The air inside the building had tensed, and everyone looked at the Alpha who had just arrived.
Ivan Obolensky, or better known as 'Boss Ivan,' was a well-known name in the underworld. He was the leader of the biggest mafia gang, the Den, and one of the only known Enigmas.
He was also someone Daniel knew quite well. After all, both he and his brother had served Young Master Ivan ever since they were young…
'What is Young Master Ivan doing here? Is he here to sign a deal? Surely not. This place is too below the Den's status…'
The lighting in this low-level establishment did not suit Ivan Obolensky. He was made to stand in bright light, where everyone could see and admire him. Daniel was no different.
Those strong pheromones reaching his nose made him feel dizzy. His instincts recognized the feeling of home and comfort the Enigma brought him, and Daniel immediately wanted to rub his face against that neck.
Cough.
That loud coughing and gagging noise brought him back to the present, and he subtly tried to press away from the arm on his shoulder. But the more he tried to get rid of it, the tighter that hold on his shoulder became.
"B-Boss, w-what are you…"
The leader tried to speak again, but only coughs escaped his mouth. Daniel felt actual concern as he watched that man struggle.
'At this rate, he will die. Should I do something?'
Daniel's morality told him to help, but his rationality told him not to. He felt caught in his struggle, but luckily for the leader, Ivan lost interest in tormenting him soon enough.
The leader tried to stand up as soon as the pressure was gone. But it was too much for him to handle.
With one last gasp, he lost consciousness and fell face-first to the ground.
"Tsk, it seems like he was quite weak. If you want to have a fun time, you better look for someone else with more stamina. How about me? I bet I can show you a good time."
The Enigma quickly turned toward Daniel and grabbed his face. The mask shifted a little but otherwise remained in place, which Daniel was grateful for.
Daniel's heart thundered inside his chest, and the back of his neck felt sweaty. The familiar feeling of want hit Daniel square in the chest and was too much. If he did not pull away now, then he was afraid that he would not be able to hide being an Omega.
'Tsk, what are my suppressants doing? I am not leaking, right?'
Daniel wanted to check, but the situation made it awkward to do so at the moment.
"I am sorry, but I must decline."
Daniel made his voice sound as different as he could from his usual one. It had been a whole year since he left the Den, so he doubted the Enigma would be able to recognize him.
Still, he did not want to take any chances.
Once again, Daniel tried his hardest to make the Enigma let go of him. And this time, he succeeded.
"Are you trying to run away from me, bunny? Do I lack anything? Surely you won't mind having some 'fun' with me."
The gaze that looked at Daniel was a familiar one. It was the same look the leader had given him not too long ago. But unlike last time, when Daniel felt uncomfortable, this body reacted this time.
He caught himself just in time before his body could react and decided to pull back.
'This mission is a bust. I guess I will have to pull back now.'
It was a shame that Daniel would have to give up on the 1 million dollar deal. But his safety was the most important thing to him at the moment.
"I apologize, but it is rather late. I have an early morning tomorrow, so I will take my leave now."
Daniel forced himself back on his feet, but his vision instantly felt hazy. He blinked his eyes to get rid of the sudden dark spots, but it seemed to be of no help.
The heat that was crawling up his spine was a familiar one. He could tell that it was his heat cycle.
'What the hell-! My heat should not be here for another 10 days. So why…?'
Daniel could not afford to collapse here. But simple willpower was not enough to overcome an Omega's heat cycle. The suppressants made it even harder for Daniel to endure since they blocked him from releasing his pheromones.
The fever was rising high, and he staggered, almost falling down.
Familiar arms caught him right before Daniel's legs gave up on him. He collapsed into the Enigma's arms, and a familiar scent soothed his ache.
"W-What happened…? Is he dead…? W-What is…?"
"Oh God-! He's sick…Is he dying?"
"Doesn't this look like a heat cycle…?"
"But there are no pheromones, so it cannot be one. Maybe it is overexposure to pheromones?"
People gossiped, but Daniel only heard half of what was being said. Most sounds entered his head through one ear and out the other.
But even among the hazy lights, there was one prominent thing he could see-that familiar shade of red.
"So…beautiful…"
Daniel did not mean to reach for that light. Had he been in his right state of mind, he would have slapped himself silly to prevent his actions.
But since he was out of it, he did not have any control over his actions.
__________
Everyone in the bar watched with horrified looks on their faces as the beta reached for the Enigma's face. They all waited for the Enigma to snap and kill the beta.
However, Boss Ivan remained calm.
No, not even that. There was a slight hint of a smile on his face that made everyone fear for their lives even more.
'Shit-! We are all going to die…'
That was the only thought inside everyone's mind as they looked at the Enigma with the slightest hint of a smile on his face. The only other time they had seen him smile was when his enemy's blood was flying all around.
Just as they all resigned themselves to their fate and gave up, the door to the bar was slammed open, and another familiar presence entered.
The black-haired, blue-eyed beauty had a delicate air around him. Based on the aura around him and his face alone, one might mistake him for an Omega. But the illusion was immediately broken by that strong frame and the wave of pheromones filling the air.
The black-haired male immediately headed toward the Enigma and, without any hesitation, grabbed his collar.
"IVAN OBOLENSKY, YOU BASTARD. HOW DARE YOU…what are you holding in your hands?"
Red eyes blinked at the blue before a head filled with white hair immediately blocked the sight of the unconscious person in his arms.
"You do not need to know. Since you are here, I assume you already took care of the mess, Joshua."
The black-haired Alpha huffed at Ivan's words and nodded.
"Of course I took care of the mess 'you' made. Next time, take care of your mess yourself. I am not going to cover for you."
Joshua huffed, but his eyes refused to look away from the person in Ivan's arms. There was something almost familiar about that person, and it attracted his attention.
That masked face was covered, but his instincts still told him that he needed to make sure this person was safe. And that just made Joshua even more irritated.
"Hmm, are you getting angry, puppy? Didn't I tell you that you need to control your fangs? Do you want me to pull your fangs out?"
The barely concealed threat in Ivan's voice did not go unnoticed by Joshua. But instead of feeling afraid of it, he decided to hold his ground.
"Don't change the topic. Did you fall for an Omega or something? Don't you have any honor? After all-"
"I know. Sigh. I was in such a good mood just a second ago, but now…I guess it's time to head back. As for this meeting and this small gang of yours…disband it right now."
The Enigma's words were final. Even if someone wanted to protest, they had no grounds to do so.
As much as the people wanted to protest, they knew that going against Ivan Obolensky's orders would be a death sentence for them.
Since they were all too busy trying to save themselves, no one noticed the missing beta who had been carried out by Ivan himself.
But not everyone was as oblivious as the people inside.
__________
"Hey, tell me the truth. Who is that kid you brought along with you? Did you actually bond with an Omega? If so, then I will have to kill both you and that kid in the back."
Joshua asked this question as he started the car. His eyes moved to look at the backseat, where the masked person was sitting. Curiosity filled his eyes, but also caution and anger.
Ivan simply lifted his eyes to meet Joshua's gaze and gave him a small smile in return.