Chapter 3 Rose-Scented Pheromones

Bernard Scott and Frank Anderson were both Victor''s good buddies, and they were the ones accompanying him at the bar that day. They had been playing together since they were kids, and their families'' businesses were also intertwined. When Victor was young and got bullied by peers for causing his father''s death, it was Bernard and Frank who always stood up for him. If anyone dared to bully Victor, Bernard and Frank would fight them, no questions asked.

Now that his good friend was in trouble, there was no way he could ignore it. He threw his backpack aside and followed Bernard, saying, "Where is he? Take me to him."

Following Bernard, they found George Williams bullying Frank with a few friends, while Frank was protecting a small Omega behind him. Without a second thought, Victor went up and punched George in the face.

George nearly fell to the ground and cursed, "Who the hell dares to hit me?"

Victor rubbed his fingers, looked at George defiantly, and said, "You, Mr. Smith."

George, clutching his aching right cheek, saw who it was and angrily shouted, "Victor! Beat him to death!"

In an instant, the two groups were brawling, with shouts and the sound of bodies clashing filling the hallway. It was Mr. Brown from the disciplinary office who eventually discovered them.

Mr. Brown immediately took the troublemaking students to his office. "You all have some nerve, thinking the school can''t contain you anymore, huh?" Mr. Brown''s face was red with anger as he scolded the seven or eight boys standing against the wall.

"Who wants to explain what happened?"

Frank spoke up, "George was harassing an Omega in broad daylight and tried to forcibly mark him. I stopped him, and he wanted to beat me up."

But now, among all of them, George was the one with the most injuries, his face bruised and swollen. "Sir, Victor hit me too."

Mr. Brown looked at Victor.

Victor sneered and said, "What, you bully an Omega and hit my friend, and you think you have the right to talk to your grandpa like that?"

"I...!" George was at a loss for words.

Mr. Brown quickly understood the situation from the kids'' arguments. "Quiet, this was George''s fault. George, you will apologize to the Omega later."

Then he looked at Victor and pretended to scold him, "And you, although you were brave and loyal, helping your friend, it''s still wrong to hit people. Everyone will write a 1,000-word reflection, and George and his friends will be suspended for a month."

George''s face turned sour, and he glared at Victor and his friends.

Victor glared back.

"What, do you want to fight again?" Mr. Brown said sternly. "There are rules at home and at school. In the past, any fighting incidents required parents to be called. You are no exception. Go call your parents."

Victor''s face fell at the mention of calling parents. He really didn''t want to involve Henry.

"Um... Sir, I..." Victor tried to negotiate with Mr. Brown to avoid calling his parents.

But Mr. Brown looked at him and said, "Victor, you''re known for your tricks at school. We haven''t even dealt with your truancy yet. Now we''ll handle it all together. Recite your parent''s phone number; I''ll call them myself."

Victor: "..."

He really wished he could slap himself. Why did he have to say that extra sentence?

Meanwhile, Henry was in a meeting at the company. Just as he finished and came out, Derek stopped him.

Seeing Derek''s worried face, Henry asked, "What''s wrong?"

Derek hesitated for a long time before quietly saying, "Sir, the school called. They want you to go there personally."

"Did Victor skip school again?" Henry asked.

Derek''s face was twisted with worry. "No, the young master beat up the son of the Era Group."

Henry was silent for two seconds; this was indeed the kind of trouble Victor would get into. He put down the meeting notes, adjusted his clothes, and said calmly, "Prepare the car."

"Yes," Derek remembered something and said, "Sir, your inhibitor..."

Henry was about to take his inhibitor when he got called to the company. Now with Mr. Smith''s issue, what if it gets delayed?

Henry wasn''t in a hurry. He said, "Leave it for now; I''ll take it when I get home."

Derek was still a bit worried, but Henry had already left.

When he arrived at the school, he went straight to the principal''s office and saw Victor with a miserable look on his face.

Henry chuckled and teased, "Got into trouble?"

Victor glared at him but didn''t talk back.

Mr. Brown saw Victor''s parent had arrived and asked, "Are you Victor''s brother?"

Henry raised an eyebrow, glanced at Victor, and said to Mr. Brown, enunciating each word, "He is my son."

Mr. Brown was silent for two seconds before quickly smiling and saying, "You look quite young to be his father."

Henry just smiled and said ambiguously, "It seems my little rascal is really hard to discipline. Sorry for the trouble he''s caused your school."

Mr. Brown replied with a smile, "Not at all, not at all. Victor was acting out of chivalry; he just handled it the wrong way."

Henry immediately made a suggestion, "How about this: let Victor be a day student? That way, I can personally discipline this rebellious son of mine and also cause less trouble for the school."

Victor immediately opposed the idea, "No way, I can''t be a day student!"

If he became a day student, Henry, the old fox, would torture him every night!

But Victor''s objections were futile. Henry had Mr. Brown process the paperwork on the spot, and Victor''s face turned as dark as a pot''s bottom.

Frank quietly tried to console Victor, "Mr. Smith, don''t you usually hate school? Isn''t being a day student perfect for you?"

Victor gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words, "You don''t understand."

Soon, the paperwork was done, and George''s father, Connor, arrived.

Seeing his son beaten up, Connor angrily shouted, "Who did this?"

Victor sneered and replied, "I did. Got a problem? Come at me."

Connor looked at Victor, then at Henry, and took a step forward, saying sarcastically, "Mr. Lopez, you''ve raised quite a son!"

Henry subtly shielded Victor and replied with a smile, "Not as well as you, Mr. Williams."

The two families were already at odds in business, and Henry had just heard the details from Derek. There was no way he would let Victor be bullied, even if it meant offending the Era Group.

It might make business tougher, but Victor was at a critical age for developing his character. Victor had done the right thing, and Henry was determined to protect him.

Victor was thus shielded, and Henry never said a single word of reproach to him, which was unexpected for Victor.

During the meeting, Victor, standing behind Henry, caught a faint scent of roses, seemingly coming from Henry.

The parent-teacher meeting ended on a sour note. George was punished because of Victor, and the Era Group would not let it go easily.

After leaving, Victor sat in the car and awkwardly asked, "Aren''t you going to ask me what happened? What if it was my fault?"

Because Mr. Brown had made the call outside, Victor didn''t know the details.

Henry fastened his seatbelt and replied, "I know your character well enough. Do you want to explain something?"

"Who wants to explain! Henry, stop being so self-righteous."

After Victor retorted, he inexplicably felt the rose scent in the car grow stronger.

For an Alpha, it was a very sweet smell, quietly stirring the wildness in Victor''s heart. "Henry."