Chapter Text
Heat week was only days away, and all of the omega were preparing for the mating run.
All of the unmated omega over the age of 18 were taken out of school or work for heat week, as per custom, but the yearly mating run was a special occasion, since at this particular time of year, the alphas were going into rut.
Every omega had a heat week every 3 months, and most of the heats landed around the same time of each season (spring, summer, fall and winter).
But all of the unmated alphas who went into rut, did so around the first week or so of springtime.
Of course, the unmated omega who weren't scheduled to go into heat were permitted to participate in the mating run. The festivities leading up to the run and the posturing and excitement from the event, as well as the pheromones of alphas so close to the rut, usually induced an omega to enter their heat during the run.
It’s funny how nature works.
Yuichiro, on the other hand, didn't find the entire shabang entirely thrilling. Some omega had been counting down the days until the mating run since they’d turned 18. Others, like himself, would have preferred not to participate.
It wasn't like Yuu didn't want to find a mate. He supposed it was expected of him. But he feared the rejection of the entire thing as well. What if no alpha was interested in him enough to chase him? That would be embarrassing. And it would suck if that were the case because that would mean he’d be stuck out in the woods for an entire week alone, naked and weary from the days and nights spend wandering the treeline in hopes he didn't get mauled by another rutting alpha because he’d come too close to their new mate.
Yuichiro would know, because he’s participated last year, and that was precisely what happened.
Being older than the rest of his friends, he’d gone through the mating run not long after he’d turned 18 alone. And he’d come out of it, unscathed, yet, uncollared and unmated.
Guren, his alpha father, had been disappointed to say the least. And surprised. “What the hell happened?” He’d asked. “Did you step in shit or something? Hide too well? How could you have failed to mate?”
Yuichiro had felt ashamed of himself. Not only because he’d disappointed his family, but because he had to go through the same thing again and again until an alpha recognized him as their mate and took enough interest in him to chase him.
The entire ceremony was so archaic. Sure, no alpha or omega was obligated to take part in the run, but according to the ancient tradition the run was derived from, it was meant as the fastest means to find a compatible, lifelong mate.
If an alpha caught an omega’s scent, and that scent resonated with them, they’d recognize that omega as their mate. The more relentless the alpha was in their pursuit of the omega, the higher the chances would be for conception once they caught their omega.
Another reason that Yuichiro’s town kept the old fashioned mating runs? Because it was the most surefire way for alphas and omegas to find their True Mates.
Alphas and omegas could still date, get married and have kids without the whole mating run if they those that path. But Yuichiro had heard about and seen the divorce rates because of this; An alpha or a beta would marry because they fell in love, but later down the road, they’d meet their True Mate, the one person born only for them, and they would either eventually leave their partner for their True Mate, or live their life thinking about the one that got away. This wasn't always the case. Some went their whole lives never meeting their True Mate, and they were happy with the partner they had chosen for themselves.
His father Guren though? He’d married another alpha woman named Mahiru outside of the mating run customs, and his former wife had left him after meeting her True Mate a couple of years before Guren had adopted Yuichiro.
Yuichiro had asked why Guren hadn't participated in the mating runs since then, but Guren had said ‘And have my son see me rutting a near perfect stranger into the ground? Or see my son being mounted? I think I’ll pass!’
Yuu winced at the thought. Because ew! That is the last thing he’d ever want to see! And he’d die of embarassment if Guren ever saw him in the grips of heat and being mounted by some alpha.
Guren had resolved himself not to participate in a run until after Yuu was mated.
Which made Yuu feel even more guilty. The more runs he went on without the success of finding a mate, the longer Guren would have to wait for his chance to find his own.
For now, Guren was a mediator for the run. Being in a position of power within JIDA, the law keepers and officiants who conducted the mating runs for their part of the country when the season rolled around, Guren’s job was the make sure that all of the omegas who registered for the run were protected, and that the alphas who registered for the run waited until their designated day to begin the chase, without breaking regulation and trying to get a head start.
The registered omegas were given 2 full days before the alphas were released into the 50 square mile arena, to find themselves shelter and a safe place to hole up for the duration of the run. Some omegas went into heat the first day of the run and built little nests in trees, caves, or built themselves little shacks if they were handy enough.
The only issue with that? Their scent would be condensed into one specific area, which made them easier to find.
Omega were required to give the alphas a fair chase, as to not confuse heat lust with a true mating bond.
Some omega though? They liked to play dirty, and would mate and bond with an alpha by luring them to their nest with the scent of their heat in order to secure themselves a mate, even if that alpha didn't share with them the soul-bond that could only be shared between True Mates.
There were regulations in place for this as well. The mated pair would register together at City Hall after the run and rut was over with. Having it on paper that they were together and chose one another, even after the excitement of the run and the required month of living together to test their compatibility, meant that the contract was sealed and the mated couple were legally bonded. And free to marry. And any offspring that was conceived during the run were, therefore, legitimate.
Omega didn't abort their pups. The population was at an alltime low, hence the reason for towns and cities to bring back the ancient tradition of the mating run, but an omega could still give up their child for adoption if their mating wasn't legitimate and they didn't want that shame hanging over them. Or the burden.
Which is what had happened to Yuichiro. He hadn't known all the details of how he came to be, and didn't really want to know, but Yuichiro was illegitimate; a product of the mating run between a beta and an omega who weren't meant to be. And neither parent wanted the responsibility. He didn't even remember his birth parents. He’d been 3 year old when they’d given him to the orphanage. All he knew was that his birth mother had been an omega and his birth father was a beta.
Betas were allowed to participate in the mating run, though they didn't have ruts or heats, but they would run on the last 3 days, when the chances of being killed by a rutting alpha were less likely.
