Omega Manual chapter 79
Extra: Offering Day (part 2)
At the time, Shelley didn’t realize the gears of fate had begun to turn.
Irey took him from that chaotic bar. Shelley’s mind, muddled by the heat, could only deduce that this was another Alpha wanting to take advantage of him, no different from the fat man or the group outside the bar.
Except perhaps slightly smarter.
“What’s your name?”
His voice broke the silence, low and quiet.
Since leaving Nantes with the offering day group, it was the first time someone had looked him in the eye and wanted to communicate.
“Shelley,” he answered hoarsely.
The Alpha nodded, “Irey. Irey Halton.”
“I heard it in the bar,” Shelley said.
The Alpha nodded, “You’re not from Lansai, are you? Where are you from? Hancock? Bovee? Leisau?”
Shelley didn’t answer, not understanding why this Alpha insisted on talking.
He started to think this Alpha was annoyingly slow and inefficient.
Wasn’t it just that thing he wanted?
Every Alpha under the influence of pheromones inevitably turned into a beast thinking with their lower body. Omegas had no right to refuse, no way to resist.
Who was he pretending to be a gentleman for?
“Mr. Halton, I’m very grateful you saved me earlier. If possible, I will reward you handsomely in the future. But you don’t need to worry about what’s next. I can handle it myself.” Shelley shook off his hand forcefully.
As expected, the Alpha laughed, roughly grabbing his wrist and pushing him into a dim room.
“You don’t think I saved you out of kindness, do you?” he grabbed his wrist. “I don’t know where you came from, but in Lansai, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
Yes.
He had known all along that, whether it was the person forcing him or the one saving him, fundamentally they were no different. In the presence of an Alpha, an Omega consumed by heat was nothing but a tool for release.
Shelley gave up struggling, lying on the narrow, hard bed and closing his eyes, preparing as usual to numb his mind and surrender to instinct, abandoning that exceedingly foolish naive plan.
But the imagined brutality did not arrive.
He opened his eyes to find the Alpha, bare-chested, towering over him, allowing him enough distance and time to escape, his tone still nonchalant.
“Why so afraid? I’m not going to eat you,” Irey smirked ambiguously. “Give me your hand, I’ll help you.”
Shelley looked at him blankly and involuntarily complied.
His eyes welled up in the next moment, not from pain, but quite the opposite.
“Like it?” a deep, magnetic voice sounded in his ear. “Got it. Come closer…”
That night felt like a dream; had Shelley not experienced it himself, he could hardly imagine that there existed an Alpha like Irey Halton in the world.
His mouth was filled with profanity, yet gentler than anyone else. He ensured no real harm came to him during the process, escalating the ambiguous atmosphere to its peak, causing Shelley’s face to blush continuously.
It was the first time Shelley encountered an Alpha who spoke so much in bed.
“Is this okay? If it hurts, just say.”
“Amazing. How did an Omega like you end up in Lansai?”
“Let me guess, you must be from Nantes. Your accent gives it away, not from the downtown district for sure.”
“Is this better?”
Throughout, Shelley didn’t utter a word, and the Alpha seemed unconcerned, continuing to talk, dictating the pace.
Perhaps Shelley didn’t need to respond because his body had already confessed everything.
…….
In the early morning, when the first rays of sunlight pierced the room, Shelley dressed quickly and hastily fled the city.
The wound on his neck throbbed faintly, the blissful pleasure still lingering in his body. He returned to his villa, buried his head in the pillow, biting his lip tightly.
The heat cycle he was induced into would last at least three more days.
Rodell didn’t know he had participated in the Offering Day, so this time, there wouldn’t be any Alpha visitors knocking on his door.
During those three days, Shelley thought he might reminisce about his ex-boyfriend, the films he had seen before the disaster, or maybe nothing at all, his mind a blank slate.
But Irey Halton’s name would uncontrollably surface in his mind like a movie, replaying every detail of that night over and over again.
His eyes, his profile, his voice, even the slight roll of his throat when he chuckled, and those hands that bore calluses from long hours of physical labor.
Those hands wiped the tears from his eyes and stroked his hair…
Finally, Shelley gave in.
He recklessly allowed himself to relive the fervor of that night.
On the day the heat cycle ended, he could no longer ignore the fact: he and Irey Halton’s pheromones matched perfectly, at least their bodies—if not more—were uncontrollably drawn to him.
Irey Halton’s presence prompted him to pick up the shattered plan once more.
With him, perhaps, maybe, it could really work.
