Ash's POV
I was doing mathematics revision for the math's contest I was preparing for. I wanted to take first place and earn the scholarship at Ivycrest University. I didn't want my stepfather's name to be the reason I got there. I hated relying on him.
As I worked through an equation, it grew difficult to figure out the final answer. I had to ask Lucien for help; after all, he was my mathematics teacher. I called out, but he was nowhere to be seen. I guessed he might be on the balcony, smoking, and decided to go check.
As I neared, I overhead his conversation with Bravin; his phone was on a loudspeaker. My heart thudded painfully when I heard that Adrian had been consumed in pain for six hours nonstop. I knew he was in a rut, and to avoid hurting me during the process, he had opted to quarantine himself. So when Lucien had told me that evening that Adrian had gone on a business trip out of the country, it had been a lie-just to mask the truth from my eyes.
Through the power of my identity as an SSS-ranked Omega, more powerful than an S-ranked Alpha, I decided to use my senses to locate Adrian. Scientifically, no one had ever proven that an SSS-ranked Omega existed. The highest known rank was S-class Omega. That was my secret, one I guarded fiercely. Only my kin and my confidential doctor, Eric, knew. I always hid my true identity, acting as a Beta. But when Lucien and Adrian, who had entered my life recently, were in pain or danger, I couldn't control myself; I lost my composure, exposing powers I was meant to keep hidden. I didn't understand why.
I exhaled my pheromones; sedative scents that carried a natural pull toward calm and sleep. They reached Lucien, masking his vision blur slightly and his body go limp. Within moments, he swayed, then slumped, unresisting. Then I went to him and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him toward the bed and setting him down with care, ensuring he wouldn't wake or hurt himself.
As I pinpointed Adrian's location, I teleported; one of the powers I possessed. I knew Bravin was safeguarding his master to prevent chaos. Once I arrived at Adrian's penthouse, I walked toward his room, releasing my pheromones. They forced him into sleep, even through the mask he wore-my scent was potent enough, far beyond what an S-ranked Alpha could manage.
I pushed open the door and froze. Adrian lay on the bed, his arms chained to the headboard, sweat beading across his forehead. His body trembled under the effects of pain-inducing pheromones, littered with sachets and syringes scattered on the floor. I felt his pain.
He saw me and stammered in pain, breathing heavily. "Ash..."
I replied quickly, leaning closer to him and looking him in his eyes. "Yes."
His eyes widened, as if seeing a ghost. "Is it really you...am I hallucinating?"
I touched his cheek. "See it's me. you're not hallucinating."
Still breathing heavily and sweating, he whispered, "Why are you here?...I don't want to hurt you."
I replied, "It's time to pay you back the help I owe you. You had me last time."
He forced a weak smile. "You can't..."
Before he could finish, I pressed my lips to his. My soothing, lullaby pheromones-warm, calming, restorative-emanated from me, mixing with his aggressive, pain-inducing pheromones. I could feel the tension in his body slowly ease, his pain melding with my calming scent.
Adrian relaxed and soon fell asleep. I felt a wave of relief; at least he was no longer in pain. I knew my pheromones would hold his pain for twenty-four hours, so I needed to return consecutively until his rut ended. The plan was clear: after twenty-four hours, I would trigger Lucien and Bravin as usual with my pheromones to make them asleep, then teleport here to soothe Adrian's pain.
The good thing was, I also had a power that erased their memory of what had happened. It was advantageous; if they knew, how could I even begin to explain my actions when I am with them pretending to be a weak, scared Beta? Honestly, I didn't like using my powers to challenge nature, and this was only the second time I had done so, the first being when I saved Lucien from those armed gangs sent to kill him.
...
The next morning, when Lucien and I were in the car heading to school, he kept one hand steady on the wheel while the other dialed Bravin's number. I watched him lift the phone to his ear, his expression calm but focused.
When Bravin answered, Lucien's voice softened. "Good, if he's calm..."
A smile spread across his face, and without realizing it, I felt one tug at my own lips too.
During lunchtime, Naomi, Martin, and I were seated together, chatting idly over our trays. Lucien, on duty that week, stood by the lunch line, making sure the students kept order as they queued for food.
My eyes drifted toward him. Above where he stood, the chandelier's crystals swayed faintly, trembling as though they might give away. A tight feeling coiled in my chest.
Then it happened; several pieces broke loose. Without realizing it, I had already released my blocking pheromones, diverting the falling shards just to the side. They hit the floor with a sharp thud, scattering into fragments.
