The short leash

The morning sun felt like a personal insult. Hua Yong woke up first, his arm still draped over the S-Tier Alpha. He felt... incredible. That was the problem. The Enigma biology thrived on the tether; he felt sharper, stronger, his pheromones settled into a smug, golden hum. He looked down at Shen Wenlang, who was still passed out, his face pale and his brow furrowed even in sleep. "Wake up, princess," Hua Yong rasped, his voice thick with sleep. He shoved Wenlang's shoulder. "The world didn't stop turning just because you got your DNA hijacked." Wenlang groaned, a low, guttural sound of pure misery. He rolled away, his movements stiff. The second he created a few inches of space, he hissed, his hand flying to his chest. "Fucking hell," Wenlang muttered, his eyes opening, bloodshot and full of venom. "It's already starting. The second I move, it hurts." "Yeah, well, get used to it," Hua Yong said, standing up and stretching. He didn't bother covering up, enjoying the way Wenlang's eyes involuntarily tracked the movement of his muscles. "I have things to do. Which means you have things to do. You're coming with me to the docks." "The docks? I have a board meeting at ten, you arrogant prick," Wenlang snapped, sitting up. He tried to project that S-Tier authority, but it was hard to do when he was shivering in his boxers. "I'm not following you around like a goddamn lapdog while you do your shady business." Hua Yong turned, his expression dropping into something cold and terrifying. "You think I'm asking? Look at your neck, Wenlang. Your scent is so thick with my mark that any Alpha in your boardroom is going to know exactly who you spent the night with within five seconds of you walking in. You want to explain to your rivals why you smell like an Enigma's property?" Wenlang's jaw tightened. The humiliation was a physical weight. "I'll wear blockers. Double dose." "Try it," Hua Yong dared him, a cruel glint in his eyes. "But if you're more than ten feet from me when those blockers wear off, the feedback loop will scramble your brain. Is your pride worth a lobotomy?" They spent the hole morning at the docks. It was a nightmare of suppressed rage. Wenlang had to stand by while Hua Yong conducted business with smugglers and informants—people Wenlang would usually have arrested or stepped on. Every time Wenlang tried to wander more than a few paces away to catch a breath of air that didn't smell like Hua Yong, the "itch" would start. A dull throb in his temples, a tightening in his throat. Hua Yong would just look back at him, smirk, and jerk his head, silently commanding the S-Tier Alpha to heel. "You're enjoying this," Wenlang hissed when they were finally back in the car. "You love seeing me like this." "I love the efficiency of it," Hua Yong replied, lighting a cigarette. "An S-Tier Alpha acting as my personal muscle? It's a good look for me." "I am going to fucking kill you," Wenlang whispered for the hundredth time that day. "You keep saying that. And yet, here you are. Sitting in my car. Waiting for me to tell you where we're going next." ~~~~~~~~~~~ By noon, the physical tether was humming like a live wire. Hua Yong had allowed Wenlang to go to his office at the Shen Corporation, but only under one condition: Hua Yong would be in the room. "You're my 'security consultant' for the day," Hua Yong had drawled, leaning back in an expensive leather chair in the corner of Wenlang's glass-walled office. "Try not to look like you're about to vomit on your Armani suit, Alpha. It ruins the aesthetic." "Fuck you," Wenlang hissed, adjusting his tie for the tenth time. He had doused himself in the strongest chemical scent-blockers money could buy, but beneath the sterile, medicinal smell, he could still feel the heavy, earthy weight of Hua Yong's Enigma presence. It felt like a hand around his throat. There was a sharp knock, and Wenlang's top lieutenant—a high-ranking Alpha named Zhao—stepped in. Zhao froze three steps into the room. His nose crinkled, his eyes darting immediately to Hua Yong, then back to his boss. The air in the room was thick, charged with a frequency that made Zhao's own Alpha instincts scream to get the hell out. "Sir," Zhao began, his voice wavering. "The quarterly reports are... I'm sorry, is there something wrong with the ventilation? The scent in here is... aggressive." Wenlang's face turned a shade of ash. "It's fine, Zhao. Just leave the reports on the desk and get out." But Zhao didn't move. His Alpha curiosity was piqued. He stepped closer to the desk, his eyes widening as he caught the scent coming directly