Hey y'all! Welcome back to Mating Season! This chapter will give us a little backstory to Mahad's Feral State. It won't show anything graphic or anything, but it will give a clear picture about how his Feral State was back in Ancient Egypt. And yes, there will be some Headdressshipping in this chappy, mainly because I love the ship and it ties into my headcanon of Kaiba and DM's relationship spanning all those millennia. Hope y'all are ok with it!

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh and it's characters belong to Takahashi Kazuki-sama. I only own the plot of the fanfic.

Warnings: Eventual Scornshipping (Kaiba x Dark Magician), lemon in later chapters, Alpha/Omega dynamics for Duel Monsters (semi-Omegaverse), swearing, Headdressshipping (this chapter and any flashbacks only)

Mahad sighed as he returned to his home, shutting the door before leaning his back against it and sliding down to the floor. It wasn't very often that he found himself afraid of something, but that was exactly what he was feeling at the moment. He was afraid to go out again, fearing Arkana would find him and force him to mate with him. The lavender-haired male shuddered slightly, though he knew something none of the others did: He had already had a mate, a long time ago.

The mage closed his eyes, remembering when he and his first mate had first come together:

"Mahad!? Where are you!?" shouted Atem, looking around for his older brother/guardian. The apprentice magician and priest-in-training had vanished seemingly without a trace, leaving the young prince and many others to wonder where he had gone. "Easy Atem, we'll find him..." said Aknamkanon, kneeling beside his youngest. "B-But Yt! Mahad has been missing for hours! W-what if something bad has happened to him!?" asked the young prince, fear in his eyes.

"I assure you my son, Mahad is alright... he is strong..." said the Pharaoh, standing. Atem nodded, though he was still worried about the now 16-year-old. He and much of the palace staff had noticed the older prince acting strangely the past few days, all of which has led up to the current predicament of him missing. Atem silently hoped that their cousin, Set, was having a much more successful time of finding Mahad.

Set, meanwhile, walked down one of the corridors when he heard talking. He recognized the voice as Mahad's and quickly followed it to one of the rooms. "Mahad, there you are! We-" the chestnut-haired teen froze in place when he saw his fellow priest-in-training. Mahad's head snapped in his direction, fear on his face. His teeth were sharper and more reptile-like, his findernails now the equivalent of claws and his icy blue eyes dragon-like in their appearance.

"Mahad?" asked Set cautiously, taking a small step forward. "S-STAY BACK!" shouted Mahad, quickly backing himself into the wall behind him. Seto paused momentarily, then cautiously approached the auburn-haired teen. "Mahad... what is happening to you? Have you gone Feral?" he asked slowly, remembering from the few Wild Ka he's seen what being Feral is like. Mahad said nothing, trying to push himself against the wall more.

"Mahad-" "D-Don't touch me! I-I don't want to hurt you!" said Mahad. Set frowned, then remembered what he had overheard about Ka who enter their "Feral" states. He looked at Mahad, then very gently took the prince's hands. Mahad looked at him in shock, stunned by the kindness in the other teen's cerulean eyes. "Mahad... I'll be your mate..." Set said, smiling softly. Mahad was too stunned to say anything, then gulped.

"I-I..." he started, shaking slightly. "I overheard Father and your Master talking about when Ka enter their "Feral" states... I don't mind, really..." said Set, watching his fellow priest-in-training. Mahad stared at him for a moment, then lurched forward and hugged him tightly, still shaking. Set slowly hugged him back. "It's ok... you don't have to go through this alone..."

Mahad opened his eyes and sighed again. His first mate had been his and Atem's own cousin, Set. The other priest, despite their bickering and jabs at each other, had always been there when the mage needed him most. However, Set has been dead for 5,000 years, leaving Mahad to need to find a new mate now that his Feral side was starting to show again.

Mahad growled and slammed his fist into the wall, ignoring any pain he felt from the impact. He wasn't ready to find a new mate, and he certainly did not want to be forced into mating either. He figured he could wait out his Feral state, though deep down he knew that it wasn't like a regular heat that animals experienced. His Feral side would eventually take over completely and force him to hunt down the one he was meant to mate with, and he didn't know who that person would be.

He slowly got up and headed to the kitchen, grabbing his tea kettle. Tea always helped calm him, and he knew this time would be no different. As he waited for the water to boil he thought about what could have triggered his Feral state coming back out. He knew it had something to do with the human realm; after all, his Feral side had not acted up until he sensed his Master bump into someone in that realm. A low growl escaped him. I will find my mate... whoever they are...

Done! Just a little backstory into Mahad's Feral side :3.

Please R&R!

Until next time, Icy is out!