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Souya steps outside the public building. Frustration, anger and something else that he can’t put a finger on bubbles on the surface of his mind. The talk didn’t end well. Opening a restaurant is way more complicated than he thought it would be. The woman had talked about his employment, about too much money, the object they would like to rent for the restaurant and his biological sex. So many questions about his second gender. Apparently, it is much more complicated to try to make their lives a little easier as someone who is labeled as an Omega. For an Alpha, it’s child’s play. Alphas can’t get compromised by pregnancy, child caring or heats. They get better jobs, earn more, only because of their secondary gender.
She had asked about his living situation, partner and all. He had lied, not only to the office lady but to his brother as well. Nahoya never presented. Late-bloomer his brother was labeled, Beta is written on his ID card. He feels lost, just a little. With this appointment, he really wanted to prove to Nahoya that he could manage things too. Not only as an Omega but as his younger brother too.
Failure echoes inside his mind.
He turns to the left, in the opposite direction of home, straight ahead following traces of comfort and protection . His scent glands itch uncomfortable as if his own scent isn’t enough to soothe them. The restlessness of his omega-side distracts him enough to not notice a group of men following him. Only when he walks into one of the less crowded side streets and meets a dead-end he is faced with a punch of grinning Alphas.
“Ain’t you one of the Twin Devil’s? Ex-Toman?”
He doesn’t recognise any of them, neither familiar faces nor scents.
“Who wants to know that?”
The guy steps closer, nostrils flaring the moment he leans down a little.
“An Omega too, how interesting.”
Souya’s gaze darts to the group behind the Alpha. He counts twelve people. Manageable. He had fights with more people in the past.
“Let’s find out if the rumors about you are true, little Omega,” the Alpha in front of him says.
“Stand still,” echoes the alpha command through the street. His body registered the command faster than his brain does. The aggressive scent clocks his nose. He shivers, his movements restricted by his instincts to block the Alpha’s comment. The guy’s fist collides with Souya’s face. Pain so intense that it feels like a truck has hit him suddenly explodes, and spreads through his limbs like wildfire. The whimper that escapes his lips is unintentional, the counterattack isn’t. The guy collapses on his knees, wide-eyed staring at Souya.
“How the fuck is that possible?!”
The guy’s voice gets louder and louder with each word. Disbelief is written over the other’s face. Words like mate and bond meet his ears. Such nonsense, every single one of those whispers among the group are nothing more than trash-talking.
“Pin him down and look for a mating bite!” Someone shouts, and it brushes Souya the wrong way.
The group starts to corner him, Alphas pheromones trying to bring him to submit to them. His body registers the scent, his omega-side respond to their aggression with self-protection. All noises are tuned out suddenly, his heart starts to beat fast against the rib cage. Adrenaline rushes through his body, and all he can think of is beating those guys before they are able to even get so much as a glimpse of his scenting glands along his neck.
It’s a dumb decision, oozing with too much confidence in his ability to resist an Alpha’s command and too little rational thinking. Omegas aren’t pretty little playthings like the media make them out to be. Easy manipulative and brainless are none of those stereotypes that fit Souya. The first Alpha goes down quite easy. Under normal circumstances, taking out the leader would have been a ticket to freedom, but not with these guys. Rokuhara Tandai is feared for their brutality. They are a group of lone wolves, turning against each other is an everyday occurrence to them. The next two are easy targets too. What really makes his defense crack after a few more punches and several minutes aren’t their skills, it’s their sheer number. He has miscalculated; not twelve, more like twenty-one. His breath is already labored because of all those pheromones, and putting too much energy in this fist fight adds to his exhaustion too.
It seems like a hopeless battle. Sadly, it’s not the first one this month. South Terano is ruthless in trying to show him how weak the Twin Devils have become, even though they aren't part of any gang anymore. Violence was never Souya’s strong suit, Nahoya is better at managing his emotions. Toman was fun, until the day Mikey turned the gang’s philosophy upside down and kicked out everyone who had presented as an Omega.
