Sweltering heat was the first thing Adrian became aware of as he woke from his fitful rest. He had already been irritated by the sounds of people walking to and from his room, being escorted away by the guards stationed at his door.

To be roused from his sleep by a sudden burst of unknown pheromones, drawing his shift closer to the surface. And each time it inspected the scents thoroughly before dismissing them.

However, this time he was aware that the hallway was relatively quiet, beside the low hum of soft conversations. Yet that hadn't roused him from his sleep.

Instead he curled his nose in disgust, damp with sweat as it slowly trickled from his temples, hair damp as it stuck to his forehead.

Too hot...

The blankets were sweltering, feeling as if they clung to his skin so Adrian twisted and turned, trying to find a cool spot in his nest.

Even his mind was hazy, as he normally would've leapt from the bed in repulsion. Instead, Adrian struggled to kick the covers off his body, shoving them on the floor before grimacing as the cool air felt unnaturally cold against his bare chest.

The sensation of the cooling sweat only increased the damp, sticky sensation, making Adrian shiver with disgust.

He huffed, groaning as his joints protested against the slightest of movement before he forced himself out of bed. Landing on the floor with a solid thump, Adrian grumbled as he headed into the small, adjoining bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Already he heard some inquisitive murmurs coming from his room door, even the barely audible squeak as it pushed open but he paid it no mind.

Adrian assumed that the adults had been alerted by him falling out of bed and wanted to make sure he was doing okay. But he wasn't.

Annoyance bubbled to the surface as his joints protested, the glands in his arm pits and groin swollen, aching as they were affected by his Rut, producing an overabundance of pheromones.

He wanted to cool off. Get rid of the heat that prickled beneath his skin. A warmth that was slowly reaching annoying stages of irritation, like a rash that was spreading and needed to be scratched.

Resting his forehead against the cool glass of the shower, Adrian sighed tiredly, feeling his muscles twitch and shiver beyond his control.

What... is happening?

Whatever remaining clothing on his body was ripped away with annoyance and growing frustration. Adrian had never encountered a Rut before, nor had he fully understood the implications of one when reading through the provided books.

But now, subjected to his first ever Rut, his fingers trembled as they reached for the knobs of the shower, hoping for some relief.

The cold rush of water on his overheated body did nothing to dampen the growing sensations. On the contrary, it seemed as if the water burned wherever it touched, forcing Adrian to twist away from the cascade and release a barking sound in annoyance.

The sound reverberated from the walls and caused the guards outside to scramble to attention while Adrian shut off the shower and dried off.

However, the second he touched the hand towels over his skin, the formerly soft and plush fabric felt abrasive against his overly sensitive skin.

Instead he opted to shake himself off, huffing in frustration before shifting to do just that. Adrian didn't care that the entire bathroom got drenched as he shook off with force, nor the fact that he shifted without permission.

He was irritated. Frustrated.

Hungry.

But not for a meal, no. His stomach felt too jittery to eat something. Adrian wasn't aching to sink his teeth into raw flesh, he wanted something else... something...but...what?

A full body shiver made him shake out his feathers before he shifted back, sniffing the air. The second he did, a frustrated snarl slipped from his throat, answered by a surprised squeak at the door before it slammed shut.

Nobody had come to the bathroom but the mere fact that his so called guards kept poking their head in the room and thus, spreading their scent in it, was grating his already raw nerves.

He was feeling highly territorial, nearly aggressively so. Adrian did not want anyone intruding on the small room he could claim as his own.

The adults had been entering his room previously but that didn't evoke the same hostile sensations in his body. No, this was different, much more intense than before.

Adrian had always been stronger than his instincts but now he was struggling to contain them. Struggling against the urge to shift back and plow through those doors.

To find a suitable mate. To hunt down a meal that can be presented as a courtship offering.

To breed.

But he knew he couldn't. There was nothing in the vicinity to hunt besides other Ferals; if Adrian lost control over his shift, if his instincts overtook him, the entire compound was in danger of becoming his next meal.

A cry of distress slipped from his lips, the loud bark bouncing off the tiled walls and echoing through the room. Meanwhile Adrian pushed himself in a corner of the tiled room, fingers clutching in his hair. Fighting against his beast, his very instincts that were screaming at him.

A soft scuff of a boot made Adrian's head snap up, pupils contracting to sharp points as he was pushed too far. He was halfway across the bathroom, tiles breaking underneath the force of his shift when two darts hit his chest in quick succession.

Staggering on his feet, Adrian still lunged forwards at the unwanted intruder in his room. The man's back was open to attack and it was only by quick thinking of the others at the door that Adrian's killing claw pierced reinforced wood instead of the man's flesh and bones.

But their job was already done. His form wavered before Adrian stumbled back, landing on his knees as he reverted back to his human form, flopping boneless on the floor.

The door opened again after a few minutes but Adrian couldn't react except a slow blink. Willem, Charles and several others piled into the room while Kwame was crouched on the floor, head between his trembling knees.

"Adrian?" Charles spoke softly, crouching beside the tranquilized raptor. "We're going to bring you to a reinforced room for safety precautions. All we're going to do is lift you up and carry you further down the hall. Once Fiona is here with the suppressants, we can see how effective they are on you."

He managed another slow blink, fingers twitching as an annoyed grumble vibrated through his chest.

I just...finished...sce..nt....mar.......ki....ng.

His eyelids shivered, becoming heavier by the second. Despite his struggles against the tranquilizer, Adrian was unconscious within the next minute.

His body finally relaxed, tense muscles uncoiling, relaxing completely as he was picked up.

