From the moment he heard the door opening, Niall could sense Duke’s presence. Even cocooned under the thick blanket, Niall knew when Duke’s footsteps entered the flawless room. With closed eyes, hidden under the blanket, Niall could still feel Duke.
What’s happening? Niall pondered. It was like the smallest cells of his body were coming alive with meaning. Every tissue within him seemed to reach out toward the presence outside the door with all its might.
Even with the blanket flipped over his head, he could see the outline of a person. The mountain was coming towards him. Goosebumps crawled along his skin, and his heart pounded violently in his chest.
Then, Niall felt dizzy. Alpha pheromones permeated the room. Duke…alpha… It was waking up Niall’s omega, even unintentionally. The moment Niall, an omega, met Duke, his body underwent transformations akin to an alchemist’s experimental substance.
Ugh, Niall scratched at the discomfort, frantically clawing at the blanket. At some point, Duke, who had approached the bed, effortlessly removed a layer of blanket shielding Niall. Niall now looked up at Duke, newly emerged like a fragile butterfly just escaping its cocoon. Mountain. Sun. What should he call him? Niall couldn’t even open his eyes properly in front of this alpha.
Niall trembled under the veil of fear. All his past experiences of smelling Duke’s pheromones now felt like illusions. Only now did he realize he had never truly sensed Duke’s pheromones properly.
Now, finally, Niall could understand what Duke was. He was the alpha deity.
“Please don’t come any closer.”
Like a pitiful bug, Niall quivered before Duke, who stood firm. Niall crawled to the opposite side of the bed, trying to distance himself. His pheromones were out of control. When he appeared, the omega within him overflowed incessantly.
Digging his nails into his palms, Niall raised his head. Fiercely trying to reclaim his sanity, he crawled towards the door.
Just a little more. Just a little more. With every step he took away, it felt like a fraction of his consciousness was returning.
Being bound in this world was his greatest fear. The great alpha, who was so magnificent that Niall, an omega, felt insignificant, was too much. Duke himself was no different from physical restraints to Niall. Niall was consumed by one thought: he was dangerous. So he had to escape.
“Niall.”
But in that moment.
When Duke called Niall’s name.
Niall’s legs went weak.
“Ugh.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Qlat j atev, Rljii ofii ab tlr xcffr. Lf mifcmtfv atf ugbecv klat ybat tjcvr, uglaalcu tlr affat. Lf obgmfv tlr kfjxfcfv ifur ab rajcv jujlc. Dea…
“Rljii.”
Qtfc atf ubv mjiifv tlr cjwf, atf bwfuj mbeivc’a gfrlra. Llr jqqgbjmtlcu obbarafqr rbecvfv ilxf atecvfg. Jifjg vgbbi aglmxifv ogbw Rljii’r ilqr, jcv tlr rjclas kjr bcmf jujlc bnfgglvvfc ys lcralcma.
“Duke, please. Pheromones…”
Please take them away… Niall murmured with a voice that sounded like a mix of speaking and moaning. Overwhelmed by Duke’s sensual aura closing in from all sides, Niall bit his lips until they bled.
The door was open, freedom lay beyond. Yet, in his overwhelmed state, Niall didn’t entertain the thought of escaping through that door, avoiding Duke or evading the eyes of the castle’s guards at the gate. He simply reached desperately for the door.
“Niall.”
But when Duke called Niall’s name for the third time.
And when he finally grasped Niall’s shoulder.
Niall, like a meek and feeble bird with no will to flee, once again fell to his knees.
“Why?”
Duke asked, but Niall couldn’t answer. Clear drool streamed between his parted lips, and from there, pheromones… Like flowers blossoming instantly, the pent-up pheromones burst forth.
“You must be cautious for the rest of your life…”
Duke inserted his hand between Niall’s limp arms and legs, lifting him up. Niall’s head drooped, his pupils dilated so much it seemed as if his entire iris was black.
“Beware of alphas. You must be cautious for the rest of your life. Otherwise…”
Romana had said that. It had happened a long time ago. And now, Niall finally understood Romana’s words. He could finally grasp what it meant to be an alpha.
“Niall.”
When Duke called Niall’s name for the fourth time, Niall was no longer there. With a soul yearning for freedom, he fled to the dark abyss of the past, away from Duke’s reach, towards a past where Duke couldn’t find him.