You are nothing more than a millstone around Toman’s neck.
The memory still leaves a bitter taste on his tongue, even though the sentence was thrown in Draken’s face and not his.
“Already at your limit, little Omega?”
Someone chuckles, another guy comes closer.
“You wish,” he answers, a cocky grin plastered on his face.
Four guys start to step closer and Soya’s gaze darts from the left one to the right one. Which will attack first? Which will attack next? He can’t predict their next step at all. They are an uncoordinated mess. This is what makes them so dangerous. The first tries to sweep him from his legs, while the second one steps to the side to aim at Souya’s rips. His view is obscured for a second by the two trying to bring him to the ground. Enough time for the other two to sneak around and knock him off his feet. A triumphal laugh echoes through the street. He doesn’t register much, only black dots dancing around his vision and the rain hitting his face. He is in pain, much more than before: his face, his head and his limbs are nothing more than pulsing lumps of flesh.
Another ugly face comes into view. Someone pulls at his jacket's collar, exposing his scent glands.
“No mating mark there, Boss. He’s free for the taking.”
“What do you say, little Omega. Should I bind you to me? Make you my whore. One of the Twin Devils walking around the base with nothing more than a thin laced dress. Sounds good, hm?”
“Sounds like bullshit to me,” a familiar voice interferes. The next second his attacker collapses next to Souya’s head. Nose a bloody mess, the right arm slightly dislocated. Screams laced with fear and pain overwrite the pitter-patter of the rain.
Souya gets up with a groan, gasping for air the moment a sharp pain torments his left side. Something warm brushes against his back, drawing soothing circles. The second a familiar scent hits his nose, he knows who kneels beside him. He turns his head to the left, taking in every inch of the familiar figure that shoots him a skeptical look.
“You’re lucky that we were just around the corner,” Rindou mumbles, his features marred with worry.
“A little late,” Souya presses through gritted teeth. The hand on his back pauses for a moment.
A deep crease forms between the Alpha’s brows.
“Better late than never,” the other shoots back.
The relief that washes over Souya is insanely stupid. He takes a deep breath, letting himself lean against the other. The comfort and promise of protection overwhelms his senses. He should be scared or at least, a little worried about their recent behavior and his reaction to their Alpha pheromones. He is none of that, just glad that they keep tabs on him.
Rindou and Ran.
My Alphas echoes through his mind. His omega-side breaks out of its mental cage. A low whine escapes his lips as Rindou pulls the collar of his jacket to the side to expose the unmarred scent glands.
“Untouched. Good.”
A few steps away, Ran shoves the last guy against the wall, making sure he gets the message across.
Don’t touch this Omega.
Whatever threat the older of the Haitani brothers whispers to the guy, has an immediate effect. He turns pale, a stuttering mess. Souya can’t understand a thing, but from the guy’s behaviour, he can imagine that Ran has told him something along the lines of torture and murder. Rindou suddenly presses his nose against his scent glands.
“I don’t smell any pre-heat pheromones either,” the Alpha speaks under his breath and Souya isn’t sure how to respond to that. Warmth finds its way to his cheeks and ears.
The beaten guy runs away, not even looking over his shoulder to get a glimpse of his bloody comrades.
“Should be the bond messing with us then.”
Rindou leans away and gives him a handkerchief to wipe off the blood around his nose.In just two single steps, Rin crosses the distance between them. The older one of the Haitani brothers kneels down and lets his gaze roam over Souya’s body. The moment Rindou touches his thighs, he pulls his legs closer to his body and away from those hands that tend to send shivers down his spine.
The movement fucking hurts.
“My legs are fine,” he mumbles, turning his head away from Rindou. His gaze falls to Ran’s bloodstained hands.
“It’s the fourth attack this month,” Ran states. From his peripheral vision Souya sees Rindou nodding.
“Listen to us for once, please .”
The last word is lazed with annoyance and a hint of tiredness.
“My ears are working just fine,” he protests, his gaze focusing solely on Ran.
