Chapter 20
Inside the small tavern, besides a few decent bedrooms, the rest of the place was filled with Betas, undergoing unspeakable training.
Yi Ze appeared calm, his stride steady.
But Ella felt her heart racing...
After passing through several doors, Ella stopped, and Nox stood in the hallway, looking at them.
"Hello, I am Yi Ze," Yi Ze stepped forward and spoke.
Nox smirked, "Hello, General Yi Ze."
Nox gazed at the young general in front of him, with his crisp white shirt and well-fitted black pants, handsome and exuding the cold, military demeanor. He wasn't haughty but distant, polite but not familiar. And he was an Omega, which added to his allure.
Nox winked at Ella, then opened the door behind him. "Come on in."
In the center of the room, there was a control station with the lifelike virtual images of five people displayed. They were the leaders of five interstellar pirate factions.
They hadn't expected to see Yi Ze walk in. Nox stood against the wall, crossing his arms, with an intrigued expression.
"You're quite lucky, kid!" The Alpha man with blue skin in the image laughed heartily, his gaze holding meaning as he looked at Yi Ze. The other Alphas chimed in, their eyes seemingly undressing Yi Ze on the spot.
Ella frowned slightly, watching Yi Ze's back, holding back her words.
Yi Ze stood calmly in front of the five people, unaffected by their lecherous comments.
"I heard you want one billion starcoins?" Yi Ze spoke.
"That's right!" the blue-skinned man replied with a grin. "With the Yi Ze family being so rich, it should be a piece of cake for you!"
Surprisingly, Yi Ze nodded in agreement. "You're right. For the Yi Ze family, this sum is insignificant."
"Wow, the young general is quite generous!"
"Rich people indeed have a different attitude, how refreshing."
The interstellar pirates continued to exchange words amongst themselves.
"However," Yi Ze's tone shifted, "I won't give you a single cent."
Yi Ze's voice was calm, with a clear and resolute tone that carried weight.
The interstellar pirates stared at Yi Ze.
"You heard me correctly. No money will be given, because regardless of the outcome, you will tell the truth." Yi Ze calmly addressed the virtual images of the pirates.
"If you don't speak, you will be pursued relentlessly by the Empire's First Legion, with no respite." Yi Ze's voice, for a moment, seemed to carry a tinge of bloodlust, yet the tone didn't sound like a threat but more like stating an established fact.
The interstellar pirates suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. At this moment, they were truly awakened to the situation. Standing before them was the Commander of the First Legion, despite his young age. He had spent a decade battling the insect race on the front lines, earning himself great renown.
They had foolishly underestimated him due to the exposure of his Omega status. Their contact had promised that as long as Yi Ze was eliminated, the Yi Ze family wouldn't pursue the matter further. Most importantly, the sum offered was so substantial that it was impossible to refuse.
They hadn't expected that despite the intense bombardment during the siege, this Omega had survived!
The interstellar pirates exchanged glances and suddenly blurted out the name of their employer, each hoping that the first to confess might receive a lighter punishment. While space pirates were always renegades, being pursued by the Interstellar Police and by the First Legion were entirely different matters.
Having obtained the information he wanted, Yi Ze turned and bowed slightly to Nox. "Thank you for your assistance."
Nox stared at Yi Ze for a couple of seconds until he received a warning glance from Ella. Then he waved with a smile and said, "As long as we got results, I didn't labor in vain for these days. I need to find my sweetheart now, goodbye."
Before leaving, Nox patted Ella on the shoulder, giving her an encouraging look that said, "You've got this." Ella gazed at him with a neutral expression.
Yi Ze followed Ella back to the room they had been in before, where the food had gone cold.
"I'll reheat it," Ella reached for the plate, but Yi Ze held her wrist.
Ella's wrist was delicate, wrapped in the warmth of Yi Ze's palm.
Ella lowered her head, looking at her dress. She had chosen to wear a very modest, ladylike dress today, just like the ones she wore back at the Yi Ze mansion. She had even been teased by Nox for looking like a nun.
Yi Ze gave her wrist a slight squeeze before quickly releasing it. Both of them stood silently.
"Is this the W35 galaxy?" Yi Ze asked.
"Yes," Ella nodded. "The capital planet of the W35 galaxy."
"I was on a planet..."
"W35 galaxy, G5-1 planet."
Yi Ze fell silent for a moment and then said, "I see. Can I borrow your communicator?"
Ella unclipped her communicator and handed it to Yi Ze.
