The city settled into its familiar rhythm again, yet inside Kaein's apartment the air was anything but ordinary. It was thicker now, charged—every inhale laced with the unmistakable weight of Lior's pheromones. They clung to the walls, soaked into the sheets, drifted along the bookshelves until even paper seemed to hum with heat.
Kaein felt it the moment he woke. His body stirred not just from sleep but from the Alpha warmth pressed against his back, the way Lior's chest expanded with each breath, breath that was heavy with claim. The world outside was distant; here, the pull between them was undeniable.
"Morning," Lior murmured, his lips brushing the curve of Kaein's shoulder. It was not a greeting, not really—it was hunger dressed as tenderness.
Kaein stretched lazily, but the small arch of his back pressed him closer into Lior's hold. "You're awake early."
"Couldn't sleep." Lior's hand slid across his waist, firm, lingering. "You were too far."
Kaein laughed softly, though the sound thinned as Lior's mouth found his neck. "I was right here."
"Not close enough." His voice was a growl against skin, a sound that curled into Kaein's spine like fire.
They kissed then—slow at first, lips grazing, breaths mingling. But soon the kiss deepened, all restraint dissolving into the ache of two days apart and the looming pull of Lunar Day. Lior's hands roamed with insistence, memorizing every inch of Kaein's skin as though it might vanish.
"Stay with me," Lior whispered between kisses. "Don't move. Don't even breathe without me."
Kaein, breathless, pressed a palm against his chest. "If I stop breathing, you'll regret it."
"Then I'll breathe for you," Lior answered, before kissing him again, fiercer, desperate.
---
They rose late, though morning had long bled into noon. Breakfast was clumsy—toast slightly burned, coffee too strong—but neither cared. Lior shadowed Kaein's every step in the kitchen, brushing against him, slipping arms around his waist, stealing kisses between butter and jam.
"You're impossible," Kaein muttered, swatting him away half-heartedly.
"I'm starving," Lior replied smoothly, teeth grazing the shell of his ear, "and it's not for food."
Kaein's cheeks warmed despite himself. "At least let me finish my toast."
Lior allowed it, but only barely—curling against him on the couch afterward, head pressed into the crook of his neck as though the world beyond their apartment had ceased to exist. His pheromones, rich and intoxicating, made the air pulse with a rhythm that echoed the beating of their hearts.
---
When they finally left the apartment, the contrast was jarring. The sharp chill of autumn air, the chatter of crowds, the sterile scent of campus corridors—all clashed against the heavy warmth clinging to their clothes, to their very skin.
Kaein adjusted his tie, forcing composure, but his colleagues noticed the difference. Whispers stirred in the faculty lounge as he passed, eyes drawn to the faint flush on his neck, the possessive weight of Lior's arm always lingering near.
One bold student muttered to another, "Professor looks… different. Like he's glowing—or burning."
Kaein ignored them, burying himself in lecture notes. But Lior, waiting in the back of the hall with arms folded, caught every glance, every whisper. His gaze warned them all: Look, but don't touch. He's mine.
During the seminar, Kaein spoke on behavioral problems and their ripple effect on family structures, his voice steady, authoritative. Yet every time Lior shifted in his chair, the Alpha scent bled into the hall, and Kaein faltered for a heartbeat, words catching against the pull of their bond.
Afterward, as they walked down the hall, Lior leaned close, smirking. "They could all smell it, you know. Us."
Kaein's steps quickened. "You're unbearable."
"And you love me unbearable."
---
Evenings became a war of restraint. Lior refused distance, curling around Kaein while he worked, tugging papers from his hands when lectures or case notes demanded too much attention.
"Enough psychology for one night," Lior would mutter, dragging him to bed. "Analyze me instead."
Kaein tried to resist, but his body betrayed him each time. The pheromones thickened, rising with the waxing moon, until even sleep was impossible without touching.
Some nights, Kaein would find himself pinned beneath Lior's weight, lips swollen from kisses that lingered too long, whispers filling the dark:
"You're mine, Kaein. Say it."
"I'm yours," Kaein would reply, voice trembling but steady.
And Lior would smile, feral and soft all at once, before pressing kisses across every inch of skin until the promise sank deeper than words.
---
The signs came slowly, almost innocently at first. A restless heat beneath skin. The faint shimmer of silver in Lior's eyes when moonlight hit. The way his pheromones grew heavier each night, pressing against Kaein's chest until his heartbeat stumbled.
One evening, while unpacking books in the living room, Kaein suddenly stilled. His hand shook as he held a worn psychology text, though it wasn't fear—it was the overwhelming rush of Lior's scent flooding the apartment, thick and demanding.
He turned, only to find Lior standing at the doorway, gaze sharp, breath ragged.
"It's starting," Kaein whispered, realization dawning.
Lior nodded, jaw clenched. "The moon's pulling me. Pulling us."
They met halfway across the room, lips crashing together in a kiss that was more claim than tenderness. Clothes fell careless, forgotten, until skin met skin with no barriers left.
But even then, restraint held them back from the final act. Lior's mouth lingered at Kaein's neck, teeth grazing but not yet sinking. The bond screamed for permanence, for the mark that would etch eternity into flesh.
Kaein clung to him, voice breaking. "Lior… not yet. Wait."
Lior froze, trembling, chest heaving with the effort to hold back. His lips pressed to Kaein's temple, a desperate vow. "I'll wait. But you'll be mine, permanently. Soon."
They collapsed onto the bed, tangled in heat and half-whispered promises, the silver moon outside a silent witness to what was coming.
---
That night, as sleep threatened but never fully came, Kaein lay awake, tracing the lines of Lior's hand with his fingertips. His heart beat fast, half in fear, half in anticipation.
"Are you afraid?" Lior asked softly, catching the hesitation in his touch.
Kaein looked at him, eyes steady despite the rush of heat. "No. Just… ready."
And though the Lunar Day had not yet arrived, both knew it was only a matter of time before restraint broke, and the mark sealed them forever.