* * *
In response, Henry’s body relaxed and grew slicker, making Edwin’s movements easier, though he still seemed unsatisfied.
Edwin spread Henry’s cheeks apart, watching as the trembling hole clenched around him, finally appearing pleased.
However, Henry, realizing where Edwin’s gaze had fixed, cried out his name in a near scream.
“Edwin!”
As though responding to an incantation, Edwin stilled, and Henry let out ragged breaths.
He didn’t know when Edwin would move again.
Though Edwin had paused, his pheromones loomed over Henry, threatening to engulf him at any moment.
Desperately trying to clear his mind, Henry panted, his chest heaving up and down.
“Henry…”
Hearing Edwin call his name in that deep voice, Henry, despite his struggle, smiled faintly.
Was he starting to regain his senses?
But the moment Edwin lightly flipped his body over, Henry’s smile vanished without a sound.
Seeing the desire surging in Edwin’s eyes, Henry froze in shock and pushed at the bed with his feet, trying to distance himself. He raised his hand to stop Edwin.
“Wait… I think I was wrong earlier. I mean, ah—!”
Unhappy with Henry pulling away, Edwin grabbed both his ankles and lifted them upward.
Henry tumbled back, eyes squeezing shut as his head sank into the soft mattress.
There was no pain, but Henry hesitated to open his eyes.
“Look at me.”
At Edwin’s almost spell-like command, Henry opened his eyes and met Edwin’s gaze head-on.
“This is the last time.”
“What… Do you mean… No way—”
Henry threw his head back in a silent scream as that thick, massive thing pushed back inside him.
It wasn’t his first time accepting Edwin, yet the aching pain shot up from below as though his body were crying out.
While Henry gasped, turning his upper body to the side, Edwin resumed moving his hips.
“Ugh, ahh.”
Edwin’s thick member mercilessly stretched Henry’s narrow passage, pounding deep inside as if he were trying to tear apart everything within.
He wasn’t targeting a specific spot, but it felt like Edwin’s shaft was ravaging everywhere inside Henry’s belly.
And yet, for some insane reason, his body, so terribly sensitive, still felt blinding pleasure amidst the overwhelming pain.
Perhaps the line between pain and pleasure was razor-thin.
At this point, Henry couldn’t tell whether he was hurting or feeling.
All he could do was match Edwin’s movements, panting desperately for breath.
The rough motions below made Edwin’s hands, caressing Henry’s shoulders and chest, feel oddly soft.
The skin Edwin touched flushed red wherever his fingers passed.
Yet, since Edwin had said it was the last time, Henry bit his lower lip and endured even when Edwin’s hands gripped his waist.
Edwin’s sweat dripped onto Henry’s face, which had turned as red as his flushed body.
The droplets wavered and changed shapes against his trembling form as the squelching sounds and the slap of skin slowed into longer rhythms.
Finally, Edwin stopped moving.
Henry, so unbearably hot inside, couldn’t even tell if Edwin had climaxed.
Thinking it was over, he looked up at Edwin, but a strange tension filled the air.
“Edwin? Why are you…?”
Edwin’s face, furrowed deeply, looked uncomfortable, veins standing out on his forehead. Was something wrong?
Henry raised a hand to cup Edwin’s face softly.
Edwin, in turn, cupped Henry’s cheek, stroking it tenderly.
The focus in Edwin’s eyes had returned somewhat, though they trembled unsteadily, mismatched with his determined expression.
Henry, thinking this ordeal would soon end, felt his eyelids grow heavy.
That’s when Edwin spoke.
“Just hold on a little longer.”
With that ominous statement, his already massive shaft began to change.
The head swelled, expanding as if to tear Henry apart.
Henry twisted his body, the unbearable pain unlike anything before.
“Ah! It hurts! Stop, Edwin!”
He couldn’t even bring himself to look down.
He just wanted to escape this terrifying moment.
Overwhelmed by unimaginable agony, Henry shoved Edwin away, desperate for his shaft to leave his body.
If only he could push out the column and rid himself of the head, then maybe he’d be okay.
But Edwin grabbed Henry’s arms, pressing their bodies closer.
“If you force it out, you’ll really get hurt.”
“E-Edwin, it hurts… It hurts…”
Tears or sweat—Henry couldn’t tell which streamed down his face.
Edwin felt pained watching him but didn’t withdraw, instead stroking Henry’s trembling body.
To calm him, Edwin released pheromones and kissed his lips gently, trying to soothe him.
Yet Henry only wept silently, swallowing his breath as though he might die.
What on earth was happening?
Henry, dizzy and disoriented, finally managed to whisper.
“W-what is this…?”
“It’s knotting.”
Edwin’s hand touched Henry with a tenderness unlike before, filled with careful warmth.
It was the same consideration Edwin always showed during their intimacy.
His fingers traced over Henry’s chest, down to his belly, brushing through the sparse hairs below until they wrapped around his softened member.
Edwin stroked him gently, kneading and teasing the sensitive tip.
Though Henry’s body was limp with pain, Edwin’s efforts gradually coaxed him to life again.
Maybe Edwin’s touch had succeeded in easing the pain because Henry’s erratic breathing slowly calmed. Edwin smiled faintly.
“Ruts are always hard, but this time was worse because…”
In a low voice, Edwin explained,
“Once, you calmed me down, but after that, I suppressed the next rut.”
