Chapter 68: Morning... after?
Seoha’s POV
The smell of rain teases my nose, the welcomed kind, the one that makes you think of dancing under an umbrella with your loved one.
I shudder as his breath tickles my neck, I don’t want to move and break this moment, I can’t tell if the alpha is still asleep.
Sooin sneezes in her sleep and snuggles closer to me, her little fingers are tightly gripping my shirt, like I would disappear if she lets go for a second.
"She cried?" Taesan asks and my whole body stiffens, the question is thrown at me like an accusation, and I don’t speak for a minute.
The alpha draws in a deep breath before pushing himself up, he leans over me to look at his daughter’s face, the deep growl that comes from him startles me and I place my hand on his shoulder.
"Taesan-ssi" I call his name and he redirects his red eyes at me.
"She fucking cried" he says, his voice is rough from sleep, and the senseless maternal side of me growls back at him.
"Say it louder and wake her up" I snap at him and he tilts his head, shocked by the bite in my voice and I drag him out of the bed to the bathroom.
"Yes, Sooin cried to sleep last night" I say and he grabs my neck, slamming me to the cold wall, I flinch at the pain but keep glaring at him.
He almost woke my pup up!
"And I employed you to do what?" he growls in my face, and I gasp for air, refusing to back down and clawing at his hand.
"She-" I gasp and Sooin’s scream attracts both of our attention, I push Taesan off me and rush into the room.
The pup is thrashing in the bed, her eyes are still closed, she seems to be in a bad dream, and I immediately scoop her up.
She fights in my arms for a few seconds, and I press her nose to my neck, she sobs a little as I keep her close, there’s a lump in my throat from holding back tears.
"Don’t leave me, please" Sooin says and Taesan leans against the wall like he has been shot, he looks defeated as he stares at us.
"I’m not leaving, I’m right here" I whisper, stroking her soft hair till she calms down and the disturbance in her scent mellows.
She still doesn’t wake up, so I lay her in bed again.
By the time I look up at Taesan, the alpha has pushed himself off the wall, with his fingers buried in his hair.
All the dopamine has left my body, and I stare at him as he tugs on his hair in frustration, he looks like a man in this moment.
"I’m going to kill him" he says to himself.
"Killing someone won’t solve this" I say in a small voice, drawing my legs up as I sit next to the sleeping pup, Taesan drops his hands and looks at me with tired eyes.
"What happened?" he asks.
"A kid at school mentioned her mom..." I say and Taesan drags in a breath, mimicking his smoking stance...that act must be his relaxation method.
My omega is drawn to the subtle distress in his scent.
The mountain has a crack, only because of his daughter, only for his daughter...and they said he isn’t made to love.
I get out the bed to stand in front of him, without thinking, I wrap my arms around his waist and press my ear to his bare chest.
He doesn’t push me away, he doesn’t tug me closer either, so I just stay.
"Her mother walked out the door, he didn’t want her the same way I didn’t want her..." he says in a thick voice.
"But you stay with her, you kill for her, you love her" I say, holding him so close that the only distance between us is my cloth.
"You don’t understand, Jaemin walked out and took too much, Sooin watched her walk out" he says and I hear the stutter in his breath.
"I watched helplessly as she cried till she passed out...fuck" he curses and places his hands on my shoulder to push me off but I don’t let him.
"That girl is my fucking life" he says and I look up at him.
The alpha’s eyes are shining with wetness and his scent deepens into something bitter that makes my chest hurt for him...this is more than just Sooin.
"What happened last night?" I ask, he looks me over before scoffing.
"What do you think you are?" he asks me back.
"I’m the omega playing house with you" I respond and his eyes grow even darker.
"You are getting bold omega" he warns and repeats the action of tilting his head back, I see the bobbing of his Adam’s apple and feel the heat of his skin.
That’s when I realize just how close we are right now.
I want to help...but he doesn’t want me, I sigh and he looks at me again, I see a flicker of brown before they change to red again.
"Shin Seoha, you have work today, I don’t tolerate lateness" he says coldly and I reluctantly let go of him, silencing my omega’s whine and forcing myself to act sensibly.
"I will wake Sooin" he says, nudging his chin at the bathroom door, sending me out of my own room.
This is his tactics...kicking me out.
I obey him, listening in to his conversation with his pup as I dress up in the bathroom, and when I come out, the sight that greets me is heart clenching.
Sooin is resting on her father’s shoulder, she’s saying something to him and he’s humming along to her words.
"You’ll go with Seoha?" Taesan asks and Sooin nods, "no Seoha, daddy, only daddy" she corrects and the alpha’s eyes flickers to me before he repeats the word that colors my cheeks pink.
"Daddy"
With the heat still on my face, I dress Sooin up for the day while Taesan calls her school to inform them of her absence...and to threaten them.
The little girl’s mood doesn’t improve, she just hold on to me even through our car ride, I do my best to cheer her up but she would rather just stick to me.
The both of us arrive at the workplace first, hand in hand like a real mother and pup, stranger’s eyes scan us, but I don’t feel shame or self-consciousness.
"I’m sorry but kids aren’t allowed" a staff member stops me and I give him a small smile, holding on to Sooin a bit tighter, "it’s okay, I have the boss’s permission" I say and he nods.
"Make sure to keep an eye on her" he says kindly and I nod.
"Let’s go" I whisper to Sooin and she grips the side of my pants, one hand holds on to my hand and the other holds on to the fabric of my pants.
As we walk through the front part of Mountain Atelier, a number of people stop and stare at me, some of them go as far as whispering in their partner’s ears.
I know what they are thinking; ’a male omega with a pup, no collar and no mark? He must be a whore’
"This way, baby" I mutter to Sooin, taking her down to hell and she makes a squealing noise, the sound I have been trying to draw out of her.
"What is it?" I ask her, keeping my tone cheerful and she bounces on the the tip of her toe, "look!" she squeals and runs ahead of me to an elevator door.
"Daddy, elevator" she says and points at the door.
"Yes, we have to wait...oh, it’s almost here" I say and she squeals again, returning to stand by my side and wait for the elevator with me.
It doesn’t take long for it to stop on our floor, and as soon as the silver door opens, Daeshin steps out of it with his head down.
He hasn’t seen me, yet my throat closes up and I take a step back, instinctively hiding Sooin behind me, "daddy?" she asks and I keep her hidden.
"Seoha-ya..." Daeshin calls my name as his eyes drift from me to Sooin’s hand that is gripping my pants.
My former alpha’s eyes are full of awe as he stares at me, but behind the awe is a hint of disgust...I know him well enough to know what is running through his mind.
’You’re tainted?’
"Where did you find a pup?" he asks with a frown and I growl at him, keeping my hand on Sooin, "do you know how that makes you look?" he asks, emphasizing on the word ’that’ as he refers to Sooin.
"She’s a child, not a ’that’" I say in a weaker voice than intended, "baby..." he starts and my omega whimpers at the title we used to love.
"Baby, you look silly walking around with a child-"
"Talking down to your superior earns a percentage loss in your salary" Taesan’s voice calls coldly from down the hall and I look back immediately.
Oh...I didn’t know he was around us.