STIDM 1

“Fuck this, I’m gonna suffocate!”

Crouched beside the flowerbed, Yan Lu took long drags from his cigarette, aware that the hospital nurses were keeping a close eye on him.

He usually had a nasty temper, always ready to throw hands after just a few words, but he still didn’t dare mess with the female nurses who stuck him with needles.

His wounds still ached faintly. He didn’t care, but not being allowed to smoke was torture.

Even getting another scolding call from the old man earlier didn’t ruin his mood.

Especially after he’d beaten up that group of punks so bad they ended up in the hospital next door. That felt damn good.

And then there was that tall idiot, Zhong Zong. As if the name wasn’t stupid enough.

Wherever he went, there was always a flock of girls trailing behind him. Annoying and blocking the way. So fucking irritating. What, just because he’s an alpha, that makes him special?

If it wasn’t for that bastard and his little harem blocking the path when he was running for his life, he wouldn’t have ended up injured and so damn embarrassed.

He touched the bandage on his body, flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, stepped on it, then stretched and got ready to leave.

The nurse in charge appeared behind him like a ghost.

Yan Lu quietly took a few steps back. She lifted her chin slightly, eyes flicking toward the cigarette butt.

He held back his frustration, bent down, picked it up, and tossed it into the trash can.

Fuck this.

Out on the street, people backed off just from his glare. Now, here he was, getting bullied by a young nurse and having to play along.

This hospital was cursed. He never wanted to come back again.

As soon as he returned to his room, he packed up his things and left, completely ignoring the doctor’s orders to stay under observation.

The house was empty when he got back. Not a soul around. He was used to it. The old man had just gone overseas, and his stepmother immediately took his younger brother back to her family’s place.

Not like he’d ever treated either of them badly. It’s just that every time that kid saw his face, he cried. Was it his fault for being born looking like this?

The old man didn’t care. He always scolded Yan Lu first, no questions asked.

Because that little brother was an omega, supposedly fragile and in need of protection.

But Yan Lu’s temper couldn’t handle being wronged again and again. He also never understood why he didn’t have that so-called protective instinct alphas were supposed to feel toward omegas.

One day, he’d dragged the kid outside, shoved him against the wall by the collar, and had a real heart-to-heart with the little crybaby.

Since then, whenever the old man left, the stepmother took her son and leave without any words. At last, the house was quiet.

It wasn’t until he turned sixteen and experienced his first heat that he finally realized just how careless his old man really was.

He was actually an omega. And not a single person in his family ever told him. He hadn’t even paid attention to his own physical signs. When the heat hit him out of nowhere, he finally realized just how terrifying his body could be.

Yan Lu had always been a little tyrant growing up, believing that fists solved everything.

To suddenly accept that he was an omega made him want to slam his head into a wall.

His mother died giving birth to him. Her body was too weak to survive it.

His old man never liked him, and the second wife who came after naturally had no reason to care about a bad-tempered burden like him.

He grew up in constant neglect. No one had ever taught him even the basics about his own biology.

He just assumed he was an alpha. Otherwise, why would he be so muscular, so aggressive by nature?

His stepmother doted on her own son. Just in case, she had bought suppression shots for the boy when he was still in elementary school.

If she bought them that early, they probably weren’t expired, right?

Huddled in the corner of his room, Yan Lu held a blue injector in his hand, pushing the cold liquid into his veins little by little.

At least it would keep the overwhelming heat at bay. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his arms around himself and endured the numbing loss of sensation.

Soaked in sweat, he finally dragged himself to the shower, pale-faced and exhausted.

Afterward, he called up his childhood friend. The guy shouted so loud over the phone that Yan Lu had no choice but to go online and order more suppressants.

At least his old man never shorted him on money.

Whether he was an omega or alpha didn’t really matter to Yan Lu. Even as an omega, he could still beat the crap out of those alphas any day.

But his childhood friend didn’t see it that way. That friend of his was a beta. They’d been close since they were little, so close that if Yan Lu ever had to cut someone down, the friend would be the one handing him the knife.

Basically, they’re a pair of troublemakers.

The friend’s name was Shi Ying. In his opinion, if Yan Lu’s omega identity got exposed, all the street cred they’d built over more than ten years would vanish just like that.

Yan Lu didn’t really care, but Shi Ying slung an arm over his shoulder and started lecturing him like some bootleg street philosopher, quoting trashy novels he’d read: “If people find out you’re an omega, it won’t just be about beating you up anymore. They’ll be lining up to fuck you.”

“You think I’m some kind of walking aphrodisiac? That everyone wants to fuck me? I told you to stop reading those brain-dead books. You’ve completely fried your mind! Get lost!”

“I’m serious. You’ve seen the news. Rare types don’t end well. You better come join the beta squad with me, blend in.”

Yan Lu imagined one of his usual enemies going straight for his ass the moment they met…

He couldn’t help but shiver. Goosebumps all over.

“Fuck! I’ll snap every one of their dicks if they try. Touch me and I’ll fucking ruin them. Gross. Don’t even say shit like that!”

Back then, Shi Ying was still an immature, cocky kid who liked to fake-smoke and bounce his leg like some wannabe punk. Seeing Yan Lu loosen up, he snatched the phone from him and bought him some ‘beta disguise gear’ online.

Yan Lu rolled his eyes and let him do whatever he wanted.

Looking back, it was nothing worth remembering. But Yan Lu had to admit, he was damn lucky he kept up the beta act. Yesterday, those little punks tried to gang up on him with a couple of alphas in their group, thinking they could knock him off his spot and take over the district.

Those idiots already looked down on him just for being a beta. If they found out he was actually an omega, who knows what kind of disgusting shit they’d say.

No one in that area would ever follow an omega. If word got out, he could kiss his place in the street scene goodbye.

Yan Lu passed out at home and slept like the dead, only to wake up in a full-body heatwave.

He tore off all his clothes, but it didn’t help. Frustrated, he kicked off the covers, grabbed a cigarette from the box with his teeth, and walked to the bathroom stark naked, searching for the suppressant spray.

He was eighteen now. It had been two years since his first heat.

At first, it only came every few months. Lately, it had been hitting more often.

The research labs had already developed medical options for omegas. If you didn’t want to be marked, you could get a suppressor implant at a hospital.

The implant could disrupt omega pheromones. When used alongside regular suppressants, it helped ease the heat that came too often during adolescence.

Yan Lu had considered getting the procedure, but it was risky. Word might get out.

He had asked Shi Ying to help him contact a hospital farther away, but lately, there hadn’t been time to deal with it.

He searched the bathroom for ages. The cigarette was almost burnt down, but still no sign of the spray.

When he finally found a bottle, it was empty. Irritated, he threw it back with a loud crack against the bathroom wall.

His emotions were flaring. His pheromones were starting to spiral out of control.

Wiping the sweat from his chin, Yan Lu glanced at himself in the mirror.

The man staring back had a solid, muscular body, sharp features, and eyes full of raw aggression.

Looking at that face, he couldn’t understand it. By all appearances, he looked like a damn alpha. So how the hell did he end up an omega?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang downstairs. Yan Lu cursed under his breath, grabbed a pair of pants, and rushed down.

He tapped on the security monitor.

The screen lit up in blue and white, and Zhong Zong’s face appeared.

What the fuck is he doing here?