Chapter 21
Her secret was acting, not true timidity, Yize thought.
Ella didn't stop despite Yize's protests. She felt overwhelmed by her emotions, a surge of heat traveling up her spine and straight to her head. Her innermost instincts took control, and her pheromones burst forth, still carrying that earthy scent, but now it was missing the gentleness, replacing it with an overwhelming, dominating force.
In the past, Ella had always been cautious around Yize, carefully restraining her pheromones. She had never used the inherent advantage of Alpha pheromones to make Yize uncomfortable.
But now, Ella's Alpha instincts took complete control. Her pheromones entirely suppressed Yize. An Omega had no resistance against the overpowering pheromones of an Alpha. Especially when an Omega had been marked by an Alpha, they were entirely powerless against their mate's pheromones.
Yize felt that Ella's pheromones were different from before. He tried to push Ella away, but he found himself entirely powerless. In the face of an overwhelming Alpha's pheromones, his body obeyed instinct and submitted to the powerful Alpha pheromones. He was about to become the possession of another.
However, Yize couldn't accept this completely. Not at all.
His struggles made Ella lose even more control. She removed the decorative belt from her skirt, binding Yize's hands to the headboard.
Yize's body was stretched out, fully exposed before Ella.
Her fingers roamed over his fair skin.
"St-stop!" Yize suppressed the whimper he wanted to release, his voice hoarse. "Don't do this; I don't like it!"
Ella's response was to caress his neck gland, and her teeth suddenly pierced the skin, infusing the pheromones within.
Yize tensed his body, no longer able to contain the sounds in his throat.
The intense pheromones directly stimulated Yize, and he was helplessly drawn into the heat of mating, entirely succumbing to desire. His Omega pheromones overwhelmed him, his reproductive system opened wide, and the Alpha scent conquered him, taking possession entirely.
Three days later.
Ahong had finally successfully sold the goods and came looking for Ella, feeling very pleased.
Nox gestured toward the room inside and said, "She's gone into seclusion. Be careful not to disturb her."
"???" Ahong blinked in confusion.
"Ella? I'm coming in!" Ahong pushed the door open.
The room was dimly lit, and Ahong could barely make out the figure huddled at the foot of the bed. Ella sat on the floor, her back against the foot of the bed, legs drawn up to her chest.
Ahong walked over and sat down beside Ella.
"What's going on with you?"
Tears welled up in Ella's eyes, and she looked at Ahong with an exhausted gaze.
The light specks in her eyes were particularly prominent in the dimly lit room.
Ahong looked at Ella's eyes and gasped.
"He found out, didn't he?"
Ella nodded, "I messed up."
That day, she had been reckless with Yize, and he had finally broken down in front of her. His eyes, red and brimming with tears, had been a result of the overwhelming sensations triggered by the AO, but also because of the anger and frustration he had felt deep down.
Ahong handed a cigarette to Ella and asked, "Did he leave?"
"He left this morning," Ella rubbed her face.
They had been entangled for a full day and night. Yize's wrists had been rubbed red, and there were marks scattered across his body.
Early on the third day, Yize had left. His adjutant had been waiting at the bar for two days, thinking that Yize had been seriously injured during an encounter with the space pirates.
"His injuries hadn't fully healed, and I treated him like that..." Ella murmured.
"So why did you go crazy?" Ahong glanced at Ella.
"Why..." Ella's gaze seemed distant.
Perhaps it was due to something from her past.
Ella's memories before the age of three were blurry, but from the age of three onward, she remembered very clearly. She remembered too clearly. From the age of three, she had been wandering with her mother, leaving their war-torn home planet, traveling to various places, and finally arriving in the capital planet.
Back then, she only knew that people's gazes toward them were different. Some were curious, some disdainful, some pitying, and some indifferent.
Her mother was no longer the person from her memories who smiled and happily frolicked among the trees every day. She had been someone who loved tending to flowers and plants, but after leaving the Solti planet, she never kept a single potted plant.
Every day, her mother would tell her to remember her racial lineage but not to let others discover it. It was Ella's secret, and it was the secret of the entire Solti people.
From the age of three to eight, during those five years, Ella felt like a rat living in a sewer, dirty, timid, and without seeing the light of day. The Solti people had lost their mother planet, and they were homeless, just like stray dogs, not accepted by the people of the Interstellar Empire.
