Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 458 : Xie Jianyu’s Dark Past (3)

Chapter 458: Chapter 458 : Xie Jianyu’s Dark Past (3)

"Have you taken your suppressant today?" Xie Jianshen asked on the day the Golden Dragon Palace celebrated Xie Jianyu’s differentiation into an alpha. From this day forward, Xie Jianyu would live as an alpha, the weight of his father’s decision etched into his every uncertain step.

Xie Jianyu turned his head and looked at his concerned elder brother.

"Yes, Big Brother, I have."

Xie Jianshen shot Xie Jianyu a bitter smile. He proceeded to smoothen the creases on Xie Jianyu’s robe and fix the slightly lopsided hair crown that perched on Xie Jianyu’s head.

"You must tell me if the robe is too heavy," Xie Jianshen said in a low voice. "What about the boots? Can you walk just fine?"

"Mmm. Don’t worry, Big Brother. I won’t be walking much today," Xie Jianyu said.

All he had to do was sit next to his Imperial Father, play the alpha he was not, and accept the congratulations that he did not deserve.

"Right..."

Xie Jianshen, his brow furrowed with concern, helped Xie Jianyu to his feet. Each step sent a jolt of pain through the younger brother, the heavy boots feeling like lead weights strapped to his legs. Dragging them was out of the question, a display of weakness unbefitting the Crown Prince.

"Little Yu, are you alright?" Xie Jianshen asked, his voice laced with worry.

"Yes," Xie Jianyu forced himself to smile.

"I am," he rasped, his throat tight. Alpha or omega, he was still the Crown Prince, heir to the throne. Tonight, two hundred laps around the Fuxi Palace grounds awaited him, each step burdened by the cumbersome boots. He vowed to endure, to complete the task until the weight became a mere whisper against his resolve.

During the celebration, the Palace Masters of the other eight palaces approached Xie Jianyu, their smiles stretching a bit too wide, failing to reach their eyes. Their congratulatory platitudes flowed smoothly, each syllable dripping with an insincerity he tasted on his tongue. He knew their true desires better than they knew themselves – desires that would dance a jig and perform somersaults if they knew a Xie Crown Prince had once again differentiated into an omega.

Masking his awareness with a flawless imitation of the Heavenly Emperor’s gracious expression, Xie Jianyu inclined his head in thanks, weaving polite responses amongst their false well-wishes. He knew this game, knew the charade he had to play. After all, his Imperial Father most likely would not tolerate another disappointment in court.

Lying was never Xie Jianyu’s forte.

On the other hand, steeping into silence and keeping quiet about untruths was something he’d mastered. Years of practice had taught him to cloak his anxieties in a practiced smile, his lips sealed shut even when his conscience gnawed at him.

Once the feast started, Xie Jianyu decided to leave his seat for some fresh air.

"Where are you going, Jianyu?" his Imperial Father’s stern voice rang out behind him.

"I need to stretch my legs a little bit, Imperial Father," Xie Jianyu responded.

"Is that so?"

The Heavenly Emperor narrowed his eyes at his youngest son.

"Then go, but come back as soon as possible."

There was a good reason why the Heavenly Emperor was reluctant to let him go. After all, unmarried omegas were not supposed to wander off on their own. With or without suppressants, omegas remained the weakest of all secondary genders.

An unfortunate meeting with an alpha at the wrong time and wrong place might just end in an unfortunate incident that they all came to regret.

Despite his martial prowess, Xie Jianyu wouldn’t dream of seeking solitary breaths of fresh air in some remote corner. Even a master swordsman like him required the safety net of nearby guards. After all, even the mightiest fell ill, and danger could lurk in the most unexpected places.

"Yo, Crown Prince!" a cheerful voice called out for him.

It was Zhou Guiying, the Qingyuan Palace Master’s younger brother and recent alpha. Beside him stood a young man, whose mere appearance made Xie Jianyu’s heart throb violently against his chest.

The last time Xie Jianyu saw Zhang Fengxi was a year ago, when his father the Longjing Palace Master took the recently differentiated alpha son to the Golden Dragon Palace to pay the Heavenly Emperor a greeting.

After only a year, his once-youthful frame had filled out, muscles flexing subtly beneath his clothes. His broad shoulders exuded an air of quiet power, and the sharp lines of his face had matured, etching new depths into his once-boyish features. He had even grown taller, towering over Xie Jianyu by nearly a head.

Xie Jianyu swallowed hard, the lump of envy in his throat suddenly difficult to ignore. So this, he realized with a jolt, was the transformation of an alpha, the apex predator of their secondary genders.

Yet, when Zhang Fengxi’s smile bloomed, warm and genuine, Xie Jianyu felt a tremor within him. Something unfamiliar, a stirring that transcended mere envy. It was an awakening, a whisper of desire for connection, for a love shared, not simply observed. It was a yearning that pulsed with an ache he couldn’t ignore, a longing as intoxicating as the forbidden scent of omegas in heat.

Xie Jianyu’s knuckles burned white as he clenched his fists, his glare scorching both alphas. He stormed off, leaving the air thick with his unspoken frustration. Later, when the heat simmered down, the pang of regret hit him. Unfortunately, by then, the damage was done.

Whispers snaked through the ranks of young alphas, painting Xie Jianyu as a prude, an aloof prince unwilling to mingle with fellow alphas. It wasn’t the truth, not entirely, but the crown he wore cast a long shadow, whispering of privilege and distance.

"Forget them," Xie Jianshen told Xie Jianyu when he confided this matter to him. "It is not a good idea for you to mingle with alphas, anyway. Let them think what they want to think. If they care for their clans, they still have to bow their heads to you in the present, and also the future."

Though Xie Jianshen’s words weren’t false, they stung Xie Jianyu’s heart like the bite of winter wind. He did not want to be hated, especially not by Zhang Fengxi.