"This position calms the mind and increases circulation to the brain. It also lengthens the hamstrings," the instructor's soft voice droned on over the ambient music, "making you more easily spreadable."
A giggle rang through the class.
"It's not funny." The instructor stepped over to the radio and turned a dial, switching off the music. "As Core Omegas," she started counting on her fingers, "we have inferior scents. Inferior looks. Inferior pheromonal control. Low healing ability."
Her lean figure wove gracefully between mats. "We must breed higher for the sake of our pups—" she lifted the waist of a male Omega five degrees higher, "and the only way to do that is to secure an Alpha of higher biological ranking."
"Preach!" came a voice.
The instructor returned to the front. "Since Prime Alphas are rare and impossibly out of our league, our only hope is trapping an Alpine Alpha." Her eyes scanned the room. "If you're not fuckable, why will they choose you over an Alpine Omega? What exactly are you bringing to the—Shen Qiang!"
Shen Qiang had abandoned the downward-facing dog pose entirely, sitting back on his heels. Sweat plastered his red-dyed hair to his forehead. "I'm not here to learn how to be fuckable. I'm here to stretch."
"Good thing, too." A female voice sneered from the mat behind him. "Because you'd never cut it. Not with that earthy sunflower scent. Even a Core Alpha won't be able to stomach it."
Qiang's eyes narrowed as he forced a smile. "I agree with you. People can only pretend to like my sunflower scent." His eyes widened. "But at least my pheromones don't scent like discount potpourri from a convenience store."
Before Joy could snap back, the instructor chimed in. "Yeah, Shen Qiang and Joy Wang, let's not do that today."
"I didn't—"
A phone's shrill ringtone cut Joy off. A murmur of arghs and ughs echoed through the room.
"No phones." The instructor pointed to a sign behind her. It featured the image of a cellphone crossed out with a big red X.
"It's mine." Qiang smiled apologetically at the instructor. He peered at the screen. "It's my father. Back in Zhuyuan. You know international calls—"
"Out!" The instructor pointed to the door and switched the radio back on as Qiang scrambled outside. "Now, we're going to try and lengthen the spine."
"I heard a rumor you won't believe about Shen Qiang," Joy whispered to the blond male Omega on her right.
"What?" he whispered back.
"Like… three years ago, he was exiled from Zhuyuan. By—"
"Exiled?" The Omega to Joy's left cut in as they transitioned into the cat-cow pose.
"By Xu Haoran," Joy finished, ignoring the interruption.
"The Xu Haoran?" The blond's brows furrowed in confusion. "How?"
"No one knows," Joy arched her back deep. "But they say he'll lose his head if he sets foot in Zhuyuan again."
"Wait. I don't understand. Who is Xu Haoran?" the Omega to Joy's left pressed.
The blond hissed. "Phoebe. Do you seriously not know Xu Haoran?"
Phoebe shook her head.
He sighed. "Typical Dayuanian. You know nothing of the world outside this country. I knew the Xu name before I knew my own."
"Can you just explain?" Phoebe pouted, her wildflower rose scent spiking in agitation. She stretched one leg to the left, following the instructor's command.
Joy sighed dramatically. "I'll only explain this once, so listen."
Phoebe nodded.
"Jingcheng is the capital city of Zhuyuan. There are completely normal districts in Jingcheng, like Jinmen, where Qinhai phones are produced."
"I use a Qinhai phone." Phoebe beamed.
"Everyone uses Qinhai phones, Phoebe," the blond said flatly.
"Oh."
"Then," Joy continued, "there are districts where the law exists only as a formality. Syndicates informally rule those areas. One such district is Shoujiao, ruled by the Onyx Serpent Triad. Which is ruled by the Xu family."
"Interesting."
"What's actually interesting is that while every district has zones usually ruled by different syndicates, Shoujiao is the only district where all zones are under the command of a single syndicate."
"So the Xu family is really powerful, huh?"
Joy scoffed. "Powerful is an understatement, Pheebs. They're superior in every way. Even biologically. Xu Haoran is the current Laoda and—"
"Laoda?"
"Leader of the triad," the blond snapped.
Joy pressed on. "He is a Prime Alpha. He has a nine-year-old daughter, Xu Yue. She is a Prime Alpha as well. His father was a Prime Alpha. As was his father before him."
"Wow! As rare as Prime Alphas are said to be? I've never even met one—"
"I have!" Joy smiled smugly. "There was one in my high school."
"Of course, you have!" The blond rolled his eyes.
"I have met an Enigma, though." Phoebe chimed in.
The blond started giggling. "We're not talking mythology here, Pheebs!"
"I really have!"
"Don't be stupid. But wait… this doesn't make any sense," the blond said, frowning.
"What doesn't?" Joy asked.
"How did someone like Shen Qiang manage to cross paths with someone like Xu Haoran?"
"Right!" Joy lifted her hands above her head, knees bent in a lunge. "I've heard Xu Haoran is a complete monster. They say he killed someone for the first time at age five."
"That's horrible!" Phoebe whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
"My question is… how did Shen Qiang manage to survive? He only got exiled after—" Joy stopped mid-sentence.
Qiang was standing in the doorway.
