Chapter 1 Saturday Heat Crisis
Chapter 1
[Alstorin]
I'm doing something that I absolutely hate. That is; driving Mercy to his Saturday shift.
Masks and Tales show houses are always too dangerous every Saturday night. The area was always crawling with Alphas, prowling like predators looking for easy prey, someone to use for a few hours and then discard like trash.
It’s exactly why I loathe them. It’s also the reason I’ve guarded my own virginity like a fortress.
"Can you stop bouncing your knee? It’s not like you’re walking into a lion’s den, Rin." Mercy, sitting in the passenger seat, gave me that lopsided grin, the one that usually makes me want to throttle him.
I shot him a look, hard enough to kill, and he burst out laughing.
“You’ve got that face again,” Mercy said, still grinning. “The one that says you’re about three seconds away from strangling me.”
“I could.”
“No, you couldn’t.”
Seeing his dimples pop always broke my resolve; a reluctant laugh bubbled out of me, too.
No one in this part of the city knows what I am, except for Mercy.
If I lost him, I’d lose the only anchor keeping me tethered to this world.
Eleven years ago, on that freezing, rain-lashed night I walked away from my family… We found each other.
He was the boy who didn’t have any memories of his home, beaten and left to die on the street.
And I was the boy who remembered every corner of mine. Every scream, every order, every reason I never wanted to go back.
I saved him that night and took him with me. We’ve been each other’s entire universe ever since.
You’re staring.”
“I know.”
Mercy tilted his head, one brow arching as his smile softened. “You thinking too much again?”
“When am I not?”
He snorted, shaking his head. “Fair.
Mercy relies on me, sure, but the truth is, I’m the one who needs him.
The campus rumors are always the same. Professor Alstor this, Professor Alstor that.
The whispers about the Alpha professor and his Omega brother or boyfriend, depending on how depraved the gossipers feel that day.
This society is built on pathetic, stifling rules, and I’m sick of them. But I’ll take the heat. I’ll let them whisper whatever they want.
As long as they keep their eyes off my secret, they can talk until they’re blue in the face.
I’ve spent years obsessively keeping my body in check. My height is a dead giveaway, so I pack on enough muscle to disguise my true form, keeping my head down and my circle microscopic.
I don’t associate with anyone. I don’t need friends; I have Mercy, that’s enough. And my suppressants—my lifeline.
Without them, I wouldn’t last a day in a society that discriminates as casually as breathing
"You took your pills, right?" His voice shifted, that familiar mix of worry and something sharper. "Trust me, nothing’s going to happen."
Since he found out about my condition, his protectiveness has become a full-time job.
He’s the romantic, unlike me he wants the fated mate, the white picket fence and the kids. He wants that for me, too, which is why the sight of my medication bottle makes his heart stutter.
"Yeah," I lied, swallowing hard as I stared at the road.
Mercy went still when he clocked my shit. "You didn't."
I opened my mouth to scramble for an excuse, but the air in the car died.
"Pull over. Now."
"Don't be dramatic."
"I am as serious as a heart attack, Rin. Pull the fucking car over."
I didn’t argue, because when Mercy starts cursing, he means it.
I veered onto the shoulder and killed the engine. The silence that followed was suffocating.
Mercy unlocked the door, stepped out, and started walking without looking back.
I scrambled out after him. "Mercy! Wait, come on, you’re being ridiculous."
I caught his arm, spinning him around. He was already crying, that stopped me cold.
"I didn't forget them on purpose," I pleaded, trying to find the words that wouldn't make him panic. "I just wanted to get you to work on time so your boss stops riding your ass. I was going to take them as soon as I got home."
"You have to stop this," he choked out, wiping his eyes. "You’re risking everything; your career, your life, what if your family found... Just go home. I’ll walk."
"No. I am not leaving you to walk through this neighborhood alone."
He yanked his arm back. "And you think walking into a pool of Alphas, unprotected, is the better option?"
"I’d rather deal with them than leave you vulnerable."
His gaze softened, but the frustration remained. "Rin, I’m not a child. I’m twenty..."
"In November," I snapped. He tried to hide a smile, but I caught it. "Get back in. I’ll drive you, and then I’ll go straight home. I promise."
I reached for him, but he stopped dead. He sniffed the air once, twice. His eyes widened. "What is that...?"
Oh, god. No.
"Are you...?"
"It seems like it," I whispered, the dread pooling in my gut. Why now?
"When was your last heat?"
"A few months ago," I said, my voice thick. "I don't usually get them this often. It must be because I doubled my dose."
"You need to go home. Now."
"Not until I get you to work." I replied almost immediately.
"You’re going to be the death of me," he hissed, though his hand squeezed my shoulder. "Can you even drive?"
I nodded, though my body felt like it had been shoved into a furnace.
My skin was burning, my nipples were hard against the fabric of my shirt, and I could already feel the humiliating warmth of my own body failing me.
Mercy didn’t wait. He forced me into the back seat, buckled me in like I was a toddler, and took the wheel.
I don't know where he found all the ice. It was melting against my skin, soaking the tub and my clothes.
I was gasping, my head lolling against the cold porcelain, while Mercy frantically dumped bag after bag over me.
"Won't your boss kill you for being late?" I groaned, my body betraying me again as my hole clenched on its own.
"Micah said he’d cover for me," Mercy replied, keeping his eyes averted.
"Are you sure he isn't your mate?" I wheezed.
He let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. "He likes me, but he’s not the one. Besides, I’m banned from dating until I’m twenty-two, remember?"
He stood over the tub, his expression unreadable. "You look like a spy in that mask. I have to go—if I’m not there, my boss will have my head."
I just nodded, too weak to protest. He took one last, lingering look at me, and then he was gone.
I let out a ragged breath, the water in the tub rapidly warming to a feverish degree. I palmed my cock, a desperate, low whine escaping my throat as I stroked, trying to find some semblance of release.
Thirty minutes passed in a haze of agony before the click of the bathroom door lock echoed through the room.
"Mercy, I told you I’ll be fine," I murmured, my voice trembling. "Stop worrying."
But as the door swung open, the scent of new books, musky, earth-shaking and overwhelmingly dominant hit me like a physical blow.
An Alpha in the throes of a full-blown rut. And he wasn't just any Alpha; he was an S-tier Alpha.
