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Henry stormed back and forth across the kitchen tiles, shoes squeaking with every angry pivot. His cinnamon scent had turned sour and jagged: thick with rage, humiliation, and that stubborn undercurrent of fear he'd die before admitting.
Blood trickled from his split right knuckles, but he kept clenching the fist anyway, daring the sting to fuel him.
Mum stood rigid by the counter, arms crossed, and her face pinched.
"You are seventeen years old, Henry! Seventeen! When exactly do you plan on growing up and acting like a proper omega instead of this... this horrid, unruly pup? You should be thinking about your future, settling down, finding someone respectable to court, not running around punching alphas in the school corridors like a common delinquent! What on earth were you thinking? Do you have any idea how this reflects on the family?"
Henry's chest vibrated with a low growl he barely choked down. His fangs flashed for a split second.
"Reflects on the family? Try reflecting on the fact that some brainless alpha had me pinned against the lockers, breathing down my neck and calling me a 'mouthy little omega bitch who needs a real alpha to teach him manners'! He said my scent was 'asking for it' because I skipped the blockers. What was I supposed to do, Mum? Just smile sweetly and bare my throat like a good little omega?"
Mum's eyes narrowed. "You were supposed to walk away, Henry! Report it properly! Use your head instead of your fists and prove every awful stereotype about difficult omegas right. You're embarrassing us all!"
"Walk away?" Henry barked a harsh laugh, stepping closer. "He was crowding me so bad I couldn't even breathe properly! Growling right in my face, blocking the whole corridor. No one helped; not one teacher, not one so-called 'respectable' alpha. They all just stood there laughing like it was the best show of the day. If I'd walked away, he would've followed and made it ten times worse!"
Peter fidgeted desperately by the doorway. He wrung his hands, voice pitching higher.
"Mum, he's telling the truth this time. The alpha was being really aggressive. He was posturing and growling and taking up the whole space. No one stepped in to help Henry. Dame— I mean, Henry—was technically defending himself. You always say we should stand up for what's right..."
Mum didn't even glance at Peter. "Enough, Peter. This isn't about you. Henry, go to your room right now. We'll talk about this properly when you've calmed down and remembered your place."
Henry planted his feet wider, chin lifted defiantly even as his scent soured further.
"My place? I'm not going anywhere until you actually listen instead of automatically blaming me like always! I'm not the one who started it!"
Mum's voice rose, sharp and tired. "Listen? I've listened to your excuses for seventeen years, Henry! Always someone else's fault. Always 'they started it.' When are you going to take responsibility and start behaving like we raised you to be?"
"I am taking responsibility, by not letting some idiot alpha treat me like prey!" Henry shot back, fangs peeking again. "You want me to court someone? Fine. But I'm not courting anyone who expects me to roll over and play submissive every time an alpha puffs up his chest!"
Dad, who had been hovering awkwardly by the fridge pretending to study a shopping list, finally sighed heavily and rubbed his temple. "Henry, that's enough. Your mother's right, you need to calm down."
Peter jumped in again, voice trembling but insistent. "Dad, please. Henry didn't just punch him for no reason. The alpha was threatening him. Everyone saw it. If no one else was going to help, what was he supposed to do?"
"Simon, do something, he clearly won't listen to reason," Mum said, glaring at Dad.
Dad looked deeply uncomfortable, shoulders slumping. But the alpha command still slipped out in that heavy, unavoidable tone.
"Henry. Be quiet. Go to your room and stay there until I say otherwise. No more arguments tonight."
The command hit Henry like a lead weight. His body locked up, instincts roaring at him to drop his eyes, bare his throat, whine softly, and submit, just make the awful buzzing under his skin stop. His knees buckled for half a second.
Peter gasped loudly.
"Dad! You can't use a command on him for this, he was defending himself!"
Dad cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "I can't deal with this right now," he muttered, and walked out of the kitchen without another word.
The command still hummed viciously through Henry's veins, making his limbs feel heavy and traitorously obedient. Angry tears stung the corners of his eyes. He blinked them back furiously, then shoved past Mum and a wide-eyed Peter.
"Henry—wait, please!" Peter called after him, voice cracking with worry. "Dame, come back! It's not fair, they didn't even listen properly!"
Henry slammed the front door so hard the frame rattled and the sound echoed down the street.
Henry didn't even knock properly. He just slammed his fist against Ralph's window twice before shoving it open and hauling himself inside, nearly falling onto the carpet. The moment both feet hit the floor, he was moving: restless, frantic, a whirlwind of bruised knuckles and sour distress.
