Chapter 34: Possession

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Possession

Nero remained on the marble floor longer than necessary because Sebastian was breathing against his neck, and for several precious minutes that was the only fact he trusted.

The council chamber had gone unnaturally quiet after the doors closed, leaving behind abandoned chairs, scattered documents, and the faint mechanical hum of the ventilation system that had been isolated after the secretary’s perfume triggered Sebastian’s collapse. Blood marked the polished floor around Nero’s knees and had soaked through most of the front of his shirt, but Sebastian’s breathing had finally become deep and regular enough that Nero no longer counted every inhale.

His pheromones continued moving carefully through Sebastian’s system, no longer merely holding a failing dominant alpha together but guiding the first minute adjustments toward something his body might actually survive.

Months.

It would take months before anyone could look at Sebastian and call the transition complete, and Nero knew there would be pain, instability, medical supervision, and enough political interference to make him contemplate treason against several governments.

For now, however, Sebastian was alive.

Nero shifted one arm beneath his knees and the other around his back before rising from the floor.

He stopped halfway upright.

Sebastian was too light.

Nero was stronger than almost anyone he had ever met, absurdly so even among dominants, and lifting a six-foot-nine man should not have required meaningful effort from him. That did not change the fact that Sebastian’s build had weight written into it: wide shoulders beneath the ruined black jacket, a military-trained frame, and long limbs carrying years of disciplined muscle.

Yet Nero could have carried him with one arm.

His expression hardened.

Sebastian stirred against him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"That usually means something unpleasant."

"You’ve lost weight."

Sebastian made a tired sound and let his head fall back against Nero’s shoulder. "I nearly died five minutes ago, and you’ve chosen vanity?"

"This isn’t vanity."

Nero adjusted him higher against his chest, irritated by how easily he could do it.

Sebastian’s eyes remained closed.

"Later."

Nero disliked the answer but accepted it because Sebastian was already turning his face inward again, nose brushing the side of Nero’s neck as he searched instinctively for the strongest concentration of pheromones.

That small movement nearly destroyed what remained of Nero’s restraint.

His entire enigma nature reacted at once.

Possession was not an unfamiliar feeling. Nero had spent years wanting Sebastian with a certainty that embarrassed no part of him, and he had imagined a thousand variations of having him close enough to touch without being told to leave.

This was different.

Sebastian was in his arms.

His body was already beginning to respond to Nero at a biological level no one else could replicate, and each slow breath against Nero’s throat made something ancient and ugly beneath Nero’s composure insist that everyone outside the room had become unnecessary.

Nero walked toward the doors.

The instant they opened, the corridor beyond erupted into movement.

Lucas reached him first.

"Sebastian."

His hand came up toward his son’s face.

Nero stepped back.

The movement was automatic.

Lucas froze.

So did Nero.

Trevor, standing just behind his mate, caught the exchange immediately. Dax did too. Christopher’s dark eyes narrowed with the understanding that Nero did not particularly appreciate at that moment.

Lucas stared at him.

"Nero."

Nero looked down at Sebastian, then back at the hand he had just prevented from touching him.

For perhaps the first time in his life, he found his own instinct mildly unreasonable.

Lucas was Sebastian’s father.

Nero still did not want him touching what was currently in Nero’s arms.

That realization should have disturbed him more.

Instead, it made his pheromones tighten possessively around Sebastian.

Sebastian responded by pressing his nose deeper into Nero’s neck.

Nero nearly closed his eyes.

This was going to be a problem.

"He’s stable," Nero said before Lucas could decide to become violent. "More stable than he was."

Lucas’s attention snapped back to Sebastian’s face. "Can I touch him?"

The fact that he asked made Nero feel worse... Slightly.

"Yes."

Nero made himself remain still when Lucas reached forward and brushed dark hair away from Sebastian’s forehead.

Sebastian stirred.

"Dad."

Lucas exhaled visibly. "I’m here."

"Everyone is apparently here."

His voice was weak, but the sarcasm reassured half the corridor more effectively than any medical report could have.

Claude approached next, tablet still in hand. "His readings remain unchanged."

Nero looked at him.

Claude grimaced. "Yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds."

"The transition started."

That changed the corridor completely.

Trevor’s expression hardened. Lucas’s hand stopped against Sebastian’s hair, and Sirius, several steps away beside Zion, shifted his attention fully toward Nero.

Claude lowered the tablet. "You’re certain?"

"I felt it."

Sebastian opened one eye. "Unfortunately, so did I."

Nero looked down.

Sebastian’s mouth curved faintly before he nuzzled back into Nero’s throat as though making the gesture twice would somehow make it less intimate.

It did the opposite.

Nero’s instincts surged again, hot and possessive enough that he had to consciously pull his pheromones inward before everyone in the corridor felt exactly how badly he wanted to take Sebastian somewhere private and keep him there.

Dax watched him with far too much amusement.

Nero ignored his father.

"He cannot remain in the imperial palace."

Sirius’s expression cooled. "Explain."

"His system has only just begun adapting to mine, his control is unreliable, and whatever happened in that room bypassed every monitoring system Claude had on him. Until we understand why, I want him somewhere isolated."

Trevor folded his arms. "You want him in Saha."

"Yes."

Lucas immediately looked displeased.

Nero continued before either could object. "One of our western villas has a full medical wing and enough private land that if his pheromones break through mine, civilians are not within range."

Claude considered that. "I’m going."

"Fine."

Nero looked at Hale, who had already taken out his phone.

"Prepare my jet and notify the villa. Full medical staff, restricted personnel, no unnecessary omegas or dominants aside from Duncan on the property until we understand his response."

Hale nodded and stepped away.

Sebastian breathed slowly against Nero’s neck.

The gesture made Nero decide something else.

He looked toward Dax and Christopher first, then Trevor and Lucas.

"I want the engagement announced."

Silence followed.

Sebastian’s breathing paused.

Nero glanced down.

One green eye opened.

"You’re ambitious for someone whose shirt is covered in my blood."

Nero’s mouth curved. "I’m efficient."

Trevor looked unimpressed. "You have not asked him."

"I’m asking now."

Nero shifted Sebastian slightly in his arms.

"Marry me."

Sebastian stared at him.

Lucas made a sound of disbelief.

Dax looked delighted.

"This," Sebastian murmured, "is your proposal?"

"I can repeat it somewhere prettier."

"I’d prefer unconsciousness."

"You’ve tried that already."

A faint, painful laugh moved through Sebastian’s chest.

Then his eyes closed again.

Nero waited.

Sebastian was quiet long enough that Lucas stepped forward, but Nero did not look away from him.

Finally Sebastian muttered, "Announce whatever keeps the press away from the medical details."

Nero’s smile disappeared into something far more dangerous.

Trevor noticed.

"So that is a yes?"

Sebastian’s fingers tightened weakly in Nero’s jacket.

"It is permission to call it an engagement publicly while we negotiate the actual disaster."

Nero considered that more than sufficient.

Dax closed his eyes briefly, visibly amused.

Christopher looked at his husband. "Do not encourage him."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You don’t need to."

Nero ignored them all because Sebastian moved again, rubbing his nose lazily against the side of Nero’s neck before settling there.

The warm summer scent of Nero’s pheromones deepened around them in immediate response.

Sebastian inhaled.

Nero’s hold tightened.

He had imagined possessing Sebastian for years, but only now, with the man trusting his weight into Nero’s arms and instinctively seeking his scent, did Nero understand how dangerous wanting could become after finally being given something to hold.

The realization should have made him cautious.

Instead, Nero looked at their families and said, very calmly, "Make the announcement before we land."