Liam had been standing in front of Jay's door for a long time before he finally knocked. No answer. He called softly, "Jay? You inside?" Still silent. Jay wasn't the type to disappear without a word, and since morning he hadn't shown up at all even though he usually came down for breakfast or at least sent a short message. The uneasy feeling pushed Liam to turn the knob. It wasn't locked.
Jay's room looked normal—tidy, bed made, desk lamp switched off. But the air felt different. There was a strange emptiness that made Liam stop at the doorway. Like Jay had gotten up and left in a hurry. Liam stepped inside, and that was when the scent hit him. Soft, sweet, cool—like lavender mixed with fresh rain. An Omega pheromone. Strong and clear.
Liam froze. His heart dropped. Jay had never had a scent like this. Jay… was a Beta.
He inhaled slowly, trying to make sure he wasn't imagining things. But the scent only grew stronger the closer he walked to the desk. Too strong to belong to anyone else. It was coming from Jay himself.
"That makes no sense…" Liam whispered, palms growing damp. Why did Jay's room smell like an Omega? When… and how?
The unease only grew when he opened a small drawer next to the desk. Inside was a black box, slightly heavy. Liam pulled it out and lifted the lid. What he saw made his eyes widen. Rows of small medicine vials. Some full, some half-empty, some completely used. The labels were strange—just coded numbers, no lab names, no ingredient list. Smuggled drugs. Or experiments.
"Jay… what were you doing?" Liam's voice cracked.
He took a few vials and slipped them into his hoodie pocket. If Jay had health problems, he never told anyone. But Omega pheromones in the room, plus these strange drugs… none of it fit. Liam felt his chest tighten, like he'd stumbled on something huge but didn't have the whole picture yet.
Without wasting time, he left the house and drove to an old contact— a doctor who often helped them with special cases when Liam and Eric had no other choice. His name was Dr. Han, a man who rarely asked questions and preferred data over explanations.
"These meds… can you check them?" Liam placed two vials on the small lab table. Dr. Han picked one up, turned it in his hand, frowning at the blank label.
"This isn't normal medication," Dr. Han said. "The formula is heavy. I need to open the sample."
Liam stood nearby, hands in his pockets, trying to stay calm. Minutes passed before Dr. Han returned, his expression more serious than before.
"Liam… these aren't health supplements. This is hormone-modifying medication," he said quietly. "If taken long-term, it can disrupt someone's pheromone stability. In some cases… it can change their secondary gender."
Liam felt his mind blank out. "You mean… a Beta can become an Omega?"
"Yes. And the change doesn't happen overnight. This requires long-term intake."
Liam stared at the remaining vial on the table.
If Jay took this… If he took it for years…
Did he take it on purpose? …
---
The house was quiet when Liam returned from meeting Dr. Han. He opened the door slowly, the air inside feeling heavier than before. Something was wrong, and he knew it—he just wasn't ready to say it out loud. He sat in the living room, placing the vials on the table. He stared at them for a long time, as if answers might appear on their own.
The front door opened around eight at night. Eric and Noah had just gotten back from an assignment. They walked in talking, but their voices faded when they saw Liam's face.
"Hey… you okay?" Noah asked softly. Liam looked up, his eyes clearly troubled.
"Sit down. I… have something to show you."
Eric and Noah exchanged a quick look and sat. Liam pushed the two vials towards them. Eric took one, Noah took the other. They examined them closely.
"What is this?" Eric asked, his tone flat like he already sensed bad news.
"I found them in Jay's room," Liam said quietly, tension in his voice. "And… there's something else."
Noah went silent. Eric waited.
Liam took a slow breath like he still couldn't believe he was repeating it. "I… smelled Omega pheromones in his room."
Noah froze. Eric stopped breathing for a moment.
"Jay… an Omega?" Noah whispered.
"Not sure," Liam answered. "That's why I went to Dr. Han. He analyzed the meds. He said long-term use can disrupt hormones. And it can change someone's secondary gender in the ABO system."
Eric tightened his grip on the vial, jaw clenched. "Jay took this for a long time?" "I don't know, but he had a lot of bottles," Liam replied.
The silence stretched. Only the sound of the wall clock moved.
Liam looked at Jay's door. "Did he talk to you today?" "No," Noah said. "He never showed up."
Eric stood, walked to the kitchen, and opened the fridge—the first thing he always did to check if someone had come home. No new food. Nothing had changed since morning.
"He didn't eat since morning?" Eric asked, voice growing sharper.
Noah checked his phone and tried calling Jay again. The ringtone echoed. Once. Twice. Voicemail.
"I don't like this," Noah whispered, his hands trembling a little. "Jay always answers."
Eric grabbed his jacket. "We're finding him."
Noah nodded quickly.
But Liam stayed seated, staring at the vials. "Maybe… maybe he just went out for a bit," Liam said, trying to reassure himself, but his voice was weak.
Eric gave him a look Liam had never seen—anger, worry, and the awareness that something serious was happening. "You found these meds. You smelled Omega pheromones in his room. Jay doesn't act weird for no reason. If he goes missing for a day… after everything that just happened? And after we were attacked recently?" Eric paused, took a long breath. "Fine. We wait a little longer."
Two hours passed.
Noah tried calling again. No answer. No location. Jay's phone… was dead.
Noah slowly lowered his phone. "Bro… he's not picking up. He's gone."
Liam stood and grabbed the car keys. "Alright. We look for him. Now."
Eric tapped his watch, opening a hidden tracker system only he had access to—something they used only when things became dangerous.
"If Jay is anywhere within the city radius, we'll find him," Eric said.
Liam bowed his head, trying to steady his breathing. "Jay… where are you?"
That night, without wasting another second, the three of them left the house to begin a search they never expected would turn into one of the darkest points in their lives.
And somewhere else, Jay was already far out of their reach.
---
Jay lay still for a moment, eyes half-open as his mind drifted back to the past. He was still a Beta then, and he remembered how he trained endlessly, pushing himself to become stronger—not for himself, but to protect the people he loved. Every second was spent with determination, sweat, and small injuries he never told anyone about. His memory slipped into the moments he failed to protect, the guilt burning deep, but he hardened himself, determined to be a stronger Beta, braver, more independent.
But those memories slowly faded as he opened his eyes again. The reality waiting for him was far worse. He wasn't in a familiar room. His body felt weak, his head spinning. Fear crept in as his instincts warned him something was wrong. A foreign scent hung in the air, and the cold, quiet surroundings pressed against him, making him feel painfully alone.
He tried sitting up, clutching the cold fabric around him, slowly realizing he'd been kidnapped. Panic began to rise, but he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. The flashback of his old resolve—to be strong and to protect—made his chest ache, knowing that this time he truly had to rely on himself. But his body was weak from the recent changes, every movement feeling heavier than it should.
His eyes scanned the room, searching for clues, any sign of where he was or how he got there. But every breath carried fear he had never felt before. The mix of emotions—sadness, panic, fear, and a faint spark of courage—kept him quiet for a moment. The flashback gave him just enough strength to remember who he wanted to be: strong, even if his body was fragile now.
Slowly, he swallowed the panic, gathering what mental strength he could, knowing he had to survive. Little by little, his past pain and his present fear merged, pushing him to think of a way out—even if his body trembled, even if his heart hammered in his chest.