He came to me last Monday.
I saw him, standing in front of our house, his car blocking our drive way.
"May I help you, Mr. Go?" I asked when he approached me in my car.
"Yes, Dr. Abdel..." he replied, "is there any news about Nathan?"
"He's still in a coma. I can tell you more, if and when you decide to remove your car from our driveway."
"Ah... sorry... please wait a minute."
I invited him inside our house after parking my car.
"Please excuse the sudden visit, Dr. Abdel. I tried calling Prof. Antonio, but his phone was off..."
"Yes, he usually forgets to charge his phone when he's busy," I told him, "Anyway, are you not older than me? Please drop the honorifics."
"Ah, sorry, it's just that I've been used to addressing the professor this way..."
"I am not the professor. He is currently in the hospital where he plans to stay the night."
He stared at me.
I think he's debating whether I'm being serious or being sarcastic.
"Okay... can you please tell me how Nathan is doing?" he asked instead.
"His vitals are all stable, we are just waiting for him to wake up."
"Thank goodness..." he gave a deep sigh.
"Why not go there yourself and ask his family about him?"
"Well... you know I can't just show up in front of the professor without alarming... certain people..."
"Then, what are you doing here?"
Again, he looks at me uncertainly.
"I just can't take it anymore... not knowing how Nathan is doing... but I'm really trying my best to keep away and get Nathan and his family caught up in my problems..."
"By problem, you mean, wrecking havoc in Club A?" I asked him.
"Exactly... But like I said, I've already talked with my superior, as well as my officer in charge here... we told the gender police that Nathan being in Club A was a mere coincidence, one of his friends own the place, after all. I only went there to pick him up since his family was looking for him."
"Did they not ask you why you didn't do anything after seeing the situation?"
"But I did," he replied, "I was actually the one who called the Gender Police, but I left immediately since I was off duty, and had no jurisdiction in this country. Besides, I had to take Nathan to the hospital quickly."
"Quick thinking."
"I need it, in this kind of job."
"Yes, even the professor is still busy coming up with a plan to get you and his nephew off the hook. He hardly has time to sleep."
"You're one to talk," he frowned at me, "it's your team who took all the CCTV footage from the crime scene. And you won't even let me view them."
"The professor forbade me to give them to you," I reasoned out. "He knew that you would not be able to bare it and might do something stupid again."
"From your words, I already have an idea what those video contain," he said darkly. "But don't worry, I won't do anything drastic, as long as Nathan wakes up."
"And if he does not?"
"Then there would soon be four dead alphas linked to the Club A incident." He stared straight at me.
"You would go that far for your mate?"
"He's not just my mate," he told me. "He is my destiny."
I perked up at what he said.
"Is that so?" I folded my arms across my chest and sat straighter on the couch opposite him. "Please, elaborate."
"I-I haven't actually told anyone about this..." he suddenly sounded shy, "But the reason why I came back to the Philippines, is because I was looking for a particular scent."
"Go on."
"I was still under Prof. Volant's care when I first smelled it – that was Prof. Eric's code name back then," he explained. "At first I thought it was his cologne or something, though I don't smell it on him often. I hardly gave it much thought, but I did notice that it calms me down whenever I smell it on him. He said it was a cologne his nieces gave him on his birthday. That the scent was called patchouli."
"And what made you connect that scent with the professor's nephew, Nathan?" I asked him.
"Just last year, a person close to me bought a bottle of patchouli," he continued, "but the scent was far from what I remembered. That made me ponder what the scent really was, and why I was smelling it on the professor. It was then than I realized that he smelled that certain way whenever he meets and complains about his dominant alpha nephew. So, I put two and two together, and realized that the scent I smelled on him probably came from his nephew Nat-Nat."
"Thus, you came back to the Philippines with nothing but that assumption and the memory of that scent?" I asked as I listened to him attentively.
"Yup. I've been away for five years, I needed a vacation as well as a change of scenery. So when Dr. Webb approved my vacation, I decided to look for his nephew as well. That's when I decided to be a college professor," he went on. "It was a good cover-up while I was waiting for my deployment order. That way, I might even have the chance to meet him."
"And you did find him."
"Yes, I guess destiny is really on our side," he said with a shy smile, "but I didn't find him immediately. All I had were Prof. Eric's old stories that his nephew wanted to be the manager of his own food chain one day. So I went to the University which offers the best Management courses in the country. I had to take suppressants, though, it was one of Dr. Webb's conditions. I guess that's why I didn't notice him earlier."
"Is that so?" I looked at him with interest, "Then how did you find Nathan without knowing his full name or smelling his scent?"
"One touch," he replied, smiling gently as he told me his story. "One touch was all it took, and suddenly, I was enveloped in his scent."
"A trigger."
"Yes... he wasn't even in my radar. I actually had other prospects, while Nathan... he's the most irritating student in my class!" he frowned. "He's smart, but also arrogant, lazy, and a complete asshole. He was actually everything I hated in an alpha. So just imagine the shock I had when I found out he was also my fated alpha."
"And did Nathan feel the same?" I asked.
"If you mean, did he hate me as well, then the answer is yes," he laughed. "We both hated each other, in fact..." he trailed off. "I guess that's the reason why we're in this predicament in the first place..."
"But are you not fated pairs?" I frowned at him, "I have not yet met a pair that can withstand each other."
"I was thinking the same thing. I mean, to tell you the truth, the reason why I wanted to look for him, was because I wanted to see if the myth was true... truth is, I wanted to disprove it."
Reubert looked far away and sighed.
"I was in a relationship before I came here. He was a beta, and he left me after finding out that I was an omega, saying that I would soon meet my fated pair and leave him behind."
I felt a small throb in my chest upon hearing his familiar story.
"I decided to prove him wrong. That i didn't need fate or destiny or a bite to mark me as someone's property. But then, I met Nathan instead. And after the initial touch, after our bond was triggered, I found myself thinking of him every minute. I couldn't help but seek him... to talk to him, touch him... stay with him no matter how much of a bastard he is..."
"That truly is the connection between fated pairs. The so-called 'pull of destiny'," I told him. "But tell me, how does Nathan feel about it? You said that he ran away from you. What made him run? And how was he able to keep away from his fated pair?"
"Actually..." Reubert's face reddened, "I guess, I kind of forced myself on him..."
"I see," I said, nodding.
"No, I mean... I tried to stop him from doing stupid things, which was for his own good, mind you!" he insisted. "But I guess that made him freak out instead and run away... and that only made him do more stupid things along the way..."
"Like...?"
"Dr. Abdel... sorry, but those things are too personal, I can't just tell you about them without Nathan's permission," he mumbled.
"I understand, but these data are essential to me as a scientist. I have been studying the Fated Pair Syndrome for some years now, and your personal accounts are beneficial to my research. These can help me help you with your relationship with Nathan, so if you do not mind, please, continue."