The air thickened, heavy with a scent that clung like fog on a mist-draped mountain.
Arwin's gaze held mine, sharp and unyielding, and for the first time, fear stirred within me. With each step he took, the fragrance deepened, as though I were being smothered beneath countless hydrangeas in bloom. The sweetness was maddening—so intoxicating it set every nerve alight. Each breath sent waves of tingling heat through my body. My heart hammered wildly, vision blurred, and my lungs fought for air in desperate, ragged gasps.
'Was there poison in the air?'
The longer I breathed in the scent, the stranger my body became. Despite the pain, something in me craved more… craved to draw closer to the source.
So intoxicated was I that I noticed too late—Leonard had already shoved Arwin back. He caught the hand reaching for me and forced Arwin down onto the floor.
"Brother, snap out of it! Control yourself!"
But Arwin remained still, unbothered.
Gasping for air, I clutched my chest. The pull of that fragrance still burned through me, but little by little, I wrestled it down and steadied myself.
"Little bro, are you okay?" Leonard's face twisted with worry and panic as he turned toward me. Seeing my condition, he muttered under his breath, "Damn… his pheromones were affecting you."
"Haah… p-pheromones?…" The fragrance clinging to the air, the way Arwin's presence pressed against me—it all reminded me of Khyne during his heat. Then Elijah's words came back to me.
"Alpha's rut," I whispered. If an Omega had heat cycles, then Alphas, in turn, fell into rut. Both unleashed overwhelming pheromones to lure a mate—a bodily phenomenon that couldn't be controlled without suppressants. 'So this wasn't just an ordinary fever.'
An Alpha in rut, when pushed to the extreme, could lose their reason entirely, driven only by primal instincts. They became beasts, slaves to desire… yet the same cycle also brought them unbearable pain if left unsated.
Before I could take another breath, Leonard was flung upward, his body slamming with a crack against the ceiling. Thick green vines burst forth, wrapping around his limbs and pinning him in place.
"Damn magic!" he cursed, thrashing against the bindings.
The next time I blinked, Arwin was already in front of me. I was cornered—there was no escaping him. My body throbbed strangely, torn between urges I didn't understand. Part of me wanted to reach for him, to ease his pain, as if he needed me—yet another part recoiled in fear, desperate to hide from his gaze.
No.
I shook my head hard, clinging to whatever sanity I had left. 'This is just the pheromones. Arwin would never hurt me. He needs help… suppressants—that's it.' I recalled the vials Alphas drank to steady themselves.
But with him this close, breathing grew harder, his scent wrapping around me like chains. Addictive. Suffocating.
Arwin's hand lifted, reaching for me. Instinctively, I flinched, shutting my eyes and turning away from his touch.
Whoosh—
A rush of wind swept past, and in the next heartbeat, I was no longer against the wall. Strong arms held me tight—Sir Leo's. He was already sprinting, carrying me away from Arwin.
"S-Sir Leo… haah… w-where are Arwin's suppressants?" My gaze darted upward—the vines on the ceiling had been sliced clean through. 'He's fast.'
"Regrettably, suppressants won't work on him. They never have." Sir Leo's arms held me firmly as he ran, his voice steady despite the chaos. "My brother has a… unique quality. He can hold back the rut with sheer will and magic."
"Hahh… m-magic? Then why is he like that now?" My chest tightened with each breath, the memory of Arwin's burning gaze still clinging to me.
"He's lost control. His mana must be lower than usual."
"Am I… the cause of it?" The thought clawed at me. When I woke, Arwin was already in that strange state. Had it been because he healed my wound?
"No. You're not to blame." Leo's eyes narrowed, his tone cutting through my panic. "It was his choice—to let a glutton devour his mana. To feed it until it's satisfied, until it no longer roams freely, waiting only for his summons."
His words tangled like riddles, heavy with meanings I couldn't quite grasp. "Then how do we help Arwin?" My voice cracked, thin against the pounding in my ears.
