SKYE

I woke up just before 6:00 am. The light was still a bit pink, that dim, early morning glow. I was lying there holding Soren in my arms, his head resting on my shoulder. I looked at his face; in the warm sunlight, he looked better than yesterday, not as pale. I watched him for a moment.

Once again, I was struck by how captivating he was. To me, his features were flawless. His nose was straight, his lips full and inviting, perfect for sweet, soft kisses. And his eyelashes… they seemed so long. I'd never seen anyone with naturally long lashes like his. They lay on his cheeks like black butterfly wings, thick and dark. I admired them for a while. And his eyebrows? Was it even possible for someone to have such perfectly shaped brows without grooming? On his cheekbones, if I looked closely, I could see very faint golden freckles, visible only in the right light. He was the epitome of winter beauty: pale skin and jet-black hair.

I glanced at his tattoos. They were done in black ink, resembling intricate coils of barbed wire or perhaps some kind of thorny vines creeping up both sides of his neck, onto his jawline, then reaching his temple. The sides of his head were shaved in a fade, progressing from a very short shave, maybe 1 mm, to gradually longer hair on top of his scalp. It was an extravagant, almost avant-garde style, likely a hindrance for public-facing jobs, but Soren wanted to be a programmer. That meant spending hours in rooms where no one saw you, so he probably didn't worry much about his tattoos making a bad impression on employers. I also took a moment to look at his piercings. He had several small ones in his eyebrow, each ring adorned with tiny crystals, one small diamond in his left nostril, and another small ring in the corner of his mouth. I wondered what it would feel like to kiss with that ring being there. Would it be cold? Or did his body heat warm it? I really wanted to find out, but Soren was firm about kisses. Whenever I moved my lips to the edge of his jaw, he'd turn slightly away, making it clear he didn't want to be kissed.

Strands of his silky black hair were scattered on my shoulder. Holding him so close was absolutely wonderful, my heart sped up, and I wanted to lean in and kiss his forehead, but at that moment, he seemed to sense my emotions, and his eyes opened. From this close, in the morning light, his irises looked almost silvery, bordered by a darker graphite ring, with the inside resembling the color of storm clouds. His eyes were truly breathtaking; I could stare into them, mesmerized, wishing he would stare back at me… with warm feelings.

I yearned for him to be mine so badly, to belong to me. But that wasn't possible now, I knew I had to be patient.

"How are you feeling today?"

In his painfully beautiful eyes, I saw a flicker of unease. I could almost see the light of awareness returning to them, the realization that he was lying in my arms, and the discomfort that came with it—not the physical kind, but the worst kind—mental.

"Way better. I have classes at 9 am, and I'm going."

"You can't be serious. You just had a miscarriage!"

"I need to go there. I'm shooting for an A, and I can't miss it," he said firmly.

"Don't forget, I'm in those classes too. I can take notes and give them to you, no big deal," I assured him.

He frowned slightly. "It's not about that. It's about being present—Professor Allen is strict about attendance. Missing class puts you on his bad side."

"Come on, Soren, don't risk your health. You should be resting; you could still be bleeding a little—"

"I know, that's why I'll use a small pad, like omegas do after giving birth. I'll be fine, Skye. I've been through this before, remember? I know how I feel, and I know I can handle going to class."

He sat up, only then realizing that he was completely naked.

I saw that he blushed slightly when my gaze slid to his nipples. They looked particularly interesting—dark pink, like raspberries, slightly swollen, with hard, long nubs. Unwittingly, my eyes fixated on them. The awareness of how sensitive they were, and how many times he had come just from me caressing them, made me swallow hard, feeling a twitch in my dick. But I quickly willed my gaze up, not wanting to take advantage of him in this vulnerable situation.

"You have a beautiful body," I mumbled, feeling that it came off as inappropriate and insensitive, especially at a time like this.

"Thanks," he muttered. "I'll go wash up now. And I advise you to go back to your room. You've got some blood smears on your T-shirt," he finished in a rather sour tone, pointing toward my stomach.

I sighed, sat up, and nodded. "Fine, I'll do that. I'm getting out of here now, but I'll see you in class?"

He nodded again. I realized that the whole time we were talking, he didn't cover his chest, even though he could have easily—but he didn't! I wondered why. He just sat there naked, letting my gaze glide over his tempting shapes with impunity. Soren had such a narrow waist, and his buttocks formed two pleasant swells. He looked at me, noticing I was staring at his body again, but still allowed me to indulge in this eye-feast.

With some difficulty, I tore my gaze away from his beauty and stood up, adjusting my tented boxers. I admit, it took me a moment. It felt strange. I had been staring at him for maybe a full minute, probably looking like a drooling dog. But Soren… said nothing. He didn't protest or tell me to get a grip or stop being disrespectful. He just sat there, his eyes focused on the edge of the bed, his eyelashes on display, waiting for me to satiate myself with him. Perhaps he found some mysterious pleasure in seeing me so entranced by his body? I had no idea.

I would've expected him to be angry. After all, he had miscarried last night, and here I was, ogling him like some sick pervert.

Why didn't he scold me? He should have. He really should have. But he didn't.

In the end, it was me who put a stop to the madness. I gathered myself, doing the right thing by turning my gaze away.

Putting on my shoes, I muttered, "Well, take care," my head low, as I walked out of the room, leaving him still sitting naked on the edge of the bed.

Returning to my room, I felt weird, almost out of place. My mind was blank, but my body felt weighed down with undeciphered emotions.

When I opened the door, Alvin was already up, getting dressed. He raised an eyebrow and smirked lightly at my appearance.

"I have a feeling you had an interesting night," he remarked.

Annoyed, I grimaced slightly. I couldn't tell him the truth—it was a private matter, what had transpired between me and Soren.

"It was eventful, but I can't talk about what happened, so don't even ask."

Now Alvin seemed even more intrigued.

"Soren. You were with him. Hence the secrecy."

I didn't respond.

Alvin shook his head disapprovingly.

"You're an idiot for getting involved in this. Seriously. He'll break your heart. I told you, he hates alphas; he's made his feelings pretty clear several times, even in front of me. He ranted that he would rather kill himself than have a relationship with one of us again!"

What could I say to him? I remained silent. He'd just think I was deaf and blind to the voice of reason, and he'd be right! I was. All I wanted was… Soren.

Crazy, incomprehensible, stupid, but I couldn't help it. Everything in me… was drawn to him. Like a moth to a flame.

***

Uncharacteristically anxious, I showed up for class on time, and Soren was already seated in his usual spot.

I took my seat next to him. He didn't say anything, though he threw me a quick glance. His face still looked pale.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I'll live," he muttered.

We sat there for a moment, and then I saw a short omega with long chestnut hair approach. I'd seen him dancing with Sean before. He walked past us, glanced at me, then at Soren, and smiled warmly.

"Hey, Soren, how are you?" he greeted.

"Hey, May. I'm okay, and you?"

Wow! I immediately recognized him as one of Soren's patrons! I knew the omega's name was May, and the beta, his other patron, was Ed. Interestingly, he seemed to know who I was, but apparently wasn't worried about me because he walked past us with a smile and continued on his way. I swallowed nervously, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Soren threw me a brief, but probing look. Finally, after a moment of hesitation, I asked, "What services do you provide for May? Hj or bj?"

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously? That's none of your business."

I was silent for a moment, then blurted out, "Do you… fuck him?"

Soren snorted with a rather aggressive laugh, a rare sound from him.

"I wouldn't be able to handle that without some pill to help."

I blinked, not understanding what he meant. "How… why… what?"

He rolled his eyes again. "You're a bit slow, huh? I told you already. I'm a total bottom, Skye," he said it with a strange emphasis. "Isn't it obvious to you by now?"

Gaping, I stared at him, with my dick already painfully hard.

"I don't get turned on by omegas. I'm not attracted to them in any way, shape, or form. Nothing. Zilch. Nada."

Slowly, I felt my cheeks warming.

"Besides, May doesn't expect that," he continued. "He's waiting for a relationship; he doesn't want to lose his ass virginity like that. I only gave him hjs and bjs."

"And the beta? Do you also have a beta patron… Ed?"

He shrugged. "He might want it from time to time, but I have the same issue with betas as with omegas. I'm not attracted to them, not in the slightest. I used a dildo on him whenever he wished, but usually also hjs or bjs."

I was silent. For some reason, the fact that they weren't alphas was easier for me to swallow. But still, it wasn't a pleasant feeling, the thought… that he was taking them into his beautiful, soft lips.

"You're really attracted only to alphas?" I whispered.

He sighed impatiently. "I think that's pretty clear from what I said."

"I wasn't sure; maybe before Anton, you tried dating a beta. That's why I asked. Sometimes, people need time to figure things out."

"Anton was my first and only boyfriend. I've never had penetrative sex with anyone else. Don is the only other person, but that wasn't consensual," he snarled.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"You only slept with Anton? Really?" This almost shocked me. With his attractiveness, it seemed unfathomable.

"Why the wide eyes? Because I was in the Kingdom of Promises?" Soren looked annoyed.

"No, it's not that. It's just that you're very, very attractive."

He scoffed in irritation. Our convo seemed to have really miffed him.

"So what? Does that automatically mean I've slept with a bunch of people?"

Now I felt stupid. "No, of course not, Soren."

"My philosophy is simple. I don't go all the way unless I have… feelings for the guy. And the only person I loved was Anton."

The professor walked into the room, so we both fell silent. Yet, something was bothering me—a persistent thought.

"How often do you see May and Ed?" I asked very quietly.

He gave me another long, penetrating look.

"You know I could just say it's none of your business, right?"

"You could."

He sighed, but his face slowly changed, becoming more… shy? And flushed.

"I'm… uh, taking a break."

"From providing them with your… services?"

"Yeah, that's what we're talking about, isn't it?" Soren again looked annoyed. I guess I was getting on his nerves today with my… cluelessness.

"Why the break?"

"None of your business!"

My eyebrows went up. Now was the time to press him a bit. I was like a dog with a bone.

"Come on. Since when?"

Soren's eyes met mine.

"Two and a half months ago," he reluctantly admitted.

That was when we met for the first time… The thought seemed almost unbelievable. How could this even be true?

"Is it because of me?" I murmured, my throat dry.

He blushed.

"Don't flatter yourself!" he snapped.

"Then why?"

"None of your business!"

"It IS because of me," I whispered breathlessly, feeling a wave of strange, sweet, dizzying happiness. It was like a drug spreading through my system.

Soren looked at me, our eyes locking. He was blushing slightly too, seeming both angry and excited. No, he didn't just seem. I knew that's exactly how he felt—annoyed with himself, yet feeling a thrill of forbidden pleasure. That peculiar duality in his behavior again. As if he wanted something but also… didn't want it.

"Quiet in the back, please!" came the professor's voice, looking our way with a frown.

Soren and I immediately fell silent. But my elation didn't fade, no way. I sat there, spellbound for a moment.

Soren had stopped his work for the Kingdom of Promises, and now I was the only one involved with him sexually!

The stupid hope returned. Maybe I could even be something more if I handled this right, if I played my cards carefully—was this an unconscious sign from him?

Pondering over it for a while, I occasionally glanced at him—at his eye-catching profile and those soft lips I planned on tasting one day. I imagined the kiss, could almost see it before my eyes, that sweet moment when he'd wrap his arms around my neck and give in to passion, parting his lips and letting me in. I felt a wave of heat through my body, and when I peered at him again, I saw he was blushing slightly too, as if my energy somehow affected him.

Soren had forbidden me from touching him outside of his room, but I was slowly making progress in loosening up those rules. It was time to make another advance. I slowly raised my hand and placed it on the back of his chair, in a strategic spot. I hesitated for a moment, then very slowly ran my thumb along the line of his neck, down toward his spine. Soren flinched slightly. I was sure he'd snap at me, tell me to stop, or get angry for breaking his rule, but to my surprise, he did none of that. He let me gently caress his shoulder blades, tracing small circles and lines with just the tips of my fingers across his slim back.

At one point, I moved my hand higher, slipping it under his hair to touch the bare skin of his neck. I was just always drawn to his neck—I'm sure Archer would appreciate it. When my fingers touched his nape, Soren twitched and exhaled. The sound he made was very quiet, but I knew it was a stifled moan. Yep, he liked it a lot.

