XVII

Baekhyun closed the door of his office and leaned against it, his heart racing.

He couldn’t be pregnant. He had used protection during his heat, he remembered it clearly.

Except... once.

Baekhyun’s hand went to his mouth as he recalled it. It had been during the second day of his heat. He had awoken at three in the morning, completely hard, wet and desperate. Chanyeol had been sprawled on the bed next to him, half like he had been too exhausted to finish undressing. Baekhyun had done what his instinct told him, he pounced on his alpha and whimpered in his ear until Chanyeol was awake- at least awake enough for them to do it. Chanyeol had tried to reach out and grab the box of condoms from the bedside table, but Baekhyun had whined and started to ride him before he could get them.

It had been just one time, though.

No. He was probably over reacting. All he needed to do was focus on his work and wait for his body to get rid of whatever virus he had caught. He already had enough on his plate without being paranoid.

*

“I said I was busy, what are you doing in my office?” Kai asked without sparing Baekhyun a glance.

Baekhyun closed the door, came in and sat down on the chair in front of Kai’s desk. “I asked you to come to mine and you didn’t.”

“Yes, because I was busy.”

“Doing what?”

“None of your business.”

“I’m in charge of this area, Kai. If what you’re doing isn’t my business, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in this office.”

Kai laughed at this. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to talk to me like this. I used to wish for the day you got claimed, you know? I thought your mate would finally tame you, but you got that joke of an alpha that is Chanyeol.”

A deep growl came out of Baekhyun’s throat. “Don’t bring Chanyeol into this.”

“Or what?” Kai snapped back. He stood up from his chair, walked around the desk and, grabbing both arms of Baekhyun’s chair, turned him around and leaned in threateningly.

The dominance in Kai’s eyes made Baekhyun want to run away and hide behind Chanyeol. Not even his own alpha could intimidate him like this. His lip quivered.

“I- I-...”

“Look, Baekhyun. This isn’t working out. You need to resign this position, and let someone else handle it.”

“I’m not going to resign for you!” Baekhyun yelled, his anger overshadowing his fear. “In fact, you’re the one that’s going to leave.” He took a deep breath, maintaining eye contact. “You’re fired, Kai.”

Kai arched an eyebrow. “What did you just say?”

“I said: You're fired. You haven't presented anything in the past week, you weren’t present in the last meeting. And-”

“You can’t fire me.”

“I most certainly can, just like you know Suho could.”

There was a long silence.

“You. Can’t. Fire. Me,” Kai hissed, leaning closer towards Baekhyun.

“Go ahead, Kai. Force me to submit like we were in the ing forest," the brunet taunted. "Yank my head back and bite my neck until I obey you, you’re just going to get a lawsuit and you will still be fired. I’m not part of your pack, and this isn’t the Stone Age.”

Kai growled. “You little-” His hand went to Baekhyun’s nape, forcefully grabbing a handful of his hair. Baekhyun could feel he was shaking with r