TPWTM 16

At the sound of a voice from behind, Luches flinched and turned his head. A man in a uniform stood at the open door, tilting his head slightly to look at Luches. It was Karon Chevinelle.

• ~ *

Karon. He frowned as he saw Luches standing close to Yurik. The overpowering scent of pheromones was unmistakable. It belonged to Yurik Windsor, the owner of the fragrance filling the room.

“Step away.”

Karon issued a low warning and strode toward Yurik. Luches, unsure what to do, glanced back and forth between Karon and Yurik.

Yurik, confirming Karon’s arrival, let out a sigh and collapsed onto the bed. His body was consumed by heat, leaving him at a loss. Seeing Yurik writhe, Luches gripped the hem of his pants. The sweat on his hands mirrored his dampened mood.

Luches lowered his head and bit his lip hard. He didn’t want to leave like this. If he did, surely the two of them… Seeing Luches linger, Karon called him again.

“Young Lord Graham.”

Luches startled, his shoulders trembling as he looked at Karon. Sharp golden eyes pierced through him. Karon sighed at Luches’s hesitation, gently took his shoulder, turned him, and led him to the door.

“I, I can h-help…!”

“Help with what?”

Karon gave a dry laugh at Luches’s strained words. No, this was his task, not something for Luches to meddle in. Karon opened the door wide, ushering Luches out, and said.

“I’ll take care of my betrothed, so leave quietly without spreading rumors, Young Lord.”

“Lord Karon! What are you going to…?”

“I never gave you permission to use my name, Young Lord Graham.”

“But…!”

“I’m his betrothed, so I’ll handle it.”

Karon’s jaw tightened as he glared sharply at Luches.

“I’ll deal with it, so keep your mouth shut.”

With that harsh command, Karon slammed the door. Luches hung his head outside. How could an alpha calm another alpha in a rut? Biting his lip, Luches tried to swallow the rising tears, but they fell despite his efforts.

I love Lord Yurik too. Why can’t it be me?

Luches couldn’t accept the situation. He wanted to help, sincerely believing it was okay to be in Yurik’s arms. But to be cast out like a stranger, as if he had no connection to him…

Luches wiped his tears with his hands. No, he might have burdened Lord Yurik. Knowing what it meant for an alpha to embrace an omega, he’d brazenly offered to ease his pain.

Wasn’t that an insult? Turning an honorable man into someone driven by instinct. Luches loathed himself and hated Karon inside. He was consumed with hatred for Karon, who had claimed Yurik.

Clenching his fists, Luches barely turned and left the hallway. His steps quickened into a run. He fled the corridor, the weight of Yurik Windsor and Karon Chevinelle’s engagement crushing him unbearably.

• ~ *

The heat was swallowing his entire body. Yurik buried his face in the bed, breathing heavily. Karon locked the door and sighed. Yurik’s pheromones vibrated in the room, making it hard for him to breathe. At the same time, the intense pheromones stirred a subtle feeling in him, prompting Karon to rip open the buttons of his uniform.

“It’s my first time smelling your scent.”

Approaching Yurik, sprawled on the bed, Karon muttered to himself. Yurik looked at him with exhausted, unfocused eyes. Pheromones. He’d hidden them so carefully, yet they burst out like this. Even in his distress, Yurik felt oddly embarrassed. He closed his eyes to avoid Karon’s gaze.

Karon sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the limp Yurik. One corner of his mouth curled up. Though he was smiling, Karon didn’t look particularly pleased.

“Your pheromone scent is so sweet it’s like I’m melting, Yuri.”

Karon teased, loosening the tie that was choking Yurik’s neck. Such a sweet scent—had he been hiding it so desperately all this time? A refreshing yet slightly bitter aroma mixed with a rich sweetness filled his every breath. He couldn’t quite define it, but it suited Yurik well.

Karon felt a twinge of anger. To think that someone else, not him, had seen this vulnerable side of Yurik.

