Chapter Sixteen

Author’s Note: This story is set in an alternate universe, in an imaginary town and country, and during an ambiguous time period.

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Dinner with Adisa had started like any of their other recent meetups—casual and easy. They spent most of the meal talking about work, with Kazir more than happy to dive into the details of the project that had been occupying so much of his time. Adisa, sitting across from him, was listening with rapt attention, a soft, almost affectionate smile playing on his lips as Kazir spoke. It was as though he enjoyed just watching Kazir talk.  

It was nice to have someone to talk to about work, even if he now recognized it as a sign of being “old.”  

Flustered by the intensity of Adisa’s gaze, Kazir shifted the conversation, asking with a nervous laugh, “So, has anything exciting happened in your life since the last time we met?” His voice grew fainter toward the end of his question.  

Adisa chuckled, setting his fork down. He swallowed and reached for his drink. “No. Actually, sort of. I finally beat my younger sister at chess.”  

Kazir raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Chess?”  

“Yeah, we have a family game night once a month. Mostly board games, but she’s been wiping the floor with me in chess for years. I think she let me win this time, though—she’s a monster.”  

Kazir smiled. “That’s really nice. It’s good that you’re close to your family.”  

Adisa’s eyes softened as he chewed thoughtfully. “They’re the best. Yours?”  

Kazir shrugged, not willing to divulge any more personal tidbits about his life with Adisa. “Normal.”  

Sensing Kazir’s hesitation, Adisa didn’t press. Instead, he changed the subject. “So, any plans for hiking anytime soon?”  

Kazir shook his head. “Not anytime soon, unfortunately. My schedule’s been too hectic.”  

“When you do go, I’d love to join you. I enjoy hiking the few times I’ve been, but it’s tough finding people to go with.” Adisa leaned back, an easy smile lighting up his face.

Kazir didn’t realize how unguarded his smile was as he regarded Adisa. “You’re too gregarious.”  

“You’re right.” He sipped his drink before he said, “I can’t imagine you hiking with others.”  

Kazir chuckled. “You’re right. I like to go alone.”  

“Will I be intruding?” he asked with a laugh, his charm undeniable.  

“I don’t mind,” he said, surprised by how sincere he was.  

He didn’t mind sharing his usually solitary hobbies with Adisa. In fact, it struck him how much he had always been annoyed by social and talkative people—yet those were traits he found surprisingly enjoyable in Adisa.  

“Great!” Adisa said, his smile impossibly bright. “I have a request to make. Please hear me out.”  

Kazir frowned, but his eyes shimmered with warmth and mirth. “Oh no, I hope it’s not about burying a body.”  

And, of course, Adisa laughed—a soft, choking sound filtered through his nostrils. “No. Promise. It’s a much simpler, non-criminal activity.”  

“Shoot then,” Kazir encouraged him, putting food in his mouth as he watched Adisa talk.  

“I’ve been wanting to go go-karting, and I bought tickets to take my younger brother, Yongho, but—” He paused. Kazir swallowed and silently gave him a nod of encouragement. “He’s chosen his girlfriend over me.”  

“Hmm,” was Kazir’s initial response. Then he blinked slowly at Adisa and said, his tone teasing, “Your social nature strikes again?”  

“It’s not as fun solo,” Adisa said, his voice whining, but his face creasing as he grinned, his dimples digging holes in his cheeks. Kazir’s heart fluttered at the ostentatious display of Adisa’s smile and his beauty. Kazir's eyes drifted, catching on a tiny freckle just behind Adisa’s ear. It was small, barely noticeable, but something about it felt sweetly intimate, like a secret only he was allowed to see. The freckle looked like a sprinkle of sesame seed against Adisa's smooth skin. He suddenly felt an intense need to lick there. 

Kazir felt his breath catch, realizing just how absurd and bizarre his thought was.

Was he this horny? He wasn’t asexual, but this was new and very different and it was overwhelming.

“I—” Kazir paused, his thoughts spinning. “What?”

Adisa's smile widened, his dimples deepened as he leaned toward him. “Yeah. Go-karting. It’s fun.”

He didn’t doubt it, but it seemed like such a childish activity, or… dating activity. Did friends go-kart together? He supposed so, because Adisa was asking and he seemed hell-bent on going.  

“You can say no, or think about it, no rush, promise,” Adisa pleaded, his eyes twinkling in that way that made Kazir know he was going to give in.  

Kazir reached for his drink and took a sip. Tilting his head to the side in deep thought, he muttered, “I… Do you… Umm. None of your friends are free?”  

“I’m asking you,” Adisa said and leaned in his direction, his tone and expression soft and affectionate.  

Kazir’s heart fluttered, an odd mix of excitement and unease tightening in his chest. He felt the muscle in his forehead twitch. 

It didn’t make sense—why he felt so jumpy, so painfully aware of every word Adisa spoke and the quiet intensity of his warm lingering gaze. 

Kazir could feel the warmth rise in his cheeks, the soft edge of nerves prickling under his skin, and he could only wonder why Adisa’s voice alone had this power over him.

Clearing his throat, he broke their eye contact. “I… Sure,” he muttered, shrugging. “I don’t see why not. I don’t mind.”  

Adisa’s face lit up like an overly decorated Christmas tree. “Perfect!”  

