The sun was just on the brink of rising when the oh too familiar sound of the alarm clock rang throughout the small room. Yunho groaned, poking his long, slender arm out from under the covers to find the evil alarm clock that ruins his peaceful slumber every morning. Once he turned the alarm off, he reluctantly sat up with a big yawn, stretching his arms out over his head.

He felt the bed shift as his Alpha wrapped an arm around his waist. "Is it that time already?" The dark haired Alpha whined as he tightened his arm around his mate.

Yunho looked down at the one thing that brought him happiness every day and chuckled, "I'm afraid so, my love." The Beta ran his fingers through his lover's hair.

"Are you going to be okay today?" Mingi asked as he finally released his hold on the Beta and sat upright in the bed.

Yunho sighed because he didn't really have the kind of answer his mate was looking for. "I hope so. But I'm having a hard time keeping my mouth shut, Mingi. I don't know how much longer I can stay still if I watch another one of them-" he silenced himself before he let the image of  another distressed Omega enter his thoughts.

He looked up at the now quiet Alpha, who had an unreadable expression. "Baby... we've talked about this."

"I know, but-" Yunho halted his sentence once again because he knew Mingi might get angry with him if he continues.

Mingi sighed at the distressed look on his Beta's face. "Look, I can't keep defending you at work. You could've gotten in a lot of trouble last week if I hadn't came in and rescued you. You have to control your mouth and your actions or it will reflect poorly on both of us. I'm in the running to be promoted, you know that."

"What I said wasn't even that bad! I just said that 'Omegas should be allowed outside every once in-"

"You keep defying and belittling Supreme City's ancient rule, Yunho!" The Alpha shouted to get his point across, causing his pheromones to flare and for the Beta to shrink away in submission.

Mingi tugged at his dark brown roots, feeling guilty for making his mate submit like that. He's always been a softy for his strong tongued Beta. The Alpha let out a big puff of air in frustration. "I know you're unhappy and I know that you struggle every day, but please, just try to hold out a little while longer until I figure something out. I will try to get you out of this, I promise, but right now can you try really hard for me? Hmm?" he begged.

"Yes, Alpha" Yunho whispered, staring down at the comforter and clasping his hands together.

"Thank you, love." Mingi walked over to Yunho's side of the bed and pecked the top of the older's head, letting the Beta's light-colored hair tickle his nose. "Come on, we need to start getting ready.

—————

Mingi and Yunho worked for the same laboratory on the south side of Supreme City, called Sigma. Mingi worked as a security officer, while Yunho was forced to work as one of the scientists there after getting an outstanding score on his placing exam.

The Alpha and Beta couple actually met at the lab they were placed at, becoming each other's favorite part of their work days, but as of lately, that doesn't seem to be enough for the Beta anymore. He truly hated his job.

After they finished their morning meal of eggs and toast, Mingi helped Yunho shrug on his white lab coat, that had a Sigma symbol embroidered on the front, right-side pocket. Yunho hated wearing his Sigma uniform anymore.

The couple lived fairly close to the lab in a relatively small house, so it was only about a ten minute walk. They kept their hands interlaced until their arrival made them separate so they could start their separate work days. They work on separate wings of the building, so they rarely see each other throughout the day other than at lunch time, where they are free to act like a normal mated couple.

"I love you, Yunho. Have a good day, alright?" Mingi asked, but he was also hinting for his Beta to behave himself today.

"Yeah, yeah" he brushed it off. "I love you too. I'll see you at lunch."

Mingi leaned in, leaving a quick peck on Yunho's lips before heading to his office to start his morning duties.

Yunho huffed as he used the elevator to reach the level where his work quarters were at. He knew that today was going to be exactly the same. What his mate doesn't know is just how truly miserable he is in this place.

He's hated it ever since the first time he was forced to observe a fertilization experiment. It was on one of the imprisoned Omegas whose heat cycle started. It was the perfect opportunity for the new Beta scientists to learn.

Yunho can't get the memory of the defenseless Omega out of his head, the way her gold irises made eye contact with Yunho's, pleading for help. She didn't want it, but her body was too weak to even fight the multiple Betas that held her down. He wasn't allowed to look away even as they locked her legs in stirrups, exposing her most intimate parts to the room. She was humiliated, but there was no escaping it. An older Beta, who's worked at this particular lab for quite some time, approached her with a pipette holding a white substance...

Yunho shuddered, attempting to brush away the memory that just won't leave his mind.

There is a part of his work environment that Yunho refuses to mention to Mingi, knowing that it will just make his over-protective mate react poorly.

When the elevator doors chime, notifying that they have reached the right floor, Yunho inhaled one more deep breath before heading down the hall. He heard the snickering before he was able to make it to the break room. Outside the door, he could here his comrades' hushed whispers that halted as soon as he let his presence known.

The Beta made beeline straight to his locker. Another older Beta walked past him, forcefully and purposely bumping his shoulder into Yunho's before exiting the room. The rest of the group followed behind him, letting out more chuckles.

Yunho let out a scoff, rolling his eyes before putting his belongings in his locker to start his day.

