Pregnant with the Empress’s Alpha Heir (GL, ABO) - Chapter 3
Building A-1 was now right before her eyes. Even without Ah Jiu leading the way, Yu Zhitao had managed to reach her destination smoothly.
As she arrived at the building entrance, her footsteps halted abruptly.
In the shadows by the door, a woman with a high ponytail leaned against the wall, lost in thought.
Ah Jiu, whom Yu Zhitao had assumed had slipped away earlier, was now quietly waiting for her!
Spotting the cat in Yu Zhitao’s arms, Ah Jiu frowned and raised a hand to cover her nose and mouth.
Remembering the unkind words she had muttered about Ah Jiu earlier, Yu Zhitao felt a pang of guilt. She didn’t take offense at Ah Jiu’s rude gesture. Instead, she lifted the hem of her coat and gently draped it over the kitten, further shielding it from Ah Jiu’s sensitive nose.
After doing this, Yu Zhitao stepped forward, her eyes curving into crescents. “Were you waiting for me?”
Ah Jiu gave a muffled “Mm,” barely acknowledging her.
Yu Zhitao stroked the kitten, trying to win it some favor. “She’s not dirty, don’t dislike her.”
With that, she took the lead, pushing open the door and stepping inside.
The two took the elevator up to the fifth floor. As soon as they entered the apartment, Yu Zhitao carried the kitten into the bathroom.
The room was equipped with an intelligent housekeeping system. The moment Yu Zhitao gave the command, a cylindrical robot appeared and began treating the kitten’s wounds as instructed.
The robot used advanced healing techniques, leaving Yu Zhitao marveling in amazement.
Soon, the kitten’s hind leg was bandaged, and its fur was cleaned thoroughly.
When Yu Zhitao leaned in, the kitten affectionately nuzzled her and licked her fingers.
“She seems hungry,” Yu Zhitao said, glancing at the robot. “Could you prepare some food for her, please?”
The robot responded with an “Understood,” then scooped up the kitten and headed into the kitchen.
Yu Zhitao was thoroughly satisfied.
With the kitten settled, she finally had a moment to step out only to find Ah Jiu standing at the far end of the living room, staring blankly at the nightscape beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
A mischievous idea suddenly struck her.
Tiptoeing over, she was just about to launch a surprise attack when Ah Jiu nimbly dodged away.
Ah Jiu’s brows furrowed deeply.
Her gaze fixed on Yu Zhitao’s chest though it was perfectly clean, her eyes burned with disgust. “You smell like bl00d. Stay away from me.”
Yu Zhitao, however, was determined to provoke her.
Narrowing her eyes, she took slow, deliberate steps toward Ah Jiu. “Are you hallucinating? There’s no smell on me.
“And even if there were have you forgotten why I brought you back? Is it appropriate for you to keep your distance like this?”
One step forward, one step back, Yu Zhitao successfully backed Ah Jiu against the wall, leaving her no room to retreat.
Ah Jiu clenched her jaw.
In that fleeting moment, Yu Zhitao noticed something strange the faint, damp woody scent that usually clung to Ah Jiu suddenly intensified, as if a storm had erupted within her.
The next second, Yu Zhitao found herself hoisted into the air, her feet dangling.
She flailed in protest, but it was useless. By the time she was set down again, Ah Jiu had already dragged her into the master bedroom’s bathroom.
“Water,” Ah Jiu commanded.
When they had entered earlier, Yu Zhitao had registered Ah Jiu as a “guest,” granting her limited control over the smart home system.
No sooner had Yu Zhitao steadied herself than a torrent of water cascaded over her head, drenching her completely.
“Mmph!” A scream caught in her throat as she looked up, locking eyes with Ah Jiu’s blazing crimson gaze.
She belatedly realized something was wrong. “Ah Jiu, are you, okay?”
Despite holding all the power, Ah Jiu looked utterly disheveled at that moment.
She was panting heavily, her entire being a mix of restraint and madness, like a beast backed into a corner.
Yu Zhi Tao instinctively raised her arm to check Ah Jiu’s forehead temperature, but halfway there, her hand was firmly seized.
With one hand, Ah Jiu effortlessly pinned both of Yu Zhi Tao’s arms, and soon, her chin was also under control.
Ah Jiu gripped Yu Zhi Tao’s jaw, forcing her to expose the left side of her neck. Then, she leaned in, accurately locating the gland that emitted a sweet fragrance.
Without any foreplay or comfort, she bared her fangs and sank them directly into the vulnerable flesh at the back of Yu Zhi Tao’s neck.
“Ah!” Yu Zhi Tao cried out in pain.
She struggled with all her limbs, but couldn’t budge the person in front of her, forced to endure the biting.
The pain grew increasingly intense, and soon, Yu Zhi Tao couldn’t hold back her tears.
Whether it was her crying that actually worked or Ah Jiu gradually regained her composure, the person at her neck eventually retracted her fangs and began soothing the marked gland with gentle licks.
“Cherry cream scent,” Ah Jiu murmured, licking her lips.
Yu Zhi Tao didn’t catch her words, still sobbing as she pushed at Ah Jiu’s shoulders. “It hurts! Let go!”
Coming to her senses, Ah Jiu straightened up.
She reached out, clumsily wiping Yu Zhi Tao’s tears. “Stop crying.”
Yu Zhi Tao puffed her cheeks, tears still flowing. “Did you draw bl00d?”
Ah Jiu shook her head. “No bl00d.”
