Chapter 2: Bringing His Wife Home

Holding Shen Qingxian’s hand, Lin Yan practically half-dragged him out of the suffocating supply station.

Outside, a modified military off-road vehicle waited.

Painted deep green and covered in scratches and dried mud, it was massive and rugged, like a steel beast lying in wait.

It suited its owner perfectly.

The biting wind and snow immediately rushed toward them.

Shen Qingxian coughed softly from the cold and instinctively shrank behind Lin Yan’s broad frame.

Lin Yan paused.

He glanced back at him.

His brows furrowed out of habit, but he said nothing.

Instead, he exerted a little force with his arm and practically lifted Shen Qingxian into the passenger seat.

Bang.

The door slammed shut, blocking out most of the howling wind outside.

The cabin smelled strongly of tobacco and faint machine oil.

Most overpowering of all was Lin Yan’s pheromones.

Like tangible gunpowder and blazing liquor, they dominated every inch of the enclosed space.

Shen Qingxian sat stiffly in the oversized seat.

The wild, primal scent seemed to swallow him whole.

His heartbeat became erratic.

His fingertips tingled.

Lin Yan walked around to the rear of the vehicle.

The supply station staff had already wheeled out the three enormous suitcases that looked utterly out of place in the Northern Frontier.

He casually hefted one with a single hand.

Clicking his tongue, he looked visibly annoyed by such flashy, impractical luggage.

Even so, his movements were clean and efficient.

With one effortless lift after another, he loaded all three heavy suitcases into the trunk as though they weighed nothing at all.

The trunk slammed shut with a heavy thud.

It sounded like the final punctuation mark on this hasty handover.

He returned to the driver’s seat, bringing another gust of cold air with him.

The engine roared to life, drowning out Shen Qingxian’s slightly hurried breathing.

The vehicle pulled away from the supply station.

Its tires crunched over the compacted snow-covered road.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Only the engine’s growl and the howling wind outside filled the silence.

Shen Qingxian leaned tightly against the window, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the Alpha whose presence was impossible to ignore.

Outside, desolate scenery rushed past.

Frozen earth.

Withered trees.

Abandoned machinery buried beneath layers of snow.

An endless world of white and gray stretched toward the horizon.

His future…

Seemed just like this unfamiliar wasteland.

Cold.

Unknown.

He secretly stole a quick glance at the man beside him.

Lin Yan drove with an air of relaxed confidence, yet every movement reflected absolute control.

One hand rested casually on the steering wheel.

The muscles of his forearm were firm and well-defined.

A military wristwatch, clearly well worn with age, encircled his wrist.

His other hand held a freshly lit cigarette, elbow propped against the window.

Smoke curled lazily upward, softening the hard edges of his profile.

Shen Qingxian didn’t dare stare for long.

His gaze drifted lower until it landed on the rearview mirror.

Within its reflection, he could make out fragments of Lin Yan.

The sharp line of his jaw.

The subtle movement of his Adam’s apple.

And the large hand gripping the steering wheel.

Its knuckles were distinct.

Its palm was rough with calluses and marked by old scars.

It looked powerful enough to crush anything with ease.

Yet now it controlled the vehicle with remarkable steadiness across the icy road.

Suddenly…

That hand moved.

Perhaps because the silence inside the vehicle had become too oppressive, or perhaps simply out of habit, Lin Yan reached up and adjusted the rearview mirror.

The mirror shifted slightly.

Without warning, Shen Qingxian found himself looking directly into a pair of eyes.

Deep.

Sharp.

Watching him through the mirror.

They had caught him spying.

Like someone burned, Shen Qingxian immediately lowered his eyes.

His heart nearly stopped.

A flush spread uncontrollably across his cheeks.

His fingers nervously twisted the hem of his coat.

He felt like a peeping thief who had been caught red-handed.

There was nowhere to hide.

Lin Yan didn’t look away immediately.

His gaze lingered in the mirror for two full seconds.

It settled on those reddened ears…

And the slightly trembling eyelashes.

The Omega’s vulnerability and panic were obvious.

Like a rabbit that had wandered into a wolf’s den.

Everything about him practically screamed, easy to bully.

The corner of Lin Yan’s mouth seemed to lift almost imperceptibly.

There was an unreadable meaning in that faint expression.

Perhaps amusement.

Perhaps satisfaction.

Only then did he slowly return his attention to the road ahead.

He took a deep drag from his cigarette before exhaling leisurely.

Gray smoke spread through the cabin.

Mixed with his already overwhelming pheromones, it became even more domineering.

The smoke made Shen Qingxian want to cough again.

He forced himself to endure it.

Holding his breath, he turned his face toward the window and pretended to admire the scenery outside.

The redness around his ears refused to fade.

“If you get carsick, say something.”

The deep voice suddenly shattered the silence.

There wasn’t much emotion in it, yet it still made Shen Qingxian’s shoulders tremble slightly.

“…I’m not.”

His answer was quiet and soft.

There was a faint nasal tone to his voice.

Lin Yan said nothing more.

Silence settled over the vehicle again.

Yet something invisible seemed to be quietly taking shape between them.

The Alpha’s pheromones.

The smell of tobacco.

The rumble of the engine.

And those occasional glances through the rearview mirror—filled with scrutiny and unmistakable possessiveness.

Together, they wove an invisible net around the slender Omega seated beside him.

Watching the endless wasteland race past outside the window, Shen Qingxian knew he was being taken into a world entirely ruled by the rugged Alpha at his side.

See…

It wasn’t that no one wanted him.

But…

Was he really going to spend the rest of his life bound to an Alpha like this?

His hand quietly rested against his lower abdomen.

The tension had made the muscles there cramp faintly.

Meanwhile, Lin Yan’s gaze drifted once more to the rearview mirror.

It settled on the slender, pale hand resting on Shen Qingxian’s lap.

Curled tightly into a fist.

So small.

He thought.

And… definitely soft.

The off-road vehicle roared onward, crushing snow beneath its tires.

It sped deeper into the frozen wilderness.

Toward Lin Yan’s outpost.

And toward the tangled future awaiting them both.