Chapter 314 - No touch

Chapter 314: Chapter 314 - No touch

By the time Dican returned to his chambers, the excitement he had felt after waking had faded considerably.

Nansich’s rejection shouldn’t have bothered him this much. They barely knew each other. As far as Nansich was concerned, Dican was a married man who had hugged him without permission, kissed him in a healing chamber, and then chased him through half the palace insisting some invisible bond existed between them.

When he thought about it that way, Dican couldn’t exactly blame him for running.

Still, the words we’re definitely not mates had lodged somewhere unpleasantly deep.

Dican rubbed the gem between his brows as the doors to his chambers opened. He was still trying to understand why his body reacted so strongly to someone who clearly wanted nothing to do with him when he noticed that he wasn’t alone.

Bian was sitting near the window.

Dican stopped.

Bian had obviously dressed carefully. A silky golden shirt draped loosely over his body, thin enough in places for his pale skin to show beneath it. His blond hair had been brushed until it gleamed, falling neatly around his shoulders, and delicate jewelry rested at his throat and wrists. He looked beautiful, exactly the way someone waiting for their husband after two days apart might want to look.

The instant Bian saw him, his eyes widened.

"Dican!"

He rushed over.

Dican barely had time to react before Bian threw his arms around him.

His body stiffened.

The reaction was immediate and so strong that it startled him.

He didn’t like this.

There was nothing objectively wrong with Bian’s touch. His body was warm, his arms familiar, and there was a soft fragrance clinging to his clothes that Dican vaguely remembered smelling many times before.

Yet something inside him recoiled.

Dican’s brows drew together as discomfort crawled over his skin. The feeling was completely different from what had happened with Nansich. Even remembering Nansich’s body against his in the healing chamber had filled him with warmth. With Bian pressed against him now, all Dican wanted was a little space.

He gently caught Bian by the shoulders and moved him back.

Bian froze.

Dican noticed the hurt on his face immediately and felt guilty. "Sorry. I just..."

He didn’t know how to finish.

Bian stared up at him. His eyes were already becoming wet.

"I missed you so much, husband."

The word made Dican uncomfortable in a way it shouldn’t have.

Bian lowered his head, fingers clutching the front of Dican’s loose healing clothes. "They wouldn’t even let me near the healing bay. I kept asking them, but no one listened to me. I’m your mate. Why wouldn’t they let me stay with you?"

His voice broke slightly, and tears slipped down his cheeks.

"I just wanted to be near you. I was so scared something would happen while I wasn’t there. Why couldn’t they let me see my own husband? It’s too cruel..."

Usually, this was enough.

Bian knew exactly how Dican reacted when he cried. The serum made his attachment almost painfully intense. Dican would immediately pull him close, wipe away his tears and kiss his face until he stopped crying. Sometimes he would become angry on Bian’s behalf without Bian even having to ask.

So Bian waited.

Dican looked down at him awkwardly.

Then he raised one hand and patted his shoulder.

"There, there."

Bian’s crying nearly stopped.

Dican clearly realized how terrible his attempt at comfort had been because he patted him again, somewhat more gently.

"I’m okay now. Don’t cry."

Bian stared at him.

That was it?

Dican gave him a small, apologetic smile. "The healers probably had a reason. I was apparently in pretty bad shape."

Bian’s fingers slowly tightened.

Something was very wrong.

He had noticed it before Dican collapsed, but this was worse than he’d feared. There was no adoration in Dican’s eyes. No desperation to comfort him. Even when Bian had hugged him, Dican had moved him away almost immediately.

The serum has weakened too much.

Bian’s stomach twisted.

He had to fix this quickly.

Fortunately, he had prepared for exactly that.

Keeping his expression wounded, Bian lowered his gaze and slipped one hand into the folds of his clothing. Hidden inside was a tiny amount of the purple serum. Not enough to restore complete control for long, but enough to strengthen what remained in Dican’s body.

Directly into the bloodstream would have been best. An injection was fast and reliable, but there was no chance Dican would calmly stand there while Bian brought out a needle without asking questions.

There were other ways.

The serum could be absorbed through the mouth, especially through a small wound along the gums or lips. It wasn’t as effective, but Bian only needed enough to make Dican pliable again.

He carefully smeared a tiny amount onto the tip of his finger before lowering his hand.

When he looked up again, his expression had softened.

"I’m sorry."

Dican blinked. "For what?"

"For causing trouble."

Bian stepped closer.

This time Dican didn’t immediately move, although his shoulders visibly tensed.

"I was frightened," Bian whispered. "When they took you away, I thought I was going to lose you."

He raised his hand and gently touched Dican’s chest.

Dican looked down at the hand.

There it was again.

That uncomfortable feeling.

Why?

This was Bian.

His husband.

They had been married for years. Bian should have been the person whose touch felt most familiar to him, so why did Dican have to resist the urge to move away?

Bian rose onto his toes.

Dican immediately understood what he intended to do.

A kiss.

His body reacted before his mind could reason through it.

He stepped back.

Bian’s lips stopped inches from his.

For one horribly awkward moment, neither of them spoke.

Dican’s eyes widened slightly as he realized what he’d done.

Bian stared at him.

The humiliation was almost unbearable.

Five years.

For five years, Dican had never rejected his kisses. There were times when Bian barely had to look at him before Dican pulled him close himself.

Now he was backing away like Bian was a stranger.

Dican rubbed the back of his neck, guilt spreading across his face. "Sorry. I... I’m still feeling a little strange after waking up."

Bian said nothing.

Dican glanced toward the door.

He needed to leave.

The thought came with such immediate relief that he seized it without thinking.

"My brother!"

Bian blinked. "What?"

"My brother is calling me."

There had been absolutely no sound.

Dican pointed vaguely toward the door anyway. "I have to go."

"Dican—"

"I’ll see you later!"

He was already moving.

Bian reached for him, but Dican slipped past before his fingers could catch his sleeve. A moment later, the doors opened and closed behind him.

Silence filled the room.

Bian remained exactly where he was.

His hand was still raised from where he’d tried to touch Dican.

Slowly, his fingers curled inward.

The tiny smear of purple serum remained on his fingertip, completely useless.

His beautiful expression disappeared.

"Fuck."

Bian wiped the serum carefully back into the small container, his hands beginning to tremble.

The control wasn’t merely weakening.

It was almost completely gone. ℯℯ𝑙.

Without the serum clouding his mind, Dican didn’t even want Bian touching him. He had moved away from his embrace, ignored his tears and refused his kiss.

Bian’s breathing grew uneven.

He couldn’t allow this.

Dican was the reason he had survived here. His status, his power, the respect servants and officials showed him, the life he had built inside this palace, all of it rested on being Dican’s beloved mate.

And now Dican was avoiding him.

Worse, there was another mate in the palace.

Nansich.

Bian stared at the closed doors.

His grip tightened around the vial.

"How am I supposed to get it into you," he whispered bitterly, "if you won’t even let me touch you?"