Not wanting to push my luck, I slowly withdrew my hand. Besides, in his current state, continuing these touches might cross the line—he was still recovering, after all. But it took a lot of effort to pull my hand away from his body.

What was uplifting, I could almost feel the wave of his disappointment when our contact ended. Soren should have the nickname ‘Cat'—he truly loved being stroked and caressed. He also could scratch me whenever he wanted. To the bone.

After the lecture, we headed to the cafeteria because Soren said he was as hungry as a bear.

Suddenly, Sean came over to us. I kinda admired the guy's persistence and his immunity to Soren's hostile attitude. He obviously wasn't mad enough at Soren, even after their unpleasant exchange a few days ago.

Every time he saw us together, he seemed genuinely surprised.

"Sup, what you eatin'?"

"Food," Soren muttered rudely.

Sean ignored it and sat down. After a second, he asked, "So, I can see you guys finally sorted things out. Are you besties now?" He gave a mischievous smirk.

"We sorted things out, but don't get any ideas, Sean. I know what you're thinking," Soren grumbled, slightly annoyed—so typical of him. He always seemed to be eighty percent annoyed and twenty percent aroused.

"No matter how deep your sorting goes—I'm not getting into that. I just wanted to make yet another attempt at burying the hatchet." Sean wiggled his eyebrows.

Soren only scowled, so I responded, "Okay, since I'm the reason you guys had an argument, I want to say I'm not mad at you, Sean. Just don't try to meddle in my and Soren's stuff, and we're good."

Soren darted a glare at me and made a face.

"C'mon, Skye. The bitch wanted to sleep with you, knowing you're into me," he muttered, while Sean just cackled. "That's a classic backstabbing move."

"Relax, he wouldn't have succeeded anyway. So, no need to be mad, it's like nothing had happened."

"See, I told you he wouldn't fuck you," Soren stated, glowering triumphantly at Sean.

Sean didn't take offense, even looked slightly amused. "And what's wrong with me? I'm sooo pretty!"

Well, I was going to be a mean bitch now, so I gave him a once-over. "I guess you're okay, tall, and I like them tall, but… still a far cry from Soren."

Sean had tried to mess with Soren and me, so he kinda deserved a little teasing.

"What? Asshole! I have a much better body!"

Soren rasped. "Hvae?! Which part?"

"Stop with the Icelandic. I have… a bigger ass!"

"Wait, is your family from Iceland?" I asked, dumbfounded, but was ignored.

Sean jumped to his feet and did a little spin to show off his assets. "It's perfect!" He slapped one of his buttocks. "I've only once seen a better butt than mine, and that was your friend Liam's. He's got a great ass! Probably the best I've ever seen on a beta."

"The fuck? Stop it!" Soren growled. "Leave Liam out of this!"

"But mine is the second best! Admit it!"

I glanced at his rear end for a second—just to compare, but Soren immediately waved his hand in front of my face. "Don't look at his ass!" he barked in anger, his face crimson red.

"I'm not! And I prefer your ass. You've got a much better ass-to-waist ratio and longer legs."

"What the hell?" Sean rasped. "I clearly have more meat here!" He slapped his butt again, wanting to once more catch my attention, but I was careful this time, and my gaze stayed on Soren's grumpy face—he was observing me intently, making sure I didn't glance at Sean's bottom anymore.

But since he was also slightly pouting his lips—I recognized the grimace well already—I realized he truly wasn't happy about the situation, especially since Sean was showing off his ass just in front of my face rather obscenely, making slight twerking moves, so I decided to say something to improve his mood.

"And you're flat here," I threw mercilessly, taking a quick look at Sean's unimpressive chest. "I prefer Soren's nipples. Very sexy, protruding."

Sean stopped twerking, gaped, and then giggled. "Aaa, gotcha. You saw his nipples! So you weren't just hanging out innocently, huh?"

I blushed slightly and bit my lip, not knowing what to say.

But Soren just shrugged. "The point is, you're not gonna fuck with Skye. You can stop showing off your mediocre assets. It won't work."

Sean slumped into the chair, making a sour face. "It wasn't meant to get him interested in me, just to show I'm not as bad as you both suggested."

"Fine. You're not bad. Just don't touch what's mine, and we're good."

Sean gasped, and I raised my eyebrows too.

"Mine? So you guys are together after all?"

"No, but he's off-limits to you."

I blinked, staring at Soren's face. This was a strange possessiveness. A dog in the manger, for sure. That unadulterated display of jealousy was so out of character for him.

Or… was it not that out of character after all?

"Gosh, Soren! I would never have made a move if you weren't so adamant about not liking him before, you know that."

Soren shrugged. "I get that. But that wasn't my main issue. You sent him texts warning him about me—betting I'd blow him. That was super unfair, especially since I clarified to you it wasn't a bet for the sake of it. It was something I actually wanted to do… just because. No ulterior motives."

"I'm sorry again. As long as you're not doing it on a whim or planning to kick his ass like he's a plaything, I'm not gonna be a bitch."

Soren didn't respond. He just stared at Sean with a tense expression, which caught my attention.

"So, are we finally good, or do you want this beef to never end?"

Soren swallowed and looked away, strange guilt written all over his face. "Yeah, we're good," he murmured, and I felt relieved—I really didn't want to be the reason for their skirmishes.

Sean quickly changed the topic to an upcoming mixer, but I couldn't help noticing Soren's sour mood.

We went to the next two classes together, then had separate ones. But I made it a point to be at the door of Soren's lecture hall when his class ended. I needed to make sure he wasn't too exhausted. When he came out and saw me waiting, he rolled his eyes and said,

"What's with the worried face? I feel good, the worst is over."

"I'm glad. My classes are also over. Want to grab something to eat? My treat."

He made a grimace. "Nah, I just want to go back to my room and lie down."

He turned and headed toward his dorm, but I followed. He didn't shoo me away, which was another strange element of his new behavior.

We reached his dorm, went through the main entrance, and up to his door. Only then did he stop and look at me.

"Okay, you've walked me to my door. I can handle it from here."

"Maybe I could order a pizza for us, and we could eat it in your room?"

He hesitated, his eyes sweeping over my face, then slowly nodded. And again, that wave of strange happiness washed over me.

Why was I so hungry for Soren's presence ALL the time?

We entered the room, and Soren dropped his backpack by the table, then said, "Order the pizza, plain with mushrooms and cheese for me. I'm going to take a shower."

He took clothes from his wardrobe and headed to the bathroom without another word. I ordered the pizza and then looked at his bed, noticing the pad lying there. Since there were still some bloodstains on it, I rolled it up, revealing an old brown stain from the previous day underneath. I went to his wardrobe and saw a spare set of sheets on the bottom shelf, so I took them and replaced the old one. Just as I finished, Soren returned to the room, dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants.

He looked at me and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I changed your sheets. The old one was still dirty." I pointed shyly at the crumpled bed linen.

Soren was silent for a moment, then took the sheet and carried it to the bathroom. I followed him and threw the pad into the bin there. Soren watched me but didn't say anything. However, I could sense his strange confusion.

We went back to the room.

"The pizza will be here in half an hour," I announced.

Soren lay down on the bed, but interestingly, he did not cover himself with the blanket. He stretched out on his back and stared at the ceiling. I sat in the chair and watched him too.

Silence fell. It was a bit strange to sit like that, with him lying flat. He lifted his hand and lightly touched the lip ring, causing it to spin a little.

I noticed he was wearing a very thin white T-shirt. In the artificial light, I could see the dark outline of his nipples poking through the flimsy material. I stared at them, feeling a wave of desire that was challenging to fight, but I did what I could. He had miscarried yesterday, any sexual activity was out of the question. I had to respect that; he needed to rest. But Soren seemed to see it differently because he suddenly said, "Touch me, Skye."

These were quiet words, and he didn't look at me, his head turned slightly to the side toward the corner of the wall. I knew, I could feel, how much it cost him to say it.

"But you're feeling unwell."

"My dick is fine."

"It's a bad idea, Soren. You had a miscarriage, I wouldn't—"

"I'm not asking you for full-blown sex, Skye," he murmured in a sullen voice, "I think you know what my words meant."

He was right, I knew exactly what he wanted. It still felt bad, inappropriate, but it was his request.

I moved to the edge of the bed, which swayed slightly under the weight of my body. Soren still wasn't looking at me; he was gazing off to the side. My hand moved slowly along his arm to his elbow, where his bare skin was visible. I continued up his forearm unhurriedly and finally slid my fingers into his palm, intertwining them with his. His fingers responded with a slight squeeze, sending another wave of elation through me. Gosh, how I craved his closeness.

Gradually, I moved into a position that gave me better access to his torso. Then I slowly leaned forward, my hands supported on either side of his head, and slowly brought my face closer to his. Of course, he wasn't looking at me, his lips were parted, but I wasn't brave enough to try to touch them. I pecked him gently on the cheek, moving my mouth to his cheekbone and then higher up to his temple, before slowly lowering my kisses to his ear. He immediately turned his head to the side to make room for me. My lips, as always, found his neck gland and planted a kiss on it; he smelled so good…

Only then did I realize that the subtle hint of vanilla I had sensed before was now gone! Soren smelled of dahlia with a hint of mint. Was the vanilla scent really related to his pregnancy, as is often the case with omegas?

My other hand slid gently over his belly, making a small circle around his navel, and then slowly, very slowly, went up, tickling his ribs, and finally slid even higher, teasing his stiff nipples. I heard that soft, very soft, guttural moan again. This time, Soren closed his eyes, fully surrendering to my touch. I knew how it would go; I knew he could come quickly, and I could already do it the way he liked it best. I wanted to give it to him.

So I slowly pulled up his shirt, exposing his hardened nipples. "So pretty, so sexy…" I murmured, pressing my lips to one of them, sucking and biting lightly. His breathing accelerated as he raised his hands and threw them behind his head, almost as if giving himself to me. I knew—quite physically—that he was very ready, very willing, and I knew it wouldn't take long. So I lowered my hand and pulled his pants off his hips.

He was already close, his dick rock-hard. I could tell by the way it was throbbing, with pre-cum flowing from the slit. Then I slid lower and took his stiff shaft in my mouth. Ten seconds later, he came, letting out that characteristic quiet, deep moan of his. I gobbled it all down.

Then I slowly stood up, pulled down his shirt, and pulled up his pants. I sat next to him, feeling the tension in my own crotch, since I had not reached my own completion, but I didn't want it now, not in the state he was in. I couldn't expect it from him.

"If you want, I can give you a hand job," he said quietly, still not looking at me, his eyes closed.

"No, thanks, today is your day, so you deserve to rest and let someone else take care of you."

I sensed his irritation. "I don't need you to take care of me!"

"Maybe I put it wrong. I just meant help, and support."

He fell silent for a moment, like he was thinking about something, then muttered, "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I really appreciate your support, I just react like this because it's all so… complicated."

I didn't ask how complicated it was because I already knew. It was incredibly complicated.

"We have some studying to do. Maybe you'd like to do it together before the pizza guy arrives?" I suggested it casually.

"Sure, we can study," he blurted out, shifting deeper into the bed, so I could sit closer. I pulled out my laptop, and for a while, we reviewed the code our professor had sent us to analyze. It turned out that Soren had a pretty good grasp of the subject already and mostly guided me on how to implement certain solutions. He was halfway through explaining something when we heard a knock at the door. It was the pizza guy.

We started eating soon after. The atmosphere became relaxed and frankly, very normal. In casual conversation, Soren wasn't as distant and unpleasant as he was whenever the topic was more… intimate. He was just a regular guy you could talk to.

Not wanting to test his patience, I asked him how he was feeling after we ate. When he said he felt okay and that he needed to work for DevApp, I said goodbye and returned to my dorm.

The way back was—once again—filled with this strange emptiness in my head and unidentified emotions boiling just below the surface, which even numerous deep breaths couldn't calm down.

But when I got to my room, I wasn't expecting what I walked into.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a really perturbing sight. Don was sitting on the bed with Alvin, looking at something on a laptop together. Archer was on his bed, busy applying a cooling pack to what seemed like a strained forearm muscle.

The moment I saw Don's dumb face as he turned toward me like nothing was wrong, like he hadn't caused Soren so much pain, something inside me snapped.

