SKYE.2

There was a brief pause as Alvin stared at me. Then he sighed and said in a much calmer tone, "That's what you think, Skye. But Soren's a beta, so your relationship is doomed anyway. He hates alphas for a reason. You don't know him, but I've heard him say it a dozen times: ‘I will never date an alpha asshole again! I'd rather die!' He prattled on about it so much, he scared off all the other patrons at the Kingdom of Promises. Do you know, at the beginning, like six months ago, they were all kinda into him? His edgy look, bad-boy aura. He's a looker under all those piercings and tattoos, and he's got that whole ‘hard to get' vibe. Some thought of him as a broken angel to save. But after trying to get his attention, they all just ran away, thankful to be alive!"

I winced hearing that, feeling sorry for Soren, having to deal with so much unwanted attention. To be honest, I wasn't surprised he saw me as just another annoying pursuer. Yet, for some reason, I was the only one who'd somehow succeeded. The question was… why?

Alvin didn't notice my grimacing and kept going. "I kinda get Soren, though. He's right: AOs are a thing, ABs aren't. Betas are ‘recreational use' only. No mateship, no fertility, no heats, no ruts. In the end, we always end up with omegas—it's just statistics! You should save yourself the headache," he said, lying back on his bed and grabbing his phone.

"Well, even with omegas… there's always a chance they'll find a High Mate or a True Mate," I muttered. "Martin left me, and my brother Rain got dumped by his husband when the guy found his High Mate. Even my brother Storm is divorced now—his husband cheated on him. Breakups can happen to anyone. Nothing's set in stone except True Mates."

Alvin raised his head. "Wait, Storm is divorced? Your adorable purple alpha brother?"

"The same. He's in some deep shit now. Lost his job recently; my dad texted me saying he might go to jail for some messed-up stuff that happened between him and his husband. I ignored it. To be honest, I just don't care."

"Jail? That's bad. I guess you two are still on bad terms. Did you ever make up after… he fucked David?"

I stared at him, feeling a wave of irritation. "Why would you even bring that up? Jeez, you really are annoying." I glanced at Archer, who raised his head too, obviously intrigued.

Seeing this, Alvin perked up, he definitely wasn't going to let it go now.

"Yup, Archer, listen to this! Skye dated this guy, David, all through high school. They split up just before college started. Then Skye's brother Storm—the infamous purple alpha—got with David and fucked him! Skye and Storm had a fight, and Storm broke his fingers. That's why Skye sucks at the violin now…" Alvin burst into laughter.

I sat there, boiling inside that the fucker told that fucked-up story without my consent.

Archer glanced at me and murmured, "I'm sorry, Skye." I had a feeling the ‘sorry' meant more than one thing.

"What the hell, Alvin? Why bring this shit up?! So fucking low!"

Alvin shrugged. "Chill, it's in the past."

Fuming, I stood up and left the room without saying a word. I needed some fresh air before I exploded. Why was Alvin so passive-aggressive toward me? I had no idea. I sat on the stairs leading to the dorm and got lost in thought.

But soon, I heard footsteps behind me… and Archer joined me.

He didn't say anything; he just sat down next to me, and we sat there in silence for a while. His presence kinda calmed me—he was a good influence on my strained nerves.

"Alvin can be super annoying sometimes. Honestly, I'm glad graduation is so close. I think our friendship from high school just… faded. We're not in sync anymore."

Archer shrugged. "Friends are overrated anyway."

I smirked. "Are they? I can guess why you see it that way—being a hacker comes with being a loner. It's in the job description."

"Nah, that's not it. The idea of ‘friends' since the social media era has become diluted anyway. The word doesn't mean much anymore. It's better to focus on one-on-one relationships, on finding a life partner."

"A, yes… Life partner. I would want that too, but it's not that easy. More of a big deal."

"Yes, but I still have this big dream. I'd love to meet a short, redheaded omega one day and start a family." He sighed, staring pensively at the darkening sky.

"You're gonna be a millionaire. I'm sure some cute, submissive redheads will soon find their way to your… mansion," I teased.

Archer didn't smile; his face seemed kinda… rueful.

"Yeah, money makes things easier, but the problem is, I dream about true love. I'm old-fashioned—I want it all. Love and family, preferably a big one."

