I Married A Degraded Alpha
Chapter 44: Tuss Having an Affair?

Chapter 44: Tuss Having an Affair?

Daleks froze, pointing at Tuss with an accusation, "You’ve changed. You got very possessive and greedy recently."

Tuss surrendered, responding, "Nothing happened between us."

"You’re having some kind of crush then," Ender said accusingly.

Tuss argued, pressing his lips together, "Let it go. I won’t do anything to hurt Yuri."

Daleks and Ender shared a look, not sure if they should believe him.

"Alright, we’ll stay out of your personal life, but..." Ender hesitated, looking serious, "As an alpha, Tuz, you should know how hard the chaos in the Sea of Consciousness can be. We don’t have any top betas here, and the ones we have are either B or C-tier, which we both know isn’t very helpful. They just give short-term relief, and we’re back to the start in a few days."

Tuss understood what they meant, considering his advanced level and the pain he had to deal with, which was a lot more than what Ender experienced.

"So, Tuz, ask that beta if she could help us too. We can pay her with astracredits," Ender proposed.

"Guys, she charges a lot. One session costs five million astracredits," Rei informed them.

"That’s a lot." Daleks and Ender were surprised.

"Yes, it is," Rei agreed.

"Can we get a friends’ discount? Maybe, 90% off?" Ender asked, still hopeful.

A 90% discount?

Daleks wasn’t sure, "Isn’t that too low?"

"How many sessions can you afford at fifty thousand astracredits?" Ender responded.

Daleks looked sadly at Tuss.

Tuss realized that he needed to give them some hope to finish this conversation, "I can ask for you, but I can’t guarantee anything."

Daleks patted Tuss on the shoulder, "That’s all we’re asking."

In the biggest mall on Planet Alpha, Kilana was shopping with her friend.

"A tea set?" her friend asked, "Do Tuss and his wife like tea?"

"Tuz doesn’t, and I’m not sure about his wife," Kilana was unsure.

"Not many people drink tea these days," her friend gave a helpful tip.

"What about a robo-vacuum?" Kilana suggested.

"That’s an excellent idea. With a house that big, they’ll definitely need a robo-vacuum," her friend agreed, believing it would be a perfect gift.

Just as Kilana and her friend were about to pick a robot, three people suddenly came around the corner, blocking their way.

Meanwhile, Yuri had been studying in her study room all afternoon. When she heard the noise from downstairs, she was surprised. Hasn’t Tuss mentioned only a few friends coming over?

She looked at the evening sky outside and then at the time on her opticomputer. It was seven in the evening.

She stretched leisurely, rubbed her face, managed a smile, and then opened her room door.

Downstairs, Kilana gave Tuss a apologetic look.

Tuss shook his head, indicating it was alright.

"Tuss, not cool, dude. You moved to a new house and didn’t even invite us," a tall, sturdy young man lounging on the sofa complained loudly.

"Sure, we wouldn’t even know if we hadn’t bumped into Kilana."

"I thought we were just like a family, after everything we’ve been through together. Guess I was just kidding myself."

"Right, we treated you like one of us, and you didn’t think we were important enough to tell about your big move to a new house."

"We used to give you space because you were distant. But since you helped us, we saw you as a friend, like a brother. We naturally wanted to share in your happiness."

One by one, the others joined in, leaving Tuss without words.

The moment Yuri walked in, the whole room went quiet. Their adventures on Planet 694 had shown them that while Yuri might seem gentle, she could really lose her cool.

"We hope you’re not mad about us showing up uninvited, big sis?" someone asked cautiously.

Yuri looked at the person who spoke, gave a friendly smile, and said, "No, not at all. You’re all welcome."

With that, she looked over the crowd filling the large room, her smile still polite. "Make yourselves at home. Let me go see about dinner."

She headed to the kitchen, pulling out her opticomputer as she went. She ordered a big variety of ready-to-eat meals, fruits, pastries, and drinks. With sixty-eight people in the house, how much food can be enough?

Just as Yuri was getting settled in the kitchen, Tuss joined her.

"They bumped into Kilana at the mall, found out about our housewarming, and spread the word..." Tuss started, but Yuri already knew.

"Don’t worry, the more the merrier," she said.

"I think there are more guests on the way," Tuss confessed.

Yuri was at a loss for words.

With so many guests, the dining table wasn’t big enough for everyone, so dinner was arranged buffet-style. Yuri made some extra benches from metal in the backyard when they ran out of chairs.

Just as Tuss had guessed, more guests kept showing up. By eight o’clock, over a hundred people had arrived.

"Good thing we have a big house," Yuri thought, pulling out her opticomputer again to order more food ingredients.

Daleks walked up with two glasses of wine. "I want to raise a glass to you," he said, holding out one glass to Yuri. "I didn’t know you well enough before. I hope you can forgive and forget."

Before Yuri could respond, Daleks clinked his glass against hers.

"I’ll drink first, as a show of my respect," he said, and emptied his glass. After finishing, he let out a relieved breath, "Okay, I’ll take that as you’ve completely let go of the past."

Yuri was surprised. Did I just get tricked into forgiving?

After Daleks left, Yuri put the glass down. She didn’t touch the wine in her glass.

"Don’t like drinking?" Tuss asked, showing up behind her suddenly.

"I do." Yuri picked the glass up and took a sip of her wine, finding it much stronger and different from any wines she’d had before.

Seeing her reaction, Tuss took the glass from her, "If you don’t like it, don’t drink it. Drinking could cause problems."

Yuri sighed quietly.

The very next moment, Tuss, who had warned her about drinking, quickly gulped down the wine from her glass.

Yuri was surprised, "So, it’s fine for you to drink, but not for me?"

Tuss thought for a second, then walked to the table to pour another glass. He handed it back to her, looking her right in the eyes. "Go ahead, drink."

Yuri looked at the glass. "This glass has been... tainted."

Tuss’s face turned red instantly, and his eyes sparkled as if they were on fire.

Yuri could tell that Tuss was acting weird right now. She took a couple of steps back, turning towards the stairs. "You hang out with your friends. I have something to do upstairs."

She quickly moved away, as if a wild animal was after her.

Tuss watched her until she disappeared around the corner. He let out a light sigh.

His patience to hold the desire had gotten weak ever since they met.