I Have To Love【Abo】 Chapter 2
byPowdered Face Takes the Stage
Su Tai and Xie Qiao both lived on the second floor. Initially, Xie Qiao stayed in the small room at the end of the hall, but after Xie Renqing’s death, Xie Qiao suffered from depression and nearly committed suicide, so Su Tai moved him to the room directly across from his own.
The wooden stairs ascended, with famous paintings hanging on the walls. Passing Su Tai’s study, Xie Qiao paused. The study door was slightly ajar, and a faint omega scent wafted out.
He brought a woman back—this conclusion stimulated Xie Qiao’s nerves and Gland.
An omega’s pheromones are naturally a potent tool for seducing an alpha, and vice versa.
Xie Qiao clenched his fists, then released them, pushing the door open and stepping inside.
The hundred-square-meter study was spacious and bright. An entire wall was dedicated to various cultural artifacts, collectibles, and rare first editions. Scanning the room, Xie Qiao followed the strongest scent in the air, step by step, toward the desk.
The omega’s fingers stroked the cold wood as if caressing a lover’s body, the smooth sealant coating the desktop.
“Such a strong licorice scent, the central air conditioning can’t even dissipate it. It’s been a long time, Brother.”
From the moment he answered the phone until he returned home, 41 minutes. The scent was still this strong after all that time.
Xie Qiao leaned his slender waist against the desk, looking up at the bookshelf behind it, his barely suppressed emotions causing his Gland to throb restlessly.
He walked closer, touching every inch of the bookshelf. A long, curled strand of hair lay on top of the books. Every inch carried the intertwined scent of an alpha and an omega.
His eyes flickered between bright and dark, and he rubbed the strand of hair between his fingers, murmuring, “Brother, why?”
The Gland ached increasingly, and Xie Qiao’s face gradually turned pale. The side effects of the medication were too severe. Xie Qiao’s fingers dug into the bookshelf, completely drained of color.
“A’Qiao.” Su Tai had originally called him down for dinner, only to find him standing in his study.
Instantly, Xie Qiao’s body swayed and collapsed.
“A’Qiao!”
With a crash, the bowl hit the floor and shattered into pieces, the Wontons scattering across the ground.
The scent of licorice tightly enveloped Xie Qiao. Whether it was the confrontation between alphas or the attraction between an Alpha and an Omega, Xie Qiao couldn’t bear it. His stomach churned violently, and his sensitive sense of smell caught the raw odor of the Wonton meat filling, making him intensely nauseous.
His stomach spasmed, his Gland pounded, and the four internal and external pheromones, coupled with his inner rage, tormented Xie Qiao. The color drained from his face like a receding tide, and his pupils lost focus.
The soothing pheromones continuously intensified, acting as a poison antidote to Xie Qiao, which he painfully endured, unable to push away.
“A’Qiao, wake up, wake up, wake up.” The man kept shouting, then roared at the servant standing by the door, “Call the doctor, now.”
Xie Qiao was now as soft as a puddle of water, easily lifted by the robust alpha.
Su Tai frantically carried the unconscious omega toward the bedroom, calling his name as he walked.
Xie Qiao forced his will, slowly opening his eyes.
“Brother, I didn’t mean to go into your study. The pheromones inside were so strong, I couldn’t help it.” As he spoke, his eyes reddened, looking like an abused omega.
“I’m sorry, Brother was wrong. Brother forgot you were in your Heat/Estrus Period these few days. Brother promises it won’t happen again, A’Qiao, don’t sleep, talk to Brother.”
Su Tai’s voice trembled. He couldn’t let anything happen to Xie Qiao again. He had been foolish, going out to hide for two days during his Susceptibility/Rut Period, only to hide for nothing.
Xie Qiao’s entire body was under siege by nerve pain. He clutched Su Tai’s arm, enduring until his lips cracked.
Heat/Estrus Period?
A faint blush spread across Xie Qiao’s pale face. The scent of Turquoise Iris continuously tempted the alpha who had just passed his Susceptibility/Rut Period.
Su Tai placed him on the bed and brushed back his short hair. The Gland was blood-red, bearing a knife scar. The difficult-to-heal wound had faded after dozens of treatments but would never return to its original state.
Su Tai frowned. Xie Qiao had never been like this before.
“Brother, I feel so uncomfortable.” The intense heat relentlessly pressured Xie Qiao, compounded by the dizziness caused by the medication. The pheromones inside his body surged wildly. The omega’s cries grew more unbearable with each sound. “Brother, it hurts.”
He looked utterly pitiful, tormented by desire.
Su Tai released soothing pheromones and picked up the internal phone in the bedroom. “Where is the doctor! Are they dead?”
“They’ll be here immediately, Sir.”
The alpha hung up the phone, his tone turning gentle. “A’Qiao, don’t be afraid, Brother is here.”
