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The dressing room of the Kennedy estate was really… something. It felt less like a part of a home and more like a high end boutique where you weren't actually allowed to touch anything. Surprisingly, this massive space was just Leon’s personal wardrobe. Dark wood cabinets stretched all the way to the ceiling, filled with perfectly organized rows of expensive clothes. A heavy crystal chandelier hung right in the middle, shining a brilliant light over a massive white couch.
Leon sat stiffly in front of a sleek vanity mirror while a stylist buzzed around him like an anxious bee. As an Omega in his family, showing up to a high-society gala without perfect hair and makeup wasn't just frowned upon, it could lead to a full blown scandal. So, he had no choice but to sit there and endure it. Some light dusting of powder on his cheek, some subtle lip tint on his lip, and the endless adjusting to make his blond hair look effortlessly perfect.
He looked like a vision in a sharply tailored midnight blue suit, and he was thoroughly, entirely miserable.
The worst part wasn't the tight collar or the makeup, though. It was the thick layer of synthetic scent suppressants coating his scent gland. It felt like wearing a jacket soaked in chemicals that only made his skin itchy and dulled his senses.
"You're gonna break the mirror if you keep glaring at it like that," a deep voice rumbled from the doorway.
Leon’s reflection shifted, and his already foul mood soured even further. Chris was standing close to the doorframe, looking entirely too massive and completely out of place. He wore an expensive formal suit, but the fabric barely fit over his broad shoulders. Leon thought he looked less like a bodyguard and more like a bear someone had managed to shove into a tuxedo.
"Why is it you?" Leon demanded, waving the stylist away with an irritated flick of his wrist. Through the mirror, his eyes tracked the Alpha's towering frame. "Out of all the security my parents hired, they couldn't send literally anyone else? Someone who doesn't look like they're about to rip out of their shirt and tackle the caterers?”
Chris didn't even blink. He simply crossed his arms, the fabric of his jacket straining at the biceps. "Good evening to you too. And no, I'm the only one available who's cleared to deal with your specific level of … high maintenance.”
"I am not high-maintenance," Leon glared at the reflection, his eyes narrowing. "And last I checked, you are on my father's payroll. Doesn't 'hired muscle' usually come with a mute button? I was under the impression your job was to stand quietly in the background, look intimidating, and just nod at whatever I say.”
Chris let out a low laugh that seemed to vibrate through the quiet room. "Sorry to disappoint, your royal highness. My contract says I have to take a bullet for you, not stroke your ego. Besides, your parents aren't letting you step one foot outside without a shadow tonight, so you're stuck with me.”
Leon finally stood up, breaking eye contact in the mirror as he sharply smoothed down the front of his jacket. "I don’t need a babysitter. I can take care of myself. I've survived these stupid parties just fine before your firm decided to milk my father's paranoia.”
"Sure you have," Chris said, pushing off the doorframe and tapping the earpiece in his ear. "Which is exactly why there have been three kidnapping attempts against you this month alone. Your refusal to admit you need help is honestly impressive, young master.”
Leon's jaw tightened. "My ego has nothing to do with this," he said, already brushing past Chris and heading for the door before the Alpha could even finish the conversation.
"Could've fooled me," Chris replied softly, an infuriatingly calm smirk playing at the corner of his mouth even as the Omega glared at him.
An hour-long drive in the suffocating silence of the car did nothing to improve Leon's mood. By the time they finally arrived at the host estate, his nerves were stretched to the breaking point. They passed through a flash of paparazzi cameras and stepped through the massive entrance doors, immediately swallowed by the overwhelming roar of high society.
Inside, the grand ballroom was a sea of glittering chandeliers, flowing champagne, and towering arrogance. To the rest of high society, it was the event of the season. A very fancy matchmaking pool wrapped in luxury, where powerful families brought their unwed Alphas and Omegas to mingle, show off, and hopefully lock down a wealthy future mate. But to Leon, it was a minefield. Everywhere he looked, elite Alphas from rival families circled the room like predators, waiting for a chance to sink their teeth into the Kennedy heir.
Leon slipped seamlessly into his public persona. Charming, untouchable, and polished to a mirror shine. But internally, however, the sheer volume of competing scents and egos in the enclosed space was either annoying him to no end or suffocating.
A towering champagne pyramid nearby offered a brief excuse to pause and pretend to browse the drinks. The top-shelf alcohol was, after all, the only genuinely good thing this entire party had to offer. He was just reaching for a glass when a shadow fell over him.
