Ezra opens his eyes in shock. He gasps for air, and perspiration flows slowly from all over his body. He feels better than yesterday; maybe even better than ever. The heat is gone. The sharpness in his body has ended.
Slowly, he rises from the bed. His neck stretches around, checking his room with curiosity. Last night, he had a dream of his anniversary celebration with Sora. It happened a few months ago, long before everything.
But the plot twist makes the dream feel weird. Ezra remembered the intimacy, but not till that stretch. He ponders by himself in bed, thinking about the dream, which somehow feels vague.
He decides to check under his duvet. Nothing is weird so far. When his feet touch the cold floor, he feels light. Slowly, he stands up and walks towards the mirror. When he checks himself in the mirror, he looks different—now he is radiant and fresh, and his cheeks are blushing.
Ezra suddenly snaps, thinking about yesterday when he had a fight with Fa and that ruthless Golden Alpha imprisoned him inside the bedroom. Ezra runs towards the door to check if it's locked.
The door is already unlocked. So, the time out is over.
He walks out of the room into the silence of the mansion. Everyone is probably out by now; college, work, or shopping. Ezra wanders around the living hall when he sees a figure sitting casually at the island bar with a laptop open.
"Where is everyone?" Ezra asks, with a coarse voice. Sora turns around, taking off her glasses before she hangs it hanging on the collar of her black top.
"Peinaire, Nara, Cirrus, and Fa were flying to Hua Hin yesterday. They'll be back by tomorrow," she replies with a smile on her face.
Ezra nods in silence, slowly approaching the female Alpha. "Are you working on something?"
"Oh yes. There's a new game to be launched next month. But we have some bugs, and I'm trying to fix them now," Sora shows the screen to Ezra. "I heard from Fa that you're an engineering student?"
"Hmm..." Ezra replies weakly. "Aeronautic engineering like Alpha Kawei."
"That's a tough one. Especially for an Omega..."
"So, you're telling me that I am weak?" Ezra feels offended. He leans against the bar, staring at Sora with his sharp gaze. However, that female Alpha doesn't jolt in rage. She calmly smiles at Ezra before offering him a cup of coffee.
"No. In fact, I would love to praise you for your bravery. There is no single Omega student in my batch, even though, compared to aeronautic engineering, computer engineering is much better," Sora replies.
"You're an En student, too?"
"Graduated last year. But, even before that, I worked part-time at TicTacToe as a gaming designer..."
The name rings a bell. Ezra frowns, and now his attention is fully on Sora. "May I ask something?"
"Go ahead," Sora grabs the glasses and dons them while her eyes are glued to her laptop screen.
Ezra bites his lower lip. "Your company produced a game called MewMew Land several years ago, am I right?"
Sora laughs softly. Her gaze shifts to Ezra. "Yes. As a matter of fact, it's my baby project. I was planning for an internship at TicTacToe. But, for them to accept my application, I need to do a small project. So, I built up an MMORPG game, ran it in a mock trial, and for that, they accepted me."
"Who knows they love my game so much that they decided to make it one of the products for the company that year. I was just a student, so I was scared. That's when I asked around for help. And, luckily, Fa was willing to be a test player for the game," Sora's explanation is a slap of epiphany for Ezra.
"Wait. So, he's the OG?"
"Not an OG. He is basically a moderator, a pioneer for MewMew Land. He used my account—Sora account—for full, unlimited access. As for his backup account, that's only for a run test."
Ezra turns pale, yet his cheek is blushing hard. "Did... did you two share the ownership of the account?"
Sora gives a meaningful smile to Ezra. "Yes. I did log in from time to time. Read the chat log to check for some errors..." Her glance lingers on Ezra.
"I know your relationship from the beginning. Fa told me everything about it because he knew I'll find out eventually," Sora grins widely. "I thought it was just a phase, but reading your chat log gives me butterflies in my tummy. So, I guess you two are serious about it."
"Have you... Ever play... as Sora?"
"No. Never. I log in, check the log, and out," Sora turns serious. "If you assumed that it's me all along, then you're wrong."
Ezra bleaks. He grabs the high chair, supporting his weak body that had swayed by the shocking fact.
"Let me be honest," Sora drops her e pen on the table top. "I'm not into Omega."
"So, you're into Beta?"
Sora stays unfazed while looking at Ezra. "Actually, I'm into Alpha. I'm okay with Beta, but not Omega."
"So, it's true that you're into Fa?"
Sora chuckles hard. She shakes her head in tiny. "Nope. I only see him as a brother, nothing more or less. We grew up together. My Omega dad died while trying to save his mother; so Fa feels indebted. That's why he always treats us—me and Nara—like his master."
Everything makes sense for Ezra now. How Sora ends up in the situation between him and Fa. She got nothing to do with it, except the fact that she's the creator of MewMew Land, and the one who lent that Sora account to Fa.
"Ezra, I never saw Fa so into anyone before. From the beginning, it's always you all long. He is so crazy in love with you," says Sora.
"What do you mean?"
Sora smiles, leaning against the bar while sipping her coffee. "I remembered the first time Cir told me about you two. I was so amused by his antics. He was crazy for the whole week after the first time he saw your face on the Ou Academy's graduation page. He said no one can take you away from him."
"Why didn't he bid for me?"
"He can't find a solid reason to give to the Sarin elders. They didn't know about your relationship because it's hard for them to understand the whole long-distance relationship concept."
"That night when he reserved you with his scents, that's the last straw for him. I warned him about the aftermath, but he told me not to worry because he had already planned everything with Cir. He was this close to losing you. Thank God the destiny is on his side."
So, from the beginning, it was all planned by Cirrus and Fa. But, unlike what Ezra thought would be. Fa is really Sora; his online wife that he loves dearly. He did all he could to have him, no questions needed.
"Why didn't he show up that night? The day when we planned to elope? Did he have a second thought?" Ezra asks for more detail.
"Fa was having a rut that night. Because he already smeared his pheromone—which has a 99.9% compatibility with yours—he was yearning for your touch. But, since you two lived far away, that took a toll on him. He was diagnosed with separate mating syndrome, where his body shut down without your pheromone."
"The Sarin elders were clueless about it, having no idea at all about you two. They met a dead knot until Cirrus proposed an idea to Omega Mei to find an Omega mate for Fa. And purposely chose Ou Academy, a coincidence made up by Cirrus, knowing that Mei is an alumnus."
Ezra is getting a clearer picture about the whole scenarios; MewMew Land, the basketball game, the heat, the elope and the arrival of Mei Sarin to the Ou Academy.
"I was wrong. I accused Fa for something that he didn't even do! I thought he chose me to be the surrogate Omega for both of you," Ezra slowly losing his words.
Sora softly pats Ezra's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. I think, Fa will never get mad at you. He is just afraid of losing you, that's why he locked you up," she says. "If he's truly mad at you, he won't helped you when you're on heat two days ago. He got scolded by the Sarin elders for his action. But I know, if he didn't do that, you won't be able to wake up like this."
"He did what?" Ezra is confused. His chest feels tight; heart beats so fast.
Sora chuckles helplessly while looking at the clueless Omega in front of her. "Well... what does an Alpha do when his Omega is on heat?"
Oh my God, the dream is true! I... I lost my v card already! Ezra blinks his eyes in disbelief.