Soren swayed forward at a sudden break.
"What happened?" he asked softly.
"I don't know, someone came in front of the car. Wait a moment, let me ask him..." Before Caelen could complete his sentence, he heard the noise of the car's mirror shattering. He turned around to look back. The car window beside Soren was completely smashed, and a glass bottle hit Ronan's head. The attacker seemed to be a teenager. Before he could hit Soren again, Caelen quickly drove off. He locked the car doors and turned left and right to shake off the boy who clung to the car window as others were trying to smash the rest of the car windows. Caelen could not speed up in case the boy got hurt. Soren pushed the boy, and he fell down. Caelen sped up the car, evading the boys who were running behind.
He noticed that Soren was bleeding, blood seeping down his head and dripping onto his handsome face.
"Look ahead!" Soren yelled as Caelen was distracted and almost hit a vehicle.
Just when he thought they were far away from the attackers, a bullet hit the car's metal, making an ominous noise. He looked out of the window and saw that the teenagers from earlier were holding guns while riding bikes in pairs. Soon after, the car was hit with countless bullets, and Caelen ducked while driving and speeding up. Just then, he heard a groan and looked at Soren. Soren was holding his left shoulder, a hole in his shirt was soaked in blood.
A piercing pain cut through Caelen's chest and he yelled, "Get down under the seats! Hurry!"
But Soren wasn't listening. "Caelen!... You might get hurt," he said through quick breaths.
Caelen hit the car with maximum speed. The teenagers were still following them, but no gunshots could be heard. They had run out of bullets. Caelen heard the sirens and noticed police cars through the rearview mirror. The teenagers started panicking, but Caelen couldn't care less as he headed to the hospital with the same speed.
He turned parked the car in front of the hospital and opened the car's back door, on which broken mirror pieces were pointing up with sharp edges. He held Soren's arm, but Soren got out on his own.
Soren pushed him back, his hands running anxiously over Caelen's body, "are you hurt?"
Caelen caught his hands stopping him, "I am not hurt. I am totally fine." He avoided his anxious gaze, "should I support you?"
"Don't worry... I am fine," he said as he walked inside the hospital, and Caelen followed him closely.
Soren was in the operating room to take out the bullet that had pierced into his arm earlier, while Caelen sat outside waiting.
"Don't call anyone," Soren had instructed him.
But Caelen's head was lost somewhere else. What was that? he placed his hand on his chest. Why would I feel like that?
Huh? How could I feel like that? Then he inhaled. It's all thanks to pheromones. The pheromones that draw me to that bastard!
He kept looking down at the sterilized floor tiles.
Or is that because he looks like Eiran? Or maybe because he is Eiran's father?
He shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. That's not it. It's just damn pheromones. I am not going to get fooled by disgusting scents. He gritted his teeth.
The sound of boots hitting the floor echoed in the hallway, and Caelen lifted his head to see Moren running to him. Tears were coming out of his eyes like rain.
Soren almost smashed a glass into his face. Why is he crying so much?
"How is he?" Moren tried to speak professionally regardless of the fact that he couldn't control his tears.
Just then, Soren walked out with a doctor. His head and arm were wrapped in bandages. Moren quickly wiped his tears, trying to hide them from him. Soren rolled his eyes before walking away with the doctor for further tests.
"Don't worry, he is not that hurt. The doctors have taken out the bullet, he just needs to do further tests in case of a concussion," Caelen explained as he patted Moren, who wiped his tears several times, but new teardrops quickly replaced the old ones.
"But how did you know about it this quickly?" Caelen asked.
"The police called me that my brother was attacked by anti-fans."
"Anti-fans?"
"Yeah, they got arrested, but about the punishment, it might not be much since they are teenagers." Moren settled down on the bench.
Caelen noticed that his hands were shaking. He loves his brother.
"But they had guns," Caelen said as he sat down beside him.
"Yeah, but they would have to investigate to give further information."
"Should I head back since your family might be coming soon?" Caelen asked, looking at his phone for the time.
"No one else will come," Moren turned to him. "I think he might want to see you more than me."
Caelen blinked twice, lost. "But I have to head back. It's pretty late."
"Oh, I see. How about you tell him yourself?" Moren smiled awkwardly. "He will get mad at me if I let you go. You saw him earlier."
"I am sorry about that. I never saw him get angry."
Moren traced his features. "That might be because he likes you, that's why he acts differently in front of you. But don't fear, my brother has a good heart—it's just that he had a rough upbringing."
"Why are you taking his side after what he did to you earlier?"
"He doesn't usually act like that. It's the second time he got physical towards me," Moren looked down, "but it's all because of my own mistakes."
"He is not a good person. You don't have to cover up for him." Caelen leaned back.
"For me, he is the best in my family," Moren smiled warmly. "You just don't know him. He is actually a really good person."
His brother loves him so much.
"But I am not sure if my family will accept a beta." Caelen's eyes widened at his words. "They expect Soren to have kids. My father might make things difficult for you two."
"You keep talking like I am his lover. I think you are misunderstanding. We are not dating," Caelen's voice was blunt. "But did he tell you that he likes me?"
"No, he doesn't talk about such things. It's just that he has been searching for you for years," Moren chuckled slightly. "He is so good at everything, but when it comes to love, he is so clumsy. He makes it so obvious."
Caelen looked at the floor and stayed silent. Searching for me? For Years?
"I am sorry, I thought you also had feelings for him," Moren leaned towards him. "I am older than you, but if you don't mind, would you like to be friends with me?"
Caelen looked at him. "I am sorry, but I don't really feel comfortable about it."
Moren made such a sad face that Caelen felt guilty about rejecting him.
"Then would you consider it later when you feel comfortable?"
"Sure, I will think about it." Although he wasn't planning to be friends with a conglomerate's son, he felt bad about rejecting him.