The Mark of Obsession and the Prisoner’s Plea

Li Chen’s words did not sound like a joke.

Shi Ji’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He managed to force a faint, strained smile. “Stop messing around, Li Chen. You’re an Omega, how could you possibly—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the sharp tips of canines easily pierced the skin on the side of his neck. Dark red blood seeped into the youth’s mouth from between his lips.

The sharp sting jolted Shi Ji’s nerves. His pupils contracted, and internal alarm bells rang loudly. He instinctively raised his hands to push Li Chen away, but the silent room was filled only with the rhythmic clatter of iron chains and the sound of Shi Ji’s sharp intake of breath from the pain.

He could clearly feel Li Chen’s teeth sinking deep into his flesh, as if the boy intended to tear the piece of meat away and swallow it. The violent thumping of his heart made Shi Ji’s head spin with dizziness.

His fingertips trembled as he scratched blindly at Li Chen’s chest and exposed neck. In his desperation, his nails dug in too hard, drawing blood from the youth’s skin. The slight sting only made Li Chen bite down harder.

The sudden explosion of Omega pheromones instantly flooded the room. The scent was so thick that even an Alpha passing by would have felt their knees go weak. With bloodshot eyes, Li Chen seemed determined to vent all his pent-up resentment onto Shi Ji.

“Ugh…” Shi Ji tilted his head back, gasping for air.

He couldn’t smell the Omega’s scent, but he could feel something foreign surging through his veins from the bite on his neck, racing through his entire body. His internal defense mechanisms tried in vain to repel these invading pheromones, causing his body temperature to spike.

Li Chen partially raised his eyelids, staring intently at Shi Ji’s dazed eyes. The man in his arms seemed completely stunned, capable only of instinctive trembling; whenever Li Chen touched him, the tremors grew more violent.

Shi Ji’s breathing became intermittent. His curled fingers pushed weakly at Li Chen’s shoulders, the only sensation being the bone-chilling cold of the handcuffs on his wrists.

The pheromones Li Chen was continuously injecting into him felt like they were forcibly tugging at his soul. Shi Ji felt as though his spine were being gnawed on by countless ants.

The intense feeling of suffocation forced him to open his mouth to pant. His breathing was heavy, as if he might stop breathing and die in Li Chen’s arms at any second.

A crimson tongue peeked out unconsciously, exposed to the cool air. He had lost all sensation in the spot where Li Chen was biting. Shi Ji felt that if Li Chen were to eat him bone by bone, he probably wouldn’t even feel it.

Is this… a marking?

Shi Ji was bewildered. Can an Omega perform a marking?

He blinked dizzily, his long, curled lashes trembling.

The uncontrollable rise in body temperature felt like a raging fire ignited within him. His cheeks flushed from white to red, and the pain racking his nerves slowly transformed into an indescribable, hazy sensation.

Li Chen slowly withdrew his teeth, looking down at the prominent bite mark. He extended his tongue to lick it affectionately, cleaning away the remaining blood. Then, he straightened up, looking down at Shi Ji from a superior position.

A smirk played on his lips as he leaned into Shi Ji’s ear and whispered, “Brother, you belong completely to me now.”

The man’s unfocused gaze slowly centered on the youth’s face. His erratic breathing was laced with an abnormal heat. His hands gripped the fabric at Li Chen’s waist tightly as he spoke in a raspy voice: “N-no…”

He swallowed hard, trying to moisten his dry, aching throat so his voice wouldn’t sound so strange. “I’m a Beta… I can’t retain your pheromones.”

“So I don’t…” His chaotic mind slowly cleared, and the pain at the bite site on his neck flared again. Shi Ji knit his brows in agony; he had to gasp for air several times just to finish a single sentence. “…belong to you.”

Shi Ji’s overly rational tone almost snapped the last string of sanity in Li Chen’s mind. His eyes grew even redder. He bit his own lower lip, ruthlessly piercing the thin skin.

His brother looked like a fish gasping for air on dry land, yet even then, he was unwilling to stay by his side.

Li Chen’s gaze turned cold. He smirked, his soft fingertips pressing hard against the fresh bite mark. Hearing the man’s irrepressible cry of pain made his blood flow faster; the violent impulses left behind by his past modifications began to stir.

“Then I’ll just bite you over and over again.”

He leaned closer, his heavy breath fanning against Shi Ji’s skin.

