The world here does not divide people into males and females. Everything starts from a different, deeper, and more complex layer called secondary gender: Alpha, Beta, Omega.
And with each type, there is a pheromone system, a biological response, a social perception – and a life path that no one else shares.
Alpha – The Pressure Beneath the Shirt:
Alphas are born with a scent that doesn't need perfume – yet anyone who passes by can't help but look back.
They are tall, strong, and always seem to exude an aura that makes others adjust their posture when facing them. But the most overwhelming thing is the scent – intense, peppery like black pepper, or sharp like burning wood. Each person has their own scent, but they all share one feature: they make others breathe slowly.
Alphas can mark an Omega – a light bite on the neck, leaving a scent, a mark, and a permanent biological connection. From that moment on, the Omega is branded as "belonging." And sometimes, that bond carries more responsibility than love itself.
No one sees the pressure they carry every day: to lead, to live perfectly, to hide their emotions, to be better – because if they fail, the very definition of "Alpha" will fall along with them.
Beta – The In-Between Grey Area:
Betas live like regular people – no strong pheromones, no heat, no rut. They aren't attracted by smells, nor do they drive others wild with their own pheromones.
They go to school, work, love, and live just like everyone else on Earth.
But because of this, they are invisible in the ABO society.
Betas are not discriminated against, but they are also not desired. No one writes romance novels with a Beta as the main character. In ABO fairytales, Betas are the storytellers, not the ones who kiss the princess.
Omega – Fragile Body, Intense Pheromones:
Omega is born with a mechanism they can't control: heat.
At an unpredictable moment, their body heats up, and their pheromones spread – the scent of wet white flowers, honey melting between skin, lingering like vanilla in the air. Nearby Alphas are instantly drawn in, like mice caught by sticky traps.
Omegas are fragile because they can get pregnant. Whether female or male, they can go through pregnancy – a biological fate that makes them easily caught in controlling relationships, "loved" in possessive ways.
Male Omegas like Ann are a rare part of a fraction. They are rare, sensitive, and often looked down upon by society. They are born not to bear responsibility, nor to be favored – just to… be hidden away.
When Heat Meets Rut – And the World Shakes:
An Omega in heat and an Alpha in rut enter the same room.
Their universe contracts into nothing but scent and instinct.
Pheromones thick enough to block out light. The body heats up. Breathing is shallow. The chest rises and falls.
The Alpha wants to mark. The Omega wants to be held.
But without trust, everything becomes an explosion. Heat and rut are not just instincts, but weapons – if they fall into the wrong hands.
If in the real world, prejudice is invisible, in this world, prejudice has a scent. Thick, clear, and inescapable – even if you're just standing there, breathing lightly.
Combining – The Structures of Love Arranged:
In a society divided by pheromones and prejudice, who gets to love whom, who gets to have children with whom, and even who should marry whom… has long ceased to be a private matter. Every union is a question mark in the eyes of family, law, and history.
Alpha male × Omega female:
Reproductive ability: Very high
Social notes: The perfect model – an unchanging theorem. The dream of many traditional families. The standard for building a "strong lineage," a "pure" heritage. It's as if, without this, it can't be considered "true love."
Alpha male × Omega male:
Reproductive ability: Can get pregnant (male Omega)
Social notes: This is the kind of love that the media often calls "controversial." Not because they can't have children – they can. But because society doesn't believe a male Omega deserves to be loved, to get pregnant, or to enter the bright chapters of marriage. They love each other under pressure – not from each other, but from the outside world.
Alpha male × Alpha female:
Reproductive ability: Low, but children born are highly likely to be Alpha
Social notes: An alliance of power and strong genes. This couple is usually not referred to as "lovers," but as a "biological contract." Hidden in noble families, they marry not for affection, but to produce a strong Alpha generation, like creating warriors through sex and genetics.
Alpha male × Beta female:
Reproductive ability: Average
Social notes: A "peaceful" choice for Alphas who don't care about power, and for Betas who desire protection. They live quietly, unnoticed, but their children are often not highly regarded in terms of "bloodline."
Alpha female × Omega male:
Reproductive ability: Yes – extremely rare
Social notes: A medical legend. Few dare to believe, even fewer have seen it. If they do – their child could be a genetic breakthrough. But they must live on the fringes of society, where no one understands how to view an Alpha female as the protector, and an Omega male as the one to be cherished.
Alpha female × Omega female:
Reproductive ability: Yes – belongs to the Omega
Social notes: Rare, but possible. Their love exists in the pages of medical support – artificial insemination, pheromone neutralization. Not romantic, but still feasible.
Beta × Beta:
Reproductive ability: Normal
Social notes: The most common couple, but also the most unremarkable in the ABO system. They are not marked. No heat. No rut. No drama. But they still love each other. And have children. And live a normal life.
Beta × Omega:
Reproductive ability: Yes – lower than Alpha
Social notes: They can be together. But they are seen as a "weak choice." Many say that if Omegas want a better future, they should be with an Alpha. But there are Omegas who just want peace – no marks, no extended heat cycles – just to live like a normal person.
Alpha × Alpha (same gender):
Reproductive ability: None
Social notes: They love each other, but cannot have children. And in this society, no children = worthless. Their love often ends with both people in two separate marriages, just to preserve the family line.
Omega × Omega:
Reproductive ability: None
Social notes: They are the song no one dares to sing aloud. Two sweet pheromones flow entangled in a sea of dominant Alphas. They cannot have children. They cannot mark each other. But they love each other.
And sometimes... love is enough.
The Ratio – The Unfair Numbers:
If you were born as a Beta, congratulations – you're "normal." You're part of over 80% of the population, without heat, without rut, without anyone looking at you with a gaze of desire or suspicion. You can live your whole life without worrying about pheromones, without being led by the instincts of others.
If you're an Alpha, you belong to the remaining 10% – the minority that dominates. But if you're an Alpha female, that percentage drops… to 0.01%. You're barely mentioned, hidden, framed within "family secrets" or "undisclosed heirs." In society's eyes, Alpha is always male. And if you're not male, you can live quietly – or live under the control of indulgence.
And if you're an Omega, you make up only 8%. And if you're a male Omega?
Welcome to Ann's world.
You belong to 0.01% – one percent of eight percent. Almost no one is like you. There's no textbook on how to live. No fairytales for you. You'll always have to be cautious, always be watched, always have to hear someone say: "You're one of a kind." But you know what?
Being rare isn't always being precious. Sometimes… It's dangerous.
Ann knows this all too well.
He's often wondered: If I were Beta, would things be easier?
But he didn't get to choose.
In this world, secondary gender is printed right on your ID card, and whether you want it or not, you have to live by what that card dictates.
Bonus:
Me: The story is set in Asia, specifically Vietnam. Hope u like it~