SKYE

The next day, as usual, the first lecture started. I thought I'd see Soren smoking alone outside the building, but to my surprise, he was there with Sean and Don.

From a distance, I watched Don explaining something to Soren, pleading with him, clasping his hands together like he was begging. Soren glanced sideways, seemingly ignoring him, while Sean stood beside him with his arms crossed, listening to Don's speech with a slightly ironic expression. Unable to resist, I got closer and stood behind Don, catching a snippet of his words: "…I react badly to a mix of vodka and beer, you know me, don't get mad…"

Soren glanced at me, and Sean noticed me too. That's when Don finally realized someone was behind him. He slowly turned around, his face flushing red.

"You!"

"Yep, sharp eyes. It's really me. So, have you apologized for your rapey behavior?" I asked, crossing my arms and tilting my head.

"It's none of your business, idiot. Get lost, or this time I won't let you off so easily—"

"Uuuh, I'm sooo scared!" I mocked.

Don growled louder, "I'm gonna kick your ass!"

But I just shrugged.

"You better chill out and find something productive to do, like touching up your roots. You're going mousy brown—it looks dull on you."

Obviously having enough of my rudeness, Don snarled and lunged at me, but I was ready for it. For some reason, I felt my physical dominance over him. It was hard to grasp because I had never fought seriously with other adult alphas before, besides my brother Storm, nor had I had any sparring practice, yet I found this immense strength in my body. Whenever Soren was nearby, something changed within me, like I was gaining muscle mass, and my own level of aggression, along with the desire to confront other alphas, was… greatly increasing. I had no idea where this primal impulse came from, but it was quite powerful. So when I pushed him, he immediately fell to the ground like a helpless doll.

Then Sean jumped toward him and grabbed his arm.

"Stop, you won't win against him, don't you feel it?"

He couldn't have said anything worse; Don pushed him away, got up, and lunged at me again, but before he could fully stand, I kicked him in the chest, knocking him back onto the sidewalk.

"Stay down unless you want this to end badly for you," I growled.

As he tried to get up, Soren stepped between us and said, "Leave it, Don, this is just childish. Let's go to class; there's no point in continuing this shit."

Don looked at him apologetically and muttered in a pleading tone, "But you forgave me, Soren, everything's okay between us, right?"

Soren didn't respond; he just turned around and walked toward the entrance of the main building.

"Calm down and chill out here for a while; he's really pissed at you, Don!" Sean shouted to the blond alpha before quickly walking away. I also headed toward the building, leaving Don sitting on the sidewalk, fuming.

We were the only ones attending this lecture, Soren and I, as Sean and Don had other classes. I noticed Soren sitting in the back row, around where I usually sat. Nervously biting my lower lip, I approached him and whispered softly, "Can I sit next to you?"

Soren gave me a strange look but nodded slightly. With an uncharacteristic surge of joy, I sat down next to him, remaining silent. I didn't know what to say, and I certainly didn't want to comment on the Don's incident.

Soren stayed quiet too, so throughout the lecture, we simply sat next to each other, not exchanging any words but strangely aware of each other's presence. I stole glances at him, feeling a pleasant warmth spreading through my body, almost a shiver of euphoria. I wanted to touch him, even just to brush my hand against his arm or gently graze his fingers, but of course, I didn't, so I just timidly peered at him, seizing moments when he wasn't looking. Yet, I also sensed that his attention was somehow directed toward me in a peculiar way. There were brief points in time when I felt his eyes on me, but he would quickly avert his gaze.

Soon after, there was another lecture, and the situation repeated itself. I approached him and asked if I could sit next to him again. He simply nodded, and once more, we spent the hour-long lecture sitting next to each other in complete silence, exchanging subtle glances.

Then it was time for lunch. Soren headed to the cafeteria, Tim and Mark were already waiting for him in line. They sat at a three-person table, so there was no space for me. However, I occupied the nearest table possible, and as they ate, I occasionally peeked at Soren, and he very discreetly glanced in my direction.

It was very unusual, this silent exchange of energy. And I felt something growing inside of me, the need to be with him again, to touch him one more time.

Soon the need took over my whole body and mind. When they had finished eating and Soren was walking toward the lecture halls where we were going to have classes in about twenty minutes, I approached him and said quietly,

"Soren, would you agree to a… hj?"

I said it without batting an eyelid, and his silver eyes lifted up and bored into my face with a great deal of intensity.

But then, unexpectedly, he replied, "Okay, we can go to the bathroom."

I froze in astonishment that he wasn't angry about my impertinence, and even more so, that he wanted to do it right away! On the other hand, strangely enough, I wasn't surprised—I really wanted to be close to him right now, so maybe he felt the same?

The strange chemistry between us was obviously growing.

Smiling, I nodded enthusiastically. He didn't respond with a smile, but immediately turned and headed for the restrooms, which were down a side corridor.

As soon as we entered one of the stalls, he closed it and turned toward me.

