If I had smelled the scent of his pheromones indoors, I would have lost control once again. I silently thanked the wind that was blowing from behind.
‘Get it together.’ I hastily curled my fingers into a fist and then relaxed them, struggling not to lose consciousness. ‘It’ll be fine. There are lots of people who can help me here. It’s going to be all right.’
All of a sudden, Keith’s cold words brushed past my ears, but I chose to ignore them. It was going to be all right. When I clenched my teeth and managed to pull myself up, I felt a surge of fatigue as if the action had exhausted all the strength in my body.
“Good evening, Mr. Miller. How was the gathering today?” I forced myself to speak. I straightened my body as much as I could, but the overwhelming pressure I felt from Grayson didn’t decrease in particular.
He raised his well-sculpted eyebrows and looked down at me, a smile still lingering on his face. He opened his mouth, “You didn’t answer my question.”
His comment threw me off. What was the question?
I frantically rummaged through my brain and just barely remembered what he had asked. I opened my mouth as if it hadn’t fazed me at all. “I heard that there would be a gathering, so I stepped outside for a bit. It wasn’t a part of my business, after all.”
“Not your business?” asked Grayson with a surprised expression, like he hadn’t even thought about its possibility.
“Yes,” I replied stoically. “It’s my day off today.”
“Oh.” Grayson finally murmured a short affirming exclamation.
I didn’t get why I had to even make him accept my excuse, but in any case, it seemed like the crisis had passed. I was about to bid my farewell and avoid the encounter, but Grayson abruptly began yet another conversation. “Everyone went back, but I had to stay because of this little guy.”
At the end of his gaze as he looked down with a smile was the Rottweiler who had tried to attack me a little while ago. It was quietly wagging its tail, its face so gentle as if the ferocity it showed back then was a lie.
Grayson lovingly looked down at his dog and said, “I took my eyes off him for a second and he disappeared, so I was looking for him. See, he goes crazy over omegas.”
He laughed, but I couldn’t possibly bring myself to laugh with him. I was almost bitten to death. How many people could laugh at a moment like this?
More importantly, I wasn’t the only omega in this household. If I remembered correctly, some of the employees were also omegas. Moreover, I shouldn’t have been giving off much of a pheromone scent right now. ‘Is it because dogs have sensitive noses? Are the other employees okay?’ I wondered.
As if he had read my thoughts, Grayson added another comment. “Still, he usually doesn’t attack like this. I guess he really liked you, Yeonwoo.” He smirked and asked, “Interested in mating with Alex during your heat cycle? He’s unequaled, you know.”
At that moment, chills ran up my spine. I could tell that my facial facade had collapsed.
As I was rendered silent, Grayson shrugged one shoulder. “I was just kidding.”
No matter how I looked at it, he seemed serious. At the very least, he was half-joking and half-serious.
I desperately contained my racing breaths and pried open my mouth. “Mr. Miller, I better—”
“Wait,” he called out abruptly.
I had no choice but to stop in my tracks. The reason why I only gazed at him was that it was getting difficult to even make a sound.
Grayson continued, “Then why are you even here? There’s no work for you to do anyway.”
I wasn’t sure if he was asking because he was actually curious or because he was trying to screw with me. I never could see through this man’s true intentions, nor did I ever try to find out. I didn’t see why I should try to find out here at this very moment of all times and places.
“…Excuse me.” I somehow managed to say something before turning around. I wanted to immediately go inside the house—more accurately, into my room—and hide. I felt as if I would suffocate at the continuous flow of his sweet pheromones. However, my wish wasn’t about to be granted so easily.
“Wait a second, Yeonwoo. What’s the rush?” Grayson called to me with a voice full of laughter.
He probably didn’t have any ill intentions. He was just trying to teasingly mess with me a little bit as always. I definitely knew this in my head, but my body simply refused to comply.
“Ah!”
“…?”
The moment Grayson grabbed my shoulder, I gulped down my breath and made a sound close to a shriek. Grayson’s surprised face came into my sight. However, that was it. I shrank with fright and collapsed onto the floor.
“Yeonwoo, Yeonwoo? What’s wrong?” Grayson asked repeatedly, taken aback by my reaction.
I, however, couldn’t say anything. Shallow breaths continued to circulate within my oral cavity. The air dived down my throat, but I couldn’t follow up by breathing out. My headspace was barricaded, and my sight flickered.
Was I going to die?
Fear gripped my body. I opened my mouth wide, but no air came in. My consciousness started to fade away. Grayson’s scent sweetly lingered at the tip of my nose all the while.
Just then, somebody pulled me in by my waist from behind.
I was swallowed into his arms, and a thick pheromone scent wrapped around my entire body.
“It’s okay.” A soft, calm voice trickled into my ears. “It’s okay. Slowly… That’s right.”
The soothingly quiet voice was most certainly familiar to my ears. I knew the owner of this voice. I knew him very, very well.
“…Ah!” Oxygen washed into my lungs, and I swallowed my breath with a shriek. Coughs repeatedly exploded out. However, my respiratory system wasn’t the only thing that was on overdrive. My whole body shivered, and my teeth chattered.
‘Thank God.’