In the world of the global elite, the name Li Vicus was a synonym for perfection. For five generations, they had cultivated a lineage of "Pure-Blood" Alphas and Omegas who sat on the thrones of academia, politics, and law. At twenty-six, Seth Vivian Li Vicus was the family’s crowning achievement: a world-renowned Professor of Archaeology and a scholar whose intellect was whispered to be a century ahead of his time.

Seth stood at the center of the Grand Celestial Hotel’s ballroom, his midnight-blue suit tailored to perfection. He was the "Scholar-Prince," cool, untouchable, and famously disciplined.

But as the clock ticked toward midnight, a terrifying heat began to radiate from the base of his spine.

No. It’s too early. Seth gripped the edge of a mahogany table, his knuckles turning white. High-level Omegas like him were supposed to have absolute control. But the air in the room, thick with the pheromones of hundreds of Alphas, had triggered a violent, unexpected "Flash Heat."

"Seth?" His childhood friend, Lu Han, appeared by his side, eyes widening. "Your scent... it’s blooming. If the press smells a Li Vicus in heat at a public gala, the scandal will destroy the family's standing."

"The key," Seth hissed, his breath hitching. "Give me the suite key."

Lu Han pressed a card into his hand. "Suite 909. Top floor. It’s soundproofed and scent-locked. Go, before you collapse!"

Seth moved through the crowd with a ghost of his usual grace, every step a battle against the fire in his veins. By the time he reached the ninth floor, his vision was a blurred mosaic of gold and shadow. His glasses were fogged, and his skin felt like it was melting.

9... 0... 9. His trembling hand swiped the card. Click.

He lunged inside, slamming the door and locking it with a frantic turn of the bolt. The room was shrouded in darkness, save for the flickering lights of New Year’s fireworks through the window. It smelled of ozone, expensive bourbon, and something primal—the scent of a thunderstorm before it breaks.

"Lu... Lu Han?" Seth gasped, sliding to his knees as his internal temperature skyrocketed. "The suppressants... please..."

"I don't keep suppressants in my room," a deep, predatory voice vibrated from the shadows.

Seth froze. That voice didn't belong to his friend. It was a voice he had heard in boardroom recordings and televised summits. It was the voice of the man who headed the only family powerful enough to challenge the Li Vicus: Caesar Silva Yale.

The silhouette by the window moved. Caesar, thirty-five and radiating the suffocating authority of a True Blood Alpha, stepped into the light. He had already discarded his jacket, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar.

"Professor Li Vicus?" Caesar’s eyes glowed with a dark, oceanic blue as his Alpha senses locked onto Seth’s sweet, floral scent. "I knew you were a genius, but I didn't know you were bold enough to break into a Yale’s private suite while in heat."

"Mistake..." Seth managed to growl, his  pride fighting the urge to submit. He tried to stand, but Caesar’s aura hit the room like a physical weight, pinning him to the floor.

"A very expensive mistake," Caesar whispered, walking toward him with the slow confidence of a wolf who had already won. He knelt, lifting Seth’s chin. "The Li Vicus family has spent twenty-six years polishing you into a jewel. I wonder... what happens to that shine once you've been claimed by a Yale?"

Seth looked up, his eyes misty but defiant. "You... wouldn't... dare..."

"Watch me," Caesar murmured, his lips inches from Seth’s neck.

Earlier that day - Dec 31

The excavation site at the Valley of Kings was silent, save for the rhythmic scritch-scratch of a fine-bristled brush. Most archaeologists at twenty-six were still fighting for a spot on a senior team, but Seth Vivian Li Vicus didn't play by the rules of ordinary men.

He sat in the dirt, his white linen shirt crisp despite the hundred-degree heat, and his silver-rimmed glasses pushed firmly up the bridge of his nose.

"Professor! The satellite scan from the Yale Group just came in," a student called out, running toward the trench. "They say we’re digging in a dead zone. There’s nothing but limestone under us."

Seth didn't even look up. "The Yale Group's technology is as loud and arrogant as the man who owns it. They look for gold. I am looking for history."

With a final, delicate sweep, the dust cleared. A glint of obsidian emerged—the seal of a forgotten dynasty. The student gasped. Seth had found in three days what the most expensive tech in the world had missed for a decade.

"Pack it up," Seth said, standing and brushing the sand from his knees with effortless grace. "I have a gala to attend in the city. Lu Han is hosting, and apparently, my presence is 'non-negotiable' for the family’s image."

"But Professor," the student stammered, "the Yale Group is the primary sponsor of the New Year’s Gala. Caesar Silva Yale himself will be there. Are you really going to show up after you just proved his engineers wrong?"

Seth paused, a cold, elegant smirk playing on his lips. "Especially because I proved them wrong. A Li Vicus does not hide from inferior competition."

Three Hours Later: The Grand Celestial Hotel

The transition from the desert to the diamond-encrusted ballroom was seamless for Seth. He moved through the crowd like a predator in a silk suit. Every Alpha in the room turned their head as he passed. It wasn't just his beauty; it was his scent-control. He smelled of nothing—a void that drove Alphas crazy with curiosity.

"You're late," Lu Han whispered, handing him a glass of vintage wine. "And you look like you haven't slept in a week. Did you take your suppressants?"

"I took them this morning," Seth replied, feeling a strange, dull throb at the back of his skull. He ignored it. "Where is he?"

"Caesar? He's in the VIP lounge upstairs. He's been asking about the excavation results. He’s... not happy, Seth. You made his tech team look like amateurs."

"They are amateurs," Seth said coolly.

But as he spoke, the floor seemed to tilt. The dull throb in his head turned into a white-hot spike. A wave of heat, thick and cloying, washed over him. It wasn't the desert sun. It was coming from inside.

Seth’s glass slipped, shattering on the marble floor.

"Seth?" Lu Han’s voice sounded like it was underwater. "Your neck... you're flushing. Oh god, Seth. Your scent is leaking. It’s... it’s blooming like a wildfire."

The "Void" was gone. In its place, a scent of crushed white lilies and expensive incense exploded from Seth, so potent that every Alpha within fifty feet stopped mid-sentence, their pupils dilating.

"The key," Seth choked out, clutching his throat. "Now. Before I lose my mind."