Chapter 163 - 162. Too Perfect

Winnie looked at the alpha. The light touch of Krasny's fingers on his chin was the only thing he could feel. He felt his cheeks ignite under the intensity of the gaze that he wanted to flee because his heart was pounding hard.

The male omega turned his head, breaking contact without giving his answer, then spun around to face the door. He tugged again at the oversized clothes he was wearing, and he could feel his chest tighten.

He had always dreamed of hearing these words, but right now, it wasn't the prospect of becoming a Luna that thrilled him, but the way the dominant was looking at him. Winnie had spent all day denying his desire to be with the alpha because of his fears and now that he was near him, his very presence was so obvious, so delighting and enchanting that the feeling took his breath away.

Krasny stared at the omega silently. He had no intention of rushing him. Winnie could take all the time he wanted to answer. The red tint that had spread on the omega's cheeks was a clue to the answer he could expect.

A smile curved his lips and the alpha decided to tease a little the one who, he was sure about it, would be his mate. He released a good dose of his seduction pheromones, enough to formally inform Winnie of his desire to court him.

His eyes didn't avert from the younger werewolf's back to catch his reaction. Would he give in right away and give him the green light? Winnie's voice finally rose.

"I have a lot of suitors you know. I won't give in to the first one who comes..."

"I know… Or rather I inquired after those two days with you. I hope you don't mind but I wanted to know who was the omega who dared to throw the rogues' alpha out of his own bedroom. Not everyone has that guts."

"Oh?" Winnie instantly forgot his turmoil and turned to glare at the dominant. "Who do you think you are or I'd rather ask, who do you think I am? It doesn't matter if you're the rogues' alpha, a former rogues, or whatever! I woke up and found you, a stranger, naked on top of me! And besides, I felt this thing… Y-your…" His face flushed. "Of course, I kicked you out! I don't know what kind of frivolous omegas you've been around but…"

"It was the other way around," Krasny cut him off, crossing his arms, a defiant smile on his lips.

"What?"

"It was the opposite. You were on top of me. And, if you allow me to say so, with the almost desperate way you kissed me over and over again over these two days, moaning and begging for more… Including rubbing against that thing you refuse to name… I thought we were beyond the timid self-introduction."

He smirked and Winnie clenched his fists. His confusion and his shyness had entirely disappeared. What he felt right now was a pure annoyance for the dominant.

Given all the flashbacks he had, the omega couldn't fight back and say the werewolf in front of him was bluffing and that was the most annoying thing. He felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation and he gritted his teeth, looking for a way to make the alpha swallow back his smugness.

"I was in the middle of my heat, it's normal for me to be like that!" He retorted with a hint of displeasure in his voice.

Krasny's defiant smile faded. The intensity of his gaze on the male omega changed.

"You mean if it had been another dominant instead of me, you would have been glued at him that way too?"

The darkness in Winnie's gaze surprised Krasny, who blinked but didn't look away. He wanted his answer. The icy blue color of the male omega's eyes darkened. Without giving the dominant an answer, he turned on his heels and walked to the door, upset.

He regretted coming. Sure, he had seen that he could be with the alpha and he knew he didn't need to be nervous or afraid, but with what Krasny just said, he didn't want to stay next to him, even for a second. How could he ask him such a thing?

His hand grabbed the doorknob and Krasny's pressed against the wooden panel to prevent him from opening the door.

"You didn't reply."

"I have no intention to do so."

"Answer me, Winnie. If it had been another dominant the last two days you would have..."

A stinging slap stopped Krasny mid-sentence. Hearing that insulting question again caused the omega to explode in anger. He had spent the day in a whirlwind of emotions, each more exhausting than the other. With everything Eden had told him, he thought that once he was with the alpha, his alpha, once he breathed his pheromones, he would feel comforted and safe, as it had been for the past two days.

All the flashbacks he had had during the day had shown him a considerate and tender dominant, but he was too afraid of the ritual to confirm his memories. Now that he had overcome those fears, hearing what Krasny said hurt him and he wanted to leave.

"How can you ask me that? Who do you take me for?" cried Winnie.

"For my omega and my mate. But I'm not delusional, I know we're nothing yet. Not until the end of the ritual, if you let me bite your nape of course. Nonetheless, that's how I feel," Krasny said. "You're my omega, but if you say that everything happened only because of your heat then… How should I feel?"

Winnie looked at the alpha's face and realized that he hadn't spoken out of malice. He could see the anxiety that was born from his clumsy words. The anger disappeared from his eyes and he stared at Krasny who was still waiting for his answer.

