The fall was enough to snap me out of my daze. My knees hit on the floor, sending a sharp pain through my heated body. I didn't get up because my bulge painfully shifted inside my pants.
As for the woman, she was completely unfazed, as if she hadn't even touched me, only making my face redder.
She opened my wallet and went through its content. There wasn't much inside—nothing of importance, at least, except for some bills. But she disregarded those.
My heart ached as my worn-out wallet was being twisted and turned at impossible angles.
After that, she took out my ID card and crouched down to my level, throwing my wallet toward me.
"I am taking this with me as your punishment for lying. You should know better than to lie to the adults."
She had to lean down even further to make herself audible against the loud music, but unfortunately for me, her face was painfully closer such that I involuntarily lowered my head away—or tried to.
With two fingers, she picked my chin up.
"Also, this is my territory, too. So try not to come here. I am letting you off easily this time because you are young."
I pursed my lips. It was obvious that she was treating me as a child, although she didn't appear to be much older than me.
The corner of her mouth curved up as she caressed my cheeks.
"But if I catch you a third time, don't think you will get out unharmed."
The woman didn't linger and calmly stood up before leaving without any indication. Like she had done before.
Seeing her fading back, I took a moment to calm myself before starting to think of a reason she was searching my wallet this mercilessly. There was only one: the drugs.
Even though I was in this business, I had never thought much about the drugs themselves. I just dropped them off and left. I never wanted to get involved any deeper than that. It had been an impulsive choice—one Alex and I made together.
What I really wanted was a normal life. Legal work. A decent place to live. Maybe someday marry someone kind and handsome and have a few kids.
But after seeing that woman thoroughly checking me, I started to get curious about it.
I pushed it aside. First thing first, I had to leave this place and definitely got up from the floor. I didn't want to stay here. Especially when there was a chance she could come back and change her mind.
So, I got up as quickly and carefully as I could and left, forcing myself not to think about anything else.
***
"They say it temporarily turned you into an omega when you consumed it, no matter if you are an alpha or beta."
My eyes widened as I heard Alex speak. I didn't have a proper education, but those things should not be changeable.
"How is that possible?"
Alex thought for a second as he was resting on his bed. He hadn't recovered fully from his cycle and then answered.
"I guess not, but it does make you feel like an omega. Like you are in heat."
He sneered with disgust and shook the packet of drugs lazily with annoyance after picking it up from the small hill on the ground.
"When someone is in heat, whether they are alpha or omega, they aren't able to tell what's what. And all they think about is sex. There were many aphrodisiacs that were popular before, but now this shit is all the people want."
As an omega who had to endure the heat cycles regularly, Alex didn't understand why people were so crazy about it. All the people thought about was indulging themselves in any drugs just to experience it.
"They are even saying that if you take it regularly, then there might be a chance for you to completely become an omega. Those idiots who are buying this all have a death wish but also want to waste their money."
He clicked his tongue and threw the packet back to the hill.
I also didn't understand. But that was mostly because I was an alpha and only in name on top of that. My pheromone gland was defective or something such that it didn't work at all—though I did have a gland.
If not for that and the thing between my legs, I would have been a beta. I didn't experience the heat myself, so I was even further than Alex from understanding this.
But it wasn't that I was sad because of that, no, no.
After seeing Alex withering in pain in his every cycle, I was actually glad. So...
"There are really a lot of crazy people in this world."
I watched the drugs on the floor that looked no different than the white flour. I was sitting on the floor and making small packets of drugs from the bag Alex received from the distributor, whom he called the boss.
It was an arduous task, as even the small amount cost a whole lot of money and had to be done with utmost caution. That took a while—a lot of time—separating them into small packets.
But since Alex was sick, I had to do it alone.
But...
Was that why that woman was so strict when it came to this drug? I hadn't lived a very long life yet, but she was a very different person from the others.
Actually, I didn't know her well. With two interactions with her, it wasn't enough to determine what kind of person she was. Her actions appear innocent, but her expression—?
I sighed as I picked up a small empty packet.
It was really confusing. If she didn't have any expressions on her face, did that mean she was just searching my body for drugs?
As I thought about her touch, my whole body suddenly trembled, causing the spoon in my hand to stir and spill some of the powder on the floor.
"Ah, shit." Quickly putting down the spoon, I started to pick the powder from the floor.
My eyes traveled to my chest. I was wearing a loose t-shirt, stretched from the neckline, exposing my bra. My skin was fair—I would be blind if I didn't know that—and my breasts were relatively big for some reason. But despite my exposed skin and other features, Alex didn't look at me as anything apart from his little sister.
I thought Alex was different, but was there something wrong with me?
I carefully collected all the drugs, placed them inside the packet, and rubbed my fingers together to remove the lingering residue.
Whether she was touching me intentionally or unintentionally, one thing was clear. That woman wasn't favorable to this. So, maybe she really wasn't a bad person.
But then there might be a possibility of her having her own supply, and I was just interfering in her business—who knew?
Whatever it was, it didn't matter. I had already decided to avoid her at all costs, and staying far away from her was the best plan. She might have some twisted way to turn me into a spoon, as she could punish me for lying to adults by stealing my ID card.
What an adult, really!
Just then Alex's phone rang. After seeing the name on the screen, Alex cursed a few times before answering.
"Yes, boss?"
"Today? Yes… What, Lyra?" He glanced at me as I looked back at him after hearing my name.
"Why her?"
Alex's face hardened. I stopped my hand and looked at Alex intensely to pick up some of the conversation.
"No, boss. That one is busy… What? Must you see her today?" Alex was trying to avoid me meeting his boss. He winced and tightened his grip on the phone when he asked for the reason.
I was in some big trouble.
"Yes, yes, I understand. We will be there tonight."
"Motherfucker."
And after ending the call, Alex's cursing only confirmed my thoughts.