After countless hesitations and struggles, on a colder winter day than usual, Shelley finally sat down at his desk, turned open a pen, and wrote his first and only invitation letter to Lansai.
……………
“What are you looking at?”
Irey’s voice suddenly appeared behind him. Shelley snapped out of his thoughts, turned around, and before he could say anything, Irey hugged him and leaned in as if to claim a reward.
Shelley couldn’t help but laugh, teasingly kissed him on the tip of his nose like playing with a dog, then kissed the corner of his lips, but avoided where Irey wanted.
Irey frowned, displeased, raised Shelley’s chin, and kissed him directly.
Shelley’s laughter was stifled by his lips, lazily wrapped around Irey’s neck, opening his mouth to respond.
Rainy days and long kisses matched perfectly. It wasn’t until a long time passed that they slowly separated.
“Nothing, just looking outside, thinking about some things from before,” Shelley said softly.
“What?” Irey leaned against him, following his gaze to the cloudy sky outside the window. “Thinking about Offering Day?”
Shelley was first surprised, then a little embarrassed and annoyed. “Do you have mind-reading powers?”
“So, that’s what it is?” Irey smiled and hugged his shoulder, pulling something out of his pocket. “Guess what I found when I was packing?”
Shelley turned to see Irey holding a letter, its edges slightly curled but with the handwriting and seal intact.
It was the letter he had sent from Nantes to Lansai last winter.
“Why do you still have this?” Shelley complained, cheeks flushing. “It’s just a letter, yet you’ve carried it all this way.”
“What do you mean? This is a witness to our journey together. How could I casually discard something so memorable?” Irey said as he unfolded the letter. “And now, it seems the contents of this letter were a bit ambiguous.”
Shelley felt a bad premonition rising in him, but before it could settle, he heard Irey start reading the contents of the letter.
“To Mr. Irey Halton, Greetings. Since the unforgettable time we spent under the stars in Lansai last time, memories of that beautiful day have always lingered in my mind. Here, I sincerely offer you a lucrative job opportunity and hope that after receiving this letter, you can find time amidst your busy schedule to visit Nantes. I extend to you my highest regards and look forward to meeting you again in the breeze of Nantes…”
Shelley reached out to snatch the letter from Irey’s hand. “That’s enough, don’t read any more!”
Irey deftly evaded Shelley’s attack and looked at him with a meaningful gaze, repeating, “Memories of that beautiful day have always lingered in my mind….”
Shelley immediately blushed, “That was just a formal courtesy! Anyone writing a letter would use similar phrases!”
“Really?” Irey approached him, “Do you have ‘unforgettable times’ and ‘beautiful memories’ with just anyone?”
“Why are you so childish?” Shelley snatched the letter from his hand, opened a drawer, and stuffed it inside, “I only have unforgettable times with you, and only beautiful memories with you. Are you satisfied now?”
Irey embraced him, resting his chin on his shoulder and sighed, “Yes, yes, I’m satisfied. If not, I might anger a certain young master.”
Shelley turned to look at him and couldn’t help but smile when he saw the hurt and ‘I’m good now, I won’t cause trouble’ look in Irey’s puppy eyes.
Knowing Irey Halton’s tactics of feigned surrender, Shelley still couldn’t help but soften and give him a little sweetness.
Shelley motioned with his finger towards Irey, who immediately understood and leaned closer.
Shelley cleared his throat, suppressing his embarrassment, and whispered, “Remember when we first set off, and you asked me how I spent the heat days after Offering Day?”
“Mm-hmm.” Irey leaned closer to hear.
“I…” Shelley cleared his throat again before continuing, “I thought about you.”
In the next moment, Irey’s eyes lit up like a wild wolf hunting in the night.
“I didn’t hear that clearly. Could you say it again?” he looked at Shelley intently.
“No way!” Shelley’s face flushed red. He wasn’t going to fall for Irey’s tricks again. He stood up from his chair, “If you didn’t hear clearly, forget it. I’m going to take a shower.”
“No, say it again.” Irey quickly grabbed his wrist and pushed him onto the nearby bed, “I want to hear.”
Whether intentional or not, the movement and posture mirrored exactly how they had first met that night.
Irey looked down at Shelley from above, his gaze almost igniting a fire.
“You definitely heard!” Shelley struggled in embarrassment and frustration.
“Then tell me, what were you thinking about me at that time?” Irey held his wrist firmly, pinning him down…
The heavy rain of early summer poured all night long. The moon hid behind the dark clouds, and the rain fell in torrents. The damp air intertwined, becoming a brand-new, indescribable anticipation.