SKYE.2

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.