The Boss’s Substitute Lover

Chapter 3 Aurora

Altair woke up from the chamber, eagerly searching around for the piece of paper, but to no avail.

Looking around, he saw that the chamber was in ruins, with the scratches and bite marks of wild animals everywhere. At this moment, he was extremely weak, his legs trembling, and his skin displayed a bluish-purple hue. He had not expected that the transformation during the full moon would cause him to lose his memory directly. Perhaps after twenty years of waiting, finally receiving some news had caused his blood to boil and his emotions to be exceptionally agitated.

Altair had wolf-human and vampire blood in his veins, so it was possible for some unexplained phenomenon to occur in him.

In his hazy consciousness, he glimpsed Lorcan.

He remembered when he met Lorcan, it was in a hotel in Iceland. At that time, Altair had given himself a long vacation and wanted to go to Iceland to see the aurora.

When checking in, Altair noticed Lorcan, or rather no one would not notice Lorcan. He had an extremely outstanding appearance, with a sharp profile and a handsome face, full of youthful vigor. His eyes were very bright, like the brightest stars in the night sky fell into his eyes.

Altair almost drowned in these eyes, he even heard his heartbeat like the drums echoing in his ears, neat and powerful.

Lorcan saw him and gave him a smile.

Altair did not approach further, he just pushed his luggage and turned around to leave. He was the successor of the Sterling family, a wolf-human and vampire hybrid, with too many secrets to have a confidante love. Such a young man, bright and beautiful, would never belong to him.

The weather in Iceland was extremely dry and cold, as if every inch of air had frozen, giving people the feeling of being surrounded by ice. Behind the wooden house was a towering and continuous snow-covered mountain, and in front was an endless grassland. After unpacking in the wooden house where he was staying, Altair decided to go for a walk.

He chose a steep snow-covered mountain slope. Although the slope was steep, his pace was steady. He felt that someone was following him, but he didn't look back.

"Good morning, sir." The person behind called out to Altair, because he knew he might not be able to catch up with him.

After hearing the voice, Altair raised his eyebrows slightly and turned around. He looked down at the person and didn't speak, but scanned him with his eyes. It turned out that the young man was the person he had met in the hotel. The young man waved his hand and shouted with his eyes open, "You're walking too fast, can you wait for me?"

However, Altair didn't respond. He turned around and continued walking at a steady pace. He didn't want any unexpected events during his vacation.

The young man started to walk faster, but it was very dangerous to run on a steep mountain slope. Finally, he caught up with Altair and complained, "Why didn't you wait for me?" He patted his hand and said, "My name is Lorcan Nieva. I'm alone in Iceland and want to find someone to watch the aurora with me."

When Altair turned around to answer, the person behind suddenly lost his balance and fell backwards. Altair instinctively grabbed Lorcan's hand, but he didn't expect that some magic seemed to be cast, and they fell down together. Altair immediately protected Lorcan's head with his hand and pressed it against his neck. They rolled down the mountain slope.

Altair struggled and used one hand to grab rock after rock to slow down the rolling speed and finally stopped. The two people were now both messy and had some injuries."Can you still stand up?" Altair looked down at Lorcan with annoyance as he stood up, offering his hand to help Lorcan up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I swear! Don't be angry, I'll treat you to dinner tonight," Lorcan looked up at Altair with a pitiful expression, his handsome face and sincere apology making it impossible for anyone to scold him. "But I think I can't stand up. Why don't you go first and let me sit here for a while." Lorcan tried to support himself with his hands, but seeing that he couldn't stand up, he looked disappointed and the light in his eyes went out.

Altair sighed, walked towards Lorcan, took his hand, and felt helpless. Then he crouched down, indicating that Lorcan could climb onto his back. However, from an angle that Altair couldn't see, Lorcan's mouth curled up slightly, and his eyes shone with contentment.

"Thank you so much. You are such a kind person," Lorcan's head rested on Altair's shoulder, and he whispered hot breath into Altair's ear, "But you haven't told me your name yet."

Altair carried Lorcan and walked slowly down the mountain slope, "Altair Sterling."

"Then let me treat you to dinner today. I know the chef of this hotel. I can ask them to make delicious food. Food that no one else can eat!" Lorcan's eyes sparkled as he leaned in close to Altair's ear and spoke in a low voice, as if sharing a secret.

"Speak normally, I can hear you," Altair turned his head away from Lorcan's ear, "Don't cause any trouble."

"I see that you came to Iceland alone. Would you like to consider coming with me?" Lorcan continued to speak enthusiastically, inviting Altair to join him.

Altair didn't answer but carried Lorcan quietly, listening to the young man talk continuously. Somehow, he felt that Iceland wasn't that cold either, and there was a kind of warmth jumping around, as if he had encountered it before.

"We're here," Altair stood at the entrance of the hotel, "Do you need me to take you to your wooden house?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lorcan nodded quickly in agreement, excitedly showing Altair the way. His voice was clear and pure, like dew condensed in the morning sun. "By the way, I have alcohol here. I see that your hands are also a bit scratched. Turn right and go to the end, that's the wooden house where I live."

Altair entered Lorcan's room and sat on a wooden chair. His gaze followed Lorcan as he limped around the room looking for alcohol. Altair watched for a while and finally smiled. His smile was like melting snow and ice, a gentleness honed in snow and water. It was clear and cold, like winter moonlight. "Don't pretend, you're not limping."

