Kenan P.O.V
The scent of vanilla and rose wrapped around my brain like silk suffocating and addictive.
Ciro's body trembled in my hands, delicate and flushed. His chest rose and fell against mine in uneven waves, his eyes glazed, pupils blown wide, lips parted as he gasped softly into my shoulder.
He's in heat.
And it's my fault.
His hips pressed flush to mine unintentional, desperate and the sound he let out, high and broken, tore through what little control I had left.
"Kenan…" he breathed.My name on his lips was like a prayer and a punishment.
My blood surged hot beneath my skin. My vision blurred. Every instinct inside me screamed to take him , mark him and make him mine.
But I didn't.
I couldn't.
I needed to help him. But I couldn't leave him alone like this either, not when I caused it. My pheromones had flared too hard, too fast, and I hadn't realized the kind of effect they'd have on him.
And now, he was plastered to my chest, trembling, soft whimpers escaping his lips like he was trying to keep them in.
"It's… it's so hot," he mumbled. "Help me…"
His voice cracked on the last word.
I swallowed hard. "I can't do anything that'll make you regret this later."
But his hands clung tighter to my shirt, his breath hitching against my neck. He looked up at me, flushed and dazed, whispering, "Do you hate me that much… that you can't even help me?"
"What?" My voice came out sharper than I meant, edged in disbelief. "No— Ciro, what are you talking about?"
"You have me like this," he said, voice shaking, "because of your pheromones. Your accusations. And now—" his words trailed off, barely slipping from his lips. "Now you don't even want to touch me?"
I froze.
He was right. I had no defense.
"I… How can I help?"
"I don't know…"
He bit his lip, eyes fluttering. Then, softer more vulnerable he whispered,
"Kiss me?"
His cheeks flushed even deeper, heat spilling across his face and down his neck. His voice shook, but the plea in it was real — raw.
I didn't know if it was the heat or the haze or something deeper that made him say it.
But my resolve cracked.
I leaned in slowly, giving him time to pull back to change his mind.
He didn't.
Our lips met softly at first gentle, trembling like we were both afraid of breaking something invisible between us.
But when he gasped into the kiss, fingers twisting in my collar like he was drowning something inside me snapped.
His taste was addictive. Sweet and sharp like the scent of his skin like vanilla laced in rosewater.
My hand moved to the back of his neck, the other holding him by the waist, anchoring him against me as our mouths moved deeper and hungrier.
He whimpered into the kiss, and I could feel the tremble in his thighs.
His hips rolled, needy, and I broke away with a curse, panting against his jaw.
"Ciro—" My voice was rough, strangled. "You need to stop—just for a second."
"Why?" he whispered, eyes wide, voice barely a breath. "You said you wanted to help…"
God.
I did. I wanted to help. But I also wanted to pin him to the ground and lose myself in him — completely. That wasn't helping. That was taking.
And I promised I wouldn't do something I would regret..
I ran my thumb across his flushed cheek, trying to cool both of us down.
"You're not thinking straight," I said quietly. "And if I do anything more… I won't forgive myself if you regret it."
"But I won't," he whispered.
"Don't say that unless you're sure."
His eyes searched mine wild and desperate but somewhere beneath the haze, I saw it: a flicker of trust. Of fear. Of something he didn't have words for yet.
I kissed him again softer this time. Slower.
Just once.
Then pulled him closer into my arms, burying his face against my shoulder. His scent was everywhere thick, cloying, maddening but I didn't let it take over.
I took the phone buried into my pocket and messaged Jacob for help.
Explain the situation and Jacob said "give him a minute".
I heard his footsteps approaching, fast and heavy. I looked up, still holding Ciro in my arms as he let out shaky breaths. Jacob finally reached us, a bottle of water in hand.
"Ciro, open your mouth"
Reluctantly, he opened his mouth, and the tears that had been building finally slipped down his cheeks. Jacob tore open the packet, unscrewed the bottle, and gently poured the suppressant and water into his mouth.
