By Zephyria 
Thump, thump, thump—the sound of the heart grew louder, and movements became slower.
─ What?
It was enough to surprise the physician. An Extreme Alpha’s rut can be controlled by the individual. However, there is a very slim probability that a natural rut occurs, and when it does, they lose their reason and become violent and berserk. To put it bluntly, they become monsters driven by sexual desire.
In this case, general Alpha rut suppressants do not work, and if one tries to resolve it alone, they are engulfed in a heat so intense they nearly go mad, causing the feral state to reach its peak. Therefore, the heat of the rut must absolutely be resolved with an Omega; even an Extreme Dominant Omega would struggle, and it would take four or five general Omegas to barely endure it.
In Kim Ju-hwan’s case, this was the second time a natural rut had occurred. The memory of that time was so terrible that he had controlled it thoroughly since then, releasing the rut in intervals to relieve it.
Since a natural rut had not occurred once since then, he thought it would remain that way. But… for a rut to come so suddenly… and of all times, now, was flustering even for Kim Ju-hwan.
─ Do you have suppressants with you now?
Cal Front had developed a drug in preparation for when Ju-hwan experienced a natural rut. Although its efficacy dropped once the full-blown rut began, it was a drug that could suppress about 70% if it was in the early stages where only signs were appearing. Kim Ju-hwan took out the drug that had been kept cold in the freezer inside his study safe.
“I have them.”
─ You’re in the early stages, right?
“Yes. I think I’ll enter a full-blown rut within half a day’s worth of the drug’s effect.”
─ Then administer it immediately.
Without delay, Kim Ju-hwan took out the injection and put in the drug. Since it deteriorated quickly if left at room temperature for too long, he had to administer it into his body quickly.
─ Will you not require an Omega?
“I don’t need one.”
─ By any chance, are you with an Omega right now?
“I’m curious why you’re asking that.”
At Kim Ju-hwan’s question, the physician remained silent for a moment and then sighed.
─ There is a recently published research result stating that if a natural rut occurs in an Extreme Alpha or Dominant Alpha, it is due to the instinct to possess. For example, there is an Omega they consider a partner, and they prepare for imprinting to possess that Omega. As you know, for Extreme and Dominant Alphas to imprint, a natural rut must occur.
To imprint… to get a single Omega in his grasp, a natural rut occurs. Isn’t that a ridiculously trivial reason? Kim Ju-hwan chuckled. If that were the case, it meant the reason he hadn’t experienced a rut until now wasn’t because of his efforts, but because there was no Omega he desired… Which made no sense. Because there was no ‘Omega’ here right now.
“It seems those research results are nonsense. I don’t have any Omega I want to imprint with right now.”
─ Yes, it’s not certain yet. By the way, did you take the injection?
Kim Ju-hwan confirmed that the air bubbles in the drug had disappeared and picked up the syringe.
“I’m about to. Let’s hang up now.”
─ I’ll call you back later. If you don’t answer the phone…
“Please make sure no one can approach my house for a few days.”
This building belonged to him anyway, and since Kim Ju-hwan lived in the penthouse at the very top, no one would be able to enter without his permission.
─ Yes, I understand.
Looking at the screen of the phone after the call ended, Kim Ju-hwan laughed again in disbelief. Where on earth did such garbage research results come from? The fact that his primary physician, who was renowned for Alpha research, would bring up such uncertain results and tell him was simply absurd. He could laugh it off because he had known the man since childhood and the man was a great help to the company, but if it had been anyone else, he would have fired them on the spot.
Kim Ju-hwan took a deep breath.
“Disgusting Alpha scent.”
His physical senses had become extremely sensitive compared to before. Thanks to that, he could even feel Shin Jeong-min’s pheromones coming from his room, which was far away. No, he had actually been feeling his pheromones all day. Perhaps because he hadn’t taken suppressants, or perhaps because of the drug, his pheromones were gradually leaking out loosely.
At first, out of disgust, he had covered it all with his own pheromones. But for some reason, as the days passed, he found himself wanting to smell his pheromones more rather than finding them disgusting.
Was he simply getting used to it? He thought… but that couldn’t be. How could an Alpha get used to Alpha pheromones? It was instinctively impossible.
Kim Ju-hwan took another breath while holding the needle against his forearm. Shin Jeong-min’s pheromones drifted toward him faintly again. Instead of pushing them away, he entwined them with his own and pulled them in.
Suddenly, he remembered the first time Shin Jeong-min clung to him while talking about ‘correction.’ When he first smelled these pheromones, he initially thought they were the pheromones of a corrected Omega. But they weren’t.