His face was ashen white. Hands shaking visibly. He stumbled toward the instructor as if he'd forgotten how to walk. He whispered, and the instructor covered her mouth in a quiet gasp. Quickly, she gathered Qiang's mat and ushered him out. The class stared after them in wonder.
When the instructor returned, she spoke in a low, solemn voice. "Shen Qiang's father… died in a car crash. He's going back to Zhuyuan right now."
"Oh, that's so sad," Phoebe said, wiping away a tear. "Is he going to be okay?"
"He's violating his exile," the blond Omega whispered, eyes wide.
Joy's lips curved into a satisfied smile. "Xu Haoran won't take kindly to that. I'm pretty sure Qiang wouldn't survive him this time."
***
The sight in the Xu family courtyard would shock any regular person to the core.
Xu Haoran, in black harem pants, shirtless, abs that had their own abs glistening with sweat, stood with one hand behind his back, a double-edged straight sword held lightly in the other.
Opposite him was Xu Yue, dressed in a cyan cheongsam and a pair of five-inch heels in shiny black snakeskin, her hair in a tight bun that was starting to fray.
Haoran seized on that detail. "Your hair is coming loose," he said, his voice cutting. "What are you, an Omega?"
Her face remained a perfect, expressionless mask, but Haoran caught the slight, angry twitch of her ear. Discipline.
While he sent a tiny wave of oppressive pheromone with every parry, she didn't respond in kind. Instead, she bottled hers, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash a devastating counter. It wasn't his way, but he could admire the beauty of it.
He lunged, and their steels clanged against each other. Another tendril of his pheromones washed over her. Another strand of her hair loosened, but she held her balance. He wondered if she knew he was using only a fifth of his strength. When she turned ten, he would double it. Give her a real reason to have messy hair.
She lunged again. This time, he met the strike hard, sending a sharp vibration up her arms. She didn't even wince, her grip remaining firm. Strong as a mountain. A small smile crossed his face and disappeared just as quickly.
As Yue lunged again, he sidestepped, his return flick leaving a shallow cut on her arm.
She flinched but made no sound.
"You must learn to hurt, Xu Yue," he said coolly. "Everyone is your enemy."
She lunged. He cut her again.
His eyes narrowed on both cuts. The second cut was a perfect line just below the first. The first had already started to heal. "You must learn to protect." He paused. "Your loyalty is first to the Xu family. Then the triad. Then all of Shoujiao."
She lunged—another cut.
She was nearing her breaking point. He could tell by the way her eyes grew glassy with unshed tears. He cut again. "You're a Prime Alpha. The very top of the food chain. You're not anyone's victim. You must not permit yourself to lose in a fight."
She straightened her back and tightened her grip on the sword.
"Laoda."
The voice shattered the ritual.
Haoran's face scrunched in a frown. Deng Zhi never interrupted training. "What is it?" he asked, pinning Yue's blade down with his own.
Zhi's eyes flickered from Haoran to Yue.
"She is the future Laoda. Speak in her presence, or leave!" Haoran commanded.
"Laoda," Zhi cleared his throat. "It's… it's…"
"Are you going to speak or not?"
"It's…" He sighed. "It's Shen Qiang."
Haoran's blade stopped moving, hovering in mid-parry. His frown deepened. "What about him?"
"Laoda. Shen Qiang… Has violated his exile."
"He really dared to—" He staggered back, his sword clattering to the ground as a sharp, agonizing pain erupted in his forearm. He almost couldn't believe it. The girl had sliced through his distracted guard and unleashed her entire store of accumulated pheromones.
"If you get distracted in a fight, it'll cost you your life, Papa." Her voice was sweet and girlish. "A real enemy would have taken your arm."
He turned to look at her. A sharp, furious look. She smiled sweetly, standing with her hands clasped behind her back, her own sword dripping with a generous amount of his blood.
Haoran stared at the gash. An ugly, deep gash that would take days to heal. Nothing like the practiced tiny cuts he'd inflicted on her.
Her eyes fell to the wound. She drew in a breath and bowed slightly. "Sorry, Papa."
He scoffed. "Don't apologize. Not for being ruthless. Last lesson today, Xu Yue—" He stared past her, his eyes distant and cold. "Anyone who crosses you must die by your hand. Or be subject to a fate worse than death."
***
Qiang felt the eyes on him.
From the morgue. To the crematorium. To the small ceremony he held. Through it all, he felt eyes on him.
Xu Haoran was watching.
Qiang had wanted to imagine this differently. He wanted to mourn his father without fear, to cry without looking over his shoulder. Instead, all he felt was a sense of impending doom.
Xu Haoran was biding his time.
Soon, he would leap from the shadows and demand blood in exchange for violating his exile.
***
After the ceremony, he sat by the poolside, wine glass on the poolside table, cigarette in one hand.
He hadn't smoked in seven years and two months. But tonight, he felt like he would go mad if he didn't have the nicotine to steady his nerves—blockers can only do so much.
As Qiang took his fifth drag, he heard a loud, metallic clang.
Followed by the familiar groan of his gate sliding open.
Without his permission.
That could only mean one thing.
He rose to his feet.
Xu Haoran was here.