'I need to keep moving. These pheromones, they cannot stop me.'
Meria continued to push himself through that haze of pheromones and reach the other side of the mess. Breathing was difficult for him, and moving was even more difficult.
But it was nothing compared to his hellish training to reach his current position.
"G-General Meria, you can still move? Of course, you can! After all, you are a beta. But even still…you need to run away. The emperor seems… angry…"
The guard tried his hardest to hold on to his consciousness, but in the face of the emperor's anger, it was impossible to hold on to one's consciousness.
Meria was annoyed and touched by this guard's concern. But he needed to check on the emperor. His instincts told him he should not neglect the angry alpha in the office ahead.
An anxious beta paced in front of the emperor's office, and Meria recognised the beta as the emperor's aid- Morris.
This man had started serving when Kerin was the emperor, and Meria had often heard praises of his work from Kerin's mouth. But Meria was surprised that the aid retained his position even after Kerin's death.
The ministers would have done their best to drive any foreign influence from the new emperor's side, so surprisingly, the aid had remained unharmed.
"Commander Meria, you are finally here! Hurry, you need to head in and pacify the emperor. Grand Minister Ferin made the emperor angry. Ahh, we will all die at this rate."
Morris moaned and clutched at Meria's clothes to hurry him along. The poor aid looked terrified at all the pheromones flying around.
Kerin had once told the reason he had appointed Morris as his aid. It was because Morris was a beta without much pheromone sensitivity. It allowed him to remain calm during times of stress.
However, even he seemed to be suffering right now.
"Morris, calm down and take a deep breath. Now, start from the start and tell me what you want me to do."
Meria asked the terrified air, but the door suddenly opened, and Grand Minister Ferin left the room.
The older alpha was a strong man as he remained unflinching in the face of these heavy pheromones. That minister had never liked Meria as far as he could recall, and it was refreshing to see that some things stayed the same.
"Tsk, I don't know what that brat sees in you. The emperor and his brother must have gone blind to be close to a rough beta like you."
Grand Minister Ferin's words were not kind. Any respectful alpha or omega would have taken offence to those words.
But Meria had trained himself to feel nothing. He could continue to remain calm and cold when he was being insulted. And once the Grand Minister realised that his words had no power, he quickly exited.
"Grand minister Ferin is such an unpleasant man. I was never able to bring myself to like him. Ah, but don't tell him that I insulted him. Otherwise, he will try to skin me alive. And you! Hurry up and enter the room. Can't you say that you are making the emperor impatient?"
Morris quickly pushed Meria through the door and into the emperor's office.
Before Meria could make his way out, the door was locked from the outside. Any effective escape route had been cut off for Meria, leaving him at the mercy of a young, annoyed, and unfamiliar alpha.
Despite being in such an unfavourable situation, Meria's instincts refused to feel danger. The scent of familiar pheromones might be in the air, but Meria's body relaxed.
"You are finally here. I have been waiting for you to arrive forever. Why did you take this long to come to me? I got tired of waiting for you."
A pair of short but firm arms warped around Meria's middle and pulled him back. The familiar scent of his best friend reached Meria's nose, and he felt his tension leave.
Logically, he knew the kid hugging him was not his best friend. The alpha was too young and short to pretend to be Kerin, but the comfort was appreciated.
"I… apologise, my lord. Some priorities held me back. Also, can you let me go? It must not be any fun to hold me like this…."
The arms tightened behind his back, and the comfort scent soured slightly.
"No! I do not want to let you go. My arms might be short, but I will grow up quickly. Just allow me to hold my mate in my arms."
The young emperor's voice sounded like it was pouting.
Meria had a hard time controlling his laughter. He imagined the emperor's red face and golden eyes watering as he pouted and asked for comfort.
'Oh no! I know the kid hugging me is not Kerin, but somehow, I cannot help but imagine my best friend in such a situation. He used to put it the same way when we were younger.'
The dead emperor had a habit of hugging Meria when upset and hiding his face in his back or belly to calm down.
His younger brother had a similar habit.
But there was only one problem with this situation -Kerin had been friends with Meria for a long time before he developed this habit. The current emperor, on the other hand, only met Meria yesterday for the first time.
"Emperor Kai…umm, I am flattered that my presence calms you down, but you should let go of me now. Otherwise, rumours about this will spread, and no omega will approach you."
"What will happen once your future mate hears about this habit? Surely, they will not be happy-ouch; this hurts."
Meria was teasing the younger alpha, and he was having fun. But his words must have offended the young alpha because Meria felt a strong arm squeezing his middle to quieten him down.
"Shut up. Stop teasing me by speaking such nonsense. I will not have another omega! Not now and not ever. You will be my only and only in life."
The emperor whispered, and it felt like a promise.
Meria wished he could believe in this promise, but he knew that it was a futile wish to make.
An emperor needed an omega partner to give him offspring. No one could risk the emperor's bloodline ending.
One day, the fated omega that belonged to emperor Kai will arrive here, ending Meria's relationship with the kid.
'I guess I will protect you as your pseudo mate until your true 'fated omega' arrives. Since you are Kerin's brother, you are also my brother.'