Apex Predator - Chap 54

As if sobbing in silent anguish, Shen Dai questioned, “Why are you a person like this?”

If he had seen Qu Moyu’s true colours much sooner, would he have loved someone like this?

His irises, cleansed by his tears,were as pristine and clear as a mirror, reflecting all that was filthy and too much to bear.

Under the scrutiny of such a gaze, Qu Moyu felt a twinge of shame and annoyance. Countless times before, he had seen admiration, worship, dependence, and passion in those eyes, never disappointment. Why was Shen Dai looking at him like this?

The more pressure he felt, the more his defensive mechanisms would activate. He would instinctively perceive anything causing discomfort as an “attack” and would respond with a “counterattack.”

Gripping Shen Dai’s slender jaw, he said coldly, “Everything that needs to be said has already been spelled out clearly. I’ll ask you one more time. Are you going to be obedient or not?”

Shen Dai looked at him tearfully: “I want to keep my child.” He put a heavy emphasis on the word ‘my’ in his tone.” Each time that Qu Moyu drew a knife across his heart, the rift between them grew a little wider. If Qu Moyu didn’t want this child, then he wasn’t worthy of being a father. And so this child was his alone.

“What exactly are you playing at?” said Qu Moyu sternly. “You can make more demands, but my tolerance has its limits.”

Shen Dai bit down on his lip, at once fragile and unwavering: “I want to keep my child.”

Qu Moyu’s eyes narrowed, revealing a glint of ruthlessness. “Shen Dai, do not test my limits,” he warned.

Shen Dai forced himself to look directly at him.

In the next instant, his legs went weak. His body fell straight to the ground. An intangible pressure descended on him like a mountain, and a bone-piercing chill penetrated every part of his body.

Shen Dai felt only as if there were pinpricks or ants crawling all over his body. Though the sensation could not be called painful in its true sense, it was uncomfortable and nauseating to an extreme.

His face turned deathly white. Breathing became laboured. His face twisted in indescribable agony. This abnormal torment was driving him almost insane!

Qu Moyu had actually used pheromone suppression on him!

In his lifetime, he had only been subjected to aggressive pheromone suppression twice, and both times by the person he liked. The first time had not been on purpose, as Qu Moyu had been forced into rut and lost control. This time, however, Qu Moyu had used pheromone suppression on him while he was in a fully conscious state.

An Alpha possessed unquestionable authority over their marked Omega. In turn, an Omega would find themselves almost physically and psychologically incapable of defying their Alpha. Any Alpha, even those at the bottom of the ladder in terms of physical strength or social status, could maintain complete superiority over their marked Omega, as their pheromones, while having little influence on others, were highly potent to them.

Furthermore, as a top Alpha, handling Shen Dai was truly a piece of cake for Qu Moyu.

Although using pheromone suppression on one’s own Omega was widely regarded as a contemptible act, worthy of censure, and would even be deemed criminal if it resulted in trauma, Alphas would seldom relinquish this approach of disciplining their Omegas due to its remarkable ease and efficacy.

Shen Dai curled up slowly, tears streaming down his face, his face filled with fear and despair. The person looking down at him coldly – his Alpha – had used pheromone suppression on him while he was pregnant, just to force him to abort their child!

Compared to the immense mental pressure he had faced, Shen Dai was now truly experiencing gut-wrenching pain. He couldn’t bear it any longer, couldn’t hold on anymore. With one hand clutching his stomach and the other tugging at the leg of Qu Moyu’s trousers, he tearfully begged, “Please… Moyu…”

That picture of fragility and brittleness struck Qu Moyu’s heart like the blow of a hammer. These short few seconds were agony for him as well. He withdrew his pheromones, watching as Shen Dai weakly collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with red.

Though he struggled for a few moments, he eventually could no longer bear it and crouched down to pick Shen Dai up.

As he had done countless times before, Qu Moyu let Shen Dai sit on his lap. The two of them had not been intimate since the time he had awakened from his rut. Only when he caught the faint scent of the epiphyllum, did he realise how much he longed for this person, so much that it terrified him.

The two of them, having shared a mark, had each other’s pheromones lingering on their bodies. Embracing each other in this way would only make them perceive more distinctly and deeply that they had become one with the other.

But even if a mark could alter the physiological state of two people, the human mind was ultimately difficult to fathom.

With the tip of his finger, Qu Moyu gently brushed away Shen Dai’s tears: “I’ve already told you not to test my limits. This is just a small punishment. I like Omegas who are well-behaved. You’ve always known that.”

Shen Dai’s limp body could barely move. Trembling lightly, he nestled more deeply into Qu Moyu’s arms. But he no longer found this embrace kind and warm – the safest harbour in his life. To be by Qu Moyu’s side was like being a prey, at risk of being torn to shreds at any moment.

