Chapter 1
“We can’t leave things like this! I mean... we have to separate them!”
The voice is barely more than a whisper, burning with worries and doubts that seem to weigh a ton. It also carries a form of ignoble fury, leaving a bitter taste on the tongue, heavily mixed with the distress of a mother who has failed to protect her child. She knows everything around her is real, yet she refuses to accept it! The absurd fate her only child has fallen into cannot be reality!
“You can’t do that, MJ, they’re bonded!”
“But just look at them! They’re children! Tiny children!”
“Well, they’re tiny children who are bonded, if you prefer. But... we can’t...”
The owner of the first voice remains aware that her anger is speaking for her, yet no matter that fact or her desire to do what’s right, rage boils deep within her gut. Insidiously, it rises up her throat to snap against her lips, which she tries to keep shut to avoid saying painful words she would regret. She feels powerless in the face of this injustice, a truth she cannot escape and against which she burns to fight. But when she glimpses one of the small shadows asleep on the couch turning in their sleep, the pressure suddenly drops. Life has just played a cruel trick on her, it’s true, but she must calm herself, even if breathing feels difficult. It is her duty to regain her footing and stop bending beneath the storm. It is because she is a mother that this feeling scorches her chest. And for that same reason, she must regain control. She fixes the man who answered her with a dark look, unable to do anything but fall silent and concede without a word.
After all, he is not just anyone. If she cares for the child because she is his mother, he is the other pillar—his father. He is just as swallowed by the unchangeable situation, worrying at his thumbnail in an unconscious gesture. When he feels his wife’s gaze on him, he sighs and offers a joyless smile, yet still opens his arms to invite her in. He can sense it easily through her pheromones—she needs the comfort of her Alpha.
She is a fiercely proud Omega who rarely asks for her bonded partner’s support, and things work perfectly that way for them. Every pair is unique—an undeniable truth—and MJ and Adrien are no exception. They marked each other after more than fifteen years together, the time it took for their pheromones to finally bind. They went through many moments of doubt, but that is all in the past now, especially since the birth of Andréa, their—just as proud as his mother—little boy. He is the culmination of their relationship, a perfect blend of the two of them, and they love him deeply, as all parents should, despite his many tantrums. Their family is happy, and yet it was indeed in the living room of their perfect house, bought six years ago, that the horror occurred...
“We don’t even know who’s Omega or Alpha...”
“Is that really important right now?”
And it isn’t. But trivial words seem far lighter than the silence of the two other adults standing in the open kitchen.
“But they’re just friends—it’s impossible that a bond could have formed so young!”
“MJ... I think we have to accept this. The sooner, the better, or the children will suffer.”
Adrien’s voice is a bitter whisper, yet filled with wisdom. The other woman looks at him, her throat tight with emotion. She blows her nose again, swallowing hard as she fights the intense cold that roots her to the spot. She also battles the terrible urge to clutch her baby in her arms and run far away from all this. To go somewhere this grotesque situation isn’t even possible—just a strange, absurd dream. But she can’t. She isn’t foolish, and no matter how she searches, she sees no solution. Her little Mael had just bonded with his best friend... and they were only five years old.
She vaguely recalls how quickly her own pheromones had bonded with her Alpha’s. It had taken barely eight months for their glands to claim each other. She had just gotten a secretary position at the company where Paul worked, and from the very first glance, they liked each other. He is a perfect Alpha for her—so romantic and full of life! And she ticks all his boxes too, the ultimate homebody who loves falling asleep with his destined partner in his arms. Some said they rushed things, but everything felt natural to them. They met, loved, moved in together, and marked each other—all in barely a year. Paul still rents the apartment they live in today, more than ten years later. It’s a small nest, certainly, but they’ve been happy there and built their family. Still, they had many plans—and Paul’s recent transfer was finally giving them the chance to become homeowners.
That wonderful news is what triggered this nightmare. It was precisely when they told the two boys they would be separated that everything fell apart.