“I’ll cover your entire body with my marks.”

“Your veins will flow with my pheromones.”

“I’ll make sure that until you die, your body will reek of my scent.”

“And then, I will die with you.”

“So that everyone who passes by will know—you are my Beta.”

The youth’s eyes were dark and clouded. His overtly mad words made Shi Ji feel a sense of impending doom. He swallowed, his voice tight. “Are you… serious?”

Li Chen raised an eyebrow, a cunning smile spreading across his face. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

The next second, the smile vanished. The 0373 system automatically manifested, the translucent fluff-ball “standing” on Li Chen’s shoulder.

Li Chen lifted Shi Ji’s chin with his finger and spoke softly, “I want you to be unable to live without me.”

As his voice fell, a sudden downpour began outside. Rain splashed against the windowsill with a rhythmic patter, and the air, smelling of damp earth and rain, drifted into the room.

Shi Ji was held in Li Chen’s arms in a daze. The youth pressed the man’s head against his shoulder and leaned down to bite the back of his neck.

Bite marks overlapped in circles. Shi Ji tilted his head back, gasping. Li Chen watched the corners of the man’s eyes, flushed with heat, then leaned in to kiss the faint red skin.

He gripped Shi Ji’s chin, forcing him to look at the floor-to-ceiling mirror nearby. The mirror reflected their intertwined figures.

Shi Ji’s eyes were misty with tears. In the mirror, he looked miserably disheveled. He instinctively looked away, but the person holding him wouldn’t let him off so easily. Li Chen held his head firmly, forcing him to meet his own gaze in the glass.

“Brother, you are covered in my pheromones.”

“If others smell it, will they think you’ve finally become an Omega?”

Li Chen spoke into his ear, enunciating every word.

“In this state, do you still not belong to me?”

By the time Shi Ji woke up, the rain had stopped. Residual droplets fell one by one from the eaves. A few black birds flew across the cloudless horizon.

He lifted his heavy eyelids and stared out the window. His hands were handcuffed again, the cool metal pressing against his red-marked wrists—Li Chen must have done this while he was unconscious.

Shi Ji blinked slowly. He had cried so much the night before that his eyes were still slightly swollen.

His dark pupils reflected the closed glass window. Somehow, Shi Ji felt like a trapped beast in a cage.

His entire body ached. Even though he was dressed, the exposed skin at his collar showed a patchwork of red marks, making it easy to imagine the state of the rest of his body under the clothes.

Shi Ji pushed himself up with his hands and looked down at the shackles on his wrists. The size was a perfect fit, as if they had been custom-made for him.

At that thought, Shi Ji couldn’t help but let out a pale, bitter laugh.

Who knew? Perhaps Li Chen had planned for this day long ago.

He rubbed his aching temples and instinctively looked beside him. Li Chen was gone, though the lingering wrinkles and warmth on the bedsheets proved he had been there.

Shi Ji let his arms drop. His throat was incredibly parched, and he couldn’t even produce enough saliva to wet it. He reflexively tried to get out of bed, but the sight of the shackles on his ankles made him abandon the idea.

He leaned against the headboard, let out a long sigh, and stared blankly at his fingers.

Before long, a soft knock came from the door. Shi Ji looked up as someone turned the key with a distinct click. Hearing that, Shi Ji couldn’t help but sneer.

It wasn’t enough to chain him up; the door had to be locked as well. That kid was truly determined to leave him no chance of escape.

Li Chen entered the room carrying a wooden tray with a porcelain bowl and a glass of water. Seeing Shi Ji sitting up, the youth grinned. “Brother, you’re awake?”

Compared to Shi Ji, who couldn’t even dress himself properly, Li Chen looked infuriatingly neat in a simple white T-shirt without a single wrinkle.

Shi Ji turned his head away, intentionally ignoring him. Li Chen didn’t get angry; he closed the door and walked over to sit by the bed with a smile.

“When did you wake up?” Li Chen asked.

Shi Ji blinked but didn’t answer.

Li Chen propped one hand on the bed and suddenly leaned closer. Shi Ji reflexively dodged to the side, staring at him with wide, guarded eyes.

Li Chen froze for a moment, then his lashes flickered as he asked softly, “Is Brother afraid of me?”

Shi Ji’s hand clenched under the blanket. After a few seconds of eye contact, he looked away again. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from punching Li Chen in the face.

