Chapter One

To wake up unable to move and breathe in a familiar yet strange room is not that strange to me as it happens almost every day. But today, I woke up feeling heavy and worn out, It feels as if I was glued to the bed, I was feeling sandwiched between the pull of gravity and an unknown heavy object over my chest. I could not move.

However, today is different. The dark fuzzy monsters with many mouths and hands are not in this room. In fact, from the ceiling to the feeling of this soft bed I'm laying now, it's foreign yet I feel very familiar. My body aches but I wasn't completely feeling bad. The fragrance in the air soaked all my senses to the point of melting in comfort. I really could not make sense of what is happening right at this moment.

Then, I caught a glimpse of a silhouette beside me. My heart skipped a beat. When I gained my composure, I turned my head to see the person lying beside me who got me in a tight suffocating embrace. Just from the structures of his sculpted face, anyone can see that he's the textbook definition of an Alpha. This suffocation is best described as intoxication instead. I feel high. I feel twistedly good.

He suddenly moved and change his sleeping position accompanied by low groans. His heavy arm finally set me free and I immediately took the chance to get up. I flinched when I felt a striking pain in my bottoms and stomach. I feel full but hungry and weak. I feel sore all over my body. A part of me knew already what happened but I totally can't deal with this.

I felt a sudden slight movement from him, so I reflexively stood up and stepped away from the messy king-sized bed. With wobbly legs, I walked to the bathroom just to find a mirror. And the mirror reflected how hard I engaged in fornication with an Alpha I didn't even know. I was covered in bite marks and hickeys all over my body... including my nape.

There was no doubt, that I got marked by a stranger.

Fragments of memories became clear one by one like a puzzle forming a vivid picture of how I got myself in this fucked up situation. Despite the excruciating pain, I got myself dressed and picked up all my belongings. I heard him groan again and his hand was reaching for someone who left the space beside him. All my alarms were ringing. I don't know if I got everything or if I'm dressed properly, I just knew immediately, I have to run for my life.

From the moment I walked away from that luxury hotel to hitting a cab until I got my ass to my apartment, people kept looking at me, seemingly intrigued but they all stood away from me. Well, who wouldn't find me amusing and scandalous? From a glance, even a beta can see that I just spent my heat with an alpha. I gave them the stereotypical image of a slut and dirty omega that they disdain a lot as it makes them feel as if they're better than other castes in this society. Eleven taxis rejected me as they were repulsed by the pheromones on me or simply just because of how I look.

Thankfully I still got home. There were letters and four newspapers on my doorstep, one for every day I missed. The most recent was dated the 24th of October. The date when I was fine and sober was the 20th. The next days after that were my heat. It means that I was absent from my job for three days, if I add today, it will be four consecutive absences. I know I'm not going to be fired because I have a good connection to Mrs. Verde. But I certainly hate how it would look like to my colleagues at work.

I was only a mere ghostwriter last year, by chance, I saved Mrs. Verde's son and instead of asking for money as a reward, I demanded a position in their publishing company. I did everything so that people could not use my gender to demean me or judge my work, but now, I just gave them a reason to do that. I never asked for leave for my heat because it was non-existent before.

I could only sigh. I never thought I'd feel annoyed and angry because of how my body works. I mean, on top of having my first heat at the expense of neglecting my job, I just got marked. I refused to wear a collar before as a form of my fucked up political statement. I am an omega, not a dog, nor a slave. I always thought that because I never had my heat and never released a drop of pheromone since I was fourteen, I could live like a normal person. And as long as I don't let my guard down, I'll never be taken advantage of by others, especially alphas.

I went to my cramped bathroom and took off my clothes to wash off everything on my skin. Then my foot hit an object on the floor. It was a leather designer wallet that fell off the jacket. the wallet itself surely has a worth more than my monthly paycheck, so it wasn't mine. I could not help but laugh. At least, I got money from that mistake. He stole my virginity and my freedom while I stole his wallet? Comparing such things to my freedom, my insecurities are showing. Fuck.

I picked it up and flipped it open. "Fuck", I couldn't help but swear. He has thick dollar bills. As I was about to take all those money to count, I noticed the cards on the other side of the wallet... His identification card is on display to my eyes. He's a crime scene investigator. I hate entitled Alphas, and based on experience, Alpha policemen are the worst. This person works with them, so there's a high probability that this guy is an asshole too. They're so self-entitled. They see themselves as brave heroes. They think they're always right and competent when in reality they're just a bunch of superficial bastards who gets promotion just because of their balls! They get away with anything even when they're doing bad at their job.

