Chapter 15

Tiwa can feel his head pounding as the fear drains from his body, leaving him feeling more tired than on other days. He looks up and sees Jaran boring holes into him with his steel-brown eyes before wrapping him in his arms for a hug. He can tell what it means; his brother is going to leave him for something that's not good.

He pulls away and remains awake, tuning in and holding Jaran tightly. "No.." He shakes his head, not wanting him to murder Pravat and end up in jail. "Please, brother. We can take care of this problem later."

"Better deal with the dragon sooner rather than later," Jaran says, patting Tiwa on the cheek. However, as he tries, he can't control the fear that bubbles up in his little brother's chest. He can feel as the other scatters his fear against him. "Don't get scared. I won't do anything stupid. I'm just going to warn him." He assures as he brushes a hand across his jaw before moving away and going in another direction.

Tiwa sighs and runs to his hotel room, not wanting to get caught by any alphas. As he reaches his room, he looks around confusedly and shivers violently as he feels another alpha scent around him—a faint musk that he recognizes somewhere. Despite not seeing any alphas during his arrival, how can he sense an alpha near his hotel room?

He holds the doorknob tightly as he glances around in fear, still not getting what's going on. Whatever it is, he doesn't want to experience anything, so he opens the door and gets inside. With a loud sigh, he closes the door behind him and searches for the switches on the wall.

As the light flashes in the room, he startles and finds himself glued to the door because Pravat is in his room, sitting comfortably on the chair, running gentle fingers over his shirt and lifting it to breathe in the scent.

The dull surprise and the sharp pang of fear hit Tiwa simultaneously. He is too wrung out to do more than stare for a moment. What is the alpha doing in his room? How did the alpha manage to get the key and invade his personal space?

Pravat looks up, his eyes bright and electric, as if he hasn't quite come down from the arena high, even though hours have passed.

Tiwa envisions his brother by his side for support, setting his bag down and running a hand through his hair as he stares at a chip in the paint on the wall just to the left of Pravat's head. "Why are you here?" He asks, even though he already knows the answer. He struggles to muster up the anger that he should be feeling.

"You know why," Pravat counters. His fingers are tracing the chest part of the omega's shirt now. If Tiwa were to approach a bit closer, he could potentially remove his shirt from Pravat's grasp due to feeling uneasy. However, lacking the courage to make such a move, Tiwa remains rooted in place.

A shrug. The alpha's free hand shifts on the arm of the chair. "I'm here for you," he says. It's not a threat, for once, or at least it doesn't sound like one. "I'm here only for you." His voice is almost calm, and Tiwa won't admit it, but it settles into something in him.

Tiwa should tear his eyes away, kick Pravat out, or do something, but he doesn't. He sags, his back still glued to the door, but doesn't bother to deny it. "You need to leave," he sighs as a hand goes through his hair again.

"Probably not." Pravat says, and his eyes are still too bright.

Neither of them speaks for a moment. Not quite silence. The hum of the air conditioner, the sound of their breathing, and the quiet rasp of Pravat's fingertips tracing patterns on Tiwa's shirt. The alpha's hand continues its restless movement, fixated on exploring every inch of the omega's shirt since Tiwa walked in.

Tiwa encourages himself and walks over to Pravat slowly, staring at him for a few moments. "Please, you need to leave right now," he says, almost helpless, grabbing him by his upper arm and trying to steer him back toward the door.

Pravat wriggles out of Tiwa's grasp and flops down on the couch instead, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, arms folded behind his head. He slides his hand into his pocket and takes out a lollipop, glancing at Tiwa.

One of the hundred little things about Pravat that Tiwa doesn't know how to forget. It takes him back to the past and lets him live that life once again.

It was one of their days in a library where they had a chance to meet again. Tiwa flipped each page of the book and watched the images admiringly because each seemed unique. He wanted to steal that book and paste the pictures on his room's wall.

With a quick look around, he made sure there was no one looking at him. As he was about to put the book in his bag, he saw Pravat approaching and waving a hand. He bit his lip nervously and put the book back on the table, peering at him.

Instead of doing something stupid, Pravat sat next to Tiwa and pulled out some notebooks. "I need some help with my homework."

Tiwa felt relieved, knowing Pravat didn't notice what he was about to do. With a small smile, he quickly shut his gaping mouth and checked him in, noting the class he needed help with. He was thrilled to see it was math, a subject he was good at.

He explained some basic things to Pravat, helping him understand everything. There was no rushing since he was bored waiting for his brother.

"How come this makes so much more sense when you're helping it than when my teacher is?" Pravat asked with a smile on his lips.

Tiwa shrugged. "I don't know."

In order to turn a page in the notebook, Tiwa leaned forward a bit, and Pravat leaned back at the same time, unintentionally resting his hand on the inside of Tiwa's chair. When Tiwa sat back, he froze as his back came into contact with Pravat's hand.

Pravat, seemingly unaware, leaned forward to check the new page of notes, causing his arm to press against Tiwa. It brought them closer together as they worked, and the mixed scents created a harmonious atmosphere to help them concentrate on their task.

Once Pravat had finished his homework, he waved a hand and left the library. Tiwa looked around again and stole the book he eyed earlier before getting up, then noticed Pravat's leather jacket was hanging on the back of the chair.

Tiwa grabbed it and rushed out of the library, but Pravat was nowhere to be found. He went back and put the jacket on the main desk, thinking Pravat would come looking for it the next day or, at worst, that the other boy had left it for library use for the cleaning process.

With a sigh, he left the library and unwrapped his customary lollipop, shoving it in his mouth. As he looked up, he saw Pravat approaching.

"Hey, baby deer, did I leave my jacket?" Pravat asked.

Tiwa pulled the lollipop out of his mouth, feeling a bit embarrassed by Pravat's smirking. He used to have a lollipop most of the time as a defense mechanism. Whenever someone asked him a question when his brother was not around, the extra time spent removing the lollipop gave him a chance to consider whether his response was favorable.

"Yeah, I came after you, but you were already gone. So I put it back in the library." He replied and turned to walk away, but Pravat grabbed the back of his shirt and held him in place. He stared in awe as Pravat reached out and took a lollipop out of his mouth.

"Every time I see you, you're sucking on one of these." Pravat said, swirling the lollipop in the air before popping it into his own mouth. "Well, I need to tell you something, baby deer. You're good at math, but not better than me!"

Tiwa wrinkled his nose in disgust and shook his head before running away. He was sure he had no brain because it was not the first time he had fallen for Pravat's craziness.

Tiwa's vision gets back to reality, and he peers at Pravat, sucking the lollipop with a smirk on his lips. Knowing where this leads to, he is determined not to let him crawl under his skin to get revenge on his brother. He won't let him succeed this time!