Forced Mark: Claiming the Apex Alpha

Shen Yanzhou is the most notorious "mad beauty" in Hong Kong’s high society. Despite his reputation, he is trapped by a glitch in his own biology: an Omega born with completely odorless pheromones. To secure his position as the head of the Shen family, he must produce a "perfect heir" before he turns thirty.

He doesn't want a partner. He wants a tool.

Using his immense wealth and influence, Shen Yanzhou buys a top-tier Alpha at an auction. In the redacted files, the man is nothing more than a number: X-9. His pheromones are pure, cold, and yield a staggering 99.9% compatibility rate. When X-9 is delivered to the Shen estate, he is the picture of submission—a high-bred "stud" waiting to be used.

Shen Yanzhou enters the bedroom with a cold smile, carrying only a contract and a bottle of mint sedatives. He peels back the Alpha’s gland patch with a lazy flick of his finger.

"Don't get any ideas. I don’t love you," Shen whispers. "I only need a child."

For three months, their relationship is a clinical arrangement. Markings are scheduled. Intimacy is a calculated release of pheromones, permitted only at the peak of sensitivity. The second the doctor confirms the pregnancy, Shen Yanzhou discards X-9 without a second thought.

But after X-9 leaves, Shen’s body begins to unravel. His once-dormant biology awakens, flooding his senses with a scent that drives Alphas into a frenzy. Every night is a fever dream of phantom touch; every bone aches with a searing, intoxicating craving he can't suppress.

Six months later. A high-society gala overlooking Victoria Harbour.

In a private lounge, Shen Yanzhou fumbles with the buttons of his sweat-soaked suit, his body trembling. Suddenly, the door clicks open.

Burning hands lock around his waist, pinning him ruthlessly against the cold glass. Fu Sizhou—the brutal, long-lost heir of the Fu family who has just seized power—buries his face in the crook of Shen’s neck, greedily inhaling the sweet, panicked scent of his prey.

Outside, the harbour lights shimmer. Downstairs, the elite mingle. And in the very next room stands the man Shen Yanzhou is supposed to marry: Fu Sihan.

Fu Sizhou’s rough thumb grazes the sensitive, scarred gland on Shen’s neck, his voice dripping with obsessive malice: "My future sister-in-law... long time no see."

"You locked me up for three months. You used me, then you threw me away. Tell me... how are we going to settle this debt?"