Chapter Text
'The alpha is good at seeking out all that is lost and uncovering tracks. Well, he's just as good at covering things up, too.' Cheng Yu had said, 'Remember that one time I'd-'
'Yeah, sure. Can he help look for the snakes?'
'Would it not be easier to just give in to your father?' Cheng Yu had asked, 'You would get your snakes back quicker.'
'I cannot stand her.' Chi Cheng had snapped, 'The only thing I can give her is that she is somewhat of a good actress. I almost bought that she was not just with me for my wallet.'
'Well, here is his information. Look him up when you have time. Word of advice, give him a ring beforehand. He does not like people just walking in.'
'Sounds like he just does not like people with how you're talking about him.' Chi Cheng had pointed out.
Cheng Yu +
That was how he had come to this neighborhood. The meeting with the contact had just concluded and left a bitter taste in his mouth. He'd been exactly what you would expect a seedy character to be. He had spoken in circles, wanted three days and a promise of payment “to be discussed.” Chi Cheng knew better than to ask too many questions. In the world they moved in, questions could get you killed faster than silence.
Now, an hour later, he was still lingering in the neighborhood. He held no real expectations for the man to contact him anytime soon but he felt closer to his snakes by being around the man that would supposedly find them for him. His boots were kicking up thin dust as he passed shuttered shops and noodle stalls closing for the night. The night air felt suffocating in its humidity. It had been an exceptionally warm afternoon already and the night seemed to not make way for it to cool down just yet. Forecasts for tomorrow showed that the temperature would keep climbing and Chi Cheng already shuddered at the prospect of it.
Soon enoug a heat wave would hit the city and that would mean an insane amount of pheromones in the air because of suppresants and patches running out more quickly due to excessive sweating and alpha's and omega's alike not knowing when to refresh theirs. He already had heightened senses, those days would be hell.
Chi Cheng was restless, stomach twisted with agitation, skin prickling with tension that never seemed to leave anymore.
He missed the weight of them, the way they curled around his arms or slithered under his clothes to find warmth. He missed the comfort—the control. Without them, everything inside him felt louder. Hungrier.
A breeze picked up, a rarity in the past couple of weeks, brushing against his face.
Then it hit him.
The scent.
It hit him right in the face, nearly overwhelming him. The force of it alone had him swaying on his feet. Like being sucker-punched in the gut and kissed in the same breath. Thick, sweet, and unbearably decadent—like spun sugar on the tongue, warm honey on skin, ripe fruit crushed between teeth. His head snapped up, eyes darkening, pupils dilating instantly.
An omega's scent. Strong. Closeby.
So very delicious.
Chi Cheng inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring as his body responded before his mind could catch up. Every inch of him tensed. Muscles coiled, mouth went dry, heart hammering as a possessive growl built low in his chest.
He didn’t just want to find the source of that scent.
He wanted to bury his face in it. Drown in it. Devour it.
His hands clenched at his sides as he followed it instinctively, steps turning fast and focused. He felt hot under the collar, almost fevered and it had nothing to do with the upcoming heatwave coming their way. His mind spun wild fantasies—hands pressed to hips, mouth claiming a trembling throat, dragging soft whimpers from the omega’s throat as he marked, took, owned.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
Chi Cheng didn’t question the word echoing in his brain. It was truth. A given.
A fact.
He needed to follow the scent to find the one that was his.
His omega.
To love, to own completely and fully, to breed.
Oh, to breed. He'd breed that omega over and over again. They'd have a whole housefull of pups running around, trading his eternal silence for laughter and pitter patter of little feet hitting the ground. His cold interior would be exchanged for a child safe environment. He'd let the sugarsweet omega change the house and its interior to his taste. Anything to make him feel more at home. The only place that would stay untouched and remain as it is now, would be their playroom.
His omega, whoever it turned out to be, would look so beautiful spread out on that large waterbed. Or perhaps it would be better if the omega was tied up, unable to move too much as Chi Cheng did as he pleased.
