Azaki was aware that he was panicking as the heavy scent blocked door slammed behind him. He found himself in a small corridor with another door on the other side, likely a secondary barrier to keep scents from getting in or out of the room where he’d left his Alpha.

A twinge of something caused the Omega to stop and clutch at his chest. There was something wrong; he felt dread, heart-wrenching sadness, and nervous determination swell within his body before it quickly vanished leaving Azaki shaken. He rubbed his face. Were those even his emotions? He tried not to dwell on it, he needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

There was a set of shelving on the wall to the left, packed with medical supplies that Azaki couldn’t begin to understand. He took a short moment to poke at them curiously, this stuff was clearly for the kinds of patients who would find themselves in a scentless ward; Suppressants, heat creams, little bags to store soiled clothing, and more gadgets and medical instruments that Azaki would prefer not to understand the meaning of.

His panic started to rise into his throat and he stopped himself from crossing the room to take a few breaths and regain control over his face. As usual, the deep breaths worked, giving Aki the confidence to cross the room in only a few more strides. He refused to look at the shelving again.

Trying desperately to keep his air of nonchalance, Azaki approached the door at the far end of the corridor and pushed it open. He’d spent years of his life pretending that he was fine and had it down to a master craft. Where most people fail in their attempts to appear content by faking smiles, shifting eyes, and quickly changing the subject, Azaki took a much colder approach. He stayed completely empty and robotic to keep himself absolutely shut off emotionally. The world got nothing from him whatsoever.

It had already taken enough, hadn’t it?

When he was still in college his classmates found his indifference to be something of a mystery that they desired to solve. Like, somehow, continuing to pester him with invites and questions about his life would make the stoic and disinterested creature in their class open up to them. They were unaware of his status as a dormant, at least as far as he knew, and called him ‘The Beta God of Beauty.’

He hated the nickname and every single person who used it with an unusual passion. Even now, years later, the memories of their lust-filled eyes as they gazed on him and whispered in corners made his fingers twitch and ball into a fist. He almost snarled remembering the false shyness painted on their faces as they asked him to assist them with their studies, knowing full well that wasn’t their actual intention. He hated them, he found them disgusting, and he avoided them in favor of the calm comfort of his computers. Computers made sense.

He did not desire their attention, nor their affection. All he wanted was to be left alone with the soft humming of a desktop computer's fan, or the soft whooshing of a well wired liquid cooling system. Any advances, regardless of how chaste their intentions left Azaki feeling vulnerable and sick to his stomach. He couldn’t trust anyone who tried to get close to him.

He wouldn’t risk anyone getting a hint that he wasn’t the Beta they thought he was. He couldn’t risk catching an Alpha’s eye and having everything he’s worked for ripped from his fingers and replaced with someone else's' desires.

A shock brought Azaki back to the present as the exit door to his ward cracked open. He had been overwhelmed by scents and the lingering traces of his heat for days, but had deeply underestimated how little contact he’d had with pheromones until this moment. The second that the seal on the door was released, it took all of his strength to keep himself from falling to his knees.

Sensory overload was more than an understatement, but Azaki was a strong person. His mind flashed quick memories of the one time he’d gone to a party. Of course, some piece of shit had tried to drug him, but Azaki kept himself cool headed and conscious long enough to find safety even in that state. He was proud of his willpower. He could get himself home.

‘I can do this,’ Azaki thought as he took a breath and pushed the door the rest of the way open. His eyes were struggling to keep focus, but he took a step forward only to be met with a sight that his brain couldn’t fully comprehend.

There were five men with assault rifles standing in front of him and another man off to the side that Azaki couldn’t quite make his eyes focus on. His perception was fucked up and he wondered in a quick flash if his heat had messed with his vision. Azaki eyed the strange men wearily, there was no way he’d be able to fight off these men in his state. Was this why the Alpha had let him leave the room so easily?

He let out a small exhale as his mask of calm cracked for only a moment before returning to stone. “Who the fuck are you people?” Azaki asked, irritated that there were traces of panic in his tone. He wanted to sound strong and determined, even in the face of whatever this was.

None of the men with guns spoke, instead the man he’d barely taken notice of took a step forward and through the armed men who parted like the red sea to allow him through. Once the man was closer, Azaki’s eyes could finally pull him into focus.

He wasn’t as tall as other Alpha that Azaki had seen, maybe half a foot taller than Azaki, but there was no doubt that the lean body was packed with tight muscles and strength. His hair was blonde and shoulder length, the sides pulled back into a ponytail at the top of his head while his bangs and back of his hair were left to fall free.

Sharp red eyes met Azaki’s and regarded him curiously. Azaki held back a snarl, it would be unwise to start a fight with whoever this person and his guards were. Instead, Azaki clicked his tongue impatiently and the Alpha cocked his head to the side, confused. Azaki glared.

