~Chapter 5~
I stay on the bench for a few good seconds.
Or minutes.
I don't know.
My brain seems to have decided to take a break.
Mate?
No.
It's impossible.
Alpha and beta, yes it works, but...
Me and him?, no way.
Maybe it was just a premonition that a cold is making its way into my body and not this.
I run my hand over my face and exhale slowly.
"Yeah... sure," I mutter to myself. "Cold."
That's exactly it.
Not the fact that the most dangerous Alpha in the academy grabbed me by the back of the neck and kissed me in the locker room.
No.
Just... a cold.
Perfectly logical.
I lean back on the bench for a bit and look up at the locker room ceiling.
"I'm fine," I say blankly.
I'm not fine.
Absolutely not.
I rub the back of my neck exactly where his hand had been a few minutes ago and feel those stupid tingles running up my spine again.
At that moment the locker room door bursts open.
Otis enters first, still talking loudly.
“If Kane says one more time, I swear…”
He stops.
He looks at me.
His eyes narrow.
“Why do you look like you died a little?”
Perfect.
“I don’t look like that.”
Otis takes a few steps closer.
“Yeah.”
Rowan enters behind him, quieter than usual, but when he sees me he raises an eyebrow too.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Otis crosses his arms.
“You’re lying.
”
“I’m not lying.”
“You’re lying.
”
“No.”
Rowan leans against the lockers, studying me for a few seconds.
“You have that face.”
I sigh.
“What face?”
Otis immediately replies:
“Unless something really suspicious happened and you’re not telling us. ”
“Nothing happened.”
Otis looks around the locker room.
Then he takes a deep breath.
And suddenly he smiles.
Oh no.
“Why does it smell like Loxley in here?”
My heart skips a stupid beat.
“It doesn’t.”
Rowan raises his head a little too.
He takes a deep breath.
Then he looks at me.
“Yeah.”
“We’re at practice,” I say quickly.
“Everyone smells like everyone else.”
Otis narrows his eyes.
“Idris…”
“What?”
“Were you alone here?”
“Yes.”
Otis pauses dramatically.
“And Cedric didn’t come in?”
“No.”
Otis looks at me and rolls his eyes
"If you don't want to tell us, we won't force you.
I mean, I won't force you," he mutters and starts to get dressed in the clothes that were in the closet.
"We're going to eat and then we'll play something before the next activity?
" Rowan asks, putting on some sneakers.
"Sure," I say and his brother nods.
We leave the locker room and just then the others start coming in, including Cedric.
When I come out, he looks at me for a second longer and I feel my heart palpitations as it asks me to take it easier.
I immediately look away.
Perfect.
Exactly what I needed.
My heart that suddenly decides to run the marathon of its life just because an Alpha looked at me for two seconds.
"Come on," Otis says, pushing the door open with his shoulder. “If we stay here, we’ll starve to death.”
“Speak for yourself,” I murmur.
We step out into the academy courtyard with the rest of the students who are just finishing their training.
Some are laughing, others are complaining about the drills, and a few are still discussing the race through the forest.
I hear an Alpha from behind say,
“Did you see how close Walden was to Loxley?”
Another replies,
“Yeah, but Loxley didn’t even look like he was struggling.
”
Otis turns his head to me immediately.
“Don’t listen to them.”
“I’m not listening to them,” I say.
I’m listening.
Unfortunately.
Rowan walks calmly beside me, his hands in his pockets.
“For someone who says he’s not competitive, you ran pretty hard.”
I shrug.
“I like to breathe.”
Otis laughs.
“That explains it all.”
We arrive at the cafeteria a few minutes later.
The place is already packed, the smell of hot food filling the air.
Plates, laughter, conversations everywhere.
We pick up our trays and take our seats.
I try to focus on something normal. Food.
Rice. Meat. Anything.
Not his green eyes.
His dark hair and Jesus…how can you be so big?
Unfortunately, my instincts disagree.
Because I can smell him before I see him.
His scent is in the air.
Strong. Warm.
Stupidly familiar.
I clench my jaw.
“Don’t turn around,” I mutter to myself.
Otis hears me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Rowan gives me a suspicious look, but says nothing.
We grab our food and head to one of the empty tables by the windows.
I sit down first.
Otis falls into the chair in front of me like he’s just survived a war.
“I swear if Kane says one more time…”
“You’ll say the same thing tomorrow,” Rowan says calmly.
Otis ignores him and starts eating.
I barely take my first sip when I smell that smell again.
Closer.
Much closer.
I instinctively look up.
Mistake.
Because just then Cedric stops by our table.
Otis nearly chokes on his food.
Rowan looks up slowly.