It's been like this, all the bullying, the stares, the laughter, ever since the first time he spoke up at the laboratory. Yunho was the top in his internship when he was first selected to work for Sigma, so he was admired by the rest of his coworkers. But Yunho's natural sense of compassion toward Omegas has made him weak in the rest of their eyes.

Yunho doesn't blame them, honestly. They were all raised to believe this way. Omegas have been rare for over two hundred years now, and the population has suffered immensely from it. Wealthy Alpha and Beta couples have been able to adopt children of their own from the breeding done in these facilities, so in that sense, it's not entirely bad.

"Maybe I really am the strange one..." Yunho whispered to himself as he slammed his locker closed, and let his forehead rest against it, taking one last deep breath.

----------

"Okay, our plan to induce subjects 5, 16, and 18 into early heat worked. Their heat cycles should all be the same now and they are ready for fertilization. We will start with subject 18 since this will be his first." Chief Gu spoke to his subordinates. "Kim, Bok, and Nam, you will be in charge of the sedation and fertilization" the trio nodded.

"Jeong-" Yunho snapped his head up when his name was called, making insecure eye contact with his boss. "Cleanse and prepare the subjects for insemination." The Chief made sure to articulate the word, almost like he's mocking the younger, trying to degrade the Omegas to where they're not even considered living beings anymore.

"Yes sir" the male weakly replied. Yunho wasn't trusted for insemination procedures anymore, so the job given was fair, but it still didn't lighten the Beta's heart. He would now be working closely next to the Omegas, preparing them before their heat-stricken bodies were used without their consent.

Yunho remembered to put his medical mask on before entering subject 18's cell. Luckily, as a Beta, his sense of smell isn't as intense as an Alpha's, but he could still tell the Omega was in the peak of his heat.

The Omega tensed as soon as Yunho entered the room, trying to scoot away on his bed, but the heat was too intense, making his body utterly weak. His nostrils flared when he smelt the Beta, looking up with watery, gold irises. "Please..." the boy breathed, "Don't do this..." He let out a growl of protest, but he couldn't keep it up for long.

When Yunho let his eyes lock onto the the Omega's striking ones, he was brought back to the sight of her. Her tired gaze won't ever go away. He froze in his place and his jaw tightened underneath the mask.

The scientist shook his head, trying to focus and continued to set up all of the necessary equipment. He brought in a pail of soapy, warm water and a wash rag. Everything needed to be clean for the facility standards to lessen any chances of infections or illnesses.

"P-please..." the boy mumbled once more. His breathing was getting heavier, and his body was covered in a sheet of sweat.

"I'm going to remove your gown now" Yunho announced, trying to keep his voice stable and confident. The young Omega didn't fight the Beta as Yunho lifted the medical gown off of his frail body. He laid back down as soon as it was removed, not able to sit upright at the moment.

Yunho dunked the wash cloth into the bucket of water and rang it out before gently wiping down the Omega's arms and legs, getting rid of any filth. It was quiet until the Omega spoke once more, "I knew this would happen eventually..." he took a deep, defeated breath until he continued, "I've been in here for about a month and hoped that my heat would hold out a bit longer, but you-"

Yunho clenched his eyes shut at the words. He hates that he's part of this at all. The Omega must pick up on how this all affects the Beta for him to even open up this way.

"I'm still s-scared..." there was a crack to the Omega's voice and Yunho couldn't help but look back up at the broken Omega that was nearly in tears. That was his mistake because damn it those golden eyes will never stop terrorizing him, filling him with heavy guilt.

"I can't do this anymore" Yunho whispered, his face going blank.

"C-can't do what?" the shaking boy asked as Yunho abruptly stood and bolted from the room, slamming the cell door shut behind him.

Yunho wasn't sure what he was doing exactly, but it was like his whole being was on autopilot. He wasn't in control of his movements anymore. Without thinking of the repercussions his actions may cause, the blonde Beta darted to the quaint control room that was surprisingly empty and turned on the panic alarms. This was the only thing that he could think of on the spot that would cause the whole building to be distracted.

Before Yunho could run out, a dark haired Alpha ran into the room and Yunho thought he was already caught until he realized it was his Alpha. "Yunho? What's going on, baby? Why did you turn on the panic alarms? What happened?"

Yunho gave his mate a pleading look, biting his lips. "Mingi, shhh" he tried to silence the frazzled Alpha. "We don't have much time."

Mingi squinted at the older in confusion, making his eyes smaller. "Don't have time for what? Yunho, what's going on?" His voice came out in almost a growl. He didn't like where this was going.

"I really hope you for give me later." Yunho whispered, mostly to himself, but the younger could hear him clearly. Yunho inhaled and forced his face to look confident because there was no going back now, and he hoped his mate, his love, followed him. "Do you trust me?" he asked hopefully and extended his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~

Here's chapter 2! I feel like I'm trying to write something totally out of my comfort zone, so I hope it's turning out okay... I'm not very confident with this one at all.

If you like what you've read so far, please comment and vote! I do have other books on my profile so please, follow me and check them out!

Thank you to everyone who is taking the time to read this book! I just want to let you know that I will do my best to update at least once a week. I am a very busy person and I have 2 other projects I am working on, so I hope you all are understanding!!

-Sydney <3