I didn't wait. I hugged him, pressing his slender body against mine, nuzzling my face into his neck, again instinctively seeking his neck gland with my mouth. It was a very primal reflex in alphas, even though he was a beta, I still sought this form of contact between us. I kissed that spot on, licked it, and to my amazement, he tilted his head slightly, as if to make room for me, allowing me to touch the area around his gland for a while. Although it was very weakly active in betas, producing only small amounts of AO-specific pheromones and hormones, it was still visible on his neck as a slightly paler area than the rest of his skin. It was also a very sensitive spot. He sighed softly as I continued to caress him there.

His hands were on my back, as I kissed and licked, nibbling the skin under his ear with my lips. Then, I felt him reach down to my crotch. With an efficient motion, he pulled open my zipper, baring my cock. But then I slid my hand down to his fly and moaned to find him hard as a steel rod.

"Can we frot?"

I heard him hold his breath for a moment and then, to my delight, he nodded. When I unzipped his fly, his dick popped out—yep, my closeness affected him as much as his closeness affected me—this realization fueled me even more. I encircled our dicks with my fingers, and he also cupped them from the other side to increase the friction. We both began to move our hips, grinding our shafts against each other in the tight grip of our fingers. It was nice, not so much because of the physical stimulation itself, but because it was Soren, in my arms, in my tight embrace, and that made all the difference. Yes, the same guy who hated me, pushed me away, and yet… the magic formed between us like a rising tide. I could hear his accelerated breathing near my ear, his desperate, soft moans…

While we were close, Soren deftly caught a piece of toilet paper with his other hand, and when we both came—at the same time—he prevented our cum from getting on our clothes.

The orgasm was fucking perfect. We moaned in unison, and at one point, I even felt his lips brush the side of my neck, near my gland, his heart pounding like crazy.

But it all ended way too quickly for me.

To prolong the moment just a bit, I stood still, pressing my lips to his skin. It gave me a strange sense of alpha-typical dominance to make these little nibbles over his gland, basking in the sweet feeling of… immersion in him.

Then I whispered very softly, "You smell so good, so very pleasant, Soren. Dahlia. And mint. And the weird thing is, there's also this little hint of vanilla… almost like pregnant omegas have." And I made a giggling sound.

He didn't say anything, though. After a minute or two, he took a step back, but his head was lowered toward his crotch, so I couldn't see his expression, and we both fastened our zippers.

It was time for business. I took out $10 and handed it to him. Soren hesitated, with a strange look on his face, before putting it in his pocket. He seemed very uncomfortable again.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

He just nodded but didn't look at me, and we walked out of the stall, both of us washed our hands and then headed in silence to the lecture hall.

During the class, I sat next to him again, unable to resist glancing at him—almost openly this time. I even caught him looking at me on a few occasions, which made him a bit embarrassed. But when we left the lecture hall, I was in for a rather unpleasant surprise.

Don was waiting outside the room, brows furrowed, looking desperate. He immediately walked up to Soren, ignoring the fact that I was standing right there.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked. "There's this little mixer at Stephen's place."

Soren looked at him, then glanced at me, and our eyes met. "I've got a ton of studying to do tonight. There's a deadline for an assignment in Advanced Software Architecture."

I noticed a slight twitch in Don's jaw; he looked at me nervously. Then he asked, "So, is he your new patron now?"

Soren sighed, and gave him a challenging look. "I don't owe you any explanations, Don. It's none of your business what I do with other people."

Don glared at me with cold fury in his eyes, then turned and walked away without another word.

We were left alone, Soren and I. I hesitated, not sure if I should bring up Don at all, since Soren's somber expression didn't exactly invite more questions.

But my thoughts were already drifting to… other things. Unexpectedly, I decided to say it out loud: "If you finish the essay a little sooner, maybe I could come by again?"

Soren glanced at me, looking a little flustered. "I've already finished that assignment. I don't need to work on it today," he mumbled, appearing slightly self-conscious.

"If you finished it… why didn't you want to go to that mixer with him?"

Soren clenched his jaw and started walking briskly toward the cafeteria. I followed him, and he muttered, "I don't have to explain anything to you either."

Inside, while we were standing in line, I noticed Sean and Alvin sitting by a small table. I was sure Soren would join them, but I was wrong. I got my cup and headed toward a small table for two, thinking I'd be drinking my coffee alone. But Soren walked past Sean and Alvin and… joined me, without a single word!

I cleared my throat. "You didn't make up with them?"

"I did. But Sean's still a backstabbing bitch. And I don't want to talk to Alvin."

No further explanation was needed. So, I guess I could enjoy his company during our coffee time.

As we sat there in silence, I noticed Don also getting in line. Soren's face soured instantly.

"Can't stand this fucking bastard…" he murmured.

I glanced toward Sean and Alvin and noticed the latter staring at Don with an unusual intensity.

"Alvin's probably hoping Don will fuck him," I muttered, as Don turned around with his tray and hurried over to Sean and Alvin.

