Kim Yongsun stepped out of her chili-red sports car and strode towards the private elevator, feeling unusually lost without the presence of her wife, that purple-haired alpha, Moon Byulyi. Habit was a strange thing since that alpha had only started accompanying her to work for short period of time to avoid being abused by her mother. The very thought of that handsome purple-haired alpha filled her heart with gentle warmth like sunshine seeping into every dark corner of her heart.

She had never thought that she would feel so much for another individual, especially an enigmatic and formidable sojourner who was the partner of this marriage of convenience to get out of the devious plan of Lee Changsub and her mother in trying to marry her to the former.

The heels clicked against the polished ground as she pressed the button to her floor. She folded her arms. Now, mother was officially out of the picture. She needed to remind Chorong to inform the security and the receptionist not to allow her mother into Kim Inc anymore.

The glass door opened and she stepped out, greeted by a well-put together Chorong who had been in office co-ordinating some of the work on her behalf and pushing back her appointments due to the delay.

“Yong, you have an appointment with the project manager soon on the release of the new product, an app designed for the media broadcasting firms to interact with their viewers while providing their entertainment services,” informed Chorong quickly, following her into the office. She noticed that her friend looked completely exhausted. The make-up barely hid the dark circles under her eyes.

“I need you to inform security and the receptionist team that my mother is no longer permitted to enter Kim Inc. She has sold all her shares to me and I have ended our familial relationship in the morning. Given her history, I have no idea what she might be capable of doing.”

Chorong looked at her sympathetically, realising she had a terrible morning. “Why are you here then, Yong? If you have moved out of your family home, should you not start looking for another place to stay? Why are you in office even though you looked horrible?” Judging from her level of exhaustion, she inferred that she had just dropped from a feral state—the sudden burst of adrenaline and pheromones had the side-effect of leaving omegas completely drained for the next 24 hours.

“Unnie and Byul will handle that. I have their permission to be here,” added Yongsun dryly, booting up her computer as she sat behind her desk. “I know I have one with the investors too and the publicity team.”

Her PA shook her head lightly and squeezed her shoulder gently. “Yong, you just lost your last parent. You need time to process that pain lest it eats you from inside. I think you should take the time to rest.”

CEO Kim shook her head calmly, ignoring the bone-deep exhaustion. She could not stop least she had no more energy to go through the day. “I did not lose my last parent today. I lost my parents on the day APA passed on. Mother did not care for us and treated us simply as pawns to achieve the desired standard of living she yearned. It took me until last night to realise how vicious this desire was. I had been downplaying her attempts to sell us like products to her loss of husband, a pillar of her life. And I would have continued that farce of parent-child relationship should the effect of her actions were felt by us—Unnie, I and Byul.”

“You’re too kind, Yong,” sighed Chorong. “I don’t know how you deal with her for so long.” The PA brightened up. “Oh yea, I saw what you had contributed to the Charity Gala Dinner. That was a tiara that you have taken from her precious collection right?”

Mrs Kim love for exclusive tiaras were well-known in their social circle and it was no difficult for someone close to Yongsun to connect the dots and discover the source of the tiara.

Yongsun’s eyes curved into twinkling stars as she smiled audaciously, obviously the pruple-haired alpha had rubbed off her. “That was Byul’s doing. She stole the tiara that Heir Lee gave her as dowry for me. In her opinion, that was mine so I should have the right to donate it for a better cause.”

The PA was more effusive as she burst out laughing, supporting herself by holding the corner of the imposing desk. She laughed so hard that tears filled her eyes. “Your wife is really a character.” She flashed a thumb-up, holding her stomach with the other hand. She shook her head, wiping her tears away. “Anyway, I’m glad that Unnie and you are now away from her thumb.”

In a Confucian-based traditional society like Korea, this was the greatest sin one could ever commit since parents were supposed to be worshipped by their children as deities who brought them to life. The strict hierarchy and deeply-ingrained idea of filial piety and respecting the elderly meant that the children had to endure the abuses of their parents and society would simply look away from parents’ manipulation of their children.

The decision to move out and to break familial relationship was unthinkable and would mar Kim Yongsun’s reputation if news got out. It had inconceivable negative consequences on Kim Inc too. Chorong, however, was proud of her friend for choosing her well-being instead of bowing down to the conventions of the society.

“Seulgi has handed the legal aspect of this matter and would likely request this contract to be sealed by today. We don’t have to worry about that. If we can keep Mrs Kim from entering the premises today,” continued Yongsun, checking through her emails swiftly, tapping absently on the table.

Her PA excused herself to handle her request and prepare for the upcoming meetings, leaving Yongsun alone in her office. After she had responded to a bunch of emails, she automatically reached for the spot next to her keyboard and found nothing.

