I’m a Beta. My secondary differentiation decided to hit right as I was about to fight my arch-nemesis in a back alley. “Get ready, grandpa’s about to fold you like a pretzel!” I threw a punch, but my legs gave out, and I collapsed right into his arms. My rival arched an eyebrow. “Oh? A new way to throw yourself at me?” Dammit! Before I could spit out a curse, the scent of mint wafting from him had me completely hooked. So good… so nice… so comforting… 1 I was a Beta. I never imagined that my body would choose a moment meant to display peak masculine prowess—a street fight—to undergo a secondary differentiation. The change sent me straight into a heat, my vision swimming and my legs turning to jelly. That's why the punch I threw was pathetically weak, and I ended up tumbling right into Chris Fitch. Chris and I had been at each other’s throats all through high school. Whatever I wanted, he’d fight me for it, and after winning, he’d parade in front of me, gloating. I knew he just couldn’t stand me. This particular fight started because I’d sent a sexy, post-shower mirror selfie to my best friend, asking him to rate it. He took half an hour to reply. Not Human: I’d give it thirty… minutes. It took my brain two seconds to crash after seeing the contact name. I sent it to the wrong person! Realization dawned, and I let out a furious roar at my phone. “Chris Fitch! Go to hell!” He… he actually dared to get off to my picture! And that’s how we ended up in this alley. But of all the rotten luck… I had to go and differentiate! 2 The minty scent coming off Chris was so fresh, so intoxicating. The punch I’d thrown turned into a weak slap that landed on his shoulder. My body, acting on pure instinct, pressed closer against his. Chris stumbled back, and I pinned him against the wall. “What’s the plan today? A body slam?” He was a good half a head taller than me. He looked down, the playful mockery in his eyes undiminished. “You smell… so good…” I mumbled. Chris seemed to freeze for a second. “I thought you couldn’t smell pheromones?” My gland was burning, a throbbing, stinging heat at the back of my neck. The mint scent in the air was so alluring I couldn’t control myself. I was burning from head to toe, driven by instinct, his words not even registering. My hands roamed over his body as my nose desperately tried to pinpoint the source of the scent. I finally found it—the side of his neck—but a warm hand immediately pressed against my face, stopping me. Chris’s brow was furrowed, his voice serious. “Kai, are you having a secondary differentiation?” How would I know? All I knew was that Chris’s pheromones were incredible. They were cool and refreshing. Pressing against him felt like stepping into an air-conditioned room on a blistering summer day—soothing and comfortable. As a Beta, I’d never been able to smell his scent before. Now, my body was making up for lost time. “And yours is… honeysuckle,” Chris noted, tilting his head with a soft tsk. “Forget the fight. I’m taking you to the hospital.” Chris was being so loud, chattering on about something so trivial. Annoyed, I cupped his face and leaned in. As I moved closer, a single string of sanity vibrated in my mind. Dammit! Why am I feeling this desire?! This is my enemy! I’m going to get my ass kicked! But that sanity lasted all of thirty seconds before a devious piece of advice from my best friend flashed in my head. “The best way to deal with a rival is to kiss him. Just go for it. He’ll be too shocked to do anything in the moment. He’ll be embarrassed, disgusted, and he’ll never mess with you again.” At the time, I thought it was a terrible, self-destructive idea. Now? It seemed brilliant. What better time than the present? Besides, he was the one who got off to my picture… Desire shot through me like a rocket. Chris didn’t stop me, but the hand gripping my wrist tightened. Before I could register what happened next, the fever finally consumed me, and I blacked out. 3 I woke up in a hospital. Chris was taking a report from a doctor. “The test results are conclusive. It’s a small probability, but it happens. He’s differentiated into an Omega.” Who? Who were they talking about? My mind was foggy from sleep, and I couldn’t make sense of the situation. One, why was I in a hospital? Two, why was this bastard Chris here? Three, who the hell differentiated into an Omega? Then, the doctor’s eyes met mine. “The differentiation triggered an early heat. The fever will likely last a few more days, so take it easy.” “Who?” I stared at