“From the time I was born, there were many choices and sacrifices I was forced to make. I don’t expect you to understand,” said Qu Moyu, lowering his head and gently kissing Shen Dai’s hair. “Omegas are prone to making decisions based on emotions after all. You’re so intelligent, and yet you keep making foolish mistakes. But I don’t blame you anymore. No matter what you’ve done in the past, as long as you’re obedient from now on. I will provide you with the best material comforts and support your career as much as possible. And if in the future you want a child, I’ll give you one, just not now.”

Shen Dai raised his head stiffly.

“Don’t go to Gansu. Stay here with me. I’ll get you an apartment near the company. I’ll come and visit you often.”

Shen Dai quietly looked at Qu Moyu. With a heart was already riddled with cuts, there was no place left to stab. “So what you mean to say is, you want me to be your lover?” he murmured. Wanted him to watch him marry and have a child with someone else, while he would be a mistress who had to be kept in the dark?

Qu Moyu continued, unperturbed, “A-Dai. You don’t have a good background, and your pheromone grade is low. If you just let go of a few unrealistic fantasies you will be able to accept your situation. I will treat you even better than before, and if you have my child in the future, it doesn’t matter what gender they are, what pheromone grade they have, I will give you both the best life. I have never made such a promise to any Omega before. You can trust me.”

In Shen Dai’s field of vision, Qu Moyu’s facial features had already become even more blurry. Though believed that Qu Moyu was telling the truth, he couldn’t bring himself to believe what he was hearing. His Alpha, the person he loved wholeheartedly, was acting as if he was doing him a favour by wanting to have him as an illicit lover.

Slowly, using all his strength, Shen Dai pushed Qu Moyu away and staggered to his feet. His eyes were rimmed with redness, but they were already too dry to shed a single tear. He asked calmly, “Since you’re willing to give me a child, why can’t it be this one? Because you’re planning to marry someone else?”

“That’s right. I’m not going to mark him, but there needs to be some sincerity in cooperation at the very least.”

True to form, Qu Moyu’s tone sounded more as if he were discussing a business deal rather than his own marriage. It appeared that in the eyes of this top Alpha, everything on earth was a matter of business, with every person and thing having a clearly marked price.

“He’s….he’s a top Omega, from a prominent family, which can help you.”

“Correct.”

“Is it You Baiyue?”

“Of course it isn’t.”

Shen Dai opened his mouth, and with difficulty, he spat out the heart-wrenching words, “Do you like him?”

Qu Moyu showed a hint of impatience towards this question.

“…it’s not important to you. You’ll never like anyone.”

Gently pressing his fingertips to his temples, Qu Moyu fixed his gaze on the thinly clad Shen Dai in front of him, who looked as if he might wobble and fall at any moment. Suddenly realising how much thinner his Omega had become, he felt a pang of sadness and pity. He couldn’t help saying, “That’s not entirely true either. I think…” But as soon as the words reached the tip of his tongue, he was taken over by an inexplicable nervousness. He hesitated, not wanting to continue. And yet to remain silent would seem like an admission that he cared. In a composed way, he continued, “I think that I like you. You’re not like anyone else.”

Though he had yearned so long to hear these words, Shen Dai had no reaction.

Because that ‘like’ was not the kind of like that he wanted, was not a ‘like’ that any normal person could understand.

Instead, he simply laughed, his eyes so empty it would seem that his soul had been sucked out of his body. Shaking his head, he said, “You’re mistaken. You don’t like me.”

Qu Moyu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Nobody who truly liked someone would force them to get a divorce, remove their mark, or abort their child. Nor would they turn away to marry someone else, reducing the person they liked to the status of a lowly mistress.

Nobody would treat the person that they liked this way.

Qu Moyu adjusted his breathing and spoke in a gentle tone: “A-Dai, don’t kick up a fuss. Let’s resolve this. We can go back to the way things were before.”

Shen Dai only looked at him quietly.

Being looked at by those eyes, which appeared detached yet capable of peering deep into one’s soul, left Qu Moyu flustered.

He stood up. “I’m going to give you another three final days to calm down.”

Then he turned and headed towards the door.

“Qu Moyu,” Shen Dai called out softly from behind him.

Qu Moyu felt only that his heart had been gripped ferociously. Pausing his footsteps, he turned around.

Shen Dai’s gaze wandered over Qu Moyu’s face, carefully tracing over every detail, as if trying his best to see clearly or trying his best to remember. In a soft voice, he uttered, “You are a person without feelings.”

Qu Moyu’s expression was dismissive, neither confirming nor denying it: “If I don’t have something, it just proves that I don’t need it.”

1. 如果一样东西我没有，那说明我不需要。If I don’t have something, it just proves that I don’t need it.