Ralph had been lounging on his bed, scrolling through his phone, but the second Henry appeared he sat up straight. His alpha scent, warm cedar and smoked vanilla, flared instantly with excitement, only to sour with concern as he took in the damage.
"Henry—" Ralph started, voice low.
"Don't." Henry's tone was clipped. He didn't look at him.
Instead he stormed across the room like he owned it, which, in that moment, he basically did. He ripped the thick navy comforter off Ralph's bed in one violent tug, dragging it toward the corner between the bed and the window where the late afternoon light pooled softly on the floor. Two pillows followed.
Then Ralph's favorite hoodie, the oversized red one that still smelled strongly of him, got yanked off the chair and shoved into the growing pile.
Ralph stayed where he was for a long moment, watching.
Every instinct screamed at him to pull Henry into his arms, to fix it. But he knew better. Henry was an omega who hated being treated like one on a good day. Right now, he was a live wire.
Henry dropped to his knees and started building. His movements were jerky, almost aggressive, like the nest itself had insulted him. He folded the comforter into high walls, tucking the hoodie at the base so its scent would surround him. He grabbed Ralph's spare blanket from the closet without asking, then the throw pillow from the gaming chair.
Every soft thing he could find ended up in the corner. A low, frustrated growl kept rumbling in his throat, cut off each time like he refused to let it out fully.
Ralph's pupils were blown wide, chest rising and falling faster. Seeing Henry, his Henry, nesting in his room, surrounding himself with his scent... it hit every instinct he had. But the blood on Henry's hands kept him grounded.
"You're bleeding on my stuff," Ralph said quietly, trying for light.
"Good," Henry muttered, voice hoarse. He wiped his busted knuckles on the sleeve of the hoodie without care. "It's mine now. All of it."
Ralph exhaled through his nose and finally moved. He crouched a respectful distance away, outside the forming nest.
"Talk to me, trouble. What the hell happened?"
Henry sat back on his heels, jaw so tight the muscle jumped. For a second it looked like he wouldn't answer. Then the words started pouring out, bitter and fast.
"Some idiot alpha cornered me in the corridor after last period. Big guy, year above us. Said I was a feral little omega who needed to learn his place. That walking around without blockers, was 'asking for it.' He shoved me, got in my face. I punched him. Hard."
Henry's lip curled into a sneer.
"Teachers pulled me off before I could do more damage. Got dragged to the office, lectured, then sent home."
Ralph's hands curled into fists, claws pricking at his palms. A deep growl started in his chest before he swallowed it.
Henry kept going, eyes fixed on the nest instead of Ralph.
"Mum lost it the second I walked in. Said she's disappointed. That I'm seventeen now and I need to start acting like a proper omega. Stop fighting, stop being a delinquent. I should be thinking about settling down, finding someone to court, not punching alphas in the hallway." His voice cracked with fury. "Like I want to have to defend myself all the time. Like I'm defective because I won't roll over and let some alpha put a collar on me."
Ralph's scent spiked, protective and angry. "Who was the alpha?"
"Doesn't matter," Henry snapped. "I handled it." He paused, swallowing hard. "Then Dad... Dad used a command. Told me to shut up and go to my room. Full alpha voice. I almost bared my throat right there in the kitchen. Peter tried to defend me but no one listened. I slammed the door and climbed out my window."
The room went quiet except for Henry's ragged breathing. Ralph's expression darkened.
"He commanded you?"
Henry nodded once, sharp. His eyes were glassy now, but he blinked hard, refusing to let the tears fall.
"Still feels like it's crawling under my skin. Makes me want to puke."
He crawled into the half-finished nest and curled up, back to Ralph, arms wrapped around his own knees. The sour edge of his scent was overwhelming now.
Ralph stepped forward slowly and stopped at the edge of the nest.
"Can I come in?"
Henry didn't answer with words. Instead he reached back, grabbed a fistful of Ralph's shirt, and yanked him forward so hard Ralph nearly toppled over him. Ralph went willingly, folding his body around Henry's, chest to Henry's back, arms wrapping securely around his waist. He tucked his nose against the back of Henry's neck and let his scent pour out, until it drowned out the burnt distress.
“I've got you, trouble," Ralph murmured, voice rough. One hand stroked slow, careful circles over Henry's side. "You're safe here. No commands. No one touching you unless you want it."
Henry's busted hand clutched at Ralph's forearm, leaving bloody fingerprints on his skin.
"Don't you dare start purring."
