What Are We to Each Other

It was the Butcher's scent.

Sticky, cloying, with the sweet reek of resin and wood, it clung to her nasal passages and refused to let go. Annie was covered in it—her clothes, her body, even the back of her neck.

She had picked up another Alpha's pheromone.

The realization detonated in Arthur Kane's mind.

Don't get angry.

The Alpha took a deep breath, but the fury surging in his chest wouldn't be contained.

He knew nothing had happened—the little Omega sent by the Galactic Empire could poison even herself. The Butcher might speak in innuendo and sneer, but his combat ability was far inferior to Arthur's.

If Annie wanted, taking him down wouldn't cost much effort.

But Arthur couldn't control himself.

Annie had been touched by Charles Lang.

The fact surfaced in his mind, burned behind his retinas, so hot his eyes ached.

Calm down, he told himself. He and Annie were only mission partners. Even if the Butcher had really touched her, so what?

Beneath that revolting resin smell, his own scent lingered around her.

Charles Lang probably hadn't noticed that Arthur hadn't marked Annie.

So...

"Start from the beginning." Arthur forced the words out, fighting his irritation.

Annie opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Charles Lang's lazy drawl sounded from behind her.

"Whoa, no need to be angry, little brother Arthur!"

The Butcher paid no attention to the tension between them. He swaggered forward, arm extended to sling around Arthur's shoulder.

But Charles Lang was still reeking of pheromones, and as another Alpha, Arthur's brow furrowed the instant he got close.

He sidestepped half a pace, dodging the Butcher's hearty greeting.

Yet the man had never taken Arthur's coldness to heart, and kept smiling. "Little brother, that was too close just now, you have no idea! It's a miracle your little bride didn't get hurt. I pulled her into the shelter, and then she suddenly went into heat! Good thing I had suppressants on me, because if she'd been out on the street—"

Arthur spun around.

By the time Charles Lang realized what was happening, Arthur Kane's fist was already in the air.

The Butcher's pupils shrank.

It was too late to dodge. Arthur's punch connected squarely with his face, knocking the Twillight officer to the ground!

Annie's eyes went wide.

The next moment, the surrounding soldiers raised their weapons, a dozen gun barrels leveled at Arthur.

"No, no, no!"

Charles Lang, sprawled on the ground, was helped up. He wasn't angry either.

He'd been hit hard, but thankfully his nose wasn't broken—just bleeding freely. The Butcher took the handkerchief his subordinate offered and wiped away the blood. "I deserved that, deserved that. But one punch is enough! Don't go for another."

Arthur's face was taut.

His clear blue eyes fixed darkly on Charles Lang for a long moment. The Alpha paid no attention at all to the soldiers surrounding him with raised guns, and in the end, he didn't throw the second punch.

The towering man turned on his heel without a word, scooped Annie up in his arms, and carried her off.

Annie: "Huh?"

This was the best course of action, but under so many watchful eyes, she still had to play the part of an Omega stunned by her husband's fury, and put on a show of surprise.

The stares at her back were like nails, but Arthur ignored them, striding forward and pushing through the crowd.

No one dared to stop them.

Once they were away from the altar, Annie let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Arthur's reaction was right.

On New Thebes, if an Omega in heat was approached by another Alpha, her "husband" could legally execute them both on the spot.

And Charles Lang, a decorated Twillight officer, had casually broadcast the shelter story as if he had no idea about any of that.

A punch was the least of it—Arthur Kane was "seeing the bigger picture."

He had to make that statement.

Only...

Arthur really was angry.

Annie leaned against his shoulder, the Alpha's heart beating right beneath her palm. His rage made his heart race, sending out that metallic, burning scent along with it.

He didn't carry her back to the Governor's Mansion. Instead, he took the shortest route to the Dreamlight Hotel.

Arthur kicked the door open roughly. Old Li was already waiting inside.

"Good news!"

