Julius walked forward and stepped inside. What he saw made him freeze completely. The room was a mess. Furniture was overturned.

Things were scattered across the floor. Papers everywhere. A lamp had been knocked over. The entire space looked like a storm had torn through it.

But that wasn’t what stopped him. Harrison stood in the center of the chaos, his back to the door. His entire body was rigid. Tense.

His breathing was heavy and uncontrolled. The air in the room was thick with pheromones—stronger than anything Julius had ever felt before. They weren’t the controlled, deliberate pheromones Harrison usually released.

These were raw. Wild. Overwhelming. The door slammed shut behind Julius. The lock clicked automatically.

Harrison turned slowly. His eyes were different. Darker. Unfocused. Like he was barely holding on to himself.

"Why are you here?" Harrison’s voice came out strained. Rough. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"I locked you in that room for a reason. I knew what I was doing."

Julius took a step forward. "How long has this been going on?" Harrison didn’t answer. He turned away, gripping the edge of the overturned desk like it was the only thing keeping him standing.

"Why didn’t you call me?" Julius asked. "Why didn’t you tell me something was wrong?"

Harrison let out a short, bitter laugh. "I did call." "What?"

"I called," Harrison repeated, his voice dropping lower. "But you were with her. At the hospital. Choosing her over me. Again."

Julius felt heart skip. "That’s not—" "Do you know why you’re the only one who can get in here right now?" Harrison cut him off.

His voice dropped lower. "Because you’re here. Because no one else can reach me when I’m like this. Only you."

Julius froze. "What are you talking about?" "Ask yourself that question," Harrison said quietly.

He turned to face Julius again, and this time his eyes locked onto him with an intensity that made Julius’s breath catch. "You’re the only one who can get to me. The only one who can calm this."

"Don’t you understand what that means?"

Before Julius could respond, Harrison moved. Fast. He crossed the distance in two steps and sat down hard on the bed.

His breathing was rough. Julius stood there, unsure what to do. "Harrison—"

Harrison grabbed him. His hand shot out and caught Julius’s wrist, pulling him forward with force. Before Julius could react, Harrison’s other hand came up to the back of his neck.

And pulled him down.

Their lips crashed together. Julius froze. His mind went blank. This was their first kiss.

Their first real kiss. Not a game. Not a test. This.

He tried to pull back. Tried to think. Tried to resist. But he couldn’t. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to resist.

It was that something inside him wouldn’t let him. Something deeper than thought. Deeper than choice.

His body responded on its own, leaning into Harrison. Kissing him back with a desperation that scared him.

The pheromones in the room grew stronger. Thicker. They wrapped around Julius like chains. Pulling him deeper into the kiss.

Harrison’s grip on the back of his neck tightened. Holding him there. Refusing to let him go.

Julius’s hands came up to Harrison’s shoulders. Gripping them hard. He didn’t know if he was trying to push Harrison away or pull him closer.

Maybe both. Maybe neither.

Harrison broke the kiss just long enough to breathe. Then pulled Julius back in. Again. And again.

Like he was drowning and Julius was air.

Are you trying to suffocate me?" Julius pulled back just enough to speak.

Harrison’s response was immediate. "This is bond pheromones. Not the ones I release personally. This is different." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Julius didn’t moved. His mind tried to catch up with what Harrison just said. Bond pheromones. Not normal pheromones. Bond.

That meant—

His thoughts scattered as Harrison kissed him again. Harder this time. More desperate.

The pheromones filled every corner of the room. Making it hard to think. Hard to breathe. Hard to do anything except feel.

Julius tried to speak. Tried to ask. Tried to understand.

Harrison’s lips were on his again, and his body was responding without permission, without control.

Julius finally pulled back hard, breathless. "You need to leave this room right now."

Harrison stared at him. His eyes were dark and unfocused. "Leave? Where would I go?"

"Then I’ll leave," Julius said, trying to step back.

Harrison grabbed his waist, pulling him back. "No."

"Harrison—"

"I told you to leave earlier," Harrison said, his voice strained.

"I locked you in that room to keep you safe. To keep you away from this. But you came anyway. You always come."

Julius stared at him. His heart was pounding too hard. His mind was racing with too many realizations at once.

"How long has this been going on?"

Harrison didn’t answer. He just looked at Julius with those dark, desperate eyes.

"How long?" Julius asked again. His voice rising. "How long have you been dealing with this alone?"

"Does it matter?" Harrison asked quietly.

"Yes!" Julius pulled free and grabbed Harrison by the shoulders instead.

"Yes, it matters! You’re telling me this is bond pheromones. You’re telling me I’m the only one who can reach you. You’re telling me—"

He stopped. His breath caught. "What are you telling me, Harrison?"

Harrison’s expression shifted. Something broke behind his eyes. The control he’d been clinging to finally shattered completely.

"I’m telling you that you’re mine," Harrison said, his voice raw and honest for the first time.

"I’m telling you that this bond isn’t something I chose. It’s something I was born with. I’m telling you that every time you walk away from me, every time you choose her, every time you don’t understand—it tears me apart."

Julius froze completely.

"I’m telling you," Harrison continued, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper, "that I’ve been carrying this alone for years. And I didn’t want you to know."

"I didn’t want your pity. I didn’t want you to stay with me because you felt sorry for me."

Julius’s hands tightened on Harrison’s shoulders. "How long has this been going on?"

Harrison looked up at him. His eyes were filled with pain. With exhaustion. With something that looked like surrender.

"Since the beginning."