He was following her again.

Magnolia tried to ignore how heavy the back of her head felt from his incessant staring. She could not quite figure out when it had started. She just assumed that it had probably been going on for so long, so long that she should have noticed it. Her heels click-clacking on the corridor made it seem like she was alone, he was that stealthy. If she were a Beta, she would not have noticed him. The exact reason why she had made herself take the examination again, is because she did take notice. How could she not? His scent was calling to her with open arms, daring her to leap and take.

She stops walking, looking down on her bright red shoes. It was a new pair she had just bought a few days ago. Polished, just how she liked it. She could see her reflection on the pair of shoes. She chose to tie her hair in a ponytail today, which probably is not the best of ideas. She was brandishing her neck, her neck that was free from any marks and blemishes. Her neck was free from any mating marks. Crossing her arms against her chest, and to her better judgment, she turns sideways, glancing back.

He immediately hides, not that it worked.

Magnolia’s office was a newly constructed publishing house. The architect and engineers designed it in a way that it had incorporated both modern and contemporary themes. They wanted to showcase transparency, as well as creativity. Hermosa Publishing House Corporation was well known for the intricate design of its building because the majority of its walls were made entirely of glass. Books should hold no secrets that a writer does not want to say, nor secrets that a reader will not discover. Thus, the walls made of glass served as symbolism for this meaningful message.

And seeing as the building was made of glass, the column where the man hid behind made him clearly visible. Magnolia stares up at the sky, waving her hands as if asking the Moon Goddess, why her? Of all the challenges and things that could have to happen to someone that was much more willing to explore the joys that were in life, why did the goddess pass it on to someone who barely wanted to lift a finger? When she looks again towards the man, he was still crouched down, back against the glass wall. Oblivious to the fact that she could see him.

She slaps her forehead, and the scent just becomes stronger. “Damn.”

She knew what it was, she had studied about it in her books. An Omega’s heat cycle varies and most often are irregular. Pinching her nose, she walks towards the column and crouches down, just in time to see the man turn around and freeze. For some odd reason, she freezes too. His scent was too overwhelming, too powerful, that she could not help herself but to let go of her nose and sniff greedily. To her surprise, she starts crawling towards him, dropping her head close to his neck to take a quick whiff of the most amazing smell she had ever encountered.

“Sorry,” The man mumbles, his voice deep and smooth. It surprises Magnolia, she assumed his voice would be soft and tender, like that of a prepubescent teenager. He was an Omega, but he sounded like a Beta, and if you cover your ears, an old Alpha. Closing her eyes, she relishes in the sound of it. Her canines extending, calling her to do what instinct had intended. “I’ve forgotten my pills and it’s really hard to walk. I heard you were misdiagnosed as an Omega and I was thinking if you had any extra pills?”

When Magnolia opened her eyes, she saw just how terrible he looked. He was on his knees, his hand against his chest like he was in pain. A thought occurs to her in the worst of times, that Felix was right when he had said that Omegas were pretty, tiny, and dainty. The man was wearing a suit, but it looked like it was way too big for him. His shoulders were slender, his face soft and not at all rugged. Tan olive skin, brown curly hair, and brown doe eyes that were just calling out to her. He starts heaving roughly, and Magnolia forces herself out of the pheromone induced daze she was in. Pinching her nose again, she looks around looking for a place where she could hide him. “Is this your first heat cycle?”

The man shakes his head, no strength in him left to utter a reply.

“I don’t have my pills with me, they confiscated it the moment I was classified as an Alpha,” She says honestly, her voice with a hint of worry. Which was odd, because she could never recall a situation where she was worried about anything else but her damn self. Disregarding the thought as quickly as it came, she looks down on the crumpled Omega again. “My friend’s a Beta, he can bring you to the infirmary. The walls are thick, and no one can enter when an Omega is in heat. I’m an Alpha, it’s not safe for you to be this close to me. Why were you even following me in the first place?”

The Omega flinches, a blush covering his cheeks. He mumbles a soft, “Dunno, felt like it.”

“Since you’re an Omega, you have to be wary of Alphas,” She reprimands, a bite to her tone. She could easily attack him, she thought, had that never crossed the Omega’s mind? She was clutching the controls in her brain as they speak. His scent doing nothing but confuse the side of her brain that wanted nothing more but to mark him. The heat of an Omega is a truly dangerous thing. Pills sometimes did not work, pills that would suppress their heat cycle and remove the warmth that was making them uncomfortable. It was a good thing that Omega Safe places were made, unwanted advances and pregnancies had been reduced. “Did they not teach you that during your orientation, I could easily attack you.”

“Really?” The man says a twinkle in his eyes that made Magnolia flush. “You could mark me?”

Blood rushes up to her neck, through her cheeks, and to the tip of her ears. Her whole face felt warm and she could tell that she was blushing furiously. Which only made the Omega smile mischievously. His smile startled Magnolia. Omegas were truly dangerous, she’d never encountered one whose beauty was enough to make her flinch. He was painfully aware of his effect on her, and yet he chose to do nothing but smell like a delectable dessert that she could never feast on. “I didn’t say anything about marking, I said I could attack you.”

The smirk was back again, and the Omega further pushed her buttons. Loosening his tie, he tilts his head, showing his neck. “Want a bite?”

And that was when Magnolia lost it. Forgetting everything about decorum and proper etiquette. She swoops in and hooks one of her arms under his legs and the other supporting his back. It was a good thing that even though she had spent half of her life as an Omega, she was in a family full of Alphas. Alphas who were rowdy loved to wrestle, and worked out like there was no tomorrow. It was surprising to her why she never bulked up or developed humongous muscles. She carried the Omega in heat with little to no effort, her heels click-clacking against the tiles again as she walked briskly towards the infirmary.

“W-what?!” The man in her arms sputtered, a blush covering his cheeks as well. “Let me down you stupid Alpha!”

She exhales deeply, the corner of her mouth twitching again. She could almost feel an outburst about to happen if the Omega does not shut his trap. As monotone, as she could she looks down on him, making him flinch from her stare. “I completely understand that heat cycles are not something that you Omegas have control over. However, what I find baffling is how you were tempting me moments ago. I do not appreciate that, so if you want what is best for you - you would shut up and let me carry you to the infirmary.”

If possible, the Omega’s cheeks redden more furiously. His eyes widening, his pupils expanding. Magnolia tried her hardest to ignore the fact that she noticed how it did. Ignored the flutter in her heart. Ignored the fact that she liked how she made the small Omega in her arms squirm under her stare.

Fiddling his thumbs, the man blatantly ignored what she had just said and opened his mouth again. “Aren’t I heavy?”

“No,” He was. Absolutely heavy. Something in Magnolia was forcing her to carry him to the infirmary though. Something that was feral, something that was close to her animalistic counterpart. It made her uncomfortable, that there were mental images of what could have been. Mental images popping inside of her head of another person finding this man stuck in his heat, of another helping him in ways that were not at all safe at work. Like how she ignored the flutter in her stomach when his pupils expanded at the sight of her, she ignored the spark of anger that was slowly making its way into her head on the thought of another Alpha’s hand on this small Omega that was nestled in her arms. “Why were you even following me? This isn’t the first time.”

“As I said, I just felt like it.” The Omega smiled sheepishly at that, scratching his cheek in a way that was so adorable Magnolia could not help but feel her heart squeeze.

Felix was right, she thought, trying her hardest to ignore the beating of her heart. Omegas are dangerous.