The broken hourglass

Chapter 1

The black van screeched to a halt in the dimly lit alleyway behind the gala. The plan was simple: grab the rival heir, hold him for leverage, and be gone before the scent of burnt rubber faded.

Chan and Changbin jumped out, moving with alpha precision. They spotted the slim figure in the dark trench coat—the exact outfit their target was supposed to be wearing. Before the person could even turn around, Changbin had a cloth over their nose and Chan was hoisting them into the back.

"Got him," Chan grunted, slamming the door.

Minho, idling in the driver's seat, floored it. "Scent blockers?"

"Check," Hyunjin said, glancing at the unconscious figure slumped between Felix and Jisung. "He reeks of nothing. Proper high-society beta masking, I guess."

Twenty minutes later, they were in the basement of their safehouse. The "heir" was tied to a chair, a single bulb swinging above his head.

"Wake him up," Minho commanded.

Jisung splashed a bit of water. The captive stirred, his head lolling back. As his eyes blinked open, the room went dead silent. Sharp, almond-shaped eyes scanned the room with terrifying flickers of boredom.

"Who the hell is this?" Changbin barked. "This isn't the heir."

Seungmin stared at them, his expression flat. He didn't look scared; he looked annoyed. He leaned back as much as the ropes allowed and let out a dry, rasping laugh.

"You idiots," Seungmin said, his voice like ice. "You kidnapped the wrong person. And you're getting water on a four-thousand-dollar coat."

"Shut up," Hyunjin snapped, stepping into his space. The alpha's pheromones flared—a heavy, suffocating wave of cedar and smoke meant to make any subordinate bow.

Seungmin didn't flinch. He didn't even blink. He just stared at Hyunjin's throat like he was looking for the best place to bite it. "Is that supposed to scare me? Your scent is obnoxious. Take a shower."

The pack bristled. Even Jeongin, the beta, looked stunned. "He's not reacting to the alpha pressure at all," he whispered.

"Because I have things to do," Seungmin snapped, his eyes darting to the clock on the wall. "Untie me. Now. Before I decide to make this expensive for you."

"Listen here, you little—" Minho started, grabbing Seungmin by the chin.

Seungmin's lip curled. Underneath the heavy layers of chemical scent-blockers he'd ingested, his inner omega was screaming in terror at being surrounded by four aggressive alphas. But Kim Seungmin didn't do "fear." He'd spent years perfecting the mask of a cold, untouchable beta.

"Touch me again," Seungmin whispered, "and you'll be pulling your fingers out of your own throat."

Jisung, the pack's most sensitive omega, tilted his head. He crept closer, sniffing the air near Seungmin's neck. "Hyung... something smells weird. Like... ozone? And something sweet, way deep down."

Seungmin went rigid. His heart hammered against his ribs—the only sign of weakness he couldn't stop.

"I'm a beta," Seungmin lied, his voice dropping an octave into a chilling, defensive growl. "And if you don't let me go, you're going to find out exactly how 'cold' I can get."

Chan narrowed his eyes, sensing the crack in the facade. "Felix, get the neutralizer. If he's hiding a secondary gender, we're going to find out why he was at that gala in the first place."

Seungmin's eyes widened for a split second. If they stripped his blockers, the scent of a terrified, unbonded omega would fill the room, and he'd lose the only weapon he had: his bite.

The safehouse had been tense for hours. After realizing their mistake, Chan had decided they couldn't just dump Seungmin on a street corner—not when he'd seen their faces and the location of the backup base. For now, he was a "guest," though the locked door and barred windows said otherwise.