Yi Ze sent a few messages quickly and then returned it to Ella. "I plan to leave tomorrow," he paused, "Would you like to come with me?"
Ella looked up at Yi Ze for a moment and then lowered her head. "N-no, I will return on my own." She needed to fly her ship back, and she had Ahong with her too.
"Okay," Yi Ze nodded. "I also have one more favor to ask."
"Not a problem!" Ella answered without hesitation.
Yi Ze hesitated for a moment. The room fell silent.
"Can you mark me?" Yi Ze spoke softly, his voice tinged with discomfort.
Due to the damage to his glands from the cleansing agent, his previous mark had disappeared, and his pheromone production was unstable. Going directly back to the Legion would be risky. He knew that his glands hadn't fully healed yet, and he couldn't inject suppressants. The only solution was to have an Alpha mark him.
His Alpha was Ella.
Ella didn't expect Yi Ze to make this request. It was surprising, but she immediately agreed. As Yi Ze's Alpha, it was her duty.
Yi Ze sat on the edge of the bed and unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt to reveal the glands at the back of his neck.
Ella understood that Yi Ze wanted her to make a temporary mark. She cleared her throat and softly said, "Well, for now, because your glands haven't fully recovered, the temporary mark may not take effect..."
Upon hearing this, Yi Ze paused for a moment but then continued unbuttoning his shirt and removed it, exposing his fair upper body. He turned to face Ella, looking at her.
This silent invitation made Ella instantly let her guard down. The scent of earth, plants, and sunlight gradually filled the room, warm and comforting.
Yi Ze's eyelashes trembled, and just the fragrance made him feel weak. If he wasn't sitting on the bed, his legs might not have been able to support his body.
Ella leaned closer, her eyes finally locking onto Yi Ze's. Those normally cold eyes had softened, a hint of a bright red hue appearing at the corners.
Ella lowered her head and kissed his rosy lips softly, tender and cool.
She couldn't help herself anymore and gently pushed Yi Ze onto the bed, her hand reaching for his belt, deftly unfastening it.
In Ella's hands, Yi Ze let out an impatient throaty sound. His breath became scorching hot, carrying a hint of cold, just like the aroma of a vast snowy landscape.
Alpha and Omega pheromones interact and have a fatal allure for each other. Omega's pheromones, in particular, have an irresistible attraction to Alpha.
Ella was becoming slightly overwhelmed. She leaned down, but suddenly felt a light touch on her earlobe. Ella immediately became alert, her surprise visible when she looked at Yi Ze.
It's all over now.
Yi Ze, taking advantage of Ella's momentary distraction, had removed the earring from her earlobe.
Ella quickly closed her eyes and tried to get up, but Yi Ze grabbed her wrist.
"Don't go. Let me see," he said.
Despite the room being filled with pheromones and the increasing warmth from Yi Ze's hand on her wrist, Ella felt exceptionally clear-headed. She realized that the day she saved Yi Ze in the underground clinic, he wasn't completely unconscious. He saw everything.
He saw it, and it was evident he understood what it was.
Ella turned around, opened her eyes, and stared directly at Yi Ze.
Yi Ze's expression held a brief moment of astonishment. Ella's eyes had transformed, becoming more vibrant. The color of her irises was no longer the typical brown-black but had turned into a deep and glossy black. Most importantly, within that abyss of darkness, many tiny specks glistened, like stars in the universe – deep and restrained, yet full of radiant splendor.
Those eyes resembled whirlpools, threatening to draw anyone who gazed into them completely into their depths.
She was a Solteran.
It was this characteristic, the characteristic of the Solterans, that the irises had points of light.
Ella's earring was actually a miniature identity concealing device, which caused anyone seeing her to recognize her as someone else, concealing the secret within her eyes.
As Yi Ze continued to look at Ella, a surge of anger welled up within her, like someone who had long tried to conceal unsightly scars, only to have their clothing torn open in broad daylight for all to see.
Yi Ze began to say, "You are a So…" but was silenced by Ella's kiss.
Ella's kiss was fiercer than ever, bordering on ruthlessness, continuously ravishing those tender lips.
A hiss escaped Yi Ze's lips. He felt as if his lips had been bitten and split open.
"Enough, stop it," Yi Ze pushed Ella away, creating distance between them.
His lips were already swollen.
Ella's demeanor was entirely different from her usual self, no longer bearing that timid head-down posture, but radiating an irresistible dominance.
Yi Ze suddenly realized that this was Ella's true self. Her tendency to keep her head down around him had been a way to avoid him discovering her eyes.