"I-I did it because it was you. I also think you're my alpha even if I can't explain why. Just like you, that's how I feel. So don't ever say anything like that… It can only be you…" he muttered the last line so softly that the red-haired top almost didn't hear it.

Winnie faltered a moment but ended up releasing his seduction pheromones and thus, finally, he answered the question the alpha had asked him. The latter looked down at the werewolf, letting his nostrils fill with the scent of raspberry and wild mint. A victorious smile was starting to spread across his lips when the shorter werewolf cut him off in his tracks.

"I still want a real courting phase. Ritual or not, I don't care. I'm warning you! Don't think I'm going to be your mate if you don't woo me properly! And if you suck at it, I'll dump you right away! I don't mind how difficult it could be to break the engagement mark." As soon as he had finished his little ranting, the omega male turned to open the door and Krasny withdrew his hand to let him, amused to discover so much temper in such a frail body.

Winnie stepped in the hallway and turned with a pout to the alpha who cocked his head in a silent question.

"Y-You're coming? Bloodhood said it was better to be together when the moon rose…"

Krasny held back the smile that wanted to curve his mouth and responded enthusiastically.

"Yes, I'm coming."

They reached the Red Orbs' leader's room and Krasny let his omega enter first before entering the room and freezing. He stood in the doorway and Winnie who was already halfway to the bed turned to stare at him.

"What?"

"N-No it just...You filled the room with your pheromones, it's..." He didn't finish his sentence and the smile he had been holding back the whole way, passed his defenses and lit his face.

The male omega had filled the room with his scent like a Sub would have done to mark the territory he shared with his mate. Krasny looked away and noticed the nest on the bed made with his clothes. His head snapped at Winnie and the younger werewolf avoided his gaze, embarrassed.

"I like your scent. It helped me calm down." He shrugged and resumed walking to keep his composure.

He climbed into the nest he had made on the alpha's bed like it was the most natural thing in the world and Krasny saw him pat the spot next to him with his hand. The dominant walked obediently to him and entered the nest.

He was cautious as he found it hard to believe that it was the same werewolf who kicked him out of his room without even letting him utter a word. What magic had Eden Bloodhood used?

"Don't get any weird ideas. It's just for the ritual! Don't think I'm all cooked and ready to be eaten! Because even if you mark me, I won't bond with you if I think you're not worthy."

The Red Orbs' leader peeked at the omega who had brought his knees close to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He knew that Winnie had turned down more mating offers than any other omega. He was already seventeen and unmarked by choice. None of the suitors had ever reached the courting phase. The dominant was intrigued.

"What should I do to court you?"

The question surprised the young werewolf who looked at Krasny as he managed to get closer. The alpha was careful not to be too pushy. He sat down cross-legged, his chest leaned back, his weight supported by his hands. The arm that was near the omega was positioned so that Winnie could lean on it if he wanted to. The omega decided to reply to the unspoken invitation and leaned on. Despite his gesture, the alpha noticed that he was tense. Krasny decided to distract the omega with their conversation. He wanted to create a sense of comfort that would allow Winnie to let his guard down.

"There are many ways to court and it depends on the personality. I would rather give you the attention that best suits you than try in vain to win over your heart in ways that will never touch you. Also, it will let me know what kind of werewolf you are. Although I think fierce is a good start." He chuckled as Winnie frowned and pouted.

"Are you wooing me or trying to upset me?"

"Of course, wooing you. Or, for now, just trying to. So, what kind of wooer should I be?"

The alpha leaned closer to Winnie, deepening their contact, and smelled the scent of shower gel wafting from his skin. He recognized the one in his bathroom and smiled. He noticed that Winnie relaxed as he pondered the question. He was now fully leaning against Krasny and the light touch from the start had turned into a subtle embrace.

"Then…Something like what we're doing right now? Talking and being around each other."

"Hmmm ok…" The simplicity of the answer pleasantly surprised Krasny. He slipped his arm around the teen's hip. "So what do you want to talk about?"

They talked like that for a long time. The night was perfectly settled and, although the moon had risen, neither the omega nor the alpha was disturbed by the waves of emotions.

Pheromones, touches, caresses, discussions but also food that the red-haired leader had asked one of his men to bring for them. The dominant had anticipated and responded to his future mate's every need, winning point after point with the icy blue-eyed omega whose eyes sparkled more and more as they spoke.

Eventually, the two had finally fallen asleep, cuddled up against each other. This first night of the ritual was perfect. Too perfect.

In one of the corners of the room, a shadow began to move.. Winnie was about to suffer the backlash of that potion he drank to alter his pheromones.