"We can't." His grip tightened around me, the weight of his words sinking deeper than the fear in my chest. "That's why we're running. You need to stay in your room—there's a protective spell woven into the walls it for emergencies like this. Wait for my signal when it's safe. His pheromones are too much for anyone to endure. Even Betas would suffocate under the weight of it."
Suddenly, magic arrays bloomed in mid-air, their circles glowing as they spun dangerously close to Leonard. There was no room to dodge. In an instant, a bubble of light sealed around me, lifting me into the air, unbreakable. Shards of ice speared outward, plunging from every angle, hemming Leonard in and pinning down his every movement.
Then, like opposite poles snapping together, I was dragged forward, pulled toward Arwin with irresistible force. The momentum should have slammed me into him, yet instead it slowed, gentle as a feather's fall. The bubble dissolved, and I landed softly in his arms.
The fierceness in his gaze was gone. His eyes glistened now, filled with a raw, aching longing.
"Arwin…" My voice barely carried, a whisper between us.
His lips curved into the faintest smile as my hands brushed his face. He leaned into the touch, nuzzling softly like a cat seeking warmth. Heat bled through my skin, and against my forehead a glow began to form. Light spilled outward, and soon his figure was swallowed by a veil of thick, white smoke.
The moment my feet touched the floor, the smoke vanished, leaving behind a small child floating in the air, fast asleep. Arwin had turned into a two-year-old, his long white hair now shortened. He drifted down gently and settled into my arms, sleeping soundly.
'What just happened?'
Behind us, Leonard's laugh rang out as the ice that bound him shattered into pieces. "Hah, so that was his plan. What a waste of my energy," he said, shaking his head as he stepped closer.
"Knowing how meticulous and overprotective my brother was, this plan was just like him. He knew the future held nothing but uncertainty—and knowing himself too well, he prepared for it. He knew you'd be affected by his pheromones during his rut. That Silverfrost mark on your forehead would activate, sealing him into this harmless form if he ever touched you. You were cherished more than you realize," Leonard said, ruffling my hair.
"Here, give him to me."
I started to offer Arwin over, but a tiny hand clutched tightly at my clothes. Even in unconsciousness, it was as if Arwin didn't want to leave my arms.
Leonard raised a brow, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. "Looks like big brother doesn't want to let go. Why don't you babysit him for now, Nazari?"
But then he paused, placing a hand under his chin as if struck by a better idea. Almost immediately, he retracted his words.
"No, no, no. It'll be much more fun if I'm the one who babysits him. I won't get another chance like this—playing big brother to him. Hehehehe. Now hand him over." His laugh rang maniacally.
The child in my arms jolted at the sound, tightening his grasp on me. I remembered how much Arwin despised Leonard treating him like a kid, especially when it came to unwanted cuddles. Perhaps it was a matter of pride—as a Grand Duke, and as an older brother.
"No, Sir Leo. I can manage. Please allow me to take care of him." But deep down, I knew that I didn't want anyone else touching him. Not now, when he was unconscious and vulnerable.
"Aww~" Leonard whined dramatically.
I glanced down at Arwin's sleeping face. The baby fat made his cheeks plump and irresistibly soft. His cuteness was dangerous—tempting me with the urge to bite those cheeks. "Sir Leo, how long will he stay like this?"
Leonard tilted his head, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "I don't know. This has never happened before."
That left me to reason it out. "Then… I suppose he'll return to normal once his rut subsides."
"Clever. Until then, he'll be in your care," Leonard said, giving my shoulder a firm pat.
The scent still lingered around Arwin, but now it was no longer overwhelming.
"Ah, well then, little brother," Leonard continued, stretching as if he'd already moved on, "I need to check on those ducklings during training. Change into a winter coat—you two are coming with me."
"Huh? To where?"
Leonard's grin widened, his voice dropping with ominous delight. "To a place the knights themselves fear… the Lake of Crystal Vale."