Addicted - FAYEYOKO

Escape

In a world where Alphas reigned supreme, Omegas lived as nothing more than commodities—bought, sold, and enslaved. The social hierarchy rested entirely on the strength of pheromones—those invisible markers that determined one's status, control, and influence. Even the Royal families misused their Alpha dominance, leveraging it to consolidate their power and deepen the divisions that separated Alphas, Betas, and Omegas.

But beneath the surface of this unequal world, whispers of dissent began to stir. A resistance movement took root, born from the dreams of a society where Alphas, Betas, and Omegas might one day coexist as equals. Within the leading rebellion, there was a shadowy figure whose vision was as radical as it was dangerous. This person believed that only by erasing pheromones—those biological markers that dictated everything from birth—could true equality be achieved.

Abandoned or orphaned children were frequently kidnapped and trafficked, while the world turned a blind eye, accepting it as a grim norm. Human traffickers preyed on the young and vulnerable, especially those who had yet to differentiate into their secondary genders (Alpha, Beta, or Omega). Those who differentiated into Alphas were auctioned to the highest bidder—typically military factions or the wealthy elite—as guards or foot soldiers. Meanwhile, young Omegas faced an even darker fate, sold into brothels or as household slaves.

The captives waited in dread, knowing that once their differentiation manifested, their fates were sealed. Most children underwent differentiation around their fourteenth year. The unlucky few who remained undifferentiated until their eighteenth birthday were labeled Betas—a neutral group, neither subjected to the power plays of Alphas nor the vulnerabilities of Omegas.

Betas lived on the fringes, immune to the pheromone-induced heats and ruts that controlled others, but still vulnerable to the oppressive force of Alpha pheromones. Their scentless existence placed them outside the vicious struggles of power, often making them the overlooked class in society.

...

Under the cover of a moonless night, the camp lay cloaked in shadow. The wind carried with it the acrid scent of burning wood, a sharp contrast to the otherwise stifling air of captivity

"Hurry up! Some of them are escaping!!"

The shouts of guards echoed through the camp as it erupted into chaos. Smoke billowed up into the night sky, casting a flickering orange glow that danced across terrified faces. Children stumbled out of their cages, eyes wide with panic and hope as the flames leapt higher, threatening to consume the entire camp.

In the midst of the confusion, a small group of resourceful children darted through the shadows. Their escape was not a matter of luck, but careful planning. For weeks, they had watched the guards' patterns, waited for the right moment. Now, the inferno they had started served as the perfect distraction.

Five, a teenager in her eighteenth years, kept her head down, clutching the hand of a younger girl who had been too frightened to run on her own. Her heart pounded in her chest, fear thrumming through her veins like wildfire. Behind her, the shouts of guards grew louder.

"Don't look back." she hissed to the girl. "Keep moving."

The acrid smoke stung her eyes, but it masked the scent of her fear—a small mercy in a world where the wrong pheromones could mark you as prey. Five had yet to differentiate, and that status made her an advantage for the Alpha to locate her.

The traffickers would kept undifferentiated children locked away until they could be properly auctioned off. She had seen it happen, the moment a child shifted, their fate was decided. Alphas went to the highest bidders, Omegas to the darkest corners of society.