I'll admit, all the plans and promises I'd made to myself (and Soren) went out the window.

With a wild growl, I launched myself at him so fast that neither Alvin nor Archer had time to react. I grabbed a fistful of his blond mop and slammed the back of his head against the wall.

"You piece of shit! You human garbage!"

My next punch landed on his shocked face, hitting his open mouth, and blood instantly spurted from his split lip. The third punch caught him on the cheekbone, near his eye, making his head jerk to the side toward Alvin, who was busy trying to save the laptop, shoving it to the other side of the bed. But it wasn't Alvin who stopped me.

Archer jumped up and grabbed me from behind, pulling me away from Don.

Even my rage was no match for Archer's iron grip. The guy was like a machine. He dragged me back from the bed, repeating, "Skye, calm down, calm down…"

But I turned to him and managed to whisper just loud enough for only him to hear, "He raped someone I really care about."

A second of silence, and Archer's grip loosened. I could tell he understood.

I immediately lunged at Don again, but this time he was more prepared, quickly rolling off the bed into a small gap between the headboard and Alvin's desk. Alvin jumped between us, blocking my path to Don with his body.

"Get a grip, what the hell is wrong with you, Skye?!" he yelled, shoving me, but I shoved him back harder and went at Don again. My fist connected with his temple this time, dazing him, and his head slumped back against the wall.

"You bastard, you pathetic scum!" I roared.

But Alvin wasn't about to let me beat Don to a pulp. He jumped on me again, clinging to my back with enough force that he finally managed to pull me away from the bastard.

"You've lost your damn mind, Skye! Leave Don alone, he's backed off from Soren! What more do you want?"

"Get the hell out of here right now, you piece of trash. I know everything you did, and I don't want to see your face. Don't come near me, don't talk to me, don't even look at me. If you try anything, I'll beat the crap out of you. And I mean the hospital will be your next stop!"

I could see in Don's eyes that he knew exactly what I was talking about. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he scrambled out of the corner where he'd tried to hide, got to his feet, and… bolted out of the room. Not a word! He had the face of someone guilty as hell.

I was left alone with Alvin and Archer, who were both staring at me, though with completely different expressions.

"Now, are you gonna explain why you just lost your shit? You've gone completely nuts, Skye!"

I only huffed in annoyance. "He knows damn well what I'm talking about, Alvin, and that's all I'm gonna say. Don't get involved in this."

Alvin stared at me for a moment, mouth hanging open.

"You know, you've really changed, Skye, since you met Soren. It's like something's taken over you. You've become desperate, volatile. This relationship isn't doing you any good!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Alvin, so shut up and mind your fucking business."

Alvin just shook his head in disbelief. "You're gonna regret this, Skye, you'll see. This whole thing is gonna come back to bite your ass. If you think you're going to be the one to lock down Soren, you're fooling yourself. Every one of our patrons thought the same thing last semester—they all bent over backward trying to win him over, and what happened? Nothing. It didn't work, no matter how much you think he likes you! He's just using you for now, trust me."

"What I do with Soren is none of your business, Alvin."

"He's already lined up a job, he's gonna move in with that nerd friend of his, and he'll leave you behind without a second thought, and you'll be on your knees, crying with a broken heart, mark my words!"

I didn't say anything back, just sat down on my bed with my laptop and started working on the Python exercises Soren had assigned me earlier. I had nothing to say to him.

Maybe because deep down, part of me knew his words weren't completely unreasonable.

***

The next day, the same thing happened. I spent the whole day with Soren during lectures and labs. We didn't talk much, just the basic conversations students have. Afterward, we returned to his room. Soren showered and then lay on his back on the bed, just like yesterday.

A silence fell over the room. I stared at him, sitting at his desk with my laptop in front of me.

Was this a silent invitation? How was I supposed to interpret this?

Slowly, I got up and approached the bed. Soren stared at the ceiling for a moment, but then turned his head toward me. We looked at each other.

"Soren?" I whispered.

"Don't make me say it out loud," he said in a tone that sounded a bit angry and a bit like he was embarrassed with himself.

Without a word, I sat down next to him. This time, I lifted his shirt over his head and pulled off his pants, letting them drop to the floor. Finally, I tossed his underwear aside, leaving Soren completely naked, stretched out on his back, his body graceful and slender. Long lines of tattoos ran from his face down his neck, over his shoulders, across his ribs, down to his hips, and further along the side of his thighs, calves, and ankles—a spiraling line of black barbed wire full of spikes. Two thinner threads branched out to his arms, swirling around his wrists.

I allowed myself to stare at him for a while, to indulge in this view.

Soren truly looked like a beautiful work of art with his flawless skin and sexy, lithe figure. The only thing that broke the symmetry of his body was his… erect dick.

I leaned over and began a slow journey with my mouth along his jawline, then down his neck to his collarbones, avoiding his nipples, which caused him to puff impatiently. I continued lower, kissing his flat stomach, his hip bones, and that sexy hollow place between them.

Then I continued this way, but again bypassing his dick, taking my time with his testicles, sucking them into my mouth, which elicited his ticklish gasps. I then shuffled between his legs, taking him under my knees and pushing them up.

Soren suddenly lifted his head and looked at me.

"What are you doing?"

"I wanted to kiss every part of your body, including this one."

"No, I still have residual bleeding. It's better if you don't touch me there with your mouth for now."

I looked between his pleasantly round buttocks. "I don't see any blood. I think it's safe for me to peck you there."

Soren's cheeks flushed, but he didn't protest. So I slowly slid down and, still keeping both hands under his knees so that I could more easily get between his legs, I leaned in and ran a series of soft kisses along his perineum toward his opening.

He let out a soft moan as I kissed it, and then with one push, I flipped him onto his stomach. I had never seen him in a breeding position before, and I must admit it was a very tempting, attractive sight to see. His beautiful back arched down, narrow waist, and the pleasing fullness of his buttocks—it looked very tempting.

"You're perfect all over," I murmured.

I placed my palms on either side of his head and leaned down onto his body. He let out a soft, deep breath, and I had the strange feeling that he liked to feel my weight on him. I just knew it gave him pleasure.

Gradually, I began to move myself down his body as well, my kisses covering the surface of his back, shoulder blades, traveling along his spine, then descending to his buttocks, which I even allowed myself to bite lightly. Soren moaned all the time, trembling slightly—I knew he was enjoying it very much.

My journey through his body ended at his slender feet, his toenails painted black.

Soren shivered as I gently massaged his feet and instep; I could see it was giving him great pleasure.

Then, I slowly turned him onto his back again. His cock was reddened and hard as steel, wet with pre-cum, the full 7 inches on display.

He was breathing fast and looking at me almost pleadingly. I knew he desperately wanted to come.

I smiled slyly and brought my lips closer to his shaft, going from the bottom up, planting a long line of kisses and then gently caressing his slit with my tongue.

"Please…" Soren moaned.

"Please… what?"

He let out a gasp of desperation.

"Don't tease me!"

I moved slowly up his body, and my lips closed on his nipple. He almost screamed and straightened up, his fingers tangling in my hair.

"Yes!" he moaned.

I sucked his nipple and played with the other for a minute before I felt his body tighten. A moment later, his jizz landed on my shoulder!

Soren obviously loved to come this way, with his dick untouched. He really had no trouble with his climaxes.

This time, however, he surprised me. His fingers tightened on my head and slowly began to press lower and lower, pushing me toward his crotch.

"Please, I want more," he said.

"You just came, you might be hypersensitive."

"No, I'm not."

Well, since he asked!

I lowered myself and took his still stiff cock in my mouth, tasting his jizz, and began to work slowly and gently, giving him time, just in case he was a bit hypersensitive—but it didn't look like it. Soren's hands soon began to guide my head, encouraging me to increase the pace.

I must admit that my own arousal was getting out of hand, so while I was blowing him, I unzipped my pants and began to jerk off. I timed it perfectly—just as he came in my mouth, I spurted on his sheet, some of it falling around his calf.

Wiping my mouth, I sat up and looked at his face.

His cheeks were very red, and he was breathing fast.

I watched him for a moment, not knowing what to do or say, but he saved me the trouble by suddenly muttering as he exhaled, "I love the way you take care of my body…" and he turned even redder, as if embarrassed by his own unexpected confession.

"And I love taking care of it."

The silence returned.

His dick was still almost fully erect; Soren's libido was something else. But I left that subject aside for now. I didn't know what to say—because what I truly wanted from him was way beyond just ‘taking care' of his body.

Just to fill the uneasy silence, I chose an almost random topic. "I wonder if Alvin will get anywhere with Don. He seems into him," I muttered.

Soren huffed loudly, swung his legs off the bed, and sat up abruptly.

"I don't give a fuck!"

Biting my lip, I lowered my head. Yeah, that wasn't the best subject to discuss. But before long, Soren made a face and went off on a little rant.

"But if Alvin wants Don, he must choose. Don doesn't like sharing his… sex buddies. He won't tolerate that Alvin is hooking up with Mark and Sean. Alvin's verse; he always jokes around, saying, ‘Mark fucks like a charm, and it's charming to fuck Sean'. Can Don really match up to both? Hell no. They're doomed anyway."

I blinked in shock. "Wait, are you saying Alvin hooks up with Mark too?"

Soren laughed loudly. "It's no secret. Alvin swings every which way. He likes betas, omegas, alphas—he just likes fucking and getting fucked. He doesn't care, he claims he's got chemistry with all the subgenders."

"I know he's open. But I had no idea he's also involved with Mark too. But I shouldn't be surprised. He also joked about sleeping with Archer and me a few times."

"He made a pass at you?" Soren's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Yeah, probably just messing around, but he did it a few times. Always saying it's my loss if I don't take him up on it."

Soren frowned, thinking for a moment before asking, "He's an alpha, but weren't you tempted?"

"In my freshman year, I exchanged handies with a few alpha buddies. I'm generally open, but I lean toward tall betas and tall omegas. Personality-wise, though, I prefer something different. Alvin's… annoyingly jovial, and it's mixed with this crudeness of his. Not really my thing."

"What type of personality are you into?" he asked, averting his eyes.

"Yours."

He didn't respond for a while, still looking away with a strange expression. Finally, he muttered, "Have you ever thought about having sex with an alpha?"

Sighing, I stretched out beside him. "I rarely find them attractive or arousing. At the end of freshman year, I met an alpha who was a bottom, by his own admission. He was fairly attractive, with long black hair, and we made out a bit, but… it just went nowhere. We didn't connect. Alphas are only on the fringes of my interest. My brother, Sun, is exclusively into alphas, but for me… they're not my first or even second choice."

"Good to know Alvin's chances are low," he said with a wince. It was strange—this inexplicable possessiveness of his, his jealousy of everyone. He didn't want to be my boyfriend, but he hated the thought of other people hitting on me.

"No chance. He's just not my type, neither in looks nor personality."

"Not mine either. When all that with the Kingdom of Promises started earlier this year, unfortunately, he insisted on personally testing all of us." Soren grimaced slightly.

Silence fell. I didn't want to pry, but…

"I know what you want to ask," Soren muttered. "Honestly, Alvin was one of the reasons I decided to only work with omegas and betas."

"Because of him? I don't get it."

"Yeah. Sean told me about this whole thing and convinced me to try it out because of my debt problems. Then Alvin said he had to test me first."

I turned away, feeling really uncomfortable, but didn't say anything. Soren watched my reaction for a moment.

"When he came over, I was so stressed I felt sick, like I was gonna throw up. He was super jovial with this… but like you said, crudeness hiding under it. So, I got defensive—rude and tense. When he moved closer, I stepped back and said I wasn't ready. He got pissed, hissed impatiently, and said maybe I wasn't cut out for this, that I was wasting his time. When I didn't respond, he just turned and left."

"Wow. I never thought Alvin would act like that. I've known him since high school; he's always been laid-back, with these broad jokes of his."

"Yeah, well, the next day I told Sean, and he suggested I try to separate what I was doing from my emotions, just see it as a job. Sean talked to Alvin for me, and Alvin came back to give me another shot. This time he was even louder, obnoxious, and a bit vulgar. He said I had nice lips, and he'd like to see his cock between them. But I told him I wasn't down for that, and I could only do a handjob. He wasn't thrilled, but he agreed. I managed to get through it, barely keeping it together, but he was satisfied. He said I was good enough and that I could join the Kingdom if I wanted to. And that's how it started."

