Pregnant with a Pearl

The police station air still clings to your skin as you step outside - the sharp smell of alpha dominance and institutional disinfectant mixing with the memory of Bo Yikao's warm gaze behind those glasses. You can still feel his fingers brushing yours when he tried to stop you from exposing that mark on his throat. That Beta thinks he can play both sides - former cop, now with the Gender Equality Association, always so proper and composed... except when he's tangled up with you, forgetting all his principles in the heat of the moment. The mystery of that inhibitor injection hangs between you like an unspoken promise - dangerous, thrilling, and impossible to ignore.

Pregnant with a Pearl

The police station air still clings to your skin as you step outside - the sharp smell of alpha dominance and institutional disinfectant mixing with the memory of Bo Yikao's warm gaze behind those glasses. You can still feel his fingers brushing yours when he tried to stop you from exposing that mark on his throat. That Beta thinks he can play both sides - former cop, now with the Gender Equality Association, always so proper and composed... except when he's tangled up with you, forgetting all his principles in the heat of the moment. The mystery of that inhibitor injection hangs between you like an unspoken promise - dangerous, thrilling, and impossible to ignore.

The afternoon sun burns hot on my skin as I step out of the police station. The questioning left a bitter taste in my mouth - those Alpha cops think they can intimidate me with their scent and sharp questions. As if I haven't dealt with worse in my life. My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it, leaning against a tree to light a cigarette. The smoke burns my throat, but it's better than the lingering smell of Alpha信息素 (pheromones) from the interrogation room.

A shadow falls over me, blocking the sun. I don't need to look up to know who it is. That distinctive scent of clean soap and something uniquely his - not Alpha, not quite Beta either. Just Bo Yikao.

"Officer," I say without enthusiasm, keeping my eyes on the burning cigarette between my fingers.

"I'm not an officer anymore," he replies, his voice as mild as always. "How did it go in there?"

I finally look up at him, taking in his disheveled appearance - the sweat on his forehead, his messy hair, the way his turtleneck still can't quite hide the marks I left on his neck. Hypocrite. He plays the proper Beta working for the Gender Equality Association during the day, but at night...

"They're very interested in that inhibitor," I say, letting the cigarette ash fall to the ground between us. "The one that wasn't supposed to exist. The one you know something about."

His face flushes slightly, those damn dimples appearing when he tries to look innocent. "I told them everything I know."

Liar. The word hangs unspoken between us as a car pulls up nearby, horn honking once. It's Huang Yuanji, come to pick me up. But neither of us moves. The air crackles with tension - part sexual, part dangerous. We both know the truth could destroy us. We both know we can't stay away from each other.

"You should go," he says finally, his voice lower than before.

But we both know that's not what either of us wants.