Chapter 6
If you fail to produce an heir by next year, you can forget about inheriting the title, the lands, or anything at all!
The letters always ended with the same threat. Leonid’s brow furrowed in annoyance. With a cold sneer, he tossed the letter into the fireplace, watching the offending piece of paper curl into ash as if it were a mortal enemy. He moved to the sofa by the window and slumped into it. His grandfather’s infuriating letter had shattered the evening’s peace, leaving his nerves stretched as taut as a wire.
He unconsciously fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette, then remembered he was quitting and sighed, sinking deeper into the cushions.
‘You have been on high doses of suppressants for a long time, Your Lordship. Smoking on top of that is incredibly damaging. Why don’t you try to quit, starting now?’
It was his physician’s advice that had finally convinced him to give up the habit he had maintained since he was twenty. An Alpha’s rut. That damned thing was always the problem. It had been nearly eight years since he had started enduring his ruts alone, without an Omega. His first had been at sixteen.
He had survived the primal heat—a fever that consumed his body and filled his mind with the singular, maddening urge to procreate—by relying on massive doses of suppressants. He knew that continuing this way would take a toll on his body, even for an Extreme Dominant Alpha. He loathed Omegas, but to secure his inheritance from his ailing grandfather and officially become the Duke of Elderic, one might be a necessary evil. It would also solve the problem of his ruts. Two birds with one stone.
But he hated entanglements. Any mingling with an Omega should be limited to bodies, fluids, and pheromones. Even that was viscerally repulsive. Still, he would endure it if he must. After all, he had to become the head of the Elderic family.
And then Mother will finally leave me alone.
Instead of a cigarette, Leonid popped a chocolate-flavored candy into his mouth. He would have to take action soon. He needed a relationship he could end cleanly. One bound by a contract, for instance.
* * *
Her body was on fire. It felt as if she were trapped inside a massive, boiling cauldron. Johanna moaned as she tossed and turned, flinching at the slightest brush of fabric against her skin. Every nerve was acutely sensitive.
"Hngh…"
A sensation pooled deep in her belly—a dull, thick, sticky heat. A desire she had never known swept over her, a maddening thirst.
What is happening to me? What… is this?
Her head spun, her consciousness flickering like a dying candle. Her body was no longer her own. As she panted, her breath catching in ragged bursts, Johanna froze. She sensed something intangible flowing from within her. It was a floral scent so sweet it made the tip of her tongue tingle.
No, it was not a scent, not exactly. It was a minute substance that merely registered that way, something that she, a Beta, should never have been able to perceive. It was the pheromone of a person with a secondary gender.
Why… from me?
Her heart hammered against her ribs. The man’s cruel insult—that he would buy her if she ever manifested as an Omega—echoed in her mind. Johanna bit her lip until she tasted blood. The sudden flu-like symptoms, the boiling fever, the heightened senses, an instinctual craving that could never be satisfied alone… and the pheromones. They were an attractant, something Alphas and Omegas emitted to seduce a partner.
If that was now flowing from her body, there was only one answer. Manifestation. She was one of those extremely rare cases who manifested in their early twenties.
"Hah…"
A hollow laugh escaped her lips, even as she felt utterly drained. It was a heat that would not break, no matter how much she suffered. An instinctual wish to be filled, tightly and completely. Though she had never experienced it, she knew this had to be the desire of an Omega for an Alpha. She had, unfortunately, manifested as an Omega.
When one’s traits appeared this late, they were almost always Omega.
So, it has come to this.
All her life, she had been teased for having a face as pretty as an Omega’s. It felt as if those words had clung to her like a curse, finally forcing this change upon her. She felt violated and resentful.
I never wanted to live as an Omega.
The life of an Omega without protection was a miserable one. If this had truly happened, she could only pray she was a Dominant, not a Recessive. Life would be less difficult as a Dominant, whose pheromones were easier to control. The life of a Recessive Omega—prone to leaking pheromones and becoming a target for vile Alphas—was a living hell. Their best option was to find a suitable Alpha to marry or take as a protector.
Johanna had always felt a detached pity for such Omegas. To think she was now one of them…
What a cruel twist of fate.
A bitter laugh slipped through her feverish lips. She had never imagined her already arduous life could become so much worse.
Please, just do not let me be a Recessive.
Praying to God for such a thing, she was struck by how pathetic her situation had become. But there was nothing to be done. Denying reality was a waste of time. The only way she had ever survived was by quickly moving on to the next problem.
Please…
Her body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton; she could not move a single finger. The heat, boiling like lava, consumed her once more. Johanna remained in its grip for several more days.
* * *
Not wanting to worry Daniel, she kept her distance, using the excuse that he might catch her flu. As an Alpha, he would have noticed her manifestation immediately, so she stayed in her room until she could control her pheromones. After four full days of sickness, Johanna was finally able to wash and change her clothes. Even after a long, hot shower, she could not shake the phantom sensation of stickiness between her legs. She was immensely relieved that her brother had not seen her in the throes of the manifestation fever.
As luck would have it, exams had started at the Royal Middle School three days prior, and Daniel had been staying at the library or a friend’s house. If he had been coming home as usual, he would have easily realized something was wrong.
Still no word from Father.
A week and two days had passed since their mother’s funeral. Johanna had spent that time running herself ragged trying to raise money, all to no avail. Her aunt had visited the day after the funeral, and upon hearing about the loan shark, she had shown a rare flicker of sympathy and extended the repayment date indefinitely. But she never once suggested the debt did not have to be repaid. Despite knowing it was not Johanna’s debt, that she had never cosigned, her aunt’s determination to wring the money from her young niece was a testament to her greed.
Whatever. What can I expect from them? That is just who they are.
Johanna sighed and prepared to go out. Fortunately, controlling her pheromones was not as difficult as she had feared. They sometimes escaped against her will, but only as a subtle scent. It would be safe enough to go outside. Still, just in case, she picked up a broken piece of brick from near the wall and slipped it into her bag.
If an Alpha approached her with lust in his eyes, she planned to smash him in the head and run. Sex crimes committed by beast-like Alphas who could not control their urges were a serious social problem, and an Omega attacking in self-defense was legally justifiable. Of course, an Omega actually overpowering an Alpha was… next to impossible. Instead of hiring a carriage, Johanna chose to walk, sticking to the most crowded streets. The driver could be an Alpha, and it was better to be cautious.
Besides, walking saved money. No sane Alpha would accost an Omega on a main street in broad daylight unless he was in a rut. Her destination was the Royal Trait Research Institute near City Hall, a full forty-minute walk. Eighty minutes, round trip. It was madness in the lingering cold, but for a newly manifested Omega, it was the safest option.
She finally arrived at the institute, which, despite its name, operated more like a hospital for those with secondary genders. After registering, she entered the waiting room and found it bustling with people. It was easy enough to distinguish the Alphas from the Omegas without even trying to sense their pheromones. The Alphas were generally well-built, with strong jaws and powerful frames. In contrast, the Omegas, regardless of gender, had delicate features, slender bodies, and carried a certain fragility.
The thought that she would now be counted among them filled Johanna with a bleak despair. The reality that she would have to live as an Omega for the rest of her life descended upon her like a shroud.
