96: 3.36 He Doesn't Recognize You

3.36 He Doesn't Recognize You

By the time Oliver managed to threaten the girl to let him out, chaos had ensued. He could hear the MC announce that the match would be suspended temporarily for the day, the shrill voices of people asking what was going on and the Elite Guards who worked to keep them from barging into the building. Oliver staggered in his steps as wisps of furious Alpha's pheromones lingered on his nose. Altair's pheromones, he recognized the winter and rose in them but never before did it feel this intense, terrifying and fear-inducing. It was far worse than the time in the hospital when he almost lost control and killed Cathy.  2

He turned to find the omega girl he had never seen before, slumping against the wall, appalled and petrified by the effect of Altair's exploding pheromones. Their eyes met and Oliver could see himself in her eyes; wild eyes, messy hair, desperate and incensed. "You." He glared. "I have no time for you right now but I have remembered your face clearly. You'd better hide yourself otherwise I will come for you after I am done with this." 

Seeing the girl's face paled further, Oliver harrumphed and ran toward the elevator. The light along the corridor still flickered as if it was going to go off soon and like a premonition came true, it gave two last blinks and shut down abruptly. Oliver stopped to let his eyes adjust with the only source of light being the golden sunset that poured in from the window. He eyed the non-functioning elevator with frustration and cursed, dashing toward the emergency stairs instead. 

His ears rang with the echo of Altair's growls, heart getting more anxious by the second. 

Altair, beloved, what has happened to you…? 

Oliver really thought that he would die soon if he couldn't get to Altair sooner and fortunately, the stairway was devoid of people and he arrived at the sixth floor with ragged breathing and a galloping heart.

In one glance, he could see that the sixth floor's auditorium had been destroyed beyond recognition. Pieces of chairs and tables strewn everywhere and there were jagged holes on the ceiling. A large dent had been formed on the door which now laid across the ground and people crowded in the hallway; teachers, paramedics who were conveniently present due to the match and a few injured students. Blood, so much blood. And they were screaming atop of each other, yelling out commands that brushed past his ears like wind. Oliver's mind went numb as he sought Altair's figure among them. He couldn't find him.

Oliver's knees wobbled and he grabbed the wall to straighten himself. No, Altair was still here. Oliver could sense his presence. He always could. Gritting his teeth, he made his way forward.

"...to the hospital now! She has lost too much blood!"

"Inform the Emperor. We need his permission to perform the surgery!"

"Where's the helicopter?! Why hasn't it arrived yet?!"

Oliver glanced sideways and covered his mouth in shock at the familiar figure whom he recognized as his half-sister, Rosemane. She was currently lying on the stretcher with an oxygen mask covering her face. Blood soaked her whole body and there was a huge gash on the side of her neck. Her mane…the mane she had always been proud of had become a mess of uneven cuts and she was sobbing and groaning in pain. "My gland…my mating gland…"

"How about the Alpha?!"

"We have to knock him out to bring him to the hospital! Is the tranquilizer gun here yet?!"

Alpha… Oliver snapped his head up. "Altair… Where's Altair?!" His voice came out louder and shriller than he expected and in the next second, seven pairs of eyes turned to him.

The paramedic frowned and blocked his way. "Your Highness Oliver, you shouldn't be here. It's dangerous. The Alpha has gone feral and will attack anyone blindly."

Oliver almost shook the paramedic out of his brain. Could he see that dangerous Alpha was the last thing he cared about?! "Where. Is. Altair." He clenched his fists, the fur in his tail bristled in anger. Oliver was one second from submitting to violence when someone exclaimed,

"Wait, wait. Let him pass." Oliver needed a few seconds to recognize who the beastman was. He turned out to be the teacher who almost put a collar on Altair last time. He weaved through the crowd to make his way to Oliver. His face was tense but determined. "I will take responsibility."

"But—"

"They are future mates. I have seen them interacting with each other and I trust my instinct." Turning to Oliver, the teacher mouthed 'come here'. Oliver needed not to be told twice. He nodded and rushed after the teacher.

"T—Thank you. Thank you so much, Teach…" Oliver wrung his fingers together. By now, he could already guess that Altair was still inside the ruined auditorium. The closer they were, the more apprehensive Oliver became. How was Altair? The paramedics said he had gone feral… Oliver almost couldn't breathe, thinking of what his beloved had gone through for the last hour. 

The teacher suddenly stopped a few steps away from the door and Oliver almost bumped into him. "The paramedics are right when they say he's dangerous." He said tensely. Oliver pursed his lips. That was the last of his concerns. "Before you arrived, we had…applied some emergency measures on him. He reacted poorly to synthetic omega pheromones so we have drained all of the pheromones in the room. Don't misunderstand. This is all but medical treatment. We need him to calm down enough to treat him but…" The teacher shook his head.

Oliver felt his heart lurch and his palms turned clammy with sweat. "I—Is he injured?"

The teacher merely gave a wry smile. "A little bit, yes. We have no choice. He's resisting too much. Please prepare yourself. He…might not recognize you."

How bad could it be? Oliver thought and braced himself. No matter what, it was still Altair, the man he loved. Oliver was certain that he wouldn't be scared of him. 

However, no amount of willpower could prepare him for the scene he saw next. The paramedics had cleared the broken furniture inside the room to make a space in the middle where Altair was confined in a metal cage. Both of his hands were chained above his head, nails elongated into black claws. His wings encased him, forming a protective half circle and his horns had turned crimson in color. Oliver could almost see the air sizzling around them. He was half sitting, half kneeling on the ground. Messy silver hair obscured his face but from the glimpse of skin beneath his tattered clothes, Oliver could make out cuts and gashes. Many, and they were still bleeding, staining the fabric crimson. He was completely motionless, unbothered by the chaos around and the only sign that showed he was still alive was the rapid move of his chest.

Oliver's lips parted and he subconsciously let out a long, distressed sound, his feet brought him forward like gravity but then he was held back by someone. His face twisted in sadness and desperation as he tried to shake that person off. "Let go! Altair…Altair, I'm here!"

The dark wings twitched and Lu Yizhou's head slowly turned at the sound of his voice. Oliver's breath hitched when the Alpha's eyes found him squarely. His pupils were blown wide until all he could see was pure silver. Black veins grew around it, pulsing. The Alpha's sharp fangs had come out and no doubt it would have cut through flesh easily. 

For a while, both of them stared at each other.

And then Lu Yizhou bared his fangs and growled. The threatening kind of sound that was followed by a whole body struggle. The chain rattled wildly and the material cut deeper into his wrist, drawing even more blood from the existing wound. He lunged forward but was pulled back by the chain, again and again.

The paramedics dragged Oliver back. "He doesn't recognize you anymore! Stay back otherwise you'll get hurt!"

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