Golden eyes.
For a brief moment, Jiang Li wondered if he had seen it wrong.
The thought came slowly, almost unwilling to fully form, as though his mind itself resisted the reality in front of him. His fingers loosened without his awareness, and the pill he had been holding slipped from his grasp, falling somewhere onto the floor.
He did not notice.
What he did notice—what he could not ignore—was the pressure.
It descended all at once, heavy and suffocating, carrying with it the intoxicating scent of whiskey and rosewood. It pressed into his senses, thick and overwhelming, making it difficult to think—difficult to breathe.
His knees trembled.
How...how is the universe playing such a sick joke on me?
The thought surfaced abruptly, almost incoherent.
Jiang Li had witnessed Alphas entering rut before. Twice. That alone was enough for him to recognize the signs now, even through the haze settling over his mind.
What if he marks me…?
The possibility sent a flicker of fear through him.
But no.
It had to be just fear.
He could still run. There was nothing physically stopping him. His breathing, though uneven, still came. There was no slick, no clear loss of control—
And yet…
He felt dazed.
That, more than anything, made his chest tighten.
Because this had never happened before.
Not even when his older brother had been tied to a bed right in front of him, struggling against restraints, golden eyes burning as he growled low in his throat, trying to pounce on Jiang Li like an animal driven purely by instinct.
Even then, Jiang Li had felt nothing.
No reaction.
No pull.
So then—
What is this…?
He took a step back, the movement unsteady, as Shen Yu rose from the ground.
His breathing was heavy. Uneven.
But the moment his gaze lifted, it locked onto Jiang Li with an intensity that made it difficult to look away.
Those golden eyes—
Too bright.
Too focused.
For a fleeting second, Jiang Li had the absurd thought that Shen Yu looked less like a person and more like something untouchable—something distant, almost divine.
If someone asked him why he had frozen, he would not have been able to answer.
He simply…had.
The low sound that left Shen Yu's throat made his breath hitch. It wasn't loud, yet it carried weight, and with it came another surge of pheromones—stronger this time.
Jiang Li's head spun.
His body grew hot.
Uncomfortably so.
"Haa…"
The breath escaped him before he could stop it.
And only then did he understand.
Preheat.
The realization settled in slowly, yet unmistakably.
He had never experienced it before.
Not once.
And yet, there was no mistaking it now.
Shen Yu stepped closer.
There was still no contact between them, but it no longer mattered. Jiang Li could feel it anyway—the warmth, the presence, the suffocating closeness that made his skin overly sensitive to even the slightest shift in air.
When Shen Yu leaned in, inhaling softly, the deep groan that followed seemed to travel straight through Jiang Li's body.
His fingers twitched.
His thoughts scattered.
That was the final break.
His knees gave out beneath him.
He barely registered the motion before arms caught him, steadying him with surprising firmness. Jiang Li gasped softly, the sudden contact sending a sharper wave of heat through him.
He needed to think.
He needed to—
But before his mind could catch up, his lips were suddenly covered.
The world stilled.
For a moment, it felt like falling—like being pulled into something deep and endless, something he could not see the bottom of.
His heart pounded.
Fast.
Too fast.
He was turned, guided back, and pressed down onto the sofa before he could fully process what was happening.
The kiss did not stop.
It lingered, deepened, overwhelming in its persistence.
Jiang Li felt weak.
Strange.
No—
Not strange.
It felt...good.
The realization unsettled him more than anything else.
His arms lifted weakly, wrapping around Shen Yu's neck almost without his permission. The response was immediate—a low groan, muffled between them.
Yes...this is your Alpha.
The voice came softly, almost soothing.
His omega.
Jiang Li did not question it.
He could not.
Everything felt distant, blurred at the edges, like a dream he had somehow stepped into without realizing.
The way Shen Yu's hands brushed against his overly sensitive skin…
The way his lips moved against his…
It was—
Too good.
So good that Jiang Li already knew it wouldn't last.
A faint sting gathered in his eyes before he realized what it was.
Tears.
They slipped quietly down his temples.
He always did this.
Whenever something good happened—
He found a way to make himself sad.
Just…this moment.
Let me have this moment.
The plea was soft, directed at no one and yet at himself—at his omega.
And this time, it listened.
Something in him loosened.
The restraint he had been holding onto slipped away, and with it, the sensations intensified. His breathing grew uneven, soft sounds escaping him before he could stop them.
Each one was answered.
As though Shen Yu recognized them instinctively.
The pressure increased, the sensations layering over each other until Jiang Li could no longer separate them clearly.
It was overwhelming.
Too much.
And yet—
He didn't want it to stop.
He felt like he was floating.
And he didn't want to fall.
People always said the first time hurt.
And yes—
It did.
It felt like being split apart, only to be forced back together again.
His thoughts flickered briefly to that night at the club—the first time Shen Yu had touched him. They hadn't gone all the way. Jiang Li had panicked, and Shen Yu had been too drunk, collapsing before anything more could happen.
But now—
There was no hesitation.
No interruption.
No escape.
He felt like he was drifting in water one moment—
And dragged under the next.
A broken cry slipped from his throat as he tried to push Shen Yu away, his voice trembling as he told him to slow down.
But it was useless.
Like trying to hold sand in his hands.
The Alpha, lost to rut, could not hear him.
Desperation surged.
He tried again—lifting his hand, aiming to strike.
But before he could make contact, something sharp and sudden tore through him.
Like lightning.
His breath caught, turning into a gasp, then a soft cry as the strength left his arm entirely. Instead, his hands tightened around Shen Yu's neck.
This time, he wasn't floating.
He was caught in a storm.
The sensation was overwhelming—pleasure so intense it bordered on pain.
And just as it reached its peak—
It shifted again.
By the time dawn began to rise, Jiang Li's eyes were red, swollen from crying.
He felt exhausted.
Every part of his body ached—his waist, his limbs, everything.
He wanted to push Shen Yu away.
To fight.
But before he could, his wrist was caught, held firmly in place.
Frustration flickered through him. He leaned forward instinctively, intending to bite down—
And then he stopped.
Something felt wrong.
Different.
His gaze lifted.
Shen Yu raised his head slightly, dark hair damp with sweat, his face flushed, breathing still uneven.
And then—
Jiang Li saw it.
His body went still.
Shen Yu…was knotting.
"…Wait…"
The word came out faint, barely there.
But it wasn't what held him frozen.
It was the eyes.
The gold had disappeared.
In its place—
A deep, luminous purple.
They glowed faintly in the dim light, like crystals catching the dark.
Jiang Li's breath hitched.
Not just from the pain.
But from something else entirely.
Awe.