I soaked in my tub for god knows how long. I feel like my life is about to go down on an impending doom and here I am, I still can't process the fact that I am like any omega with all the unnecessary heat. When was the last time I got into heat? Around fourteen, right? I might need to see a doctor. I heard drugs are being developed to abate the heat. But they're too expensive plus they're still not approved clinically. Ugh!!! I hate this backward country.

I shouldn't have met that Alpha. I looked at the ID on the floor and realized that that asshole might be looking for that now which could lead to me. Fuck!!! I already paid three months in advance for this apartment. Ugh! I hate this, I'm even thinking of leaving my apartment to hide? Ugh!!! No way! No!

...

After wasting time thinking about how to deal with my situation only to come up with basically nothing, I called the office through the telephone and apologized countless times telling them that I have been food poisoned for the last three days. I mean, why would I tell them about my heat? I was the only omega working there. And they could only tolerate me because my body used to be like betas. Before I entered the company, I was sent to have a medical check-up and the doctor found that the lack of pheromone secretion and absence of heat cycle was due to some unexplained event. They even wanted to study me but I refused with all I got. Damn it. Aside from monsters at night, I'm also scared of going to hospitals, I'm scared of syringes, I'm scared of all that. Now, I have to forge a medical clearance to prove that I was food poisoned. It's too troublesome but once you lie, you have to back it up with heavier lies.

Thankfully, I got acquainted with a nurse in the Lacierta City General Hospital. I visited her and brought her a coffee. The first thing she said when she saw me was, "You walked funny. What happened to you Russien?" She let out a slow chuckle and observed me again. "You look a little different today. Are you okay?"

For a moment, I didn't know what to say to her and before I can tell her that I'm fine, she placed her forehand over my cheek and my forehead. "You're hot. Let me take you to a doctor, you don't look so well."

She was very good to me and I can feel her genuine worry but at that moment, I knew I wouldn't hear anything good from a doctor especially because of the circumstance I'm in. So, I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the emergency exit door, and talked to her on the stairs.

"Come on. Why did you take me here? You need to see a doctor." She insisted. From the look on her face, I knew she knew that something is wrong again and I'm going to make her do the impossible things she could have never ever done her whole life like forging documents and in a few cases, getting information of some patients.

I told her straight to the point what I came here for. "Nurse Lorie, can you get me a medical certificate saying I was here for food poisoning?" She looked at me with eyes that are full of questions. So, I had to explain. "Listen, I can't tell the HR that I was absent because I went into heat. I need a strong and believable excuse."

She suddenly teared up and hugged me tightly. "Were you okay? No one attacked you, right? Was there anyone to help you? Have you eaten something? How's your body? You were walking funny... no one touched you, right?" Later, her sobs were all I could hear. Her gentle pats on my back slapped a part of me which made me break down even though I still can't grasp what's going to happen to me now that I got marked and I'm just like any omega who has to go through heat every month.

A few minutes passed and she calmed down and I immediately wiped my teary eyes too. "We still have to get you a doctor. Let's go." She pulled me and I stood still and hold my ground. "Nurse Lorie, I'm really scared of needles. I'm going through a lot today. Please don't add the needles to my anxiety bucket list. I am now just like any omega, I just went through a three-day heat, what's worse, I slept with some stranger that works for the police for three fucking days like animals, now I feel like my whole body got smashed by a car, and worst of all I got marked."

I could see the horror in her eyes and her reactions were really scary. It felt like she was feeling what I'm going through more than me. "I'm going to kill that fucker! I knew it! It's because you hate them, that's why you're ill-fated to be with someone like that! Ugh!!! You got marked?! Fuck! Fuck!"

"Sshhhhhh... Shhh. Please don't scream."

She walked back and forth repetitively asking, "What are we gonna do now..." She was panicking about my situation and it made me realize how calm I am with all these. "Let's go to Dr. Crane. She can definitely help you with this." She suggested.

I gave her the cup of coffee and I sat on the stairs. "It's not the end of the world for me, relax," I said.

"Relax? He wore rubber when he did you, didn't he?" She asked. I was sipping my coffee at that time. It was my favorite brewed Arabica coffee and it was so hard to swallow it down. My throat really hurts and my memory is still fresh explaining to my consciousness where I got it from.

There was silence after her question meaning that what she feared was what actually happened. She sighed and loudly asked me, "What if you get pregnant?!!!"