Chapter 7
The earliest memory Niall could recall was being cradled by an old woman, gazing out at a sunlit spring field. Flowers stretched to the horizon, the sun was warm, and Niall sniffled with a runny nose. A pretty butterfly distracted him momentarily, then his stomach growled, hungry. When the old woman turned, Niall clung to her, calling her “Mom.”
“Mom.”
The woman tilted her head, and that was Niall’s first memory.
As time passed, Niall learned that the old woman’s name was Romana. Romana was the first affectionate person Niall remembered.
Romana was a fortune-teller in a traveling caravan, and Niall was part of that caravan too. They traveled with other fortune-tellers.
Romana had a daughter slightly older than Niall, named Shera. Romana cared for both Niall and Shera like her own children, and they became Niall’s mother and sister.
“If Romana didn’t give birth to me, then who did?”
“You were born from water and wind.”
Like any orphaned child, Niall wondered about his parents, and whenever he asked, Romana tried to console him with such silly words. Niall pouted.
“Don’t lie. Everyone has a mom and dad.”
“But it’s true. You are the son of the river. That’s why your destiny is to wander with me from one end of the world to the other.”
Though Romana never revealed the truth about Niall’s parents, he soon realized where he came from.
Occasionally, the caravan’s leader would bring in children who seemed presentable or talented from somewhere, all of them sold by poor parents for money. Niall naturally assumed he was one of those children.
When the caravan found a prosperous village, they set up tents and performed tricks. If a man came, they’d ply him with alcohol, sell him expensive goods, and offer prostitution services. If a woman came, they’d read her fortune and tell stories.
Romana specialized in fortune-telling for those women.
“Your fiancé has black hair, tall stature, and a handsome man with a mustache. He’s a very elegant gentleman.”
“The man you’ll marry is a tall, handsome knight with golden hair. He’ll come riding a white horse to offer you flowers.”
Satisfying the young female guests was easy. All it took was assuring them that they would definitely marry tall, handsome men. After hearing this, the girls gladly paid for their fortunes and went home feeling happy, and the next day, friends of the girls who heard the rumors would come to find Romana.
“Your husband is out philandering. Yes. Your intuition was correct. But don’t worry too much. Despite flirting around, your husband’s true love is you. No matter how many women he goes through, eventually he’ll come back to you.”
Older women, with more serious issues, sought Romana. They usually doubted their husbands’ fidelity and worried about their children’s future.
For those with husband troubles, Romana always blamed the husband outright and offered some comforting words before selling her fortune-telling services. For those with child issues, she always offered words of comfort about the child.
“Right now, he may be wandering, but eventually, your son will settle down. Men can gamble too. You have to trust your son. If a mother gives up on her son, who else will believe in him?”
Then the women, teary-eyed, handed over their money for the fortune-telling and left. There were too many unhappy women with philandering husbands and gambling sons, and Romana, after pretending to peer into her crystal ball, offered similar words of comfort to each woman before taking their money.
“Romana, do you really see the future?”
Niall asked once. Romana shook her head, clapping her hands.
“Those women just come here to hear what they want to hear. What would I say? Your husband will continue philandering until he dies and you’ll end up wiping his drool as he gets older? Your gambling son will steal the money you’ve earned and even hit you if you don’t give it to him? Would those women be satisfied hearing such truths? Never. Those women don’t need fortunes; they need comfort. Reality is too terrible, so they just want to hear the comforting words of a fortune-teller.”
Romana polished the crystal ball she pretended to see the future in slowly.
“Men come here seeking pleasure, while women come seeking comfort. Anyway, reality won’t change. No one can change their reality. So I just tell those women what they want to hear. If they don’t pay, nobody will comfort them.”
Romana sold bogus fortunes, but she had a warm heart. Niall thought it was a great stroke of luck to be assigned to Romana.
The children brought by the leader were distributed like dogs or pigs, with the child assigned to the clown being hit on the head with a club so his skull caved in, and the child assigned to the singing prostitute being slapped until his cheek was torn open. In contrast, Romana never hit Niall, not even once.
Love. Niall was a pitiful child sold off by his parents, but he wasn’t unhappy. He had Romana’s love.
Clifhangeeer 🤤😄😢
Why did I just find this novel now? 😭