逆转 (Reverse) – 莲鹤夫人
Chapter 3
It was the first time he went through an alpha’s rut; he was almost convinced it would be the last thing he ever experienced. In the days that followed, they stayed inseparable in bed, rolling over each other again and again.
The doctor was right. The more top-tier the alpha, the longer the rut lasted. For five whole days, they fucked until they couldn’t tell day from night. The enormous villa was filled with the thick stench of pheromones, permeating every crevice like boiling water. Thankfully, everything they had previously prepared for heat cycles was still there; otherwise, the omega wouldn’t have survived on the instant food and water he scarfed down every day.
By the evening of the sixth day, the alpha’s heat finally ended. The bonding heat slowly went away. The room was a total disaster, and they both looked like they just crawled out of pleasure-soaked hell. Having gone through it at last, they could finally sleep—real sleep, the kind where you do absolutely nothing.
On the seventh day, the alpha woke up in a fog, still tired and confused. He forcefully opened his eyes, and he found the omega sleeping soundly in his arms.
…What was he doing here?
The alpha, just having woken up and thinking slowly, raised his eyebrows in shock and was about to sit up when a sharp, stabbing pain went through his temples. He took a deep breath and pressed hard on his forehead.
At that same moment, the events of the previous week flooded back into his mind.
That strange rut. That horrible, hopeless yearning for pheromones and the comfort that only an omega could provide. His body, sluggish from too much lechery, still carried the lingering exhaustion.
Suddenly, the omega wriggled a bit. He was exhausted—his whole body ached, as if someone had taken him apart and put him back together again. When he saw the alpha sitting up and gripping his head, he ignored his pain and struggled to sit up, reaching out to him.
“How is it?” he asked in a dry, raspy voice, “Is there still a slight—”
His worried words suddenly stopped in his throat.
The alpha’s staring eyes were as icy as a sword slicing through his flesh, and they reflected an obvious intent to kill.
“…Zip it.” The alpha gritted his teeth and forced the words out. He glanced at his so-called wife. Now that they were so close, he could practically feel the gentle warmth of the omega’s body—but that only aggravated his anger, the anger of learning that an omega had twisted and controlled him. His expression was gloomy, and his strong, blatant hatred radiated through his eyes, “Get the fuck out. Leave. Right now.”
He was never the type to display his feelings openly. This was already a very harsh reaction.
In a split second, the omega’s body jolted awake.
His lips opened twice. He pulled the covers closer to his body. Whatever he wanted to say, he couldn’t get it out.
In the end, all he could do was drop his head and say softly, bitterly, “…Yes, sir.”
During his six days in rut, the alpha became obsessed with the tiny bedroom that smelled like the omega. He went to extreme lengths, including tearing the sheets, walls, and windowsill apart, in his desire to bring his marked partner there. Walking unsteadily out of the alpha’s master bedroom, the omega clasped his stomach while wearing only a thin nightshirt.
There were traces of their week-long indulgence everywhere they went. The swirling pheromones persisted in the air, reaching every corner, penetrating his senses.
The alpha’s anger and disgust hit him like a slap in the face. This obvious evidence of lust made his head spin and his ears ring, like pain that wouldn’t go away.
He thought sadly that he should have seen this coming.
He really should’ve… been prepared.
He leaned against the wall and ignored the mess for now, dragging himself into the bathroom next to the small bedroom. He turned on the hot water and let it run over his fatigued body from head to toe.
The room was filled with steam. Water roared down. He collapsed against the bathtub, his eyelids shaking uncontrollably.
His alpha was scared.
The omega realized, as he watched the steam make various patterns on the frosted glass, that the alpha’s anger was just a mask for his fear.
For the last twenty years of his life—and for hundreds of years of omega evolution—this was a fear they had always lived with: fragile bodies, limited strength, and heat cycles that came on time, never late, and always powerful enough to turn them into breeding machines that couldn’t function without an alpha. They clung to alphas like parasitic vines, never letting go, with no way to break free. Fortunately, alphas were also drawn to omegas, which kept the two sexes in a fragile balance, still tangled together in pain to this day.