“You’re bonded to us, I would be safer for you to finally accept it.”
“Bonded…That joke isn’t even funny anymore.” Instinctively, he brings his hand up to his unmarred nape. He is unharmed, no bite marks, no mating scars.
“It’s a real shame but we imprinted on you,” Ran sighs.
“That’s a fucked up story don’t you guys think?”
He can’t help but deny it over and over again. Nahoya has made it clear that there was no such thing as imprinting. The internet search is another story … and his own feelings…feelings can change given the right nourishment and time.
“We’d wished not for it to be true, but the symptoms-”
He hears the clear rejection and it fucking hurts. He starts to sniffle, emotion running high at hearing those words. His omega-side turns him into a nervous wreck. So much for not being a weakness.
“What the fuck is wrong with me?” The sentence isn’t meant to be heard by them, it's a testimony how much those interactions have messed with his omega-side.
“Great, he is panicking again. Do something, Rindou. His scent drives me nuts.”
Rindou is suddenly in front of him, face mere inches away, their noses almost touching. Warm hands press against his scent glands. A shiver runs down his spine. He is sure he is blushing with how warm his face and neck feel.
“You know that I can’t read shit in scents,” Rindou hisses. Confusion runs across Souya’s face, before he realizes that the words weren’t for his ears.
“Why are you panicking now?” Ran sighs.
“I’m calm! He is the one bawling his eyes out and I don’t know why,” Rindou snaps.
Ran pushes his brother away and mimics Rindou’s gesture. Their scents mingle. This feels awfully right. This is how it should be , his omega-side adds unnecessarily.
“You really are just a crybaby. Why are you distressed now? Doesn’t suit you one bit.”
Rin’s thumbs wipe away the tears running down Souya’s cheeks. He hushes him like a mother would her child. It’s weird, but somehow it helps his omega-side to calm down.
“Breath in. Breath out. Good Omega.”
He follows the instruction in a daze. It’s not even an Alpha's command, just Ran asking him to do exactly as told. Just breathing. Breath in. Lungs filling with air. Breath out. Lungs empting. This should be easy, no?
Ran starts to purr, and it’s so out of place and not even alpha-like that Souya’s breath hitches for a moment.
“Do you want to call your brother?”
Ran’s voice is calmness, although something like anger had been crossing his face just minutes ago. Souya nods and fetches his phone. He leans over it, shielding the electronic device from the rain. With Ran scenting him and Rindou breathing down his neck, it’s so fucking hard to type in his brother’s contacts. After what feels like forever, the calling sound chimes. It takes two turns for his brother to finally answer his call.
“Souya, where the hell are you?”
He starts to gasp for air again. No words leave his lips. He panics again because failure failure failure comes back full force.This feels like a deja-vu: him getting into a fight, the Haitani brothers saving his ass and Nayoha picking him up from wherever he has been stranded.
When his brother asks again, this time a worried tone laced with his angry voice, Ran snatches the phone out of Souya’s hands. He wants to protest, brings his arms up to punch the Alpha for taking his belongings. His worst fear isn’t confirmed, when Ran puts Nahoya on speaker. It takes an eternity for Ran to explain why he answers in Souya’s stead.
“Everything will be alright. Ran is good at calming people down.”
His head snaps to Rindou again. A cocky grin is plastered on the Alpha’s face. Souya’s heart takes a leap. This one-sided (love) attraction really gets on his nerves.
“We’ll bring him home. What’s your address?”
“Like hell, I will tell you that! I’ll pick him up, don’t move from there,” for a brief moment his brother’s voice sounds so loud through the device that the loudspeaker cracks a little.
“It’s raining and none of us have an umbrella. He’ll catch a cold for sure. So, address please.”
Ran is a patient guy, much more calm than his younger brother Rindou.
“Bring him to the Shirokanedai station. If he isn’t there, I will hunt you down and kill you!”
“Thank you, older brother,” Souya mumbles, not sure if he has been heard or not. The call ends just like that and Ran gives his phone back.
