☆ ♡ —-> ☆
The Royal Primary Academy was supposed to be a place of prestige and safety, but for the triplets, it was becoming a battlefield of subtle social warfare. Calix, with his silver-spun hair and gentle disposition, had become the primary target of an obsession that spanned from his own grade up to the seniors.
"Kenzo, seriously, stop scowling at everyone," Celine whispered as they walked through the courtyard. She was carrying a stack of advanced magic theory books. "You're acting just like Aiden. You don't need to look for a fight every time someone says hello to Calix. Just talk things out like a normal person."
Kenzo didn't lower his guard. His eyes scanned every corner. "They aren't saying 'hello,' Celine. They're circling. You're too busy being the top of the class to notice that the air around Calix is full of predatory rot."
Calix just smiled, patting Kenzo's arm. "It's okay, Ken. They're just being friendly. Some of them asked if I wanted to join their art club later."
"They don't want to paint with you, Calix," Kenzo snapped, his voice sharp and bitter. "They want to collect you."
The "art club" invitation was a trap. A group of junior students, who were secretly acting as scouts for the older Alphas, had been tasked with bringing Calix to the "Senior Lounge"—a secluded garden area where the fourteen-year-olds hung out.
They led Calix there while Celine was in an honors meeting and Kenzo was forced into a physical education drill.
"Is this the one?" a senior Alpha named Vane asked. He was a tall, arrogant boy from a high-ranking noble family.
When Calix stepped into the clearing, Vane's heart did a strange, uncomfortable flip. Calix was breathtaking. He had the delicate, ethereal beauty of the Serpents mixed with the sturdy grace of the North. He didn't look like a typical cadet; he looked like something precious that should be kept in a glass case.
"He's... he's perfect," Vane muttered, his pupils dilating. He wasn't just interested; he was fixated. The seniors and the juniors alike were now staring at Calix with a hunger that was far from "sane."
The junior students who had brought him there began to close in, forming a circle.
"Come on, Calix," one of the boys said, reaching out to grab Calix's hand. "Why are you always with your brother? We just want to be friends. We can show you things Kenzo doesn't know about."
Calix felt a wave of cold anxiety. He pulled his hand back, clutching it to his chest. He was still smiling, trying to be polite because that's what Arion had taught him, but his voice was trembling.
"I... I'm sorry," Calix said softly. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't think my brothers would like me being here. And—and just so you know, I think you might be confused. I'm a boy. I'm not a girl, so you don't need to treat me like a princess."
But the nervous energy in Calix's body was reaching a breaking point. Because he was a Chimera, his physical form was reactive to his emotional state. As his heart hammered against his ribs and his breathing became shallow, his magic surged.
In a soft glow of light, Calix's features softened even further. His hair lengthened slightly, and his frame became more petite and curved. In his state of pure panic, his body had shifted from male to female—a defensive biological reaction intended to invoke protection, but in this room full of obsessed Alphas, it had the opposite effect.
"Look at that," Vane whispered, stepping forward, his scent becoming thick and suffocating. "You're whatever we want you to be, aren't you?"
Vane reached out to grab Calix's shoulder, his intent turning dark and inappropriate. The other boys moved in closer, their pheromones beginning to leak in a way that made the air feel like poison.
BOOM.
The heavy wooden gate to the garden didn't just open; it was kicked off its hinges.
A wave of pheromones hit the garden like a physical explosion. It wasn't the refined, cold scent of a King—it was the raw, violent, and protective scent of a twin who felt his other half in danger. Kenzo stood in the doorway, his eyes glowing with a lethal, predatory gold that looked exactly like Kyon's when he was ready to kill.
"Back. Away."
The command was so powerful it physically forced the junior students to their knees. Kenzo walked into the center of the circle, his aura acting like a literal shield. As he stepped closer to Calix, the suffocating Alpha scents from the other boys were burned away by Kenzo's own "Iron and Burnt Sugar" scent.
Kenzo didn't care that Vane was four years older and twice his size. He walked straight up to the senior Alpha and shoved him back with enough force to crack the stone pillar behind him.
"You touch him," Kenzo hissed, his voice sounding like a grinding saw, "and I will make sure you never walk again. I don't care who your father is. I will tear your throat out myself."
Calix, seeing Kenzo, let out a sob and hid behind his brother's back. The presence of Kenzo's familiar, protective pheromones allowed Calix's body to stabilize, and he slowly shifted back into his male form, though he was still shaking.
"He's just a kid, Kenzo! Relax!" Vane shouted, though he was visibly sweating, his own Alpha instincts telling him to run from the ten-year-old in front of him.
"He's my brother," Kenzo said, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "And you are all lucky I'm the only one who found you. If Aiden had been the one to walk through that door, there wouldn't be enough of you left to bury."
Kenzo grabbed Calix's hand—not a soft grip, but a firm, grounding one. He turned and led Calix out of the garden, his pheromones still flaring like a warning beacon to anyone else in the hallway.
When they found Celine, she was horrified. She had finally realized that Kenzo wasn't "being problematic"—he was the only thing keeping their family from being torn apart by the Academy's dark undercurrents.
"I'm sorry, Kenzo," Celine whispered as they sat in the safety of their private quarters later that evening. "I didn't realize they were... like that."
Kenzo was busy rubbing a calming oil onto Calix's wrists, his expression grim. "They're always like that, Celine. Everyone wants a piece of us because of who our parents are. From now on, Calix doesn't go anywhere without me. Not the library, not the bathroom, nowhere."
Calix looked at his brother, his eyes wide. "Are you mad at me, Ken?"
Kenzo stopped and looked at his twin. His expression softened for a brief second. "No, Calix. I'm mad that I wasn't there five minutes sooner."
He turned back to the door, his jaw set. He was only ten, but the "Blackwood Protector" instinct had fully awakened. He realized now that he couldn't be the "polite" one like Arion wanted. He had to be the monster in the hallway so that Calix could stay a golden child.
And miles away, in the dark corridors of the palace, Aiden was listening to the report of the incident. He didn't smile, but he felt a grim sense of pride. The twins were learning. The North was a cold place, and only those with the sharpest teeth survived.
But as the North grew more dangerous, the South was growing more desperate. The photos of the "incident" were already being packed into an envelope, ready to be sent to Lorcan to show him that even the "innocent" twins were becoming violent, territorial beasts—just like their brother.