"So, how'd you end up with May and Ed? From what I know, there are also two other non-alpha patrons, one beta, and one omega."

"I kept it on the minimal plan, didn't need anyone else. Last semester, May and Ed each used my services twice a week, which gave me a solid income. Plus," Soren cleared his throat, "Don gave me money throughout the last semester. $3,500 in total. I took it, and I regret it now. It just made him feel entitled." Soren's wince looked almost painful.

"Do you have much debt left?"

"Fortunately, no. I have to pay installments for about a year. But I'll have a full-time job soon, so I'll pay it off quickly."

I bit my lip. Well, since Soren didn't have any of those extra gigs now, he was only working part-time for DevApp… I needed to ask.

"So what about this month and next? Does DevApp money cover it?"

Soren was silent for a while.

"Not the whole thing."

I took a deep breath, unsure how he'd react, but I had to at least try.

"Let me cover those two payments for you."

Soren frowned slightly. "No. I don't want your money! It's not what this is all about."

"So what is it about then?"

Soren cleared his throat. "I don't do it with you for money. It's just… for pleasure."

"Which makes us…?" I needed to dig deeper.

"We're fuckbuddies. Period."

"Fuckbuddies…" I whispered. The term was somewhat scary, I just knew it could become a permanent trap with no way out.

He glanced at me again, something flickering in his eyes. "That's all I can offer you, Skye."

Was that all he could offer me… for now or forever? But what could I say without making him mad? I decided to let it go for now.

"Still, please let me pay those last two payments, just to help out. I've got the money. I've been working for Nathaniel since the start of MonsterApp, doing various projects, and I've saved up a lot. Plus, I'll be working for him after graduation. So, it won't even make a dent in my savings."

Soren looked at me for a moment.

"You don't understand, I don't want your money, Skye. I won't take it, not from you… I—" he interrupted, his face suddenly reddening. "It needs to be untainted by money."

His words made me gasp.

It sounded almost… romantic? So not like Soren! But did I know him well enough to judge what he was like inside? Maybe he was exactly what I had never thought—a romantic—just shielding himself with the ‘I don't give a fuck' attitude? A strangely pleasant shiver ran down my spine because… I was the same.

Soren continued, probably not wanting me to cut in, "I'm good. You pay me for Python tutoring double anyway. I'll survive these two months. I already contacted the debt collector and told him I'd be a little late."

It was all… so much. My emotions were somehow stirred, yet I was silent, staring almost transfixed at my hands.

Soren's voice grew firmer, as if he realized how his words might be interpreted and was now trying to sound more businesslike. "Money corrupts everything. I hated owing Don, and it didn't end well. I felt obligated to keep my mouth shut. I prefer a clean slate—no strings attached, no new debts."

Making a loud huff, I muttered, "I get it, I get it." The conversation was going nowhere, I didn't need to hear any more of it, it was all just too depressing. "But the Python payment stays. It's not double. I checked, and some guys charge that much."

"Yeah, they have PhDs."

"You're as smart as they are."

Soren quickly looked away.

"Thanks," he croaked out. "Speaking of Python, did you do the homework I gave you?"

"I did."

I showed him my work, and he approved.

"You're catching on quick. You won't need much more tutoring soon."

"I still want to perfect a few things. Python's a challenge."

"Well… let me think. We could… work on using tools like garbage collector and memory_profiler to analyze and optimize memory usage. That'll come in handy later."

"Sure, sounds great."

A silence fell.

Soren lay flat on his bed, and I decided to, almost shyly, put my arm around his waist. My face ended up close to his head, and I could smell his hair and skin. It was pleasant, sweet, soothing…

Then I closed my eyes and…

Woke up!

It was already morning!

I jerked awake, feeling silly, and sat up. Outside the window, a wall of rain was pouring down from the sky. Soren opened his eyes—the same color as the weather outside—and our gazes met.

"Sorry, I overslept. I'm gonna go now. See you in class…" I muttered, pulling on my jeans in a hurry.

"Wait."

Soren stood up and walked to the window, frowning as he looked outside. It was hard not to notice his perfect ass in those tight speedos. Not a jockstrap this time, but the next best thing.

"It's pouring. You'll be soaked in two seconds."

"I'll run."

Soren turned around and walked to his closet. I did my best not to stare at his slender figure, thin waist, and round butt. He pulled out a black jacket made of thick fabric.

"Take it. It'll be a bit tight, obviously, but it's oversized on me, so it should fit you well enough. You won't catch a cold."

The fuck? I almost gaped. Soren was worried about me? He clearly didn't want me to get drenched, but why… did he even care?

"You don't have to do that, Soren. We're just… fuckbuddies," I muttered, feeling weird.

Soren snorted. "It's just a jacket, dummy! Not a wedding ring! Take it and go."

Shrugging, I smirked and put the jacket on. I felt strangely giddy inside because it clearly wasn't just a fuckbuddy thing; it felt more like a boyfriend thing. But judging by the frown on his face, I figured I shouldn't press the matter further.

Being in a good mood, I headed toward the door, and as I reached the doorstep, I turned back.

"Thank you, Soren, that was sweet of you," I said quickly before he had the chance to snap at me, then closed the door behind me.

As I walked outside his dorm, I looked up and saw him watching me from the window.

Well, that was—again—almost romantic. That word, yes.

But should I really allow myself to believe it meant something more to him? Was I living in a delulu-land with my stupid infatuation, too blind to see the obvious clues?

Part of me, though, knew. We were like the Titanic, having fun and shooting fireworks before the collision with the iceberg. But I was too scared to stare too closely into the dark waters ahead.

***

Walking into my room wasn't exactly the best experience. Archer was out, probably jogging on the treadmill at the gym because of the heavy rain. But Alvin was there, staring at me like he wanted to murder me on the spot.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should start a conversation, but honestly, no scenario where we talked could end well. Alvin would most likely side with Don, especially since he didn't know the full story of what happened between Soren and Don—and I couldn't tell him what was going on. That wasn't my secret to share.

Unfortunately, it turned out that Don had already relayed the whole thing to Alvin.

"I got Don to spill why you went off the rails yesterday, ‘cause I couldn't make sense of your crazy outburst," Alvin stated.

So, Don broke his promise to Soren too. If I remembered correctly, keeping it quiet was the reason Soren didn't go to the police. But I didn't say a word. I just headed straight for the shower and shut the door behind me.

However, if I thought Alvin would drop it, I was dead wrong. As soon as I finished my shower and stepped out, he was still sitting there, staring daggers at me.

"Skye. Try looking at it from Don's perspective, not just Soren's."

My blood pressure spiked immediately. "Can you just stop talking? I'm not authorized to discuss this shit with anyone."

"I don't give a damn. The guy paid him big bucks for three months and got nothing but scraps. Oh, what a privilege, what a great honor, to sit at Soren's cafeteria table and have a smoke with him between classes. Are you surprised Don snapped? When you walk into a room densely filled with heat pheromones, it's hard to keep it together."

"Oh yeah, sooo hard, so that makes it totally okay to rape someone who says ‘no', right?!" I hissed, my face twisting into a bitter, sarcastic grin. "Because this idiot went into a rut, there was just no stopping him? His brain shut off? Stop bullshitting, Alvin!"

"Have you ever been in a rut? Do you know what it feels like? You think you'll die if you don't put it there—"

"Yes, Alvin, as a matter of fact, I've been in a rut, with all my boyfriends except the first one from high school. And I never forced any of them. What Don did was rape, plain and simple. Don't even try to justify it. Don should be in jail for that. It's got a name: ‘heat rape'."

"Soren orgasmed, it wasn't brutal, Skye!"

"Soren would have an orgasm if he fucked himself on the leg of a chair, for fuck's sake! That's how heat works, Alvin! Are you stupid? They orgasm whether they want to or not, just from the stimulation of their prostates, their mental state doesn't affect it. There are cases of omegas getting gangbanged in the heat, and they still orgasm, you idiot! Soren said no, he begged Don not to do it. How much further do I have to explain it?"

Alvin averted his eyes for a second, then took a deeper breath.

"Listen. I'm not saying that what Don did was okay. But Soren didn't have to take his money, and he did, which kept Don's hopes up. You've seen how Soren acts. When he's in the mood, he goes to Don, flirts with him, dances with him, shares a smoke, lets him get close. Whenever Soren needs something, suddenly, it's no problem for him to hang all over Don The Disgusting Rapist. Think about that before you jump to a conclusion."

I pulled on a clean T-shirt and grabbed a rain jacket from the closet, hanging up Soren's jacket on a chair to dry. Alvin watched me with clenched teeth. Then I slowly turned to face him.

"You know what? You've convinced me. Soren danced with him and smoked a cigarette with him. So he should just shut up and not complain about getting raped. Well done, Alvin. Bravo. You win in the logic department today."

How could he make excuses for a rapist? The next month and a half of living with Alvin in the same room felt like a nightmare waiting to happen. I felt trapped, like I was suffocating, desperate for a breath of fresh air.

"You really are blind, can't you see how Soren is acting? Soren didn't make a big deal about it. You're more pissed off than he is!"

"Do you think that making a fuss about it on campus would do him any good? Don is liked here and Soren is not. People wouldn't take Soren's side, and I have proof of that: You! You know what happened, and you still side with the rapist because you just… like him more! It's always like that, the truth doesn't matter, bros matter!"

There was a twitch in Alvin's jaw muscle.

The door swung open and Archer walked in, his face changing to strangely amused as he noticed us in the stare-down.

"You both still alive? Thought you'd kill each other by now," he said, clearly enjoying himself.

Alvin ignored him, still glaring at me.

"I wish I never told you about the Kingdom of Promises, Skye. You fucked it up for us," he growled.

"Me? I fucked this up?!"

"Alvin, the Kingdom of Promises was fucked up from the start," Archer muttered, not knowing what he was getting into.

Alvin nearly jumped, turning toward him, like a loaded cannon, ready to shoot.

"I really don't appreciate your fucking judgmental input, you sanctimonious fascist prick! Sex work shaming is super backward!"

It was obvious he just needed to take it out on someone, even an innocent bystander, because he just… could not win with me, and it was killing him, I guess.

But Archer only chuckled and raised his hands in a jokingly defensive gesture. "Shaming? Wow, jumping to conclusions much? Side note, you should really use a dictionary before you throw those insults at me, Alvin."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about!"

I was kinda glad Alvin was unleashing his frustration on poor Archer instead of me, so I could just… watch.

"I heard from Sean that you gave him a piece of your mind when he asked if you'd be up for an open relationship."

Alvin glanced at me, almost like he wanted me to side with him, the fucker. Not in a fucking million years!

"You think it was Archer who didn't want Sean? Think again. Sean kicked his conservative ass the minute he heard how negative he was about having a healthy sex life."

"What are you babbling about, idiot? You're all over the place," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. "Don't fucking care!"

But Archer just crossed his arms over his chest.

"Get your facts straight, Alvin. Sean asked me if I'd be okay with him being my boyfriend while he was doing escorting. Sorry, but I'm allowed to prefer exclusivity in a relationship."

"Everybody is entitled to their preferences!" I snarled, finding it very gratifying to alienate Alvin in this argument; I was majorly pissed at him.

His eyes, as he glared at me, were like flying bullets.

"Well, you clearly don't mind dating sex workers. Soren is one, even if with ‘limited services'. Or should I tell Soren you're on the same team as this conservative wingnut?"

"'Whatever! I know what you shouldn't do, that's for sure! Be on the rapist's team!"

Alvin narrowed his eyes, then made a loud huff.

There was a brief pause as he hesitated.

"Listen… you're only seeing Soren's side, Don is the fucking embodiment of evil for you, and that is simply unfair! He's a good guy, generous and helpful! And he's really into Soren, which just clouded his judgment."

I closed my eyes as something clicked in my head. Why was Alvin so upset, so angry? He was always a pretty relaxed guy, chill most of the time.

"Did Don reject you because you offered him something similar to what Sean offered Archer—an open relationship? This whole rant of yours is a little too intense, too personal."

Silence fell.

