The night deepened, and with it came the inevitable symptoms Neville had tried so hard to suppress. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and soft sounds escaped his lips—whimpers, groans, and moans. He tossed restlessly, the sheets tangling around his legs.

His skin flushed deeper, and his breathing became hard. Even in sleep, his hands clutched at the sheets, seeking relief from the burning sensation.

Then, the soft nest suddenly rustled.

Lucky lifted its head, eyes glowing in the pitch black darkness. It watched Neville, who was in distress for a moment before uncoiling from its nest. It slithered across the floor and up the side of the bed.

As it reached the mattress, something extraordinary happened.

Lucky’s form shimmered, its body elongated and transformed. Its scales dissolved into a smooth skin until the snake became a human.

Grayson seemed to act differently from Grayson, who was the CEO. His normally neatly styled black hair fell loosely on his face.

He had two distinct antler-like horns protruding from his forehead. It wasn’t that large or threatening-looking. His silver human eyes were slits and had black veins climbing from his glands to his face.

He sat still at the edge of the bed, watching Neville writhe in pain as he slept. His expression was unreadable, mixed with concern and possessive desire.

"Stubborn omega," he murmured with his rough voice. "If you don’t call the human me at times like this, what’s the point of keeping me like this?"

Grayson reached out, gently wiping the sweat from Neville’s forehead. The omega leaned into the touch unconsciously, a soft sigh escaping his lips.

The sound instantly boiled Grayson’s inner desires. He leaned his head over Neville’s shoulders, sniffing his uncontrollable pheromones, and whispered, "Either way, you’re mine."

But instead of acting on it, Grayson pushed those thoughts aside. He focused on providing comfort to his poor omega.

Mindful of his horns, Grayson lay down next to Neville, pulling him into a tight hug. Neville immediately curled into his embrace in a comfortable position, seeking the coolness of his skin.

"Fresh...water?" Neville mumbled, squirming around in his deep sleep.

Grayson’s lips curled in a pleased smile. Even unconscious, Neville could still remember his pheromones.

"Shh," he soothed, running a hand through Neville’s sweat-dampened hair. "Sleep, little fish."

He began releasing more of his pheromones to comfort him. Neville instantly stopped his restless movements, his breathing evening out. The tension in his body gradually melted away as the pheromones worked their magic. He pressed closer to Grayson, unconsciously seeking more of that soothing presence. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Grayson held him throughout the night, occasionally wiping away sweat or adjusting the blankets when Neville showed signs of discomfort. As dawn approached, Grayson knew he would return to his ’snake’ form.

He whispered, "Just wait until I remember everything, I’ll give you everything."

He kissed Neville’s forehead as a last act of indulgence.

The first rays of sunlight began creeping through the curtains. With great reluctance, Grayson extracted himself from the embrace. Neville made a small sound of protest but didn’t wake.

Not long after, Grayson transformed again and became the little black snake, Lucky. Lucky slithered up to Neville’s arms and coiled around his wrist in a comfortable position.

When Neville woke an hour later and blinked a couple of times.

"Hm?"

He sat up slowly, expecting the usual grogginess, discomfort, and dull pain that he had felt days ago. But right now, he couldn’t help but be amazed at how well-rested he felt. It was normal to be tired, but not this energetic.

Lucky on his wrist, moved a little, opening its eyes and staring at him.

Neville was surprised to find Lucky at his wrist. He exclaimed, "What are you doing there?"

Then he panned his head to the clearly unused nest and chuckled, "Do you like coiling at my wrist more than sleeping on a different bed?"

Lucky lifted its head and tilted it. Neville petted it and teasingly asked, "Are you the reason why I feel better today? Hm~?"

But obviously, Lucky couldn’t reply to him. It just rubbed its head against his fingers with its tail ends rubbing on his wrist.

Looking at its actions, Neville couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He said, "Are you a snake or a dog? Don’t just snuggle like that."

But it snuggled its head towards his palms even more, making Neville laugh even harder.

[Host, you slept well!] Shelly greeted as she materialized mid-air. [Fourth day of heat is usually the turning point. Host can expect the symptoms to start subsiding from here!]

"Thank goodness," Neville muttered, carefully getting out of bed.

His legs clearly weren’t as wobbly as before. It seemed that he wasn’t just imagining that he was feeling better earlier.

He glanced at his wrist where Lucky remained coiled. "Well, little friend, looks like we’re stuck together for another day. Think you can handle more of my amateur cooking?"

Lucky’s tongue flicked out in what Neville chose to interpret as agreement.

As he made his way to the bathroom, Neville caught a whiff of his own pheromones and grimaced. If he could smell his own pheromones, that meant his pheromones were really strong. He absolutely couldn’t go out today.

Good thing he could just buy from the system mall if he had anything that he needed.

After a long shower that did wonders for his mood, Neville dressed in comfortable clothes and made his way to the kitchen. Lucky clung tightly to his wrist like an exotic accessory.

"So, what shall we do today?" he mused, opening the refrigerator. "Since we’re not going out, I’m thinking maybe watch some classic Earth movies? Oh, that’s definitely perfect for some snacks and tea time."

He busied himself preparing breakfast. As he cooked, Neville found himself ranting to the poor snake.

"You know," he said, "this isn’t how I expected to use my leave for—locked in my apartment, doing practically anything to entertain myself. But honestly? Since this is the interstellar era, it is the worst."

Lucky’s response was to slither up his arm and drape itself around his shoulders. Its weight seemed to comfort him.

He continued. "I don’t know how they entertain themselves at home. Is there even anything interesting in this place aside from the sexual tension around ABO?"

Then he paused and looked at Lucky.

Neville pursed his lips and petted Lucky’s head. "This is not a good topic for kids. Let’s move to another topic."