off Shen Wenlang. It wasn't just the smell of another person; it was the smell of submission. The S-Tier Alpha, the man Zhao feared and respected, smelled like he had been thoroughly and systematically claimed. "Sir... you smell like..." Zhao started, his hand moving instinctively to the holster at his hip. He looked at Hua Yong with bared teeth. "Who the fuck is this? What did he do to you?" "I said get out, Zhao!" Wenlang roared, slamming his hands onto the mahogany desk. But it was too late. The Enigma in the corner finally moved. Hua Yong stood up, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. He didn't pull a weapon; he didn't even raise his voice. He simply released a fraction of his pheromones—a cold, crushing wave of Enigma power that hit Zhao like a physical blow to the chest. Zhao dropped to one knee, gasping for air, his Alpha pride shattered in a second. "Your boss belongs to me today," Hua Yong said, walking slowly toward the desk. He placed a hand on Wenlang's shoulder—a casual, possessive gesture that made Wenlang's skin crawl and his heart sing with a terrifying relief. "And if you ever look at me like that again, I'll make sure you never smell anything but your own fear for the rest of your life. Get. Out." Zhao scrambled out of the room, his dignity in tatters. The silence that followed was deafening. Wenlang sat back down, his head in his hands. The realization hit him like a physical punch: His life was over. His men wouldn't respect a leader who smelled like someone else's property. His rivals would scent the weakness on him from a mile away. "You fucking monster," Wenlang whispered into his palms. "You just destroyed everything I've built in five minutes." "I didn't destroy it," Hua Yong replied, leaning over the desk until he was inches from Wenlang's ear. "I just reminded you of the new hierarchy. You're an S-Tier Alpha, Wenlang. You're a king. But even kings have gods. Now, let's go home. I'm bored of playing businessman." ~~~~~~~~~ They got back to the apartment after dark. The silence was suffocating. Wenlang didn't speak a word as he followed Hua Yong inside. He felt like a ghost in his own body. He waited. He watched. He waited for Hua Yong to finally fall into a deep, post-bond sleep. Around 4:00 AM, the S-Tier Alpha's pride finally roared louder than his instincts. I am Shen Wenlang, he thought. I am nobody's fucking shadow. He moved with the silence of a ghost. It took every bit of his elite training to peel Hua Yong's heavy, warm arm off his waist without waking the man. The loss of contact sent a warning shiver down his spine—a precursor to the pain—but he gritted his teeth so hard they felt like they might shatter. He slid out of bed, his feet hitting the cold floor. He didn't grab his boots. He didn't grab his shirt. He just snatched his keys and his leather jacket from the floor and bolted for the front door. Just get to the elevator, he told himself, his heart hammering. Get to the safe house. Put enough concrete and steel between us to break this goddamn spell. He burst out of the apartment and hit the hallway, sprinting toward the stairwell. Ten meters. The itch returned. A dull, throbbing ache in his marrow. "Fuck you," he wheezed, hitting the stairs three at a time. Thirty meters. The ache turned into a white-hot poker being driven into his sternum. His vision blurred, the edges of the hallway turning into a jagged, pulsing red. Fifty meters. Wenlang hit the sidewalk in the pouring rain, and the Tether finally snapped tight. "AGH! FUCK!" He collapsed onto the wet pavement, his body convulsing. It felt like his soul was being stretched across the city, thinning out until it was ready to tear. His lungs seized. He vomited into the gutter, the bile tasting of copper and failure. A shadow appeared in the doorway of the building. Hua Yong stood there, barefoot in the rain, wearing nothing but his low-slung trousers. He looked like an avenging god. "Get up," Hua Yong's voice carried over the rain, amplified by the bond. "Go... to hell..." Wenlang choked out, blood beginning to trickle from his nose. Hua Yong walked down the steps, stopping a foot away. "The next time you try to run, I'm going to let you get to eighty meters. I want you to feel what it's like when your heart actually stops. Do we have an understanding, my Alpha?" Wenlang couldn't even speak. He just slumped against Hua Yong's legs, reaching out a trembling, mud-stained hand to grab the hem of Hua Yong's pants to stop the pain. "Good," Hua Yong said, hauling him up by his jacket. "Now get the fuck back inside. We're done playing games."