Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 65 | The Alpha’s Restraint | Novela.app

Chapter 65 - The Alpha’s Restraint Raytine’s retreat was nearly a stagger, his boots scraping against the floor as he recoiled from the proximity. *This is a mature, enigmatic man,* he thought, his mind racing to construct a fortress of logic. *You don’t truly know him, even after all this time. Soon, the tides of war and the duty of a soldier will pull you away. Your future lies on the front lines, amidst the cold steel of mecha and the heat of battle. In all likelihood, once this brief respite ends, years will pass before you see him again.* Valen let out a low, melodic laugh. He pushed off from the railing and began to close the distance between them, his stride leisurely yet purposeful. Raytine felt a sharp intake of breath hitch in his lungs. *The galaxy is in a state of upheaval,* his internal monologue continued, frantic and stern. *Are you really going to entertain personal emotions at a time like this? He is a good man, a wonderful man, but that doesn’t mean you must scheme to possess him...* Raytine backed away step by step, his eyes darting as if to escape the magnetic pull of Valen’s brilliant azure gaze. Yet, he found himself helplessly drawn back, his focus wandering trepidatiously around the man’s silhouette. Valen followed him, matching his retreat with an effortless grace. "What are you afraid of?" Valen asked, a playful smile dancing on his lips as he cornered his young 'friend.' *Your path is destined to be one of turbulence and strife,* Raytine warned himself. *If you force a relationship now, you might only bring disaster upon him. The inevitable separation will haunt him and distract you. You cannot afford such a weakness.* "No... I’m not," Raytine denied hoarsely, turning his head away to avoid the sheer, overwhelming charisma radiating from the man. "Ena—uh, Mr. Valen... Supervisor Valen, you..." "No, you *are* afraid. What is it?" Valen’s smile widened with genuine interest. He found it immensely entertaining to see such a formidable warrior—a man who could face down armies—reduced to such a state by an 'ordinary' person. He watched as Raytine nearly tripped over the low threshold of the doorway. Valen arched an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth curling upward. He truly relished the sight of this indomitable youth being so utterly flustered. It was especially amusing because he knew Raytine was far too upright to ever truly overstep or offend him without cause. It made the teasing all the more delightful. As for the risk of things going too far... he had considered it, of course. But this was Raytine—the 'Double S' whose self-control was legendary. Even if Valen himself were to lose his grip on reality, he was certain the young man would remain an immovable anchor. Raytine’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to stabilize his racing heart. *You must respect his life and his choices,* he told himself, the words a mantra against the rising heat in his blood. *But you must also consider your own. You have a mission... Even if you have become the closest of friends, you are an Alpha. You are the one who usually holds the dominant hand. For that very reason, you must be the one to look out for his future, even if only out of the duty of friendship...* But then, Valen took a final step forward, occupying Raytine’s entire field of vision. "You’re afraid," the mature, handsome man murmured, leaning in until his breath brushed against Raytine’s ear. "And it’s not of me, or anyone else... From the very beginning, the one you’ve been afraid of is yourself." His voice dropped to a silken whisper. "You’re afraid of what you *want* to do." Raytine stared at the face so close to his own, his breathing coming to a dead stop. That faint, cool scent—reminiscent of a peppermint sweet—drifted into his nostrils again. For a moment, he didn't even dare to inhale. Valen smiled with satisfaction and began to pull back, intending to end the game there. But Raytine reacted as if by a sudden, violent instinct. Before Valen could retreat, Raytine’s arm shot out, snaking around the man’s lean, powerful waist. With a sudden surge of strength, he pinned the reckless man against the nearby black, translucent partition wall. "..." In that heartbeat, it wasn't just Raytine who was stunned; Valen was frozen as well. He looked into Raytine’s eyes—eyes as dark and deep as an abyss—with a sense of total bewilderment. It took him two full seconds to process the sensation of a heavy hand pressed firmly against the small of his back. The arm beneath the sleeve wasn't covered in metal, yet it felt as solid and unyielding as a bar of iron. Valen’s heart gave a frantic thud. His entire body went rigid. In those dark eyes that now clearly reflected the twin oceans of his own gaze, he parted his lips slightly, but no words came out. "..." Raytine stared at him intensely, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard. His face was a mask of stone, devoid of expression, as if he truly were a cold, lifeless statue. But they both knew better. Every muscle in his body was coiled with tension. His deep-set eyes were shrouded in shadow, reflecting Valen’s face and those blue eyes that, to Raytine, had never truly changed. "'Enan Valen'..." The young man leaned in slowly toward the man in his arms. The hand braced against the wall slid across the cool, hard surface of the partition. Finally, his calloused fingers disappeared into Valen’s dark hair, gently cushioning the back of the man's head against the wall. It was a tender gesture, yet it served to fix Valen’s head in place, forcing the man—who had tried to turn away several times—to meet his gaze directly. Raytine was trembling. It was a sensation that should have been impossible for someone of his caliber. He was a powerhouse, both in mind and body, yet here he was, shaking. ... Evenheiler Kang could swear this was the first time in his life he had ever been this panicked. Driven by a strange, primal instinct from deep within his soul, he wanted to pull this person closer. Yet, that same instinct, triggered by a sense of harrowing danger, urged him to flee as far as possible. Valen—or rather, Evenheiler—had watched every bit of Raytine’s training. He had even used his position at the Academy to offer numerous suggestions for improvement. Some had been adopted; others had