"Good luck with that. Don's dick is smaller than most betas'. It's practically in omega territory."

I gaped at him, surprised by the venom in his voice.

"Less work during handjobs for you, I guess," I said, trying not to sound too bitter.

"What the fuck? I've never given him a handjob or a blowjob," he responded with irritation.

I stared at him for a moment. "You haven't? So how do you know?"

Soren didn't answer.

After a moment, I asked in a hushed tone, "So, what were you doing with him in that dark hallway after the party last month? Just kissing and making out?"

Soren visibly shuddered at my question, and glared at me angrily. "I've never kissed anyone besides Anton. That's something I'd only do with someone I love, like I told you before."

I didn't press for more, but after a few seconds, he spoke again anyway.

"I wanted you to think it was like that. We just went out the side exit for a smoke. Nothing happened."

Wow. So that's how it really went down. I stared at my coffee cup, trying to figure out how to respond to this revelation. Soren was… complicated, to say the least.

"It's a bit twisted," I said quietly, finally settling on that comment. He just shrugged.

We soon finished our coffee, and Soren stepped outside to smoke. As he lit up, he raised an eyebrow and nodded toward my pocket.

"So, I guess you don't actually smoke."

Spreading my arms, I grinned sheepishly. "I don't. It was just a way to get your attention."

"It's a bit twisted," he shot back at me, and I made a face in response.

Soren snorted and blew a puff of smoke in my direction until I coughed.

"Hey! Not the same level!" I protested, but he kinda ignored it.

"So many things aren't what they seem…" he muttered, taking a deep drag, and averting his eyes.

That seemingly casual remark was heavy with meaning—I could feel it.

Then we had another lecture, but in a smaller room where everyone usually sat close together. This time was no different; I ended up sitting right next to Soren, our arms touching, which made it hard for me to focus on the lecture. I noticed he didn't make any effort to put more space between us, even though he easily could've shifted a bit to the left. But he didn't, so we spent the entire lecture with our arms pressed against each other, and I struggled to listen to the professor's words.

As the class ended, I quietly asked, "So, can I come over tonight?"

I saw him clench his jaw, but he nodded and said, "Yeah. At 8 pm."

Another wave of exhilaration washed over me as I smiled at him, but I didn't expect him to smile back; he looked even more confused, almost uncomfortable with his own agreement.

All evening, I couldn't wait. I went to the gym with Archer and Gabriel, and after we got back, I lay on my bed, fidgeting and tossing around until Alvin looked up and asked what was wrong with me.

I shrugged. "Nothing. So, how's it going with Don? You hang out a lot lately."

Alvin grimaced. "You bring up the subject again? Oh, well. Don just doesn't want to give up. He's stubbornly into Soren. But I saw you both today in the cafeteria—you're definitely doing me a favor. Don will eventually lose hope if he sees you with Soren."

"We just hung out."

Alvin snorted. "You're such a lying asshole. I told you about the Kingdom of Promises, and now you suddenly act like a prude. Are you two finally fucking?"

"And what's that to you? You're not a pimp, that's what you said. You won't get your share even if we did fuck."

"Sure, but why make such a big deal out of it? Can't you just spill?"

"Don't feel like it."

"C'mon, tell us!"

"Nope."

"C'mon!"

"God, Alvin, you really are like a dog with a bone. Give it a rest; this interrogation is cringe," Archer muttered, and I felt grateful for his intervention.

For some time now, he seemed to be a stabilizing force between me and Alvin. I almost wished he had more of a laid-back slash cool-cat personality because I could really use a buddy like that around. Unfortunately, his rigorous lifestyle kinda put me off.

Alvin huffed. "Are you his spokesperson or something? I'm just saying, the bitch is gonna drain your wallet. Don lost hundreds for nothing!"

"I'm not Don."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Archer shrugged. "Friends are overrated anyway."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Was he similar to Soren?"

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

"Probably your imprint. Mine are redheads."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Archer flinched slightly.

"Your omega brother ran away?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

"Sure, no problem."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Can I see them?"

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

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

"Damn, these are perfect, so beautiful!"

His cheeks were now flaming red.

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

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

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

I lifted my head and looked at him in amazement.

"Wow!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I did," his tone was dry.

I cleared my throat. "I'm a bit rusty, but I could play for you sometime…"

Soren stayed quiet, stiff and very reserved. He didn't answer, but continued to stare at the money with a strange fixation. Not knowing what else to add, I walked to the door and said, "Well, take care then, and thanks a lot."

"My email is Soren3002@—"

"Oh, okay, thanks for offering to help."

"No problem," he muttered, still not looking at me. So weird.

And I left, quietly closing the door behind me.

The whole way back to my dorm, I felt like I was floating. Was I being stupid? The world seemed brighter… Despite his bizarre demeanor, Soren had offered to interact with me on something not related to ‘business'! His initiative!

After a while, I sobered up a bit—what the hell? It was silly. After all, Soren treated me like any other patron. I paid him for sex; there was nothing more to it.