"Good evening, Leon," a smooth, cultured voice said.
Leon turned his head slightly, keeping his expression neutral. "Good evening… Andre."
It was Andre. As one of the oldest siblings of a conglomerate dynasty, Andre carried himself with the supreme confidence of someone backed by immense wealth. For months, he had been aggressively and completely unsuccessfully courting Leon. Right now, he looked every bit the perfect gentleman, offering a polite smile. But Leon didn't trust him one bit.
"An exquisite gala, isn't it?" Andre asked, stepping into Leon's personal space, just close enough without it being improper. "Though I must admit, the scenery improved drastically once you arrived."
"You're too kind," Leon replied smoothly, his tone conversational but hollow as he took a small, elegant sip of his drink. "Though I'm sure someone from a family as large as yours is used to much… livelier crowds than this.”
Andre’s polite smile faltered for a fraction of a second, the subtle jab about his cutthroat, fractured family line hitting its mark. Oh, how easily the mask slipped, showing those piercing gold eyes darkened with a bruised ego.
Before Andre could stop himself, raw irritation spiked his biology, causing a heavy, punishing wave of dominant Alpha pheromones to leak into the air.
Realizing his composure had slipped in a room full of watching eyes, Andre quickly recovered. But, he stepped too close, trapping Leon against the champagne table, and leaned in with a warm, deceptively charming smile that would look completely innocent to anyone watching from a distance.
"Careful, young master," Andre murmured, his voice dangerously harsh and low, whispering right against Leon's ear. "A tongue that sharp might get an Omega into trouble his family can't bail him out of.”
He pulled back just enough to look Leon in the eyes, his fake smile fixed firmly in place, but those golden eyes remained sharp and threatening.
The close proximity made the pheromones hit Leon like a physical blow it felt suffocating.
Right there, beneath the glittering lights, Leon felt his synthetic suppressants crack like a glass pane shattering over his skin. His distress pheromones spiked instantly, sweet and frantic, bleeding into the heavy air. His vision blurred at the edges, and his breath hitched in his throat. His biology screamed at him to drop to his knees and submit to the overwhelming threat.
Instead, Leon pulled on his immense, iron-clad pride. He kept his face completely blank, locked his knees to keep himself from trembling, and stared Andre dead in the eye, defiantly holding his ground.
"Excuse me," Leon forced out, his voice tight but perfectly polite.
He turned on his heel before Andre could say another word, using every ounce of his willpower to keep his stride steady as he slipped away from the suffocating crowds. He bypassed the main exits and slipped through a side door, escaping into the estate's sprawling, manicured gardens.
The cool night air hit his face. It felt like a relief against the pheromones burning in his lungs. He hurried down a stone path, desperately seeking a place to hide how badly his hands were shaking.
From across the ballroom, Chris had noticed the sudden shift in Leon's breathing the exact second it happened. Like a shadow, the massive bodyguard instantly moved to follow— but Andre’s security detail was already waiting.
The moment Chris reached the side exit, Andre’s four bodyguards casually stepped into his path, blocking the doorway. They grinned, intentionally lingering in the frame, creating a solid wall of tuxedo clad muscle to buy their boss some time.
"Step aside," Chris growled, his voice dropping low.
Meanwhile, deep in the dark gardens, Leon stopped near a quiet stone fountain. He leaned against the edge, taking a deep breath to clear his head. He thought he was alone, but a crunch of gravel shattered the silence.
Andre stepped out from the shadows of a large stone statue. His golden eyes gleamed in the moonlight, totally devoid of his previous polite mask. He knew his men were holding the line back at the house, giving him a few precious minutes alone.
"Did you really think you could walk away from me, Omega?" Andre sneered. He didn't rush, no. He stepped forward with the slow, arrogant stride of a predator cornering its prey, wanting to savor every second.
Leon’s vision swam, but he refused to just stand there and accept it. Gritting his teeth against the suffocating pressure, he forced his trembling hands up into a defensive guard, his eyes flashing with raw defiance even as his knees threatened to buckle.
Andre just chuckled at the effort, entirely confident as he reached out to grab Leon’s wrist.
But he didn't even get close.
A massive, gloved hand suddenly shot out from the darkness, wrapping around Andre's wrist like a steel vise. Chris had broken through.
With a brutal twist of his arm, Chris didn't just stop Andre— he shoved the arrogant Alpha back, sending him stumbling onto the gravel path. Before Andre could even find his footing, Chris stepped directly between them. His broad shoulders completely blocked Leon from view, cutting off Andre's line of sight like a wall of solid stone. His dark eyes locked on the Alpha with lethal intensity.