Later, her mother had died suddenly while working. The death was too abrupt, and Ella had taken a long time to process it.
Then, she was sent to an orphanage, where she spent two years before being adopted.
Those seven years were the ones Ella didn't want to recall, but her innate memory was too good, and she couldn't forget any moment.
The cold needle pierced her skin, drawing blood laced with Alpha pheromones. It felt as though all her warmth had been sucked away, leaving her shivering with cold.
Ella was lost in her memories, shivering throughout her body.
"Are you okay?" Ahong called to her. "Are you having one of those episodes again?"
Ella shook her head. She hadn't had one in over three years.
"I just couldn't control myself," Ella said after taking a deep drag of her cigarette, watching the ember glow as if it could provide some warmth.
Ella sighed again. "Never mind, I'm done playing. People like me shouldn't expect too much."
"Come on, stop being so negative," Ahong nudged her. "The Interstellar Empire has become more accommodating to the Solti people in recent years."
"But we're still like stray dogs."
"He might not mind," Ahong said.
"Let's not talk about him. I've pushed his buttons too far, and there's no turning back," Ella said, looking at the night view outside the window, falling into silence.
She could actually understand Yize very well. As an Omega who had been on the battlefield from a young age alongside her father, he was a proud person. He disliked being defined as delicate or fragile just because he was an Omega. That's why he trained himself doubly hard every day.
He was too proud to let himself be suppressed, especially by an Alpha. But she had gone against his wishes and forced him.
"I don't deserve to be his Alpha," Ella said in the end.
***
That day, Ella piloted the ship, and with Ahong, they returned to the capital star and their repair shop.
Ahong entered the shop, seeing the workshop in a mess. "Oh my, did someone rob us while I was away?"
Ella crossed over a pile of clutter without expression. "No one robbed us; I did this."
"What did you secretly fiddle with while I was gone?" Ahong scowled.
Ella's hand movements paused. She had crafted a 100% purity energy stone ring for Ezra. It was just that she didn't need it now.
Ella took a small metal box from her coat pocket and ran her fingertips across it. After hesitating for a moment, she placed the small box solemnly inside a hidden compartment of a safe.
"Let's just pretend that all those things didn't happen," Ella rolled up her sleeves. "I've never been to that rich residential area, never had any unexpected encounters with men. Earning money and having a full stomach are what truly matter."
Ahong looked at Ella's attitude and chuckled. "Rest assured, with your cunning, you'll soon get over it."
Ella tidied up for a while and then suddenly said, "I hope the medical facilities on the capital star are better."
Ahong was puzzled. "??? Why?"
Ella said, "Getting a mark removal should be less painful. I hope he doesn't suffer too much."
Ahong prodded her, "Don't overthink it. Find a stronger Alpha, and it will cover your mark with pleasure and without pain."
"Please, don't talk about it. Leave me a way out, will you?"
Though she said that, she still felt like a part of her body had been ripped away, leaving her empty and in excruciating pain.
The General is back.
Yi Ze safely returned to the capital planet, causing quite a stir.
The First Legion officially stated that it was the Vice Admiral who saved the General during their mission in the W35 galaxy, but specific details couldn't be disclosed.
Yi Ze held a press conference upon his return. His facial injuries had been completely healed using biotechnology, making it impossible to see any traces of past harm. He appeared as before, wearing his military uniform with a stern demeanor, expressing gratitude to the Empire for their assistance and the concern of interstellar citizens.
He delivered the information in a standard manner, giving the impression that the sudden attack incident had concluded, posing no threat to the Empire's security.
However, the Vice Admiral knew that things were far from being that simple.
The General refused to disclose what had occurred in the W35 galaxy and how he managed to escape, not to mention why he was found in that underground bar.
While others did not witness it, the Vice Admiral observed the General on the return journey, removing his clothing to enter the medical chamber. His wrists bore the red marks from being bound with ropes, and his body was marred with various fresh and healing wounds, in addition to the visible purple bruises. All of these stood out on his fair skin.
As Yi Ze undressed, his hands were trembling, and if the Vice Admiral hadn't caught sight of it, he might have needed assistance.