[BL] Alpha, You've Got the Wrong Mate!

Chapter 387: 387 — A Monster’s Birth (11)

"Are you not going to eat them?" Ilyan asked, waiting for the omega to at least take a bite of the pastries he had brought for him.

Raniel hesitated for a moment before slowly reaching toward the cloth bundle. He broke off a small piece from one of the round golden pastries and cautiously shoved it into his mouth.

He had expected it to taste bitter or strange. Perhaps muddy, like some of the food he had been given before.

However, to his surprise, sweetness spread across his tongue. His eyes immediately brightened beneath the blindfold. The taste was completely foreign to him.

He had never eaten anything like this before.

Although Ilyan couldn’t see the change in his expression because of the cloth covering the omega’s eyes, he could tell that Raniel liked it.

The young man had barely finished chewing before reaching for another piece.

Then another.

And another.

The sight made a soft chuckle escape the alpha’s lips.

The sound immediately made Raniel freeze. His hand paused halfway toward the remaining pastries.

What was funny?

Had he done something strange?

Embarrassing, maybe?

He tried to understand but didn’t dare ask. Instead, he quietly lowered his hand and looked away.

Ilyan noticed the omega’s sudden stiffness and quickly shook his head.

"You don’t need to stop eating because of me."

Raniel remained silent for several seconds before cautiously reaching for another pastry.

By the time he finished, not a single sweet remained inside the bundle.

A smile tugged at the corner of Ilyan’s lips. For someone who constantly pushed people away, Raniel was surprisingly honest about food.

The omega seemed to realize only then that he had eaten everything. His ears turned slightly red. Fortunately, the blindfold hid most of his expression.

"Have a good night," Ilyan said softly as he rose to his feet.

Without waiting for a response, he walked toward the window and climbed onto the ledge.

Raniel instinctively turned toward the sound.

"You’re leaving?" After the word left his mouth, he gasped.

Why was he even asking?

For a brief moment, both men remained silent.

Raniel immediately regretted speaking.

Why did it sound as though he wanted the alpha to stay? It was unlike him to cling to someone.

Ilyan, meanwhile, couldn’t hide the smile forming on his face.

"Unfortunately, yes. If the guards find me here, I might not be allowed to visit you again. And this time, they might confine me, you know. We can’t afford that, can we?"

The omega lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing that reaction, Ilyan’s smile softened.

He looked at the small room once more before exhaling. He didn’t ask about Raniel’s living conditions. He didn’t ask why the omega slept on the floor. Nor did he ask about the scars he had noticed on his hands and wrists.

The two of them had only just met.

Why would Raniel reveal his story to a stranger?

Trust wasn’t something that could be demanded. It had to be earned.

For now, all Ilyan could do was wait patiently, slowly win the omega’s trust, and hope that one day Raniel would choose to tell him the truth himself.

With that thought in mind, the alpha jumped out of the window and disappeared into the darkness.

The room fell silent once more.

Yet for some reason, as Raniel pulled the blanket over himself and closed his eyes, the room no longer felt quite as empty as before.

Instead, the freezing floor also felt warm.

"I must have gone crazy..." Raniel muttered to himself.

***

After breaking through the first wall, it was no longer difficult for Ilyan to approach Raniel.

It seemed the omega’s defences had begun to crumble, one by one, until the young man who once glared at him every time they met no longer immediately chased him away.

Every time Ilyan left the Temple grounds, he returned with something in his hands.

And, although Raniel would never admit it aloud, he had begun looking forward to those visits.

"Here, I brought you a book. You like reading, don’t you?" Ilyan said one afternoon, extending a thick book toward him.

Raniel stared at the cover. More specifically, he stared at the symbols decorating it. Symbols he couldn’t read. Heat immediately rushed to his ears, turning red.

"I... can’t read this."

Ilyan blinked.

"Why not?"

The question only made Raniel feel more embarrassed.

"Well..." He lowered his head, anxiously picking at his nails. "I never learned to read this language. Or speak it." The confession left his mouth quietly.

Will Ilyan think I’m stupid? Will he laugh at me like the other kids? Will he get tired of me?

Before he could spiral any further into his thoughts, the alpha’s cheerful voice interrupted them.

"Oh! No wonder you don’t speak it either. That’s alright. I can teach you."

Although I don’t understand why the High Priests didn’t teach you... It’s basic.

The alpha pondered.

Raniel froze before slowly lifting his head toward the grey outline standing before him. For several moments, he couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

How kind.

The thought appeared in his mind before he could stop it. He had met many alphas throughout his life.

Some had feared him. Others had used him. Many had hurt him. Yet none had ever treated him with such patience.

Another time, Ilyan arrived carrying a long piece of fabric.

"This is for you," he said while wrapping it around Raniel’s shoulders. "Winter is approaching, and I don’t want you freezing."

The scarf carried the faint scent of pine trees and fresh snow.

Raniel secretly wore it every night afterward.

Then another gift arrived.

"Keep this blanket," Ilyan said while dropping a thick bundle into his arms. "It’s much warmer than the one you’re using. I hunted the wolves myself."

The blanket was heavy yet soft and warm.

For the first time in years, Raniel slept through an entire night without waking from the cold.

And the gifts continued to come.

Sometimes they were books, sometimes food, sometimes simple items that Ilyan claimed had reminded him of Raniel while he was outside.

Before long, the room that had once been nearly empty slowly began filling with small traces of another person’s presence.

A stack of books rested near the wall. The thick blanket covered the floor where he slept. The scarf remained folded carefully beside him whenever he wasn’t wearing it. And much more.

The room no longer felt quite as lonely as it once had. And without realizing it, Raniel’s heart had begun changing as well.

Just as Ilyan had filled the empty corners of his room, he had gradually carved out a place for himself within the omega’s heart.