1 .
1: Prologue.
1 .
The synthetic catalyst snapped in a single second.
Instead of cooling his fever, the oppressive weight of dark cedar drove it into an inferno.
Scalding heat rolled through the master suite as the winter camellias erupted in thick, raw scent.
Kang Tae-hyuk pinned the boy beneath him by the silk sheets, his Prime Alpha instincts warring with the rut deep in his bones.
He expected an Omega to thrash and moan beneath his grip, to whimper and twist in submission.
He dragged his fangs over the sensitive gland at the base of Seo-jun’s neck.
“…You brought this upon yourself,” Tae-hyuk rumbled.
Seo-jun’s eyes snapped open.
Two narrow, aquamarine slits glared up at him from beneath the boy’s tousled fringe, an impossible royal color that had nothing to do with Beta eyes.
It took all of Tae-hyuk’s will not to rip out his throat.
He growled, low and feral, as Seo-jun’s fingers clawed at his biceps, sinewy wrists snapping free from his grip.
The boy shoved him with all his strength, sending the Vice Chairman’s broad shoulders thudding to the mattress.
“You don’t command me,” Seo-jun rasped, his voice rough with heat and something far more dangerous that sent a jolt of alarm down Tae-hyuk’s spine.
“Take me.
Now.” For twenty-eight years, Tae-hyuk’s body had served him without question.
As his fangs sank into the soft flesh at the base of Seo-jun’s throat, marking him with a vicious bite, the boy’s fingers tangled in his hair, holding him in place.
The Alpha’s iron control snapped over the Omega’s writhing form, and neither would ever walk away from this night unchanged.
______________________________________ The alarm silenced at 4:30 A.M.
Seo-jun smacked his palm over the clock radio, hissing as the angry beeps died against the yellowed plaster.
Across the freezing room, his sixteen-year-old sister, Seo-ah, shifted beneath her thin blanket.
Her frayed high school blazer hung neatly over a chair by the door.
She did not wake.
Seo-jun exhaled a slow, misty breath and sat up on the floorboards, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
He caught the scent of his own breath in the small, unheated bathroom as he dunked his face in the icy water.
He met his own reflection in the steamed-over mirror.
A pale twenty-three-year-old stared back at him, his sharp cheekbones almost severe against the shadows curling beneath his dark lashes.
He smudged a thumb over the bare skin at his neck.
No scars.
Nothing but an average Beta’s plain face.
For three years, ever since the accident, Seo-jun had been counting the hours.
He had buried his parents under a mountain of loan shark debt, and every day was a silent vow to pay it all back.
He worked long shifts at the café, stacking ice cups and clearing tables, just so Seo-ah could have a future.
By dusk, after another twelve-hour day of backbreaking labor, Seo-jun stepped out into the Gangnam downpour, his hood pulled low over his damp curls.
He tucked a bag of pastries inside his jacket for his sister, joining the endless stream of people making their way to the subway.
Towering skyscrapers of glass melted into the storm-laden horizon.
Seo-jun barely registered the flashing neon as he hurried along the slick pavement.
A black Maybach pulled up alongside him, and a chauffer hurried to the opposite side of the road, opening the rear door with a wide umbrella of his own.
Kang Tae-hyuk stepped out onto the sidewalk.
He moved with the sharp precision of a man who had spent his life carving out an existence in steel-cold boardrooms.
His charcoal-gray suit bore no wrinkles, and his chiseled features were as severe as ever.
The untouchable Vice Chairman of the Kang Group was infamous for his biological control over his body, which allowed him to function without rest.
He barely spared a glance at the downpour as he checked his platinum watch, his expression as impassive as the clouds rolling over the city.
The crosswalk light blinked to life.
The crowd surged forward.
Seo-jun kept his eyes locked on the white paint dividing the street as he quickened his pace.
A sudden gait of hurried footsteps collided with his backside.
Seo-jun stumbled forward, his wet boot sliding on the pavement.
He threw out a hand to steady himself, his bare fingers brushing against the exposed skin of Tae-hyuk’s wrist.
The man’s sleeve had slipped down his forearm, revealing a pale, toned wrist.
The storm’s roar swallowed Seo-jun’s gasp as a feral heat rolled through his veins.
His lungs locked, and the scent of blooming winter camellias exploded between them, drowning out the smog-choked air.
Tae-hyuk went still.
It took twenty-eight years for the Vice Chairman to realize his blood had turned to molten gold.
His fangs lengthened, and the pupils of his dark eyes dilated, narrowing to pinpricks of liquid amber.
He turned his head sharply, locking his gaze onto the trembling boy before him.
“You…” Tae-hyuk’s voice rolled out like thunder, the sheer force of his Alpha instincts sending several people to their knees in sheer fright.
Seo-jun’s heart pounded in his throat.
He whirled around, his palms pressing against Tae-hyuk’s chest, and ran.
He disappeared into the throng of subway-bound commuters, swallowed whole by the underground tunnel.
Kang Tae-hyuk stood motionless in the downpour, his shadow falling over the wide-eyed guards and the cowering pedestrians.
He slowly flexed his right wrist, his fingers trembling, and stared at the mark burned into his pale skin.
The scent of winter camellias clung to his damp clothes, thick and sweet.