"I told him to be careful"
"Is he going to be alright after taking it?"
"It looks like he went into a false heat so he should be okay"
A false heat? When an omega's body mimics the symptoms without the actual cycle kicking in.
"Its to get him back to the dorm to rest"
"What caused it?" I asked cluelessly
"His pheromones have been raging since earlier on and I am sure you trigger it."
Right. If he'd actually gone into heat, half the alphas that were here currently would've come crawling.
"I need to get the car" I looked down at the Ciro who was now in my full grasp.
I didn't want to part with him even for a second but I know I had to.
I peeled myself away carefully, reluctantly letting Jacob steady Ciro while I jogged to the parking lot. The night air felt colder now, like I'd left something burning behind.
The car ride was quiet.
Ciro curled into the passenger seat, arms wrapped around himself like he could will the world away. His eyes were half-lidded, his cheeks still flushed from earlier, and I didn't dare speak. Not yet.
By the time we reached the dorms, he hadn't said a word.
I helped him up the stairs, his legs wobbly, body warm until we made it to his room. Jacob hurried to unlock the door, opening it wide for us to pass.
Inside, the room was dim and smelled faintly of lavender and that rosy vanilla scent. Notes and clothes were scattered here and there.
He sank down onto the bed the second we stepped in.
I gave him one last glance before heading out.
Ciro's P.O.V.
I didn't even know how I got home.
All I knew was that I felt weak. My joints ached, my skin was burning, and I had no control over the pheromones leaking out of me like spilled perfume.
The room was so thick with scent, you'd think I was in heat.
But I wasn't. Not really.
There was no aching, no unbearable pull, just a suffocating tension under my skin, like I didn't fit inside my own body.
A false heat.
It happens to me sometimes… when I let my pheromones build too fast and too carelessly. And yesterday? With everything Kenan said and his stupid accusations, his even stupider pheromones?
Yeah. That probably triggered it.
I twisted in my sheets, groaning, every nerve on edge and somehow, all I could think about was him.
Why was he like that?
And then like a horror movie jump scare the worst memory decided to crawl back to life.
I asked him to kiss me.
Me.
I asked.
I buried my face in my pillow and screamed.
I would've rather kissed a toad. A frog. A boot. Anything.
I screamed again.
My body had one job, and it betrayed me.
But seriously who surrounds someone in suffocating pheromones like that? Being dominant, it didn't force me to submit but it sure wrecked my system trying to resist.
I grabbed the pillow again, ready to scream.
"Scream into that pillow one more time," Jacob's voice came from the doorway, "and I'm using it as your official cause of death."
I groaned and rolled out of bed, practically collapsing into his arms.
"What have I done, Jacob?"
Should I cry?
"I don't know," he said, deadpan. "Being an omega?"
"I begged him to kiss me. Do you know how embarrassing that is?"
"You weren't in your right mind," Jacob said gently.
"But Kenan—?"
"Would you rather some stranger?"
"I'd rather a rat."
Jacob held me tighter, half-laughing into my hair. "It's okay. At least you secure your alpha. Meanwhile, I'm stuck in a push-and-pull romantic tragedy."
"Your alpha?" I snorted, trying to wriggle out of the hug. "Kenan could never."
He pulled me right back in.
"How long are you two gonna be this blind?" he asked, rubbing my back like he pitied me.
"I'm hearing wedding bells and imagining little cute babies, and you're saying you'd rather choose a rat?" Jacob laughed.
"Wedding bells?" I echoed, horrified.
"Yes, wedding bells. You two pair so well, I honestly can't picture you with anyone else."
"You sound like my father," I muttered.
I missed him. I missed their love even when it was annoying.
"At this point," Jacob added, rubbing my back playfully, "when Mr. Asel isn't around, I practically am your father."
I finally let out a long, exhausted sigh, my whole body slumping into his hold.