His smile and reaction erased all of Kazir’s reservations and concerns. He felt like a hero who had just saved the world  from the brink of extinction as he watched Adisa smile at him.  

“Are you busy this weekend?”  

“So soon.”  

He chuckled, the sound light and bubbly. “Okay. Let me know when you’re available.”  

“No. I mean, I think next weekend is fine.”  

“You’re funny,” Adisa muttered, but he looked pleased with Kazir’s wishy-washy answers.

He shrugged and chugged down his drink, the corner of his lips twitching up in a small smile.  

As the conversation shifted back to work, Kazir noticed the subtle shift in Adisa’s expression, a soft crease appearing between his brows as he looked at him with a quiet intensity as if spellbounded. It was nerve wracking: it was almost as if the world around him had faded into the background, and in that moment, it was just him he could see, suspended in time. Adisa's eyes seemed to trace the lines of Kazir’s face with a focused tenderness that was impossible to ignore, as though he were searching for something hidden within him.

Kazir felt twitchy and began to fidget. His gaze made him uncomfortable. He felt vulnerable and he didn’t like how the friendly air around them had suddenly changed as if out of nowhere.

Kazir cleared his throat loudly as he reached for his drink again. Adisa’s gaze dropped to the surface of the table, his voice a quiet murmur,and he muttered, almost to himself, “You really do smell like your house…”  

“Huh?” He absentmindedly lifted his arm and sniffed himself.  

“That scent…” Adisa paused, looking thoughtful. “It’s cologne, right?” 

Kazir froze, his skin prickling with nerves, the words hanging in the air like a weight he couldn’t escape and his heartbeat thundered in carefree abandon in his chest as the realization slammed into him with the force of a freight train. 

A warm flush spreaded through him and his breath hitched, caught somewhere between disbelief and a rising tide of heat that flooded his veins. He had felt it before, of course—the faint, almost imperceptible scent that would occasionally drift toward him, warm and intoxicating. A blend of something sweet, musky, and citrusy, something both familiar and yet utterly foreign. 

But now it was all too clear.

Kazir’s fingers trembled slightly as the truth settled into him, like a quiet storm. The scent wasn’t just some random cologne or soap; it was something far more intimate, far more primal. Pheromones. Adisa’s pheromones. An alpha’s pheromones. 

His mind raced as everything fell into place. It made sense now—why it had felt so different, so… magnetic whenever Adisa was close. Why he could never quite shake the feeling that something unseen was drawing him in, pulling him toward Adisa like an invisible tether. 

He had just thought it was because he was lonely and happy to finally have someone genuinely nice show interest in being his friend and in being in his company and because…. Well, Adisa was simply charming.

He had ignored it for so long, dismissing it as nothing more than an odd reaction to proximity, a quirk of the senses. He had convinced himself it was just a pleasant cologne, something easily forgotten in the haze of his own thoughts. But this… this was something else entirely. Something that couldn’t shut his brian off any longer.  

The realization wrapped itself around him like a vice, his heart thudded harder, the flush creeping across his skin, a warm burn he couldn’t ignore. All this time, he had been so careful, so determined to stay within the boundaries that society demanded of them. He had refused to believe that what he was feeling—what he had felt, even in the smallest of moments—could ever be possible. But now… the truth was undeniable. And suddenly, nothing felt the same.

It hadn’t crossed his mind because, one, based on what Adisa had shared, he knew Adisa was religiously taking pheromone sensitivity reducers, and two, because most people took medication, alphas and omegas didn’t release pheromones anymore. Until that moment, Kazir had never smelled an alpha’s pheromones. He realized how naive he had been—because it wasn’t until this moment that it struck him: Adisa was releasing pheromones, and Adisa probably didn’t even realize he was picking up on his own pheromones for the same reasons.  

He needed to make sure Adisa never became any the wiser, but why was he releasing pheromones? He was on a suppressant?

Kazir forced a smile, hiding his sudden discomfort. “Herbs are strong,” he lied, trying to deflect the conversation.  

“It’s much stronger than…” He stopped, as if he had caught himself. He laughed—it sounded strained—and gave his attention back to his food. “This restaurant has good food,” he said. “I feel like we’ve been eating at a lot of delicious places.”  

Kazir nodded, anxiety clogging his throat. 

He knew he couldn’t keep brushing this off.  

This was serious. He was probably leaking pheromones. Something was wrong with his subcutaneous pheromone inhibitor. He needed it replaced ASAP! 

But what if his body had grown resistant to the suppressant drug? It had happened to many omegas; he wasn’t special enough to never have side effects.  

His heart thudded in his chest as his thoughts spiraled. He needed to make a call to his doctor’s office and see if he could go in sooner than planned—he couldn’t risk his pheromones leaking or something worse happening to him. People finding out he was an omega would be the least of his concerns if his body went haywire and he went into heat out in public.  

Just the thought was giving him hives.  

Kazir resolved to distance himself from Adisa, if only for a little while, until he could figure things out.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! 😊 Happy Monday. Thanks so much for reading—I’m really excited to share this new chapter with you! I hope you enjoy diving back into the world of Adisa and Kazir and all the twists and turns ahead. Your thoughts and feedback mean the world to me, so don’t forget to leave a comment! It’s always wonderful to hear what you think and connect with you all. Happy reading, and see you in the comments!