[BL] Alpha, You've Got the Wrong Mate!

Chapter 296 — Bad At Acting

"Ren?" Enzo’s voice came from the other side of the door, tense and urgent. "Are you awake? I need to talk to you. Urgently."

The alpha and omega glanced at each other, equally confused.

"Why does he want to talk to you so early in the morning?" Zayden asked, frowning.

He didn’t like this.

Not at all.

"I will go and check—"

Just as Ren was about to sit up, Zayden gently pressed him back against the pillow.

"No. I told you to rest. I will go see what he wants," he said as he stepped out of bed. He already had his pants on and only needed to slip into his white shirt.

"Oh, and by the way," he added, turning back, "I gave you a shower while you were asleep. You can change into something later."

With that, he headed for the door and opened it.

Enzo stood before him, breathing hard as if he had run there. He gripped his cane tightly, his arm trembling.

"Z-Zayden?" he murmured, brows knitting together. "What are you doing here so early—"

He stopped abruptly, his gaze shifting past him to where Ren lay wrapped in a blanket, half-naked.

Zayden hadn’t come early.

He had been here all night.

And strangely, it didn’t bother him. Not anymore.

Zayden’s expression sharpened, not hearing the man before him speak.

"Why are you here?" he asked sharply. "What happened?"

Enzo swallowed, his grip tightening around his cane.

"It’s about Yusha," he said, voice unsteady. "He is nowhere to be found."

Zayden’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

He stepped out of the room at once, closing the door firmly behind him. If Ren heard this, he wouldn’t be able to rest and would immediately start overthinking—even if it turned out to be nothing serious, as usual.

Inside the hall, Ren froze.

Yusha?

Ignoring the dull ache in his back, Ren hurriedly pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt. The moment the door shut, he rushed toward it, heart pounding, and opened it again.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked, breathless. "Isn’t he in his room?"

Enzo shook his head.

"It’s empty."

"Ren—"

"My friend is missing," the silver-haired man interrupted, gaze unweavering.

He wasn’t going to sit still under such circumstances.

Zayden sighed, rubbing his temples before narrowing his eyes, his mind already racing.

"Did you ask the guards? Maybe he went outside."

Enzo shook his head again.

Zayden exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stay calm.

"Alright," he said. "Let’s do that first—before we start panicking."

Then he turned toward Ren, folding his arms.

"And you—go back inside."

Ren frowned. What was wrong with Zayden? Why did he keep insisting he stay in the room and rest?

"Your heat will start today," Zayden said with a weary sigh, slamming his palm lightly against his forehead.

Realization finally dawned on Ren—he had forgotten.

Zayden also understood. It completely slipped from Ren’s mind, judging by the glare the omega kept giving him.

"Go back to the room," he continued more gently, his gaze softening. "Please. I will get you suppressants. Proper ones this time."

Ren hesitated, then sighed, lowering his head.

"But Yusha—"

"I will find him," Zayden said firmly, meeting Ren’s eyes. "Do you not trust me?"

Ren swallowed, staring into his eyes for a long moment before parting his lips.

"I... I do."

Zayden nodded once.

"Good. Enzo, follow me," he commanded, fastening the second button of his shirt that he hadn’t had time to before.

The other omega followed quietly, the sound of his cane echoing through the empty hallways, louder than the soft thud of their boots.

***

By noon, Zayden had questioned nearly every guard, but none of them had seen Yusha leave or enter the mansion since yesterday morning.

It became clear: the omega was somewhere inside the mansion.

The General had ordered all staff—not including the kitchen workers—to search for him, but their efforts were in vain.

"Did he teleport or something?!" Zayden snapped, slamming his hand against the wall in frustration.

Just then, a guard approached cautiously, hesitating with each step.

"M-My Lord..."

"What?!" Zayden barked, his patience worn thin from a morning full of bad news. He didn’t expect anything good from the man standing before him.

"I-I... Are you speaking of a man with long dark violet hair?" the guard stammered.

"Yes! Did you see him?!" Zayden grabbed the knight by his shoulders, urgency sharp in his voice.

The guard panicked, eyes widening, and swallowed hard before nodding.

"I saw him last night. A man was carrying him."

Zayden’s frown deepened.

"Who?"

"I think... it was one of your subordinates," the guard replied cautiously.

"How does he look?" Zayden pressed.

"Hm... I’m unsure. He was wearing a jacket, hat, and muffler—hiding his face and features. But..." The guard paused, thinking harder. "I once heard the other guards refer to him. His name... it starts with L."

Zayden let out a dry, mocking laugh. Of course. It had to be Liam. Who else would take an interest in an omega, especially one who was friends with Ren, apart from the alpha who had impregnated him?

Now that he knew, he had to decide what to do. If he told Ren, the omega would panic and try to rescue Yusha.

It might seem easy at first, but they had no right to interfere—not if Yusha, himself, had chosen to cover for Liam.

And as an omega who had been devoted to that man for so many years, could he really stand against him?

Zayden rubbed his temples, his mind racing.

Ren was about to go into heat. If he told him about Yusha, Ren would panic and rush into danger. His back was still sore, and by night his body would be highly sensitive to alpha pheromones.

Zayden sighed.

He hated lying, but he couldn’t risk Ren getting hurt.

"I just need to find Yusha first. Then I’ll tell Ren," he muttered, nodding to himself.

By then, the guard had already left. When Zayden looked up, Enzo was standing there, glaring at him.

"What?" Zayden asked, feigning cluelessness.

"You’re bad at acting," Enzo shook his head. "Just tell him the truth. You can keep him in the mansion afterward."

Zayden clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

"You don’t know him. When he wants something, he makes sure he gets it. Like... finding the son he thought he lost and—" He cut himself off. Enzo didn’t need to know about Ilyan.

"Finding his son? Wasn’t he with you from the beginning?" Enzo raised an eyebrow.

"I mean... like whenever they play hide and seek," Zayden lied smoothly.

Surprisingly, he was better at it than he expected.