♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.
Three years had passed since the night Aiden had pinned Asher to his dorm room door. In that time, the Academy had become accustomed to the "Blackwood Storm." The two boys were now fifteen and sixteen , and their relationship was a constant, loud, and often violent tug-of-war that everyone simply worked around.
Today was the Junior Grade Graduation—a ceremony meant to honor the first major milestone of their military education. The Great Hall was packed with parents, officers, and guests from across the North.
Asher stood near the refreshment table, looking remarkably sharp in his formal dress uniform. However, his behavior hadn't matured with his age. His secondary gender was still in a state of flux, but today he felt "Alpha," and he was determined to prove it.
He had cornered a young female Omega from the administrative track. He was leaning into her space, a cocky grin on his face, his voice loud enough for the surrounding cadets to hear.
"You know, Mira," Asher said, his voice dropping into a forced, gravelly tone. "A girl like you shouldn't be wandering around alone at a party full of Alphas. You need someone who knows the layout of the palace. Someone with... experience."
The girl looked incredibly uncomfortable. She was backing away, her eyes darting around for an exit. "I'm actually just waiting for my brother, Asher. Please, you're standing very close."
"I'm just being friendly," Asher laughed, his pride puffed out. He reached out to touch her hair. "Don't be so shy."
Suddenly, a heavy, gloved hand dropped onto the back of Asher's neck.
Aiden didn't say a word. He didn't have to. The moment his fingers closed around Asher's neck gland, Asher's entire body went rigid. The cocky grin vanished, replaced by a look of startled, involuntary submission.
Aiden yanked him backward with enough force to make Asher stumble.
"He's bothering you," Aiden said to the girl, his voice calm and bored. "Go find your brother. He won't touch you again."
The girl let out a breath of pure relief, her face lighting up with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Prince Aiden! Truly."
She scurried away, and Aiden finally let go of Asher's neck. Asher spun around, his face turning a deep, angry red.
"What the hell, Aiden! I was just talking to her!" Asher hissed, rubbing his neck where Aiden's grip had left a tingling heat. "You can't just manhandle me every time I open my mouth!"
"You were making her uncomfortable, and you were leaking scent like a broken pipe," Aiden said, stepping into Asher's space until Asher had to look up. "Control yourself, or I'll do it for you. We're in public, act like a soldier."
Asher cursed him under his breath, but he didn't try to go back to the girl. He followed Aiden like a kicked dog, complaining the whole way, while Aiden ignored him, his eyes occasionally drifting toward the Southern horizon.
While the elders were causing scenes at the Academy, the younger siblings were starting their own journey. Kenzo and Calix, now ten years old, were officially entering the Royal Primary Academy—the same school where Celine was already the undisputed queen of academics.
Celine was vibrating with excitement. She had spent weeks telling her friends about her "perfect" twin brothers. She walked between them, holding their hands, as they entered the school courtyard.
"This is Kenzo," Celine announced to a group of her girlfriends, her chest puffed out with pride. "He's the best at sparring. And this is Calix. He's a genius at art and music, and he's very kind."
The reaction was immediate. Calix, with his soft features and shy, polite smile, immediately drew the attention of half the girls in the grade. He stood close to Kenzo, his hands fidgeting with the hem of his tunic.
"Hello," Calix whispered, bowing slightly. "It's nice to meet you."
"Oh, he's so cute!" one of the girls squealed, leaning in.
Kenzo, however, was not smiling. He had grown into a sharp-eyed ten-year-old with a tongue like a razor. He noticed things that Celine, in her excitement, completely missed.
He noticed the way some of the older students—Alphas-in-training—were looking at Calix. He noticed how they were intentionally standing upwind, releasing small, sharp bursts of pheromones. They were trying to "mark" the twins, to see which one was the weaker link they could dominate.
During the mid-day break, a group of Celine's colleagues surrounded the twins near the fountain. One of the boys, a cocky eleven-year-old named Leo, leaned against a pillar.
"So, Calix," Leo said, his scent turning sharp and aggressive as he tried to overwhelm the shy boy. "I heard you're a shifter. Is it true you can turn into a little kitten?"
Calix flinched, the insult hitting his sensitive ears. "I... I'm a Chimera. It's not a kitten."
Leo laughed, and a few of the other students joined in. They were intentionally leaking pheromones now, trying to make Calix feel small and cornered. To Calix, the air just felt "heavy" and "bad," but he didn't understand why.
Kenzo understood perfectly.
He stepped in front of Calix, his eyes narrowing. His own scent—which was becoming a potent mix of burnt sugar and iron—flared out.
"His name is Calix, not 'kitten,'" Kenzo said, his voice cold and sharp. "And if you leak your disgusting, cheap pheromones around my brother one more time, I'm going to break your nose. My father is the King of the North. The serpent. and my papa is the black tiger of the north . Do you really want to test whose bite is worse?"
The group of students went silent. Kenzo's tongue was famous for being as dangerous as his fists.
"We were just joking, Kenzo," Leo muttered, backing away. "Don't be so dramatic."
"I'm not joking," Kenzo snapped.
As the group dispersed, Kenzo turned to Calix. Without saying a word, he began to rub his hands over Calix's shoulders and neck, "grooming" him. He was intentionally covering Calix in his own Alpha-scent to mask the pheromones the other students had tried to leave behind.
"What are you doing, Kenzo?" Calix asked, tilting his head. "You're acting weird today."
"Nothing," Kenzo muttered, finishing the scent-marking. "The air is just dusty here. Stay close to me, okay? Celine is too busy talking to notice when people are being idiots."
Calix nodded, trusting his twin completely. He didn't know that his brother was already acting as his primary guardian, fighting off the subtle biological attacks of their classmates before Calix even realized he was being targeted.
Back at the Palace, Kyon was looking at the security reports from the Primary Academy. He saw the footage of Kenzo shielding Calix, and the reports of Aiden pulling Asher away from the Omega at the graduation.
"The boys are territorial," Kyon remarked to Arion. "Kenzo is already marking Calix to protect him, and Aiden is treating Asher like a disobedient pet."
Arion sighed, looking exhausted. "I just wanted them to have a normal childhood, Kyon."
"There is no 'normal' for our bloodline, Arion," Kyon said, his eyes reflecting the sharp light of the North. "They are tigers . And the tigers are starting to realize that the world is full of things they want to own."
In the South, Lorcan was staring at the latest set of photos—Kenzo and Calix at school, and Aiden's hand on Asher's neck at the graduation. He felt a deep, cold ache. The children were growing up, the bonds were shifting, and he was still a ghost in a high tower, watching a life he was no longer a part of.