* * *
As soon as Edwin entered Henry’s room, the first thing he noticed was his scent.
There was no trace of Henry’s pheromones in the room.
Just as Henry had lived like a beta, his scent lingered lightly around the room.
Instead of pheromones, a subtle fragrance Edwin had smelled on Henry’s skin spread throughout.
Edwin, noticing the familiar perfume Henry favored, stopped in front of the bed.
The perfectly clean, white bedding was the only place where Henry’s presence wasn’t felt.
As Edwin gazed at the bed, his lips parted slightly.
“No pheromones.”
It was just as Henry had said before.
That before he left for a trip, his pheromones hadn’t surfaced.
Henry had been startled by the sudden appearance of pheromones and had tried to mask them with heavy perfume.
Even though Henry must’ve been shocked by becoming an omega, he still concealed the bond.
At the same time, he constantly sent signals for Edwin to pay attention to him.
Edwin must have hurt him with his indifference, thinking Henry was being a nuisance.
Edwin started piecing together the hidden meaning behind Henry’s actions.
The reasons behind behaviors that once seemed incomprehensible were becoming clear.
Henry’s expectant glances when he sought Edwin’s attention, his lingering presence, hoping to be noticed—it all made sense now.
But those moments now seemed so far away.
Nowadays, Henry would run whenever Edwin approached.
Henry no longer looked at him with those hopeful eyes.
The smile that once lit up Henry’s face whenever they crossed paths had vanished.
Now they could sense each other’s pheromones, but their hearts felt more distant than ever.
What could Edwin do to win Henry’s heart back?
“The young master has left the estate. Will you continue to wait?” the attendant asked, his words darkening Edwin’s gaze.
How could he stop Henry from slipping further away?
Late at night, Henry crossed the gates of the ducal estate again, letting out a weary sigh.
The business at the merchant guild had taken longer than expected.
Though he could’ve postponed it, he decided it was better to handle it quickly to reassure those who had grown anxious during his absence.
Thanks to Violet’s preparations, there hadn’t been any major issues.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, right?” Henry asked the butler who guided him as he walked toward his room.
He wondered if his father had returned early and considered visiting him before retreating to his own room.
The butler hesitated briefly before responding.
“Nothing has changed since the young master left.”
“I see.”
Taking this as confirmation that nothing significant had happened, Henry thought only of taking a hot bath and going to bed.
Grasping the doorknob to his room, he spoke.
“Prepare some hot w—”
Suddenly, a thick wave of pheromones enveloped him.
It hit him like a gust of wind, clinging to his body.
Stunned, Henry couldn’t find the words, even under the butler’s curious gaze.
The butler had said nothing had changed.
That meant Edwin hadn’t left the room, but how could he have overlooked that?
“It’s nothing. I’m just tired. You can go now,” Henry quickly dismissed the butler before rushing inside, slamming the door behind him.
Leaning against the door, Henry scanned the room, freezing the moment he spotted Edwin.
Despite the overwhelming pheromones swirling in the air, the room itself was silent.
Edwin sat still, expressionless, his head slowly turning toward Henry.
The deliberate, slow movement made Henry swallow nervously.
He had known Edwin was in the room earlier when he met Violet, but the fact that Edwin still hadn’t left unnerved him.
Henry’s fingers twitched with tension as he remained on edge, surrounded by the thick scent of Edwin’s pheromones.
Though Edwin’s face appeared calm, Henry could sense through the pheromones that his emotions were anything but.
Henry discreetly shifted his hand behind his back, ready to bolt out of the room if necessary.
“You’re still here?”
Henry tried to break the tension with his words, but Edwin rose slowly, fixing his gaze on him.
“You’re late.”
Edwin’s monotonous voice sent Henry’s heart racing.
Instinctively, Henry’s hand twisted the doorknob in a desperate attempt to flee.
But before he could move, Edwin’s pheromones pressed down on him even harder, pinning him in place like prey caught in a web.
Henry wobbled under the suffocating weight of the pheromones, dizziness overtaking him.
This wasn’t like the scent Edwin had once projected, which merely reflected his mood.
Now, Edwin’s pheromones were focused entirely on Henry.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
Henry barely held himself upright as he glared at Edwin, feeling the heat building inside him.
He needed to push the pheromones away, but he didn’t have the strength to even open the window.
Edwin simply stood there, not withdrawing his pheromones despite Henry’s pleading gaze.
“Are you crazy? Hena is here too.”
How could Edwin release such a dense wave of pheromones?