"We're leaving, young master," Chris said, his voice a low, gravelly command directed over his shoulder to Leon. He didn't take his eyes off the threat for a single second. He reached back with one hand, blindly but accurately finding Leon's arm to pull him close to his side, ready to sweep him out of the gardens.
But Andre wasn't going to let them walk away that easily. Shaking out his bruised wrist, his golden eyes flashed with humiliation and rage. Right on cue, a heavy set of footsteps came rushing down the stone path behind him. His four bodyguards had finally caught up.
"You think you can walk out of here alive after putting your hands on me?" Andre hissed, a venomous grin spreading across his face as his bodyguards took their stances. "Take the bodyguard down. Leave the Omega.”
The four Alphas didn't hesitate, rushing Chris all at once with the coordinated precision of trained professionals. Chris didn't even flinch, stepping forward to meet them head-on. He ducked a heavy swing from the first guard, driving a punishing blow into the man's ribs, but instantly had his hands full as the others swarmed him, trying to use their combined weight to pin the massive Alpha down.
Andre saw his chance. With the bodyguard occupied, he turned his attention back to Leon. Thinking the Omega was completely defenseless and dazed by the heavy pheromones, Andre lunged forward to grab him.
From the middle of the fistfight, Chris caught the movement. A spike of genuine panic shattered his elite composure.
"Leon!" Chris roared. Desperation flooded his veins as he ducked a heavy swing, violently shoving one guard into another to force a brief pocket of space. He tried to surge forward, his entire focus locked on bridging the distance to his client, but the remaining guards rushed right back in to cut him off.
Chris fended them off with brutal, defensive efficiency— blocking strikes and throwing heavy counters. But every time he tried to break through their line, another one stepped into his path, forcing him into an exchange of blows and intentionally wasting the precious seconds he needed to get close to Leon.
He didn't need to break through the line tho. Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw the exact moment Leon handled it himself.
Leon refused to let the suffocating fog slow him down. With flawless precision, he side-stepped the attack, grabbed Andre's extended arm, and pivoted hard— flipping the Alpha completely over his shoulder and slamming him viciously onto the hard stone path. The impact landed with a sickening crack that left Andre’s vision swimming and his senses entirely scrambled. Before he could even recover, Leon twisted his arm flat against his back in a painful lock that pinned him firmly to the gravel.
Leon was breathing heavily, his knuckles white as he kept the lock tight, refusing to give the Alpha an inch of space. Looking up through the shadows, he found Chris’s gaze. His chest heaved as his body fought through the suffocating weight of Andre's pheromones, but as their eyes locked, Leon let out a breathless, cheeky grin, completely victorious.
Even as Chris was catching a punch from one of his own attackers, a wave of profound relief crashed over him, instantly killing his panic. But as he drew in a sharp breath to finish the man off, he caught it— that faint, sour spike of Leon’s distress beneath the adrenaline. It was the physical proof of the biological agony the Omega was actively fighting through just to stay conscious.
A cold spike of urgency hit Chris as the reality of the situation locked into place. He needed to break through and get Leon out of here right this instant. These men crowding him weren't just threats anymore— they were a fly that waste the precious seconds he couldn't afford to lose.
Dropping the defensive, calculated pacing of the brawl, Chris became more ruthless and far more efficient. He snapped the wrist of the man whose punch he had caught, delivering a knockout blow that sent him crashing into the hedges. Without missing a beat, he spun on his heel, grabbed the final charging Alpha by the throat, and lifted him off his feet before slamming him heavily into the stone fountain.
Then, the garden fell dead silent. The sudden quiet was broken only by the gentle splashing of water and Andre’s pathetic groans as he clutched his arm in the dirt.
Chris straightened his posture, adjusting his cuffs with a calm, unbothered demeanor. Completely ignoring the unconscious men at his feet, his dark eyes scanned the shadows and locked eyes with Leon’s blue one.
Seeing his client visibly straining under the close, suffocating weight of that damn Alpha pheromones, Chris’s calm expression vanished. He moved with terrifying speed, stepping over the fallen bodies to get back to Leon's side.
As he approached, Leon finally let the joint lock slip. His adrenaline beginning to fade as the biological toll finally caught up to him.