What was the cost of having no freedom?
Feeling compelled to kneel down to another sex out of pure instinct, what was that like?
The omega fell half-asleep, wondering blankly.
His family was powerful enough. Even so, an omega born into a family like his couldn’t get independence or respect, not to mention those omegas who were born into poverty. In the public eye, an omega’s most important job was to calm down alphas, besides bearing pups. After all, a species with such immense power would pose a disaster if it revolted against its natural impulses.
So… was he scared because of that?
The omega moved carefully, getting down on his knees in the tub while he meticulously bathed himself, his head bowing and his back curving into a beautiful line.
Because of the virus, omegas would no longer have heat cycles like they used to, and alphas would no longer have power over them. Alphas had become overly reliant on their partner’s comfort, which caused insecurity, unpredictability, and aggressive behaviors…
The omega glanced down. Droplets ran down his face one by one, and no one knew whether they were tears of pain or sweat from the steam.
How can anyone really know what someone else is going through? Throughout his life, he had been tormented by the weight of heat cycles, societal expectations, and familial duties. His marked partner had great authority and had never treated him—or any omega—as an equal. This has been his normal for many years. And now? The alpha became enraged, feeling violated and disgraced after experiencing it once.
Even though the water was very hot, he was still so cold that his lips were trembling. A depressing chill ran down his back, causing him to curl up into himself.
If he could just stay here forever and never leave—that would be wonderful, he thought.
On the other hand, the alpha rushed to get dressed. His first rut had driven him insane enough to drive every servant out of the house, and now he couldn’t even find clean clothes. He was left with no choice but to wrap himself in a towel.
A week has passed, and he probably had a lot of documents and official work waiting for him. The alpha held back his rage as he scrolled through dozens of unread messages and missed calls. Before he could check them, another call came through.
“If you have something to say, say it fast.” he said grimly. “I’m busy.”
His friend’s cheerful voice came over the phone, “I know you’re busy! Still, I have to ask—how was it? Is it easy to get through?”
The alpha raised his hand to hang up. His friend quickly said, “Hey, hey, hey, I’m just asking! Look how pissed off you are. Didn’t you laugh your ass off at me last time?”
“The development of a cure has to be prioritized.” the alpha said sternly. “It can’t be delayed any longer.”
The other end of the line fell silent for a moment. When he heard the serious tone, his friend perked up, “I just finished reviewing the Institute’s research report. To be honest? It seems questionable to me. There’s still a lot of debate about whether this thing is even a virus.”
“What are you saying?”
“Most researchers believe it’s a new virus, and the inspectors lean that way too. But a small group thinks it’s not a virus at all—it’s a natural evolution.”
The alpha let out a cold laugh, “Evolution? What kind of fucked-up evolution is this?”
“Like I said… questionable.” His friend answered, “If they want to treat it like a virus and get rid of it completely, they’ll probably have to start with omegas. The current plan is to focus on alpha-specific suppressants first. This isn’t something that can be done overnight—you getting angry won’t help.”
“Start with omegas?” The alpha raised an eyebrow. “How? Extracting their pheromones?”
“At worst, cutting out their pheromone glands completely.” his friend went on, “Two options have been suggested so far. One is to make an alpha version of omega suppressants and then work on that—maybe a good cure will come out of it. The second option is more violent: extract a large amount of pheromones directly from the marked omega gland and solve the problem once and for all… You know what that means.”
The alpha was back to his normal calm, emotionless self, “If the second option is used, the omega’s gland would be permanently damaged, right?”
“Exactly. That’s why I said it’s violent.” his friend explained. “Oh, and one last thing—nothing big.”
“Go on.”
“Do you know what the Institute called this virus?”
The alpha’s lips curled slightly, “What is it?”
“Reverse.” his friend answered. “They call it… Reverse.”
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Translated and edited by janemoyu (12/25/25)