☆...….*...….☆
The King's Study was no longer a place of quiet administration, it had become the epicenter of a domestic storm. The air was thick with the scent of mountain pine, sharp and agitated—as Arion paced the length of the rug, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
Celine was anchored to his side, her small hands fisted into the fabric of his tunic. Her face was a mask of tear streaked indignation. "They were hugging, Papa! A weird, quiet hug! And Lorcan was looking at Aiden like he was made of sugar! It's not fair!"
Aiden stood in the center of the room, looking uncharacteristically small. He was still shirtless, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath after chasing Celine.
"Papa, please, just listen!" Aiden begged, his voice cracking. "It wasn't a weird hug. It was a misunderstood...investigation! I was just curious. Lorcan is different from us. He's soft, and he smells like strawberries, and I just wanted to see why. I wasn't doing anything bad!"
Arion stopped walking and turned to his son, his expression stern and shadowed with a deep, parental anxiety. "Aiden, an Omega's body is not a laboratory for your experiments. Especially not now. Lorcan is a guest, a Prince, and currently in a very vulnerable state of health. There are boundaries, Aiden. Boundaries made of iron that you do not cross until you are of age and under the proper vows."
Arion leaned down, his gaze piercing. "If you want to avoid mistakes that could start a war or break a heart, you must keep your distance. Do you understand? No more private investigations in the library."
Aiden looked down at his feet, feeling a wave of helpless frustration. He wasn't trying to be a villain. he was just trying to understand the pull he felt toward the boy from the South.
From the mahogany chair in the corner, a low, melodic chuckle vibrated through the room. Kyon was lounging with a glass of wine, his eyes dancing with a cruel, amused light.
"Oh, let the boy be, Arion," Kyon said, his voice dripping with playful malice. "It's only natural for a tiger to want to see what a strawberry tastes like. Though, Aiden, your timing is impeccable. Most Alphas wait until they can at least grow a beard before they cause a diplomatic scandal in a library."
"Kyon, not helping!" Arion snapped.
"I'm just saying," Kyon continued, ignoring Arion's glare, "that the weird hug is usually the first sign of a very long, very expensive headache. Good luck, Aiden. You'll need it when the Southern Duke finds out you've been measuring his son's waist."
Aiden groaned, burying his face in his hands. He felt utterly lost, trapped between his father's rigid protection and his king's mocking amusement.
Meanwhile, back in the Grand Library, the silence was deafening. Lorcan sat exactly where Aiden had left him, his hands resting on his lap where Aiden's palm had been only minutes before.
He could still feel the phantom heat of the touch. His heart was still fluttering, a frantic bird trapped in a cage of ribs. He knew Celine was currently dismantling his reputation, and he knew Arion was likely furious. But more than the fear of the parents, Lorcan felt a deep, aching clarity.
Aiden doesn't know, Lorcan realized, a bittersweet smile touching his lips. He thinks it's biology. He thinks it's just softness.
Lorcan looked out the window at the high peaks of the North. He made a silent promise to the cold wind. He would wait. He would grow stronger, more poised, and more indispensable. He would wait until Aiden was no longer a boy experimenting with curiosity, but a man capable of feeling the same fire. He would hide his heart in the Southern jasmine until the Northern pine was ready to catch spark.
While the elder children grappled with the heart, the younger twins were grappling with the soul.
Kenzo and Calix had sought refuge in the Old Nursery—a dusty, forgotten playroom in the attic of the East Wing. It was the only place Calix felt the shadows wouldn't reach him.
But the shadows were already inside. Lily's words—You are a vessel. You are a weapon—were looping in Calix's mind like a poisonous chant.
Calix was sobbing, the sound jagged and raw. But the most terrifying part was his body. His mana, shattered by the trauma of the lesson and the fear of his aunt, had become completely unstable.
He was shifting.
One moment, he was a small boy with sharp features and five minutes later, his hair would lengthen, his frame softening into a girl. Then, the fur would sprout, the tiger chimera's tail flicking against the floorboards before snapping back into human skin.
"Calix, please, stop," Kenzo pleaded, holding his twin's shoulders. Kenzo was terrified, but he forced his Alpha scent to stay steady—a grounding smell of burnt sugar. "It's just us. Aunt Lily isn't here. I'm here."
"She said...she said I'm not a person," Calix wailed, his voice shifting from a high soprano to a boyish rasp. "She said I have to be triggered. I don't want to be a weapon, Kenzo! I want to be Calix!"
The panic reached a fever pitch. In a flash of pure, blind agony, Calix lunged forward. He wasn't thinking, he was a wounded animal seeking a way to anchor his soul. He bit down hard on Kenzo's shoulder, his teeth sinking into the skin just inches from Kenzo's developing Alpha gland.
It was an instinctual act,an attempt to mark his protector, to bind them so tightly that the world couldn't pull them apart.
Kenzo gasped, the sharp pain lancing through his shoulder. He felt the wet heat of blood, but he didn't move. He didn't wince. He didn't pull away. He simply reached up and began to pat Calix's head again and again, his touch rhythmic and soft.
"It's okay," Kenzo whispered, though his own eyes were filled with tears. "Bite me if you have to. I'm not going anywhere. I'm your shield, remember?"
Slowly, the frantic shifting slowed. The mana in the room began to settle. Calix's teeth loosened, and he collapsed against Kenzo, his form finally stabilizing into his original boyish self. He looked at the bloody marks on Kenzo's shoulder and let out a small, horrified gasp.
"Kenzo... I'm sorry," Calix sobbed, his voice finally clear. "I didn't mean to...I hurt you."
"You didn't," Kenzo lied, pulling Calix closer into a tight cuddle. "You just reminded me that we're the same blood. Now stay quiet. We're going to stay here until the sun goes down."
As the twins huddled in the dust, the palace above them continued to vibrate with the friction of growing up. The weird hugs, the experimental touches, and the weaponized mana were all signs of a changing season.