Ralph purred anyway: deep, low, rumbling from his chest like a well-tuned engine. The sound vibrated against Henry's back, steady and relentless. Henry cursed under his breath, but his body betrayed him.
The rigid tension in his shoulders slowly melted. His breathing evened out as the alpha command's buzzing hold finally began to fade under the weight of safety and scent.
"You're not broken," Ralph whispered against his hair, lips brushing the messy strands. "You're not defective. You're Henry. And if anyone. your mum, your dad, that alpha at school, tries to force you into some perfect little omega box, they'll have to go through me. I'll rip their throats out."
Henry gave a wet, exhausted huff of laughter. "Big tough alpha. You're such a sap."
"Your sap," Ralph corrected without shame. He nuzzled closer. "Been yours since we were kids stealing each other's lunch and fighting over who got the last swing on the playground. Nothing's changing that."
Henry turned in his arms, finally facing him. Their foreheads pressed together. Up close, Ralph could see the faint tremble in Henry's lashes, the unshed tears he was still fighting.
"I hate this," Henry whispered. "Hate feeling like this. Weak."
"You're not weak," Ralph said fiercely. "You're the strongest person I know. Most omegas would've submitted the second someone used a command. You fought it. You came here. You built a nest out of my shit like you were claiming territory." A small, proud smile tugged at his mouth. "That's my feral omega."
Henry stayed curled against Ralph's chest for a long moment without answering, face buried in the crook of his neck. The alpha's arms were a solid cage around him, protective without being trapping, and the steady rumble of Ralph's purr vibrated through both their bodies like a heartbeat.
Eventually, Ralph shifted just enough to nose along the side of Henry's jaw. He moved slowly, giving Henry every chance to pull away or snap at him. But Henry didn't.
Instead, after a shaky inhale, he tilted his head, baring the long line of his throat in a way he never did for anyone else. Not willingly.
Ralph's breath hitched. He knew what an honor this was. Henry only ever let one person scent him like this: Peter, when they were pups and everything was simpler. No one else. Never.
"You sure?"
Henry gave the smallest nod, eyes closed tight. "Just... do it."
Ralph didn't need telling twice. He pressed his face to Henry's neck and rubbed his cheek there in long, deliberate strokes, scenting him thoroughly, claiming him with his warm cedar smell until it sank into Henry's skin and hair.
He dragged his wrist along Henry's collarbones, then down his arms, covering the omega in layer after layer of safety and possession. Every pass of skin on skin made Henry's sour, burnt cinnamon distress fade further.
The shaking in Henry's limbs, which had been constant since he climbed through the window, finally began to ease. First his hands stopped trembling against Ralph's shirt. Then his shoulders relaxed. His breathing evened out, no longer jagged and angry.
A tiny, reluctant sound started building in Henry's chest.
It was barely there at first, just a faint vibration, like he was fighting it. But the longer Ralph scented him, the more it grew. A small, rusty purr.
Henry's cheeks burned with embarrassment, but he couldn't stop it. The sound slipped out anyway, soft and broken and entirely involuntary.
Ralph's purr instantly deepened in response, rumbling louder, richer, downright delighted.
The alpha's arms tightened around him, one hand sliding up to cradle the back of Henry's head, fingers threading gently through messy brown hair.
"There you are," Ralph murmured, voice thick with affection. "That's it. Let it out, love."
Henry grumbled something that might have been a protest, but the purr only grew stronger. He turned fully into Ralph's chest, pressing his nose right over the scent gland and finally, finally, scenting him back.
His movements were clumsy at first, still a little stiff with leftover frustration, but they grew surer. Henry rubbed his cheek against Ralph's neck, then his jaw, smearing warm cinnamon all over the alpha's skin.
He dragged his wrist along Ralph's collarbone, then across his chest, marking him thoroughly. The sweet-spicy scent of an omega in a safe nest poured out of him, wrapping around Ralph like a claim.
Ralph's purr became a full-blown growl of pure satisfaction: deep, resonant, loud enough that it filled the whole room. His pupils were completely blown, eyes half-lidded as he basked in it. Henry scenting him back was rare. Henry purring while he did it? Practically unheard of.
"You're gonna kill me one day," Ralph said, nuzzling harder into the omega's hair. "You have no idea what you do to me."
Henry's only reply was to bite down lightly on Ralph's shoulder through his shirt, more affection than threat, before continuing to scent him. His busted knuckles brushed Ralph's side, leaving faint streaks of blood that neither of them cared about.
They stayed like that for a long while, tangled together in the messy nest of blankets and hoodies. Henry's small purr eventually evened out into something steadier, matching Ralph's deeper one in a gentle harmony.
