WMPW chapter 8

Without realizing it, Lucian reached out and gently brushed the Omega’s hair back.

He didn’t like how the messy hair was hiding that beautiful face.

Seeming to enjoy even that small touch, Etienne nuzzled Lucian’s hand and gave a faint laugh.

Lucian couldn’t take his eyes off the sensual and provocative look of the smiling Omega.

Eventually, he bit the inside of his mouth and stood up from his seat.

If he didn’t leave right now, things were bound to get out of hand.

“I really should go now.”

“Ah…”

Etienne’s eyes were full of desperate longing as he looked at the Alpha who was getting up.

His hands flailing in the air seemed to be an unmistakable attempt to lure the Alpha.

But Lucian did not succumb to the temptation. Resolutely, he turned and walked towards the door.

“Let’s meet again in a few days…”

With a faint smile over his shoulder, Lucian opened the door and stepped outside.

“Partner.”

With the Alpha’s low voice still tickling his ears, the Omega, overwhelmed by heat, fainted.

* * *

The first thought that crossed Etienne’s mind as he woke up was this:

“Was all of that a dream?”

Staggering to his feet and blankly looking down at his wet clothes, Etienne slowly retraced his conversation with the Duke that had vaguely come to mind.

It seemed somewhat erotic, yet perhaps it wasn’t. One thing was certain: he felt incredibly good.

“Was it the heat cycle that made me dream such an erotic dream?”

But everything from the previous night felt dreamlike due to the heat he was experiencing. Moreover, the idea that the Duke of this country would support him seemed quite unrealistic.

Having concluded that his encounter with Lucian was just a dream, Etienne climbed down from his bed on shaky legs.

“Yes, it couldn’t have been real…”

But just as he took a few steps, a familiar scent hit his nose.

A cool and refreshing scent, like being in a forest. A scent that gently embraced and soothed the Omega.

It was the scent of Alpha Lucian.

“What?”

Etienne’s eyes snapped open. A silly sound escaped his lips. The fact that Lucian’s scent lingered in his room meant that their conversation the previous night was undeniably real.

“So, it was… it was real?”

A grin spread across Etienne’s face at the thought.

He had been promised a perfect research environment with an Alpha subject and substantial funding. It was impossible not to smile.

Just as he was about to rush out with a bright face, a note wedged in the doorframe caught his eye. Curious, he pulled it out and unfolded it. A short message, written in elegant handwriting, was all it said.

“When you come to your senses, come to the director’s office. – Duke Leondine, Lucian E. H. Letheon.”

The handwriting was neat and dignified, clearly proclaiming its noble origin.

With a delighted grin, Etienne ran to the director’s office without bothering to tidy up his appearance or thinking about his hunger.

He ran all the way to the office, knocked, and then immediately burst through the door.

“Duke!”

“That one… Ah, you’re here.”

Etienne’s face lit up as he saw the Duke’s handsome face as soon as he opened the door and entered. His energetic and enthusiastic appearance brightened Lucian’s expression as well.

Unlike Etienne, Lucian had erased any traces of the previous night and sat in immaculate, dignified form. His black hair was neatly brushed back, and his new clothes were spotless.

But right now, none of that mattered to Etienne.

“Duke, what you said last night…”

“You really came running as soon as you woke up.”

“Of course!”

Seeing Etienne’s flushed face and confident declaration, Lucian smiled again.

Though Etienne didn’t realize it, he was utterly captivating.

If only he would tie up his hair properly or let it down completely.

The loosely tied auburn hair and his straight, white neckline had an alluring effect.

Moreover, his shirt, with all its buttons undone, revealing his chest, and his adorably moving red lips, drew all the attention.

Even the sweet scent of Etienne, who had just finished his heat cycle, was wafting around Lucian. It seemed Etienne had no clue about this.

“Anyway, were you serious about all that? The lineage, the prior research data…”

“Harrington!”

Unable to stand the messy sight any longer, Director Kionel interrupted Etienne’s words.