Alvin clenched his jaw and muttered, "It's none of your business what my dealings with Don are. You don't know shit," he grumbled and turned away, heading toward the door.

As it slammed shut behind him, I turned toward Archer, who glanced at me too.

"Just to be clear, I don't judge anybody," he said. "The Kingdom of Promises started because those guys were in financial trouble and desperate for money. Alvin used that."

Sighing, I sat on my bed. "I agree, it was shady. And… just saying, I personally think Sean wouldn't be the best match for you. You could do better—he can be a bitch underneath his cheerful exterior."

Archer spread his hands. "Well, anyway, I couldn't be in an open relationship. I'm just too possessive to share someone I love. But everyone should do whatever they want. I know you like Soren, and that's fine with me. To each their own."

I winced and muttered, "You know, I might not be as traditional as you are, but… I'm also pretty possessive. And just so you know, Soren doesn't do that anymore. Since we met, he hasn't even seen May or Ed."

"Are you two… dating?"

"We're not dating."

Archer shrugged. "If you say so."

"We're not," I grumbled.

He stared at me for a while. "Don't fool yourself, Skye. Face reality. You're dating him. It's just him… who's not dating you."

What was there to add? I didn't answer, I just took a shower. Standing under the freezing cold water, I thought again about the Titanic. Archer was right. I was fooling myself.

And clearly cruising for a bruising.

***

Soren was in his favorite spot, smoking a cigarette when I approached the college building. He looked pretty laid-back, leaning against the wall, with his hair braided into a fishtail that started just over his forehead and trailed down to the middle of his back. His fingernails were painted navy-blue, with silver swirls enameled across them. He had more earrings than usual, some long and twisting like silver snakes. He looked like a tempting work of art, which definitely wasn't helping my current situation.

I walked up to him and, on an impulse, lit a cigarette too, trying to keep my chaotic thoughts at bay. We smoked in silence for a while, and just being near Soren had a calming, soothing effect on me. I stared at the rain, the gray smoke, and Soren's gray eyes peeking through it, fixed on my face.

He had a thin, black line of eyeliner around his eyes.

"You're beautiful as always," I mumbled, brushing my hand against one of his long earrings.

He didn't answer; his eyes stayed fixed on my face as he continued to blow smoke in my direction.

Feeling this strange need, I leaned in a bit and whispered, still staring at him, "You know, your eyes always reflect the stormy sky."

Soren blinked—he seemed a little dazed by my comment for a moment. Some thought flickered across his face, and he whispered back, almost obliviously, "My eyes… would wish to always reflect the sunny Skye."

Wait, was that ‘Skye' with an 'e'? It was impossible to tell from the way he said it.

Then he blinked again, snapping out of it, and cleared his throat, quickly redirecting his gaze toward the college building. The strange moment passed, and Soren just furrowed his brows, taking a deeper drag.

Right then, I heard footsteps. A group of students was heading toward the buildings, holding bags over their heads to protect themselves from the rain. Unfortunately, one of them was Don.

At first, I didn't think he noticed us, too busy shielding his head from the downpour, but as they got closer to the entrance, he turned his face toward us, and his eyes widened slightly.

A wave of satisfaction hit me when I saw the bruises on his face, under his eye and around his mouth… I gave him a hateful grin.

Don didn't approach Soren or say hello. He just turned his head and walked into the building. I glanced at Soren, but stayed silent.

Soren observed me for a few seconds, his head slightly tilted. "Was it you?"

"Yeah." I snorted. "Sorry, I didn't listen. But that was too much to ask of me, Soren. And I didn't say a word. I just told him that he knew what it was for."

Soren stayed quiet.

He took another deep drag on his cigarette, looked up at the sky, and didn't comment on what had happened. We stood there a little longer, finishing our smokes, then headed to our classes.

It seemed like Soren had just accepted it, maybe he felt some kind of satisfaction deep down? But I didn't dwell on it, not wanting to overthink things.

Later that day, when we were sitting in the cafeteria, Sean walked over to us.

He tried to bring up Don, who apparently hadn't let him in on the whole situation, perhaps because he was afraid Sean wouldn't be as forgiving as Alvin.

Honestly, I didn't fully understand why Soren didn't want to tell Sean what happened. I knew he didn't wish to be seen as a victim, but why he kept it secret from Sean specifically wasn't clear to me. I realized, though, that trying to understand the reasons and motivations of someone who's been through such a traumatic experience might not be possible—this wasn't a logical thing. When emotions are involved, things don't always make sense, but they're still valid.

Soren brushed Sean off, who just watched us with a thoughtful expression. While we were sitting in the cafeteria, our knees were touching, and I focused mainly on that, trying to ignore the growing sense of unease I felt, like something bad was going to happen.

For the next few days, Don avoided Soren completely, finally leaving him alone. We kept working on the Python exercises, and during his recovery, our sexual activities were limited to just one blowjob daily that I gave him. I nearly ended up with blue balls, but I knew being patient was what he expected from me in this situation.

The following weekend, Soren's health improved a lot—he even went for a short jog. He told me the bleeding had completely stopped, and he was feeling much better. We stayed in the dorm for the weekend, even though I was really tempted to go on a trip to a nearby spot on a picturesque hill, just a few miles from campus. But I didn't want to push him too hard with the climb. When I mentioned it, he just gave me a pretty indifferent look, like it wasn't a big deal—a trip with me that could be interpreted as a date. He just said, "Maybe next weekend."

Throughout the week, things with Alvin also stabilized a bit. We didn't talk about Don at all, just exchanged the occasional small talk on random topics—I'd call it a truce. I noticed that both Sean and Don kept their firm distance from us. Sean would sometimes come over and chat with Soren, but their friendship had noticeably cooled off as mine with Soren got closer.

By the start of the next week, we were back to more intense sexual activities too.

Finally, on Monday, Soren agreed to let me caress his entrance with my mouth for a longer period of time. I was really eager to do this because I knew that Soren was very sensitive in this area. When I got down to it, I discovered that I could bring him to orgasm just by licking and massaging this spot with my tongue, without even touching his dick. This was quite unusual as this part of the body was known to be the most sensitive in omegas. For betas and alphas, it was not much different from any other part, but in Soren's case, it almost seemed like most of his skin was one big erogenous zone!

He just loved being touched.

During that week, we were able to spend up to two hours in bed at times, and I satisfied him in every way possible, giving him orgasms through nipple stimulation, blowjobs, and licking his entrance. Soren was truly insatiable, sometimes lying on the bed, completely under my sexual control, moaning with his eyes closed, begging, "More, Skye, please, I need more, more…" And I did not refuse him, never.

Eventually, the next weekend came around, and we went on the planned hike together. That's when Soren's behavior took a bit of a step back, like something was weighing on his conscience.

The trail to the mountaintop was really scenic, with a great panoramic view of the city. We passed by a lot of people, including couples holding hands. At one point, I got the courage to take his hand. We had just stopped for a short break to drink some water from the bottles I'd packed. When Soren handed the bottle back to me, and we were getting ready to start climbing again, a couple walked by—an alpha embracing a beta. It was a rare sight, but it encouraged me to try my luck too.

As we went back on the trail, I shyly reached out and took his slender hand. I could see him tense up immediately, his jaw clenched, and he turned his head toward the forest. We walked like that for a few minutes—him really stiff and seemingly unhappy the whole time. He didn't pull his hand away, but I knew he was extremely uncomfortable. So, at the first opportunity, when we got to a spot with a great overlook of the campus below, I pretended to take my phone out to snap a picture and let go of his hand—I could see he was relieved. I didn't try it again after that. It was clear that ‘hand-holding' was way too deep into boyfriend territory for Soren, so I decided to respect it. Patience, I had to be patient.

We finally reached the top. Soren was a bit winded and occasionally coughed—smoking wasn't doing his lungs any favors, let alone his stamina. For a while, we just admired the wide panoramic view of the city. I took out my phone and asked, "Can we take a selfie?"

Soren blinked and nodded hesitantly. In the selfie, he looked so gloomy that I figured the only way to change his expression was to get someone else to take the picture—maybe then Soren would at least put on a friendly face.

I asked a lone beta nearby, who was photographing the city with a professional camera, if he could take a pic of us. He agreed with a slight smile. He took a shot with my phone first, but as soon as I looked at it, I saw Soren's expression—nope, still pretty sour, like he wasn't happy to be here at all.

The guy glanced at me and noticed my concerned look.

"Hey, what if I took a few shots with my camera? You guys look like a real… model couple. I'm Josh, by the way."

"Hey Josh, I'm Skye, and this is Soren. I'm fine with that, it'd be nice of you. Soren, are you okay with it?" I asked, noticing Soren's skeptical expression. But he just shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

Josh took a few shots of us against the cityscape, occasionally glancing at the results on his camera's screen, still with that slightly amused look on his face. Then he asked if we'd like to move over to a small cluster of rocks that appeared pretty picturesque, with some light purple moss growing on them—we agreed, though Soren still looked a bit grumpy.

The session lasted a bit longer there, and eventually, Soren started to loosen up and pose with more enthusiasm. At one point, as we were getting ready for another photo, I came up with an idea. When Josh raised the camera, I leaned in slightly and pressed my lips to Soren's neck.

"Oh wow, that's a hot shot!" Josh said enthusiastically, walking over to show us the result. The picture actually turned out pretty well—it was a close-up of our faces, my lips on his pale skin, Soren's head tilted back slightly, eyes half-closed. It looked really sensual.

Soren reddened a bit, but he seemed to like the photo too. So we took a few more in a similar style. At one point, while Josh was snapping a series of shots, I let my lips graze Soren's just for a split second, barely touching the surface. I instantly felt him stiffen up—he suddenly straightened and stepped back.

"Alright, I think we can wrap up the session," he said, his voice a bit gruff.

Josh nodded. "Sure, whatever works for you guys. Give me your contact info, and I'll send you the pictures once I've worked on them a bit."

"Thanks a lot, Josh, that was a great idea. Here's my Instagram profile, DM me."

"Okay, it was a pleasure."

After thanking and saying goodbye to Josh, the atmosphere remained somewhat tense. I could tell that this outing had crossed too far out of the comfort zone for Soren. I tried to keep the conversation going as we hiked back down, but he mostly responded with monosyllables. He didn't mention the kiss—or almost-kiss—but I could tell I shouldn't have done it because it threw him off somehow.

Unfortunately, the next week was marked by Soren being in a bit of a bad mood—constantly, but we still saw each other every day. In one way, nothing changed—we still had our sexual sessions; Soren didn't seem to want to give that up, even though he was a bit sour and rather quiet.

I didn't suggest anything for the next weekend, at least not any outdoor plans. Instead, I asked if he might want to listen to me play the violin. He made a weird face and hesitated—was that AGAIN too much in the boyfriend territory for him?

In the end, though, he slowly nodded without much enthusiasm.

So, on Saturday, I grabbed my violin, earning a quizzical look from Alvin and a raised eyebrow from Archer. They had long given up on commenting about my constant hanging out with Soren and spending so much time with him. And we were together from morning to night! Sometimes we even worked in his room, each on our own laptop. It was quiet, sure, but… being in his presence was enough for me, like I needed it to breathe.

So, I headed to Soren's now very familiar room, and the moment I stepped in, I could feel his nerves almost filling the space. He was acting stiff, sitting on the corner of his bed, and it made me nervous too.

"You know, I'm not as good as I used to be," I added, trying to explain myself. "Ever since my brother Storm broke the fingers on my left hand, things don't always go the way they should."

Soren raised his eyebrows slightly. "Why did he do that?"

"Oh, you know, I had the illusion I could take on a purple alpha, especially when I got really pissed off." I chuckled.

"You must've been really pissed."

"You could say that. He slept with my ex."

Soren's eyes widened, and for the first time in a week, I saw a bit of a change in him, a slight relaxation. "Seriously? That's a low blow."

"Yeah. David and I broke up at the end of high school. We knew we were heading to different colleges, so it didn't make sense to stay together. But Storm, who was a sophomore at the time, ran into David at the mall, and after some flirting… well, he slept with him a week later."

Soren muttered a curse under his breath. "So, I take it your relationship with Storm hasn't been great for some time. That kind of thing doesn't happen without a long history."

