“I love you.”
They lightly kissed with a smile.
“But what’s really going on?”
Sandra, who soon returned to reality, asked with a puzzled expression, and Ezra shook his head.
“I don’t know either. Let’s watch for now.”
Like them, no one knew the situation, and whispers continued.
“Why are those guys suddenly fighting?”
“I don’t know, Miller probably started it.”
“Well, I can’t agree with that. Miller doesn’t pay attention to other people at all.”
“Then Dane must have started it? Dane is the one who doesn’t pay attention to others.”
“That’s right, DeAndre would start a fight, but I can’t imagine Dane doing that…”
“Shh, everyone be quiet, let’s listen. Bartender! Turn off the music! Everyone shut up!”
Soon, everything became quiet, and everyone focused their attention on one place. Only Dane and Grayson’s voices quickly went back and forth in the spacious bar.
“What are you doing to that woman, you bastard!”
Dane hid the woman he was holding in his arms behind his back and shouted at Grayson. Grayson, still frowning, turned his gaze to the woman hidden behind Dane, but she was not visible. He sighed and swept back his hair before opening his mouth.
“Let’s not do this here, let’s go out and talk.”
Grayson grabbed Dane’s arm, but he immediately shook it off.
“Talk? What talk? How many times do I have to tell you that I have nothing to talk about with you?”
“I have something to say, so listen for a moment.”
Grayson tried to persuade him quite calmly, but all that came back was Dane’s ridicule.
“That’s your business, I have no intention of listening, so go talk or bark at the wall or whatever. I’ll do my thing.”
Grayson stopped talking and looked down at him. Everyone gathered there could guess what Dane’s ‘thing’ was. How would Grayson react? As everyone watched with interest, an awkward silence flowed. No one opened their mouth. In the quiet atmosphere, Grayson finally opened his mouth.
“You shouldn’t be doing this to me.”
Unexpectedly, he smiled. The onlookers blinked in confusion. Why is he smiling? Amidst the bewildered gazes, Dane frowned and asked.
“Why shouldn’t I? You’re the one crossing the line right now.”
He continued to spit out in a rough tone as if he was displeased.
“It’s none of your business who I do what with. You can play with anyone you want, just like you’ve always done. What else is there to talk about? That’s the end of it. Do you understand? It’s over!”
Dane spread his arms wide with his palms up and cursed, “Damn it!” as if he was sick of this situation.
Of course, it was a completely meaningless conversation for Dane, but it was different for Grayson.
“You know.”
He opened his mouth after a pause, as if he were making a great confession.
“I haven’t slept with anyone since that day.”
“So?”
Dane chuckled and tilted his head to one side.
“What does that have to do with me?”
At the relentlessly sarcastic words, Grayson was silent again before running a hand over his face.
“I don’t know either.”
“Ha.”
At the somewhat deflated tone, Dane let out an absurd sigh. Grayson continued to speak.
“I can’t get you out of my head. Just the thought of you being with someone else makes my heart burn. What is this? Do you know why I’m like this?”
“It’s because you can’t get laid.”
Dane gave a blunt answer. He tapped his head with his second finger and continued.
“It’s because Pheromones have built up and made you weird. So go to a party or something and get rid of those damn Pheromones. Don’t bother me.”
“I can’t do that.”
Grayson denied his words in a slow tone. As Dane frowned, he confessed while still fixing his gaze on Dane.
“I told you, I can only think of you. I don’t want to get rid of Pheromones with anyone else. I…”
“So you want to sleep with me again? Are you really crazy?”
Dane spat out roughly. Until then, he had gathered all his patience and suppressed his anger.
“Didn’t you say you don’t sleep with someone you’ve slept with once? Get a grip, Miller. You’ve definitely gone crazy because of Pheromones.”
“You do sleep with them.”
Grayson pointed out. And at that moment, Dane’s anger, which he had been holding back, exploded.
“I won’t sleep with you again!”
Dane shouted roughly.
“I told you not to do this in such a tacky way, right? How long are you going to cling like this? I would have slept with whoever was in front of me that day, you were just unlucky to be there! So don’t stick to me in such a dirty way and get lost, get out of my sight right now!”
It was a final warning, but as expected, it didn’t work for Grayson. Dane was dumbfounded at Grayson’s appearance, standing there without budging. It felt like he was yelling and getting angry at a wall. In the end, he gritted his teeth and spat out.
“If you’re not going, I’m going. If you follow me, I’ll kill you, so come if you want to die.”
After threatening him and raising his third finger, he turned around. He walked away in large strides, reaching the entrance in just a few steps, but of course, Grayson wasn’t going to just watch. Dane, who turned around before opening the door and going out, confirmed that Grayson had followed him and contorted his face fiercely.
“You fucking bastard…!”
With Dane’s angry curse as the last word, the door closed. Those who were left alone in the silence could only blink with dazed faces.
“Shouldn’t we call 911?”
When someone spoke worriedly, someone else scolded them as if they had finally come to their senses.
“We are 911, you idiot.”
“Ah, that’s right…”
An awkward silence returned. And they slowly realized what the conversation they had just heard meant. Among the people with wide eyes in surprise, someone screamed in horror.
“Wait a minute, they slept together? Then who topped?”
In an instant, the sound of rough gasps could be heard from here and there. The question that had been vaguely floating around in their heads like fog suddenly became a sentence and unfolded before their eyes.