* * *

"F-FATHER DID this to me," Maverick said, trembling in fear. Tian Zi's eyes instantly widened upon hearing that his father had done this to him, to an Omega. What kind of mistake could a son make for a father to break his face?

"Can you tell me why? How could a father do something like this to his own son?" Tian Zi frowned as his eyes wandered to the bruises on the Omega's neck. There was no doubt now that Maverick had been choked, but for his own father to do it... He thought he had seen it all, but truly there were a lot of sick people out there.

". . ." Not responding, Maverick cowered down because all of this was his fault. His father's words echoed in his mind and he couldn't help but feel like crying. As an Omega, he thought the only thing he could do was to use his body to help his father and brothers. He had thought that all of this was a secret from his family, thinking that his father wouldn't agree with his method. But today, he was shocked to find out that his father had known all along and had let it happen. Even though he was doing it out of his own volition, it wasn’t that he wanted it. He was desperate for someone to tell him to stop. Even though he kept all this a secret, the thought that his father would never allow him to do such a shameful act somehow comforted him.

However, learning that it was the opposite, he felt betrayed. He felt used. He felt like he was being sold like a prostitute and he felt disgusted with his own body. Immediately he wanted to stop and he did. But he never expected things would go bad as soon as he declined a request. He’d thought that he could still think of something to hide the dirt he’d created, but it was too late. It would only be a matter of time before everyone found out what he truly was and what he’d done.

He couldn’t tell this to Mo Tian Zi, even if this would come out sooner or later. He came here out of desperation, but he never really thought the Young Alpha would just let him in. After what had happened between them, despite the years having passed, he thought the Alpha would surely avoid him.

"I'm sorry. I think I made a mistake. I shouldn't stay here after all," Maverick suddenly said and stood up. However, as soon as he did, Tian Zi sighed and grabbed his hand.

"No, never mind. Forget that I asked. You can stay here for as long as you want, and you don't have to tell me why this happened to you." Tian Zi said, letting go of Maverick's hand. He wanted to learn the truth, but if the Omega was uncomfortable with the topic, then he wouldn't force him. Also, it would make him feel bad if he let the Omega leave now after seeing his condition.

"Mo Tian Zi, I know things didn't start well between us, but I will remember your kindness today," Maverick said and one could definitely see how grateful he was for the Alpha. Although Maverick grew up being surrounded by people admiring him thinking he was an Alpha, he’d never gotten a chance to get close to anyone. He’d never had a friend whom he could call whenever he was in a pinch because he was afraid his secret would be revealed. The only people who were always by his side were his siblings, Joaquinn and Ashton, who took care of him and loved him so dearly.

His heart broke as he thought of his siblings. They knew nothing of what had happened between him and their father so he couldn't let them see his condition. He had no friends to call and if he were to stay in a hotel, it would just be a matter of time before his two worrywart brothers would find him, tracing his bank transactions. He’d had no other choice but to call for someone who he shared his secret with and that was Mo Tian Zi.

"I don't mind. For now, you can stay in the guest room while I call our family doctor to treat your wounds and also check you. Also, don't worry about your identity. Doctor Feng is professional and can keep a secret," Tian Zi assured, signaling the butler to lead Maverick to his room so he could rest.

"Thank you so much," Maverick said with a bow and then followed the butler. Rumors might have stressed that Mo Tian Zi was a mysterious and unemotional person, but Maverick has experienced first hand that the Alpha was kind hearted and would never leave a person in need of help.

After the short conversation, Tian Zi remained in the living room. He was thinking deeply about what might have happened to Maverick when his phone suddenly rang, flashing Fyre's caller ID. Tian Zi didn’t think twice and quickly received the call.

[He's here. Please pick him up before he does something he'll regret.]

Fyre said as soon as Tian Zi said hello. Knowing what he meant by "He", Tian Zi sighed in frustration. He quickly stood up and trailed the way to his garage. Even though he hadn’t attended the annual celebration of his company, he’d had a surprise visitor and now some troublemaker at Fyre's place still occupied his time when he’d thought he could relax.

"Yeah, I'll be there quick," He simply replied and soon drove away from his mansion to Fyre's place. Since he had been to the place many times in the past years, Tian Zi didn't need to ring the doorbell and quickly encoded the security number and invited himself in. Truly, he and Fyre were not best friends, but they were close enough to know each other's house passcodes where they could invite themselves inside anytime.

"Over here!! Please take him off of me, this fucking bastard is too heavy," Tian Zi was heading to the elevator to go to the second floor when he heard the Omega yell from somewhere. His brows frowned as he quickly found where the voice came from. However as soon as he saw the two, his brows knitted even deeper, seeing his childhood friend, Alexander Jonathan Wood, on top of Fyre …probably knocked out cold.

Without saying anything, he quickly approached the two. He instantly lifted Jonathan, holding him by his collar before throwing the drunk Alpha to the floor. Jonathan didn't even wake up and just shifted comfortably to continue his sleep.

"Hey, fix that forehead of yours! It's not that I wanted that to happen. He just suddenly came in drunk, mumbling some nonsense. I helped him to the bed so he could sleep it off, but then he fell on top of me and I couldn't get him off," Fyre explained, seeing Tian Zi's displeased reaction. He didn't even know why he had to explain, but he did because it felt like if he didn't he’d end up getting bullied somehow. Thankfully, after hearing Fyre's explanation, Tian Zi's frown slowly disappeared but he was still silent.

"Is your body okay?" Tian Zi asked. Jonathan is an Alpha and Fyre is an Omega. Considering Fyre's recessive condition, he was afraid that the short moment had affected Fyre's body. There had been a lot of instances when Fyre couldn't control his pheromones around him, so Tian Zi was worried the same would happen towards Jonathan. He was used to Fyre's constant attacks and he had greater control over his own body but Jonathan, he doubted this friend of his would be able to control himself.

"I'm fine. I took my suppressant properly," Fyre said leisurely and walked towards his small kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

"And I remember you also took your suppressant properly months ago when it happened again," Tian Zi said, raising his brows, reminding the Omega what almost happened to them. His heat had suddenly come again in the middle of testing out their new product and he’d had to ask Fyre to lock himself in the toilet as he looked for help.

"T-That was because you were so annoying, a-and you were too close to me," Fyre exclaimed in defense. His cheeks quickly turned red remembering that day when he’d almost given in to his desires. Thankfully, Tian Zi had greater control over his urges and pushed him into the toilet room.

"Weren't you close to him just now?" Tian Zi countered and his frown returned. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that Jonathan and the Omega were doing something indecent. Four years had already passed since Remi Long's death and although Jonathan may not have moved on yet, bad things could happen, especially when the Alpha was drunk.

"H-He's different. He's Remi's..." Fyre burst again but wasn't able to finish his words, remembering his deceased sibling. At the same time, when Tian Zi also became silent, memories of the past flashed before he sighed and breathed "I'm sorry."

"Why the fuck would you care anyway? This is none of your business," Fyre suddenly burst again, his lips trembled, preventing himself from crying.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I-I was just worried about you," Tian Zi confessed before he walked close to Fyre and hugged him for comfort. Yes, he could not call Fyre his best of friends, but they were indeed now close enough to hug.

* * *

To be Continued...