"Oh, definitely. Rain and I were always somehow ending up at odds with him, but he was able to fight off us both. So, I guess he got his revenge on me that way. I couldn't just let it slide; it was a matter of honor. I was so angry that I actually managed to land a few punches, but he's a purple alpha—those bastards weigh twice as much as normal people. When Storm finally had enough of my pathetic punches, he twisted my arm, and I just heard a crack. Two of my fingers were only good for a cast after that."

I waved my hand around a bit, and I could still feel some stiffness in the joints, even though it had been almost four years.

"When I was a kid, before my dad's accident, he taught me a bit of violin. Not much, literally ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' level. But after he became disabled, I never picked it up again. So I'm pretty sure I won't even notice any imperfections."

I sighed quietly and took the violin out of its case. "I'm kind of counting on that." My smile was rather bitter.

Even though I had warmed up a bit in my room, my nerves were still getting to me. Soren was watching me from under his eyelashes, and I hesitated.

"You know, we used to play a lot of music at home. We had these jam sessions. I often performed duets with Rain. He'd be on the banjo, and I'd be on the violin. This was one of the songs." My hands were shaking as I raised the bow. "Maybe you'll recognize it—it's a violin cover of a popular song from a thousand years ago."

Soren stayed silent, his lips pressed tightly together like he was in pain, and he was oddly hunched over.

I started playing slowly. The beginning was a bit unusual, but soon the melody became recognizable. I noticed Soren's face show a hint of confusion, and he turned his gaze away from my fingers, which, surprisingly enough, were moving quite well across the strings today.

But I didn't look away. I kept my eyes on him.

The song was "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley.

The lyrics were so meaningful that it felt like a confession, one that shouldn't happen between us—one that I knew Soren didn't want, but… I still wanted to play it.

When I finished, I saw that his fingers were clenched so tightly, his knuckles went white.

"I can sing it too, but I won't because I don't want to make you cringe. Out of all of us, Sun, Snow, and Bay had the best voices anyway. Mine is just mediocre."

And I slowly put the violin down, unsure of what to do next, wondering if I was about to get chewed out, but Soren stayed silent. Finally, he cleared his throat and forced out, "You play pretty well. It's an unusual combo—music and programming."

It sounded like a very official and carefully chosen compliment. He clearly didn't want to touch on the lyrics or why I picked that song.

"It's common in my family. Three of us are programmers. Actually, I guess it's four, counting my current boss, my cousin Nathaniel, who was raised with us after his parents died in an accident."

"And the rest are musicians?"

"Only Snow and Bay are officially trained in music. Snow teaches piano, guitar, and bass. He also studied composition, but he's too shy to make a career out of it. He's a bit of an oddball, still living with our parents even though he's over thirty. My other brother, Bay, is also a teacher, but he's more of a local artist. He performs at events and posts his stuff online, making good money from ads. He sings, writes songs, plays piano, guitar, bass, drums, and cello. He posts various interpretations of popular songs on his channel and has a high number of subscribers, which gives him a nice income. As for the rest of us, we all play a bit, but none of us do it professionally. We're not sure what career the youngest, Sun, will choose. He's pretty good on the harp, he sings and likes the ukulele, but I'm not sure if that's what he wants to do for a living. I think he'd rather be a model."

Soren thought for a moment. "And what does the purple alpha do? Storm?"

"My charming brother, Storm, worked as a matchmaker at a matchmaking agency that handles marital contracts auctions and fairs. He studied law and psychology, was set for a career, but preferred working at the agency. He claims he has a gift for pairing people up. But that's in the past. After his legal troubles, they fired him, and now he supposedly has this weird job. I don't even bother asking what he exactly does. Some shady company that specializes in consensual assaults… you know, with people's own pre-planned scenarios. Typical Storm stupidity."

Soren's face was pensive. "You mentioned Rain a few times. Were you two always close?"

"Yeah, he, Nathaniel, and I stuck together. Though Nate somehow managed to get along with Storm too, the only one in our family who did. He always knew how to deal with him. But even so, Storm never hit him. Probably figured there was no point in kicking someone while they're down."

"I don't understand."

"Nathaniel practically lost half his face in the accident. The fire took his sight in one eye, he lost his left ear, and hair there, and even after skin grafts, it's not pretty—kind of like Frankenstein. He founded a company, MonsterApp, which is where me and Rain work, and he's totally devoted to it. I doubt he thinks any omega would accept him. Storm saw how much he was suffering and… I guess he just didn't want to make it worse. He was always strangely protective of Nate."

Soren nodded slowly, rubbing his chin like he was deep in thought. I was kinda surprised he asked so much about my family; he seemed to be brooding over the topic.

"Play some more, Skye," he finally muttered, and I gasped in surprise.

But I picked up my violin and began to play some classical solo pieces for the instrument, this time no longer opting for… unspoken confessions woven secretly into the melodies.

Soren sat, staring out the window, his face contemplative the whole time, almost absent-minded, and perhaps a little sad. Every minute I played, he seemed more and more depressed. I even had the impression he was about to cry!

At one point, he clenched his teeth and grabbed the edge of his T-shirt, pulling it up and throwing it off. I froze, interrupting the play.

He pulled down his pants and underwear and lay down on the bed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"I want to come," he said quietly, his lips tightening. It all looked a bit desperate, as if he wanted to kill some unpleasant thoughts with sex and pleasure.

But seeing him naked made my heart beat faster, and I didn't care anymore about the strange mood. His beautiful, slender body was now splayed before me, waiting for me, offering itself to me. I looked hungrily at his flat belly, the sexy hollow spot between his hip bones, and his smooth crotch. Soren was always perfectly shaved; he must have spent a lot of time on it because, as a brunet, he had black pubic hair, but everything there looked impeccably groomed. I looked at his feet, which were narrow and slender, and his thighs and calves, decorated with a tattoo line of barbed wire, going all the way up to his ankle, where it wrapped around.

It always worked on me, no matter how many times he undressed in front of me, it automatically quickened my pulse.

I got up and walked over to the bed. When I sat down, his body rocked slightly as the mattress flexed. His dick was rapidly gaining volume, almost right before my eyes; it was a fascinating sight. I slowly leaned over him, supporting my hands on the sides of his head. Whenever I did this, he always averted his gaze, but for some reason, this time, for a moment, his eyes were staring at me, my face directly over his.

"Soren—"

"No, don't say anything. I don't want to talk."

Something came to mind. "Can I rub over you?"

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Can I rub my dick over your… crease, down there?"

He stared at me for a moment, probably understanding that if we did it this way, it would almost look like we were having real intercourse.

"Okay," he murmured quietly.

"Squeeze your thighs tight," I whispered.

As he did so, I angled my already stiff member, pointing it down, pressing it between his clenched thighs. I felt it slide over his taint, my pre-cum making it more slippery. His breathing sped up as I began to move, his stiff dick rubbing against my lower abdomen.

"God, I want you so much," I mumbled, realizing today I would be the one who would come sooner. The new sensation overwhelmed me just a tad too much. My full weight was pressing him into the bed, my movements quite frantic, causing him to slide up lightly on the sheets toward the head of the bed.

And my arousal grew rapidly. Grunting, I came between his tightly squeezed thighs, but I was not going to leave him without release. So, as soon as I caught my breath, I leaned over and took his cock in my mouth. I made maybe four moves, taking him deep into my throat as he moaned and came—a true record. Did he enjoy my not-so-gentle pinning him to the bedsheets? I licked his dick thoroughly and lifted my gaze to his reddened face.

I hesitated. "You seem very… hmm. You have no problems orgasming quickly; it seems so easy for you. I didn't know betas could have such a libido," I admitted.

Soren lay there for a moment, catching his breath, staring at the ceiling, his face unreadable.

I rested my head on his shoulder, and then he murmured, "I haven't had this kind of libido before. It's not like I've avoided sex, but in the last year, after I broke up with Anton, I haven't had any strong urges. Celibacy wasn't a problem for me… now something's changed."

"What?"

"I don't know," he muttered, and the tone of his voice made it clear he didn't want to get into it. With a rather quick movement, he slid out from under me and began pulling on his clothes. I knew I shouldn't push it. I'd learned to steer clear of sensitive topics with Soren—unfortunately, sometimes even the smallest thing could set him off.

***

The next week, Soren's behavior changed even more. Where he used to be distant, maybe a bit irritable, now he seemed kind of down, almost depressed. He got quieter too. Sometimes we'd sit next to each other, whether in the cafeteria or on the benches around campus, waiting for class. He'd just smoke, staring blankly at the sky or ceiling, depending on where we were, and only answered me with one-word replies. I kinda got used to it and was just enjoying his presence. It was pleasant enough for me, satisfying my needs on some level, but never fully.

Then the following week brought some nervous excitement.

The dreadful Python exam!

It was make-or-break time for passing my final year of college. The whole day before, I was super on edge, stressed out. Soren watched me closely, and at one point, when we were doing some last-minute study materials revisions in his room, he noticed how miserable and frustrated I looked while endlessly going over my notes.

"Hey, don't stress so much, you'll do fine," he said suddenly, looking like he surprised himself with those words.

"I don't know… I'm not great under pressure," I muttered, feeling pretty down, my eyes glued to my notebook.

Then, out of nowhere, Soren got up and walked over to me. I was shocked when I felt his hands on my shoulders. I should mention—Soren almost never touched me, except when he'd guide my head during bjs. Usually, he was just passive.

But now, his slender fingers slid over my neck and shoulders, and I couldn't help it—I let out a loud groan. He ignored it, focusing on massaging my tense shoulders, maybe not aiming for anything sexual. But it felt like I was under some kind of spell, like I was high on something, and everything started to spin.

In consequence, my dick immediately reacted, getting hard in seconds.

"Please, stop," I mumbled. "I still need to prep for the test, and I can't do that while tenting my pants."

Soren's movements slowed down. He slightly leaned toward my ear and whispered, "I can help with that."

I squeezed my eyelids almost painfully. "Soren…"

But he was already on his knees between my spread knees, unzipping my pants.

I wasn't mentally into it, but… Soren's magic worked like a charm. His face… it was something else, just otherworldly. He rarely had such an expression—seductive and submissive at the same time. His tongue swirled around my dick's head, his gray gaze shifting over to my face.

"You don't need to cram for the test anymore. You're good, Skye. I'm proud of you. You've accomplished so much and learned so much in the last few weeks," he trailed off, as if realizing that he had almost said too much.

"Proud of me?" I whispered while he smeared some pre-cum over the head of my dick.

"As… your tutor," he quickly clarified, and with a rather innocent look, he took my dick in his mouth. I loved how it stretched his lips, making him look really… obscene.

I slid my hand over his neck, where I could see my hickeys. I made it a matter of honor to renew them every other time, and Soren didn't seem to mind. He never covered himself or wore a turtleneck. He just didn't give a shit what people thought, and I loved his attitude.

The words: "I wish you were mine…" were on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't have the guts to say them. When I unloaded into his beautiful mouth a moment later, I felt regret because I knew that with every moment that slipped away and in which I couldn't muster the courage… I was losing another day with Soren—another chance, sinking further and further into my cowardice, overwhelmed by the fact that the stakes were getting higher and higher with each passing hour, seemingly to the point of impossibility.

***

The next day was the Python exam. Soren was taking it too, but we were sitting apart since we were in the exam hall using laptops set up specifically for it. The questions kept popping up on the screen, and I had to nail each one. My heart was pounding like crazy, just like everyone else's. All the omegas had headphones, and I wore mine too. Betas didn't need them because they couldn't hear heartbeats, so… no distractions for them.

Soren shot me a look, and his lips moved slightly. I tilted my headphones, and even from that distance, I heard him say, "Good luck. You got this, Skye! Easy!"

His support meant a lot to me, and I desperately wanted to believe it was more than just teacher-student encouragement, but I probably shouldn't dwell on that.

I focused on getting the tasks done right. We had two hours in total, with each question taking about twenty minutes.

"Optimization and algorithm complexity analysis. Write a Python function that takes a list of integers and returns a sublist with the maximum sum. Your function should run in O(n) time. Then, analyze the time and space complexity of your solution."

With shaky hands, I got to work. Soren had taught me this, and I felt a mix of excitement and gratitude. I glanced at him and caught his eye. I smiled, and he gave me a slight nod in return, like he was trying to boost my confidence.