“I said, who the fuck are you.” Azaki barked while waving a hand in the Alpha’s face in obvious irritation, when the man didn’t immediately respond Azaki disregarded his safety in favor of annoyance and continued, “Are you deaf as well as rude? Jesus Christ, if you aren’t going to do something, get out of my way.” Azaki moved to take a step forward, but the Alpha raised his eyebrows and Azaki stilled.

“Gods,” The Alpha spoke, exasperated and slightly amused, “You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you?”

Azaki wavered as the Alpha’s pheromones hit him. They were strong and overwhelming, the smells of autumn leaves and pumpkins, twinged with sulfur and annoyance. Azaki recoiled more violently than he’d intended, in response, the Alpha inched closer while he was distracted. The Alpha spoke some words, but they were unheard by Azaki who’d found himself consumed by something else.

Once the Alpha was closer to him, Azaki picked up traces of something; Evergreen coated in fresh snow and the warmth of a campfire. The scent made Azaki still immediately. This was the smell of his Alpha and it was lingering all over this man standing in front of him like a laid claim. Azaki couldn’t stop the rage that soured his scent into the smell of gasoline and the burning rubber of an electrical fire that spread through the hallway like a mushroom cloud. His mask of false calm did not crack. It crumbled to bits and crashed to the floor.

Just like the Alpha he’d tackled to the ground with a snarl.

Malakai was sulking in the chair that Azaki had left him in. When his Omega exited the room, Kai couldn’t pretend that he did not feel rejected by his mate. He allowed his sadness to overwhelm him for just a moment before he simply sat in the room that was coated with his mate’s scent and the warm call of heat that still lingered in the air.

Azaki smelled like home. He was fresh sheets on a bed shared between mates. He was the calming lull of lavender oils in the bath before bed. He was the first dawn of spring, cherry blossoms in full bloom, welcoming a new year and all of its potential. Kai took another deep inhale and considered his options in contemplative silence.

The Omega wasn’t going to get far, it simply wasn’t safe for him to leave the hospital. Kai knew that as soon as Azaki stepped outside of the room he’d be safe and protected in the arms of his pack and guards.

He grinned, amused, expecting the indignant little Omega to storm back into the room and demand answers from himself as to why there were armed guards outside of the room, but when another moment or two passed without a sound Malakai tensed.

How was he supposed to explain that by trying to protect Azaki he wasn’t just being another paranoid and possessive Alpha? Would his Omega understand and believe the seriousness of his position now? Shit, was he messing this up already by waiting on the Omega to come back and question him? For all the things Kai was good at handling, peoples’ emotions were none of them. He tried to consider other options and kicked himself at not fully explaining when he had Azaki's full attention. Shit.

Then he felt it through his bond, a pure and unfiltered murderous rage. Wrath. Possessiveness. Malakai shot out of his chair and sprinted through the hallway, swung the door open, and froze in shock.

His Omega had tackled Asza to the floor - an Alpha nearly twice his size - and was snarling with unbridled murder in his eyes. Asza was clearly still in shock and just staring up at Azaki unsure how to respond, as were the Beta watching (though they would never dare lay a hand on their pack leader’s mate) in still silence observing the odd scene before them.

None of them had ever seen and Omega act this way. They were used to the gender being obedient, docile, kind. What had Asza pinned to the floor right now was nothing like the Omega they'd known their whole lives.

Asza was holding the smaller mans’ shoulders to keep Azaki from ripping his throat out with his teeth. The Omega was very literally trying to murder him in this moment and he could see that Asza was starting to panic, unsure of what it was he was supposed to do to stop this situation.

Azaki no longer smelled like home. Wrath rolled off him in waves, his beautiful scent had twisted and soured into something completely different. The overwhelmingly powerful smell of gasoline tickled his nose, there was another smell, but Malakai couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Though, it reminded him of the burning smoke after they’d ‘accidentally’ burnt a rival pack’s IT Headquarters to the ground. Electrical fire. Burning rubber. Lightning. The stench of death.

Malakai would have smiled if the situation wasn’t so dire. His Omega was fierce and unafraid of anything. ‘So sexy.’ The words flashed through his thoughts before his inner Alpha took over, the beast was more equipped to handle this situation than he was, so Kai relinquished control without question.

The Alpha immediately released a flood of calming scent into the air and Azaki still instantly. His pale lilac eyes that were nearly red with rage glazed over and he let out a deep exhale of calm as every muscle in his body relaxed and he released Asza on the floor. The Alpha growled approvingly and beckoned the Omega with a single finger cockily. The Omega slowly rose from his place on the floor and melted into his chest.

The Alpha smiled and let out another small growl of approval.

The Omega preened and allowed himself to be wrapped tightly in his arms.

Asza stood from his place on the floor and the movement caused the Omega to sharply turn to face him with another snarl. His Alpha chuckled and spoke with a low rumble. “What has you so riled up, sweet?”

The Omega didn’t look at it’s Alpha, it’s eyes were trained on the threat and it smirked mouthing the words in the foreign Alpha’s direction.

‘I’m going to kill you.’