Free Web NovelChapter 177: Chapter 177
Louis couldn’t say how he survived the ordeal, every inch of Henri’s skin was hypersensitive and there was that maddening scent of his. After successfully getting Henri’s temperature down from scalding temperatures, the Omega gradually quietened down until his eyes slowly opened. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"Henri?" Louis called softly, tossing the wet towel into the bowl of water.
Henri felt like he had been sitting underwater for a long time, he blinked slowly at the familiar face of Louis hovering over him, trying to figure out how he had gotten himself into this situation. freewēbnoveℓ.com
The last thing he remembered doing was... right! Going out for some fresh air. Had he fallen asleep on the bench? Who then brought him to his room? He looked around, his heavylidded gaze landing on Claude who was standing at an awkward distance - that added up.
"Louis?" Henri responded, his voice a little croaky.
Louis beamed at his response, it meant that Henri had finally gotten himself back. "How do you feel?"
Henri tried to sit up, somehow managing it. "Like I rolled down the stairs from Sir Bolton’s office down to the ground floor." He mumbled.
Although Louis’ skin was buzzing uncomfortably, he managed a small smile. "That’s not surprising, do you know what’s wrong with you?"
Henri frowned at the oddly phrased question, "A fever?" He said like it was obvious. He glanced down at his body and blanched, snatching up his discarded shirt to cover up.
Louis just glanced at Claude, panic in his expressive blue eyes. "Sorry about that, I had to bring your temperature down somehow." He said reflexively, starting to sweat.
Henri didn’t know he was in heat? After going through all this trouble, Louis still had to be the one to tell him that information??
"Henri? Wait," Louis stopped him when he tried to get out of bed, the Alpha shrinking back when Henri shot him a look of displeasure.
"I’m not angry," Henri softened, "I just... want to splash some water on my face. You can stay if you like." He invited, hoping that Louis would stay the night.
"No, that’s not it," Louis refuted, thinking that he absolutely didn’t want to stay the night. "It’s just... you don’t just have a fever."
Henri’s expression blanked in his confusion, "What do you mean?"
Louis counted to three under his breath, "I mean that you look to be in heat."
Henri’s expression didn’t change for a few seconds and then he turned pale, "B-But that’s impossible, I didn’t forget to take my heat suppressants."
Louis bit the inside of his cheek so that he wouldn’t gape much like he wanted to. He had been hoping that this was merely a fluke, he had been holding on to the chance that Henri couldn’t possibly be in heat then the Omega had to come and say something like that.
"I-I don’t know what’s wrong." He stumbled over his words, panicking at Henri’s woebegone expression.
"I n-need a moment." He mumbled, practically racing to his bathroom to lock himself in.
Louis fisted the sheets, well wasn’t this just peachy? "Do you have anything to say about this?" He turned to Claude, starting to feel restless. He couldn’t be here when Henri came back out, as long as his friend didn’t overheat again, he would be fine. Hopefully.
Claude wearily rubbed both hands over his face. "Hell if I do, I was dragged out of bed by a group of strangers telling me to go down to Marble Park. I get there and find Henri like that with Alexander by his side."
Louis’ expression darkened, "That two-faced bastard." He muttered. "They must have done something to Henri."
Claude glanced at the closed bathroom door, clearly too preoccupied to discuss what had been done. Louis could understand it, they first had to make sure that Henri was okay, everything else could come after that.
Surely, Henri knew what to do in the advent of his heat right? He was an Omega after all because Louis couldn’t help him out there.
"We have to leave," He said shortly, getting off the bed. He needed to get to somewhere that was free of Henri’s scent for his own sanity, he couldn’t understand how Claude could be so calm.
"I’m not leaving Henri in this state." He said steadily.
Louis had expected this answer so he wasn’t even surprised, "I don’t need to tell you to be careful." He said meaningfully, already heading for the door. As much as he wanted to be the one to keep Henri company, it was best he left.
If his hold on his self-control slipped and he did something against his will to Henri, the guilt and the self-hatred he would feel would be the least of his problems. He was certain that the King of Reinhold would have him sentenced to the guillotine.
Not to mention, he knew that Henri wouldn’t want him to be here either, it was best for everyone involved that he left.
"I’ll be back in the morning." He said reluctantly, hesitating slightly at the door. "Please look after him." He added, leaving finally.
Knowing how independent Henri liked to be, Louis was certain that he would kick the other Alpha out of his room, which was for the best really. Fighting against your instincts was one thing but it was no secret that Claude fancied the Prince, it was a double whammy.
In his case, he had been in a cloud of Henri’s pheromones for far too long, arousal was starting to burn under his skin. He hoped that Dio would have fallen asleep before he got back so that he could just take an icy cold shower and head right to bed.
It was a pretty straightforward plan, nothing could really go wrong. Even if Dio was awake, he would just bypass his boyfriend and take that damned shower before getting into bed.
Maybe he should postpone his planned kiss and conversation to a different time, he didn’t need anything tipping him over the edge. The hallways were eerily silent and empty as he briskly made his way back to his dorm room on the second floor, feeling his blood heat up further with every step he took.