The blonde blinked continuously before she realised that she had always expected a cup of perfectly brewed coffee from her favourite café in the morning and another cup of freshly-brewed tea after lunch.

Her blond brows contracted. Now, how did Byulyi order it for her again? She could barely remember since she left it completely into the hands of Byulyi. Byulyi had briefly explained once and the café that she bought their coffee regularly. She pulled out Kakaotalk so that it was displayed on the screen. “Star, I miss your coffee and I’m so tired. How do you usually order it and where is it from?”

Soon, Chorong came in to get her so that they could attend the scheduled meetings. In the middle of the meeting, Chorong handed her a cup of coffee to keep her awake. The project management team was on the top of their work and was entering the phrase of fine-tuning to the needs of the media broadcasting firm. Unlike Apa, she was not technically trained, learning on the go sufficiently to understand the product but not enough to create one.

It was a torture to remain fully alert and try to process all the information with her lulled mind. In between the back-to-back meetings, she had found the time to formally appoint Chu Sojoung as the acting CFO and announced it across their internal server. She would meet and congratulate CFO Chu personally in the evening after she had cleared most of her urgent meetings.

When Yongsun was finally done with her morning meetings and could take a break in her office, she was surprised to see Moon Byulyi in her office, playing games on her mobile. Her eyes curved into twinkling crescent as she smiled tiredly, darting to her wife.

“Hey,” greeted Yongsun coyly and Byulyi made space to guide her head on her lap to rest for a while. She sighed and turned her head to bury her face into her stomach, breathing that calming scent of wild honeysuckles. She got comfortable while Byulyi adjusted the hem of her dress to protect her modesty.

“How are you here?” She asked, her eyes closed. She was drifting off to sleep quickly. She had assumed that with all the work that needed to be done, Byulyi would not be able to drop by at her office.

Byulyi carded her fingers through her blond hair rhythmically “Hey back. I had to come here. Someone did not get her coffee fix,” teased the purple-haired alpha playfully, earning a smack on her chest as Yongsun cracked an eye at her.

“Let me up. I’ll dimmed the lights,” stated Byulyi. Yongsun stopped her. “I’ve a personal resting area.” She sat up and stretched lightly.

“Why do I not know of this earlier?” Byulyi questioned, frowning. She realised that she could have slept in Yongsun’s personal resting area instead.

“I thought you loved the couch? You can’t get a view of me from my personal rest area.” Mirth danced in her hazel eyes.

“You’re annoying,” decided Byulyi. She rubbed her nape. She watched her wife communicate to her PA that she was going to take a thirty-minute nap and wished not to be disturbed.

The CEO moved to the side of the office behind a sculpture, set against a wall of black panels. She pressed her palm to it, revealing a pad and she keyed the code. The door swung open.

“Star, are you really not coming along?” Yongsun questioned, standing at the door, looking incredulously.

The purple-haired alpha’s eyes widened but she hurried after her before her wife changed her mind and closed the door on her.

The personal resting area was as large as their previous walk-in cabinet, designed solely for the use of a single person. There was a single bed, together with duvet and pillows. The area was dimmed, designed with comfort in mind but was lacking in character.

The blond CEO removed her footwear and sighed as she got on the bed. She patted on the space next to her, a silent invitation to the purple-haired statue to sit next to her. “I have already given you permission to be in my nest.”

Byulyi nodded and removed her leather shoes putting next to Yongsun’s heels. “Does your feet hurt from wearing heels all the time?” She sat on the bed, concerned about her wife.

“I was off my feet together. Just back-to-back meetings.” She lay on her side to create space to urge the younger woman to join her. It took her slowed mind a while to process that this would be the first time that they were sharing a bed.

The beautiful omega turned to her side and glanced at Byulyi. “I went into a feral state last night. I’m still feeling sore and achy all over.”

The purple-haired alpha closed the distance swiftly and spooned her from behind, maximising the amount of contact. Ah, she had forgotten about the post-feral effects. It explained why the older woman was so touchy and clingy. “Is this better, Yong?” She curled her arm around her small waist uncertainly and felt Yongsun holding her hand, relaxing fully.

“I trust you, Star,” mumbled Yongsun quietly, her eyelids getting heavy with each passing second. The warmth against her back and that wild honeysuckle fragrance had her losing her battle against staying awake.

“Of course, you do, Yong. I’ve been nothing but chivalrous,” muttered Byulyi, trying not to let the softness of the petite woman in her arms provoke a more intense reaction from her. It was not very difficult since she was also tired now that she had hit a flat surface. “I wouldn’t trust you, Yong.” There was humour in her voice.

Yongsun chuckled tiredly and let Byulyi tucked her carefully in the duvet. She nodded off straight away, leaving Byulyi to continue to spoon her.

