CHAPTER 14: HEAT CYCLE TRIGGER

When we stumbled back up to the second floor, the two guys lounging on the sectionals shot us utterly bewildered looks, taking in the bloody, bruised mess that was my face and Yuan’s.

Yuan slumped down next to Alejandro, while I reclaimed my spot on the couch. Stephen parked himself right beside me, with Jeno and Marcus hovering on my right.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Alejandro asked, his eyes darting back and forth between us in sheer disbelief.

"Oh, you know, just a casual near-death experience," Jeno piped up cheerfully.

"Marcus, go grab the first aid kit from the other room," Stephen ordered.

"On it." Marcus pushed himself up and trotted out of the room.

My eyes remained locked in a deadly stare-down with the bastard sitting across from me. He was glaring back with equal parts venom and fury.

"Seriously, why were you guys trying to murder each other? What's your problem?" Stephen nagged like a mom.

Neither of us said a word. The air between us was thick enough to cut with a knife, and even surrounded by people, the burning rage in my chest hadn't cooled down one bit.

"So, what did you do this time, Neo?" asked the arrogant guy on the end—the one who’d been looking down on me all night and whose name I still hadn't bothered to learn. "You obviously started it, right? Yuan wouldn't just throw a punch out of nowhere unless you made the first move."

My jaw clenched hard enough to crack a tooth. This guy again. His condescending, holier-than-thou tone was pushing me straight to the edge.

"Alright, everyone just chill out, okay?" Stephen cut in, patting my shoulder. He grabbed a bottle of liquor from the table, poured two generous glasses, and slid one to me and one to Yuan.

"Drink up. Let's get some alcohol in you guys so your brains stop frying."

I grabbed the glass and knocked it back in one gulp without breaking eye contact with Yuan. He did the exact same thing, his glare never wavering. When Stephen refilled my glass, I slammed it back down again, and Yuan matched me shot for shot.

It turned into an unannounced, petty staring contest—a silent battle to see whose liver would give out first.

Before I knew it, a heavy, dizzying wave swept over my brain. The background noise of the room—their laughing, their teasing—faded into a muffled blur. I couldn't even tell who passed out first. The alcohol hit my system like a freight train, knocking my lights completely out.

My eyelids fluttered open to pitch-black darkness. The room was deathly quiet, and as my senses slowly kicked back in, I realized this definitely wasn't the room I was in earlier.

A sharp, throbbing headache slammed into my temples. Shit! This is exactly why I don't drink. I rarely touch the stuff because one bad hangover could ruin my work schedule for days, so I usually keep myself on a tight leash.

But tonight? Seeing that bastard's face made me lose my damn mind, and I drank way too much. It was all Yuan's fault. If he hadn't provoked me, I wouldn't be in this state.

°°°

I SQUINTED through the gloom. The only light source was a dim bedside lamp sitting on a table a few feet away from the bed I was lying on.

Then I felt it—a heavy, suffocating weight wrapped firmly around my waist.

My eyes snapped wide open. Realization hit me like a bucket of ice water because someone was in bed with me, the arm coiled tightly around my torso.

I looked down at the idiot clinging to me, but I couldn't make out his face because he had it buried deep into my pillow. I tried to pry his heavy arm off my waist, but he only tightened his grip, pulling me back in.

Dammit! Hey, you bastard, I'm not a plush toy! Let go! I screamed internally.

I tried shoving him off again, but he just let out a low, husky groan and yanked me closer, pressing his entire front against my back. I was pinned on my side, completely trapped in his arms.

What the actual hell is this guy doing?!

I thrusted my hips and squirmed violently to break free from his grip, but it only drew another low groan from him.

"Argh... don't move..."

I froze instantly. That voice—deep, raspy, and infuriatingly familiar. I knew that voice anywhere.

"Yuan?! What the fuck are you doing?!" I yelled, my voice dripping with rage as I struggled against his grip.

"Ssh... I should be the one asking that..." His warm breath brushed against the sensitive skin of my nape, sending an unwanted shiver down my spine. "What are you doing to me?" he muttered, his voice strained and heavy.

"What do you mean, 'what am I doing to you'?! You're the one holding me hostage!" I barked.

Suddenly, his soft lips grazed the back of my neck. My jaw locked instantly.

"Shit! What the fuck are you doing?!" I panicked, thrashing with everything I had to pull my neck away, but his grip was like an iron clamp.

"Whatever sick game you're playing, I will literally murder you, you hear me?!"

"Ssh... I'm just smelling you, okay?" he murmured against my skin, his voice dropping an octave into a low, hypnotic rumble. "So please... don't move. Just let me smell you."

My temper exploded. Just a few hours ago, this exact same bastard told me I smelled terrible! Now he's wrapped around me like a vine, burying his face in my neck?!

"You bastard! Let me go or I swear to God I'll kill you!" I shoved backwards, trying to elbow him in the ribs.

"Argh... don't move! You're driving me fucking insane, dammit!" he growled in a deep, gravelly rasp.

I froze dead in my tracks. A hard, pulsing heat was pressing directly against my lower back.

Holy shit.

He ground it firmly against me, swelling impossibly larger right through our clothes.

My teeth gritted so hard they nearly shattered. I am going to end this man's life.

"Dammit, what is this scent? You're making me fucking horny," he growled, sinking his face deeper into the crook of my neck, taking deep, shuddering inhales against my bare skin.

"Hey! I'm not playing around, Yuan! Let me go right now or I'm tearing you apart!" I snapped, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"Just give me a minute, okay? Let me just smell you a bit... I need to figure out what this scent coming off you is," he pleaded, his breathing growing dangerously shallow and heavy.

"Who even are you right now?! Are you the same guy who called me trash and said I smelled bad earlier?!" I yelled, still fighting against his hold.

He let out a quiet, breathless chuckle against my skin—a soft, genuine sound, completely free of his usual arrogant edge. "That was because of the cigarette... I have a sensitive nose, you know."

My jaw tightened. "Were you just pretending earlier? Acting like you didn't remember what you pulled at your condo?"

"No... I really didn't remember. I swear... not until..."

"Not until what?!" I demanded, completely out of patience.

"Not until I smelled you a little while ago."

A little while ago?! Don't tell me he's been sniffing me while I was passed out!

My rage reached a boiling point. "Have you been creeping on me while I was asleep, you pervert?!" I thrashed violently, kicking my legs.

"No... I don't know... I really don't know... I was drunk too..."

"Shut up! Let me go, you psycho!"

Instead of releasing me, he buried his face deeper into the curve of my neck, letting out a frustrated groan as he pressed his rigid length harder against my back.

"Aah, I can't take it anymore... you're driving me crazy!"

Without warning, his teeth nipped sharply into the flesh of my neck, making me gasp out loud.

"Ah—shit!"

His hand slithered beneath the hem of my shirt, his warm, calloused palm sliding up over the tight contours of my abs. I instinctively grabbed his wrist, trying to tear his hand away, but a sudden wave of sheer helplessness washed over me as the air in the room abruptly shifted.

He flooded the dark room with his dominant pheromones. It was thick, heavy, and intoxicating, his scent filled every corner of the space—a potent mix of sharp, sour citrus and dark, overwhelming sweetness that radiated pure alpha dominance. The air grew so thick that drawing a full breath felt impossible, while a sudden, terrifying heat surged through me, spreading like wildfire.

What the hell is this bastard doing to me?!

My entire body flushed with unbearable heat, my core throbbing as if an unexpected, violent heat cycle was about to tear through me at any second.

Fuck... no, no, NO! This can't be happening!