the doctor, my voice a croak of disbelief. A half-smile played on Chris’s lips as he walked over, ruffling my hair. “Stop petting me like a dog,” I snapped, swatting his hand away. Unfazed, Chris handed me the report. I stared at the words. Secondary Differentiation: Omega. I immediately fell back onto the bed. The doctor said a few more things, but I didn’t hear a word. My mind was reeling. I had gone from being a regular Beta to… fair game for any Alpha. Tragic. I caught a glimpse of Chris’s smirk and shot up from the bed. “Seen enough? Why don’t you get lost?” Chris straightened up, a faint smile on his lips. “We haven’t settled the score from last night.” He was right! Furious, I pointed a finger at him. “Have you no shame? How dare you get off to my—” He might be shameless, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t finish the sentence in front of the doctor. Chris gently pushed my hand down, rubbing his nose as he chuckled. “I was just messing with you.” “Liar!” “I was lying to you, yes.” Listen to him! Is that how a human being talks? Before I could curse him out again, Chris spoke up. “So, what about you leaning in to kiss me without a word? How do we settle that?” Holy hell! Th-that… wasn’t my fault, was it? I immediately turned to the doctor for help. The doctor cleared his throat, completely unfazed. “Don’t worry about it. It was a normal physiological reaction, given that your differentiation coincided with the onset of your heat.” “But that was my first kiss,” Chris sighed dramatically. So was mine! My eyes widened. Finally, I just gave up. “Then we’re even!” “I won’t press the issue about the picture.” Chris’s eyes darkened, but he said nothing. 4 A minute later, I begrudgingly accepted my new reality. I turned to Chris. “Can you get out? This whole room stinks of your mint.” Chris gave me a surprised look, then glanced at the doctor. “What?” I asked, confused. “His suppressant bracelet is on the highest setting. He should have almost no scent right now.” What! I was stunned. Did my nose break during the differentiation? The doctor thought for a moment. “It’s possible that because you were with him during the differentiation, your compatibility is very high. That would make you more sensitive to his pheromones.” Chris looked at me, and on the doctor’s advice, he stepped out of the room. The moment he was gone, the scent seemed to fade a little, and I frowned without realizing it. “What’s wrong?” the doctor asked, observing me. I touched my gland and shook my head. “Nothing.” The doctor continued with his instructions. “You need to rest for the next few days. Your heat isn’t over yet. And you’ll need to carry suppressants with you.” That was the first thing that got through to me. I looked up sharply. “How much are suppressants?” The doctor adjusted his glasses. “Your friend already paid for them.” I clenched my fists. Suppressants… another expense I’d have to budget for. “The suppressants…” I started, then hesitated. Chris came from a wealthy family. He would have paid for the good stuff, but I couldn’t afford that. I bit my lip and asked quietly, “Can you… switch them all for a cheaper brand?” The doctor blinked. “Those aren’t as effective, and the side effects are much worse.” I threw back the covers and got out of bed. “Please, just switch them for the cheaper ones. Thank you.” 5 The doctor was a good man. He exchanged the suppressants for me and refunded the difference. I walked back to my rented room, a bag of supplies in my hand, my mind racing. First, I had to pay Chris back. Then, I needed to find another part-time job. The monthly cost of suppressants was no small thing… As I reached my building, the stray dog I often fed came bounding towards me. “Buddy,” I said, squatting down to pet him. But he was frantic, nipping at my pant leg and pulling me toward the stairs. A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. I sprinted upstairs. The door to my room had been pried open. The inside was completely ransacked. I ran to my bed, dropped to my knees, and felt under the mattress for the cash I’d hidden. It was gone. “Woof! Woof!” Buddy barked from downstairs. A white-hot rage surged through me. I flew back down the stairs and ran towards my father’s house, Buddy at my heels. I kicked the door. “Open up!” No answer. I kicked it twice more. Knowing it was useless, I let out a bitter laugh and went to the woodshed next door, grabbing a rusty old meat cleaver. I brought it down on the door with a sickening thud. “Don’t make me say