"Out cold." Charles murmured after lifting Adrian's eyelids before glancing at the still shaking Kwame. "You got lucky."

Kwame nodded shakily as his mate soothingly rubbed over his back. "Fuck me, that was scary." The man grumbled, pushing upright. "I thought those tranquilizers were supposed to work instantly so I didn't think to run until he shifted."

Nailah pressed a kiss against his temple, distress clear in both of their scents. If it hadn't been for Nailah's quick thinking where she had yanked Kwame through the small gap and commanding Kassim to shut the door, her mate could've possibly been killed before her very own eyes.

It didn't take long for the group to settle Adrian in the reinforced room. It was designed specifically for shifters who lost control during their Rut cycles and needed to remain in isolation.

Adrian wasn't the first and he certainly wouldn't be the last. Hell, Charles could name several students from the top of his head who had to be put in isolation, suppressants or not.

One of them was Levi, an African Elephant bull. Whenever his musth was approaching, Levi would voluntarily enter solitary confinement in order to avoid injuring anyone.

Tilting his head as Charles watched Adrian's form get laid out on the single bed, he recognized the low pulsing thrill in the air and sighed.

"Levi is here as well... I'll inform security and have it increased." Charles serious tone was reflected in Willem's scowl along with a nervous sound coming from Jacob.

The hippo scratched through his hair, frowning as he looked further down the hallway and spotted the closed and locked door. "Levi's timing is... impeccable to say the least."

Charles nodded, tongue flicking over his lips habitually before he cringed at the heavy pheromone cocktail that entered his senses. "Well, it's not like either Levi or Adrian planned their Ruts..."

Jacob sighed, rubbing a hand through his already mused hair. "Doesn't make things any easier though. First we were just focusing on Adrian, given that he is the obvious threat. But a large herbivore like an elephant is equally as dangerous when in rut."

Charles let out a hiss of agreement, as they set up in the hallway, all eagerly awaiting Fiona's arrival with the suppressants. "Levi's arrival here is more than enough proof of that."

Everyone grew silent, pondering on the truth of Charles' statement. It was rather rare to find a Feral elephant in the wilds, given how strong their social ties were.

But Levi himself had experienced the dangers of an Elephant bull in rut. His own father had entered his Musth and attacked the young male calf at his mother's side, not caring that it was his own son he was goring to death.

Authorities could intervene and drag Levi away from his rampaging father but the damage to their bond had been lethal.

Everyone agreed that it was better for the young bull to remain within the compound instead of being a potential target of his father's rage.

"Perhaps they'll balance each other out. Given that young elephants avoid larger, older bulls in musth simply by the low sound they produce." Jacob murmured thoughtfully before pointing over his shoulder to the room they just vacated.

"Given how Adrian has growled on the same tone, they might recognize one another as, well, not equals, but I guess rivals that should be left alone?"

Pursing his lips, Charles hummed before nodding. "They might. A silent mutual agreement that fighting one another will only lead to losses on both ends. They will keep one another in check... hopefully."

Fiona didn't take too long after they had settled, the silence only disturbed by the occasional deep rumble coming from Levi's room.

"Ah, Levi's already here, good. That'll make things easier for everyone." Fiona smiled gratefully, high heels tapping on the tiled floors as she approached.

"Good thing that Levi had already sent word earlier this week he was feeling off." Fiona said, undoing the lock on the latch before opening it, taking one of the syringes out of her pockets. "Levi sweetie, can you give me your wrist?"

Another deep rumble vibrated through their bones, the sound changing halfway before an arm emerged from within the room.

"Thank you, sweetie. Just a small prick...there we go." Fiona praised, administering the suppressant and smiled when Levi retracted his arm with a snort.

Fiona pocketed the empty syringe, turning to the holding chambers where Adrian resided. "I made Adrian's a bit stronger, based off of Darius' usual dosage..." She snickered slightly, adding with a smirk, "Who I've already went by to give him a dose, just in case Adrian's Rut triggers his own."

Willem and Charlie snickered at that, shaking their heads. While neither of them had been present for the interaction between Darius and Adrian, they had heard the rumors spread like wildfire.

"Plus, it'll make our jobs easier if we don't have to fend off young ferals that are attracted to the pheromones these two produce." Willem snorted, gaining a replying snort before Levi poked his arm out of the latch and slammed it shut, as if insulted by the veiled implication that his pheromones stank.

The deep, near inaudible rumble that followed was felt within their very bones, making some of them feel light headed as a result.

"Levi is going to kick your ass the next time he sees you, Willem." Charles snickered, stepping back so Fiona could enter Adrian's temporary room.

Even with the Feral barely conscious from the sedatives, she explained everything she was doing and waited for Adrian to blink his consent before injecting him with the suppressers.

"They won't work instantly but they'll help." She murmured, sighing before checking Adrian's pulse. "At the very least he'll be able to go back to his room without feeling the need to prowl about."

A rumble rippled from behind the locked door of Levi's room before Fiona started when Adrian's throat vibrated in response with his own slurred, weaker rumble.

There was a brief moment of silence before the latch on Levi's room was forcefully shoved open, a grey trunk emerging in the created gap.

It was clear from the deep responding rumbled and the way Levi was scenting the air, that he was at the very least curious towards Adrian.

Fiona's lips pursed in a barely contained smile before she sighed. "I'll inform the Council to let them know of recent... developments. Seems like we'll need to keep a close eye on Adrian and anyone remotely interested in him."

A.N. Happy newyear everyone (UwU) I hope 2022 brings you all a good health, wealth and whatever your heart desires. 

See you all in 2022!