Chapter Six: The Reason

"Your alpha?"

I repeat the words that were thrown at me so carelessly; if it wasn’t for the tears teetering in her eyes, I would have pushed her body aside and walked to a hotel.

What the hell does she mean by her alpha? I almost died on the day I fought Heinrich after he betrayed me.

He was my force partner for Christ's sake; I would have died for him if he were in trouble, and yet he-

With a dry scoff that I can’t contain, I turn to look her in her eyes.

"I'm your brother, Maya. The one who stayed behind as you lost your shit over ‘your alpha’, 'your alpha' who, by the way, left me for dead and, coincidentally, broke your engagement through his secretary? I don’t know how much more disrespect you-”

"I know... I know that, Lucien. Don't you think I know all of that? I am the one who lived through it."

Maya asks as she shakes her head from side to side as if she can't help how she feels.

Once again, my eyes zero in on the back of her neck, she has no mark, no imprint.

If Heinrich had marked her, she would have a bite mark and a pattern, a beautiful pattern ingrained on her skin like a tattoo, the shape of which depends on their chemistry.

But there is nothing of the sort, so then...what? What is it that's making her act this way?

"If I could get over him, I would be over him by now, so... don't do this, Luci.”

She responds, even though I should be the one to say those words.

“I don't know why I smell like his pheromones. The deputy commissioner and chief were also in my room with him so it’s likely they smell like him too.”

I answer as I let out a dry sigh.

"Were...were there other omegas with you?"

"Yes, three, so relax. The bastard is just loose with his pheromones."

The lie comes off easier than I thought.

For some reason, I have a feeling that if I tell her I was the only omega she would fuss over nothing.

"Really? How unfair, when we were engaged, he never even left a trace of his pheromones on me. I am sorry, Luci. For taking all of this all out on you, I just wish he still wanted me so I could hate him like you do. That way, my rejecting him would hurt, but instead…instead, I just look dumber each time I reach out to him.”

At her words, my anger immediately simmers and rather than lecture her as I wanted to, I help her up and turn towards the door. Barely three steps in, her nose falls on my shoulder, and she inhales me loudly.

“It smells so good.”

“Don’t smell me, Maya; it's creepy. Eugh…I’ll just leave the shirt with you.”

“No, I mean, sorry and I mean that its just his pheromones, I can’t smell any of yours.”

What?

Even though I am chipped, there should be some of my scent on my body.

Damn, barely a week in and I am already visiting my second doctor.

**

"Your glands are inflamed."

Dr Warren says, straightening the frames of his glasses on his face.

"Inflamed, what does that mean?'

"It means the chip is causing blockages on your pheromone glans, so you can't smell nor regulate your own pheromones.”

He pauses to settle on his chair and flips my folder to show me an x-ray of how normal glands look compared to mine.

“You are lucky you came in when you did; it could have been bad if your heat cycle had come with you in this state.”

“My heat? The chip takes care of my heat, so we can just replace it.”

I shrug and lean back on the chair.

Thanks to the chip, I haven’t experienced any heat beside the first one that nearly sent me into a coma, granted it came at a time when my body was injured, I still never want to experience anything like that again. The insatiable thirst, the un-scratchable itch, the primal feeling of wanting to be ploughed by anything with enough girth. It was like being an animal.

“I don’t think you understand what I mean, Mr Sinclair. We need to get you off the chip for at least six months, so that the inflammation ends as you regulate your pheromones; it's dangerous to have your glands blocked; Alphas can-”

“Six months? That’s at least three heats; I am not going into heat.”

I say firmly before my gaze flies around the room to confirm the doctor’s credentials.

“If I keep the chip as it is and my glands get further inflamed, won't I just turn back into a beta?”

I ask.

"Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a case of omegas manifesting as betas, just the other way around, and if you keep the chip, it could destroy your glands. Worst-case scenario, you will be unable to regulate your pheromones, meaning you won’t be able to be around any alpha.”

A low growl leaves my throat as I rake my hair messily.

“What the hell…”

I mutter softly, knowing that there are too many alphas in Ferndale for that to be a comfortable option, yet still, I don’t want to go into heat.

“How the hell did I even turn into an omega.”

I mutter the question, but as if hearing me, the doctor speaks.

"Your change was eight years ago, correct?"

"Yes."

"During that time, you came into the emergency room heavily showered in a dominant Alpha's pheromones-"

My hand slams hard on the table, startling the doctor.

I had never asked how I manifested before. Rather, the situation was an emergency. I was in the emergency room after Heinrich shot me, and for some reason, I couldn’t breathe; I thought my body was in shock, but- could it have been …

"What do you mean a dominant Alpha's pheromones? That makes no sense; how can a beta’s body be so unstable that it turns with one pheromone shower from a dominant Alpha?"

"Remember, the manifestation age is between sixteen and twenty-five. You arrived in the emergency room when you were twenty, and a beta is only stable after twenty-five. That aside, you are correct that one pheromone shower can’t turn you."

“Wait... so… so then how many pheromone showers would I have needed?”

“Well, dominant Alphas are rare, so there aren't enough studies to know for sure, but-"

“But essentially, that wasn’t the first time I was showered in pheromones?”

I ask, and before the doctor can answer, the sound of my chair dragging backwards echoes in the silent room, making me realise that I was standing.

The anger swirling in my body makes me feel light, I want to hit something, someone, no not someone, Heinrich.

Even without the doctor answering, I fully understand that he is the reason I turned into an omega.

I want to ruin him—no, I’m going to ruin him.