Noticing that her breathing became deeper and more rhythmically, the purple-haired alpha also slipped into slumber. The last thought in her head was that this was the first time she had dare to sleep with anyone and dropped her guard fully.

The purple-haired alpha was the first to surface when the alarm blared half an hour later. Her sapphire eyes were alert as she sat up, scanning her environment quickly—an instinct that had saved her many times in the past. Her taut body relaxed as she ran her hand through her lilac hair before shaking her wife gently, trying to rouse her from her deep slumber.

Byulyi was dazzled for a moment as Yongsun blinked blearily with so much adorableness. Her heart hammered violently that it felt like it was about to leap out from her chest. A blush rose from chest to colour her cheeks as she ogled at her.

The blond yawned as she stretched lazily, not realising that she had the full attention of her gawking wife until she felt fingers pinching her plump cheeks, starling her. She swatted her hands away, offended. She glared at the offender but the latter simply blinked owlishly, as if she wasn’t conscious of her actions.

The purple-haired alpha was wowed by the softness of her cheek, besotted. The irritation on Yongsun’s face morphed into a gaze both intrigued and wary as she examined Byulyi’s wonder. She coughed, grabbing her attention, blushing. “Are you really so um… fascinated with my cheeks?” Her brows were slightly contracted.

Byulyi coughed but noticed that the older woman really wanted an answer. She nodded shyly. She cleared her voice and nodded gingerly. There was none of the suave, just an awkward little fan that was caught amid worshipping their idol. “Yea. You’re real pretty, Yong.” She scratched her nape, blushing furiously. “Anyway, you should be awake. You have a meeting soon.” She dropped to a knee and helped her to put on her heels.

“OK OK. I’m going,” chuckled Yongsun brightly, feeling like a doted spouse as she stood up. “I’ll freshened up now.”

She strolled to the door, smiling to herself. The blonde stopped at the door and watched Byulyi tidy the bed by folding the duvet. “Star-ah, just leave it. I’ll let the cleaner know to change the sheets. I’ll see you later.” Yongsun smiled at her faintly before darting towards the toilet to wash up.

Byulyi was left in Yongsun’s personal area staring at the small bed that they had shared. Her purple brows were furrowed as she placed the neatly-folded duvet on the bed and sighed wistfully, rubbing her nape. She was changing slowly and she could feel a bud of hope for normalcy starting to take root in her heart. She remained in the personal resting area, taking her time to put on her combat boots, until she was certain that Yongsun had left for her meetings.

The purple-haired woman entered the lift lobby, lost in her contemplation. It felt so easy to lose herself in this domestic dream of simply being a jobless alpha who only needed to care for her omega, ignoring all her long hours of specialised training in a harsh environment.

She nodded absently at the receptionist who greeted her politely as she headed out to the usual café to purchase coffee for Yongsun. The café looked moderately occupied from the outside since it was slightly after the lunch rush hour. She pushed open the glass door and the bell chimed, announcing her arrival.

There was a queue in front of the counter where a large coffee machine decorated the expresso bar, along with a display of freshly-baked cakes and pastries. They had lunch specials which were sandwiches set.

A tall and lean man greeted her with sparkling smiley eyes that put people at ease. He bowed slightly, smiling sweetly at Byulyi who shuffled to join the queue. The atmosphere of the café seemed to change slightly with her arrival.

She did not notice some pretty omegas checking their appearance using their mirrors and reapplying their brightly-coloured lipsticks. Only the owner of the café took notice of these actions, requesting the part-timer to take over the counter when he noticed that the braver one stepped forward, wishing to make a small talk with Byulyi.

Sandeul was quick to greet Byulyi and he smiled when all he smelled was an omega’s sweet and floral scent on her. “Where is your wife, Byulyi?” greeted the smiling man.

Byulyi chuckled, flipping her purple hair over her shoulder absently, her wedding band gleaming. “The wife is busy but she needs her coffee.”

The café owner smiled. “I was wondering why you weren’t here in the morning like the ever-dutiful wife.” He winked at her and noticed the glum looks of the omega from the corner of his eyes. At least Byulyi had taken his advice and allowed her wife to scent her. “When are you bringing her here?”

“When you agree to one week of delivery fresh coffee to my wife’s office,” smiled Byulyi cheekily, her sapphire eyes gleaming. She folded her arms across her chest.

“A week is reasonable. I can do that when it isn’t the rush hour,” agreed Sandeul instantly. He was also very interested in meeting Byulyi’s wife, wondering what sort of woman could win the heart of someone as carefree and wild as this purple-haired woman before him.

“Sure, I’ll ask my wife to join me when she’s free.” Byulyi smirked. “I think you better tend to the counter, your part-timer looks like he cannot manage.”

