They say three's the charm! So here's another chapter to celebrate the new year 2026! :D
Enjoy!
*****
I really don't understand what the professor is always worrying about, though it is quite flattering, how he tries to keep me away from his brother-in-law.
I guess he thinks I don't notice it – how he tries so hard to shield me from alphas. Even in our work place, whenever we get new interns, he would first ask Pedro for their details and take note of all the alphas. Then he would send me away to some errand or keep me inside his room while he meets with the new recruits, before calling me in to meet them from a distance.
A very safe distance.
I guess that is how much the professor treasures me, even if he keeps denying it. He is just too proud to admit that he is afraid to loose me to an alpha.
As if that would happen.
I am in full control of my body. I know that I can defy destiny's call and still be with him, even if I do meet my fated pair. In truth, I welcome the opportunity, since it would be the best way to prove that the fated pair bond could be broken.
In previous studies I have conducted, I have met several subjects with the Fated Pair Syndrome. I have even met two alphas who shared a single omega, since one was the alpha who marked him, and the other, his fated pair. I was really flattered when the professor mentioned that he had read that particular case study of mine which I wrote about eight years ago, as part of my graduate thesis.
Knowing that the professor read something I wrote when I was still a student, made me feel very flattered, indeed.
As soon as I got home, I went straight to the lab and checked on my newly acquired samples.
I have a hunch that what was between the professor's brother-in-law and client, was not merely an alpha-omega attraction. The scent in the room was different, stronger, and the pheromones from the omega's heat did not smell forced at all.
It smelled euphoric.
Full of bliss.
"If my intuition is correct, we may have just found another possible alpha-omega FPS subject," I thought out loud.
Luckily, I was able to take both blood and pheromone samples by swabbing them both with a gauze behind the ears.
I placed the specimens in glass slides and studied them closely. Sure enough, the dopamine or 'happy hormone' levels in Joshua's blood sample was unusually high, showing that the omega went into heat naturally.
He was not forced or drugged.
He simply went into heat because he was ecstatic to be with his partner, which was a common symptom of FPS.
I went to bed that night feeling quite accomplished.
At least now, the professor won't forbid me to meet his family anymore, since obviously, his brother-in-law has already found his fated pair.
I checked my phone as I went to bed and found a couple of messages from the professor.
'The two idiots are still asleep.'
Said one, with a picture of the professor, sitting next to Louie while pretending to choke him.
'Habibi, I'm all out of coffee!'
Said another, with a tearful shot of a pouting Prof. Antonio holding an empty coffee jug.
I sent him a message.
'I am going to sleep now. Try to catch some rest as well. I'll see you in the morning.'
He replied a couple of minutes later.
'Don't bother picking me up. I'm going home to take a bath. Wait for me.'
True to his word, the professor arrived back home at about a quarter to seven AM, just as I was about to leave for work.
"Habibi..." he hugged me as soon as I opened the gate. "I missed you so much! I can't believe I ran out of your coffee!"
I gave an exasperated sigh.
"Come on in, I'll make you a fresh batch before I leave."
"Wait for me, I'll just take a quick shower. I wanna go to work together."
"Did you even get to sleep last night?" I asked him.
"Sleep is for the week!" he laughed.
"Go to sleep."
"I'll sleep during break," he insisted. "There's still so much we need to work on!"
"But..."
"Hurry, we're already late as it is."
I sighed and did as the professor told me. Five minutes later, he came down stairs, and chugged down his piping hot coffee.
"So, how was Louie and his mate?" I asked as he placed the rest of the coffee in a thermos.
"They're fine. The Blondie's an idiot, though."
"Anything you noticed about their bond?" I asked him, wondering if he noticed that they had FPS.
"Nothing in particular," he replied absentmindedly. "Let's go before we get even later."
"Good morning Sir Eric! Dr. Abdel!" Pilar and Pedro greeted us as we entered the lab. "We've got some more good news!"
"More manifestations?" Prof. Antonio asked excitedly.
"That's right, professor! We got five this time, two alphas and three omegas!"
"Yes!" the professor pumped his fist. "Where are the samples? The readings?"
"On your desk, professor."
We went to the professor's work station, followed by Pedro, Pilar, and several interns who were surprised to see the professor looking so excited.
"Nice! All we need is 15% results to start early clinical trials! Then we can start applying for an FDA license!" said the professor. "If we have an average of six manifestations per week, that would be about 24 per month, and the numbers would only get higher as the kids approach adolescent age. The number would then double in a year to about 600, and in 2 years time, we can start selling the Secondary Gender Testing Kits in the market!"
"Just in time, too! By then, my hubby and I would have a child of our own who can use the SGT kits!" Pilar said happily.
"Don't be stupid!" the professor snapped at her, "One or two years is too early for a child to get their secondary gender checked. The ideal age is 6 years. Don't you even know the instructions written on the kits you helped develop?"