I lowered my head. "Love? But it's so… fleeting, Archer. I thought I had that with Martin. I was so into him. He seemed almost perfect—personality-wise, looks-wise—but… it didn't work."

"Was he similar to Soren?"

"To be honest, he was. I like that type—a bit guarded, tall, black hair…"

"Probably your imprint. Mine are redheads."

"Imprint? I've never heard that term."

Archer smiled. "I read this theory somewhere. The closer someone is to your True Mate, look-wise or personality-wise, the stronger the attraction."

"Maybe there's something to that. But Soren is a beta, so it's unlikely we have a high mateship. But I'm just so disillusioned with omegas that I want to try something else. A relationship with a beta seems more stable for me."

"Really?" He cracked a smile in disbelief. "You don't care about high mateship anymore, the never-ending search for your TM? Gave up on omegas after the Martin situation?"

"Archer, being with omegas is… elusive! It deceives you into believing you can have it forever. And you can't, not unless you find your True Mate. There's always a better mate chance lurking around the corner. The grass is greener somewhere… in Neverland. It annoys me—the impossibility of forming a permanent bond, of securing it—because it can all crumble the moment a better mate shows up. Betas are more… stable prospects. They won't run off sniffing out their perfect mates."

He looked contemplative for a while, considering my words. "That kinda makes sense, but I want kids—a lot of them, actually. And I haven't given up on the chance of sniffing out my True Mate one day." Archer smiled softly.

"I'm from a big family. And my parents are TMs, but believe me, it's far from perfect—"

Archer raised his eyebrows with a smile. "Ah, yeah, I remember! Gabriel mentioned your parents once. Well, I envy them. I consider that a perfect situation!"

"Overrated! TMs—check. Big family—check. But we have really conflicting personalities, my brothers and I. There were always these alliances and shit. Nothing is perfect, Archer. Hate to burst your bubble." I made a sour smirk.

Archer sighed. "Maybe it didn't work out perfectly for you guys. Gabriel mentioned once that he was scared to visit your house because it was like an ongoing battlefield. But still, there are advantages—you guys have a better chance of finding your own True Mates, and you also age slower due to better genes. So I don't lose hope. I could… steer my family in a more peaceful direction, no offense."

Chuckling, I patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck! When eight people with strong personalities are trying to have their say, it really needs a strong leader to deal with them. My father wasn't that bad, but I guess he was never very strict and didn't like the whole reward-punishment thing. Maybe it backfired a bit, I don't know, looking at the chaos we sometimes could create. I would say my parents were loving, but couldn't really handle us. It could be overwhelming. Sometimes I just had to hide in my room with a headache, it was too noisy and crazy."

"Kids need more than just love and acceptance. They need structure, especially alphas. Only then do they feel safe. Old World methods of raising kids are failing in our cases."

"That's probably true. My parents are very loving and accepting, but they kinda gave up on regulating our energy, and it ran wild. Rain and I were always against Storm. Snow and Winter teamed up. Bay kept his distance, and even Sun was against Storm… it was a fucking mess." I snorted with amusement.

Archer glanced at me with curiosity. "Storm, the famous purple alpha? People often ask me if I'm purple because of my height, which is within the range of purples. How interesting to have such an alpha as a brother!"

"Yeah, it was… super ‘interesting'—a constant warfront! He beat us to a pulp, but we always kept coming back for more."

"How did your father handle him? I heard that to control purple alphas, fathers have to be very strict."

"He barely managed, perhaps only because he had True-Mate-power-support from my dad. They kept it together somehow, but in the end, I don't think it worked one hundred percent. Storm has some legal troubles, and it does not look good. He has temper issues. Their kid-raising methods were too lenient for his energy."

"I'm sure they did the best they could. But sadly, many people try to use Old World methods to raise alphas, and it just doesn't work."

"Yep. To make matters worse, the only omega among us—my oldest brother, River—ran away from home when he was seventeen. I guess we were that chaotic, hah… He probably couldn't stand it. Bay once told me River was angry at my parents for letting things get out of hand. They argued about it, he wanted them to do more, to be stronger leaders, and well… then he left." I snorted bitterly.

Archer flinched slightly.

"Your omega brother ran away?"

"Yes, and married his much older High Mate, a rather traditional, strict alpha, cutting all ties with the family. His husband won't let him contact us, probably because he thinks we're a bad influence. My dad was devastated when it happened."

