A strangled groan echoed in the noisy cabin today.
By the afternoon of the fifth day, the concentrated pheromones leaking from beneath the master bedroom door had turned the living room into a pressure cooker.
It slled of the Basilisk in the peak of his season. But mixed with it was the sweeter, softer scent of Roxy, creating a cocktail that was designed by nature to drive male predators absolutely insane.
Especially the ones sitting around in Roxy’s living room.
When they were signing up to be their mate, they didn’t really sign up to losing their minds over their mate pheromones mixing with another male’s pheromones for 5 days.
Zarek, the Dragon King, seed the least affected. He was sitting at the kitchen island, calmly peeling an apple with a shard of glass. Iris sat on his thighs, watching him in awe. His reptilian biology allowed him to filter out the noise, or perhaps he was just too arrogant to let a snake’s scent bother him.
Kaelen, the Wolf Alpha, was tense. He sat by the hearth, whittling a piece of wood into a toy horse. His leg was bouncing nervously, and every few minutes, he would let out a low, unconscious growl, his blue eyes flicking toward the hallway.
He was trying to be calm, but how can he when that sll cos roaring at his wolf?
But Torian?
Torian was broken.
The Tiger King was currently pressed up against the door, his forehead resting against the rough wood of the bedroom door. His pristine white and gold robes were rumpled. His hair, usually tied back in a perfect silk ribbon, was loose and ssy.
His pupils were blown so wide his eyes looked entirely black. He was breathing in deep, shuddering gasps, inhaling the scent that was seeping through the cracks.
"Open..." Torian whispered, his voice trembling. "Just... a crack. I just want to see."
None of his people would imagine that this was the sa Torian who inflicted fear in their hearts.
"Get away from the door, Torian," Kaelen warned from the fireside, not looking up from his whittling.
"I cannot," Torian whined. He dragged his nails down the wood, leaving four shallow grooves. The sound was like chalk on a blackboard. "Do you not sll her? She slls like... like honey. She slls like mine."
"She is currently his," Zarek comnted from the kitchen, slicing a piece of apple. "Wait your turn, Cat. You are embarrassing your species."
"I don’t care about my species!" Torian snapped.
His control snapped with it.
The beast took over. A low, guttural roar ripped from Torian’s throat. "ROXY!"
Torian didn’t just scratch the door this ti. He lunged.
His hands transford mid-air, shifting into massive, furred paws with inch-long claws. He slashed at the wood, gouging deep splinters out of the fra.
He was going to tear the door down. He needed to get in there. He needed to drag the snake off her and claim her before he lost his mind completely.
That seed easy for him to say.
Kaelen dropped the toy horse and moved as fast as he could; his muscles swelled, and his eyes flashed. He launched himself and tackled Torian just as the Tiger raised his claws for a second strike.
The two Kings hit the floor hard. The impact shook the cabin, and for a second, it felt like the cabin was about to shake away thanks to the earthquake, but it steadied after a while.
"Let go!" Torian roared, thrashing wildly. He was strong, terrifyingly strong. "I need to see her!"
"Control yourself!" Kaelen shouted, grappling with him. He pinned Torian’s arms to the floor, using his weight to hold the thrashing Tiger down. "If you break that door, Syris will kill you! He is in a frenzy! He won’t recognize you as a friend!"
"I never wanted him as a friend! Let him try!" Torian snarled, his fangs extending, saliva dripping from his jaw. "I will skin him!"
Zarek didn’t even stand up. He just watched them roll around on the rug, chewing his apple. "If you break the table, you are both sleeping outside."
The scuffle was intense. Torian bucked his hips, throwing Kaelen off balance. They rolled again, crashing into the sofa.
Suddenly, a battle cry rang out from the nursery.
"ATTACK THE BIG CAT!"
Drax, wearing his dinosaur pajamas and a colander on his head as a helt, charged into the room. He had seen his dad (Kaelen) fighting the "Big Cat" (Torian) and decided reinforcents were needed.
"Get him!" Drax yelled.
The toddler launched himself into the fray. He didn’t have much weight, but he had enthusiasm. He jumped right onto Torian’s stomach.
"Oof!" Torian grunted as forty pounds of dragon-boy landed on his diaphragm.
But Drax wasn’t alone.
Axel ca crawling out of the nursery at incredible speed. He saw the pile of bodies, and his eyes lit up. He scrambled over, giggling maniacally, and climbed onto Torian’s chest, grabbing a handful of the Tiger King’s long white hair and yanking.
"Dada!" Axel barked happily.
Onyx followed, crawled over to Torian’s head, and simply sat on the Tiger’s face, looking around the room calmly.
Iris, the smallest, toddled over on shaky legs. She didn’t want to fight. She just wanted to be included. She flopped down on top of Kaelen’s back, burying her face in his shirt.
The fight stopped instantly.
Torian lay frozen on the rug. He was pinned. Kaelen, who was still holding Torian’s arms, started laughing; he couldn’t help it. He rested his forehead on the floor, shaking with mirth.
"Surrender, Torian," Kaelen wheezed. "You are outnumbered."
Torian stared up at the ceiling, his vision obscured by Onyx’s diaper-clad bottom. The rage drained out of him, replaced by a sense of indignity.
How could these little mutts forget that he was the Tiger King?
How could they jump on him like that and shove their butt on his face?!
"Get... get them off ," Torian mumbled, his voice muffled by the baby. "This is not dignified. I am a King."
Zarek snorted a laugh.
Drax bounced on Torian’s stomach. "I win! The Cat is defeated!"
"Yes, yes, you are a mighty warrior," Torian sighed, closing his eyes. "Please stop bouncing. I think I am going to be sick."
Suddenly, the door to the master bedroom clicked. Everyone froze.
Torian stiffened beneath the pile of children. Kaelen’s head snapped up. Zarek stopped chewing.
The door creaked open slowly.
A cloud of steam seed to roll out of the room, carrying the heavy, musky scent of the last five days. Roxy stood at the door, looking down at the scene before her very eyes.
She looked... wrecked. And glorious.
She was wrapped in a loose silk sheet that she was clutching to her chest, dragging it behind her like a royal train. Her dark hair was a wild, tangled mane that looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in a week.
Her lips were swollen and red, her neck was covered in fresh love bites, and her skin had a flushed, feverish radiance that made her look like she was lit from within.
She leaned heavily against the doorfra, her legs trembling visibly. She blinked against the light of the living room, her eyes hazy and unfocused.
She looked at Zarek with his apple. And finally, she looked at the pile on the wooden floor, Torian spread-eagled with four children and a wolf on top of him, looking like a defeated sheep.
Roxy blinked slowly. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if the exhaustion was making her hallucinate.
"What..." Roxy croaked, her voice raspy from days of crying out. She cleared her throat and tried again.
"What is happening here?"
A/N: It’s finally the end of the year, and I am getting emotional!
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