Broken Bond: Between Vices and Virtues (BL)
Chapter 215 - 1: Pheromone shock

Chapter 215: Chapter 1: Pheromone shock

"Fated mates, huh..." Emily Bran said in a daze, catching the attention of her best friend seated across her. She was reading an article on her phone while waiting for their orders. Meanwhile, the one opposite to her, Killian Arden, was leaning on his seat, watching passersby outside the diner.

Killian looked at Emily and asked, "What?"

Emily looked up, waving her phone to the guy. "Oh...I was reading this article about fated mates. It sure is interesting."

"What about it?" Killian’s interest was piqued. He stopped watching people and focused on his female best friend.

Emily replied, "Hm? Well, it just says that fated mates are rare, only one pair in thousands, or maybe a million. I mean, of course, the ratio would be like that. Imagine walking on Earth with eight billion people. There’s no way you can meet ’the one’, right? That would be difficult, albeit possible but highly improbable."

Killian nodded in agreement.

Emily continued, "It’s just fun reading some stories about the one who met their fated mates. I don’t know if it’s real, though. It says here they could feel the connection, like if fated mates meet, they would immediately know they are destined to be together. Sheesh, the way it was written convinced me that they really exist, but I don’t believe it."

She shrugged her shoulders and gave Killian an uninterested look, "Well, I’m a beta, so what do I know? How about you, Ian? Do you believe it?"

Killian shook his head. "I don’t. Fated mates...I think it’s just a fantasy created by lovesick omegas who romanticize alphas’ obsession."

"Well, I guess that’s true," Emily responded.

Killian tilted his head; his light brownish locks fell smoothly on his sides. "I just don’t get what is the difference between fated mates and bonded mates. Aren’t they just similar? The way alphas and omegas feel towards each other, fated or bonded, is just all the same. Dominant alphas and submissive omegas, predator and prey..., or in worst scenarios, master and slave. Omegas are always the ones to suffer while alphas always get away with everything. Nothing’s new."

Emily stared straight at Killian. She spoke carefully after that, "Ian, your hatred toward alphas is dripping out of your mouth today. So, now you decided to be vocal?"

Killian frowned. "I don’t hate them, Emi. I just don’t like them."

"What the difference?" Emily asked dramatically with her eyebrows wiggling.

However, before Killian could answer, their orders arrived. They quickly ate their lunches and went back to work.

Killian Arden and Emily Bran were accountants working at HZ Finance Solutions—a subsidiary of a larger corporation whose headquarters is in England but was starting to build an empire in their country.

HZFS is responsible for handling the internal financial operations of companies under the Horizon Corporation, as well as providing financial services to external clients. They offer a range of services, such as accounting, investment management, payroll, business loans, or tax advisory services, under the broader umbrella of the parent corporation.

Killian and Emily are both associates in different departments. Emily works in the Accounting Department, while Killian on the Payroll Division.

So, as soon as they entered the mid-rise company building, they went to their respective floors. Killian checked the time. There were still ten minutes before one in the afternoon, the start of their working hours again.

He immediately went to the toilet first and dumped his load, before walking back to his cubicle. However, before he could even enter the Payroll Division, someone already shouted inside, "Don’t come in! Someone’s got into a pheromone shock! Call an ambulance!"

Killian froze for a moment as the words "pheromone shock" registered in his mind.

The muffled chaos inside the Payroll Division made it clear that things were quickly spiraling out of control. He glanced around at the anxious faces of his colleagues standing in the hallway, helpless and afraid to go inside.

"Don’t just stand there, call an ambulance!" Someone cried out again desperately. A pheromone shock isn’t too dangerous—it just means that the one who suffered on it uncontrollably releases an immense number of pheromones. In other words, they went into a heat or rut, without knowing, or without expecting it.

It could be induced or something accidental.

The thing that could be dangerous—is when someone who went into shock is in a public place or in a crowd swimming with alphas and omegas that may be affected by it. If that happens, then everyone will be having their unexpected heats and ruts.

Killian fished out his phone and quickly dialed for emergency services.

After giving the necessary details, he hung up and pocketed his phone. But he knew, even though the ambulance was on its way, it would take too long to get there. Omegas experiencing pheromone shock during a heat was in peril—not just for themselves because they will be vulnerable, but for everyone nearby as well.

