The Beta Dominates Alphas

Chapter 70: "Hug Me"

Kestrel sat on the couch, watching the tendrils drawing boring circles back and forth on the rug.

Time seemed to crawl by, slow as a slug, exceptionally sluggish.

"Isn’t he finished yet? Does he need help?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

The responses from the tendrils were identical, resounding as one.

"Could he have passed out? Should I check on him?"

"Yes." free𝑤ebnovel.com

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Kestrel covered her face, suddenly realizing why there were times when she didn’t hear the tendrils - when her emotions ran high or she was extremely focused, all the tendrils thought just like her, individual wills merging into one.

During these times, the noise in her mind would disappear, leaving only one clear and solitary voice echoing in the vast psychic landscape.

Normally, her feelings were quite calm, so the tendrils would go their own ways, chattering away. But this intense and focused experience tonight was a first for Kestrel.

Kestrel was aware of what was happening beyond the foggy glass wall—beneath the sound of running water, an arm strained against the water wall, a shoulder blade hit the glass, showing a blurred skin color. A head was hanging low, hair dripping wet.

Shadows intermittently showed through the glass, setting off an unending series of images in Kestrel’s mind, unstoppable.

She couldn’t help but wonder if Ren’s eyes were brightly red, his handsome brows probably furrowed, his lips tightly closed, and his hand under the water...

She stopped herself from thinking any further.

Even though Kestrel was young, her tendrils had been exploring the world for years, often accidentally capturing the strong feelings radiated by humans.

She found that love and desire were the most common emotions she could detect in the dark, as they were the most basic, intense human feelings.

For example, she might sense that the aloof officer stepping onto the stage was surrounded by a sensual aura; she might also accidentally find out that the arrogant young boss who had just gotten out of a car and his bodyguard had just had sex.

She didn’t intend to know these things, but that was just how it went.

Compared to the many naive, unaware betas living in the Tower, Kestrel was quite knowledgeable in certain areas.

The more she knew, the more she realized she should not turn around to look.

"Why can’t I watch? I want to watch!" Kestrel thought to herself as she turned her head around.

Just then, she saw the shadow beyond the glass throw his head back. Ren lifted his arm out of the water, shoved his wrist into his mouth, and bit down hard. He was shuddering all over but not making a sound.

Kestrel quickly turned her head back, sitting still, sadly watching the tendrils draw circles on the floor.

Kestrel had seen his toughness, and also his vulnerability. She knew of his deeply ingrained pride, his fiercely protected dignity, and his unyielding spirit, even in the face of serious wounds, never showing weakness in front of others.

So Kestrel knew that she couldn’t exploit his weakness, to spy on him in his most private moments.

Faithfully, Kestrel sat facing away from the bathroom, hugging her knees, waiting for what seemed like forever—until she felt it was absolutely necessary to check on his safety. That was when the bathroom door finally opened.

Ren stepped out of the bathroom, water dripping from his hair, wearing his soaking wet white shirt.

His skin was pale from the cold water. His lips were thin, and his face was cool and composed, as if he had conquered all challenges and returned to being the alpha who could fight on the battlefield.

The drenched white shirt stuck thinly to his body, showing the muscular strength underneath, and his trim waist.

He had regained control of his body, even putting on his black gloves again—there he was, his slender fingers gripping the frame of the bathroom door.

Kestrel was momentarily distracted as she saw his hand, remembering how she had peeled off this elastic black glove from his shaking hand when Ren had just collapsed on the couch.

The flexible black material slid down bit by bit, revealing the skin on the back of Ren’s hand. Wherever Kestrel touched, his skin quivered.

Removing a glove was like stripping off his armor. His slender fingers, which had held a sword and taken lives, were weak in Kestrel’s hands, shaking non-stop, allowing her to draw his blood.

As Kestrel daydreamed, Ren had already come out from the bathroom. He paused, then sat on a low couch at the furthest distance from Kestrel.

He lowered his head, wiped off the water from his face, rested his elbows on his knees, and covered his eyes with both hands. On the exposed part of his wrist, an old deep wound was visible, and now a new blood-stained bite mark was added.

A thin line of red blood flowed from the bite mark, over the pale wrist, soaking into the wet sleeve of his shirt, staining it with a sharp red color.

With his forehead lowered and his fingers covering his eyes, he stayed silent, uttering not a word.

Kestrel extended her hand, but before it could touch his wet hair, he turned his head away.

"Don’t... touch me."

"Hug... hug me."

Two voices sounded almost at the same time.

Kestrel was startled before she realized what was happening.

The first voice, dark and low, was spoken out loud, heard by Kestrel’s ears.

The second voice was not in the form of language, but a strong and intense emotional consciousness, directly transferred into Kestrel’s mind.

Before Kestrel’s mind had time to decide which voice to listen to, her arms, together with her tendrils, were already stretching out, giving the ice-cold Ren a hug.

Both of them were very stiff.

As Kestrel’s rational mind returned, she began to wonder, "Isn’t this a bit awkward? Did he really want this? Could I have misunderstood?"

Ren’s wet head was resting on her shoulder, his back muscles were tense. Soon, his shoulder that was as rigid as iron relaxed. Kestrel heard a faint sound of breathing.

Kestrel hesitated for a moment, then reached out to gently pat his cold, wet back, realizing that he was slightly shivering.

The tendrils wrapped around him, hugging Ren tightly, touching the head that was rested on Kestrel’s shoulder and never lifted again.

"Thank you."

Kestrel heard a voice, she wasn’t sure whether it was heard by her ears or captured by her tendrils.