Looking at Yurik’s flushed white face, Karon tossed off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. There was only one way to properly ease an alpha’s rut. Karon placed a hand on the heated nape of Yurik’s neck. As his cool hand touched, Yurik flinched and swatted it away.

Karon raised an eyebrow at his rejected hand. Breathing heavily, Yurik glared at Karon, then dragged himself toward the head of the bed to put distance between them, his movements clumsy due to his unhealed arm. Leaning against the headboard, Yurik exhaled deeply.

“Just go, please.”

Yurik spoke in a cold tone, but his voice trembled uncontrollably. His pheromones pulsed with every breath. Karon looked at him and gave a faint smile.

“How do you plan to endure a rut alone? Are you really going to let just any omega in?”

“That’s… the kind of thinking you’d have. It’s not like that.”

“Then what?”

“Then what are you… what do you plan to do? Two alphas…”

“That’s just a stereotype. You’re so rigid, Yuri.”

“That’s not the point…”

Yurik growled, mustering all his strength. Even panting, he said what he needed to, true to Yurik Windsor. Karon chuckled. Frowning at the laughing Karon, Yurik wiped his face with his hand, now slick with cold sweat.

‘I can’t lose consciousness here.’

Clinging to that thought, Yurik looked at Karon again. His eyes had long since glazed over, but he was trying to hold on. Karon stared at him intently. Yurik, breathing heavily, wiped his parched lips with the back of his hand.

“You… and what about Luches? Sending him off like that… Go after him…”

At those words, Karon’s eyebrow twitched again.

“Yurik Windsor, really… Is someone else that important to you?”

“He’s not just someone else… He’s important to you, isn’t he?”

“Yuri.”

“And he’s an omega… Above all, chosen by the Empress. You can’t treat him lightly.”

“Do I look like I’m here because I don’t know that?”

Karon twisted his lips sarcastically. Yurik frowned, glaring at him, then unbuttoned his choking shirt. The heat was maddening. Unable to stand it, he threw off his jacket, and Karon’s gaze fixed on him. Yurik’s straight shoulders and usually concealed neck were pale.

Yurik placed a hand on his burning forehead, then swept back his hair. He was at his limit. He couldn’t endure any longer. Squinting his reddened eyes, he ordered Karon to leave.

“I’m really at my limit, so get out now.”

Yurik slumped deeply against the headboard. The heat felt suffocating. Then, a rich floral scent suddenly tickled his nose. Startled, Yurik looked up at Karon. The scent of Pleonia flowers. Karon’s pheromones.

Releasing his pheromones, Karon stood slowly and sat closer to Yurik.

“That’s taken care of. You saw what I did, Yuri.”

“Will the Empress let you off for that? House Chevinelle would never…”

“That’s for me and my father to handle, not your concern, Yuri.”

At Karon’s words, Yurik bit his lip hard. He was right. It was presumptuous for Yurik to meddle in House Chevinelle’s affairs. Chewing his lip, Yurik looked at Karon. His blue eyes gleamed with a pitiful light.

Karon couldn’t stand the itching urge any longer. A curled-up Yurik Windsor. He wanted to breach the line Yurik had drawn. But Yurik still glared at him with wary eyes.

“Then go. I’ll… handle it alone.”

“Without suppressants, how will you manage? What, call for Ariannen?”

“Karon, I’m not in the mood to argue. Why bring up Ariannen? I feel like I’m dying. Stop the nonsense…”

“Then lean on me.”

“You…! You’re an alpha, aren’t you? So am I… Alphas embrace omegas, not…”

Yurik’s breathing grew rougher, his eyes clouded as he mumbled. He seemed unaware of what he was saying. Or perhaps it was something he’d kept buried?

Karon twisted his lips. Nothing about this pleased him. He grabbed Yurik’s wrist, pushed him down onto the bed, and climbed over him. Yurik cried out like a scream.

“Karon!”

Karon, holding Yurik’s hand, brushed it against his cheek and smiled.

“Then am I a beast for being aroused by an alpha’s pheromones?”