TCWTTL✉⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨୧˚

CHAPTER lll

A bolt of lightning flashed.

A single white streak of light pierced the gloomy sky and struck the ground, bringing a thunderous roar in its wake. The darkened space momentarily lit up, then plunged back into darkness. The face of the man, momentarily illuminated, exuded a ferocious aura, like a beast driven purely by instinct.

Unconsciously retreating, Johanna stopped as she hit the window frame. The cold glass pressed against her back. The chilly winter air seeped through the narrow cracks, chilling her skin.

“No, sir! No matter how noble you are, you can’t just barge in like this…,”

Said Mrs. Drebyul, who had followed closely, her words trailing off as she sensed the tense atmosphere.

Ignoring anyone nearby, Leonid focused solely on Johanna. His maddened, sunset-colored eyes scrutinized her from head to toe with relentless intensity.

His gaze was like that of a mortal enemy and, at the same time, like someone meticulously observing a precious object.

He took a slow step forward. The boundary of the space finally crumbled. Johanna couldn’t find the words to tell him not to come closer. He had always invaded her world so easily.

His pheromones, which she had never been able to forget for even a moment, sharply stimulated all her senses. Every nerve cell awoke from a deep slumber, madly craving the alpha in front of her.

Hugging her suitcase tightly with both arms, Johanna hunched her shoulders. Her whole body trembled uncontrollably. Even though she had a unique constitution that wasn’t greatly affected by alpha pheromones, she was always helpless against his.

A familiar heat surged through her previously cold body. As she blinked with difficulty, moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes. Her panting breaths grew hot.

Unlike other alphas’ pheromones, his did not make her uncomfortable. Because she carried his child inside her, his scent felt more alluring than ever, making her yearn for him intensely. The omega’s instincts, which gnawed at her reason, clamored for her to drench herself in his pheromones and inhale deeply. Johanna, with extreme self-control, restrained her hands that wanted to reach out to him.

Leonid’s gaze fell on the suitcase she clung to like a shield. A cold sneer brushed the corners of his crookedly upturned lips.

“Looks like all you think about is running away from me.”

His first words dripped with derision. Johanna blinked in bewilderment, unable to grasp the meaning of his unexpectedly harsh tone.

“How detestable it must be for you. It must be unbearable to have me tearing through the whole country like a madman trying to find you, right?”

He was angry. The icy fury in front of her clouded her mind, but Johanna, barely able to think, strengthened her suspicion that he knew everything. Somehow, word of her pregnancy had reached him.

Would she be captured and taken away like this? Johanna imagined her future, confined in his mansion. Her belly would swell month by month as her freedom dwindled. She would pass full term, give birth, and the baby would be taken from her without ever having been held in her arms.

And then, she would be discarded. Once her usefulness was exhausted, she would be cast aside as if she were an old… broken object…

The bitter feeling rose to her throat, a despair that made her feel lower than a crawling insect. The emotion that had tormented her countless times while she was by his side resurfaced, still alive and well.

“In this state…”

He approached Johanna slowly, his crimson eyes, which sometimes held warmth, now filled only with anger. That gaze cut sharply at her heart. Feeling her eyes grow hot, Johanna bit her lower lip painfully.

“You ran away from me to live like this, in this cramped, shabby room? Answer me. Is living like a beggar what you really want?”

As if to corner her, he closed the distance between them with a swift stride. His hand shot out and snatched the suitcase she clung to like a lifeline, tossing it to the floor.

Johanna’s hands fell limply to her sides, her mouth opening and closing without sound. The reality in front of her felt distant, as if she were adrift on an open sea. She didn’t know what to say. Her thoughts spiraled towards an extreme conclusion, wondering if she should just let everything go.

To her, he was the one and only, but it was a feeling she held alone. Johanna had covered her affection for him with resignation again and again. Even knowing she would be used and discarded, she couldn’t sever her feelings for him.

In the end, she failed to convey anything properly. There was no future where they could be together. Having dared to flee while carrying the bloodline of the Elderique family, what lay ahead was an endless abyss.

“Agh…”

Alpha’s pheromones raged wildly. Johanna shuddered and let out a sob-like moan. Leonid was pouring out his pheromones so intensely that she felt she might be drenched and soaked in them.

There were usually two reasons why an alpha would act this way. Either they were excessively aroused, or they wanted to mark an omega as their own.

Johanna’s eyelids trembled as she lifted her head. He was looking down at her from very close. His gaze was so ominous it made her heart sink.

“…Johanna, my omega.”

He spoke as if spitting fire. Johanna furrowed her brow and stared at him intently.

‘My omega’? Was he saying that in his right mind?

“If I had known you would hide away and flirt with another man in a place like this, I should have tied you up and locked you away.”

Flash, another bolt of lightning struck. His whiskey-colored eyes, lit by the flash, briefly shone like bright gold. His large hand grabbed Johanna’s nape and pulled her close. Startled, Johanna’s eyes widened.

“Mmph…!”

Before she could push him away, her lips were swallowed. Out of ingrained habit, she reflexively opened her mouth. His warm breath and wet tongue invaded her mouth. The pheromones mixed with his saliva stimulated her sensitive mucous membranes, crushing her rationality and heightening her animalistic excitement.

“Hmm…”