Hearing the demand, Clyde gripped the knife so strong that he almost bent the handle. Never had he felt so helpless that he couldn't do anything but snarl in anger, "Do you think you can come out alive?"
"Why can't I? I wouldn't have come here if I weren't so sure of my survival," the man said, then raised his chin. "Come on, I need your left ear. I don't think you really need it since you never listen to what others have to say."
Clyde was taken aback by the last few words that came out of the man's mouth. Taking the subtle clue into consideration, the Alpha thought that someone in the company must've been behind all this. He must've angered some people with the policy and rules he enforced as the Europe branch manager.
Still, he couldn't waste more time thinking about who might've been at war with him. Clyde took the knife on his hand to his earlobe as soon as he saw the other bastard brought the torch closer to Ryley's face.
A drop of red slid down his cheekbone as soon as the tip cut through his earlobe, making the blond's pair of brown eyes widen in shock.
However, instead of enjoying the sight, Ryley's leg moved by itself and swung towards the crew cut guy, landing a really hard kick on his crotch that sent him crouching.
"Aaargh! You bitch! I'll burn you!" The guy stood up with shaky legs about to light up the blond, but the incoming attack was simply unexpected.
Ryley spit out the gasoline he'd been keeping in his mouth to the torch, making the flame strike the guy's head and burn his face. Another painful scream echoed throughout the silent woods, turning the already dreadful situation more chaotic.
The sudden resistance stopped the Alpha's movement from cutting his ear further, he took down the man in front of him and struggled to lodge the knife on the bastard's chest.
"You son of a bitch! You will burn with me!" The crew cut guy screamed amidst his groan as he tried to catch Ryley.
Clyde stopped his force and punch the man below him on the face when he saw the other guy chased Ryley. He didn't waste any more time and threw the knife on his hand with perfect aim, immediately taking down the guy whose head was burning in flame.
Seeing that his opponent no longer had any weapon, the man below took out his gun and pulled the trigger.
The Alpha had a cold brush with death as he narrowly missed the bullet. If it weren't for his trained muscle reflex, Clyde wouldn't be able to dodge it.
His armed guards quickly ran towards their master, but the dark sky suddenly rained with bullets, making them scatter.
Clyde was distracted by the buzz of helicopter blades from above, so the man took advantage of the momentum and kicked him. The Alpha shielded himself with his strong arm and rolled to the side as he watched the man escape from the scene through the rope ladder.
Ryley was about to escape when he realized that Clyde was in a good shooting range. He saw Lucas creep his way up in silence but looking at how close the Alpha was to the tree's branch, it'd be too late.
He ran towards him as fast as he could, his lips screamed, "Watch out....!"
Traces of red splashed the blond's white neck and cheek after a pull on the trigger. But the young sniper failed to take down his main target. He missed his perfect shot because Lucas managed to pull him down and made him fall from the tree branch.
Ryley let out a painful grunt as his limp body fell into a pair of strong arms. Pain started to spread on his collarbone and more so when he realized he was wounded from shielding the Alpha.
He didn't know why himself, but he guessed that the oddly warm palm tapping lightly on his bloody cheek could've been the reason.
His ears couldn't exactly hear what the handsome face above him had just said, but Ryley could still read the man's lips and feel how terrified the Alpha was at that time. Too bad, his strength plummeted and his vision slowly darkened. The deep voice from above uttered something that he probably couldn't digest.
"...Stay with me!"
****
The sound of chirping birds slowly brought him from his sleep, guiding his soul back to his body. The warm morning rays that day shone on his slightly pale yet still pretty face, but as soon as his honey-like eyes opened, a handsome face came like an eclipse, looming from above.
They were still in the woods when dawn came, the two of them were seen on a secluded place, with armed guards standing and patrolling the area not far from there.
"Wh... What..." He mumbled as he tried to move his stiff body, but the deep voice soothed him.
"Don't move."
Ryley knew it must be the Alpha who's speaking to him. It turned out that he didn't die from getting shot last night. The bullet just grazed the skin on his collarbone, and when he made an effort to glance at it, he saw that the wound had been bandaged.
The blond felt ridiculous at the realization that he managed to stay alive after getting himself into a conflict he was completely oblivious of. And more so when he saw the man's strong arm carefully wrapped around his body. He didn't know how to describe it, but Ryley felt all kind of emotions were mixed as he found himself lying on Clyde's embrace.