“So… it built up because you held it back?”
“I don’t know. I just wanted to avoid hurting you again. I tried to resist this time, too.”
Henry had heard about omegas suffering during an alpha’s knotting, but experiencing it firsthand brought unspeakable pain.
Hearing Henry groan, Edwin let out a small laugh and grasped him again.
As Edwin moved his hand up and down Henry’s shaft, guiding him toward release, Henry gasped for air, his forehead falling onto Edwin’s shoulder.
“Still… still, let’s not hold it back anymore.”
Henry clung desperately to his slipping consciousness.
He felt he could fall asleep any second, but this was something he had to say before he did.
“I’m your partner, so… if you’re in rut, come to me right away…”
Already spent, Edwin’s hand was coated with a pale, sticky fluid.
Henry’s head lolled to the side, his body finally giving in.
He had endured Edwin’s rut, taken responsibility for it, and, in the end, passed out spectacularly.
“I should have studied more about ruts.”
Henry gently rubbed his flat belly.
Since he had experienced his own heat cycle, he thought ruts might be similar.
Remembering how painful his heat had been, he assumed Edwin must be struggling as well.
Wanting to alleviate his suffering, Henry reached for Edwin’s hand. He wanted to soothe him somehow.
Henry lifted his head to look at Edwin.
With his hair swept back, his face was fully exposed.
Edwin’s eyes met his with a gaze that seemed to ask “What’s the matter?” accompanied by a soft smile.
“I must really like you a lot.”
That’s why he had willingly thrown himself into Edwin’s rut, determined to endure it.
But an alpha’s rut wasn’t some simple, festive occurrence that came periodically.
Despite having been taught about it by the Duke, when the moment actually arrived, he had forgotten everything else.
“I completely forgot that a rut is the alpha’s mating season, which increases the chances of pregnancy. And so, here I am—pregnant.”
“……I’m sorry.”
Edwin placed his hand on Henry’s smooth face.
Despite being dressed to perfection for the ball, the shadows under Henry’s eyes couldn’t be completely hidden.
Edwin stroked Henry’s face, which bore the marks of his struggles during the pregnancy.
As Edwin’s hands, full of guilt, caressed him, Henry tilted his head to rest against them.
“You don’t have to apologize. I’m just surprised because I didn’t expect this, but it’s not like I hate it.”
Henry opened his closed eyes and smiled at Edwin.
“Then let’s go in. A lot of people are waiting for us.”
“So many.”
Edwin nodded and let his hand fall from Henry’s face.
Standing by his side, Henry turned to face the same direction.
At his signal, the doors would open, revealing the grandeur of the ballroom and countless eyes turning toward them.
This time was different from when their relationship had been revealed unexpectedly.
Back then, people had been shocked, and rumors had spread like wildfire.
But today was official—the day they would announce their relationship themselves.
‘That’s why I’m so grateful to the Crown Prince.’
What could be better than a royal ball to publicly declare their relationship?
And even more so, to announce the pregnancy.
“Shall we go in?”
At Henry’s signal, the waiting steward called out in a booming voice:
“Henry of the Timothy Duchy, the eldest son, and Edwin, heir to the Lorenzte Duchy!”
The doors opened, and under the sudden flood of gazes, Henry swallowed dryly and took Edwin’s hand.
‘I’ve always been shameless, so this time should be no different…’
But no matter what, he couldn’t help feeling nervous.
While he steadied his shaky breaths, Edwin stepped forward, the sound of his clothes brushing softly.
Their clasped hands came into focus, and Edwin half-turned to look at Henry.
“Welcome.”
“Yeah.”
Not alone, but with Edwin by his side, Henry smiled brightly and began walking.
“Seeing the two of you standing side by side just brings a smile to my face.”
“I thought an angel had descended from the heavens.”
“Even when I only heard the rumors, I thought you’d suit each other. But seeing you in person, it’s truly perfect.”
No sooner had they entered the ballroom than people began to approach, surrounding Henry and Edwin.
Smiling at the guests and making eye contact, Henry quietly wondered when the people he had sent invitations to would arrive.
A strikingly beautiful young man with fiery red hair stepped into the room.
Though his identity remained undisclosed, his striking appearance instantly drew everyone’s attention.
“What were you thinking when you called me here?”
“Curious?”
Someone responded to Hook’s mumbled words.
When Hook turned around, he met Henry’s gaze, who was smiling at him.
“You hand me an invitation without a single word of explanation—how could I not be curious?”
“I wanted to make the announcement once everyone was gathered.”
“I don’t particularly need to hear it, though.”
Even though Henry insisted there was no reason for him to attend the ball, his smile never wavered.
“Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I invited you…”
Henry approached Hook with a meaningful glint in his eyes.
As he leaned in, lowering his head to Hook’s neck and shoulder in succession, Hook stiffened slightly, his lips twitching.
“Do you think you can sense my pheromones like that?”
“Ahem.”
Henry cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped back.
Hook, who had easily discerned the intent behind Henry’s silent actions, cast him a sharp look.
“An Omega, huh? You didn’t think to tell me?”
“Why would I need to tell you that?”
“Well… because I’m your biggest client.”
Henry hesitated, seeming to change his wording at the last moment.
* * *
Ty