His knees buckled slightly, but he never hit the ground. Chris was already there, catching him seamlessly. Without a word, Chris slipped one massive arm behind Leon’s back and the other beneath his knees, scooping the Omega up into a secure bridal carry to keep him off his feet.
Leon stiffened slightly at the sudden loss of control, but Chris kept his gaze fixed ahead, his deep voice dropping into a quiet, respectful murmur right by Leon's ear. "Forgive the intrusion, young master. We're leaving.”
Andre lay groaning on the gravel, clutching his twisted arm and staring up at them with a mixture of pain and lingering humiliation. He look pathetic trying to keep his arrogance.
Chris looked down at him, expression completely blank. Just before turning away, Chris casually but heavily drove the heel of his tactical boot straight into Andre’s ribs. A sharp gasp knocked the remaining wind right out of the Alpha, leaving him curling into a tight ball in the dirt. That was strictly personal. A nice parting gift before Chris left the scene like nothing had happened.
He hold Leon securely against his chest, shielding him from the cool night air and headed straight for the parking lot. He bypassed the gala entirely, focusing only to get his young master to safety.
A pristine, heavily armored Mercedes-Maybach was already waiting at the edge of the private drive, where Chris parked it. Chris pulled open the heavy door, carefully transferring Leon onto the plush rear seats.
But as he was about to pull away, he felt the violent shiver tearing through the Omega's frame. Up close, the biological crash from the fight was obvious. Having his system violently flooded by Andre's harsh pheromones, paired with the sudden drop in adrenaline, was enough to actively wreck Leon's nervous system.
Knowing that an Alpha’s grounding scent was the fastest, most effective biological countermeasure to stabilize a crashing Omega, Chris didn't hesitate. Lingering in the open doorway, he immediately shrugged off his ruined suit jacket. He leaned down into the rear cabin and draped the fabric securely over Leon’s shaking shoulders.
The jacket was thick with Chris’s raw, unfiltered scent. It smells like deep cedar and rain. It was the scent of absolute safety. Leon didn’t even realize his trembling fingers were gripping the lapels, pulling the heavy fabric tight until his face was buried deep in the collar. Without his conscious permission, his body had already reached for the dominant Alpha scent to override his lingering panic.
Satisfied that the scent was doing its job, Chris closed the door. The car sealed shut with a heavy, pressurized thud, instantly cutting off all residual noise from the estate.
Chris slipped into the driver's seat and turned on the engine. Instead of turning toward the highway that would take them straight back to the suffocating Kennedy mansion, Chris took a sharp right, aiming for the long, winding coastal road.
He didn't press Leon to talk. Skipping the unnecessary questions, Chris focused entirely on making him comfortable. He reached down, flicking on the low, warm seat heaters for the back row. Allowing the steady hum of the tires against the asphalt to fill the quiet, safe haven of the car.
"You're safe," Chris said, his voice a low, steady rumble that vibrated through the quiet space. "Nobody is touching you. Just breathe.”
Wrapped in the oversized jacket, Leon let out a weak, irritated huff, though he didn't make any move to take the coat off. "I'm fine, Chris," he muttered, his voice slightly muffled against the cedar-scented lapel. "I flipped him, didn't I? I could have walked to the car myself.”
Chris glanced up at the rearview mirror, a tiny, knowing glint in his dark eyes. "You handled yourself flawlessly, young master. Your technique was perfect." He paused, his tone shifting into something dry but incredibly grounding. "But as your bodyguard, it is my job to ensure you look appropriately dramatic while exiting a terrible party. Walking would have ruined the aesthetic.”
A faint, tired smirk tugged at the corner of Leon's lips. "Shut up, Redfield."
"Yes, sir," Chris replied smoothly, his voice dropping back into that quiet, soothing register. "Just rest. I'll handle the road."
Soothed by the smooth, quiet motion of the luxury car and the steady hum of the seat heaters, the tight knot in Leon’s chest finally began to loosen. His frantic breathing slowed, matching the rhythmic hum of the tires against the asphalt.
By the time they were halfway down the coastal cliffside, exhaustion won out. Leon’s eyes slipped shut, his proud, sharp defense mechanism finally melting away as he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, curled up into a ball beneath the heavy coat.
In the driver's seat, Chris glanced up into the rearview mirror again. Seeing his usually sharp-tongued client finally at rest, a rare, genuinely soft smile touched the corner of the bodyguard's mouth. He adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and slowed his pace just a fraction, perfectly content to take the longest, most winding route possible along the sea, keeping his young master safe and undisturbed for just a little while longer.