[ ☆ ] ^_^☆*:.｡. o ☆ o .｡.:*☆
The royal wing of the Northern Palace smelled like a battlefield of hormones. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of Kenzo's premature Sigma Alpha heat—a smell of charred iron and wild honey that refused to dissipate. In the center of the largest guest suite, the twins were cocooned in a mountain of silk blankets, but the recovery was not going as planned.
Kenzo's fever had broken his logic. His instinct to protect Calix had mutated into something much more intense: absolute possession. Because they were twins, their mana cores were vibrating at the same frequency, and Kenzo was unintentionally feeding Calix's fever by refusing to stop scent-marking him.
Calix was still locked in his female form, her silver hair fanned out across the pillows. Every time Calix tried to move or breathe, Kenzo would pull her back. One night, while the palace was silent, Calix had fallen into a restless sleep. Kenzo, his eyes half-luminous with the remnants of his heat, woke up and immediately dragged Calix into a crushing back-hug. He buried his face in the crook of Calix's neck, his pheromones flooding the air.
He wasn't trying to be inappropriate—he was a child driven by a primal need to ensure his "vulnerable" half didn't disappear. But this constant exposure meant Calix's body couldn't "cool down." The heat was being artificially extended by Kenzo's presence.
While the children struggled, Arion was dealing with the architects of the chaos. He didn't just expel Vane and Leo; he dismantled their futures.
In the Great Throne Room, Arion stood before the heads of the two noble families. His face was like a winter storm. "Your sons hunted my children," Arion said, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. "They used their status to isolate a Prince and assault him. In the North, we do not tolerate those who prey on the weak."
Arion didn't just take their titles; he seized fifty percent of their lands and barred their bloodlines from serving in the military for three generations. "Consider yourselves lucky," Arion whispered, "that my husband hasn't decided to personally visit your manors. If Kyon goes, there will be no manor left to seize."
The families were dragged out, ruined and disgraced, while the rest of the nobility watched in terror. The message was clear: The Blackwood children were off-limits.
Back in the recovery suite, the servants had prepared a large medicinal bath for the twins to help break the fever. Kenzo insisted on being in the water with Calix, sitting behind her like a stone wall.
Calix, still a bit delirious, was splashing water and playing with a small plastic yellow duck, seemingly oblivious to the gravity of the situation.
Kyon leaned against the doorway, watching the scene with a smirk. "Look at him," Kyon chuckled, pointing at Kenzo. "He's barely ten and he's already guarding that boy like a dragon guarding a hoard of gold. He's more possessive than you were when we first met, Arion. It's almost impressive."
"Kyon, stop it," Arion scolded, his face etched with worry. "This isn't a joke. Kenzo's pheromones are keeping Calix sick. Look at her—she's still flushed."
Arion stepped into the room, his own Kingly aura acting as a dampener. "Kenzo, look at me. You have to stop. You are hurting Calix. If you don't pull back your scent, the fever will damage her mana core. Do you want Calix to stay sick?"
Kenzo's eyes widened, his grip on Calix loosening for the first time in forty-eight hours. The thought of hurting his twin was the only thing that could override his instinct. He took a shaky breath and focused, pulling the "iron" scent back into his skin, leaving only the soft smell of the soap.
In the shadows of the palace, Lily—arion's sister—watched the twins. She saw Calix in her female form, vulnerable and beautiful, and her mind began to whirl with greed.
A shifting Chimera Prince.…she thought. The 'Brute Road' Alphas in the dark territories would pay a king's ransom for a prize like that. I could disappear with enough gold to live in the South forever.
She waited until the guards rotated, creeping toward the door of the suite. But before she could even reach the handle, the door creaked open.
Kenzo was standing there. He was small, his hair wet from the bath, but his eyes were the stuff of nightmares. He didn't say a word. He just glared at her, a low, guttural growl vibrating in his chest. His Sigma pheromones hit Lily like a physical wall, promising a slow and painful death if she took one more step.
Lily turned pale, her heart nearly stopping. She realized then that the "little boy" was gone. She turned and fled down the hallway, reconsidering her life choices immediately.
Miles away at the Senior Academy, life had returned to its "violent normal" for Aiden and Asher. They were in the middle of a heavy sparring session, swords clashing with enough force to send sparks flying.
"You're slow today, Asher!" Aiden taunted, swinging his heavy practice blade. "Are you still thinking about that girl from the graduation?"
"Shut up,Aiden!" Asher snapped, but his voice was strained. He felt... weird. His skin was crawling, and his movements were clumsy.
Suddenly, Asher's sword fell from his hand. He slumped to his knees, his breathing coming in ragged gasps. A scent began to fill the training ring—something sweet, like crushed flowers and rain.
"Asher?" Aiden dropped his sword, his eyes going wide. "Are you.….right now? Here?"
Asher was going into heat. The biological stress of the last few weeks—the neck-gripping, the dominant commands from Aiden, and the shift in his glands—had finally pushed him over the edge. He was shivering, his face buried in his hands.
"Don't.…don't look at me," Asher gasped, still trying to sound arrogant even as he collapsed. "It's just.…a fever. Get away, you idiot."
Aiden didn't get away. He quickly unbuckled his heavy cadet coat and threw it over Asher's shoulders, wrapping him tightly to hide the scent from the other Alphas in the gym.
"You really are a piece of work," Aiden muttered, picking Asher up as if he weighed nothing.
"Put me down!" Asher snarled weakly, clutching Aiden's lapels. "I can walk... I'm an Alpha.… I'm going to beat you tomorrow..."
"Yeah, yeah," Aiden said, rolling his eyes as he carried the arrogant, shivering boy toward the infirmary. "Save the talking for when you can actually hold a sword, you stubborn brat."