"But isn't it possible to detect the Aahric Gene as early as 12 months after birth?" asked Pilar
"Yes, but I don't want one year old babies to be labeled as omegas just to be ostracized by society," the professor replied. "Ages three to four are the important developing years of a child. Whatever they learn and go through during those development stages, they would carry for the rest of their lives. That's why I gave strict instructions that only six year olds and above can be tested with the SGT kits."
"But aren't the kits made for children as young as five?" asked an intern.
"That's because they forced me to lower the age limit. But I refuse to go any lower than five years old. By that age, most children have already developed their own unique personality. They can somewhat relate to their environment and accept the resulting feelings their secondary gender might bring."
"Is that so?" asked another intern.
"One more factor is the family's reaction to the test results," Prof. Antonio added. "At five years, the child would already be accepted as part of the family. The parents have already accepted and learned to love their child, thus lowering the possibility of getting rid of the child due to unfavorable results."
We all fell silent.
I had no idea the professor was thinking that far.
"You've got a point there, professor..." Pilar said.
"But..." an intern raised her hand, "how can we make sure that the SGT kits would only be used on five year old kids?"
"Our company plans to coordinate with public nurseries and elementary schools, as well as government run hospitals and facilities to run the first public trials," Pedro answered her. "The kits will be strictly moderated then."
"I have also taken in account how some people would try to abuse the kits," said the professor. "We all know a lot of goddamn bastards discriminate against omegas. Some parents would do anything to know if their child is an alpha, and would most probably get rid of the omegas. That's something I don't want to happen."
"That's why we gave the testing kits to the government," concluded Pedro.
"As if you could trust the government," mumbled another intern.
Prof. Antonio looked at him and frowned.
"You're right, I do not trust the government," the professor replied.
"That's why we made sure that the test kit would only work on children, and not on infants and toddlers," I spoke up.
"As you all know, children of different ages have different physiology. You can't give the same dosage of medicine to an infant and a six year old child. Likewise, we rigged the kits to require a certain amount of blood to come out with the result."
"What do you mean, professor?" asked one of the interns.
"The test kits need a certain amount of blood plasma to trigger a reaction. It will not work if the amount of platelets are insufficient," he explained. "On the other hand, you can't take too much blood from an infant, doing so may kill the infant."
"This is true since infants have a bigger body surface area per mass compared to grown kids and adults, and their heart rate and metabolism is faster," I explained.
"It means infants can easily run out of blood, so you can't take too much if it," Pedro pointed out with a grin.
"Exactly!" Prof. Eric replied. "They will go into Hypovolemic1 shock when their blood volume get too low."
"Is that so?" I heard the other interns mumble.
"And I don't think there's a parent, or proper human being, that would ever risk the life of their own child just to make sure he's an alpha," continued Prof. Antonio who smiled at the interns as they stared at him in awe.
"In fact, I made sure of that," he continued. "The SGT kits make use of a unique, patented formula that can detect the secondary gene catalyst that is only known by my Habibi and I." The professor looked at me and smiled smugly. "The SGT kits were developed to detect this gene automatically, with the right amount of blood culture, together with my Habibi's ingenious color coding formula that turns blue for alphas and pink for omegas," he added. "Without that formula," he pointed at his temple, "it is impossible to duplicate our kit and manufacture one that could be used for children below the age of five."
Pedro clapped as he gazed respectfully at the professor, so did the interns who have crowded around us.
"For the first time since we came here, the professor is actually giving a lecture!" I heard one of them say.
"Okay, then, if you have any questions, I suggest you take advantage of the situation!" said the professor who probably heard the comment as well. "Ask away while I'm in a good mood!"
The professor's good mood lasted the whole day.
He entertained questions until six in the evening, then took a nap as the interns left for the day.
"This is the first time I realized that Sir Eric really is the head of the Omega Research Department!" I heard them say.
"That's right, he really is amazing! You can never judge a book by its cover!"
"Yeah, I'm glad I came here instead of the alpha department. All they ever develop are cosmetics!"
"I'm so happy to see that they finally realize how brilliant Sir Eric is!" Pedro said by my side.
"They are blind if they have not seen it before now," I corrected him. Pedro simply laughed.
"I'm really proud of the professor! This is the first time I've seen him happily accommodating people and answering their questions nicely! It kinda feels like my child had just achieved a new milestone!"
I stared at him.
"The professor have always been nice and accommodating," I said.
"Well, to you, of course, and to Pillar and me, sometimes, since we've been working together for years, now. You know how cranky the professor is when it comes to other people, particularly to the interns and their dissertations."
He sighed and smiled as he watched the rest of the interns leave.
"It's nice to see that the professor is not just an ogre," he added. "At least now, they won't be too scared to approach him."
1Hypovolemic shock – a life-threatening condition caused by severe fluid or blood loss, results in multiple organ failure