But there was this odd thing, though—he was literally staring at the money I left him through the entire conversation, almost obsessively. Was he… considering something? But what? Returning the cash? Nah, stupid. He surely didn't want to have a relationship with me, so why would he give up on earning money?

And what about me?

My own feelings were all over the place. This situation could cost me a lot, not just financially. Unfortunately, I was a very jealous and possessive type, and knowing what he was involved in weighed heavily on me. I wasn't progressive enough to not mind if my boyfriend had a job like that. I had a more traditional approach that required exclusivity in a relationship.

Boyfriend?

Did I say that? Ridiculous. I was way too ahead of myself.

All too well I remembered what Alvin said about not getting entangled with Soren. He was probably right—with my attitude toward his job, it couldn't end well. But I wanted this to last a little longer… like a fleeting dream. He had this magical effect on me that couldn't be resisted.

As I was almost on the steps leading to my dorm, I heard a voice behind me, calling my name.

Confused, I turned around and saw Soren running toward me.

His long black hair was disheveled, his face looked strange—like he was an emotional mess, all over the place, red, flustered, nervous. He abruptly stopped right in front of me, and I felt his hand sliding over my hip, toward my pocket.

Shocked, I looked down. It was the money I gave him; he put it inside my pocket.

But not just the seventy bucks I gave him today—it was all the money I'd given him before!

"What… are you doing?" I mumbled.

He only glared at me with his brows furrowed and turned away, wanting to leave without a word.

But I grabbed his arm.

"Wait, you earned it, Soren."

He winced angrily. "I don't want your fucking money!"

He tried to free himself, but I didn't let him, feeling he was shaking slightly.

"Soren, it's… I know you need it, for the medical debts."

He snorted, his face angry and red. "I don't owe you any explanation! But if you want to know, I work more for DevApp. Half-time now, not one-third like before. I can pay the debts!"

"But—"

"Let me go!" He jerked his arm from my grasp and rushed away, so quickly I gave up on trying to catch him.

What just happened?

What did it mean? For… us?

For a while, I just stood there with my mouth hanging open, absolutely clueless as to how to interpret Soren's behavior. So… he didn't want to meet with me again? Or just not… for money?

Feeling a bit stressed, I went into the dorm, heading toward our room.

Archer was at the gym, and Alvin was napping.

I needed to finish my essay, so I did, feeling a bit unfocused, and sent an email to Soren:

"Hey, Soren, I hope we're good. I attached my essay to the email. If you want, you can check it, but if you changed your mind, it's okay too."

One hour later, I got a message from him with an attachment.

Soren wrote: "I made some edits, but overall, it was a really strong piece of writing. You probably don't give yourself enough credit."

That was it. Not a word about whether we were ‘good' now.

I opened the file and read the essay. He hadn't changed much, but his tweaks were in the right places, significantly improving the overall structure. I felt strangely touched and grateful because he didn't have to do that—we weren't even friends. It was really… sweet of him?

***

The next day, I waited for him outside the dorm, biting my nails. How was he gonna behave? Was he done with me? Or was this the start of something new between us?

When he came out, he seemed surprised to see me there. I offered him my warmest smile, but he just gave a slight grimace in return and immediately pulled out a cigarette.

"I wanted to thank you for the essay edits. It's really better now," I said quickly as he took a deep drag. I wanted to steer the conversation toward that, just in case he was about to start some ‘we shouldn't meet anymore' kind of talk.

He shrugged slightly, blowing smoke right in my face, like he obviously enjoyed doing. "It was no big deal, just a few corrections here and there. Nothing to discuss."

"Still, thank you very much," I whispered, stepping closer. Soren quickly brought the cigarette to his lips and took another drag, as if the smoke was his shield. His gray eyes were fixed on my face, seemingly indifferent.

I waited, unsure of what he would say next, but he… just didn't say anything, as if last night hadn't even happened. Like nothing strange was going on between us, like some… uncharted territory wasn't unfolding.

So we stood there for a moment, just like that, in a pleasant silence, close to each other. There was something… exciting about it. For the thousandth time, I glanced at his lips—pink and full. I wanted to taste them, but… it wasn't possible.

"What?" he murmured quietly, but to my surprise, he didn't look away this time.

He blew a smoke ring into the air above us. There was something almost… intimate about it. Slowly, I raised my hand and placed it on his slim hip. He didn't push me away, but kept smoking as my fingers gently slipped under his hoodie and brushed against his smooth naked skin. He exhaled and closed his eyes. My heart raced, and so did his…

Super slowly, I leaned down, and my nose hovered just above his neck. For a moment, I let it linger there, the tip of it skimming his skin. Soren allowed it! He even slightly tilted his head back, and we were standing in this weird constellation—me kinda sniffing his neck, and him with half-lidded eyes, taking deep drags.

We were having this strange moment of intimacy—kinda unexplainable.

