118: 3.58 Protect What...?

3.58 Protect What...?

There was a sea of heads and sweaty bodies pressing together as far as he could crane his neck to see. Oliver suppressed the panic and anxiety of not having his Alpha near him and as he met Lu Yizhou's eyes across the room, he got a stronger urge to cry and beg the Alpha not to leave him alone.  0

Stop it, Oliver! He chided inwardly. Since when did you get so weak?! For God's sake, this was really unlike himself. Oliver had lived his whole life only with Haga, his nanny, by his side. He was used to being independent, to rely on himself and no one else. So why was he so attached to Lu Yizhou after less than half a year of knowing him? Why was he so against the mere prospect of letting the Alpha out of his sight even if it's only for a few moments? Was it because they were a fated pair?

When the guard barged in and hollered that there's a bomb planted here, Oliver immediately turned to catch the horror on Lu Yizhou's face. He wanted to warn the Alpha to get as far away as possible when people around him started panicking. The Elite Guards were overwhelmed. No matter how skillful they were, it was still no match against a stampede of flustered beastmen. Chaos ensued and the next few seconds became a blur in Oliver's memory. He saw Derek trying to steer him to a safer place. "Your Highness, watch out!" The Beta exclaimed as Oliver tripped on his feet. His body swayed and as the ground drew close in front of his eyes, Oliver's instinct took over as he wrapped his arms around his belly. His subconsciousness was telling him that he had to protect — protect what…? 

He had no chance to venture into the thought when an ear-deafening explosion blasted close to his ears. Too close. The powerful impact sent him flying and Oliver shut his eyes tight to brace himself against the momentum. In the back of his mind, he could hear Rosemane's shrill laughing, repulsive and detestable, the horrifying rumble as the building crashed down on them, the screams of horror. 

He crashed into a warm, solid embrace and a familiar scent enveloped him. The breath was punched out of his lungs as they both rolled on the ground. There were a few more explosions but Oliver was no longer able to comprehend that. The tension of today's wedding, the awful condition of his health, the continous scare; all of them shoved Oliver into the depth of darkness and he felt himself sinking, deep deep into the abyss. 

Oliver was floating in an expanse of fluffy clouds and cotton pink sky. It was warm and comfortable, his whole body felt so relaxed in a way that he hadn't been for a while. Alas, he was roused awake by the sound of weak crying. It tugged on his heartstring and his heart constricted painfully. Somehow, he knew that he ought to be dreaming because there was no way he could be floating. The atmosphere was too dreamy and childlike, similar to the scene in one of the fairytales his nanny had read to him when he was a child. The cries went on, barely subsiding into occasional hiccups and Oliver found himself searching for the source of the sound. He dived through the clouds, kicking his feet midair and caught sight of a small ball of fluff that he had almost overlooked as another cloud. 

"Hey…" Oliver reached out for the fluff. It took him a while to realize that it was some kind of…animal? It was so small, he could hold it within his palms. Its body was covered in cotton silver fur, a pair of little kitten ears atop of its head. Oliver almost died of the sheer cuteness. "Why are you crying? Are you injured?" He asked softly, his heart melting into a puddle of goo. Holy, it was so cute! He had never seen anything cuter than this before! Tenderness swelled in his chest as he hugged the creature close to his body, trying to share his body warmth.

The little fluff wriggled as if searching for a more comfortable position. Then it turned so that Oliver could see its face. A pair of very, very familiar silver eyes stared up at him. A bit weird because the silver eyes he knew had always been sharp, intense and piercing, never been this large, vulnerable and watery with unshed tears. Its little red nose scrunched up then it reached out toward Oliver with grabby paws, tiny lips speaking in an adorable baby voice. "Mommy… Mommy and Daddy are hurt…" The creature's body trembled and what Oliver assumed was a ball of fluff unfurled and his heart gave a lurch as he realized that it was a pair of little, silver wings.

Oliver gasped and his eyes snapped open abruptly.

The dream slipped away like sand, and the image was gradually replaced with a normal white ceiling, white walls and dim moonlight glow that offered enough light for him to see his surroundings. He inhaled deeply and instantly recognized the thick smell of disinfectant. His senses gradually recovered and Oliver could see that his wrist was hung on an IV drip, an oxygen mask covering his face and a few sore spots on his joints. Nothing more than that. 