it a third time,” I snarled. “Open the door!” The door was opened by a drunk woman. The stench of alcohol was so strong I had to turn my head as I pushed past her. “Where’s Marcus Todd?” The woman, Rhonda, leaned against the doorframe, ready for a show. “Marcus! Your son’s here to see you!” The moment my father saw me, he started to tremble. “Give it back,” I said, my voice dangerously calm as I walked toward him. “Wh-what?” he feigned ignorance. “Don’t play dumb. My savings. The three hundred and fifty dollars.” He wouldn’t even look at me. “I don’t know…” “While I’m still willing to talk to you calmly…” I took a deep breath. “Give it back, and I’ll let it go.” I had saved that money for so long, working part-time jobs during breaks and sometimes even skipping class, all to escape this hellhole and focus on my final exams. I just needed to last a few more months. But of course, Marcus had taken it to pay off his gambling debts. He suddenly dropped to his knees, a mess of snot and tears. “It’s gone! I used it to pay them back…” Blood roared in my ears. The fury was about to burst from my chest. I lunged forward and punched him square in the face. He threw his arms up to block his face, whimpering, “Kai, you can’t do this… You have to let me live, Kai! I’ll pay you back…” “You really expect me to believe you?” I laughed humorlessly. “I’m your father!” “Not for a long time!” I punched him again, harder this time. “You stopped being my father when you tried to drown me at age three. When I grew up under your belt. We haven’t been father and son for years.” He was shaking violently. With a sudden burst of strength, he pushed me away, grabbed a stool, and held it in front of him like a shield. “Kai, please try to understand. I had no choice! They were going to kill me!” “Then you shouldn’t have fucking gambled!” I roared. “I… I’ve stopped… I just…” “Why should my tuition money pay for your gambling debts?!” “Because I’m your father!” he screamed back. “I had no choice! They were going to kill me!” “Then they can fucking kill me!” I shrieked, grabbing the cleaver and slamming it into the wooden table. The blade vibrated with a low hum, perfectly wedged in a crack. The room fell silent. As I walked out, I pointed at him. “Never again,” I warned. “Next time, I might just take one of your hands.” 6 I cleaned up my trashed room. Looking at the broken lock, I didn’t even have the energy to fix it. There was nothing left to steal, anyway. The most valuable thing I owned was already gone. I lay on my bed for a long time, utterly defeated. Then I rummaged through the bag of supplies and looked at the receipt for the suppressants. A heavy sigh escaped me. The next day, during gym class, I felt incredibly dizzy. It was supposed to be autumn, but the last couple of days had been stiflingly hot. During free time, I sat alone on the bleachers. My best friend, Leo, tossed me a bottle of water. He plopped down next to me. “Heard you and Chris went at it in the alley again. You never told me how it went.” Just the mention of it made my head ache. “Just shut up.” Leo was an Alpha, and a faint scent of rum drifted from him. I frowned slightly. “Have you been drinking?” “Are you running a fever?” Leo shook the bottle. “Pure mineral water.” “Then where’s that…” I trailed off, remembering the secondary differentiation. I hadn’t told anyone. No wonder I felt so hot and agitated. The doctor did say the heat would last a few days and that I needed to rest. “What?” Leo stared at me. “Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. I was starting to feel worse. “You don’t look well. Why is your face so red?” His scent was making me dizzier, hotter. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired.” Just as Leo was about to say something else, someone called him over to play basketball. As he stood up, he tossed his jacket over my head. Ugh, the smell. I was about to throw it off when someone else lifted it. A faint, almost imperceptible scent of mint drifted towards me. It was so good I instinctively took a deep breath, my body leaning forward. It was so comforting, instantly soothing the dizziness and the throbbing in my gland. My gaze fell on a pair of clean sneakers and the straight lines of two legs in school uniform trousers. I looked up. Our eyes met. Chris was looking down at me. “Why aren’t you home resting?” I frowned. “None of your business.” My mouth said one thing, but my body wanted to get closer to him. For once, Chris didn’t argue. “The doctor said your heat isn’t over