But Edwin brushed off Henry’s concern.
“Hena can’t sense my pheromones. You should be more worried about yourself right now.”
Edwin’s words were true.
No one else in the estate would feel his pheromones except Henry.
“Still, you can’t just—”
Henry raised his hand to cover his nose and mouth, frantically searching for a way to reduce the effects of the pheromones.
Despite his desperation, Edwin didn’t ease the pressure.
“Edwin! Stop this now.”
Henry shouted, his body tensing as he reached his limit.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
Especially given their past relationship, Henry’s body seemed eager to relive those memories.
At this rate, Henry feared he’d end up clinging to Edwin first.
Just as panic overtook him, Edwin’s calm voice cut through the tension.
“I’m not releasing these pheromones to attack you.”
“I know… so stop.”
Even as he begged Edwin to stop, Henry kept licking his parched lips, struggling to maintain control.
“I know you’re avoiding me on purpose. You keep pushing me away, but now that I’m here, I can’t help it.”
“What do you mean…?”
“When I’m in a bad mood, it’s harder to control my pheromones.”
Edwin had been feeling down ever since he noticed that Henry had deliberately avoided him and gone elsewhere.
On top of that, he couldn’t think of a way to stop Henry from drifting away.
All these frustrations boiled over the moment he saw Henry.
As Edwin explained, Henry’s stiff mind slowly began to turn.
‘Ah.’
Finally, Henry understood why Edwin was acting this way.
He could now see Edwin’s expression that had been hidden behind the overwhelming pheromones.
From Edwin’s hard eyes to his tightly pressed lips, it was clear that he wasn’t in a good state.
‘The rut cycle.’
The rut cycle of a dominant alpha was approaching.
During that period, pheromones were more easily affected by emotions, making them even more intense.
No matter how hard Edwin tried to control it, it wasn’t something he could easily manage.
He had lived his whole life not worrying about others sensing his pheromones, so it wasn’t something he could suddenly master overnight.
“Edwin.”
Henry took a deep breath and finally managed to lift his back off the wall.
One step, then another—his legs felt as heavy as if they were weighed down by iron bars, but he moved toward Edwin.
Despite flooding Henry with pheromones, Edwin couldn’t bring himself to step any closer, only watching from a distance.
Even though Edwin hadn’t come closer, the fact that he wasn’t retreating was enough.
Henry forced himself to shuffle closer to Edwin, closing the gap little by little.
Sweat from the pheromones ran down his face, stinging his eye as it reached the corner.
He closed one eye as the burning sensation made him lose his balance, causing him to stumble.
In fact, it was a wonder he had held out this long.
Just as Henry’s body lost strength and he was about to fall, Edwin, who hadn’t moved a step before, caught him.
Henry sighed in relief at the solid arms supporting his waist.
If he had fallen, he wasn’t sure if he could have gotten back up again…
But the relief was brief, as Henry then pulled Edwin into a tight embrace.
He could feel Edwin stiffen, but Henry tightened his grip, closing the gap between them even further.
They were so close that their hearts seemed to beat in sync, as if they could feel each other’s racing pulses.
“Henry.”
Ignoring Edwin’s voice calling out to him, Henry didn’t let go.
Holding him felt like embracing a doll soaked in concentrated pheromones.
It was getting harder to breathe, but Henry kept his voice calm and composed.
“Breathe out.”
Henry gently patted Edwin’s back.
“When your chest feels tight, breathe in again, slowly, like that.”
He didn’t tell Edwin to control his pheromones. He simply advised him to breathe comfortably.
Flustered by Henry’s sudden embrace, Edwin hesitated before following his advice, exhaling and inhaling deeply.
The warmth of Henry’s body, as he held him, helped Edwin calm down.
What would Henry say if he knew that Edwin felt relieved, believing he hadn’t been abandoned?
Edwin tightened his grip around Henry’s waist and back, burying his face into Henry’s neck.
With each breath, the scent of Henry’s body and pheromones filled Edwin’s lungs.
As he breathed in Henry’s scent, Henry looked up at the empty sky, sensing without seeing that Edwin’s pheromones were gradually subsiding.
‘So it really does work when he calms down.’
This was the method Kayla had used to soothe Edwin’s overwhelming pheromones.
As someone who was highly sensitive to pheromones, Kayla struggled the most with Edwin’s explosive outbursts.
Instead of running away, she would calm him down and give him time to control his pheromones.
That’s how Henry managed to avert this crisis.
* * *
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Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for the chaps
Edwin just like a child