Chapter 3 Hangover and a Scary Alpha

The tropical sun had barely climbed over Bangkok before it found Kavin.

Unfortunately for him, it felt like the sun had a personal grudge.

A sharp beam slipped through the curtains and landed directly across his face. He groaned, turning deeper into his silk pillow and immediately regretting it. The pillow smelled like old tequila, sweat, and terrible decisions.

His entire body hurt.

His head throbbed.

His mouth felt like someone had filled it with sand overnight.

"I am never drinking again," he muttered into the pillow.

A pause.

"Actually, if I ever say the word tequila again, Sky, you have permission to slap me."

From somewhere downstairs came the unmistakable smell of herbs boiling.

Kavin froze.

Then groaned.

No.

Not that.

"Too late for violence," Sky called from downstairs, sounding far too cheerful for someone who had been equally drunk the night before. "But the medicine is ready!"

Kavin pulled the pillow over his head.

"Why are you like this?"

"Because one of us has to survive."

A few minutes later, the bedroom door opened.

Sky walked in carrying a steaming cup of dark herbal tea. He looked almost as bad as Kavin felt. His eyes were red, his hair was messy, and an ice pack was tied around the back of his head with a silk scarf.

Yet somehow, he still looked pleased with himself.

He placed the cup on the nightstand.

"Drink."

Kavin cracked one eye open and stared at the tea like it was an enemy.

"What is that?"

"Something that will save your life."

"It smells like a garden lost a fight with a swamp."

Sky crossed his arms.

"Drink it."

"I'd rather suffer."

"Kavin."

"No."

"I will pour it into your mouth myself."

The photographer slowly sat up, clutching his head.

"You wouldn't."

Sky raised an eyebrow.

"You clearly don't know me after all these years."

Kavin sighed.

He picked up the cup.

"This is friendship abuse."

"This is friendship preservation."

Kavin took one sip.

His entire face twisted.

"Why does it taste worse than it smells?"

"Because your body hates you right now."

Kavin placed the cup down and searched the floor blindly.

"Where's my jacket?"

Sky frowned.

"The denim one?"

"Yeah."

Sky leaned against the wall, trying to remember.

"I think you had it at The Vault."

Kavin stopped.

Slowly, memories began returning.

The lights.

The music.

The drinks.

The angry Alpha.

The giant man who smelled like cedarwood and smoke.

His eyes widened.

"Oh no."

Sky immediately looked concerned.

"What?"

Kavin stared at him.

"Do you remember how we got home?"

Sky's expression changed.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Oh no."

They sat there in silence.

Then Sky covered his face.

"There was that huge Alpha."

"The Mercedes guy."

"The scary one."

"The one who looked like he could break a door with his shoulder."

Kavin groaned.

"We embarrassed ourselves."

Sky looked away.

"How bad?"

Kavin buried his face in his hands.

"I touched his face."

Sky blinked.

"What?"

"I patted his cheek."

A pause.

"Why?"

"I don't know!"

Kavin looked genuinely traumatized.

"I called him a gorilla."

Sky slowly lowered his hands.

"You called a giant Alpha security guy a gorilla?"

"And I may have told him he looked like a walking heater."

Sky stared.

"You flirted with him?"

"I was drunk!"

"That is not a defense."

Kavin dropped backward onto the bed.

"It gets worse."

Sky looked nervous.

"What else?"

"I threw up."

Sky's eyes widened.

"Where?"

Kavin slowly turned his head.

"...The car."

"Oh."

"And I think I left my jacket."

Sky winced.

Kavin covered his face.

"I'm going to get fired. Then sued. Then publicly humiliated by rich people in expensive suits."

Across Bangkok, another man was having a significantly different kind of bad morning.

Phana Akarachin had not slept.

His apartment was silent except for the sound of his footsteps against the marble floor.

He was still wearing only black silk lounge pants, his shirt discarded somewhere nearby. In his hand was Kavin's motorcycle jacket.

The scent was fading.

Slowly.

Too slowly.

Lemongrass.

Vanilla.

Rain.

Every time the trace weakened, something inside him became more restless.

He finally grabbed his phone and called Rut.

The moment the call connected, Phan spoke.

"Give me his address."

Rut didn't even bother greeting him.

"Good morning to you too."

"I need Kavin Sirilert's location."

"Phan.."

"Now."

Rut sighed.

"I am already working on it."

Phan paced toward the window.

"I don't care how private his information is. Find him."

"I will."

A pause.

"But you should check your private server."

Phan stopped.

"Why?"

"Your father has been trying to contact you."

That immediately ruined his mood.

He ended the call and walked toward the computer.

The message waiting for him was from the Akarachin Elder Pack Council.