Hmm, what a vision it would be to pair it with one of his gags.
First, he'd need to find the omega to make it all come true though. So he followed the scent to what appeared to be a clinic, 181s clinic. Or so it said on the sign on top of the small building. It looked nice enough, nothing too fancy but something comfortable. It was clear that at least one omega worked there because it seemed somewhat home-y.
He paused outside, breathing hard.
Inside, two figures moved—one slim, short-haired, efficient in their movements; the other… softer. Dark-haired. Head thrown back laughing at something, voice muffled by the glass. The sugary scent rolled through the crack under the door, and Chi Cheng nearly stumbled forward into it.
His eyes locked on the second figure, omega, and everything inside him snapped. Like a tether that just could not resist the pressure anymore.
He didn’t see the face clearly. Didn’t need to.
That scent. That sound. That body language.
It was all his. Made just for Chi Cheng. Everything was created to once belong to Chi Cheng, like the alpha now also belonged to the omega and no one else. Never again. Everything he did or said or bought or made... it was all for the perfect omega inside now.
And he was standing too fucking close to another man.
Jealousy slammed into him like a freight train, blind and hot. Before he could stop himself, Chi Cheng stepped inside, and the force of his pheromones poured into the clinic like a tidal wave.
Wu Suowei barely had time to turn before it hit him.
It was like being thrown into a furnace.
The air thickened with alpha musk: strong, dominant, and intense, like leather and pine and something darkly intoxicating. It was too much. Then not enough. It both overwhelmed his senses and left them begging for more. He hated himself for it.
Wu Suo Wei's knees went weak. His heart lurched in panic, the scent dragging up memories he’d tried to bury: hands pinning his wrists, the press of too much strength, the helplessness.
“No—” he gasped, stumbling back, eyes wide.
Jiang Xiao Shuai moved fast, instantly putting himself between the door and Wu Suo Wei. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he snapped at Chi Cheng, scent flaring defensively. His was omega too—sharper, colder, peppery—but it was like throwing a snowflake into a firestorm.
Chi Cheng’s eyes were locked on Wu Suowei.
The scent was even better up close.
Soft skin. Wide eyes. Frightened.
Perfect.
His instincts roared for him to move, to grab, to throw the omega over his shoulder and take him somewhere dark and safe and theirs. To the playroom, created just for him. Or perhaps it would be better to start in their bed. Chi Cheng would gladly provide all the materials necessary for the omega's nest.
Hmm, soon there would be a nest in his den. They'd share that sacred space and create their pups in it. They'd share the good and the bad in it though if it was up to the imposing alpha, there would not be any bad days.
Mine.
Mine.
“Stop—get out!” Wu Suo Wei choked, the world spinning as he tried to fight through the wall of alpha energy pressing down on him like a boulder. He couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.
He fled, stumbling past a tray of tools that clattered to the floor as he ran into the back and out the rear door.
Chi Cheng made a move to follow, snarling, desperate, but Jiang Xiao Shuai slammed a hand to his chest.
“I will cut off your dick and feed it to dogs, you entitled asshole,” Jiang Xiao Shuai hissed.
That got his attention.
Chi Cheng blinked, like waking from a dream, realizing now that the second man—shorter, sharp-tongued—was also an omega. A powerful one.
His scent was nowhere near as alluring as Wu Suowei’s, but strong enough to make Chi Cheng's instincts pause.
“You scared the shit out of him,” The other omega said coldly. “He’s not like the others. You can’t just walk in here and alpha all over the place like some heat-starved animal.”
“I didn’t—” Chi Cheng started, then stopped. He couldn’t explain it. He couldn’t justify it.
Because it had felt right.
But even so, Wu Suo Wei’s panic had been real.
And that—more than Jiang’s sharp tongue—stabbed something dark in Chi Cheng’s chest.
Without another word, he turned and left. Even if the instincts inside of him were still screaming to go after the omega. To make him his.