Lorcan didn't get angry when he was exposed but just shrugged calmly, looking back at Altair's hands, "Your hands aren't scratched either, but you still came into my room." He picked up a cup of hot red wine from the pot on the table and the intoxicating fruit aroma mixed with fresh grass and wood aroma and the mellow aroma of red wine came overwhelming. "Try the hot red wine I made, my savior."

He looked at Altair with sparkling eyes, like stars in the night sky falling into Altair's heart.

Altair didn't dare to look directly into those eyes. He reached out and took the cup, took a sip, and the slightly tipsy red wine rolled into his throat, as if igniting a fire in his cold body. The entrance was slightly sweet with a long fruity aroma followed by spicy alcohol. Altair loved it and took a few more sips.

"The alcohol content is not low, I warned you." Lorcan looked at Altair with a smirk, sat next to him and held hands, carefully looking at the back of Altair's hands and arms. "It's strange that your hand is not bruised." Lorcan's fingertips had a thin layer of calluses, and he rubbed Altair's hand and put more force on the wrist.

Although Altair was sober at this time, he was a little tipsy due to the red wine. He smiled and acquiesced to Lorcan's temptation without stopping him, because the warm touch made him a little addicted, and Lorcan's affectionate eyes made it impossible for him to escape.

It was hard to refuse Lorcan at the first sight, not to mention he was so proactive. Altair raised his head and responded to Lorcan's gaze. They looked directly at each other passionately, their eyes gradually becoming addicted and entangled, and they slowly approached each other with some tentative meaning.

They embraced and kissed in the cabin. This kiss was mixed with the drunkenness of red wine, the coldness of the ice field and the passion of each other's hearts. Altair put his arms around Lorcan's waist and took him into his arms. Lorcan held the back of Altair's neck and turned his head to deepen the kiss. Altair allowed Lorcan to open his mouth and share the aftertaste and spiciness of the red wine with him.

Lorcan sat astride Altair's lap, looking down at his prey and his passionate blush. Altair looked up at Lorcan, restrained his waist with one hand, reached out to hold his neck, pressed him into his arms, and laughed softly, "Lorcan, you brought it here yourself."

At this time, snow began to fall from the sky, drifting down in layers, like a dream. From the wooden house, I could see the magnificent and mysterious peaks in the distance, and the cold and deep glaciers. The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, dispelling the last chill in the room.

In Iceland at night, the desolate wind blows across the ice sheet, making a whistling sound. Connected behind the wooden house is a glass room for viewing the Aurora. Lorcan lay in Altair's arms, looking up at the endless sky.

"I like to travel around and paint the scenery I see." Lorcan said softly, "I have painted deer leaping under the Elbes Mountains, goshawks flying in the Himalayas, waterfalls in the mountains and flowers on the cliffs." Lorcan looked at Altair, the deep affection in his eyes surged out, like a broad galaxy flowing from the sky into the world.

"So, you came to Iceland to paint the aurora?" Altair squinted his eyes and stroked Lorcan's hair, feeling his warmth.

"Originally, it was, but now it's not. The first time I saw you this morning, I was thinking that I might be destined to draw you in Iceland." Lorcan took out a piece of sketch paper from his pocket and handed it to Altair said, "I will start drawing you when I go back to the room. I think if I finish drawing a sketch of you and still miss you, I will come find you."

"And then, you came to me after finishing the sketch?" Altair opened the sketch paper and saw that it was a half-finished sketch, with a few strokes of the pen, clean and crisp lines, a smooth outline, obviously drawn by an artist with great skill and care. "Why didn't you finish the facial features?" Altair lowered his head and kissed the arch of Lorcan's eyebrows.

"Because I finished drawing half of it, and all I could think about was you, so I came to find you," Lorcan smiled with a hint of pride and complaint, looking at Altair, "You were too cold towards me at first."

Altair's finger traced along the curve of Lorcan's lips, saying, "It was my fault. You finish the sketch now, I want to see it. I want to see the me in your drawing." Altair felt for the pencil on the sofa and handed it to Lorcan.

Lorcan sat up halfway, leaning against Altair's embrace, opening the sketch paper and starting to draw. Altair's eyes were full of the quiet and gentle that came from having seen the world's wonders. His nose was high and well-shaped, his lips were red and plump, and there was a small mole on the corner of his eye.

The sketch paper in Lorcan's hand was like his lips, and Altair looked at the gradually emerging facial features in the sketch paper, just like feeling Lorcan's deep and tender kisses on his face.

The wondrous green aurora settled on the Icelandic skyline, grandly changing in the darkness like a kaleidoscope's dreamlike display. The distant glaciers and snowfields were bathed in a layer of colorful mist. Altair looked at Lorcan's serious profile, watching as the green aurora settled on his nose like a butterfly, its wings fluttering, beckoning and captivating him.

When Lorcan finished the last stroke of his drawing, he looked up with surprise at the sky, his eyes sparkling, grabbed Altair's hand, and pointed to the sky above Iceland, exclaiming, "Aurora! Look at the aurora!"

Altair looked into Lorcan's eyes, watching as they sparkled with a deep and dazzling green light. In his long life, this moment became the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

At this moment, Lorcan turned his head and caught Altair's gaze. Altair looked at him affectionately. Their heartbeats seemed to synchronize with the flashing aurora, as if the entire universe were shining for their love. Altair traced Lorcan's face with his hand and gently kissed his lips.

They kissed under the aurora, embracing each other tightly.