CHAPTER 4

TOMMY

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“You’re not going to like the news I brought.” Liam barged in, yanked his coat off, and tossed it on the L-shaped sofa in the living room.

My body tightened with swallowed anxiety. Please, let it not be about my condition.

“Hit me with it.” My fist balled as I braced myself for the impact.

“Father’s arranging your marriage.” Liam’s jaw ticked.

Shock rippled down my spine as I froze for a few seconds. 

Marriage. The word burned my stomach like I had gulped acid.

I told myself to breathe in, at least he hadn’t found out I was changing to an omega. But no matter how much air I took, it didn’t fill my lungs.

Dragging my hands down my face, I sighed. Another fucking problem stacked on another. Ever since I bottomed, my life had gone downhill. Like buy one, get one free.

“Is it to an Omega man or an Omega woman?” I asked.

Liam’s frown deepened. “You’re really going to agree to this? Are you going to let him keep controlling your life?”

My jaw ticked, the back of my throat burning. “It’s no big deal. It’s just marriage. Just another contract to sign.”

His head jerked back like he couldn’t believe the words leaving my lips. “Marriage is not just another contract.Shouldn’t you at least have a choice?”

Choice? I almost laughed at it. Other people had them, but not me. The moment you’re born Jack Rivers’ son, your future has already been set in stone. But he wouldn’t know that. After all, he was adopted. A dominant Alpha was brought into the family to replace me if I ever fail.

While drowning in the chaos, my phone buzzed. I retrieved it from the coffee table and it was a message from Gerard.

Gerard: Your test result is out.

My stomach dipped. For a moment I almost forgot about my problem. I had to quickly fix this state

“I’ve got enough shit on my plate.” I strode to the chair to pick up my suit.

I was about to fling it on when Liam lunged forward, his tall figure eclipsing me as his hand clamped around my fist.

“Don’t marry him, Tommy.” His voice broke. “If you do, you have another family…you’ll…you’ll—” 

The words made him flinch. He tried to hide it, but it was there.

“It’s not too late,” Liam said, “we can still run like we planned.”

Ah. That stupid plan we cooked when we were fifteen. 

“Liam, look at me.”

He did. Those sharp blue eyes met mine. 

“If I run away then who am I?” I asked. “This life is all I’ve ever known.”

I pulled my hands away from the grip and put on my suit. “If you care that much, just book a reservation for me.”

I turned, ready to leave 

“Tommy,” Liam called out. “Where are you going?”

“Out,” I said.

And then I was out. Out to fix this problem.

********

After a ten-minute drive, I arrived at Vance Pharmaceuticals. I burst through the double doors of Gerard’s laboratory. “What did you find?”

Gerard swayed in the swivel chair. “You were right, it was my drug. But not the one on the market, but the one I abandoned.”

I shot him a puzzled look. “Abandoned?”

Gerard rose from his chair and rounded the slab. “The first compound couldn’t completely turn Alpha to Omegas; it kept them in both states. Just like your condition.” He rested on the edge of the counter. “This led to an abnormality I called dog syndrome. Patients experienced both heat and rut at the same time, making them mad with arousal.” 

My body locked, his clinical voice grating every cell I was made of.

Gerard continued. “Over time it caused brain damage as the hippocampus shrank. Thinning of the blood. So I stopped the drug.”

At this point, I might have been hexed. Not only was I half Alpha, half omega, I might be halfway brain-dead.

“Also from how thin your blood is, it shows you’ve been on the drug for at least two months.”

My eyes got bigger and bigger until I felt pain erupt in my socket.

“Two months?” I snorted. “That's bullshit. How is that possible?”

Gerard continued like whether I believed it or not was none of his business.

“I also found traces of it in your blood, meaning you took it within 24 hours of coming for a test.”

My breath stuttered, and my blood ran cold. It had to be that stranger. I couldn’t even call him a stranger since he had been feeding me this for two months.  

Did this mean I knew who I had sex with?

My mind flicked to Liam? No. Liam would never do this to me. Besides, he just returned from a three-month trip last week. My staff? None of them have access to my food or drink. I couldn’t think of anyone.

My heart pounded, its thick thuds filling my chest and pressing down on my lungs. I tried to breathe, but only weak sips of air reached my lungs.

“Can it be reversed?” I managed to ask. 

That should be my top most priority. I had to fix this or else this would ruin the marriage arrangement, subsequently ruin my whole life. 

“Yes,” he said.

My eyes flicked up, looking heavenward as I felt a small amount of relief.

“But only one way.”

My body tightened again.

“You need to become a full Omega first.” His expression was neutral.

His words hit me, and jarred laughter tore out of me. “After your promise in high school, do you think I would believe this? You must think I’m a fool.” My voice darkened with suspicion.“What if all this talk is bullshit?”

Gerard’s face remained blank, and that infuriated me. I couldn’t even tell if he was lying or telling the truth.

The silence dragged, harsh and panic-inducing.

Gerard pushed off the counter. “It took me five years to create a drug that turned omega to Alphas. I have also been working on a drug that can turn Omegas to Alphas within the same timeframe,” he said, inching towards me. “But if you want to wait for another five years to work on your case, be my guest.”

I craned my neck as he eclipsed over me. 

“But if you become an omega, I could turn you into a Dominant Alpha within months.” Gerard brought out a small amber bottle from his coat, the tiny pills visible.

Dominant Alpha. The one thing I’d always wanted, yet never touched. Everything it could offer flashed through my mind—the respect, the freedom. Not the type I got from pretense, but the one I could command with mere presence like Gerard…like Liam.

My chest ached, as that deep-seated, restless yearning that I’d carried since childhood surged, but this time it felt like it could be soothed.

Not only could I earn my father’s approval, but also a ticket out of a marriage I never asked for.

But then Gerard’s promise still hovered above me like a guillotine.  It was much easier to lie to be a Dominant Alpha as a Recessive Alpha than an Omega. If this were a trap, I’d lose everything. 

My body crumpled beneath the push and pull I felt towards the tiny bottle.

What if this is a poison masquerading as a cure?

“The choice is all yours,” Gerard said, his gaze soft.

My body shriveled. I stared at the bottle. It looked like salvation, but smelled like bait.

Should I risk it?