But Li Chen’s gaze darkened. He grabbed Shi Ji’s jaw and forced his head back toward him. The sudden movement startled Shi Ji; his wide eyes and constricted pupils made him look like a cat about to bristle.

Li Chen’s eyes were calm, but the gloom surrounding him made Shi Ji uneasy. The youth watched the panic in his eyes and then began to massage his lips with a warm thumb.

Shi Ji’s lips were still swollen and dry, with dark red blood dried on the wounds. Li Chen deliberately pressed on the injured spot, causing Shi Ji to knit his brows and hiss in pain.

Li Chen turned back to pick up the water from the tray and held it to Shi Ji’s lips. “Brother cried so hard last night. Have some water first.”

Shi Ji didn’t move. He looked down at the swaying water in the glass, then turned his head away again.

His resistance instantly angered Li Chen. The youth let out an impatient tsk and grabbed the back of Shi Ji’s neck, his fingers ruthlessly scratching the bitten area. As Shi Ji let out a muffled groan, Li Chen—his face cold and hard—took a sip of water himself, forced Shi Ji’s head up, and kissed him, prying open his teeth.

He transferred every drop of water into Shi Ji’s mouth. Shi Ji’s brow was furrowed tight as he patted Li Chen’s chest. In this position, the water flowed down his throat, and whether he wanted to or not, he had to swallow.

Shi Ji accidentally choked and began to cough violently, physiological tears pricking his eyes. Transparent droplets of water he couldn’t swallow slid down the corner of his mouth and disappeared into his collar.

He wiped his mouth and glared at Li Chen through teary eyes.

Li Chen looked back provocatively. He had intentionally left the top button of his collar undone, revealing his slender white neck and the bite marks that seemed to flaunt their presence to Shi Ji.

The youth set the glass down, intending to continue bothering him. He enjoyed seeing his brother angry but helpless. He leaned in toward Shi Ji’s face, but after a few seconds, Shi Ji suddenly turned his head, his eyes cold and sharp.

“Where is Ji Shichu?”

This was the first sentence Shi Ji had spoken to Li Chen in a long time. His voice was still raspy.

Li Chen raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by the question.

Shi Ji stared at him intensely. Seeing the youth remain silent, his heart grew increasingly anxious. If he had been caught so quickly, there was no way Ji Shichu’s involvement could be hidden. He hadn’t received any news since yesterday, and he began to fear that Ji Shichu had been captured as well.

Shi Ji grabbed Li Chen’s collar and asked urgently, “Tell me! Where is Ji Shichu?!”

Li Chen’s misty blue eyes reflected Shi Ji’s panicked expression. The youth calmly pried the man’s fingers off and said coolly, “I’m right in front of you, and you’re asking about another man?”

Shi Ji’s emotions were becoming uncontrollable, his chest heaving. Li Chen laughed at the sight, reaching out to brush a stray hair from the man’s face. “It seems other people are more important to Brother than I am.”

“Ji Shichu…”

Li Chen paused.

“He was the accomplice who helped you escape. Naturally, he had to be captured too.”

“And punished.”

His tone turned harsh, as if the Alpha were standing right there. Shi Ji felt a chill. Knowing Li Chen’s personality, he couldn’t imagine what the boy would do to Ji Shichu.

“You can’t imprison him, Li Chen.” Shi Ji’s fingers trembled as he gripped the youth’s shirt, his voice tinged with a plea. “Let him go, okay?”

“I was the one who wanted to run.”

“It has nothing to do with him.”

Shi Ji let out a choked sob. With red eyes and an aching body, he leaned toward Li Chen. His long lashes lowered as he leaned in and gave the youth a light kiss on the corner of the mouth.

The kiss was feather-light, passing by before Li Chen could even grasp it.

Just like Shi Ji himself.

He was a kite drifting in the sky; Li Chen could only chase him, yet he could never see the beautiful patterns on the kite. So, he had to grab the broken string and pull the kite down from the blue sky into his own arms.

Li Chen stroked the flushed corners of Shi Ji’s eyes, appearing confused.

“Why are you pleading for someone else?”

Shi Ji pursed his lips and didn’t answer, his expression looking pitifully desolate. Finally, Li Chen sighed and interlaced his fingers with Shi Ji’s, holding them tight.

He nuzzled his nose against the side of the man’s face.

“I’ll take you to see him.”