His expression darkened as he read.

Phana,

The Tokyo regional summit has already been postponed for three months. The expansion agreement and lineage treaty with the Minamoto Pack cannot be delayed further. You will depart tonight at 14:00.

Your responsibilities as heir cannot continue being ignored.

Handle this matter properly.

Phan stared at the screen.

Then calmly placed the phone down.

A second later, his fist slammed into the marble kitchen island.

The crack echoed through the apartment.

Of course.

The one time his instincts finally woke up after thirty-one years, his family decided to send him across the world.

If he refused, the council would immediately notice something had changed.

And his father would make his life miserable.

Phan picked up his phone again.

"Rut."

"Yes?"

"I'm leaving for Tokyo this afternoon."

A pause.

"The summit?"

"The old man has decided my schedule belongs to the council again."

Rut almost sounded amused.

"Unfortunate."

"Keep an eye on Kavin."

"Of course."

"If he moves, I want to know."

"Understood."

Phan looked down at the jacket in his hand.

"If he breathes, Rut..."

He paused.

"I want to know how often."

Rut was silent.

Then:

"I'll handle surveillance personally."

At exactly 3:30 p.m., Rut's black SUV stopped outside a busy commercial district.

He adjusted the collar of his black linen shirt before stepping out.

This neighborhood was nothing like Akarachin Tower.

No private security.

No marble floors.

No luxury penthouses.

Just ordinary people living ordinary lives.

His eyes moved over the area.

A small bakery.

A row of shops.

A two-story apartment building with a balcony above.

He entered the bakery.

The bell above the door rang.

Rut expected an empty shop.

Instead, he stopped.

Behind the counter was Sky.

The same Omega who had been a drunken disaster the night before.

Except now...

He looked completely different.

He was wearing a simple white tank top and gray shorts. His hair was messy from work, and a small crescent moon tattoo peeked above his wrist as he cleaned the display case.

Then Rut noticed something else.

His scent.

Without the alcohol.

Without the club.

Without the chaos.

Sky smelled like warmth.

Brown sugar.

Vanilla.

Fresh bread.

It wrapped around Rut's senses and immediately made something inside him relax.

That was impossible.

Rut Klaibor did not get distracted.

He was disciplined.

Focused.

Controlled.

Yet somehow, standing in a bakery doorway, watching an Omega organize pastries, he forgot why he was there.

Forgot the mission.

Forgot the pack.

Forgot everything.

"Sky?"

The voice came from the back.

Rut's attention snapped toward the sound.

"I swear the lens cloth was right next to…"

Kavin stepped out.

He wore a bright red tank top, black shorts, and his Leica camera hanging over his shoulder.

He was adjusting the lens when he looked up.

And froze.

The camera slipped slightly in his hand.

His face turned bright red.

The giant Alpha from last night was standing in their bakery.

Again.

Buzz.

"Sky..."

Kavin pointed at Rut.

"Is this some kind of prank?"

"No, I think he's definitely real," Sky said.

He turned around and found Rut standing there.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

The bakery suddenly felt much smaller.

Kavin slowly lowered his camera.

"Sky."

His voice carried a warning.

"That is the man from last night."

Sky blinked.

"The giant Alpha?"

"The giant Alpha who owns half of Bangkok, apparently."

Sky looked between them.

"Wait, really?"

Kavin crossed his arms.

"Yes. Teerut Klaibor. Chief of Security for Akarachin Holdings."

Sky's eyebrows lifted.

"Oh."

Then he smiled.

"He's still rude."

Rut's expression barely changed.

"I am standing right here."

"Exactly," Sky replied.

Kavin stared at him.

"Are you seriously annoying the richest man's security chief five minutes after meeting him?"

Sky shrugged.

"I'm just saying."

He turned back toward Rut.

"Didn't you come here looking for something?"

Rut cleared his throat.

"The lens cloth."

"Right."

Sky turned toward the counter.

"I swear it was here somewhere."

He searched through a drawer before glancing back.

"Oh, wait."

His eyes narrowed playfully.

"Did you come here to return the smell from my room?"

Kavin immediately looked horrified.

"Sky."

"What?"

"You cannot say things like that."

Rut looked away for a moment, clearly trying to maintain his composure.

"I apologize for the inconvenience last night."

Kavin's expression softened slightly.

"You're apologizing?"

Rut nodded.

"I am here regarding the vehicle damage and the situation afterward."

The second he said it, he regretted the wording.

The situation afterward.

Wonderful.

Very professional.

Both Omegas immediately understood.

Sky's cheeks turned pink.

Kavin looked like he wanted the floor to open.

"We're sorry about the car," Kavin said quickly. "Really. We aren't usually that irresponsible."

Rut raised an eyebrow.

