Shael handed him a glass of water and noticed a ring on his finger that was a simple, slim golden band, almost imperceptible unless looked at closely.
"Are you married?" Shael asked, still looking at the ring.
Sorrell noticed him staring at his ring and spread out his hand to let Shael take a closer look. "I am not married, but my alpha is a little obsessive. He wants me to wear the ring so that no one will approach me. According to him, it's a sign that I belong to him." A warm smile was apparent on his face.
"You are so lucky to have such a good lover," Shael said with an envious smile as he settled down on the floor in front of him.
There was a subtle change in Sorrell's expressions. "Well, every partner has some flaws. Love is never perfect."
"Ahhhh... I'm sorry..."
"No, it's okay. I'm happy to be with him." Sorrell stood up. "I think I should leave now. Then rest well, Mr. Shael."
Sorrell walked out of the door, leaving Shael looking at his back, lost in thoughts.
"Am I dreaming of a love that doesn't exist?" he thought. "If love is not perfect, then I might not be able to find a partner who is loyal to me my whole life."
His eyes were moist, and he lay down onto the floor. "Maybe I might be suffering all my life, looking for a loyal partner."
Shael came from a well known family. His father owned a well known company. He had everything, handsomeness, wealth, and intelligence. All he lacked was loyalty. He slept around casually, having a lot of mistresses regardless of being a married man. He slept with all kinds of genders. That's why he had a lot of illegitimate children.
Although Shael was a legitimate son, he was an omega, while his stepbrothers were alphas.
He was always bullied for being a weak, girlish person who looked all beautiful and wasn't outstanding in business interests. It wasn't that he wasn't intelligent, but he had no interest in business nor in his father's company.
His father always considered him the biggest disappointment.
His mother suffered a lot because of his father. That led him to hate disloyal people.
Ronan was walking back and forth, his fingers fidgeting. "Taking rest to get over the heat means spending time with Alpha. I might have made a really bad choice," Ronan said in his mind.
[That's why I instructed you to mark the Omega while you had the chance. If Omega is marked by someone else, it might result in task failure, and you might not be able to get out of the novel's world.]
"Exactly, that's really bad!"
He heard the doorbell and opened the door by placing his thumb on the smart lock interface on the wall.
Sorrell entered the living room.
Ronan anxiously looked at him, waiting to hear him talk.
"Mr. Shael seems to be living alone. No one was present in his apartment. There were no traces of two people living together," Sorrell explained.
"Did you check the bedroom?"
"The bedroom's door was open, but no one was there."
Ronan let out a sigh. "What about Shael, he was doing well?"
"I don't think so. He looked pale, and his body seemed to have no energy. I think he wasn't doing so well."
[He still might not have found an Alpha. It's your chance to mark Omega Shael.]
"Thanks, you are dismissed now." Ronan picked up his phone and started waiting for Shael's message , a thank you message, greetings, or anything. But the next night approached, and nothing was received apparently in Ronan's inbox.
Ronan couldn't take it anymore.
His eyes were about to pop out looking at his cell phone in the car's backseat. Sorrell was glancing at him from time to time, noticing his unusual behaviour.
"Take a turn. Drop me at Shael's place first," Ronan said affirmatively.
"Sure."
Ronan pressed the bell. The camera view opened, but Ronan stood there silent.
Shael knew that it was not a good choice to open the door completely while he was still in his heat.
The door creaked open, but it was held shut by a chain, leaving a gap from which Shael's face appeared. His eyes were heavy, and his skin was almost translucent.
"Are you okay?" Ronan asked, maintaining his calm and trying not to sound too concerned.
Shael looked down. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "You being here is the problem," his voice was fragile. "Why do you come here when I am going through heat? You are always lurking around, making things difficult for me."
Guilt punched Ronan hard in the face, and he took two steps away from the door. "I am sorry. But... what about your partner?"
There was a brief pause.
Then Shael looked at Ronan and said softly, "What partner? I don't have a partner."
A faint smile appeared on Ronan's face without him knowing.
"But how will you cope with the heat without a partner?" Ronan sounded extremely rude by every angle, and finally it gave Shael the vibe of a pervert playboy that he was famous for.
[You have lost 3 points.]
Ronan skipped a beat in anxiousness. "Please don't go down," he thought.
Shael thought being honest with him was important to make clear that he didn't want to play around with him, nor was he interested in such games.
"I don't want to be with someone until they mark me as their lifetime partner. That's why I am just taking inhibitors and taking a rest while I can. But it's quite rude for you to ask me personal questions," frustration was evident in Shael's weak voice.
It was a confirmation for Ronan that he didn't need to worry about other alphas marking Shael.