I shot up, rushing over. "Are you okay?" I asked heavily, staring at him.
Before Lucien could reply, a strange dizziness gripped me. A thin warmth trickled from my nose. I raised a hand and saw blood on my fingertips.
Lucien's face turned stricken. "Ash...?"
The room blurred around me, voices muffling into echoes. My knees buckled, and I stumbled; falling into the steady hold that caught me, warm and unyielding, before everything slipped into darkness.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying on a narrow cot in the school infirmary, the faint sting of antiseptic in the air. Lucien was sitting beside me, shoulders tense, eyes hollow with worry. When he noticed I was awake his whole face eased and a small, stunned smile broke through. He reached for my hand and held it like he was afraid I might disappear.
"You're awake," he breathed. "I was really worried."
I mumbled, voice rough, "How long was I out?"
"Three hours," he replied.
"Three hours..." I echoed, incredulous. My thoughts scrambled. "You-were here the whole time?"
He nodded. "Yes."
I tried for a light tone. "What about your lessons?"
His expressions tightened with a flash of irritation. "How could I possibly teach while you're bedridden?" Then, as if noticing my thoughts, his tone softened, his voice low. "It's just...I'm keeping my promise to Adrian to take care of you. I can't fail him."
Before the school day ended, Lucien insisted on taking me home, saying my body needed rest. I didn't argue.
Later, as I lay in bed, he disappeared into the kitchen. When he returned, he carried a tray with a steaming bowl of rice porridge. Settling beside me, he patiently fed me spoonful by spoonful until I could eat no more.
That night, he lay beside me, pulling me into his arms. His embrace was firm, almost protective, and I breathed in the warm trace of his sandalwood scent as sleep slowly overtook him.
I waited until I was certain Lucien was completely asleep, his breathing even and untroubled, his arms still draped around me. Gently, I loosened his hold, careful not to stir him.
I had no choice. Adrian was waiting. His pain would be rising again by now, and I had promised myself to ease it. At least this time, there was no need to release my sleeping pheromones; Lucien was already deep in slumber, calm and unaware as I slipped away.
I took one last glance at Lucien, still fast asleep, his face softened in the quiet glow of bedside lamp. A pang tugged at my chest, but I pushed it down. Adrian needed me more right now.
With a steadying breath, I let my senses reach outward, locking onto Adrian's presence. The familiar pull answered immediately. In the next instant, I teleported, the room dissolving around me as I reappeared inside his penthouse.
The air was heavy, thick with the weight of his pheromones. I moved quickly toward his bedroom. As if sensing me, Adrian's eyes lifted toward me, glazed with exhaustion yet shimmering with emotion. "You took long to appear in my dream again," he whispered, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I've missed you..."
His words struck me, his gaze so raw it almost pierced through me. He truly believed I was just fragment of his dream. I decided to play along.
But inside, thoughts twisted...Adrian, betrothed to Celeste; what were his true feelings toward that? And his intimacy with Lucien; I wanted to know what he felt, what he thought. And about me? Did he feel anything at all? I knew he could never confess such things openly in waking life. Yet here, under the veil of what he believed was a dream, the truth may sip from him freely.
I sat on the bed, and he slowly lowered his head onto my lap, his breath heavy. "I'm glad you came back..." he murmured.
My hand moved instinctively, stroking through his hair as I let my soothing pheromones seep into him. "Why are you glad?" I asked softly. "I'm not that special to you, not like..."
His brows furrowed, and he asked, "What do you mean?"
I gathered my courage. "You're to marry Celeste in a few days. She's going to be your life partner and..."
"She doesn't mean anything to me," he cut in sharply, eyes flashing. "I'm just fulfilling my parents' wish.
I had expected that answer; I'd known long ago it was arranged for their sake, not his. Still, I pressed on. "Then what about Lucien? Apart from being your fiancee's brother...do you have feelings for him romantically?"
He looked startled, then quickly asked, "Why would you ask such a thing?"
I forced a small shrug. "Just curious to know. We're in a dream. It's not a big deal telling me the truth here."
He exhaled slowly, a sigh of relief slipping past his lips. "You're right..." His voice lowered. "I don't know how to answer that question. All I know is...Lucien is like my soulmate, someone important in my life I can't let go of."
My chest tightened. "Then what about me? Apart from being your stepbrother...do you have romantic feelings for me?"
My heart pounded as I waited, his eyes locking into mine, gaze deep and unflinching. His lips parted, voice low and unsteady.
"I..."