"Water... Gimme water..." his hoarse voice pleaded, feeling as if he'd swallowed the entire Sahara desert into his throat. The handsome model then saw the man took a bottle and opened the cap, but he didn't give it to him. He drank it and leaned over.
"Why are you— hmmnh!"
His weak body couldn't resist the sudden kiss. The Alpha made him drink the water in such an extraordinary way, and unfortunately, he didn't plan to do it once. Clyde chugged again, seemingly unsatisfied with the deep kiss he'd just stolen from Ryley.
The blond felt his heart rapidly beat faster and faster when the Alpha kept locking his lips with his, and only let go for a gasp of air. The cool breeze couldn't stop the heat that started to burn the two, but they finally separated when Ryley coughed to the side and covered his lips with his palm.
'This bastard... Did he really want to humiliate me that bad?' He glared, but the pair of ocean blue eyes above him remained unmoving. They looked as if they craved for him more.
"Ah!" Ryley winced, grasping the white bandage wrapped around his collarbone and shoulder. But he didn't actually feel any pain. His acting was so convincing that the Alpha's face was instantly filled with subtle panic.
Ryley's pair of brown eyes widened at the sight as unknown feelings flooded his heart that had just skipped a beat.
'What the hell is wrong with him...' he frowned, denying the truth that started to creep into his mind.
Feeling that the man's gaze was filled with worry, the blond put his forearm above his eyes, whispering, "Why are you even..." His words hung in the air, replaced by a scoff before he let out ironic laughs. "I'm so fucking tired... Just end this pain."
Clyde grasped the blond's arm and lifted it off his handsome face. "If you're tired then don't run away from me again," he said in an oddly gentle tone. Then, a strange smile crossed his face as he leaned over and whispered beside Ryley's ear in a somewhat low voice, making his calm tone unknowingly turn seductive. "But I know you won't be able to."
A faint trace of red spread across the model's cheeks, his heart beat like crazy in an instant as he tried to shove the man's face away. "Wha.. What are you talking about!" He evaded, but he knew that he himself wasn't sure of his answer.
The Alpha caught his slender wrist and brought his palm to his chest, then sniffed Ryley's neck down to his exposed cleavage. "Seems like they didn't do anything to you."
"What the hell are you doing!" Ryley gripped the loose shirt covering his body and struggled to free himself from the man's embrace. "Let go of me!"
Clyde didn't object, he helped him wake up from the comfort of his embrace but warned, "You're still weak, be careful."
"Shut up!" Ryley hissed when a sharp pain stabbed him in his collarbone, probably an instant karma from lying about it earlier. He tried to stand on his own two feet and held onto a tree nearby, slapping the Alpha's hand away. "Don't touch me!"
He pouted his swollen lips, but he got a light chuckle in return. The Alpha then rose from his seat on the big rock and stepped forward, leading the blond to step back.
"I just want to make sure my shirt isn't ripped," Clyde said, slightly tilting his head. His eyes seemed to have been glued on the blond's long and smooth legs.
"Your what?" Ryley looked down and just realized how embarrassing his response was since the loose shirt that reached his thighs belonged to Clyde. He kept pacing backward then accidentally stepped on an uneven surface, almost losing his balance. But a pair of strong arms caught his waist and prevented him from falling.
"I said be careful," the Alpha firmly said as he pulled the handsome model closer. "Look at your ankle. You won't even be able to stand if you keep forcing it to walk."
Ryley bit his lower lip after he saw the bandage on his ankle. It strangely looked new, he didn't remember taping it this neat so it must be the Alpha who did it for him. Still, he didn't plan to thank him or anything.
"Leave me alone. I... I stink," he stuttered while trying to hide the blush in his cheeks as he pushed Clyde's broad chest away. But the bigger man didn't budge and even pulled him closer than before, leaving almost no space between their bodies.
"Hmm... You need a bath then." Clyde didn't say much and lifted Ryley off the ground, putting him on his shoulder like a sack of wheat.
"What?! What are you doing! Hey! Put me down!"
He yelled and kicked but the Alpha ignored him. The tanned man kept walking towards the stream and only put the blond down once he reached the bank.
Ryley flinched a bit once his sole touched the cold surface of a rock, but then his gaze was completely distracted by the small paradise he found with Clyde that morning.
He didn't know what made his legs move on their own.
The fascinating crystal clear oasis...
Or the person with the ocean blue eyes in front of him.
"Come here."
And he walked to the call.