201: Side story 5 He could hear the sound of swallowing breath from the other end. Dane suppressed his laughter and continued. "Think carefully. Where would I want to go first after being discharged?" After a brief pause, Greyson answered. – To see Darling? "Well, something like that." At Dane's answer, Greyson swallowed his breath again and spoke rapidly. – Go, go now! I'll be there now so wait! You can't go anywhere, you must wait! Following the urgent shout, the call was simply hung up. Dane looked down at the silent phone, chuckled, and stuffed it back into his back pocket. Thinking of Greyson's flustered appearance, a smile leaked from the corner of his mouth. I should wait sitting on the bed, right? With the evidence next to me. When that guy comes running in, I'll grab him right there and give him hell. Are those handcuffs still there from that time? Next time it might be good to buy a riding crop too. And whip his butt with it… Dane threw open the door without hesitation. The scene that would unfold afterward was already drawn in his mind. The items he had taken away thoroughly soaked with pheromones would have traces of all sorts of lewd acts done to them. And they would be scattered messily all over the room… "Huh." For a moment, Dane let out a short exclamation. Before his eyes was a scene completely different from his imagination. No, in some sense it might be similar. Anyway, those items were piled high on the bed. What is this… Dane stepped into the room in bewilderment. The surroundings were full of Greyson's pheromone scent. Since it was his own room, naturally the scent would have permeated it, he thought as he slowly approached the bed. One step, then another step. Finally stopping at the bedside, Dane silently looked down at the bed. The items spread across the bed were familiar to Dane's eyes too. They were exactly the things he had taken away after soaking them thoroughly with pheromones, claiming to give them to Darling. Various clothes including the ridiculously large bathrobe, sheets, towels, and so on were laid out on the mattress, and the large seal plushie was placed slightly offcenter. Cushions and pillows were all gathered closely together. Seeing the items arranged in a circle, leaving a suspiciously large and long space empty in the center, Dane was momentarily at a loss for words. It was obvious who had been lying there. The image of Greyson sleeping contentedly with clothes and items thoroughly soaked in Dane's pheromones laid on the floor and piled around him was not difficult to picture. At least he had some conscience, as Darling seemed to have stayed on the same bed too. The cat fur stuck here and there was proof of that. Even now, Darling was lying asleep on the fluffy bathrobe. Dane, who had been silently watching that sight, soon became incredulous. He had heard that Alphas or Omegas approaching their heat/rut cycle feel stable when they smell their mate's pheromone scent, but he never thought Greyson would do this. "Haa." Dane, who had let out a short sigh, suddenly turned his gaze to Darling. He quietly brought his hand in front of the blind cat's face so as not to startle her, and lightly released pheromones. Darling, who had been lying down breathing regularly, soon perked up her ears and reacted. When he gently petted the cat who lifted her head with a meow, Darling got up as if she had been waiting and stretched long. When he carefully picked up the cat who was sniffing and looking for Dane's direction, Darling immediately rubbed her head against him and clung to him. "Sorry, Darling. For making you wait again and again." As if understanding Dane's apology, the cat stretched her body and licked Dane's face. Holding the cat while leaving the rough tongue as it was, Dane silently looked down at the empty bed. This was what remained. What should he do? Actually, he didn't know what emotion he should feel right now. It seemed troublesome, it seemed bewildering, it seemed pitiful, it seemed so absurd that laughter came out, and besides that, he couldn't easily find an answer in the complex emotions that disturbed his heart. He wanted to clear everything away, but he gave up thinking that Greyson would be disappointed again if he did. Yes, like that time. Dane stared at one wall while holding the cat. The display case was exactly the same as when he had last seen it, unchanged. On the shelf where only one can had been sitting alone, it was still placed there by itself. Only the shell remained though. Dane stood there staring at the display case, or more precisely, at the empty can shell placed on it. The can shell, clean without a speck of dust, even had a shine as if it had been polished every single day. To go that far for just such trash… When he felt a throbbing sensation from one side of his chest, he suddenly heard the sound of a car engine. Greyson must have returned. Dane stood there holding the cat, waiting for him to come up. A sharp creaking sound was heard, then soon the sound of the front door opening and closing. He was running up so urgently that his footsteps echoed throughout the house. And despite the scale of the huge house, Greyson instantly threw open the room door and shouted. "Dane!" Dane looked in surprise at his face, which had turned pale and was panting as he stopped. Why such an expression? Regardless of his bewildered reaction, Greyson stood there breathing roughly, then immediately came running into the room. "…!" When he came to his senses, Greyson had already embraced Dane tightly. Dane stiffened for a moment, surprised by his intense reaction. He was about to ask what was wrong, but Greyson spoke first. "Thank goodness, thank goodness… Thank goodness, really thank goodness…" "Greyson." At his appearance repeating the same words, Dane patted his back with one hand as if to calm him down. "What's wrong? Did something happen? Why are you acting like this?" When he asked repeatedly, Greyson let out a trembling breath. When he waited silently for an answer, he then replied in a voice as shaky as his breath. "You disappeared…" When Dane hesitated, he continued. "You went somewhere again… somewhere I don't know, and I was afraid of what might happen to you." At the unexpected words, Dane was completely at a loss for words. He could feel Greyson's fear vividly through their touching bodies. His large body was trembling. His panting breath, filled with fear, kept circling in his mouth. Dane, who had stayed like that for a moment, rubbed Greyson's back as if to say it was okay. In his mind, a forgotten memory came back to life. The fireworks that kept exploding, the man who had sobbed violently under that brilliant light. Thinking of him from that day made one side of his chest throb. How could I forget this man's fear, that terror? Thinking that, he wanted to slap himself hard. Even after seeing Greyson suffer so much, to so easily play such a prank. "Greyson, it's okay now. Come on." He deliberately grabbed his shoulders to separate their bodies, but he immediately regretted it. Greyson's eyes were already bloodshot red. Guilt immediately spread throughout his chest. "I'm sorry." He apologized in a cracked voice. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Though he spoke sincerely, Greyson's expression didn't easily relax. At his still shaking pupils, as if he still couldn't believe that he actually existed before his eyes, Dane resolved again. "I was just playing a little prank. I won't do it anymore. I won't leave for somewhere without telling you, and I won't go to dangerous places risking my life." "…" "Hm?"