After those words, something suddenly changed in Archer—I could almost feel it physically. He became tense and coughed heavily.

"Was that a long time ago?" His voice broke a bit.

I nodded. "I wasn't even three at the time. But I used to go to his room often, listening to him play his violin. I loved it. He inspired me to play. I don't remember him much, though—just his long, red braid. I guess he would've been your type—the redhead!" I snickered, but I was also surprised at how strangely stiff Archer seemed now, his face was turned away from me.

Then, suddenly, he stood up, startling me a bit.

"Hey, listen, Skye. Sorry to cut our convo short, but I… need to head to bed. I strained a muscle during sparring with Gabriel, and I want to give it time to heal." He hesitated. "But thanks for the talk, and I… wish you luck with Soren. That said, from what I understand, he's a pretty complicated case. So I'd advise you to proceed with caution."

I stared at him for a while, surprised by the sudden change in his demeanor.

"Okay, Archer, thanks… and I hope you find your perfect redhead too."

"I think I found him. The problem is, he's already taken." He smiled gloomily, then waved and walked back to the dorm, his head bowed low, his energy kinda… nulled.

Archer's strange statement perplexed me; I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but oh well. I had enough of my own problems.

For a long time, I stayed on the stairs, lost in thought. I mused about my family, the circumstances of River's escape, and wished he would find his way back to us.

Despite their imperfections, my parents loved us—and they loved River so much. My dad always had tears in his eyes whenever River's name was mentioned. I truly hoped Fate would reconcile us one day…

I didn't even know why, but Archer's face kept coming back to me, along with his strange reaction when I mentioned my omega brother. Did he know him? Should I ask? Maybe I should, but soon after, I forgot about it, as my mind became flooded with images of Soren and the anticipation of our upcoming meeting. And it consumed me completely…

***

Before 8 o'clock, I took a shower. (Alvin was no longer in the room, and Archer was curled up in his bed, looking very quiet and even a bit dejected.) Then I went to Soren's dormitory. My throat was tight with emotion.

Soren opened the door almost as soon as I approached, as if he saw me coming through the window and just let me in.

I took out the cash and put it on the table, and I could see him looking at it, as if trying to figure out what I had come for. It was $70 again.

"Do you think we could lie on the bed this time? I don't like to stand up during my… climax," I mumbled.

"Sure, no problem."

I lay down, and he knelt between my knees. Just the sight of Soren staring at my crotch like that sent waves of heat through me. This time, he placed his hands on my chest and gently slid them down to my stomach before he began to unbutton my pants. I could hear my own accelerated breathing, and my excitement was rising quickly as he pulled down my boxers. Damn, I was so ready!

"You turn me on, so much," I gasped, looking up at him. He responded with a long look I couldn't interpret, yet no words came out of his lips, though his cheeks were flushed like mine.

He got down to business. And again, those sweet, full, pink lips encircled my shaft. Fuck! I sighed with some desperation, knowing that this time I wouldn't be able to enjoy it much longer. It just couldn't last; it was impossible, no matter how hard I tried. Something inside me stirred as I watched his soft lips engulf my swollen glans.

He barely moved, but I exploded in his mouth, moaning like a porn actor.

"Soren, either you're so good at this or you have this effect on me," I muttered, slightly miffed because it was just way too fast for my liking.

Soren looked at me, licked his lips, opened them as if to say something, hesitated, but nothing came out.

I decided to take advantage of his hesitation and asked, "Can I return the favor?"

I could almost see that he was waiting for my proposal! Without saying a word, he lay down on the bed and immediately unzipped his pants. He had a dark graphite jockstrap on this time, and he was already hard!

Yep, he wanted it, he liked it! And that filled me with strange elation.

However, I did not immediately continue with my business. Instead, I leaned over him, propped myself up on my elbows, and kissed him again on the neck, whispering, "You smell so good, I love your scent. I've never smelled anything so pleasant and sexy."

"I shower a lot," he mumbled, rolling his eyes a bit.

"Nah, it's not that. It's just the natural scent of your body, such a perfect blend," I breathed out and licked the skin of his neck.

Soren let me kiss it, and at the same time, my hand moved to his waist, slipping under his black long-sleeve and up his chest. I heard him exhale quickly as my fingers found his hard nipples, but something caught my attention, making me freeze and straighten up.