As soon as the two entered, Boss He's deputy came bounding over, beaming. He hadn't noticed Arthur's expression at all. "Your leads were really useful—Boss He's already gotten in touch with Luke Garner. He—ahh?!"

Arthur didn't even glance at Old Li. He walked straight to the front desk.

Boss He looked up. "What do you want?"

Arthur stared back coldly. "A room."

Old Li: "..."

Boss He raised an eyebrow, a subtle, knowing tilt.

She looked at Arthur—all low pressure, still reeking of pheromones—and then at Annie cradled in the Alpha's arms. Arthur Kane's hand gripped her waist so tightly it looked ready to shred her white robes.

As the owner of a lovers' hotel, He Yun knew exactly what scene this was.

"Your usual room. Go on." Boss He waved Old Li off.

"This—"

Old Li stared, dumbfounded, as Arthur turned silently and carried Annie toward the guest rooms.

They'd clearly just survived a street attack—how did that lead straight to getting a room? Old Li looked at Arthur's retreating back, then at Boss He, who seemed entirely unsurprised.

Ah, an Alpha-Omega couple. They could really get carried away without a thought!

Annie was thinking much the same thing.

When Arthur kicked open the guest room door with his foot, she wasn't even surprised anymore, just resigned.

Her back touched the mattress as he deposited her onto the bed with a not-too-gentle toss. Then the Alpha's tall frame covered her, his warm body caging her like a prison, his arm wrapped around her waist, his handsome face buried in the curve of her neck.

The walk over had dispersed most of Charles Lang's scent, but the lingering traces still drew a dissatisfied rumble from Arthur's throat, like a large dog baring its teeth, guarding its territory and its master.

"Take your time."

She didn't need to explain; Annie knew exactly what he wanted.

She raised both arms and looped them around Arthur's sturdy shoulders, pressing close of her own accord.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Annie said softly.

When emotions ran high, no one could take in arguments or explanations—especially an Alpha whose brain was ruled by surging hormones.

At times like this, trying to rein Arthur in again would only backfire.

A rubber band stretched too tight snaps. Simple logic.

So instead of her usual pushback, Annie gently rubbed her cheek against Arthur's temple.

Her small gesture worked wonders.

A simple closeness eased much of the Alpha's agitation. Arthur's arm around her tightened, almost lifting her small frame off the mattress.

He nuzzled, brushed, grazed her with his cheek and lips, the metallic burning scent curling around them both—distinct, but not harsh.

Arthur was patient.

Bit by bit, he worked his way from the nape of her neck, to her jaw, to her collarbone.

So meticulously, covering over the other Alpha's loathsome pheromone with his own scent.

Until every trace of the lingering smell on Annie had vanished completely.

Throughout it all, Annie only tilted her head up slightly to accommodate his movements, and every so often raised a hand to stroke the back of his neck.

Her soothing gestures steadied his pheromones, even softening the sharp edge of his scent.

Only when his breathing returned to a normal rhythm did Annie break the silence again.

She turned her head, meeting the Alpha's clear blue eyes.

"Feeling better now?" Annie asked softly.

Arthur gritted his teeth, then let out a long breath.

He still held her close, gaze lowered, thick lashes shadowing those beautiful eyes.

"What did you do?" he asked, clipped.

Annie couldn't have gone into heat by accident. Arthur Kane didn't believe someone who kept poison hidden even in her teeth could be that careless.

She must have done it on purpose.

Deliberately seizing the chance to be alone with Charles Lang, and triggering her heat?

Whatever her goal, just the thought made his blood surge out of control.

Annie, of course, caught every subtle shift in his emotions.

She laughed softly.

"Arthur," the Omega said, utterly relaxed beneath him, even playfully tilting her head. "Why are you angry?"

"You—"

"In your eyes."

She didn't get back to the point.

Since he'd already carried her back to the room, she might as well use this chance to ask the most critical question.

"What are we to each other?" Annie asked lightly.

The Omega's gentle voice brought Arthur up short, frozen in place.

A trick question: So... what are we now?