Seraphina tugged at her clothes and covered her nose, but it was no use, as before. The scent seemed to pierce her mind directly.

“Why again…?”

Flustered, she stopped in her tracks. The lantern in her hand wavered dangerously.

Despite the corridor being utterly still, the flame trembled violently as though caught in a fierce wind. Seraphina’s gaze fixed on the unnaturally swaying fire.

As it lurched from side to side, her heartbeat quickened, as though she were being drawn into it.

Then, in the next instant, the flame vanished with a soft whoosh.

“Who’s there.”

A low, cold male voice came from behind her.

The moment she heard it, she felt a searing pain in the nape of her neck, as if it were being branded with a hot iron.

“Ugh!”

Seraphina dropped the lantern and clutched at her neck. The metal frame clattered loudly onto the marble floor.

She couldn’t spare it a single glance. The pain surged violently, and a sharp ringing filled her ears.

“Aah!”

Gasping in agony, she staggered backwards and pressed herself against the corridor wall. As she struggled to keep her balance, a man approached her silently.

With the bright moonlight behind him, his face was difficult to make out. He studied Seraphina, who was fully illuminated by the moonlight, with piercing eyes, then tilted his head slightly.

“You are…”

Just as the man opened his mouth, the moonlight behind him shifted slowly. As the clouds moved and the angle of the light changed, his face came into clear view.

“Y-Your Highness…?”

Seraphina sucked in a sharp breath when she recognized him. Like her, he was wearing a robe over his nightclothes and frowning deeply.

“Why are you here?”

“J-just passing through—”

Seraphina clapped a hand over her nose mid-sentence. The lingering scent suddenly intensified, becoming so dense that breathing became difficult.

“Hh—!”

“You…”

The Crown Prince watched as she desperately covered her nose and mouth. His eyes flickered. He looked as though he could scarcely believe what he was seeing.

His vivid, navy-blue eyes swept over Seraphina, stripping her bare under their scrutiny. After a long, assessing moment, his gaze narrowed.

Then he spoke, his tone sharp and strange.

“Why can I smell something coming from you?”

Seraphina couldn’t understand it. The scent wasn’t coming from her — it was coming from him.

So why was he acting as though it belonged to her?

“…!”

Just as she was about to speak, he pulled her into his arms.

It happened before she could register it.

Seraphina’s eyes flew open. The Crown Prince was embracing her. He — a man so fastidious and ascetic that he rarely spoke to women — had grabbed her without hesitation.

“Y-Your Highness?”

Startled, Seraphina tried to push him away. But his body was as hard as a rock and didn’t move an inch.

The man who had looked flustered only moments earlier was now burying his face in her neck.

He inhaled deeply, as though trying to drink in the scent from that spot, even though there shouldn’t have been any scent there at all.

“Y-Your—hngh!”

Seraphina stiffened as she tried to push him away. The scent of the dawn forest, which had lingered since earlier, seemed to intensify and wrap around her body, creating a strange illusion.

Gasping in the scent, she twisted weakly. At some point, the chills faded, replaced by a new sensation spreading through her entire body.

Strangely enough, this time it was desire.

The desire to be held by the man in front of her.

“Hah… hngh…”

Seraphina let out a soft moan as the Crown Prince cradled her in his arms. Enveloped by his scent, she lost her focus and her tongue went slack.

A clear fluid trickled shamelessly from her most intimate place, through the thin nightwear clinging to her body.

“Ahh…”

Still feeling slightly dazed, Seraphina crossed her legs. As her underwear became damp and clammy, her head spun.

She couldn’t think.

The only thought left was that she had to cling to the owner of the scent holding her.

The body that had trembled with cold just moments ago now burned with heat.

“P-please… haah. Hold me…”

Seraphina uttered a plea of her own accord — bold words that she would never have spoken if she had been in her right mind.

Yet neither she nor the Crown Prince was startled by them.

Her desire to be held by him and her craving for him felt like nothing more than a natural law.

After all, he was a dominant Alpha.

“Your Highness…”

Because she was his omega.

“…Please.”

In response to Seraphina’s plea, the Crown Prince lifted her into his arms. Taking long strides, he crossed the corridor and headed off in a certain direction.

Seraphina lay limp in his embrace, dazed and unaware of their destination. All she could hear was the sound of his heartbeat. It was pounding just as fiercely as her own.

Bang!

The room he burst into had a large bed in it. It looked like a guest room; it was bare except for the bed and a sofa.

He quickly locked the door, then gently laid Seraphina down on the bed. Looking down at her flushed face as she panted, he loosened the tie of his robe.

As if the garments were an inconvenience, he shrugged off his robe and nightclothes. A scent heavy with raw yearning spilled from his body.

Seraphina stared at the man undressing before her, her gaze unfocused.

“Seraphina…”

He spoke her name as if coaxing her, casting his shadow over her. At the sound of his voice, a question flickered through her hazy mind.

Why is His Highness calling my name?

How does he know it?

Did he know her?

The questions arose, only to scatter like smoke. As he drew closer, his scent grew sweeter and denser, filling her senses completely.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted you.”

The Crown Prince lowered his voice to a rough murmur as he tore Seraphina’s clothes off, biting down on his lip. The thin fabric tore easily in his hands.

Having stripped her bare in an instant, he climbed fully onto the bed. Seraphina stared up at him, stunned.

Moonlight poured through the window, illuminating his perfectly sculpted body.

His gaze burned with intensity, and the aroused bulge at his center throbbed with unmistakable desire.

This was the first time Seraphina had ever lain n*ked in bed with a man or seen a man’s bare body. Everything was unfamiliar, yet she felt no fear. In fact, excitement coursed through her.

She had never yearned for the Crown Prince before.

So why did it feel as though she had been waiting for him all this time?

It was strange.

But if she could become one with him — if she could have him —

— it felt as though there was nothing left to fear.

“Seraphina… Sephi…”

The Crown Prince called to her sweetly, swallowing hard as he did so. A strange gleam lit up his eyes as he looked at her pale body.

Under his possessive, openly craving gaze, Seraphina felt a curious sense of fulfilment.

“Crown Prince…”

She reached out toward him. He took her hand, threading his fingers between hers one by one, and whispered,

“My name is Damian. Call me Damian.”

“…Damian.”

When Seraphina said his name, Damian slowly lowered his face.

The moment their lips met, the cycles of the Alpha and Omega began simultaneously.