Ezra feels breathless. His chest is tight as if something is crushing it. His face turns pale, and droplets of sweat are visible on his forehead.
He keeps touching the pheromone suppression patch on his gland. It's the fourth one in the past five hours. Usually, he only needs two per day. But, today, he almost emptied the whole box.
"Are you okay?" Tao frowns. He puts the part of a plane's engine on the table and approaches Ezra carefully.
"I... I feel exhausted..."
"Fever?" Tao asks again. He puts his two fingers on Ezra's forehead. The good news is that Omega is burning, but not boiling.
Ezra suddenly rushes outside and goes straight to the toilet. He grabs the sink, vomiting out every piece of food that he had this morning. He feels exhausted as he almost slips down to the floor.
"Ezra! Jeez..." Luckily for that Omega, Tao pursues him from behind. Or else, he might pass out alone in the toilet. The scent of freesia roams into the air violently.
"Patch... grab one from my bag..."
"Here... here..." Tao hands Ezra a patch. He quickly snaps out the old one and slabs the new piece. But, his condition remains the same, except that the freesia scent is no longer lingering in the air.
"What happened? I smell you from a yard away!" Up rushes in, closing the door so the scent won't attract the crowd.
"I don't know. Ezra looks sick and he said, he was tired..."
Up stares at Ezra from his spot, then he glares at Tao, sending a hidden signal. Ezra is on heat but he might not be aware of it, so they need to protect him at all costs. The Beta finally gets to the point, so he is holding on to Ezra, just in case he passes out.
A few minutes later, Ezra is back to normal. Yet, he still feels tired and aching all over his body. He drinks a cup of oolong tea— courtesy of Up— before he slowly stands on his feet.
"I think, you should call it a day. Your condition might get worse if you stay. Your pheromone is leaking just now. It's dangerous," says Up. He quickly wears a K97 mask so he won't be affected by Ezra's scents.
Ezra finally gives up and nods. He slowly walks out of the toilet with the help of Tao. The Beta hasn't been affected much, so he ushers Ezra out of the building.
On their way to the parking, they accidentally meet Gio.
"What's happened, juniors?"
Tao hides Ezra behind him so that Alpha won't sniff his pheromone, but it's too late. Gio looks a bit distracted by it—his glance slowly changes.
"I'm sending Ezra home, senior..."
"By what? You don't have a car..."
"I can ride his super bike. And call Grab—"
"No need to. Let me send him home," Gio tries to reach out to Ezra, but Tao stops the senior most politely.
"Senior, I don't think you should—"
"His pheromone doesn't affect me that much. We're not compatible anyway, so don't worry," Gio slowly reaches out to Ezra. Even if Tao blocks his way, the senior dismisses him as if the blockade is nothing.
Ezra is too weak to fight, too sick to argue. He just follows the flow, stumbling while walking to Gio's car. That Alpha holds him tight so he won't fall and injure himself.
As they reach the senior's car, suddenly Ezra is swinging to the left. Someone just snatches him from behind. Because the movement is so powerful, that sick Omega got tossed aside, slamming his body against a wall.
"I've warned you before, stay away from my Omega!" Fa grabs Gio by his collar, releasing his pheromone as an act of counterattack. A pheromone from a Golden Alpha is quite powerful; Gio almost vomits blood. He gasps for air, floating on his feet.
"Fa! Enough!" Ezra yells in his weak voice. His pheromone slowly sips into the air, looking for the compatible pheromone that belongs to Fa. He is exasperating while holding the sharp pain all over his body.
"I said ENOUGH!" Ezra yells his lungs out with his remaining energy. Fa turns around and when he sees Ezra is almost dying, he lets Gio go.
"Let's go home!" Fa grabs Ezra by his hand and drags him to his car. He slams the door before speeding up to his home.
***
"I've told you, never let me see you with him! What did you do just now? Why did he hold you as if you're his Omega?!" Fa tosses Ezra on the bed. That poor Omega sighs as he slowly gathers his energy to face Fa.
"Why would you care anyway? He's just helping me around, is that wrong?" Ezra fights back.
"Of course it is, Ezra Sarin! You're my Omega! You shouldn't be around other Alphas! How can you be so reckless?!"
"Am I truly your Omega, Fa?" Ezra rises from the bed and standing wobbles in front of Fa. "If I am your Omega, you won't dare kiss another female in front of me!"
"Did you just take that kiss seriously, Ezra? It meant nothing to me! Sora is an Alpha! Besides, she's my cousin—"
"Stop using that as an excuse, Fa! You think I am that stupid? She's into you, everyone notices that!"