“Brother, I want it. I’m in pain.” Xie Qiao gazed obsessively into Su Tai’s eyes. Seeing the other man flinch, tears welled up at the corners of his eyes.
Su Tai gently wiped them away and kissed his forehead. “Should Brother find someone for you?”
“No! I don’t want anyone! I don’t want any alpha besides Brother.”
“No, no, Brother forgot that our A’Qiao is afraid of alphas.”
Xie Qiao groaned in agony. The veins on his long, pale fingers bulged as he constantly pressed against the alpha. Tears—or perhaps sweat—soaked Su Tai’s hand. “Why am I an omega? Why? Why do I have to be like Father? I’ll die. I don’t want to.”
“It’s different, A’Qiao is different. A’Qiao won’t die, don’t be afraid.”
Xie Qiao’s eyes were no longer clear, his memories confused. “I don’t want you. I don’t want to go to the Su family. I don’t want to. Please, don’t take me there. Father, where are you? Where else can I go but by your side?”
The Family Doctor rushed in. “Sir.”
Su Tai stood up. “Why are you standing there? Are you waiting for me to invite you?”
Xie Qiao was almost always delirious with fever, muttering nonsense. The Family Doctor was used to it. He first gave him an Inhibitor injection, followed by a fever reducer. The person on the bed slowly calmed down.
“Sir, he’s stable.”
“Get out.”
The doctor left in fear and trembling. Su Tai sat by the bed and checked Xie Qiao’s forehead temperature. He was still burning; the medication would likely take a while to kick in.
He tucked the corner of the quilt around him, but his hand was seized from below. “Brother, don’t go.”
“I won’t go, Brother is here.”
“Not Su Tai. Su Tai will bully me. Father, take me away. Su Tai bullies me. Father, take me away. I’ll follow you wherever you go, Father.”
Su Tai understood that this was his deepest fear. He had once been afraid of this home, afraid of him. The timid child only had his biological father to rely on.
“Father.” Su Tai rolled the two words on his tongue, stroking Xie Qiao’s face. When did his step-brother’s child become his treasure, something no one else was allowed to touch?
“Brother, my Gland hurts so much.”
“It’s so hot. I don’t want this.”
“The pheromones in the study are so strong, Brother.”
Xie Qiao seemed to be trapped in layers of nightmares, speaking illogically. After a long while, he finally quieted down and fell asleep.
The pheromones in the study were his, and also…
Wait, did he trigger Xie Qiao’s Heat/Estrus Period?
This time… it was an accident. He should have gone to a hotel. How could he have been so foolish as to bring someone back? The pheromones of an S-Class Alpha were a natural inducer for Xie Qiao. How could he have…
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Qiao started gasping again, the suffocating heat scorching his breath.
Su Tai woke up beside the bed. Xie Qiao’s entire body was frighteningly hot.
What was wrong this time? He usually recovered.
The doctor came in again. After a diagnosis, he told Su Tai, “Sir, the young master has used Inhibitors too many times. He has developed resistance. Relying solely on medication for relief is no longer feasible. The current situation requires a Temporary Mark from an alpha. The Inhibitor is ineffective.”
Sweat beaded on the doctor’s forehead. He was terrified of angering the top-tier alpha who had just passed his Susceptibility/Rut Period. Even as a beta, such powerful pheromones could injure him.
“Useless! What good are you?”
The doctor lowered his head, not daring to speak.
The alpha was consumed by fury and issued a command. “Get out.”
Sweat dripped into the doctor’s eyes, but he dared not wipe it away. Upon receiving the order, he quickly fled.
The person on the bed was fragile as porcelain. Beads of sweat slid down his exquisite neck into the omega’s chest, accompanied by uncontrollable gasps.
“A’Qiao.” Su Tai tentatively called out. The person on the bed opened his eyes.
“Hm?”
“Should Brother find someone to help you?” He knew Xie Qiao wouldn’t agree, but there was no other way. If they didn’t do this, he would die.
Xie Qiao’s eyes, filled with desire, turned to horror. The scattered pain suddenly focused. “Get out.”
The command lacked any threat, instead provoking Su Tai’s pity.
“Don’t let anyone touch me. I don’t want it.”
Su Tai gripped the omega’s wildly flailing wrist. “Okay, okay, no one. We won’t let anyone.”
He used almost all his tenderness. None of his lovers had ever heard such soft, gentle words. Love and lust were two separate things, that was Su Tai’s rule.
Media reports claimed that the head of the Su family reserved his tenderness only for his younger step-brother, unaware that they had once been at loggerheads.
He had never made such a difficult decision. What would this count as? Marking a non-blood-related brother? Su Tai struggled between saving a life and ethical morality.
Grinding his canine teeth, he closed his eyes, convincing himself with the four words: saving a life is paramount. He bit down toward the omega’s Gland.