.
It was all so... primal. This mating run.
Yuichiro was still a virgin, as was required of an omega to participate in the run, but his eyes had been opened during his first run in a way that porn had never prepared him for. As soon as he’d seen an omega, of which he’d thankfully never met before, presenting himself to the alpha who Yuichiro had also never met before, it had triggered his own heat; the raw emotion, the lewdness of the scene, the scent of desperation and slick and sex in the air…
He’d almost dropped to all fours and presented to the alpha to be mounted by him as well.
Luckily, he wasn't stupid enough to do that, or too far gone. He’d ran before the alpha became infuriated at having an audience or being interrupted.
Yuu wasn't technically a voyeur, but he’d be lying if he said that he didn't jerk off to that scene for the duration of heat week. You know...since he’d spent it alone and all.
As it was, he couldn't really expect this year to be any different. Guren had told him that the number of new alphas participating in this year’s run were low. The alphas from last year, and the previous years before who hadn't found their mates, were running again for the number of new omegas who’d come of age for the run this year.
If the majority of the alphas participating were from previous years, then Yuu doubted he’d find a mate with any of them. They didn't chase him last year, so they wouldn't this year. Obviously.
And the new alphas? Well, there were at least 5 new coming of age omegas to every 1 new alpha participant. The odds weren't impossible. But then again, the odds never really seemed to be in Yuichiro’s favor.
Which he supposed was fine. He’d try again next year, maybe...No omega did a run for more than 5 consecutive years in a row. It was embarrassing enough the first time. He dreaded emerging from the arena, for the second time, mateless and unbound.
If he didn't have a True Mate, Yuu supposed he’d do what most of the betas did and start dating. Maybe he’d find someone compatible enough to be with in one of the anti-traditionalist alphas or a nice beta. He was still young. He still had options.
He knew this year would be different though, because the rest of his friends had come of age and were about to experience their first run.
And, holy shit, did they have questions.
Especially Shinoa, the snarky little omega he’d known for years. She had brothers in JIDA, a beta named Shinya who was overseeing the omega registration, and another brother, who was an alpha asshole named Kureto, who was in charge of the alpha males, while his assistant, and alpha mate Aoi was in charge of the alpha females.
Guren was a mediator between all parties. Even as an alpha, he remained neutral and unbiased for this event when it came to registration.
But Shinoa was full of questions which she never felt inclined to ask her brothers; ‘Are the alpha’s knots as big as it looks in porn? Are they hung like horses? Do they shoot buckets of cum everywhere?’ And ‘I heard they mark their territory out there by pissing on things! Is that true?’ And ‘what about our nests? Can be build several? Or are we allowed only one?’ And ‘What are we supposed to do for food? Or warmth? It’s barely spring! I’ll freeze my tits off!’
Yuu wanted to make a retort about how she had no tits to freeze off, but he didn't feel like getting kicked in the balls.
In truth, there were emergency posts put in place, and he told Shinoa this during her tirade of questions. There were emergency posts every 5 square miles throughout the arena, which held flares, space blankets, water, and a radio in case somebody got seriously injured. Once a flare was shot or a radio call was made, one of the helicopters on standby would airlift the injured party away.
More often than not, it was the alphas who were injured. But an incident hadn't happened in Yuu’s town for a while.
Yuu couldn't speak for the knotting and ‘buckets of cum’, but he’d lied anyway, saying “Holy shit it’s like a damn firehose! Might wanna hold your breath, you may drown in it.” He thoroughly enjoyed the way Shinoa’s face twisted into a horrified expression.
But the small, slate haired girl didn't face the same issues of Yuichiro.
Shinoa already had a mutual bond with an alpha, Mitsuba Sangu. A mutual friend of theirs. Which was so fucking unfair. Because they’d known for a while that they were compatible enough for matehood, but Shinoa had wanted to be a traditionalist and wait until they could enter the mating run to seal their bond.
The same went for Yoichi and Kimizuki. Yoichi was an omega as well, and Kimizuki, well...he was a beta. Which didn't exclude him from the run, but the chances of Yoichi being mounted out of a rut induced lust were higher because Kimizuki couldn't enter the run until the last 3 days. But the couple had been dating for a while now, and Yoichi had vowed to hide in wait for him.
Yuu had offered to stick with him during the run while Yoichi waited for Kimizuki. He didn't know why the pair wanted to participate in the run in the first place. But Kimizuki had insisted upon it, saying he wanted to experience it and to also make sure that the bond they’d formed with each other was strong enough to withstand the mating run.
Cheesy bastard.
.
Yuichiro envied his friend’s confidence in their matehood, and respected their decisions to wait until the run to consummate their relationships. Because if they happened to catch the scent of someone else who was their True Mate, at least they respected the tradition and the possibility that their True Mate may not be the person they’d chosen.
Though Yuichiro highly doubted that these two couples weren't True Mates. They were so compatible and in love with one another that Yuu had to do his duty as the single guy and make barfing noises whenever they got too lovey dovey and gross in his presence.
On the inside though? He wanted an alpha. He didn't know if he was ready to get pregnant, or married, or mated. But he did know that he was lonely. And he wanted someone to belong to.
But with Yuichiro being, well...himself...he wasn't about to give himself up to just any alpha. He’d accept no less than his True Mate. Others had told him that he would know when his true mate caught his scent. That it would compel him to run so that the alpha would give chase, and at the same time would induce his heat and prepare his body for mating.
But they would all talk about the smell. That’s how alphas and omegas both knew. Yuichiro was always one to question these things, but the answer remained the same.
Nobody could explain it. It just...was.