“He is really protective of you, huh?”
Ran’s fingers ghosts over his arm, asking for permission to touch him. He lowers his gaze and the older Alpha takes it as an invitation to scent him lightly.
“How do you know…that I’m your mate?”
Rindou leans closer, his eyes watching him closely. He gulps, trying to put some distance between them.
“Ever since we saved you, your eyes have turned green,” Rindou answers as if he talks about the weather.
“My omega-side is agitated,” he shoots back.
“An Omega’s eyes don’t change their color so easily. Only if they seek comfort from their mate or they give birth to a pup.”
Ran’s sentences produce unhelpful mental images. Heat and rut spent together, a pup in their arms, stupid stuff like that.
“We are sure, you suffer through your heats.”
He turns red, because what the fuck are with these statements. True, his heats have been pure torture ever since he presented after the fight with Tenjiku. There wasn’t a single one he didn't have to ride out in a treatment center.
Rindou gives him a piggyback he can’t refuse. Ran walks next to them, hands in his pockets, throwing glances at him from time to time. They don’t talk much. Everything is said already. What’s left is an unanswered question. Souya marvels at their confidence and convictions. He feels like a child next to them. A naive child who doesn’t yet know how the world really works. It’s been two years and he is none the wiser.
Imprinted.
Is there any truth about love at first sight? Is there really a possibility of forming a mating bond by simply looking at a potential mate? With two people? Two Alphas?
They walk for quite a while until the station comes into view. He is half asleep when they arrive.
“Souya!”
Nayoha’s lips are drawn into a thin line when he spots them. Rindou puts him down and brushes his fingers over Souya’s cheeks one more time. Nahoya is quick to step between them.
“Don’t touch him. Souya, let’s go.”
His brother’s hand wraps around his arm, the other’s anger is expressed by his strong grip.
Souya stops and whines the moment he is pulled forward. His instincts scream at him to not leave those two Alphas.
“What’s wrong?” Nahoya’s voice is laced with aggression and impatience.
“I-”
Something soft is thrown over his shoulder. In just a second, his mind starts to clear up a little.
“Don’t touch-”, Nahoya spats but gets interrupted.
“He needs it, and you know that. You should have told him.”
Ran accuses his brother of something Souya has the feeling he should be getting but he can’t quite catch on.
Souya’s instincts are pulled between protecting his only family and trying to force his brother to accept his… whatever, Ran is to him. FriendMatePack .
“It’s the duty of the older brother to protect the younger one.”
There is a hint of impatience in Nahoya’s voice. His brother once told him that the older of the Haitani brothers makes him uneasy; like a deer struck in headlights.
“So your protection means let him suffer through his presentation?” Rindou adds to the conversation. A few people turn their heads, watching their interactions. The air between them is suffocating; too much aggression.
Nahoya growls.
Ran is unfaced by the open display of aggression. By now, they are familiar with Nahoya’s behavior towards them. Souya decides to step in, even when his omega-side tells him to stand by and watch their interactions. He lies to himself that he doesn’t like seeing his brother so worked up about the Haitani brothers' involvement.
He pulls his brother away from Ran and bows deep, a thank you spilling from his lips. When he meets their gaze again, Rindou sighs and Ran’s brows are pinched together. Souya lets the jacket slide from his shoulder.
“Keep it,” Ran tells him.
Nahoya pulls him away when he can’t bring himself to tear his gaze away from his Alphas .
He gets on the motorbike, deep in thoughts and unable to calm his omega-side. It whines and scratches at the back of his mind. Comfort has been taken away from him yet again. Protection far away. And the only thing that's left is home . He shouldn’t feel sad nor grieve.
*
It takes several days for Nahoya to talk to him again. First Souya is scolded. Nahoya dishes out like no tomorrow. Every topic has its place: his fearlessness when it comes to the Haitani brothers, his overconfidence at the office appointment, his naivety over his place in society. It’s a low-blow, bringing his second gender into the conversation that is.
