In Heat, He Guards Outside My Door - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Before the incident, we had been assigned what seemed like a very routine recovery mission.

Someone had restarted an Imperial Old Research Station in the Northern Frontier Abandoned Satellite City. The research was classified, suspected to be linked to Pheromone weapons sold on the black market.

Ember Blade was responsible for infiltration, clearing the site, and retrieving the Core Terminal.

We had done missions like this countless times. The route, the firepower, and the extraction windows were all perfectly synchronized. Even Meng Chen, who was best at being a pessimist, said before we boarded the ship, “We should be back in time for a late-night snack tonight.”

My right eye had been twitching all day.

Zhou Qi’an was in the armory checking the equipment. Hearing the sound of me twisting the cap of my inhibitor bottle, he didn’t even turn his head. “Switch to the seventh generation. Don’t use the old formula.”

I froze.

This was a slow-release medication prepared for Omegas and those with special constitutions. I usually took great care with my disguise, only using it privately in my dormitory. I had never brought it out in public before.

In that moment, my blood ran cold. I thought he had finally torn away the veil of my secret.

But he just reached out, took a new type of military sedative from the cabinet, and tossed it to me. “Your post-injury stress response is running high. The old medicine will slow your neural reflexes.”

I caught it, my fingertips icy. “You’re very observant, Commander.”

He finally looked back, his eyes devoid of emotion. “I pay attention to anyone who might hold the team back.”

I wanted to retort, but I held it in.

During the flight, I repeatedly reviewed the maps on my terminal.

The Research Station was built underground. The outer energy hub had long since stopped, yet the inner ventilation system was still running. That in itself was abnormal.

Zhou Qi’an sat opposite me with his eyes closed, resting. The cabin lights swept over his high bridge and sharp jawline; he looked like a blade tucked into its sheath.

No one spoke; only the low hum of the engine filled the cabin. But for some reason, I felt like he wasn’t actually asleep.

Sure enough, just before landing, he opened his eyes. His first words were: “Li Anhe, stay close to me.”

I frowned. “My squad is on the secondary rear flank.”

“It’s been changed.”

“On what grounds?”

He looked at me for two seconds, his voice very low. “On the grounds that you aren’t in top form today.”

My heart tightened, and I shot back almost instinctively, “I am.”

“You’d better be.”

After landing, everything started smoothly. The outer security was laughably thin, as if they were intentionally letting us in.

By the time we reached the Core Terminal on the third basement level, Meng Chen was already cursing under his breath. “Damn it, this is too easy.”

The next second, red alarms exploded all the way from the end of the corridor.

What sprayed out of the vents wasn’t anesthetic gas, but a pale blue mist.

I only took one breath before I knew we were in trouble.

That wasn’t a standard riot suppressant. It was an induction medium specifically designed for Alpha nervous systems, capable of pushing their aggression and possessiveness to the limit in a short time.

Even more terrifying was that it was mixed with another extremely faint active carrier. It acted like a key inserted into my blood, violently prying open a crack in the shell I had spent years suppressing with drugs.

The sound of erratic breathing came through the earpiece. Two team members slammed into the walls one after another, their eyes bloodshot.

Meng Chen gritted his teeth and cursed, “Fuck, everyone fall back!”

I raised my gun and shattered a side valve, trying to force the air path shut, but my shoulder was sliced open by a flying metal shard in the next instant.

Blood surged out immediately, terrifyingly warm. That wound acted like the final spark, directly burning through my internal suppression system.

The world changed in an instant.

The air was no longer just air; it was a dense, swarming mass of scents and heat.

I could smell the rampaging Alpha Pheromone-a chaotic blend of rust, gunpowder, and the smoke of war. I could also feel the depths of my own Gland being pierced over and over as if by needles.

My legs went weak first. I leaned against the wall, my vision darkening, barely able to stand.

In the chaos, only one person’s aura remained steady.

Cold, heavy, like wind and snow pressing down on the deep sea.

Zhou Qi’an walked toward me through the out-of-control crowd, his gaze terrifyingly dark.

At that moment, the entire Base seemed to be shaking, yet I could only hear my own heartbeat.

The back of my neck began to burn, and even the marrow of my bones ached. Only one ridiculous, fatal thought remained in my mind.

Get close to him.

Just a little closer.