The café owner nodded and excused himself to return to his work, taking note of the disappointed faces of some of the regulars. He had told them overtly that Byulyi was already taken and very in love with her wife, given how frequent she popped by just to get coffee for her. Once again, Byulyi was totally oblivious to their fawning as if she was used to the attention.

They chatted conversationally when he prepared her order along with another recommendation for the alpha herself to perk up. She tipped him generously as she winked impishly at him like a colluder and Sandeul merely laughed. He should have known that the purple-haired alpha merely acted oblivious.

Byulyi whispered a cheerful tune as she returned to Kim Inc. She became automatically on alert when she spotted the frantic gesturing of the receptionist while speaking to a well-dressed gentleman, flanked by two bodyguards.

The security team was missing.

The purple-haired alpha hastily walked to the counter, still maintaining that cheerful appearance. “Ms Rhee, would you mind sending these cups upstairs?” She smiled faintly and handed them to her. The receptionist rushed to do her bidding, seeing it as a way to get out of this precarious situation. She was thinking about how to invite them out of the building when her eyes fell on the well-dressed man who looked very similar to her childhood friend.

Those cold silver eyes brightened with recognition, the cruel sneer faded into a faint smile. “Ah, I did not expect to meet you here, my dear” spoke Kang Guram smoothly. His black hair was slicked backwards, giving him a very clean-shaved and polished look. He had worn the traditional black jacket over white dress shirt ensemble of a lawyer, looking very proper.

“Cloud.” Byulyi frowned, her face hardened visibly.

“Purple suits you my dear,” smiled Cloud ferally, reaching to touch her silky hair but was parried away with her hand so swift that his bodyguards did not catch it.  His smile became razor-like, flexing his injured wrist nonchalantly, too used to her attacks. “It’s sweet of you to still remember me by that name. I go by the name Roscoe now.”

“Why are you here?” The purple-haired alpha did not like him hanging around town. Unlike Seulgi who had a sterling reputation for combatting crimes, and standing for human rights, her elder brother was the exact opposite. His quick intellect and glided tongue were often bought to keep big-time and dangerous thugs on the streets. He did not mind doing some of the dirty work himself, having a perchance for violence.

His grandfather had attempted to sent him to her master to guide him to gain some control over his bloodthirsty wolf but it had only backfired. He became enamoured with their lifestyle and their superiority and strived to become a part of their close-knitted community. She did not follow up since she was out for missions most of the time subsequently.

“For a certain unfilial CEO Kim on the matters of the care of her mother,” stated Roscoe impassively, still flexing his wrist. “Are you escorting me instead, my dear?” He smiled suavely, putting a hand into the pocket of his neatly-pressed trousers as he leaned into her space.

“Why are you here? You should be contacting the lawyer’s office” replied Byulyi brusquely, her eyes narrowing.

Cloud adjusted his cufflinks absently. “And be blown off until the matter is set in stone?” He raised a brow. “I will be leaving with her, no matter.” He leaned against the counter carelessly, looking as if he was waiting for someone rather than going upstairs to fetch her wife. He reached for his roll-up and lighted it up.

No security came to deal with them despite his outrageous behaviour.

Byulyi’s eyes narrowed instantly as she swore internally. She ignored them and checked her mobile for Yongsun’s adjusted schedule. She had a meeting with a potential investor on the 30th floor. She pressed the button of the level, praying very hard that her wife would be fine. There was a cold and sinking sensation and she forced herself to calm down and devise a way to get Yongsun to safety.

“Hwasa, who is Attorney Roscoe working for?” Byulyi cut the chase straightaway when the call connected.

“According to our intelligence, he’s freelancing as he searches for his sibling,” answered Hwasa instantly, sensing the tension in her tone. “Is he here?”

“Yes, I need you to check the reason he is working for the Lee. He is in Kim Inc. If I don’t contact you in an hour, you need to retrieve Yong from the Kolor Café. I believe that they also have her mother.”

“That’s . I’ll try to gather our men. Some of them are still in transit back from the previous mission.”

“It’s fine. Just get Yong.”

The door of the lift opened and she ended the call straightaway, moving swiftly down the corridor. The security team had already been compromised. She could safely assume that they would be feed whoever who was responsible for escorting Yongsun to meet her mother information about everyone on the level.

She smiled brightly when she saw a bunch of well-dressed men trying to break down the door of the meeting room with a chair. Atta girl! She allowed her feral state to rise to the surface, her eyes darkening menacingly as she hooked her arm around a tall middle-aged man who seemed to be calling the shots and twisting his head sharply before throwing him against the men on the left side.

Chaos broke out at once.

“Boss!”  

She dodged the overhead swing of the chair, stepping in nimbly to deliver a sharp elbow , cracking his jaw at the impact. The man dropped backwards like a tree, the chair also falling on him.

She confronted a charge from her attacker head on,