In the end, Nahoya hugs him and tells him about the fears that torments his mind.
About losing him, about being left behind. Dark, dark thoughts. They scent each other, promising to never leave the other.
Guilt grips his heart because he is torn. Torn between the bond’s calling and his brother’s wishes.
One evening, after yet another encounter with the Haitani brothers, he gathers the courage to brush over an old topic.
“Do you remember the nurse back in the hospital after the Tenjiku incident who talked about imprinting, brother?”
Nayoha refuses to meet his gaze.
He gets the silent treatment instead.
“You are not bonded to them,” Nahoya states.
“You don’t need them,” his brother adds.
“Why won’t you give them a chance, brother?”
The question is left unanswered.
Souya spends the afternoon searching the internet for the concept of imprinting . There is barely anything written. A few studies made, a few interviews given by unimportant doctors. It’s not a myth, he knows it. It’s not just his imagination; the pull of those invisible strings of their bond, his instincts flaring up every time the slightest skin-to-skin-contact is made, his omega-side whispering my alphas and my mates over and over again.
It can’t be just a trope in movies and books. It feels too real, too precious, something to cherish.
At night, Rindou texts him. He can’t sleep anyway, so he appreciates the distraction. The first lines are short and sweet, as always. The next ones have the undertone of possessiveness. They want to escort him for a few days, pick him up at the door to bring him to university and bring him back home again. Ran in the morning, Rindou in the afternoon. He bites his lips, and thinks about how Nahoya will react to their plans. He leaves the messages on read, knowing that Ran will have the car parked around the corner in the morning anyway.
*
Since the Haitani brothers have joined Rokuhara Tandai their relationship has become strained. Apparently, it’s for his protection. He is pulled into yet another gang business. Nahoya tries to bring him to break contact with them. He tries… Rindou knocks on the door, flowers and chocolate in his hands. He ignores it, hands curled into fists, biting his lips. Ran stands at the entrance of his treatment center. Souya throws his shoes at the older Alpha, screaming in his face to be left alone.
A group of Alphas try to gang up on him. They are there as usual. Someone tries to stab him out of nowhere in the middle of the subway station platform. A man, he had never seen before, saves him and introduces him as a friend of the Haitanis. Guilt grabs Souya’s heart. That night, he texts Ran and thanks them for watching over him, not yet knowing how far their protection really goes.
*
One morning, just a few steps away from his home, he is approached by the most beautiful man he has ever seen.
“Souya Kawata?”
He stops and stares at the two-colored hairstyle, the pretty long eyelashes and the piece of wood between soft-looking lips.
“I was bribed into offering you a place under Brahman’s protection,” the Alpha says. He introduces himself as Wakasa Imaushi, a good friend of Draken, an acquaintance of the Haitani brothers.
“But Ran and Rindou aren’t part-”
He is confused and warry of the stranger approaching him so casually.
“...of the gang. Yes, I know. Your story is quite a rollercoaster. Imprinting, huh?”
“It’s a lie,” he shots back, trying to conceal the uneasiness that comes with hearing such information from someone he doesn’t know.
“Sure. Are you always looking away and biting the inside of your cheeks when you deny the obvious?”
Souya feels completely disarmed. That guy doesn’t beat around the bush.
“You don’t have to fight. They told me a ‘lil about you. No violence, huh? Wouldn’t have guessed hearing the rumors about you Twin Devils.”
He swallows and takes a step back. Fear grips his heart. Everything about that man screams danger. The words that fly out of his mouth, the way he addresses Souya, the confidence he holds while talking about his mates .
“Think about it, kid. Those Haitani brother’s did bend over backwards for you to be able to join us.”
The guy turns around and starts to walk away, only to suddenly stop and turn around once more.
“Listen kid. It’s really hard on us Alphas, if there is someone we want to protect but can’t.”
With that Souya is left alone. It takes him a moment to get a grip and make sense of what the guy has told him. Inside the apartment, he fetches his phone and calls Rindou.