Chapter 1
(Dual Male Leads)
For three years, my husband, Ethan Cooper, had been the kind of Beta everyone envied, gentle, considerate, and the perfect partner.
But then, late one night, he went through a second presentation and became an SSS-level Alpha.
His Alpha pheromones were so overwhelming, they set off the security alarms in the entire building.
With red-rimmed eyes, he grabbed the hem of my shirt. "Honey, I want to mark you as mine..."
Without a word, I peeled off the suppressant patch from the back of my neck.
"Baby, what if I'm an Alpha too?" I asked.
*****
My name was Vivian Johnson.
I was the CEO of Starlight Media Group.
I'd made three Best Actors and two Best Actresses, and I basically had half the entertainment industry in my pocket.
Everyone thought I was a Beta.
But the truth was, I was an Alpha.
The reason I kept it a secret was simple.
I didn't want people calling me an 'Alpha boss', that could tank our stock price or make artists think twice about signing with us.
Every year, I spent tens of thousands of dollars to keep my scent in check.
I'd got three layers of custom suppressant patches stuck to the back of my neck.
And in my office, there was a locked, temperature-controlled cabinet full of Alpha-only suppressant patches.
For three years, my husband, Ethan, had no clue about any of this.
He always thought he'd married an aloof, rational Beta.
And I always thought I'd married a gentle, considerate Beta.
Until that night.
It was Wednesday, just past eleven, and I'd barely walked in the door when my phone buzzed with an emergency alert from building management.
It said: [Alert: Abnormal pheromone levels detected in the building. Suspected SSS-level Alpha currently presenting.
[Attention all Omegas: Please take immediate precautions. Close all windows and doors.]
An SSS-level Alpha?
That was like a one-in-ten-million chance.
Another notification popped up right after, [Pheromone levels still rising. Security protocols activated. Sprinkler system engaged.]
Then, with a loud crash, the sprinklers in the hallway burst open, drenching the whole building.
The building group chat exploded.
Some people complained their wives suddenly felt sick, while others were threatening to beat up the property staff.
The building manager, James Carter, sent a voice message, his voice shaking. "It's from a unit on the 18th floor. The readings are off the charts, and that's what set off the spread alert..."
18th floor.
1801.
That was our home.
I turned to look at the closed door of our master bedroom.
Ethan was a Beta.
We'd been married for three years, living together day in and day out, and I'd never picked up any unusual scent from him.
Betas didn't present. That was basic biology.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
The pheromones in the air hit me so hard I almost staggered back.
The whole room was thick with a scent I'd never encountered in my life.
It was not cedar, rum, or any fragrance found on a store shelf.
It was the smell of sunset itself.
Like standing alone in a wide-open field as the sun sinks beneath the horizon, and the air is filled with that fleeting magic.
Warm, endless, and so soft it made my eyes prickle with tears.
The whole bedroom was thick with that scent.
And the one giving off that scent was curled up on the bed, shivering under the covers.
Ethan.
My Beta husband.
He peeked out from under the covers, his eyes as red as a rabbit's, his lips bitten raw and streaked with blood.
When he saw me standing in the doorway, he couldn't hold back his tears, they fell instantly.
"Honey..." Ethan sobbed.
I walked over, my legs feeling a little weak.
It wasn't fear, he just had this overpowering presence that hit me like a wave.
Even for someone like me, an Alpha at the top of the food chain, his aura was almost suffocating.
My scent was always sharp and cool, like pine needles on snowy ground, people in the industry even say I'm one of the top three Alphas when it comes to sheer presence.
But right now, that pine scent of mine was completely wrapped up and faded under the sunset aroma, like ice quietly dissolving in warm water.
So this was what SSS-level Alpha dominance feelt like?
I crouched down and touched his forehead, it was burning up.
"Ethan, you're presenting, you're going through your second presentation," I said.
"I don't know..." he mumbled.
He grabbed my hand, his whole body trembling.
"My body feels so hot, and..." Ethan muttered.
His face flushed bright red.
"I want to leave my mental mark on you," he whispered, his voice trembling with desire. "I want everyone to know you're mine."
I froze. "What did you say?"
Ethan broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
He was a thirty-year-old actor, always immaculate in his suits, but right now he looked like a lost child, crying his heart out.
He managed, his voice cracking, "I said...
"I want you to be soaked in my scent.
"I want everyone to know you're mine...
"I'm losing my mind just thinking about it..."
He was sobbing as he spoke. "But I can't feel you responding. You're a Beta, aren't you?
"A Beta's mental field can't accept an Alpha's mental mark...
"I can't take it. It hurts so much..."
The first thing he did after his second presentation as an Alpha wasn't to try and suppress his pheromones.
It wasn't to hide who he was now, either.
Instead, he was sobbing, desperate to leave his mental mark in my mental field.
He wanted me to be his true mate.
He thought I was a Beta.
Yeah, for three years, I'd always been a Beta in front of him.
I stayed silent for three seconds.
I reached up and tore off the three layers of special suppressant patches from my neck.
The crisp scent of snowy pine needles exploded into the air, washing over the whole room.