Elena laid a hand on her husband's arm, gentle but firm.

"Misha, look at Alexei," she said, quiet but clear.

Her calm, even voice, wrapped in the scent of bergamot and home, settled Mikhail like a ground wire. He frowned for a second, holding back the instinctive pull, and looked over at the couch.

Elena, meanwhile, studied Stuart closely. As an omega, she read the biological subtext of the whole scene without needing any instruments. She saw what her engineer husband had missed: their reserved, meticulous son wasn't just lying under someone else's uniform. He was gripping the lapels of Kingsley's blazer without meaning to, nose pressed into the thick collar. Alexei's thick gardenia scent had stopped shaking with panic. It was steady now, clean, twined perfectly with this broad-shouldered boy's Siberian cedar. Their son's pulse on the wall monitor ran even. His body had already accepted Stuart.

Elena turned to Stuart, whose white shirt hung open at the throat, his breathing still hard from the charge rising under his skin.

"Dr. Hayes was going to give him the first-phase stabilizer right there in the hallway, wasn't he?" she asked. Her eyes, usually fixed on blueprints and dry calculations, now held something deeply, simply maternal.

Stuart went still, holding back the dominant pressure fighting to break the surface, and gave a short, tight nod.

"Yes. The synthetics would have burned out his receptors with a break this late. He needed isolation immediately. Hayes wasn't listening."

"Misha, this boy saved our son," Elena turned to her husband, stepping between the two alphas, breaking their locked stare. "Look at the readings. Alexei's rhythm is perfect. No emergency chemicals. Do you understand what that means?"

Mikhail, a pragmatist down to his bones, looked at the steady green pulse line on the climate monitor, then at his son, wrapped in Kingsley's cedar scent. The hard engineering logic in his head started giving way to an obvious, undeniable biological fact. The air in the room went a little lighter. The tension eased. The ozone receded.

"Kingsley, then," Mikhail said quietly, the earlier aggression gone from his voice, his gaze settling on Stuart. "I know your father. Victor Kingsley isn't the kind of man who approves of his heirs acting on impulse. The headmaster's already been in touch with him."

Stuart straightened his broad shoulders, but his face stayed calm. Mikhail's provocation didn't shake his control.

"My father can discuss administrative matters with the headmaster, Mr. Kravtsov," Stuart said. His voice, low and even, came out respectful but firm. "But when it comes to Alexei's safety right now, that decision is mine. Dr. Hayes would have made a mistake. I only did what protocol requires for an omega with a late break."

Mikhail studied the boy's face closely, noting the stubborn set of his jaw, the steady, sure look in his eyes. No teenage defiance there — just cold calculation and a readiness to own it. The engineer inclined his head, conceding the point.

On the couch, Alexei sighed quietly, reacting to the change in Stuart's tone. Stuart's eyes dropped to him, and for a second that same careful, protective softness crossed his face. The hum in his chest quieted, settling into a faint, steady rhythm.

"We need to take him home," Elena came closer to the couch, wrapping her arms around her son's shoulders. "The first heat after a late manifestation lasts several days. He can't stay at the Academy."

She tried to help Alexei up, but the moment Stuart's blazer began sliding off his narrow shoulders, and Kingsley stepped back to make room for the parents, Alexei gasped hard. Losing the direct protective scent of coniferous forest made his head spin. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead again, and his fingers, shaking with weakness, reached blindly back toward the edge of the couch, toward where Stuart had been standing. Alexei's eyes went wide with fear at this sudden loss of support.

Elena's eyes snapped from her son's trembling fingers to the readings on the wall monitor, where the pulse line was climbing fast, breaking the perfect rhythm. Pure omega instinct told her what to do.

"Stuart," she said gently, still holding Alexei by the shoulders. "He can't physically manage the trip alone. Will you come with us? Our electric car's parked at the service entrance — there's plenty of room in the back for..."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kravtsov, but that won't be necessary," Stuart answered calmly. His voice came out even and solid. "There's a car waiting for me in the lot, with a beta driver. Alexei will be safer in an enclosed car. We'll follow right behind you, and I'll keep watch on how he's doing."

Mikhail frowned, weighing the boy's cold logic. A closed car under guard really did offer better biological safety for an omega in crisis.

"Fine, Kingsley. Agreed," the engineer said. "Elena and I will only be a few minutes with Dr. Hayes. We need the official medical report on the manifestation, so the Academy can't raise any legal questions about the absences. Stuart, take Alexei out through the main entrance. Get him to the car. We'll catch up."

Stuart didn't waste time on words. He stepped to the couch, letting Alexei grab hold of his shirt sleeve again. He draped the blazer back over Alexei's narrow shoulders, shutting out the cold air. Feeling the scent settle over him again, Alexei let out a shaky breath. The trembling began to settle. Stuart wrapped an arm around his waist, helping him keep his balance, and they made their slow way toward the exit of the medical wing.

The February air in the Academy's schoolyard met them with a sharp, biting wind. Sun-bright snow lay thick on the branches of the old pines. Alexei, pale, his eyes clouded with fever, walked slowly. His long hands trembled faintly, his fingers still gripping the thick fabric of Stuart's jacket. From the open collar of his own tailored white shirt, a fresh wave of hypnotic, creamy gardenia rose, and the freezing wind carried it out across the cobblestones.

The parking lot and the front steps weren't empty. Break had just started, and a handful of senior students stood outside. At the gate itself stood class president Christian Davis, clutching his tablet to his chest, nerves plain on his face. Next to him, leaning against the metal railing, stood Ryan Turner, frozen in place.

Ryan looked wound tight. His tie still hung torn loose at his throat, and an acrid smell of bitter tobacco and burnt sugar came off his open collar. Catching the trail of gardenia, he straightened, pupils blowing wide again. He took three sharp steps forward, blocking their way to Kingsley's car.

"Kingsley, this is against every rule!" Christian shouted from behind Turner, jabbing his finger frantically at his tablet screen. "The medical block is sealed! I have to log an unauthorized removal..."

"Shut up, Christian," Ryan cut him off without turning his head.

His predatory, unhinged stare stayed locked on Alexei, who pressed his back harder against Stuart's chest out of fear.

"Taking him far, Kingsley?" Ryan rasped, a growl breaking through his voice. He took another step, closing the distance. His fists clenched. "Think that just because your old man bought this Academy, you get to take everything? This omega broke in my row. My pheromones set him off. Get your hands off him."

Stuart stopped. Alexei felt Stuart's huge body behind him go stone-still, unmovable. Inside Kingsley, that same low, vibrating hum started up again, stronger this time. It ran dull and deep, threat woven through the melody. The hair on his forearms stood up, and something flat and dangerous settled behind his eyes, all patience burned out of them.

Stuart leaned in close to Alexei's ear, his murmur strangely calm against the storm of pheromones churning around them:

"Close your eyes, Al. It's fine."

Then he straightened and looked straight at Turner. A dense wave of Siberian cedar and hot wood rolled over the schoolyard, burning straight through Ryan's bitter tobacco scent.

"Turner," Stuart said. His voice fell to a dangerous, vibrating pitch that made Christian back up two full steps. "Get your instincts under control. Take one more step toward him and I'll break your jaw right in front of the security cameras."