Then I felt the first drops of rain on my face.

He flinched slightly and opened his eyes wider; with some satisfaction I noticed his pupils were dilated.

"Let's get to class before we get soaked," he murmured.

He put out his cigarette in the ashtray and walked past me toward the main building.

I followed him, staring at his ass. Because why not? He had narrow hips, typical for betas, but his ass cheeks were round and pert. Very… enticing. Did I imagine it, or did he sway them a bit more, knowing I was watching? Probably just my imagination.

During the first class, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I kept sneaking glances, and I noticed him doing the same a few times. At some moments, I was kinda zoning out, staring at his lips and the tip of his tongue playing with his piercing.

When we were in line at the cafeteria, Sean approached us with a slightly unsure expression. He was probably surprised to see us together two days in a row. It was a pretty big change—from total distance and hostility to seemingly hanging out all the time.

As we waited in line, Soren leaned forward slightly and murmured,

"Oh, my favorite broccoli cream soup! They haven't had it in a while!"

"You better hurry and get it then. Looks like they only have three left," Sean snarked.

Soren wasn't so lucky. A few students ahead of us took the soup, and the last one was snagged by a freshman omega standing right in front of us.

Disappointment showed on Soren's face.

Sean grabbed his tray first, followed by Soren, who settled for just a sandwich. They both headed toward a three-person table. Was that a sign I was invited too?

But what about the soup? I wasn't ready to give up. I quickly approached the young omega and pulled out $20.

"Hey, I really want that soup. I'll give you 20 bucks if you let me have it," I said.

The omega looked up at me through thick glasses, swallowed hard, and blinked. "But I'm really hungry," he squeaked.

"Okay, how about 50 bucks? That's enough to buy all the other soups," I offered.

His eyes widened at the money, then he tilted his head and smiled slightly. "Alrighty. Deal."

With a sigh of relief, I took the soup and walked over to the table where Sean and Soren were sitting.

Silently, I set the soup in front of Soren and then sat down in the last available chair.

When I looked at Soren, he was staring at me with a strange expression. Sean, on the other hand, tried to suppress his laughter.

Neither of them said anything about it, though. We all ate in almost total silence. Soren wasn't eager to engage with Sean, who also didn't look super comfortable; they only exchanged a few words about the rainy weather.

I zoned out again, kinda hypnotized by the way Soren's hands and fingers absentmindedly played with his long silver earrings. It was so… mesmerizing, his long, slim fingers with black-painted nails swirling around those shiny wires, making quiet tinkling, chiming sounds.

After I finished eating, I got up and left the cafeteria, heading toward the lecture hall alone, since it was one of the few courses I didn't have with Soren. I still had about fifteen minutes before class started.

But a moment later, I saw Soren walking quickly in my direction.

His cheeks were slightly flushed. He looked stiff and very serious as he stood next to me, and then he said…

"Would you like to go to the bathroom?"

Oh, wow, I hadn't expected this, but how could I refuse? I smiled happily and nodded.

As soon as we entered the stall, I hugged him and pulled him close to me.

God, what a wonderful feeling it was, my whole body trembled, he was trembling too, I felt his arms rise and embrace my back tightly, he had never done that before. My lips began their journey down his neck, and Soren seemed to know what lay ahead, tipping his head back to give me room for my lewd ministrations on his naked skin. I noticed a few pale hickeys there as well, a reminder of our session yesterday. My lips licked, nibbled, and sucked greedily, and he let me, making cute, raspy sounds of pleasure.

"I want to suck you off," I murmured into his neck. "I want you to facefuck me…"

"Okay," came the immediate reply.

Yep, it didn't take much convincing!

In an instant, I slid down to my knees and lifted my eyes up to meet his. His pupils were dilated, he was staring at me in anticipation, panting rapidly.

It took me two seconds to undo his zipper, nothing new here, he was already fully hard.

Slowly I slid his pink shaft, already dripping with pre-cum, into my mouth, never taking my eyes off Soren's face. I liked that he kept this intense eye contact while I was blowing him, I started to work with great eagerness, taking him as deep as I could, fighting through my gag reflex…

Meanwhile, my own dick was bothering me, so I unzipped my pants and while swallowing his dick, I jerked off mine.

But there was still more I wanted to do, so I put his hands on the back of my head and encouraged him to thrust into me.

Soren murmured, "Are you sure?"

Nodding eagerly, I prepared myself for a ride, but there wasn't much of one. Soren braced himself on my head and began to thrust into my throat, his face flaming red, but… the funny thing was, he had made maybe a dozen thrusts into my esophagus when he moaned loudly and unloaded into it. He certainly wasn't very good at holding back his orgasms. The feeling of his spasming, spurting dick in my mouth also drove me over the edge, although I don't think he even noticed, he was too deep in his own ecstasy.

Soren shivered and gasped, staring at me as I knelt down for him and slurped his cum. I also moved my lips lower, to his balls, and licked them too, as he continued to stare at me, his dick refusing to lose an ounce of blood. This was really strange, since betas weren't known for their staying power, but I didn't dare say anything about it.

