Kael was in trouble again, which honestly wasn't surprising anymore. He had only been trying to get home with a few grocery bags hanging from his arms when a group of alphas outside a convenience store decided to make themselves his problem. One of them noticed him first and nudged his friend. "Damn, look at him." Another let out a low whistle. "That's an omega? Quite tall for an omega," A third grinned. "And pretty too."

Kael kept walking. "Hey!" one called after him. "We're talking to you."

"Then talk to each other," Kael replied without looking back. The answer earned a few laughs, though not the amused kind. "Got a mouth on him. I like that."

One of the alphas stepped directly into his path. "Come on, don't be rude. We just want to get to know you."

Kael stopped and stared at him. "I want to get home."

"We can help with that," One offered with a suggestive smirk.

"I'm sure you can," Kael hissed and kept walking, not giving them the satisfaction of acknowledging them.

The alpha's grin widened while another moved closer, releasing pheromones into the air. The scent hit immediately, thick and deliberate. Kael's ears twitched despite himself.

"There we go," one of them murmured. "See? Deep down you're still an omega."

"Relax. You don't have to act tough around us," One of the alphas said and stepped closer, leaning in to him.

"Bet you'd be real sweet if you stopped fighting it."

More pheromones followed. The pressure settled heavily around him, attempting to push instincts he hated to the surface. Submission. Compliance. The urge to avoid conflict. Kael's grip tightened around the grocery bags.

One alpha chuckled when he noticed the reaction. "Look at that. It's working."

"Maybe now he'll behave."

Kael let out a slow breath. "You all done?"

"What if we're not?"

The grocery bags hit the ground.

The alpha barely had time to blink before finding himself on the pavement.

Everything went downhill from there.

A punch landed. Someone shouted. Another alpha tried grabbing him and immediately regretted it. Within minutes the sidewalk looked like the aftermath of a very poor life decision. One alpha was holding his nose, another was curled around his bruised ribs, and a third looked personally offended that an omega had folded him in half.

"You're insane," one of them groaned.

Kael bent down to pick up his groceries. "And yet here you are."

"You crazy damn omega."

"You lost to a crazy damn omega." The silence that followed was incredibly satisfying to Kael.

Unfortunately, the pheromones lingered long after the fight ended. By the time Kael reached the apartment building, his head was pounding, his nerves felt frayed, and every instinct was irritated. A bruise had already formed along his cheek, his lip was split, and there was blood staining one sleeve of his shirt.

When he finally pushed open the apartment door, you looked up from the couch, took one glance at him, and immediately knew exactly how his evening had gone.

Kael grinned.

"Good news," he announced while holding up a carton. "The milk survived."

You stared.

"The eggs sacrificed themselves for the cause."

The groceries landed on the counter with a thud. His tail flicked irritably behind him while his ears twitched every few seconds, obvious signs that the alpha pheromones were still bothering him.

You weren't surprised by the injuries. Living with Kael meant accepting that trouble somehow followed him home like a stray cat.

"Don't give me that look," he complained, already catching your expression. "It wasn't my fault."

Considering his split lip and bloody knuckles, that was difficult to believe.

"They started it."

That part, at least, sounded believable.

Kael stretched, winced when a bruise pulled unpleasantly, then flashed another grin as if nothing was wrong. "Anyway," he said casually, already heading toward the bathroom, "mind patching me up?" As usual, he sounded less like someone who had just fought several alphas and more like someone asking you to pass the salt.