Kavin sighed.

"Okay. We are sometimes irresponsible."

Sky laughed quietly.

Kavin ignored him.

"But thank you for helping us get home."

He gestured toward the counter.

"Can I offer you coffee?"

Rut looked like he wanted to refuse.

Then Sky smiled at him.

And suddenly refusing became much harder.

"I suppose I have time."

Kavin hid a grin.

Of course.

He noticed.

He noticed everything.

Sky moved behind the counter while Rut watched him prepare the drink. There was something strangely calming about him. Without the noise of the club, without the alcohol, without the chaos, Sky was different.

Warm.

Gentle.

Rut wasn't used to that.

People usually saw him and stepped away.

Sky looked at him like he was just another person.

"Here."

Sky handed him the coffee.

Their fingers brushed.

It lasted less than a second.

But Rut felt it.

A strange pull.

Something unfamiliar.

He quickly placed a business card on the counter.

"If there are any issues with the vehicle, or if you remember anything from last night, contact me directly."

He looked at Sky.

"Not the corporate office."

Sky picked up the card.

"Directly?"

Rut nodded.

"Directly."

A small smile appeared on Sky's face.

"Interesting."

Rut frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing."

The smile grew.

"You just seem very serious about coffee."

Kavin laughed from behind him.

Rut looked over.

"What?"

Kavin shook his head.

"Nothing. I'm just realizing you might actually be human."

Rut ignored him.

He turned back toward Sky.

"I should know your names."

Sky raised an eyebrow.

"You don't already?"

"No."

"Sky Nadin."

He pointed toward Kavin.

"And that's Kavin Sirilert."

Rut repeated the names quietly.

"Kavin. Sky."

Both men looked at him.

The way he said it was almost too serious.

Kavin's face changed.

"Wait."

He pointed.

"You."

Rut looked at him.

"The cab."

A pause.

"The radiator guy."

Sky burst out laughing.

Rut closed his eyes briefly.

"I am never going to hear the end of that, am I?"

"No," Kavin said immediately.

Sky smiled.

"Definitely not."

Hours later, above the clouds, Phana Akarachin sat alone inside his private jet.

The city lights disappeared beneath him, but his thoughts remained exactly where they had been since Bangkok.

Kavin.

His phone screen displayed the photograph Rut had sent.

Kavin staring at the camera with that same defiant expression.

Even in a simple picture, he looked impossible to ignore.

Phan stared at the image for a long time.

Thirty-one years of believing something inside him was missing.

Thirty-one years of accepting that he was different.

And then one night changed everything.

He tightened his grip around the phone.

"Kavin..."

The name felt strange.

Too personal.

Too important.

A knock interrupted his thoughts.

The message from his father had arrived.

Phan opened it.

The Elder Pack Council had summoned him to Tokyo.

The regional summit had already been delayed for months. The negotiations with the Minamoto Pack could not wait any longer.

His responsibilities as heir came first.

Of course they did.

Phan leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

The universe had finally given him something he wanted.

And immediately demanded that he leave.

He called Rut.

"I am going to Tokyo."

Rut answered immediately.

"The summit?"

"Yes."

A pause.

"Keep watching Kavin."

"Already planned."

"I want updates."

"You have my word."

Phan looked down at the jacket beside him.

The scent was faint now.

But still there.

"Do not lose track of him."

Rut's voice softened slightly.

"I won't."

By the time Rut arrived at the bakery later that afternoon, he expected a simple surveillance check.

Nothing more.

He parked the SUV outside and entered the small shop.

The bell above the door rang.

Then he stopped.

Sky was behind the counter.

Not the drunk Omega from the club.

Not the person clinging to him and laughing.

Just Sky.

Quiet.

Focused.

Beautiful.

He wore simple clothes, his hair slightly messy as he worked. The bakery smelled like fresh bread, sugar, and warmth.

Then Rut noticed something else.

Sky's scent.

Without the chaos of the nightclub, it was clearer.

Brown sugar.

Vanilla.

Fresh baking.

It settled around Rut like a calm he hadn't felt in years.

For once, he wasn't thinking about security.

Or duty.

Or threats.

He was just standing there.

Watching him.

"Sky?"

The voice behind him broke the moment.

Rut turned.

Kavin walked out from the back room carrying his camera.

Bright red shirt.

Black shorts.

Leica hanging from his shoulder.

He stopped immediately.

His eyes widened.

The color drained from his face.

Then returned all at once.

"Sky."

His voice was suspicious.

"Why is the scary Alpha from last night standing in our bakery?"

Sky looked over.

Then smiled.

"I was wondering the same thing."

Rut stared at them.

For the first time in a very long time...

He had no idea what to say.