When an Alpha is Marked by One of His Own Kind

Chapter 40

The temperature by the door gradually rose. The ice-cold scent of mint continued to fluctuate wildly-sometimes mild, sometimes intense. When it flared up, it was instantly engulfed by that heavy cedarwood scent that invaded every molecule in the air.
The room became like a forest. Densely packed cedarwood trees shed their needle-like spines, which rained down on the tender leaves of the mint plants growing below. The delicate sprigs of mint had no way of dodging the onslaught. Those cedarwood needles and their scent touched every crease and crevice of the mint plants. There was no running, no hiding. The mint could only succumb to the unbridled assault of cedarwood, giving itself over to the reality of being smothered in that scent.

In this battle of pheromones, the scent of mint was utterly crushed.

As was its owner.

When Lu Zhe first bore down on him, Shen Qiao had still been able to put up a brazen fight. He grabbed Lu Zhe's nape, trying to make himself seem bigger and more predatory, as though to claim dominance in this bout.

Lu Zhe had been all smiles at first. He seemed to welcome Shen Qiao's attempt to take control with open arms. Shen Qiao didn't realize until he'd already engaged Lu Zhe in this battle that this was a trap laid out by Lu Zhe-now that Shen Qiao had drawn near, Lu Zhe wouldn't even let him think about retreating.

This cunning person was really too sly. He could even lay a trap with his pheromones.

Perhaps Shen Qiao had grown accustomed to Lu Zhe's milder pheromones simply because Lu Zhe had deliberately suppressed them for so long. That had enticed Shen Qiao to lash out with his own pheromones, thinking this was a battle he could win. After he let his mint-scented pheromones rage against Lu Zhe, he prepared to withdraw-only to have Lu Zhe tear away the restraints on his own pheromones!

As that storm of cedarwood crashed over Shen Qiao, Lu Zhe seized control once more. Not only did he keep his visitor there in his arms, he gave Shen Qiao a warm, enthusiastic 'greeting'.

Shen Qiao didn't want to give in at first. He held his breath like he planned on competing with Lu Zhe over whose lung capacity was more formidable...

Then, when he really forgot to breathe, he accidentally choked on air-

Shen Qiao started to cough.

Lu Zhe released him and lifted a hand to hit the light switch on the wall. A pale, white light flowed down from above. Even though Shen Qiao lifted an arm to shield his face from the sudden burst of light, Lu Zhe could still plainly see the flush of red on his face.

He shifted the hand he'd placed at Shen Qiao's nape and patted Shen Qiao on the back instead. His voice was warm and gentle, but still laced with a teasing lilt, as he began to speak.

"You can even choke on air?" he asked. "Shall I teach you how to breathe?"

Shen Qiao, detecting that hint of playful mockery in Lu Zhe's tone, dropped his hands and shot Lu Zhe a fierce glare-

Unfortunately.

Shen Qiao didn't realize how seductive that glassy, wet sheen in his eyes could be. After that coughing fit, the corners of Shen Qiao's eyes had even gone a little red. It instantly made Lu Zhe think of the autumn he'd spent in the north, where the mountains had been blanketed by vibrantly red maple leaves. The sight of Shen Qiao in this state instantly stole Lu Zhe's breath away.

In that moment, Shen Qiao was like a little wolf cub, growling and swiping his paws through the air in an attempt to look as vicious as possible. But he only succeeded in making onlookers wonder how they could tease him more, to make him even more adorable.

Once he caught his breath, Shen Qiao schooled his expression back into a blank and calm state. He tried to regain some of his dignity by saying, "To err is human. Even our Captain Lu gives up his head once in a while when we play practice games. There's no difference between that and this. Nothing out of the ordinary."