I looked at him because something didn't add up, even though he was a beta—his nubs felt more like those of an omega; they were larger and quite swollen under my fingers.

"Can I see them?"

Soren blushed but nodded slowly. I pulled up his shirt, and to my eyes appeared the sexiest nipples I had ever seen in my life. I even gasped in surprise!

Usually, betas' nipples are no different from alphas', flat and small, but about 10-15% have nipples similar to omegas', more prominent and larger.

"Damn, these are perfect, so beautiful!"

His cheeks were now flaming red.

Soren's nubs looked very sexy indeed—they were a similar color to his lips, dark pink like ripe raspberries, and they were stiffly erect—almost begging me to touch them, rub them, lick them, suck them—and of course… I did all that.

I leaned forward and took one nipple in my mouth, and with my other hand, I started to play with the other one, tugging and rolling it a little, hearing his breathing accelerate. I just knew it—I could feel in my nervous system how much he liked it. His body tensed, he threw his head back, and guttural moans came from his throat.

What occurred a moment later was beyond belief. I felt something warm splash against my elbow and realized what had happened: Soren had come without me touching his cock!

I lifted my head and looked at him in amazement.

"Wow!"

"Wo—what?" he stammered with some embarrassment, opening his eyes.

"I had no idea betas could do that. I thought only omegas have this… skill, and only during pregnancy or heat."

Soren's face was so red that it seemed as if he painted his cheeks crimson. He averted his eyes, but answered softly, "I didn't know I could do it."

There was a moment of silence. So, it was the first time? This filled me with an even greater sense of happiness, almost overwhelming.

"It is an honor for me," I whispered solemnly.

He made a strange grimace and turned his face to the side, as if to make sure I couldn't see his eyes.

But I used the moment to lower myself over him and began to lick his belly clean, greedily swallowing his tasty cum. His dick was still stiff and nudged me over my cheeks as I lapped around it. Soren stared at me with large pupils, watching attentively what I was doing. As I licked there, I felt what he wanted—the need to feel my lips on his cock rising inside him. So I gave in to his unspoken desire and closed my mouth over his shaft.

Soren whimpered and threw his head back onto the pillow. Since he had already had one orgasm, it took longer this time, about… yes, three minutes of my head bobbing over his shaft. I did the best I could, deepthroating him at certain moments and dribbling saliva around the base of his dick. His hands tangled in my hair, stroking my head, running through my strands.

"I'm… close," he murmured, and I redoubled my efforts, sucking hard on his glans. Ten seconds after his warning, warm liquid exploded in my mouth, and I swallowed it all with ease, making 'mmm' sounds. Soren gasped loudly, his face turning bright red.

After licking him clean, I let go of his dick with a popping sound and our eyes met. I grinned broadly. He didn't respond with a smile; his face looked uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and stood up quickly, pushing me off his thighs and pulling on his sweatshirt in a few quick moves. His behavior was really awkward.

But what could I do, I got up and took some extra money out of my pocket and put it on the table for him.

"Thanks, that was just perfect," I said. He stayed silent, staring off to the side. There was this long moment where we just lingered there—I was twitching my fingers, unsure what else to say—then finally mumbled, "Well, I gotta go finish my essay. I'm terrible at writing smooth sentences, so it always takes me forever. It's such a pain in the ass."

Then, out of nowhere, Soren said, "When you're done, you can email it to me. I can take a look and maybe give you some pointers."

Did he just offer that out of his own will? Shocking.

"You'd really do that? I'm just a typical math guy—putting together elegant sentences isn't my thing."

Soren muttered, still staring at the table where the money was, "Aren't your parents musicians?"

Whoa. Another surprise. Did he even care enough to know those facts from my life?

It felt strange talking to him while he kept looking away, as if the table was more interesting. Soren seemed embarrassed that we were talking about something other than business.

"Yeah, they are, but math skills run in musician families too. I can play guitar and violin, but I didn't go down that path. My house was always filled with music, so I guess I wanted to take a different route."

"My dad played violin when I was a kid. Then… after the accident, he couldn't." A strange silence fell between us, and I wasn't sure how to react. Too much sympathy could annoy him, but saying nothing could be just as bad.

"I'm sorry… Did you like how he played?"