I pulled up his jockstrap, navy blue this time, and stood up.

"What's with jockstraps? They aren't exactly the most comfortable," I murmured.

He lowered his hands to my zipper, muttering, "But I think they look great on my ass. Don't you agree?"

"They sure do! Wait, Soren," I had to tell him. "I already… came," I added, slowly wrapping my fingers around his wrist.

His hand froze on my crotch, and he blinked. "You did?"

Slightly embarrassed, I shrugged. "Yep."

There was this pleasant silence while he thought about it, his gaze fixed somewhere on my chest, those long black lashes on full display.

"I—" he trailed off, "I wanted to… say thanks for the soup. Fifty bucks is a lot for a bowl of broccoli cream."

"How do you know how much I paid?"

"I asked the omega. He wanted to know what I did that made guys willing to pay 50 bucks for my food…"

"And what did you tell him?"

"I said I was being an ass."

I chuckled, and Soren almost did too—but stopped himself and quickly averted his gaze.

"So, I guess I still owe you." He sighed.

"No, you owe me nothing. I… enjoyed it. I love making you come. I wanna do it again."

Soren swallowed, still looking sideways. I already knew he hated meeting my eyes when conversations got more… intimate.

Suddenly, in an impulse I couldn't control, I reached out and hugged him, pulling him close. He let me, but only for a second.

"Thank you for giving me… this joy," I whispered, kissing his cheek gently. He flinched slightly and pulled away, slowly but firmly.

"Your lecture's about to begin," he murmured, his voice back to its usual distant tone. And just like that, he left the stall, disappearing from the restroom.

Well, Rome wasn't built in a day.

***

The next day, I waited for him again outside his dorm. When he came out, he blinked, but didn't say anything about my presence there. As usual, he pulled out a cigarette, and we walked in silence while he smoked, staring up at the gray sky.

"Looks like it's gonna rain," I said, desperately trying to start some kind of conversation, but just then, my phone beeped.

I glanced at the message, and my heart sank. It was a notification from the Blackboard app—apparently, I'd barely passed my Python class with a D. Just scraped by. My final grade was on thin ice.

"Fuck," I muttered, clenching my jaw.

"What?" Soren took a deep drag, glancing at me with narrowed eyes.

Cursing under my breath, I showed him the screen. His stormy eyes lingered on the message before he looked away without saying a word.

I shoved my phone back in my pocket, muttering some random profanities, just as the first drops of rain hit my face. We were almost at the main building. Hiding from the drizzle, a small group of students huddled under a small canopy. I noticed Alvin and Don among them, which didn't do much for my sour mood. Don's glare felt like a death sentence, even from a distance. He was about to approach us, but Alvin grabbed his arm, whispering something to him.

Soren stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, completely ignoring Don's glances. His face was cold, distant—he didn't even acknowledge him.

Our class was starting soon, so we headed inside.

As soon as we sat down, I pulled out my phone again, staring at that terrible notification. I felt a wave of frustration and defeat wash over me. Even though I'd been studying hard, I was seriously worried I wouldn't pass this class. I considered what to do and thought about telling Finn Delgado of my troubles. I bit my lip, trying to push down the stress.

"If you want, you can come over today. I'll help you with Python," Soren muttered suddenly. He sounded like he was offering to pull my wisdom teeth, his whole posture stiff, almost hostile. No one had ever offered to help me in such a prickly way before. It must've cost him a lot to say it.

"No, I know you've been working longer hours lately. I wouldn't want to bother you, but I really appreciate the offer."

He grimaced and snorted. "Just stop. Come at 8. I'll help you."

"Soren, I really—"

"Shut up," he growled.

So I did exactly that. I guess this was Soren's attempt to do something nice for me in a… rude way. How peculiar.

Feeling a mix of confusion and happiness (yep, call me stupid, happiness!), I had trouble focusing on the professor's words. Instead, I kept stealing glances at Soren—my eyes running over the lines of his barbed wire tattoo, down his neck where fading hickeys still showed. His long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and I felt this strange urge to touch it, but I had no idea how to go about it. Slowly, I placed my hand on the back of his chair, pretending I was just resting it there, not sure if he even noticed.

After a few minutes, I gathered a bit more courage and gently stroked his right shoulder blade… Soren almost jumped in his seat when he felt my touch, so I immediately withdrew my hand, flustered by his reaction.

He didn't look at me, seemed tense, his eyes locked on his notebook. I noticed he'd stopped taking notes, just sitting there frozen.

Shit. I shouldn't have touched him without warning. It was a mistake. I removed my hand off his chair and put it back on my lap. Swallowing hard, I wrote a short sentence and slowly turned the page toward him:

"I'm sorry."

His light gray eyes flicked over the words for a few seconds. No reaction.

A minute passed, and he just sat there, staring at his notebook.

