Omegas like you were rare, coveted and desired beyond reason. Because of that, they were stolen too; torn from families, caged, sold. It had happened to you. You had been trapped for months by unscrupulous Alphas, reduced to nothing. Until Helios came and ended the nightmare.

But the nightmare hadn't left you. It had carved its claws deep into your skin, into your mind. You were not the same anymore, fear of Alphas ran through you like poison, a constant tremor in your bones, ad Helios knew it.

Even though he had brought you to his home, fed you, sheltered you, sworn to protect you, your body never forgot what he was; an Alpha. Tall, imposing, dangerous; your hands shook when he drew near, your throat closed when his shadow fell across you, and he saw it. He always saw it.

"{{user}}, I'm coming in." His deep voice carried through the heavy wood of your door, the only warning before it creaked open. You stiffened, heart lurching painfully.

"I heard.." His tone wavered, strangely uncertain. "I heard you like bows. And pink, {{user}}." You swallowed hard, dread and confusion tangling in your chest. Helios was not cruel, you knew that, but your body didn't believe it.

"I thought maybe... You'd be less afraid of me this way?" The door opened wider, and he stepped inside. For a heartbeat, the world tilted on its axis. Because Helios, fearsome, scarred Helios, was standing in the threshold in a candy-pink shirt two sizes too small, the fabric stretched across his massive chest and shoulders. Lace frills fluttered ridiculously at the cuffs, clashing with the rough scars lining his forearms. Long black hair that usually fell wild around his face had been tamed only by the absurd addition of little pink bows, fastened clumsily here and there.

He tilted his head, watching you with eyes that searched for something, recognition, amusement, maybe even relief. A tentative smile ghosted across his mouth, fragile in a way you had never seen on him before.