Etienne, who hadn’t realized the director was in the room, looked up, startled. Meanwhile, the director pointed a finger and raised his voice.

“What’s with your attire! It’s indecent!”

“Huh? What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“What’s wrong! Who taught you to walk around half-naked…”

Kionel scolded Etienne for being indecent and attempting to seduce men.

But his attempt didn’t last long.

“Enough, Kionel.”

Lucian’s cold voice stopped him.

It wasn’t just his voice that was cold. Lucian’s eyes, glaring at the director, were as sharp as ice.

The frigid eyes of the possessive Alpha seemed to say, ‘How dare you try to teach my Omega?’

Under that gaze, Kionel shrank back and immediately closed his mouth.

If looks could kill, Kionel would have been a gruesome corpse.

Of course, Lucian’s gaze more accurately said, ‘How dare you try to teach my talented researcher or graduate student?’

But Kionel couldn’t possibly know that.

“Ah, I covered everything important, why be so old-fashioned…”

“Indeed.”

But the frightening glare lasted only a moment. As soon as Etienne spoke, Lucian’s ferocity disappeared like it had never been there.

Smiling faintly, Lucian agreed with Etienne’s grumbling, his amethyst eyes now devoid of any threat.

“But, it seems it would be better if you wore more clothes…”

Following that, Lucian took off his cloak and swiftly draped it over Etienne’s shoulders.

Though they hadn’t known each other for long, it was hard to count how many times Lucian had covered Etienne with his cloak already.

The Orphanage Director, knowing how precious that silk cloak was, gasped, but Etienne only found the cloak burdensome once again.

“Your Grace? Why this time…”

“The scent is strong.”

Lucian’s answer to Etienne’s question was extremely concise.

When Etienne tilted his head in confusion, unable to understand the answer, Lucian casually spoke in an indifferent tone.

“It’s distracting.”

“What is… oh, my scent?”

“Yes.”

‘Ah, so my Omega scent is bothering him.’

Realizing the meaning of his words, Etienne tilted his head again with a newfound curiosity.

When they first met, Etienne was a bit concerned about the scent, but now it just felt like a pleasant fragrance.

What could be so distracting about it to the Duke?

‘Is it the difference in our ability to manage scents?’

With that question in mind, Etienne buried his nose in the Alpha’s cloak, wondering if he could discern any difference by smelling it properly.

“What… are you doing?”

“Ah, it smells like you, Your Grace.”

Answering like that, Etienne rubbed his cheek against the cloak. Almost swallowed up by the large cloak, his face turned rosy as he continued rubbing his face against it. Lucian flinched once more at the sight.

However, Etienne, unaware of Lucian’s thoughts, mumbled with his face still buried in the cloak.

“It smells good. It’s fascinating…”

It was a rather dangerous statement for an Omega to make in front of an Alpha.

Of course, Etienne’s thoughts were purely out of curiosity about the differences between scents that excite and those that calm an Omega.

His head was filled with pure curiosity, devoid of any impure thoughts.

Unfortunately, Etienne’s appearance didn’t seem pure at all. Whenever his scholarly passion was on full display, it always looked like this.

So, once again, an Alpha was in a slightly awkward situation, not because of a lack of self-control or patience, but because of an untimely surge of excitement.

“Ahem, ahem!”

Unable to tolerate the Omega’s behavior any longer, Kionel cleared his throat and admonished Etienne. From his perspective, Etienne’s current appearance was far from pleasant.

Naturally, his attempt to intervene was futile.

“Ahem… So, Your Grace, about what you were saying earlier…”

“Ah, right.”

Lucian reached out and pulled a chair next to him. He tapped the chair, gesturing for Etienne to come closer.

“Come and sit. We were talking about you.”

Etienne quickly ran over and plopped down beside Lucian, still wrapped in the cloak.

Lucian looked at him with great satisfaction and began to speak.

“Starting today, you will leave this orphanage and live in the Duke’s residence. With me.”