Suddenly, he scribbled a few words and, like I had done before, showed them to me:

"For what?"

I blinked. That wasn't the response I expected.

"For touching you without asking," I wrote.

A flash of irritation crossed his face.

"It wasn't a flinch of fear, Skye!"

When my eyes landed on those words, a wave of heat rushed through me. Then Soren slowly raised his gaze to meet mine. His pupils were dilated, almost eclipsing his silver irises. Something in his eyes was… provocative, enticing, seductive. My dick throbbed.

Letting out a shaky breath, I placed my hand back on the rear of his chair. Soren looked away, back at the professor. This time, though, I didn't start with his shoulder blade. I slid my hand lower, letting my fingers slip under his black hoodie. I trailed them along his spine, brushing over his vertebrae, inching upward, teasing his skin—higher and higher.

Soren squeezed his eyes shut and tilted his head back, his heart pounding like crazy. Two omegas nearby turned to glance at us, amused.

He was shameless, but somehow, I could feel what he felt—my touch was lighting a fire inside him, making his body tremble and his pelvis tilt back…

My dick was so hard, I could probably drill a hole in a wall with it. It hurt, trapped, unable to release the tension.

Suddenly, Soren stood up! Without looking at me, he headed for the exit, turning heads as he went. The professor glanced his way too.

Grinding my teeth, I jumped up and, feeling ridiculous, followed him out—attracting even more attention.

Red as a beet, with my head bowed, I ran out into the hallway and noticed Soren disappearing into the nearest bathroom.

With my pulse spiking above the safe limit, I rushed inside and opened the stall door with a violent jerk. Soren was already leaning on the wall with his pants unzipped. He had a black jockstrap on again, which, in my opinion, looked the sexiest on him.

Falling to my knees again, I had something more on my mind. I grabbed his hips and turned him, so his face was toward the wall and his butt was literally on my face! Now, I could fully appreciate the jockstrap's advantages. His perfect, round globes were firm and pert, fully exposed for me to admire. Soren made a surprised gasp as I placed my hands on his cheeks.

"Fuck…" he muttered when I bit him lightly on the left buttock. His skin had an intense smell of pleasant shower gel, and since we were only fifteen minutes into the first lecture of the day, he had probably showered about twenty-five minutes ago. I licked, bit, and sucked on his ass skin, closing in on his crease.

Soren was panting, his arms raised above his head, fists clenched, supported on the wall. He pushed his ass toward me, and I knew the sign all too well. When highly aroused, omegas instinctively rolled their hips back in an encouraging way, but I had no idea betas did it too. How nice… I splayed my fingers on both his buttocks and spread them to the side, seeing his intimate place for the first time.

And I wasn't sure what I would see. I had been with only a handful of omegas before, never with a beta, but from what I knew from porn and biology lessons, their entrances looked more like those of alphas. But again, I was in for a surprise. Soren's hole looked like that of omegas; while aroused, it was opening a bit and glistening with slick. The pink, furrowed ring of muscles resembled a slightly parted pink rosebud. A long line of his dripping slick was visible, running down his taint and onto his inner thigh.

Seeing red, I lowered myself and licked it, starting from the end of the rivulet and moving up toward his entrance. Finally, I closed my lips on his pucker, sucking on his sweet juices, making rather obscene smacking and slurping sounds. Soren's body shook and shivered as I sucked and swirled my tongue over his hole. Meanwhile, my hand reached out to his front, finding his rock-hard shaft, dripping pre-cum profusely.

With my mouth pressed to his entrance and my hand on his dick, it took maybe one minute before Soren made a prolonged, guttural sound. I could feel his muscle clenching under my tongue and his dick spurting semen in a few powerful ejections.

Soon, only his loud moaning and panting filled the stall.

I rested my forehead just over his tailbone, fighting through the intense pain in my poor dick, which still had no release. But… Soren suddenly turned away.

His face was red and slightly sweaty. "Up," he growled, so I got up.

He slid to his knees, his eyes as I had never seen them before—submissive and lustful at the same time. His slender hands, adorned with several silver rings, unzipped my pants and pulled out my steel rod, which almost hit him on the forehead.

"Facefuck me," he ordered.

I tilted my head and skimmed my hand over his smooth cheekbone, tracing the tattoo. "It won't fit deeper…"

"Try," he insisted, and I pressed behind his masseter muscle. The ABO population was able to retract the lower jaw much further than people who previously lived on Earth, as we could enter into a double bite lock during heat and rut, while marking each other in knotting episodes, or just during intense sex. Despite betas lacking active glands, they had the same jaw build. I put my hands on both sides of his face, and he opened his mouth. I pushed inside a bit, then pressed on his jaw, which smoothly retracted back, giving me more space. My dick slid deeper into his throat. I almost gasped; Soren seemed to have no gag reflex as I grabbed the back of his head and pushed even deeper, sliding into his esophagus, but quickly backing away so he could breathe. Well, surely this enticing procedure couldn't last long, so Soren wasn't in a very challenging situation. I was so fucking aroused that I did a few deeper thrusts into his throat and moaned like a bitch, flooding his open mouth with copious amounts of my jizz.