Until the command from his father had finally stopped buzzing under his skin. The anger from the fight at school had drained away.
Finally, reluctantly, Ralph sat up, pulling Henry with him despite the other boy's grumbling. Ralph kept one arm looped loosely around Henry's shoulders while his free hand gently tugged Henry's injured right hand into the light.
"Oi, let me see that properly," Ralph said, voice low but firm. "You're dripping blood on my best blanket, trouble. Hold still."
Henry grumbled but didn't pull away. "It's not that bad. I've had worse from falling off my bike when we were ten."
Ralph snorted, reaching over to the bedside drawer with his free hand and pulling out a small first-aid kit he'd clearly kept handy for years of their combined chaos.
"Yeah, and I patched you up then too. Stop being stubborn and let me clean it before it gets infected. You punched an alpha, not a pillow."
He dampened a cotton pad with antiseptic and carefully dabbed at the split knuckles. Henry hissed sharply through his teeth.
"Ow—watch it! That stings like hell!"
"Course it stings," Ralph replied without missing a beat, though his touch stayed surprisingly gentle. "That's the point. Means it's working. You really clocked him good, huh? Knuckles look raw. What'd his face look like after?"
Henry's lips twitched in a reluctant smirk despite everything.
"Bloody. And surprised. He didn't think a 'mouthy omega' would actually hit back. Kept clutching his nose and yelling about how I'd regret it. Idiot."
Ralph chuckled darkly, blowing lightly on the cleaned cuts to ease the burn before pressing on a bandage.
"Good. Hope it swells up nice and purple by tomorrow. Teach him not to crowd omegas who don't want his attention."
He taped the bandage down carefully, thumb brushing over Henry's wrist in a soothing circle. "There. Done. Try not to punch anyone else tonight, yeah?"
Henry flexed his bandaged hand experimentally, then leaned back into the nest with a heavy sigh.
"It's not just him. It's everything. No one listens to me. Ever."
Ralph's rumble deepened, protective and steady, as he pulled Henry closer into his chest.
"They're wrong. All of them. You're not some doll omega who's supposed to smile and submit every time an alpha puffs up. You're Henry. Loud, sharp, brilliant, and yeah, sometimes you punch first and ask questions later. That's not a flaw. That's you."
Henry let out a shaky breath, his reluctant purr starting up again as Ralph's scent wrapped around him thicker.
"Feels like the whole world wants me to change. Mum keeps going on about settling down. Like anyone would actually want to court someone like me without trying to 'fix' me first."
Ralph was quiet for a moment, his hand stroking slow, soothing lines down Henry's back. Then his voice softened, warm and careful, the usual cocky edge melting away.
"Whenever you're ready... you already have an alpha who would love to court you. Not as some obedient little omega who'll roll over and play perfect. But as you. Exactly as you are; fangs, temper, horrid nicknames, and all."
Henry's eyes went wide, the golden flecks in them flashing with pure shock. His scent sweetened instantly, cinnamon warming and blooming with surprise and something softer, brighter. He pulled back just enough to stare at Ralph, mouth slightly open.
Ralph met his gaze steadily, a small, genuine smile tugging at his lips, though his cheeks had gone a bit pink.
Henry's scent softened further, the sharp edges melting. He nudged Ralph's shoulder with his own, half playful, half overwhelmed.
"Fine," he muttered, voice quieter than usual. "But if you do something I don't like, I'll bite you. Hard."
Ralph's smile brightened into something dazzling, his rumble kicking up enthusiastically.
"I'll have to be extra bad then, if you're promising to bite me. Might be worth it just to feel your teeth."
Henry huffed loudly and rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward despite himself.
"You're impossible."
"Yeah, but you like it," Ralph teased gently, tugging Henry closer again until the omega was properly tucked against his chest. His arms wrapped around him securely, one hand cradling the back of Henry's neck while the other rubbed slow circles between his shoulder blades.
"C'mere, trouble. Nest is still yours. I've got you."
Henry grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "sap," but he didn't resist. Instead he burrowed in deeper, nose pressed to the warm scent gland at Ralph's throat. His own purr evened out, stronger now, vibrating contentedly against Ralph's ribs.
Ralph pressed a light kiss to the top of Henry's head, murmuring against his hair.
"No rush on the courting thing. But when you're ready... I'm here. Always have been."
Henry didn't answer with words. He just tightened his grip on Ralph's shirt and let his purr speak for him: steady, warm, and finally free of the day's sharp edges.