been ignored. Evenheiler knew that this young man was not someone who could be easily swayed or manipulated by others. Raytine would always find a point of equilibrium in any situation—a safe balance. And if that balance required a price to be paid, he would never let someone else shoulder the cost. Evenheiler knew this well because, if one were to look back ten years, he was usually the one playing the role of the person who paid the price in every equilibrium. Because of that knowledge, he had felt safe. Safe enough to joke, safe enough to tease, and safe enough to lean on the restraint and tolerance of this young man who was so many years his junior. He had said things he never would have said before and done things he never would have dared. But he had forgotten one crucial fact: this was a powerful Alpha. An Alpha who harbored a deep, mutual affection for him. Evenheiler’s body temperature began to climb, and his limbs felt heavy and soft. It was a bad omen. He didn't struggle to pull away immediately, mostly because his mind was becoming a chaotic swirl of images. Fragments of old dreams, remembered in the dead of night, began to surface. He knew what he wanted to do, but he had no idea how to act on it to ensure a good outcome. Raytine let out a soft, helpless sigh. He pulled the man’s body—which was neither frail nor thin—closer, pressing a kiss as light as a dragonfly’s touch against the corner of Valen’s mouth. Then, he gave the man’s lower back one last caress with his gloved fingers, memorizing the beautiful, firm lines of the muscles through the thin fabric of the shirt. He slowly, reluctantly loosened his embrace, his breath hitching. "You... go out first..." Without the support of Raytine’s strength, Valen didn't even make a sound. He simply gasped and slumped forward into the young man’s chest. "..." Raytine caught him instantly. Without a word, he manipulated the metal of the room to seal the door shut and drew the heavy, floor-length curtains to block out the light. He held the well-proportioned body tightly in his arms, burying his face in the crook of the man’s neck. After a long moment, he spoke through gritted teeth. "...Your suppressors. Where are they?" "...In... in the next room. My bedroom... the nightstand..." Valen clung weakly to Raytine’s waist, his head spinning as he inhaled the scent at the Alpha's neck. His voice was hoarse, carrying a trace of blurred, honeyed sweetness. "Sor... sorry..." Raytine took a deep breath, only to be nearly overwhelmed by the scent of peppermint that was rapidly filling the room. He let out a ragged exhale, a faint golden light flickering in his eyes as he used his power to remotely flip open the drawer in the next room. Meanwhile, he struggled with his own self-control, carrying the man to the bed so he could lie down and save his strength. But the nightmare was only beginning. Even as Valen lay with his back to him, he continued to tremble and press back into Raytine’s embrace, clearly suffering from an extreme and abnormal reaction. Raytine was cursing internally. He held the man awkwardly, pinning Valen’s wrists with one hand and circling his waist with the other. He exerted every ounce of his will to resist the urge to do something more. Activating his neural link, he projected a scan through his eyepiece to check Valen’s vitals. A moment later, he stopped the injector from flying over. For the first time in four years, a string of profanities left his lips. "Damn it..." Valen heard the usually calm and restrained youth growl behind his neck, his voice thick with fury. "You’ve injected way too many suppressors! Don't you know that?! You can't use that stuff anymore! You’re already... underdeveloped. If you keep using them, your hormonal system is going to be permanently damaged!" Valen almost let out a bitter laugh. What could he do? What choice did he have? He had no other way. An oversensitive Omega who had been injecting suppressors since his differentiation twenty or thirty years ago... normally, if he never met an Alpha he actually liked, he could have maintained that delicate, artificial balance for the rest of his life. But now, with this man holding him, he didn't want to say no. What else was there? He couldn't just have his scent glands removed. Those organs weren't 'just glands' like some Betas thought; they were vital components for regulating hormones, second only to the thyroid and pituitary glands. Unless there was absolutely no other choice, removal was not an option. His body was already struggling; such a procedure would cause his physical constitution and combat effectiveness to plummet. And so, since he had made his choices, this was the result—trapped in the arms of a man he couldn't resist, facing a heat he couldn't fight. "Sor... ry..." His face was flushed crimson, and even that short word was broken and strained. He still tried to crawl away, to leave the room. "Sorry... I..." He couldn't really... he couldn't let it happen like this. In this state, if he established a permanent bond with an Alpha, while he wouldn't get pregnant, the aftermath... would certainly be unbearable. Valen struggled to push himself up from the bed, but his weakened limbs failed him, and he collapsed back down. He realized with a sense of desperation that unless he dropped his disguise and let his own superpowers flare back to life, he would never be able to leave this room. Worse still... The Alpha he couldn't refuse used a band of metal to pin his wrists together. Then, with surgical precision, Raytine reached out and tore away the necklace that served as a hidden suppressor. Immediately, a thick, powerful, and terrifying wave of Alpha pheromones flooded the room, drowning him completely. Realizing what was about to happen, Valen’s eyes widened. He instinctively tried to struggle, to drop his disguise, but he was stopped by a gentle, soothing kiss pressed to the back of his neck. "...Don't be afraid. Since you don't want to, I won't go that far." Raytine’s voice was raspy and filled with a helpless sort of affection. He gently licked the skin behind Valen’s ear, holding him close. He pulled off his own gloves, his fingers sliding down to soothe the man’s trembling body. "I’ll help you through this..." he whispered, his tone tender and calm, yet possessing a hard edge that brooked no argument. "Don't be afraid." "But... I think you need to be taught a lesson, Uncle Enan." ---