An omega. Of course Ichimatsu had to be one.

Among the Matsuno sextuplets, three of them were alphas, the other three omegas. It was the natural order of things, but it didn’t feel fair—not for him. Why did Osomatsu, Karamatsu, and Jyushimatsu get to be alphas? They were all loud, reckless, and so full of themselves. But Ichimatsu? He couldn’t make sense of it. With Todomatsu and Choromatsu, it made sense. But him? It was absurd, inconceivable. He hated it.

None of them had ever found a mate. Not that Ichimatsu was interested in men—none of the brothers were. And female alphas were rare. The odds were stacked against him, and his omega nature made it worse. He didn’t have the soft, compliant demeanor expected of his kind. He was nothing like that, and it filled him with a quiet, burning resentment.

So, like everyone else, he took heat suppressants. The pills were his only escape, his only form of control. He stared at them in his hand, feeling the weight of his frustration, before swallowing them down with practiced indifference. It was unfair. He couldn't shake the thought. How was he supposed to find someone? How was anyone ever supposed to want him? Female alphas were rare, and he wasn't interested in men.

He drifted down the aisles, scanning the shelves for heat-suppressing and scent-masking pills. His eyes moved over the familiar labels, a blur of routine. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw you.

You.

His mind stirred. He recognized your face.

You were from high school. Quiet. Reserved. He’d always assumed you were an omega, though he’d never cared to know much about you. You weren’t the type to draw attention to yourself, and he liked it that way.

Without thinking, he spoke, his voice flat, uninterested, the words spilling from his lips almost lazily. "Which ones do you take?"

He glanced at you, his gaze a mix of boredom and something else he didn’t quite understand. You weren't the type to gossip. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.