Yes, neither of us had to work very hard to help the other reach orgasm, that's for sure.

Soren licked his mouth as his jaw set back into its normal place as he slowly stood up.

Wow, this moment was like someone lowered a curtain, changing his gaze from seductive and playful to immediately—distant and impassive!

He averted his eyes and… quickly left the stall!

In consternation, I stood there for a few seconds, staring at the wall, then slowly joined him as he washed his hands.

Soren suddenly muttered, his voice low and almost monotone, "We have to slow down a bit, Skye."

Blinking, I glanced at his reflection in the mirror in front of us as we both dried our hands, and he continued, "Yeah, we have chemistry. It could easily evolve into fucking like rabbits, and… I don't do fucking outside of relationships. And I don't do relationships with alphas."

He faced me, crossing his arms over his chest. He was studiously calm.

Seeing his seriousness, I swallowed and thought hard about what he had said. If I protested, resisted, he would surely say ‘fuck you'. Giving him counterarguments would have the opposite effect—I could grasp Soren's personality well enough to walk around it and hope for another door of chances to open.

So… I slowly nodded.

"I understand. These are your boundaries. I accept them."

Soren stared at me for a second, something flickering across his face. A weird suspicion crossed my mind. Was he… disappointed I didn't fight him on this? But it passed too quickly to make anything of it. Could've just been a nervous twitch.

"And that leaves us in fuckbuddy status," he finished. "Or… blowjob buddies, whatever the proper term is. With limits."

"What limits?"

"Don't… touch me sexually outside of my room. I… for some reason, react strongly… to you." He blushed, as if saying it made him embarrassed.

"Just looking at you makes me react strongly," I said in a low voice.

Soren quickly turned his head to the side and let out a wheeze.

"Well, now that we've established that, back to boundaries. No sexual touching during the day, in class, in the cafeteria, or anywhere else. It's only allowed in my room. And maybe a little of it while I smoke."

"I accept."

Soren pursed his lips and also nodded. The silence was strange. He twitched his fingers a bit nervously and murmured, "Let's get back to the lecture hall."

As we walked in, other students looked at us again, their brows raised in amusement.

After we sat down, the omega sitting closest to us suddenly turned back and whispered in a dramatic tone, "You guys reek of cum."

Soren raised his middle finger and showed it to him, his face haughty and aloof. He didn't even blink.

More heads turned toward us as I chuckled loudly.

***

Later that same day, Sean noticed us in the cafeteria and approached slowly.

"So. Are you guys dating? This is another day I've seen you together."

Soren snorted. "No."

Judging by this answer, I figured it wasn't the right time to discuss our arrangement with others.

"So why are you sitting with him?"

"It's simple. I prefer his company over yours and Alvin's." Soren's face didn't even twitch. He remained calm and unruffled.

Sean stared at him, gaping. "Jeez, you're such a bitch, Soren."

"Don't… call him that," I growled.

"I wasn't the one who started with the whole ‘being a bitch' thing, Sean, may I remind you…" Soren snarked.

But Sean just rolled his eyes, stood up, and left.

Still… Soren's face stayed impassive. He continued putting pieces of food into his mouth and chewing as if nothing had happened. I observed him for a while, but he seemed completely unfazed by the short convo with Sean.

"You're kinda sexy when you're acting bitchy." I sighed. "But being like that will leave you… friendless."

"I don't have any true friends besides Liam anyway." He shrugged and took a few sips from his coffee mug.

I raised my eyebrows. "Who's Liam?"

"My best friend since middle school. He goes to Vertmont College, two hours from here. We're going to work together at DevApp after graduation."

Rubbing my chin, I asked in a cautious tone, "Is he a beta?"

"Yes."

A wave of relief ran through me, but Soren's lips twisted into a sarcastic grimace.

"You look relieved, like that means he doesn't want me to fuck him."

I almost choked on a piece of chicken. After a violent series of coughs, I straightened up and plastered a smile on my face, "Yyy, well. Does he?"

"Sure, he does. But I'm a fucking bottom. And I'm only attracted to alphas."

Feeling a swirl of hot and cold emotions running through my body, I cleared my throat and muttered, "What does he look like?"

Without a word, Soren pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of a short, kind of nerdy-looking guy with glasses. My deep sigh of relief almost made Soren laugh. I saw a twitch at the corner of his lips, but he shook it off.

"So. What about you?"

"About me? I'm a top. And I'm attracted to betas. Just one, to be honest."

He made a face. "Duh, that's not what I'm asking. Your plans."

Letting out a huff, I said, "I have a coding job lined up at my cousin Nathaniel's company, MonsterApp. I already work there part-time. I can work remotely, so I'm not tied to any one place."

Soren didn't say anything, he just continued eating, staring somewhere far away, over the heads of the other students.