1 the first knot

He'd thought he was free when his second gender didn't present itself at an early age. By his eighteenth birthday, Andem was sure he'd always be a beta. At twenty years old, there was no doubt in his mind.

Andem had a plan and a life and if things worked out just right, he'd only have to worry about following his dreams and going to Uyo to be an agent. Considering he'd been taking Power Assessment Courses and trying to work on his control, he was pretty sure he had a good chance. 

Most of the agents in the ads were beautiful and handsome and perfectly proportioned, so he knew what most firms would be looking for when hiring. With his simple, unremarkable facial features, Andem had devoted his time to taking good care of his body. His shoulders were lean and toned. He watched his diet and was very religious about his workout schedule. He had a full cabinet of lotions and oils to keep his dark skin shiny and even, careful that every bit of skin that was ever seen by anyone was a beauty to behold. After all, his body was his greatest weapon.

But life had other plans.

He'd been in the middle of some… private time. 

That fateful night, he'd laid in bed, a pillow pressed over his face to muffle the sounds of his moans. Even though his parents weren't home, Aniebiet, his older brother, has a friend staying the night. They were both in the sitting room just outside Andem's door. He couldn't let them hear him, so his pillow was his unwelcome companion because Andem knew himself. He knew he'd never be quiet enough not to attract attention. Not when Aniebiet and Tony were on the other side of the door. 

His body responded to the familiar touch. He shut his eyes, squeezing the sheets as his heart raced, goosebumps plaguing the entirety of his body. Without thought, Andem found himself etching closer and closer to a blissful orgasm. His toes curled as he bit his lips, rubbing against the tip when he felt a crushing tug at the head of his dick. Worried, he pushed away the covers as the air conditioning blasted him with cold air.

He sat up, watching the tiny knot swell and hurt as tears appeared in his eyes because of the pain. When he let go of his dick and the knot slapped against his thighs, it hurt even worse. Groaning in agony, he got up and knelt by the bed, leaning down so that his dick would hang but every time he touched the head, it hurt.

As soon as he realized what was happening, he began to cry for a whole new set of reasons. 

His parents were both betas and had taken for granted the idea of having all three of their children being betas. So, it had only seemed sensible to begin grooming Aniebiet to take over the string of supermarkets his family owned in Ini, Obot Akara, and Essien Udim. Which was why Andem's dream of being an agent had been encouraged. Because as long as Mr. Usoro had himself an heir, his other children were free to do whatever they wanted.

However, if his second son turned out to be alpha? The second son would have to take over. Alphas were rare in the world, and in countries like Nigeria, having an alpha child to take over your business put the business through hard-to-open doors among conglomerates. There weren't that many alphas in Ini, to begin with, and if their father found out that one of his sons was an alpha, he would plaster it everywhere in the news and keep Andem shackled to home. Forever.

Andem did not want that. He did not want to start worrying about getting a university degree like Aniebiet had. He did not want to look ahead to his life and see that the only thing in his future was remaining at home for the rest of his life. But Aniebiet wanted that… he was built for it… he'd spent his entire life getting ready to take over the family business. If Andem presented as an alpha, a lot of things were going to change. For both of them.

He tried to rub it off as silently as he could but as he stared at it, Andem had no idea what to do with it. Biology classes never covered what to do with a knot. It wasn't exactly something to be discussed in a Nigerian academic environment. And seeing as none of his parents ever had one, knot-know-how hadn't been included in "the sex talk".

When his room door burst open and revealed Aniebiet and his semi-naked "friend" Tony, Andem realized he'd been whimpering on the floor.

"What is it?" Aniebiet asked frantically as he approached his brother but Andem tried to turn away and hide. "What's wrong?"

"Aniebiet?" Tony said calmly behind him, pulling him up and away from Andem. "Let me handle it."

Andem shook his head because he couldn't let them see. None of them could know.

"It's alright," Tony said in a soothing tone. "Calm down, it's natural."

Andem had both his hands on his privates now, crying and shaking his head.

"Andem, please. You're going to hurt yourself."

"I… I can't," he sniffed.

"What's happening?" Aniebiet asked, sticking his head out from behind Tony.

"Your younger brother is an alpha," Tony said with a frown.

As close as he was to Aniebiet, to the entire family, Tony knew what the dynamics were. He understood what having an alpha second son would do to both boys who were already fine with the roles set for them.

As Andem watched the reality of their situation dawn on his brother, he hissed in pain because he'd forgotten to keep the knot elevated when he'd let go for a second.

"Don't let anything touch the tip," Tony advised. "As long as it's not inside someone, you want to avoid touching it with anything else, you hear?"

Andem nodded obediently.

"Okay. Can you rub it without touching the tip? Up and down?"

Andem nodded again as he began to obey.

"Take your time. Don't fret. As long as you don't touch the tip."

Following his instructions, Andem rubbed himself off till he began to realize that now that he knew what to do, it was almost the same as if he were wanking normally. But then it became weird because his brother and his boyfriend were watching him do it.

He looked up at both of them and Tony laughed, rising to his feet, and began ushering Aniebiet from the room with his hand on Aniebiet's lower back.

"Aniebiet!" Andem called. "You don't have to tell Daddy."

Aniebiet just stared at him.

"Please," he begged. "I'm going to Uyo next week. Just let me go."

When Aniebiet stiffly nodded back at him, Andem breathed a sigh of heavy relief because maybe, his plans for his life didn't have to change at all.