If there had been bl00d, she wouldn’t have been able to calm down.
Yu Zhi Tao blinked through her tears. “No bl00d then why did it hurt so much?”
The showerhead above was still running, warm water creating a misty, ambiguous atmosphere. Ah Jiu touched her cheek. “Didn’t you say you wanted a temporary mark? Bear with it.”
At the mention of the “temporary mark,” Yu Zhi Tao finally snapped back to reality.
Her tears stopped abruptly as she touched her neck and asked, “So, is it done?”
Ah Jiu shook her head again.
Recalling that the other seemed particularly lacking in physiological knowledge, she explained quietly, “Your gland hasn’t opened. It can’t accept the mark.
“If I had forced it just now, you would’ve been hurt.”
Yu Zhi Tao nodded.
She asked, “How do I make it open?”
Having come this far, she was desperate for Ah Jiu to give her the temporary mark to annul the engagement.
Ah Jiu turned her face away.
The steam hid her blush well, and Yu Zhi Tao only heard her cool voice. “An Omega’s gland only relaxes after intimacy.”
Yu Zhi Tao nodded in understanding this matched what she knew. A temporary mark was essentially a one-night stand.
But suddenly, a wave of grievance washed over her, and she glared at Ah Jiu. “If you knew all this, why did you bite me earlier?”
Ah Jiu froze.
She couldn’t defend her actions in that moment, she had nearly lost control.
Strangely, after coming into contact with Yu Zhi Tao’s pheromones, she had regained her calm. An Omega’s pheromones did have some effect on an Alpha, though she wasn’t sure if it was mere coincidence.
But now was clearly not the time to dwell on this. Faced with Yu Zhitao’s questioning, she could only lower her head: “I’m sorry.”
Yu Zhitao wasn’t willing to let it go: “What good is sorry?”
Ah Jiu compromised: “Don’t be angry, what do you want?”
Yu Zhitao rolled her eyes: “Unless you let me bite you back!”
With that, she hooked her arms around Ah Jiu’s neck, forcing the taller woman to bend down and offer her neck.
Being this close, the scent of alcohol from Ah Jiu’s body deceived Yu Zhitao’s nose.
Unable to locate the gland where the woody fragrance was strongest, she could only open her mouth and haphazardly lick Ah Jiu’s neck.
Ah Jiu’s breath hitched slightly as an unfamiliar tingling sensation traveled from her back up to her head.
Yu Zhitao’s lips and tongue were too soft, every brush against her skin sending shivers through her body. This didn’t feel like revenge, but rather like clumsy flirtation that somehow managed to hit all the right spots, making her flush with embarrassment and heart race.
In the steam-filled space, oxygen grew scarce, and soon both were panting heavily.
Ah Jiu couldn’t take it anymore.
She wanted to end this farce, but the moment she tried to straighten up, Yu Zhitao caught on.
Giving up on searching, Yu Zhitao simply clamped her teeth onto the nearest patch of skin and refused to let go.
Ah Jiu’s breathing grew rough: “Let go.”
Her tone was cold and hard, accustomed to giving orders and unable to soften.
This only angered Yu Zhitao more, who demonstratively ground her teeth against the captured skin.
She remained completely unaware of the danger even setting aside Ah Jiu’s earlier loss of control, there was still the Alpha’s instinctive craving for an Omega lurking within.
Ah Jiu gripped the back of Yu Zhitao’s neck and pressed lightly, causing her to go limp.
Before she could even close her mouth, her lips were captured by another softness.
After a punishing nip on Yu Zhitao’s lower lip, Ah Jiu suddenly deepened the kiss, searching between her lips and tongue for the bodily fluids carrying pheromones.
The mix of cherry and milky scents, though sweet as dessert, was more intoxicating than the expensive liquor.
At first, Yu Zhitao could only endure passively, but once she adapted to the rhythm, her hands honestly climbed up to wrap around Ah Jiu’s neck.
In the chaos, her fingers somehow found Ah Jiu’s ponytail.
Like her, Ah Jiu was thoroughly drenched by the shower’s spray.
Her raven-black hair was now wet but surprisingly smooth, nothing like its stiff owner.
On impulse, Yu Zhitao tugged at the hair tie and let Ah Jiu’s hair cascade loose.
When their lips parted, too embarrassed to look at Ah Jiu’s equally swollen lips, she focused on playing with the newly freed hair, winding it around her fingers.
“Ready?” Ah Jiu suddenly asked.
Yu Zhitao looked up in confusion, wide-eyed: “Huh?”
Ah Jiu leaned down to kiss her eyelids.
“To be marked by me!”
All night long, the room was filled with the mingling scents of aged wood and cherries, impossible to tell who was pursuing whom.
By the time Ah Jiu finally bit down on Yu Zhitao’s gland again, she had melted into a puddle of spring water, with no will or strength left to resist.
They fell asleep entwined, and in her drowsiness, Yu Zhitao still fumbled blindly for Ah Jiu’s embrace.
“Ah Jiu” she murmured, “you smell so good.”
Ah Jiu’s body stiffened.
She instinctively reached for the gland on her neck, about to confirm something with Yu Zhitao, only to find the woman had already fallen asleep.
Ah Jiu froze for a moment before her eyes darkened.
Before closing her own eyes, she cast one last glance at Yu Zhitao.
“Not even asleep yet, and already talking in your dreams.”
But by now, Yu Zhitao could no longer hear her words.