Bernard's jaw clenched, his fury trembling just beneath the surface. His Alpha pheromones flared again, oppressive and sharp, as though sheer dominance could crush his son's resolve. The corridor thickened with his scent—anger, betrayal, authority.
"Adriel," he growled, voice rough, "you defy me for this Omega? You would throw away your future, your legacy, for him?" His lip curled, disdain dripping. "You disgrace this family."
Eren flinched, but Adriel's arm tightened around him, his own pheromones surging stronger, richer, overwhelming the air. Protective, possessive, unchallengeable.
"You mistake me, Father," Adriel said, voice low, dangerous. "The only disgrace in this family is the man who betrayed his mate and nearly destroyed Ulrick. I will not become you."
Bernard's face flushed, his fists curling at his sides. His authority, once unshakable, faltered beneath Adriel's unyielding aura.
And then—
A slow, mocking laugh slithered through the corridor.
From the shadows, Claude stepped forward, his presence smooth but venomous, his Omega pheromones sharp and cloying, designed not to dominate but to needle, to corrode. He leaned casually against the wall, eyes gleaming with malicious delight.
"Well, well," Claude
drawled, his voice dripping with poison, "what a touching little scene. The dutiful Alpha son defying his father for a secretary Omega." His gaze flicked to Eren, sharp as a knife. "Tell me, Eren—how long do you think you'll last at his side? Omegas like you burn bright and fade fast. You'll drag him down, and when you do, I'll be there to watch you crumble."
Eren's stomach twisted, fear sparking, but Adriel's dominance surged again, rolling through the corridor like a tidal wave. He turned his glare on Claude , voice cutting through the air.
"Careful, Claude," Adriel warned, his tone edged with Alpha threat. "You speak as though you have any power here. But you're nothing more than a bitter shadow—jealous, scheming, pathetic."
Claude's smirk faltered, just a flicker, but he quickly masked it with a sneer. He stepped closer, his Omega pheromones curling into the air like smoke, sweet but tainted with bitterness.
"You think this is over because you tore a piece of paper?" His voice dropped, sharp with accusation. "Adriel, don't forget—you were once mine. My fiancé. My supposed Alpha. We promised each other a future, a bond no one else could touch."
His gaze cut to Eren, seething with venom, before snapping back to Adriel. "Even if you mark him, even if you parade him as your mate, that bond between us isn't so easily severed. You can't erase me. You can't erase what we were. I am your true mate, Adriel… and one day, you'll remember that."
Claude's words hung heavy in the corridor, venom disguised as longing. His eyes gleamed as if daring Adriel to deny him, to deny what had once been arranged, promised, written in ink and bloodlines.
But Adriel did not waver. His jaw tightened, and a low growl rumbled in his chest—an Alpha's warning, primal and unmistakable.
Adriel's pheromones surged, flooding the narrow space with power so absolute that the walls themselves seemed to close in. The air thickened, suffocating, and both Bernard and Claude stiffened under the weight of it.
"Enough."
Adriel's voice rolled like thunder, steady and merciless. His gaze locked on Claude , hard as steel.
"You dare speak of bonds? You shattered them the day you walked away. You broke my trust, Claude . You left me bleeding, and you proved you were never truly mine." His voice dropped, low and cutting. "But where you failed me, Eren stood by me. He carried what you abandoned, healed what you scarred. He didn't replace you—he proved you were never worthy to stand at my side."
The words struck like a blade, final and merciless.
Eren's breath caught, his chest tightening—not with fear this time, but with something fiercer. For a heartbeat he could hardly breathe, overwhelmed by the weight of Adriel's defense, the raw truth in his voice. Heat rushed to his eyes, his throat burning, but he lifted his chin all the same. Claude's venom couldn't touch him—not when Adriel's words wrapped around him like armor, steady and unbreakable.
For the first time since Bernard had spoken, Eren didn't flinch. He stood taller at Adriel's side, his hand gripping his Alpha's arm with quiet certainty, and let Bernard see it—that no scar, no venom, no shadow of the past could sever what they had forged together.
Bernard's eyes widened, disbelief cracking through the mask of fury. His Alpha pheromones lashed once, sharp and frantic, then surged like a storm, suffocating and violent. The corridor thickened, the air choked with his dominance, crushing down like iron chains.
Eren gasped, stumbling back as the pressure crashed into him. His chest seized, pain slicing through his abdomen, sharp and sudden. A strangled sound tore from his throat as his hand shot instinctively to his stomach. Terror jolted through him—his body knew before his mind did. The baby.
Bernard's assault didn't just claw at his lungs—it reached deeper, twisting through him with venomous force, rattling the fragile life inside. Panic roared in his chest, a cold dread colder than death itself.
Adriel's growl split the air, primal and savage. In an instant, he shoved Eren behind him, his own pheromones detonating outward like a tidal wave. The corridor shuddered, walls seeming to bow beneath the collision of Alpha dominance. Bernard's oppressive scent buckled, then shattered, driven back by sheer force.
"Touch him—" Adriel's voice thundered, ragged with fury, "—and you will answer to me with your life."
Bernard staggered, eyes wide, his dominance snapped back on itself under the weight of Adriel's. His authority—once absolute—was stripped raw, broken.
"You would raise your hand against me?" Bernard rasped, voice cracking between fury and disbelief. "Against your own blood—your father—for him? For a cursed Omega? You would throw away family for filth?"
Adriel's growl deepened, his eyes burning with unshakable resolve. He drew Eren closer, shielding him as his dominance thundered through the corridor.
"You mistake everything, Dad," he said, each word hard as stone. "Blood does not make family. Legacy does not make family. Choice does. Loyalty does. And this Omega—" his arm tightened around Eren, "—has given me more love, more truth, more strength than you ever have. He is my family. He is my future. And I will never—" his voice sharpened to a blade, "—never betray him."
Bernard's lips peeled back in a snarl, disbelief twisting into fury. "Then you are no son of mine," he spat, his pheromones flaring again, wild and corrosive. "You've chained yourself to weakness, to a parasite who will bleed you dry and leave you hollow. You throw away your bloodline, your throne, everything you were born to be—for an Omega belly swollen with a bastard child."
Adriel's gaze did not waver. His jaw set, his presence unshakable, a wall of dominance that crushed Bernard's poisonous haze.
"Then so be it," he said, voice low, final. "If refusing to become the man you are means losing the name you gave me, I count it no loss. You may strip me of your blood, your legacy, your approval—but you cannot strip me of my honor, my choice, or the family I claim. And I claim him."
His arm curved protectively around Eren, pulling him close. His voice thundered through the silence, unrelenting:
"Let's cut ties here."