Panic rumbled through his chest when memories started to come back to him. Wedding. Altair. Bomb. He shot up sitting and grimaced when the sudden movement pulled on the sore muscle on his waist. Yet he couldn't bring himself to care. What happened back there? The bomb exploded and then… Oliver whimpered. Altair had protected him with his own body, covering him as the building crumbled. Where was Altair? Why was he not here?! 

The sky outside was dark and Oliver had no idea how long it had been since the accident. The hospital room he was in was familiar, similar to the one when he was admitted due to pheromone perfume allergy. And he was alone, again. He couldn't detect any sound outside and the tranquility only added to his rocketing anxiety. He forced his sore body to move and tore off the IV drip, hastily stepping down from the bed. He shivered when his feet kissed the cold ground. Slipping on the slippers, Oliver padded across the room and the dim light enabled him to see that the room was spacious with a connecting door that linked him to the next room. Oliver's heart soared and he hastily jogged there, head peeking in to see the exactly same interior. However, the room next door was pitch black without any lights and Oliver could barely make out the single bed in the middle. 

"Altair…?" He whispered in a small voice.

There was no answer. Not even a sound of breathing.

Oliver held his breath as he entered the room. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and he caught sight of an unmade bed, rumpled blankets and IV drip that was torn haphazardly. He reached for the patient stat in front of the bed, skimmed through the various complicated medical terms to see that the patient's name in this room was indeed Altair Versatine. Oliver stroked the surface of the bed. It was still warm. Altair's scent still lingered in the room, proof that it hadn't been long since he left.

Where did he go…? Most importantly, he must have been injured, worse than Oliver. In that kind of condition, why did he leave the hospital room?

Dread and restlessness chilled Oliver down to the bones but before he could let the emotion get to his system, he sensed Altair's presence through their bond. Altair was nearby, Oliver thought with a sense of relief so heavy that it almost weakened his knees. Oliver tried to convey his longing and inquiry through their bond yet received no answer in response. Altair was nearby but he didn't react to Oliver. What was happening? Could something have happened to him? Did he get caught in some kind of accident?!

Oliver panicked yet again. Before he could think it through, he had made his way across the room and slid the door open. In an instant, a shocked gasp left his lips. People — Elite Guards — were scattered across the dark hallway. Unconscious. Oliver crouched down to check their breathing and let out a shaky sigh upon sensing no breathing. They were dead. All of them.

The cloud shifted and moonlight sprinkled in through the window. The faint light drew Oliver's attention to the speck of half-dried blood stain on the floor, trailing further down the hallway toward a direction unknown. Oliver spent some time calming himself. Altair was there. In the same direction of the blood trail. Oliver had nothing to be scared of if he had Altair by his side. Fists clutching the patient gown, he navigated his way through the dark and empty corridor. He was moving solely with the help of the dim moonlight and his heart was beating so hard that it almost burst out of his ribcage. Oliver swallowed, his parched throat reminded him that he had forgotten to drink some water earlier because he was too worried for Altair's absence.

He found more blood, a splatter this time and the trace of something being dragged across the floor as well as bloodied footprints. Oliver's breath hitched in his throat and he fought against the urge to cry. He couldn't do this. He needed Altair by his side, right now. "Altair…!" He started to call, his voice coming out shakier and weaker than he expected.

An answer came, surprisingly, not far from where Oliver stood. At the end of the hallway where it was pitch dark. "Oliver..." A pause. "I'm here. Don't be afraid."

Relief slammed into Oliver's rib cage like tidal waves. Tears escaped his eyes as he let out a sob. "Altair. Altair…!" He was filled with so much desire and longing and all he wanted to do was to hug the Alpha close and feel the strong arms enveloped him. His feet moved without him realizing, carrying him to the source of the voice. But what he didn't expect was the Alpha's rejection.

"Don't move." His harsh tone made Oliver freeze in place. A heavy sigh followed. "Can you go back to your room and wait for me there? Can you do that, Oliver?"

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