“Marianne?”
The Omega startles. Lost in her thoughts, she hasn’t followed the conversation. She looks up at her husband, who gently presses a tender kiss to her temple. It’s such a soft, perfect gesture that the horrible chill in her arms seems to vanish. She knows. Her Alpha is answering her need—that’s how it works. She breathes in that familiar scent that binds them, reassured to feel no difference between her smell and her husband’s. That’s how it is—they marked each other. The bitten gland altered its composition, and now they can no longer be separated.
It’s the same for MJ and Adrien. And that’s exactly how the four adults immediately understood. Because they can all sense it—that fresh bond, which could have been beautiful under different circumstances. The two families have known each other for five years and built a wonderful friendship over time.
It hadn’t been easy at first, though. When they met at the maternity ward, the two women had been placed in the same room due to lack of space. MJ had given birth the day before Marianne arrived—a difficult birth in every way for this strong-willed woman who had shouted through the entire ward that she wanted the intruder out of her belly. But nothing worked; her baby didn’t seem ready to breathe fresh air, and in the end, it became an emergency C-section. Still, Andréa was born—a strong, proud little boy with two beautiful pheromone glands. The next day, in an overcrowded ward, Marianne was admitted as her labor had just begun... Over the long hours of waiting, MJ patiently reassured her roommate, who feared what was to come. But fortunately, everything went well, and Mael was born—he too bearing glands.
They were so different, completely so perhaps, but they had one thing in common: it was their first child. From that moment on, they became connected. They started meeting in the neighborhood park, then inviting each other for meals. Eventually, they became like sisters, naturally relying on each other in daily life. If MJ was late picking Andréa up from school, one text to Marianne was enough—she’d take care of it. The Alphas followed the same pattern, bonding through their wives’ friendship, meeting over beer and rugby matches whenever possible...
It would have been wonderful news if, when older, their children had confessed they were in love. Their intertwined scents wouldn’t have made them nauseous with fear of what it implied. They would have been happy to unite their families that way. But now everything has collapsed. No matter what they do, they cannot undo the marking. The boys will be tied to each other for life, regardless of what relationship they choose—and worse, they won’t be able to bond with anyone else they might love...
“My tiny baby...”
Her child’s scent reaches her again—a hint of freshly cut grass, now mixed with strong notes of anise. It is so him. The anise doesn’t overpower the softer note—it complements it perfectly. And of course, it makes sense. No bond forms without compatible pheromones. If they hadn’t been, the children would simply have been injured from trying...
But they didn’t know it was possible. So many conditions are required... how could children have met them? Nature was terribly flawed...
A sob burns behind her eyes. Still, Marianne straightens and faces the others, determined. She silently begs for a miracle, though she knows none will come. So she stands firm, ready to defend her child.
“What are we going to do?”
“Andréa told me it was his idea...”
MJ whispers this truth. Her pheromones cloud the room, and Adrien tightens his arms around her. She had hesitated to say it, but she couldn’t hide it...
The parents of Mael try to reassure everyone, easing the tension. If they stand united, perhaps they can preserve balance for the children. They must prioritize their well-being—and separating them would be the worst thing to do.
Slowly, the adults rebuild themselves.
At last, Marianne regains her strength. She reaches for MJ, and the two women embrace—sealing a strange pact. They will face this together.
“I’m sorry, Mari... I never should have left them alone...”
“Please, MJ... it could have happened anywhere.”
“We’re going to do everything to make our boys happy. That’s what matters most.”
MJ nods.
“You know I love Mael. I’ll fight for him like I fight for Andréa.”
“Thank you... I promise I’ll always care for Andréa too.”
They smile at each other—two lionesses making an unbreakable promise.
“We’ll adapt.”
They turn to their Alphas, seeking agreement. For a brief moment, peace settles.
But then—
A brown gaze fixes on them.
And time freezes once more...
