When an Alpha is Marked by One of His Own Kind

Chapter 12

As soon as those words fell from Shen Qiao's lips, Lu Zhe's gaze fell to the crook of Shen Qiao's neck.

Though they were both alphas, Shen Qiao's physique was stronger and more fearsome than that of most other alphas. Perhaps that was because he liked to swim in his free time. He'd built up an excellent figure—

The muscles of his neck and shoulders were sleek and smooth, subtly hinting at the strength hiding within his body. At such a close distance, Lu Zhe could practically see his pulse beating out a rhythm beneath the dip between his pronounced collarbones.

A beat. Then another. And another. Strong and vigorous, full of vitality.

There was also the familiar scent of mint, sometimes faint and sometimes thick. It was clearly a symptom of his faulty pheromones, but it felt like nothing short of a fierce provocation.

Whether it was through his looks or his disposition, Shen Qiao radiated the aura of a powerful wolf. The obvious leader of his pack.

He was perfect. He was exactly what triggered Lu Zhe's instinct to conquer.

Lu Zhe instantly recalled that day a few years ago, when he'd pinned Shen Qiao down in an alleyway at the side of the road. When he'd sunk his teeth into the nape of Shen Qiao's neck, breaking skin.

It had been a gloomy, rainy day. The rain dripped into every crevice of the city, wetting Shen Qiao's short and somewhat messy hair. Shen Qiao's fingers were curled against the shallow gaps between the bricks of the wall in front of him. He only exposed that pale, snow-like neck of his. When Lu Zhe bit down, he could distinctly hear a muffled groan rising from the back of Shen Qiao's throat.

That groan… it was like he was in pain, but doing his best to endure it.

The young Lu Zhe, who'd yet to learn anything of restraint, bit down harder. He increased the force of his bite, like he wanted to brand Shen Qiao's skin with an everlasting mark.

Water droplets trickled down from the strands of hair that tickled the nape of Shen Qiao's neck. They slid down to the corners of Lu Zhe's lips. Those beads of rainwater, slightly warmed by Shen Qiao's body heat, tasted almost like tears.

……

Right in front of Shen Qiao's eyes, Lu Zhe suddenly smiled. One corner of his mouth quirked into a lopsided grin, exposing a few measures of slyness.

Lu Zhe pressed a hand to Shen Qiao's shoulder and held him in place. He lifted his other hand slowly and smoothed his thumb over the corner of his own mouth, where Shen Qiao's heated breath had fallen. He rubbed that spot as though soothing away an itch, then fiercely dragged his thumb over his lips—

Instantly, with the brush of that finger, a gorgeous flush of color surged into his lower lip.

"What do you think?"

Lu Zhe drawled those words slowly, lazily. It obviously should have been a relaxing tone of voice, but it inexplicably sent a chill down Shen Qiao's spine.

Although Lu Zhe's smile was warm and gentle, his dark pupils only emitted a faint ray of light. His eyes were as dark as bottomless whirlpools. They could suck in a person's soul and shred it to pieces, or drag a person into the depths of hell with him.

"Do I only want to mark you again?" he asked.

No, that wasn't all.

"I want to leave an everlasting mark," he said.

As he spoke, Lu Zhe lowered the hand he'd brought to the corner of his lips. Perhaps by accident, his middle finger brushed the fabric of Shen Qiao's abdomen on its way down. It was no more than a ghost of a touch, like a dragonfly skimming over the still waters of a pond. It was the sort of feather-light touch that made one's skin numb with a phantom itch, and it was undoubtedly revenge for the words Shen Qiao had breathed against Lu Zhe's lips.