I focused on the task and implemented a function using Kadane's algorithm. I also explained that the time complexity of the algorithm is O(n) and the space complexity is O(1). I finished within the time limit.

Next question: Creating and managing advanced decorators.

"Write a Python decorator that logs the execution time of a function and the number of times it's called. The decorator should store this information in a text file and update the data every time the function is called."

I bit my lip—this was another thing I practiced with Soren! I felt another rush of excitement. I implemented a decorator that logged the function's execution time and the number of calls, explaining how the decorator updates the text file and manages the data with each function call. Easy peasy!

The next questions were even simpler, and I finished them with plenty of time to spare. Funny, I was the first one to finish the test!

I walked out of the hall, feeling a nice adrenaline rush. Alvin and Don, who were also taking the exam, shot me a gloomy look. From what I glimpsed on their screens, they still had two or three questions left. I smirked to myself.

While waiting, I sent a text message to Finn Delgado, "Hey, I just finished the Python exam, and I'm pretty sure I passed! Just wanted to let you know."

Finn responded right away, "Congrats! I knew alphas could wrap their heads around Python. Maybe even Winter will come around to the idea of hiring alpha programmers. :)"

Wait. Did he mention Winter again? It was kinda peculiar. They broke up a decade ago, yet Finn was still talking about his ex. It struck me as strange, but I didn't dwell on it too long because I noticed the door to the hall opening, and Soren came out.

Immediately, I jumped toward him and grabbed him in a hug, lifting him off the ground!

"Fuck yeah! I knew all the answers!"

Soren huffed slightly at being lifted so suddenly, but I could see the hint of amusement on his face. "I told you—you'd do fine. You worked hard!"

"You're the best tutor and the most sexy at that! Now we'll see if I got it right—the results are supposed to be out tonight."

I put him down, and we walked out of the building together. Soren immediately lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag.

Staring at the bushes on the edge of the small park next to the building, he murmured, "This exam, Algorithm Analysis, and Artificial Intelligence are the last ones we've got left. After that, it's just graduation."

I swallowed hard. Right, that topic. Only a week and a half left.

Opening my mouth to answer, I spotted Alvin coming out of the building, so I held my breath. He noticed us and hesitated for a moment, but finally walked over.

"How'd it go?" he asked in a rather ambivalent tone, not looking us in the eye.

"Good, I think," I replied, keeping my voice neutral.

I hadn't exchanged more than a few sentences with him in weeks.

Soren didn't respond, but Alvin fixed his gaze on him.

"Great. So. Are you still planning to move downtown to be closer to DevApp?" he inquired in a weird, almost sarcastic tone.

Soren took a deeper drag, not even looking at Alvin.

"Still the plan," he answered coolly.

Alvin shot me a smirk that screamed, ‘I told you so'. Fucker.

I had the urge to… I don't know, either explode or implode. The end was near. Soren had rented an apartment with Liam. I knew that. There wasn't a place for me. He hadn't changed those plans, and I still hadn't had that conversation with him.

THE conversation!

"Well, whatever, guys. Don and I applied for jobs at D-project. So we probably won't see each other," he added with a slight chuckle.

"Are you two together?" Soren suddenly asked, still not looking at Alvin. I noticed that this was his way of talking to people he didn't give a shit about—he rarely made eye contact. Now, he was blowing smoke rings into the air.

Alvin shrugged lightly. "We're working on it. College is ending, there won't be as much studying, just work. Gotta start a normal life, right? Relationships are fine, aren't they? No more the Kingdom of Promises thing," he quipped bitterly.

"You'll find an alternative, I'm sure," I grumbled.

"Gotta save up for my own condo. The challenges of adulthood."

Silence fell. Neither Soren nor I had any desire to dig into his relationship and future plans, for obvious reasons.

"Well, I see Don's already out. Take care, guys!" Alvin raised a hand in farewell and walked away.

Soren kept blowing smoke into the air, and I still couldn't—couldn't get the words out… The longer I wrestled with it, the more impossible it seemed to overcome.

Finally, I stammered, "There's a party at Yota 2 two days before graduation. Maybe we could go?"

Soren squinted a bit and shrugged.

"Sure," he muttered, releasing smoke in my direction like he always did.

I let my eyes trail over his body. He was wearing a black T-shirt, and I could see his nipples hardened from the cold. My gaze moved down to his side and left hip, where his tight black jeans sat low. A strip of skin was showing between his shirt and pants.

I stared at it, that sliver of pale skin catching my attention. Slowly, I reached out and brushed my finger over it. Soren let out a quiet gasp.

My hand slid under his shirt, moving slowly, teasingly, up toward his nipple. Soren closed his eyes, leaning into the touch. It was our little ritual—when he smoked, he'd let me touch him like this, tilting his head back. I looked at his pale neck, at his glands—different from an omega's, flatter and smaller. But I felt a strange hunger.

Suddenly, I grabbed him by the waist, pulling him close, almost roughly.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind, you drive me crazy, I want you so bad!" I growled in his ear, my lips sucking his glands hard. Soren made a low, throaty sound. Weird—it almost sounded like an omega's call when they're inviting a mark. I felt a tingle in my gums, my dick got hard, my mating fangs… I felt a sharp pain, and the tips of my canines grazed Soren's glands!

I jerked back, practically jumping away. I tasted blood—not sure if it was mine, from my gums, or his—from the cut skin.

What just happened? I stared at him in shock. Damn, we hadn't even had sex, and my fangs wanted to come out and mark him?! Soren was looking at me strangely too, his breathing quickened, pupils dilated.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me," I mumbled. Feeling overwhelmed by my weird reaction, I wiped the blood from my mouth, turned around quickly, and walked off.

This was getting out of control. I didn't know why this wild urge to mate with Soren was growing so fast. For a moment, I felt like my body was scared—scared of graduation. And it wanted to keep him with me at any cost.

***

That evening, I was alone in my room with Archer when the notification popped up that the exam results were online.

I logged into the site to see the list of students who passed the exam and their scores. I swallowed hard, staring at the screen as the list slowly loaded.

Then I let out a high-pitched squeal, like an omega under stress.

"Fuck!"

Archer looked up at me.

"First place, 100%," I stammered.

"You're in first?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, no. I'm in second. Soren's first. He got 100%, I got… 97%!"

"Wow, congrats. You guys are killing it!"

Archer leaned in and gave me a high five. "Hard work pays off!"

"Soren's a genius. I've never met anyone as talented as him…" I babbled, blushing with admiration.

Archer cleared his throat. "So, you gonna do something about it? Try to keep him around longer?" he asked cautiously.

I swallowed, feeling something stuck in my throat. "I don't know how… he doesn't want an alpha boyfriend. He's said it so many times."

"For the past month and a half, you guys have been practically joined at the hip. You sure it's a lost cause? Have you talked to him?"

"No. Honestly, I'm scared. Because if I ask, and he says no, it'll be so final… like, boom, the end."

"Nothing's ever truly final except for death, but you'll have to find out eventually."

"Yeah… not today. Today, I just want to enjoy passing the exam. I'll talk to him at the Yota 2 party next week."

"Well, your call, but I wouldn't leave it till the last minute. Better to have some time for… negotiations."

But I didn't listen to him.

I ran out of the room and headed straight to Soren's dorm, and knocked on the door. A moment of silence, then some shuffling, and another pause.

Finally, he opened the door. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and he was wearing nothing but a long T-shirt.

"Have you seen the exam results?"

"Yeah," he muttered, looking away and letting me in.

"Awesome… you killed it!"

"Congratulations to you too, Skye. Second place! And let me remind you—you had 59% before," he said, biting his lip.

I wanted to wave it off in a fit of modesty, but there was something I couldn't ignore. The room was filled with the smell of slick.

Sniffing, I opened my mouth and then closed it, my nostrils still flaring. I really wanted to address the matter of the exam, to savor our success some more, but the scent was too intense, and I was, after all, a healthy young alpha.

"The smell, Soren… your slick, it fills the room," I blurted out loud, knowing it wasn't subtle, but I wanted him to hear it.

Soren's face turned red, but he rolled his eyes at the same time. "This sniffing is like eavesdropping on a heartbeat. You shouldn't comment on such things," he muttered, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward me rather roughly.

He was flushed and breathing fast. I brought my nose close to his neck, loudly sniffing over the tiny mark I did before. My hand wandered to his buttocks and quickly discovered that Soren was completely naked under his long T-shirt. With a long purr, I slipped my fingers into his crotch and immediately realized what was going on.

"Have you used a dildo? You are wet there and slightly open…"

An even more intense blush flooded his cheeks.

"Do you have to make such… blunt comments?"

"Yes," I answered, narrowing my eyes.

Soren had not expected such an answer. He almost chuckled but stopped himself.

"Even if I did, so what?" he made a burbling sound, looking away.

My eyes were drawn to two small blood spots on his glands. I swallowed. So my fangs had lightly scratched him… the area around was slightly pink. It wasn't a full mark, just small punctures, barely the beginning of a mark, but still… I felt a slight wave of heat. Maybe he felt it too? That's why he was masturbating?

"I interrupted you… it's very uncool of me to interrupt someone while they're dildo-fucking. We need to correct that. Especially since I can sense that you're damn wet in there and still dripping…"

He was silent, his cheeks burning, his breath almost getting caught in his chest as my fingers made circular motions around his now soft, lubricated hole. I quickly grabbed his waist tighter with my other hand and pushed him toward the bed. Soren did not protest.

"Where is it?" I growled, feeling my blood pressure rise.

He closed his eyes. "Second drawer."

I reached out and immediately found it, a pale pink dildo shaped like an alpha penis, still wet from his slick. Soren hadn't even had time to wash it, apparently he just wanted to hide it quickly.

Unhurriedly, almost in a celebratory manner, I picked it up and looked at it for a while.

"I can use it on you…" I whispered. "You have a 100% pass rate on the exam. I think it's a good day for such a fun reward," I muttered encouragingly.

He let out a quiet, slightly amused snort.

"All in all… I didn't count on 100%. I guess, the tutoring served me well. Maybe I'm the one who owes you money now?"

"No way," I rasped, lowering my lips to his neck and licking his scratched glands. "You are so… capable, Soren, so talented! Thank you. Accomplishments like this will make a great employee…" I purred, licking his neck, my hands wandered to his nipples and squeezed them lightly, making him whimper.

"Thanks," he whispered breathlessly.

In a few quick moves, I stripped him of his T-shirt and pressed my lips to his hard nipples. Soren thrashed around on the bed, making adorable sounds. His stiff dick poked my side.

Only then did I slowly slide the dildo along his crack, teasing him a bit. He gasped for air at the very moment I brushed over his wet opening.

Still sucking on one of his nipples, I slowly pushed the dildo against his entrance and slid it inside. It went in fairly easily. Soren was breathing fast, his hands lifted and rested on my back. He squeezed his eyes shut as I began to move the dildo inside, directing it firmly toward his prostate.

His body trembled slightly, his hips raised themselves, coming forward a little, his thighs instinctively parting wider. I knew it was closing fast. Probably by the time I came here, he had already been at it for a while and was halfway to orgasm anyway—I just finished the job. With a prolonged moan, Soren arched his spine and orgasmed, his fingers almost painfully hooked into my back, his dick pulsing and ejaculating in a very stimulating spectacle.

Seconds after his dick produced its last spurt, I lay on top of him, muttering in his ear to tighten his legs. All it took for me was a dozen thrusts between his squeezed thighs, and I also unloaded all over his wet crease—whenever I saw Soren climaxing, it pushed me instantly to my own release.

We lay like this for a while in silence, my head on his chest.

I could hear the rapid beating of his heart, which gradually calmed down. I did not know what to say, as the same stifling fear was growing inside me. I felt that Archer was right, I should make my case now, as soon as possible, but still, unfortunately… I was a coward.

***

During that last week of college, a brief, seemingly insignificant incident occurred. One day, about four days before graduation, we were standing in line at the cafeteria. Suddenly, I caught a pleasant, sweet scent—floral with a hint of freshness, maybe even a bit minty. It was saturated with pheromones, and I shivered slightly. An omega standing right in front of Soren turned around and looked at me with grayish-blue eyes. He had shoulder-length black hair and stood around 5'9".

