The pheromones hit Geron before the door even sealed shut behind him.

It was like walking into a blast furnace made of iron. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand, pressed against his temples, and made his teeth ache.

Geron clenched his jaw, swallowed down the instinctive urge to fight against the arrogant owner of these pheromones, and forced himself forward.

On the bed, sweat plastered the gold hair to Xavier’s forehead.

His jaw was locked so tight that Geron could see a muscle twitching just below his ear. The hospital gown clung to his shoulders, damp.

Through the thin fabric, you could see the golden stripes of his beast form trying to surface, receding, then surfacing again.

A low, animal sound rolled out of Xavier’s throat on each exhale as if he was ready to bare his fangs to anyone who touched him.

The two attending physicians had already been ordered to leave the room. Geron had made sure of that before he stepped in.

"Easy, boy," he murmured, though Xavier probably couldn’t hear him and wouldn’t have recognized him if he could. "Easy. You can get through this. You’re a general."

The monitor beside the bed chirped through another readout. Pheromone saturation in the chamber was at 312% of the normal alpha baseline and climbing.

Geron had seen a few second-differentiations throughout his career, but none of them reached this extent.

This wasn’t just a body pushing itself; it was trying to survive through the pain.

Geron’s lips pressed tightly, and he pulled a stool to the bedside. He kept a careful distance from Xavier’s medical pod.

After a bit of silence, he opened his light brain to check on the updated vitals of Xavier.

The diagnosis glowed faintly on the holographic screen. He didn’t need to look at it again, but he still checked it to make sure.

He also compared it to the vital readings currently on the holographic screen on the medical pod.

Secondary Differentiation in Progress.

Re-Classified to: Dominant Alpha → Extremely Dominant Alpha.

Trigger: exogenous compound, unidentified.

Unidentified.

Geron made a soft, humorless sound in his throat.

Unidentified his ass. Someone had put something into this boy’s bloodstream.

Not to mention, it was something that could change a dominant’s pheromones to an extremely dominant one.

How come no one could figure out what the components of that were? Saying that it got diluted immediately upon consumption, was that an excuse?

What would the world do if everyone suddenly became extremely dominant at the same time? Would we all end up killing each other mercilessly just to satiate the need for our pheromones?

When alpha, beta, and omegas were the only distinctions, people were already discriminating against each secondary gender, mainly the omegas.

When spiritual power was discovered, dominants of the secondary genders arose and were revered for their ability to restrain and control their own pheromones.

But with the taste of power bestowed into the wrong hands, things didn’t end up with good results either. Which enlightened people to fight toe to toe against the dominants by honing their own spiritual power to an extent, making things peaceful at least on the surface.

However, the existence of the extremely dominant stirred the pot again. But that didn’t last long when they learned the consequences of being one and exercising its power.

That was the reason why extremely dominants was rare and why they were at the top of the pheromone chain without being vied for. They were chosen to lead and control at the price of their own sanity.

The first one to be discovered early was Grayson Maxwell. He was chosen to ascend the ladder of the Imperial Military, chosen to be the successor to the Marshal by forty.

Although Xavier could compete almost on par with Grayson with his spiritual power, despite being a mere dominant alpha, he still couldn’t compensate for the brilliance and intelligence that Grayson had shown in commanding the war.

Including his days as a student, Grayson sacrificed himself to earn the Imperial Galaxy 10 years of peace without worrying about invasion and didn’t lose a single fight.

However, Grayson just had to fall when they were so close to victory.

Geron lamented.

And now Xavier was being handed the same crown without being asked for, without being prepared for, just because he was expected to second differentiate into an extremely dominant alpha.

[It’s a miracle], the omega husband of the Head of the Hunter family had said when he called earlier to report about Xavier and his situation. Her voice had been ringing with joy, barely reined in. [Baron Gringer, thank you. Our Savvy has been blessed.]

Geron had smiled into the camera, murmured the appropriate congratulations. Then privately spent the next five minutes staring at a bulkhead, trying not to put his fist through it.

Blessed? Blessed by whom? That was the enemy, for god’s sake!

What if they planted something inside Xavier, making use of his position? What are you going to do if that happens?

Can you kill him? Of course not! I’m the one who had to do your dirty work for you!

But for the Hunter family to stumble upon this opportunity... Geron could smell something wasn’t right about this situation. Because, why the Hunter family? There were other military families with children who were of the general rank on par with Xavier.

Why him? Geron was in deep thought. Did Xavier have anything to do with this? If not him... did his family do something?

The thought made Geron’s stomach turn over.

Worst of all, the Marshal had already sent his congratulations. Which meant that Geron should stand down for now.

The royal family had sent a personal envoy with a gift basket — a gift basket, like the boy had just graduated.

Every door in the Empire was swinging open to welcome this supposedly fortuitous development.

And Geron couldn’t do anything about it.

Now, since the situation was already like this, he could only stand here, waiting, making sure that Xavier would safely and successfully differentiate into an extremely dominant alpha as it was indicated.

But even then, Geron couldn’t really do anything for Xavier because he was also an alpha. It would be a miracle if he and Xavier fight and kill each other the moment he releases his pheromones.

"I hope you’re clean, kid," Geron said quietly. "I really do. Because if you aren’t—you’re not going to like what has to happen next. And neither am I."

The monitor chirped again.

Saturation: 328%.

Geron sighed and came up with a plan. To quickly lower and stabilize Xavier’s pheromones, he needed to find an omega. Not just a normal omega. He needed to check their compatibility through the gene bank.

But that wouldn’t be easy.

Because once someone noticed that he was looking for an omega for Xavier, a general, to stabilize, everyone would scheme their way to Xavier’s bed regardless of compatibility and will.

For now, Geron knew exactly one omega that seemed to have a high matching rate to almost every single dominant alpha in the Imperial Galaxy.

This omega, once he realized his ability, was kind enough to refuse the advances and continued to help them through the Imperial Hospital.

If it were him, with Grayson as an example, he could surely help Xavier, too.

His medical records were only accessible through the Imperial Hospital and were highly confidential.

But Geron happened to know who it was. However, he didn’t even have his agency number.

Geron stepped out into the corridor to make the call. He pulled up the contact list on his light brain, scrolled past the military directory, and found Thiago Miranda.

The call connected after three rings.

[Baron.] Thiago’s voice was clear, but the background was a disaster.

Something boomed in the distance, whumph. Geron recognized it instantly as someone throwing huge objects from afar.

There was also murmuring around. The shrill whine of a kinetic barrier that could only be heard when there was a call was also heard.

[Great timing. What is it?]

Geron’s eyebrows drew together.

"I’ll keep it short," he said. "Do you have contact with the Frost family?"

Thiago paused for a second because another barrage of items being thrown was heard. It seemed that it wasn’t in front of Thiago, but it’s still nearby.

[Yulian and I go way back,] Thiago said. [The Maxwells have also been known to them for a while. Why?]

"I need to borrow one of them."

[Borrow?] Thiago repeated.

"Elliot Frost."

A much longer pause this time. In the background audio, a few people were nervously chattering. Geron’s instincts twitched, but he tried to remain calm.

[Baron.]

Thiago’s voice dropped low.

[You’re asking me for the Frost family’s youngest, an omega, in the middle of the night. Which means something in whatever ward you’re in isn’t going the way it should. I’m in a pinch too, so spit it out.]

Geron glanced back through the narrow window in the ward door. Xavier’s back was arching slightly off the bed now. His hands had curled into fists so tight the knuckles had gone white.

"Hunter is second-differentiating," Geron said. "Extremely Dominant."

A crisp curse was heard, [Shit.]