yet, you need to—” I shot up, grabbing his hand and putting a finger to my lips. Seeing that no one was paying attention to us, I relaxed. The thought of my differentiation made me glance at him. I hadn't had a chance to tell him to keep his mouth shut, but then again, he wasn't the type to gossip. “What is it?” Chris asked. “Nothing.” I stood up to face him. “Kai.” I didn't know what new game he was playing, so I ignored him and turned to leave. As I passed him, he spoke again, a soft chuckle in his voice. “Beg me.” I clenched my fists at my sides, then shrugged nonchalantly. “Do whatever you want.” I knew exactly what kind of person Chris Fitch was. “I’ll pay you back for the medical bills in a couple of days.” With that, I walked away, oblivious to the intense gaze that followed me. 7 This was no time to rest. I needed money for living expenses for the next six months, money to pay Chris back, and money for monthly suppressants. I found a night shift job at a newly opened restaurant. If I worked full-time, I could make over a thousand a month. I didn’t expect to run into Chris again. Actually, it wasn’t that surprising. Rich kids always had money to burn and were the first to know about any new spot in town. Our eyes met, and we both quickly looked away. Neither of us said hello. I avoided his gaze out of a sense of inferiority. He probably looked away because I was nothing special to him. I was supposed to serve his private room, but the manager suddenly switched me with someone else. “You just cover the main floor. Chen, you take the private room.” I gave him a questioning look. The manager explained, “Is young Mr. Fitch in that room a classmate of yours? He said you don’t need to serve them.” I let out a soft, bitter laugh and went downstairs. Chris was, in his own way, trying to protect my pride. But for someone as twisted up as me, that kind of consideration was worse than none at all. My post-differentiation heat was unstable, and the cheap suppressants only made it worse. As I worked, I started to feel sick again. I told a coworker my stomach was upset, grabbed a suppressant, and slipped into the restroom. Just as I was about to inject it, a hand with long, elegant fingers clamped around my wrist. I whipped my head around in shock. Chris’s brow was furrowed, his voice tight with displeasure. “Didn’t I buy you the good suppressants?” I ignored him, quickly injecting the needle before he could react. The sharp pain momentarily masked my discomfort. I took a deep, shuddering breath. “Kai,” Chris’s voice was low, laced with an unfamiliar anger. “Can’t you take better care of yourself?” I slapped his hand away, a self-deprecating smile on my face. “I’m poor, rich boy.” Chris’s eyes darkened, his expression unreadable. “What’s with that look?” I scoffed. “Pity?” “I…” “I have to get back to work.” I tried to step around him. But he grabbed my hand again. “You can’t keep working like this. The side effects of those cheap suppressants are too strong. And if you’re hiding in here to take them, you obviously haven’t told your manager about your condition.” I turned to glare at him. “What? Are you threatening me? Or do you want me to beg you again? There’s no point in teasing someone like me. I’m always just a pathetic mess in front of you…” When he didn’t speak, I laughed bitterly. “Stop messing around. I have to work. Every minute is money. Unlike you, born with a silver spoon in your mouth. So go ahead and beg—" “I’m begging you.” The hand on my wrist tightened. Chris’s throat worked, his voice a low, rough thing. “I’m begging you.” Before I could understand what he meant, a warm bracelet was snapped onto my wrist, still holding his body heat. “I know you won’t go home and rest, and getting new suppressants would take too long. A suppressant bracelet will be much more effective,” Chris said softly, letting go of my wrist once it was secure. I was stunned. “You…” “Go on.” Chris instantly reverted to his usual careless demeanor, even playfully ruffling my hair. “Tsk.” I shook my head, annoyed. “It’s a mess, like a dog’s fur,” he laughed, then turned and walked out the door. He paused and looked back. “And if you think this is teasing, there’s plenty more where that came from.” I stared at his straight back for a long time before my gaze fell to the bracelet on my wrist. His smile and his words sent ripples across the stagnant pool of my heart. It took me a long moment to pull myself together and return to work.
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