Stop Trying to Mark Betas

Caesar, the hero of the Federation, was every child’s dream. Nine-year-old Lin Nuo was no exception. As a Beta, a group generally looked down upon, he nevertheless resolutely entered the mecha department. He eventually became a genius mecha engineer who drew the attention of the entire Federation, working in the Alpha-dominated field of special operations. Lin Nuo: “The Marshal is gentle and approachable, and he is utterly devoted to the Federation. He gives everything he has.” …Until the year Lin Nuo turned nineteen, when Caesar launched a rebellion and overthrew the Federation. In the blink of an eye, “Hero Caesar” became “Emperor Caesar.” Lin Nuo: …Fine, fine. So this is how you want to play, huh? * Countless times, Caesar tried to leave his pheromones on Lin Nuo. Countless times, he came away disappointed. “How can I make you belong to me completely?” The handsome man’s voice was hoarse. His cool leather-gloved hand touched the back of the young man’s neck, caressing it, claiming it. “After all this time, I haven’t even left a trace of my scent.” Lin Nuo: “That’s how Beta relationships work. There’s no such thing as a lifelong mark. If things work out, you stay together. If they don’t, you just break up.” At his words, the man’s pale gray, artificial eyes, devoid of emotion, lifted slightly and fixed on his face. “Is that so?” Caesar smiled. “It’s different when Alphas fall in love.” …So on the very day Caesar launched his rebellion, Lin Nuo was taken straight to the emperor’s private cabin and forced to undergo body modification to become an Omega. Lin Nuo: …Fine, we’ll date, man. Who could possibly win against you? * “…I was born a Beta. I can’t be marked or tamed, and I won’t let just anyone possess me. Once I disappear into a crowd, even the most keen-nosed Alpha won’t be able to find me by scent. From what I hear, that sort of thing can drive you Alphas crazy. So get lost, and don’t ever lay another finger on a Beta.” The silver-haired boy, nineteen, stood blocking the door to Lin Nuo’s home. Lin Nuo was twenty-five and gave him a thorough scolding, but the boy refused to leave. “…But I really won’t go crazy. “I’m not stupid enough to try marking a Beta with my pheromones. And I know I can find you again and again, even without relying on your scent.” Far in the future, the stray boy Lin Nuo took in would put down a civil war, replace the powerful Caesar, and become the renowned Emperor Augustus. Lin Nuo never forgot the boy’s sincere tears that day. “Because the one I love has always been your soul.” * A cool-looking but actually just aloof, feline-type Beta: the strongest, most handsome recipient x Obsessive, cold-blooded, controlling, ambitious political mastermind and founding Alpha emperor, love interest 1 (replaced) ↓ Sincere, passionate younger man, a hero and emperor with maxed-out stats across the board, love interest 2 (endgame) Content warnings: 1. The love interest changes (Love Interest 1 → Love Interest 2). 2. Non-consensual body modification (Beta to Omega, for real). 3. Love Interest 2 is related by blood to Love Interest 1, and later becomes the recipient’s adoptive son in name only. (A melodramatic “son inherits his father’s wife” plotline.) 4. The blurb is written this way because the author only knows how to write this kind of thing… It really is an angsty, melodramatic story. 5. This is an unconventional change of love interest. Both Love Interests 1 and 2 get a lot of page time. Later on, they’re evenly matched in a tense rivalry for the recipient, with a love triangle and all-out competition. Love Interest 1 fights until the very last moment before losing. 6. Each love interest is devoted to the recipient alone, in body and soul. The recipient is devoted to one love interest at a time, in body and soul (since the love interest changes…). Pure-love purists, beware… * Theme: Idealists must withstand the test of power