Glancing at the panicked expressions of his coworkers, Killian made a decision. He straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath, steeling himself. He wasn’t like them...though he is an omega, his pheromone was almost non-existent like a beta, so he can be immune to pheromones with just one pack of suppressant herbs, and be unaffected by the wild cocktail of hormones that could make alphas go feral and omegas lose control. He could help, and that thought alone pushed him forward.

"Let me through!" Killian barked, his voice cutting through the panic.

His coworkers parted like the Red Sea, to his relief. As he stepped into the division office, pheromones hit him already, an overwhelming, heady scent that would have incapacitated any alpha, sending them into a frenzy.

The shutters had already been pulled down, isolating the space, but the atmosphere felt claustrophobic.

In the middle of the room, near the filing cabinets, was an omega, crumpled on the floor. Her face was pale, eyes wide in terror, her body shivering uncontrollably as the heat overwhelmed her. Her scent, usually mild and pleasant, had become sharp and overpowering, like waves of scorching energy flooding the room.

Killian moved swiftly, pushing aside a colleague who had been struggling to stay conscious. "Go, get out. I’ll handle this."

The man who was a recessive alpha, his face slick with sweat, stumbled toward the door, leaving Killian alone with the omega.

Her breathing was ragged, and her body was convulsing as if she were caught in a fever dream. Killian quickly shrugged off his jacket and knelt beside her. "Hey, I’ve got you," he said, his voice low and steady. "You’re going to be okay. Let’s get you down. By now, the ambulance might be here."

The omega whimpered, curling into herself, her eyes unfocused and full of panic. Killian gently draped his jacket over her, trying to cover her exposed skin and shield her as best as he could. He could feel the heat radiating off her body, but his focus didn’t waver.

He reached into his pocket, fingers wrapping around the small pouch he always carried with him. The herbal suppressants. His mind flashed back to the moment he started carrying them—his dislike for alphas and his desire to always be prepared. He hadn’t expected to use them like this, but here he was, grateful for the foresight.

"Here, chew and swallow this." He coaxed her lips open and gently placed the herbs into her mouth. Her body resisted at first, but after a moment, she weakly obeyed, swallowing the bitter suppressant.

It wasn’t a cure, but it would help slow the pheromone release until the ambulance arrived.

Killian stayed beside her, keeping his movements calm and deliberate, making sure she felt safe. Her breathing gradually started to slow as the herbs took effect, though her eyes remained glassy with pain.

Minutes later, someone yelled that the ambulance arrived, but because they were on the fourth floor, Killian decided to carry the omega rather than wait for the paramedics to come up.

He gathered the omega in his arms and warned everyone to not get too close as he made his way to the elevator. A kind beta pressed the button for him, and he made sure to thank him before the door closed.

"She’s stable for now. I made her eat a suppressant herb," he told the paramedics after meeting them on the ground floor.

The paramedics moved to assist, but seeing that Killian was unaffected by the pheromones, they allowed him to carry her out of the building. Carefully, he walked through the lobby and into the waiting ambulance, laying the omega on the stretcher gently.

The doors to the ambulance slammed shut, and the vehicle sped away, leaving Killian standing in the parking lot, his jacket still in his hands. The lingering scent of pheromones clung to the fabric, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.

Fearing that the jacket might cause discomfort to his co-workers, he went to the restroom and soaked the jacket in water, then dried it using the hand dryer. After the fabric stopped dripping yet still damp, he went back.

As he walked inside the elevator, someone walked past him, exiting. Their shoulders brushed ever so lightly, yet Killian felt like something squeezed his heart. He clutched it tightly as he staggered by the entrance of the elevator.

What happened? He’d like to look back but his breathing became ragged, and his body felt so hot so suddenly. He knew the feeling very well!

But why now? He was never affected by an omega’s heat—the pheromones do little effect on their similar gender. So, taking a pack of suppressant herbs would help him calm down. However, even after Killian chewed two, his condition wasn’t stabilizing.

His fear doubled when a shadow loomed over him. A man holding the elevator’s door and stopping it from closing on Killian’s body stood behind him. Killian looked up, and his brown eyes met the man’s bright green eyes, looking down at him with...anger?