L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 90

“Uh, huh?”

Caught off guard, Koi stammered without even realizing it. Ashley furrowed his brow. That’s when Koi remembered—he’d been the one to call Ashley’s name.

Why did I call him again?

He’d already forgotten. Blinking in confusion, he saw Ashley tilt his head, now wearing only pants. Finally, Ashley’s face came into focus in Koi’s vision—he looked exhausted, pale, with dark shadows under his eyes.

Ah.

Koi suddenly remembered why he’d called out.

“Um... you don’t look well...”

He hesitated, then added nervously,

“It’s... not because of me, is it?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, they became an undeniable truth in Koi’s mind. Ashley’s pale face, his worn-out look—it was all Koi’s fault. Because he’d rejected him.

What if Ash starts to hate me?

I should’ve done what he wanted. Regret came crashing in. It wasn’t even that big of a deal. He could’ve just put up with it for a little while. How disappointed must Ashley have been? After saying all that stuff about how much he liked him, he’d turned him down at the one moment Ashley truly needed him. It was just touching him. That wasn’t such a huge thing, was it?

I should’ve said anything was okay.

But there was no turning back now. The moment had passed. All that was left was going home. Why am I so stupid? Koi sniffled, trying to steady his breath as his nose burned with emotion. And just then, Ashley strode toward him in long, powerful steps.

“Koi, are you crying again?”

“N-no!”

Koi quickly shook his head, but Ashley didn’t believe him. He reached out with both hands and cupped Koi’s face, gently tilting it up. Caught off guard, Koi let his gaze rise, and Ashley studied him with a serious expression.

“Koi, you’re not regretting it or thinking something weird, are you?”

“Huh?”

The unexpected question made Koi blurt it out without thinking. Ashley continued with earnest eyes.

“About what happened earlier. Be honest with me. We’re dating, right? We can’t lie or keep things from each other.”

We’re dating.

The moment he heard that, Koi’s anxiety eased and was replaced with trust. Ash was right. Koi took a deep breath and gave a small nod.

“I thought... you were mad at me because of what happened.”

“I wasn’t. Not at all. Why would you think that?”

Ashley’s answer was so firm and certain that Koi had no room for doubt. He felt relieved—but also guilty. Ashley wasn’t some monster, so why had he assumed the worst of him?

“Sorry,” Koi murmured, then added,

“Your face didn’t look good... and I know how painful it is to stop in that kind of state...”

Saying it out loud made him feel even worse. He’d done something cruel again.

“If I’d just had a little more courage... I’m sorry.”

“Koi.”

Ashley spoke his name softly. Koi hesitated, then looked up to find him staring down with a serious expression.

“Don’t say things like that. Even if the mood was there and I wanted it—if you didn’t want it, then we don’t do it.”

Koi couldn’t respond right away. Ashley kept going.

“If you didn’t want it, but went along with it just because of me—because /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ of the mood—that would’ve made me a rapist. You don’t want that, right?”

“N-no! Of course not!”

“Exactly.”

Ashley nodded.

“Then it’s fine. Don’t regret it. You were honest about how you felt in the moment. If you force yourself to do something just to please me, even when you don’t want to, I’ll get hurt.”

His words hit Koi like a wave. Slowly, Koi nodded.

“...Okay.”

The voice that came out next was much lighter.

“I’ll do that.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Ashley smiled like that was all he needed, then leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips before pulling back.

“That wasn’t too much, was it?”

“No, I liked it.”

Koi said it without thinking—then his face turned bright red. Ashley laughed out loud, gave him another kiss, and returned to his locker.

He’s not upset after all.

Relieved, Koi watched him pull on his shirt—but then a new thought hit him. Even if he’s okay emotionally... what about physically?

He’d looked like he was walking funny earlier. Koi, still worried, spoke up again.

“Hey, Ash.”

Ashley peeked out from behind his shirt to look at him. Koi asked cautiously,

“Are you okay? I mean, physically...”

He quickly clarified to avoid any misunderstandings.

“I mean—you were in the shower a long time. I don’t want you catching a cold or anything.”

He spoke from the heart, but Ashley didn’t answer right away. He paused, as if searching for the right words, and then finally replied.

“...I probably won’t catch a cold anymore.”

“Huh? A cold?”

Koi tilted his head, confused. But Ashley didn’t explain further. He just grabbed his bag.

There was one simple reason.

Because Ashley had manifested as an extreme alpha.

What made extreme alphas so highly regarded was their superior immunity. That immunity—several times stronger than average—was fueled by their unique pheromones. Compared to normal alphas, their scent was stronger, and the amount of pheromone they produced was exponentially higher.

Because of this difference in both quantity and quality, extreme alphas rarely got sick, even with something like the common cold. They were also highly resistant to alcohol and drugs. Getting drunk or addicted was nearly impossible. Assuming they didn’t die in an accident, they generally lived longer than the average person. The physical and psychological advantages were endless. In many ways, manifesting as an extreme alpha was seen as a divine blessing.

Their pheromones were what made them so powerful—but they also came with a price. Changing eye color to violet was a minor side effect. The real problem was that their pheromones were neurotoxic. Because their bodies constantly secreted them in massive quantities, the buildup could turn poisonous.

The academic term was simply: “the brain melts.” But the actual symptoms varied—most commonly memory loss, or in severe cases, madness or early-onset dementia. To prevent this, extreme alphas had to regularly release their pheromones.

One day, Ashley would have to face that too. For the rest of his life, he’d be fighting the thing inside him—a black mass of desire coiled and ready to devour him if he ever let his guard down.

“Let’s go.”

Ashley spoke first, grabbing Koi’s bag from the bench and slinging it over his shoulder.

“Oh.”

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Koi snapped out of it and quickly rushed to his side.

“H-here, I can carry my own bag.”

Seeing Ashley now carrying both their bags made Koi feel terribly guilty.

“You’re tired already...”

He glanced at Ashley’s face as he spoke. It looked a little better than before, but remembering how pale he’d looked coming out of the shower, Koi’s worry flared up again. He’d stayed in there for so long. And Koi was always catching colds—he couldn’t let Ashley get sick too.

But Ashley’s response was the same.

“I’m fine, Koi. Really.”

And he meant it. His body wasn’t what was bothering him.

Fuck. My dick hurts.

Ashley scowled slightly. That had been the most intense and drawn-out jerk-off session of his life. He wasn’t someone who did it often. He didn’t need to. Sure, occasionally he’d rub one out, but never more than once or twice. He’d never imagined grinding himself raw like that.

But this time, he’d had no choice.

Koi’s cheerleading uniform. Nothing turned him on more—except Koi in that uniform. He’d buried his face in the fabric, breathing in Koi’s scent. By the end, he was literally grinding against the material until he came.

Koi didn’t seem to have the slightest clue about the fate of that uniform. But Ashley did. It was in his bag, right now, slung over his shoulder. Just thinking about it made his dick twitch again. If he hadn’t spent an hour calming himself down, his anaconda would’ve been up again by now.

Is it the pheromones? Is that why I’m like this?

Don’t make me laugh. You wanted to kidnap Koi and do all sorts of depraved shit to him even before your manifestation.

Yeah. Don’t blame the pheromones—you were already a fucked-up bastard before.

For once, his inner voice was in full agreement. Ashley reluctantly accepted that this... was just who he was.