119: 3.59 Devil Incarnate

3.59 Devil Incarnate

Warning: description of gore0

There was something off about him, Oliver knew as soon as he heard the Alpha talk. From such a close distance, their bond strengthened and Oliver realized that Lu Yizhou was deliberately suppressing his feelings. He detached himself from every single emotion until all Oliver could feel was voidness that squeezed the air out of his lungs. However, now that Oliver was here, he radiated…restlessness? 

Oliver's tongue felt heavy in his mouth and he swallowed thickly. "Altair…" He took in a few gulps of air, the smell of blood thickening around them. "Are you injured?"

"No," the Alpha's voice was raspy. "Go back, Oliver."

Oliver clenched his fists. Why? Why was he not allowed to get close? He pursed his lips and felt tears welling up in his eyes. He was very, very upset. Seriously, why was he feeling like this? It wasn't like the Alpha repelled his existence. He merely told Oliver to go back and wait for him. He would be back. He would definitely return to Oliver's side. So why did he feel so aggrieved? "I can't stay here with you…?" He asked in a small, vulnerable voice that he knew would always work in his favor against the Alpha. And true to his hope, Lu Yizhou paused as if he was rendered speechless. 

For a while, the atmosphere was so heavy and tense that Oliver could hear him sigh. That meant he could also pick up…a very, very faint uneven breathing of the second person near the Alpha. 

Oliver's breath hitched in his throat. "Altair…" It was too dark. Even as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, all he could see was Lu Yizhou's tall silhouette. "Is there someone else with you?"

"No," Lu Yizhou replied but his lie was promptly exposed by a tiny, hoarse laugh that sounded as if it was strangled out of a choked throat. It was so brief that Oliver almost doubted his own hearing. "Oliver, go back. Now." There's an undeniable command in his tone now that made Oliver flinch. Then as if realizing that he was too harsh, he added with a softer voice. "I will join you in a minute. I swear."

Oliver pursed his lips. "Alright…" He trusted Altair, Oliver told himself over and over again. Even though the situation was dubious, with all the corpses outside and the amount of blood on the floor, Oliver chose to trust his Alpha. Despite the blatant lie he told, despite the fact that he was clearly hiding something here. Something that he didn't want Oliver to know. Oliver tightened his jaw and forced himself to turn around and walked away. From the shuddering sigh behind him, Oliver knew that the Alpha could sense how upset he was through their bond.

He had already walked a few meters away when an extremely hoarse, jarred laugh resounded through the empty space. Oliver flinched — first because of surprise, then more for the horrifying sound of bones breaking and Lu Yizhou's curse. It ought to hurt, agonizing, but the man continued to laugh, louder and louder. Gurgling. Oliver felt the sound wrapping around him like a cold-blooded, poisonous snake. "Your Highness Prince Oliver, do you… have any idea what kind of—urgh—Alpha you're bonded to?" There was a sound of liquid splattering, flesh tearing and a pained, muffled groan. More bones breaking. Yet the man continued talking, this time his voice rougher with strain but gleeful nonetheless. "A…devil incarnate! Cold-blooded—aaaah!!!" Oliver grimaced and wrenched his eyes shut even though he was unable to see what was going on. Just the scream…filled with agony, excruciating pain and torment was enough to send shudders down his spine.

What came after that was deadly silence.

Oliver's breathing was harsh in his ears and it took him a while to realize that his body was shaking. The stench of blood and death was so overpowering that he couldn't endure it anymore. He covered his mouth and retched. 

"Oliver." Lu Yizhou's voice drew closer, but still not close enough. He sounded hesitant and nervous. "Are you okay…?"

Oliver struggled to breathe. He wanted to say that he was okay but the churn in his stomach prevented him from doing so. Bile rose in his throat as he braced his hands against the nearest wall. Soreness spread all over his body from his abdomen and his knees buckled. But the worst thing of all was that Lu Yizhou stayed where he was. He did not come to hug Oliver, did not offer anything in comfort, did not do anything. He was just…silent. And Oliver couldn't sense anything through their bond other than that suffocating grip of hollowness. He started to cry. 

It could be five minutes or it could also be five hours when a series of footsteps approached from afar. Flashlights bounced wildly, illuminating the darkness around. "Your Highness!" Oliver's head was ringing and it took him a while to register that it was Derek's voice. The Beta let out the biggest sigh of relief upon seeing him and hastily caught up in time when Oliver's legs decided to give up on him. Derek caught him with a curse on the tip of his tongue. Behind him were a few Versatine's shoulders as well as doctors and nurses. Derek hollered atop of his lungs. "Check up on His Highness! Your heads and mine will fly if something happens to him!"

Oliver grabbed Derek's arm in a deadly tight grip and forced the words out of his choked up throat. "Altair…"

"We will find him. I promise." Derek declared solemnly.

Oliver's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. What did Derek mean? Altair was there, he was just asking whether Oliver was okay. So why did Derek say that they would find him?

Finally, he braced himself to turn around. But the hallway was only filled with Versatine's soldiers. 

Lu Yizhou had vanished without a trace.

Oliver was escorted by the nurses who were terrified of Derek's threat back to the hospital room. The corpses in the hallway had been cleared up but the scene of dead bodies seemed to have been imprinted in Oliver's mind. He forced himself to stop thinking about it as he was supported to the bed. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he finally had something to lean on. Derek entered soon after and asked in a somber expression. "Your Highness, I apologize but there's something I must ask. Have you seen anything—"

"Who's that?" Oliver cut him off, tired and weak. Seeing Derek's apparent confusion, he explained. "The corpse at the end of the hallway, the one who's—" He choked up on his words and the wave of nausea attacked again. The jeering laughter. The sound of bones breaking, the screams, and then… 'Your Highness, do you have any idea what kind of Alpha you're bonded to? A devil incarnate.' The sentences repeated in his mind over and over again. Many questions swirled in his mind. What did that person mean and who was he? Who caused the Elite Guards' death? And more importantly, why did Altair leave…? He had so many questions and it took him a while to realize that he was hyperventilating.

Derek was panicking. "O—Oh, what should we do? His Highness isn't well, do something!"

"Excuse me." The doctor pushed him away and retorted with some degree of repulsion. "This is the hospital. Please maintain peace and harmony." Turning to Oliver, he handed Oliver a small pouch. "It's okay, breathe slowly. Follow me. Inhale… Exhale… Yes, that's right." The light scent of lavender, peppermint and ginger wafted to his nose and Oliver inhaled greedily. All of a sudden, he felt like he could breathe again. "Do you feel better?" the doctor asked.

Oliver nodded gratefully. "Thank you..."

The doctor smiled. Oliver thought that he looked familiar and then it clicked in the next second. It was the doctor from whom he had coerced the upgraded version of pheromone perfume. It had made Altair so upset and the vial ended up being drained down the closet. The mention of the Alpha sent another wave of sadness in his chest but he promptly swallowed it down. Something was off with the Alpha since the beginning and Oliver wouldn't stop until he found out.

"I am better now." He offered a smile which he hoped looked convincing. "Can you tell me what you know, Derek?"

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