Rui stumbled into his tiny apartment, slamming the door shut behind him with a jarring thud. He leaned back against the cool wood, breath shaky, heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs. His legs trembled, a weakness that had nothing to do with exhaustion and everything to do with the brief, potent encounter with Kian. It had been only a few exchanged words—just a fleeting moment—but his body had reacted violently, unexpectedly, betraying him.
His skin felt impossibly hot, prickling and aching. It wasn't just the lingering flush of embarrassment from his clumsy departure. A deep, burning ache spread from his chest, coiling and intensifying in his lower belly, radiating outwards. His scent—usually so faint, almost indistinguishable, a clean, neutral aroma—had grown stronger, sweeter, almost cloying, like a delicate floral milk.
Pheromones?
He clenched his fists, knuckles white, as the light, unfamiliar floral smell thickened in the air around him. It was undeniable. It was coming from him.
No. No, this couldn't be happening.
But deep down, in the core of his being, Rui already knew.
The system's voice, usually so cheerful or clinical, boomed with urgent gravity in his mind:
System: Warning! Warning! Pre-heat signs triggered.
"Shut up," Rui muttered, the words raw, laced with panic. His eyes squeezed shut. Seventeen years of knowing—or rather, being told, being conditioned to believe—that he was a defective omega, a statistical anomaly, flashed through his mind like a broken film reel.
He remembered the sterile, cold hospital room. The dismissive doctor's calm, detached voice as he flipped through Rui's medical charts, a clinical pronouncement that had shaped his entire life:
"Due to your gland underdevelopment, your body lacks proper omega functionality. Your pheromone output is minimal, almost indistinguishable from a beta. Without significant, almost unheard-of triggering events, you may never experience a heat cycle."
And Rui had been utterly, profoundly relieved.
No heat. No vulnerability. No forced bond, no instincts to control. Just the quiet promise of living like a beta. Hidden. Safe. Free.
But all that changed today.
One look. One moment. Kian.
The alley. The powerful arm that had pulled him back from the brink. The calm, commanding voice that had scattered his attackers. And something deep inside Rui's body, a primordial instinct he hadn't known existed, had recognized him.
Now, it was as if his body was waking from a long, deep slumber it never meant to escape. The heat, an insistent, burning ember, coiled low in his belly, radiating through him. A strange, desperate desire to… to be near that alpha, that protective presence, clawed at his insides.
He stumbled to the small bathroom, grabbing the edges of the sink, and splashed handful after handful of icy cold water onto his face, gasping.
"Am I… going into heat?" he whispered, his voice unsteady, barely recognizable even to himself. The question was both a terrified plea and a dawning, terrifying realization.
The system chimed again, gentle yet clinical, its data overriding his fear:
[Early signs of a pre-heat surge detected.]
[Triggered by close proximity to bonded alpha.]
[Diagnosis: Dominant Omega status has now fully awakened.]
He stared at his reflection, water dripping from his chin. Same tired brown eyes, messy black-brown hair falling into them, but now… something was profoundly different. The glow from the Skin & Glow pack was external, but this—this was an internal revolution. His pupils were subtly dilated, his lips slightly parted, his skin flushed. He was not defective. He was a dominant omega.
Rui had read about secondary genders, of course. Everyone had. It was drilled into them from childhood.
In their society, the ABO system wasn't just biology—it was law, the fundamental stratification of existence. Every citizen classified, registered, and their lives often dictated by their designation.
Alphas led in politics and business, their powerful pheromones commanding respect and authority. Betas ran the intricate engine of everyday life, the stable, reliable majority. And Omegas were protected under the Bond & Welfare Act—due to the intense vulnerability of their monthly heat cycles and the potent scent-based triggers that made them targets.
Rui never had to register as a full omega. He had been classified as "Undeveloped Omega: Beta-Equivalent." A loophole. A blessing.
But meeting Kian… changed all of that. The universe, it seemed, had decided he wasn't defective after all.
He gritted his teeth, the irony, the sheer unfairness, making his blood boil. "Because of him…"
The Kian Elros—the city's youngest billionaire, ruthless CEO of Elros Corporation, and a top alpha with a pheromone compatibility score of 0.01%—a biological miracle of power and rarity. The rarer the compatibility, the deeper, more intense the bond potential.
The system had confirmed it:
[Bond Match: 100% — One in ten million compatibility.]
That explained everything—the way Rui's body had reacted near him, the strange calm amidst the chaos, and now this sudden, overwhelming, chaotic rush of an awakening heat. His hidden reality had been violently ripped open by the man he was fated to be with.