Fa wipes his face out of frustration. "That means nothing, Ezra! Even if it's true, we both are Alphas!"
"Stop lying to me, Fa! Enough of that bullshit! You think, you can keep the secret from me?"
Fa turns pale. "What secret? What are you talking about?"
"I don't know if you're ignorant or just plain stupid. But, that name, Sora, doesn't it ring a bell to you?"
Silence.
"I accidentally log in your PC. You have a MewMew Land account. And guess what else did I found? Sora's account! You two pair up almost everything; emojis, exclusive colors, fonts, and DP! That same account that paired up with me years ago! She's my ex, Fa! The one who ghosted me!"
"Ezra... I can explain everything..."
"There's nothing to be explained, ThongFa. That night, when you left me with your mark, you already knew me way before that. I was a target long before we met! You do know I was in a relationship with Sora, and you two had planned everything from the beginning!"
"I... I don't understand—"
"You didn't choose me as your mate. You chose me as a surrogate Omega for you and Sora! Sora baited me with a steady relationship, winning my trust and when the time comes, you two use me as a vessel to have a cub!"
"How did you—Ezra, this is way too much!"
"What? Is it impossible for you? Sora believed in the idea of Alpha X Alpha. I heard she even said that she will use a surrogate Omega to have a cub! And here I am, the Omega that is exclusively for both of you!"
Fa is stunned, unable to fight back. He tries to reach out to Ezra, but the Omega fights him back in a feisty manner.
"Ezra... believe me. That's not what it is..."
"Believe in you? Fa, I stopped believing in others when Sora betrayed me that night! And now I know why! It was you who made her betrayed me! I should've known that your love is nothing but a fake!"
Smack!
The room is silent. Both of them—Ezra and Fa—halt in a deep emotion. One feels betrayed, and the other one has been pushed over the edge by now.
"Out."
"Ezra..."
"I say, OUT! Get out!"
That Omega pushes Fa out of his room before he slams the door behind him. He dives into the bed, crying his lungs out. The door has been banging from the outside, along with non-stop pleas from Fa.
Ezra cups his ears tightly; he refuse to listen to everything. His broken heart is aching from the fact that he got hurt just when he started trusting Fa. Plus, with the connection to Sora, everything is hard to accept.
Ezra can't stay any longer, knowing that he might be just a vessel for the Alpha X Alpha couple, so he makes up his mind. He grabs his bag from the closet, tossing some clothes and important stuff inside. He grabs his passport from the drawer and is ready to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" Fa asks in panic. He stops Ezra midway but the Omega ignores him.
"I'm leaving..."
"No! You're not!"
"Yes. I am," Ezra is firm. He drags his bag downstairs, never really caring about Fa who is running at him from behind.
"You're not leaving, Ezra! Not when you need to hear my reasoning!"
"I don't care. Goodbye, Fa."
"Ezra! Ezra!"
Ezra is reaching the entrance in no time.
"OBEY ME, OMEGA EZRA SARIN!"
With those words, Ezra feels a jolt all over his body, as if he is electrocuted. He stumbles just a feet away from the entrance, wailing in pain. His chest is tight, his eyes are almost got bloodshot and he can't even move.
"Ezra!" Tul runs from behind to reach out to him but the energy from the angry Golden Alpha almost kills the older Omega. His whimper attracts Cirrus, who later runs out of the room to help his mate.
A hard slap across Fa's face saves the day.
"Get a grip, ThongFa! Are you crazy?"
It's Sora, and she doesn't look elated at all.
Fa rubs his cheek; in tears but not sobbing. Tul scoots closer to almost dying Ezra, helping the weak and poor Omega who is still fighting in pain. Cries resonate through the whole living hall. And that snaps Fa back to reality. He marches towards Ezra, grabs his hand, and drags the Omega upstairs.
Everyone tries to stop him, or at least begs him not to treat Ezra harshly but he stays mute. He tosses the weak Omega on the bed, pushing everyone outside and shutting the door harshly.
"Please... he's in pain..." Tul cries.
"Fa! Are you crazy? How can you do that!"
"Everyone shut up!"
One strike of warning and the whole house is quiet.
Fa turns around, facing the door. He lifts his left hand, drawing something in the air while his lips murmur some spell. A yellow line forms like a crawling vine, infesting all over the door and sealing the room tight. Fa draws another line in front of the door before he opens his eyes and turns around.
"Nobody passes this line; in or out," he speaks with a low growl before leaving the scene.
No one can stop Fa now. No one can separate him from Ezra, if that means he has to cage the Omega forever. He doesn't care anymore. Ezra belongs to him.
Only him.