The vivid sense of disappointment he felt then. At the same time, all interest in Shin Jeong-min vanished. Watching the limping man leave in a car to go home, Kim Ju-hwan thought he would never be entangled with that Alpha again.
But that, too, was not the case.
That night, his first natural rut occurred. Not a rut he had intentionally induced, but one where he couldn’t control himself, where desire devoured him and he could do nothing of his own will…
How many Omegas had come to the isolation room that night until he accepted his unfamiliar self? However, Kim Ju-hwan didn’t embrace a single one of those Omegas. Rather, it was because the Omega pheromones felt disgusting.
Why was that…?
After the rut of several days ended, his primary physician also said it was an impossible symptom. That it couldn’t be. Kim Ju-hwan also decided to think that he was just sensitive because it was his first rut. Since he had never felt that way about Omega pheromones since then.
“Disgusting… Alpha.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His heart now sounded like a giant drum. He could feel the Alpha instincts rising and devouring his reason. Kim Ju-hwan slowly headed toward the bedroom.
Shin Jeong-min was still slumped on the bed, unconscious. He breathed in and out once more. He felt Shin Jeong-min’s pheromones permeating deep into his body. It was the same pheromone he felt when he first manifested. Just like the man himself, who had never changed once, then or now.
Clink—
The syringe in Kim Ju-hwan’s hand fell to the floor, rolled away, and disappeared into the deep darkness beneath the bed.
✽✽✽
Heavy. His whole body… like sleep paralysis… no, like a massive boulder was crushing him. It was so heavy that his body wouldn’t move as he wished, and Jeong-min groaned. He wanted to get up, but he couldn’t. Why?
“Ugh…”
Because he had mixed bodies with Kim Ju-hwan for a long time? No, even so, this physical symptom… He felt cold sweat breaking out and the inside of his body freezing. At the same time, he felt a sense of dread. The hair on his body stood on end, and his instinct told him he had to run… it was just like when Kim Ju-hwan released his pheromones a while ago.
“Damn it.”
Did this bastard release his pheromones again? I’m pretty sure I hit him once and told him never to do that again before I left…
“Are you awake?”
A cool voice filled the space. Jeong-min blinked and barely turned his head to look at the owner of the voice. Kim Ju-hwan was sitting on a sofa a short distance from the bed, wearing only his bottoms.
“Kim Ju-hwan…”
“Yes.”
“Pheromones… I told you not to. It’s suffocating. Stop it.”
The words wouldn’t come out smoothly. He could barely express his intent, his voice cutting off in fragments.
Kim Ju-hwan gave a shallow smile, stood up, and approached Jeong-min. The closer he got, the more intense the pressure of the pheromones became. Even the heat invading his body was bewildering. What is this?
“Sunbae.”
Kim Ju-hwan sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at Jeong-min.
“Is it hard?”
“Gasp…”
Because of Kim Ju-hwan’s pheromones, it felt like his breath was reaching the tip of his throat. Jeong-min forced himself up and vomited toward the floor of the bed. Since he hadn’t eaten anything, only gastric juice came out. Watching the transparent liquid splatter onto the floor, Kim Ju-hwan stroked Jeong-min’s back.
“It’s natural. It would be strange not to have this reaction after being hit directly by an Extreme Alpha’s pheromones. Vomit as much as you want.”
“Kim Ju-hwan… take back the pheromones.”
Jeong-min spoke with difficulty, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
“It’s impossible.”
Kim Ju-hwan stood up, brought some water, and handed it to Jeong-min. While Jeong-min drank the water, Kim Ju-hwan brought a wet towel and wiped the back of Jeong-min’s hand.
“Why is it impossible?”
“Because it’s a rut. Right now.”
“What? Rut… can’t you control it?”
“It’s a natural rut… control is impossible. No, right now I’m barely… very barely suppressing it, but I don’t know when it will explode.”
After saying those meaningful words, Kim Ju-hwan took a small aluminum case from the table in front of the sofa where he had been sitting and sat on the edge of the bed again.
Inside that case, naturally, there was an injection. It was the last one.
“This is the last one, Sunbae.”
The last… is this the end? Jeong-min sighed and plunged the last needle into his arm. He felt the cool sensation of the drug and simultaneously felt it spreading through his body.
“As a special final gift, I’ve also included a rut inducer.”
“What?”
Kim Ju-hwan said as he threw the aluminum case behind him. Simultaneously, his pheromones were released all at once. It was a pheromone so terrible and terrifying that the nausea he had barely suppressed surged back up.
“Both you and I are in rut, Sunbae.”