His eyes locked onto mine, and his nostrils flared slightly. He was some young student I hadn't seen before. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but Soren, standing between us, shot him a deadly glare. The guy quickly turned back around, looking startled.

We found a table soon after, but that student sat pretty close to us. I noticed Soren had a sour expression, clearly aware that the guy kept sneaking glances at me from time to time.

"What's his problem?" Soren muttered at one point as the student glanced my way again.

I hesitated before replying, but eventually let it out.

"I think he might be my Half Mate. His scent is really vibrant."

Soren's face fell slightly, his lips pressing into a thin line. His gaze turned icy as he shot daggers at the student.

"Maybe you should go talk to him. Opportunities like this don't come around often," he said, his tone razor-sharp.

"I don't feel like it," I mumbled, focusing on my plate.

Soren's face twisted with bitterness, as if he wanted to say something more. I sensed what it could be; the situation with the student somehow proved his point about alphas always finding the sweet-smelling omegas sooner or later. The fleeting nature of the alpha-beta relationship was obvious to him… The proof—sitting at the other table, sending me shy looks.

But just then, Sean walked up to us.

"Hey guys, you heading to the party at Yota 2 today?" he asked, plopping down in a chair and effectively diverting our attention from the young student.

For the rest of the conversation, Soren seemed off, clearly unhappy. Something was bothering him; he had something on the tip of his tongue, but for now, he chose not to say it. The clock was ticking.

***

When I showed up to get Soren that day, I was speechless the moment I walked in. He was dressed in a black mesh shirt with thin silver stripes, his eyes lined with thick eyeliner, and his lips pink with glossy lipstick. There was delicate silver glitter on his face. His tight leggings left no doubt about the perfect shape of his round ass.

"You really want me to walk around all night with a boner?" I muttered with a smirk.

Usually, he'd chuckle at comments like that, but this time, there was just an awkward silence.

As we headed to the party, Soren had his head slightly bowed, and I could feel this weird tension building up inside him too.

The Yota 2 building was packed with students, music blaring, everyone dancing. It was loud, with voices from the crowd mixing with karaoke performances from the next room, and colorful lights flashing everywhere.

Soren and I walked over to a group with Sean, Tim, and Mark. Soren chatted with them for a bit, while I just looked around aimlessly, not interested in their conversation. In the corner, I spotted my cousin Gabriel, but as usual, he hung around alone, kinda staring at the dancers with that typical gloomy look of his.

Then, at the end of the room, I noticed Archer dancing with some guy—no surprise, a redheaded omega. From what I'd gathered, he'd been going out more in the evenings lately, so maybe he'd started seeing someone? But he wasn't the type to share, and I didn't want to ask because that might lead to… him asking about my situation! And I wasn't ready to give him any answers.

Unfortunately, I also spotted Alvin and Don dancing together, pretty close, and that soured my mood a bit. At one point, Don's eyes met mine, and the look he gave me made it clear we were never going to be friends. Duh. Alvin glanced at me too, and in his eyes, I saw a hint of… pity?

I just shrugged it off. College was almost over, and these people would be out of my life in two days anyway.

I headed to the bar, where they had a variety of beverages—no alcohol, of course, since it was on campus—but I poured some energy drinks for us.

Soren took the cup from my hand, but was busy talking to Tim about his career plans. I stood there, sneaking glances at him—his beautiful face, the perfect line of his neck, long and elegant—a neck I'd felt under my lips so many times. His body was godlike, at least to me. But I didn't just want his body—I wanted more, so much more. And I knew these were the last moments—my sole chance to tell him how I felt.

"Soren, wanna dance with me?" I finally managed to choke out, my throat tight.

His gray eyes swept across my face, then he nodded slowly and set his drink aside.

I took his hand and led him to the dance floor. I wasn't thrilled about being so close to Don and Alvin, but I decided to tune them out, like background noise.

We started dancing to some music, swaying loosely while holding hands. Soren seemed a bit distant, not looking at me, his eyes scanning the crowd of students around us as luminescent lights played across his face.

I was mesmerized by the way those colors sparkled on his skin, his glittering lips, the magical shimmer—as if Soren were some kind of otherworldly creature. Impossible to tame? Maybe there was still a chance if I just dared. I had to. I had to finally take the leap!

The music suddenly changed, and I blinked in surprise as the familiar notes of Elvis Presley's timeless song "I Can't Help Falling in Love" filled the room. Was it a signal from Fate?

Soren blinked too and looked straight at my face.

In a desperate move, I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him closer, taking in his scent, that delicate fragrance of dahlias and mint, now completely free of any vanilla.

The music flowed, the lyrics full of confessions and promises, and I couldn't take my eyes off Soren. To my surprise, he was looking at me too, his black pupils dilated—was he about to say something? Was he gathering his thoughts too?

"I can't help falling in love," my lips mouthed along with the words of the song as they played.

We were so close, our breaths mingling. I couldn't hold back anymore—I wanted him, not just physically, but… in my life. Finally, I was ready to ask him to be my boyfriend, prepared to say it! His eyes were locked on mine, and then, in a sudden impulse, I leaned in, and my lips met his for the first time—not counting that brief brush during the photo shoot. There was a split second when Soren allowed it, but it didn't last long, barely a kiss at all, just a gentle touch of our lips. Then… I felt his hands pressing against my chest! He pushed me away firmly, turned around, and walked out of the room in quick strides.

For a moment, I was so stunned that I just stared after him. Shortly afterward, I glanced to the side and noticed Don watching me, and even Archer was peering at me. Why did everyone have to witness this, dammit?

I couldn't just leave it like that, so I headed for the door, determined to tell Soren the truth. It was now or never.

I saw him running down the stairs leading out of the building, a bit Cinderella-style, so I picked up my pace and caught up with him on the lawn in front of the campus, where he was about to cut across.

"Soren!"

My shout made him stop.

He slowly turned to face me, looking pale. The wind tugged at his long black mohawk, and his silver earrings glinted in the light from the campus streetlights.

He said slowly, "You shouldn't have kissed me, Sky. We're not boyfriends, and I'm saving this for a person who'd be with me like that."

A wave of fear washed over me, his tone making it clear where he stood. So this was it?

"Soren, the thing is… I want you to be my boyfriend," I blurted out. "I've been wanting to tell you that for a while."

A heavy silence fell. I could almost see the emotions conflicting on his face, but there was more. On some level, I could sense my own tension reflecting in his. My words brought him some strange pleasure, but at the same time, they sparked even more anger… because I'd gone against what he'd always told me.

"Skye, I've told you so many times how I feel about this. I'm not getting involved with alphas. It never leads to anything but a broken heart. No exceptions."

I couldn't hold it in anymore. "Yeah, you've told me, but my head says one thing and my heart says another… and my heart wants more."

Because he stayed quiet, I took a deep breath. "Soren, I think I fell in love with you."

Soren squeezed his eyes shut, and I saw a slight shiver run through him.

Then he snapped, "That's the dumbest thing you could ever say. Don't you know? We, betas, are recreational use only!"

That wasn't the reaction I was hoping for, and it crushed me even more.

"That's bull. All I want is for you to just give me a chance."

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"What chance, Sky? We'd start dating, and then a year, maybe two, you'd catch a whiff of your High Mate's scent. What happens to me then? I'll fall apart, Sky! It's happened before, and I'm not going through that again. I have to protect myself, and this is how I do it. I'm sorry, but I can't be your boyfriend."

I stared at him for a long moment, and he looked back at me with that typical sour look on his face, but this time it was filled with something else—pain, almost tragic.

"I'll take suppressants, Soren. I won't even be able to smell them."

But he only frowned again. "Do you really think suppressants guarantee you won't recognize your perfect mate? There's still touch, intuition… And what kind of future could you even have with a beta, anyway?" His lips twisted into a painful grimace. "Have you ever thought about that? I can't have kids. Don't shut yourself off from the possibility of finding someone you could start a family with. And besides, what am I? Just a campus whore."

I clenched my eyes shut. "Don't say that! To me, you're so much more, and I don't care about all that other stuff. I just know I want you, only you. I can't stop thinking about you, Soren," I whispered, the words spilling out of me. "You're in me, everywhere, like you're in every cell of my body. You're my breath…" I reached out and brushed his pale cheek.

But he stepped back, tightening his lips.

"Skye, stop! Stop, or I'm gonna have to say or do something that'll hurt you, and I don't want that. I appreciate everything you've done for me, and you seem like a great guy, but I can't be with you. Graduation is in two days. After that, we'll never see each other again… Please, accept that."

A wave of pain surged through me, making me tremble at the thought of losing him…

"Soren, I can't imagine never seeing you again. I can't wrap my head around it. You're my whole world—"

"Stop!" he yelled, his face twisting with anger. But it wasn't just anger—I could almost feel the devastation radiating from him like a physical force.

"Stop, Skye. Leave me alone. Accept that it's over! I'm begging you, let it go."

"No, I can't accept that. I don't want to lose you. I won't. I don't agree!"

"I'm just a whore, Skye, do you get that?"

His eyes darted over my shoulder for a second, but I didn't pay attention to it.

"You're not a whore, Soren. I know you feel something too. I know I'm not just another guy to you…"

Soren's face looked like I'd just stabbed him. His gaze flicked back to whatever was behind me, so I turned around. A few feet away, Don was standing there, staring at us with narrowed eyes.

A wave of irritation washed over me, but I decided to ignore him. I looked back at Soren and said, "Please, just give me a chance. You'll be working at DevApp, maybe we could try to get a place together and—"

Soren let out a strangled groan. "Shut up, just shut up already. Forget it, I can't be your boyfriend, and I never will be! I won't go through that again, I won't let myself be destroyed!"

His eyes were shut tight, his face twisted in pain.

"Soren, I truly—"

"Stop, or I'll have to—"

"Please!"

"Don!"

His shout snapped me out of my desperate state.

Don walked over to us quickly.

"What's up, Soren?"

I froze.

"Want a bj tonight?" Soren asked, with a twisted, ironic smile on his face.

"From you? Sure!"

I blinked in shock. Was I hearing this right?

"What? Soren, you can't be serious, please—"

"Leave me alone, Skye. Think of it as dodging a bullet. You dodged a whore."

"No, you're not… this. I won't let you say that—"

"Yes, I am! For three months last semester, I sucked Ed and May's dicks for money! I don't need you, I don't want you! Get lost. Don and I have got some business to take care of!"

Shocked, I reached out and grabbed his hand, but he immediately pulled it back and took a step away. Don quickly slid between us.

"Back off, dude. He doesn't want your lovey-dovey confessions. He finally wised up."

"Shut up, I'm talking to Soren—" I groaned, feeling like the ground was slipping out from under me. This felt like the worst nightmare, but the problem was—I couldn't wake up from it.

"No, Skye, you're not talking anymore. We're done. Accept it."

"Please…"

But Soren grabbed Don's hand and started walking away, pulling him along.

"Soren, please don't do this, I'm begging you, don't push me away, please!"

Maybe I was pathetic… but I couldn't help it because I was so in love. I couldn't just let it end like this. I couldn't give up, so I ran after them. But Soren suddenly turned around and shoved me in the chest with both hands.

Somehow, that was enough to knock me off balance, and I fell to my knees.

"Soren, please, I love you— don't do this to me!"

Then I saw tears on his cheeks, black streaks of mascara running down to his jaw and neck, as he screamed, "Leave me alone! Don't talk to me, don't come near me, don't try to reach out. I don't want that!"

Our eyes met, and I was crying too. Soren noticed the tear running down my cheek, and pain flashed in his eyes. I knew he was hurting too, that pushing me away wasn't easy for him, but he was desperate to do it.

"Please, just leave me alone, Skye, I mean it," he choked out, his voice breaking.

Then he turned around and, still holding Don's hand, walked away.

I stayed there on my knees, broken, rejected, devastated. It felt like my world had collapsed, like all the color drained out in an instant. Something inside me died.

And it hurt so much. People say their hearts break, and maybe it sounds metaphorical, but I could almost physically feel like someone was twisting a knife in there.

My whole body was trembling; I don't even know how I managed to get back on my feet. I dragged myself, one foot in front of the other, toward the dorms, struggling to breathe. But I couldn't go in, I didn't want to talk to anyone, so I turned down a side path and cut across the campus park. The worst night of my life lay ahead.