I remain completely still.
Cedric looks at us for a few seconds.
Then he says simply,
“Is he busy?”
Otis blinks a few times.
“…right?”
Cedric pulls up the empty chair next to me and sits down leisurely.
Otis looks at Rowan.
Rowan looks at me.
I stare at my plate as if it holds all the answers to the universe.
For a few seconds, no one says anything.
Then Otis whispers,
“Why is Loxley sitting at our table?”
Rowan replies just as quietly,
“I don’t know.
”
Cedric takes a sip of water.
Then, without looking at them, he says calmly,
“Because I want to talk to Walden.”
Otis’s spoon drops into his plate.
“Oh.”
Rowan leans back in his chair, suddenly very interested in the situation.
I slowly raise my head.
“About what?”
Cedric looks back at me.
His green eyes are as calm as they were in the locker room.
But something about them seems… more focused.
“I think,” he says quietly, “you’ve already figured it out.
”
I feel my stomach jump.
“Put it out what?”
Cedric stares at me for another second.
Then he says quietly,
“mate”
When he says that, I immediately look at Rowan who’s stuck and Otis who has his mouth open and his fork floating.
“WHAT?” Otis literally screams and it draws attention to us and I pray I turn into a butterfly and live well with the other butterflies instead of drawing this attention.
“Slow down, Bastard,” I mutter and put a hand to my head.
Cedric rests his elbow on the table, completely calm, as if he just dropped a bomb in the middle of the cafeteria.
Then, without warning, he puts his hand on my leg under the table.
I freeze.
After a second, I immediately push his hand away and give him the angriest look I can muster.
“No.”
Cedric raises an eyebrow.
“No what?”
“There’s no checkmate,” I say quickly.
Otis blinks.
Rowan still looks frozen.
Cedric looks at me quietly.
I cross my arms.
“I think you thought so.”
“I didn’t think so.
”
“Yes.”
“Walden..”
“Besides,” I continue quickly, speaking over him, “Alpha to Alpha doesn’t even work that way.
”
Otis makes a strange noise.
Cedric tilts his head slightly.
“No?”
“No.”
I pick up my fork just to have something to do with my hands.
“Alpha and Alpha can be rivals, they can be in the same pack, they can be friends if they really want to.” I shrug.
“But there’s no such thing.”
Otis looks at me.
He looks at Cedric.
Then he opens his mouth.
“Actually, Idris is…” Rowan instantly elbows him in the ribs under the table.
Pretty hard.
“Ow!”
Otis glares at his brother.
Rowan fakes a smile.
“Eat.”
Otis narrows his eyes.
“I was just going to say that Idris is…” Rowan steps on his foot.
More subtly this time. Otis exhales and finally understands.
“…extremely tired,” he finishes quickly. “From training.”
Cedric looks at them both.
His gaze lingers on Rowan for a second longer.
As if he’s analyzing something.
Then he turns to me.
“Alpha and Alpha can mate,” he says calmly.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Cedric leans closer to me.
“Walden.”
”What?”
“You really think I don’t know how bonds work?
”
I clench my jaw.
“I think you’re misinterpreting what you felt.
”
Cedric is silent for a second.
Then he says very calmly,
“Then explain why your heart is beating twice as fast as normal.”
I freeze.
Otis immediately looks down at my chest.
“Wait… really…”
“Shut up,” I say.
Rowan rubs his forehead.
Cedric continues to stare at me.
“And explain why you reacted when I touched you.”
I fold my arms tighter.
“Because I don’t like being touched.
”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying.”
Cedric smiles very slightly.
“You’re lying very badly.”
Otis whispers,
“I live for this moment.”
Rowan nudges him lightly with his elbow.
Cedric leans back in his chair, still staring at me.
“We can talk about this later.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Cedric actually looks amused now.
“You’re very stubborn.”
“And you’re very delusional.
”
A few seconds pass in silence.
Then Cedric says calmly,
“Okay.”
I look at him suspiciously.
“Okay what?”
“If you don’t want to admit it now…
”
He shrugs.
“I’ll wait.”
Otis nearly falls off his chair.
“What will?”
Cedric picks up his glass.
“The connection doesn’t go away.” Then he looks straight at me.
“Sooner or later, you’ll feel it clearly.
”
I swallow hard.
Because the most annoying part?
I can already.
Then he picks up his tray and throws it away, then walks out of the cafeteria like nothing happened.
"So he really was in the locker room" Rowan says and I give him the middle finger
"Go to hell" I whisper and he laughs softly
---
We had lunch about 3 or 4 hours ago, and since then we've been playing some game on our phones because Emy didn't want to come and let us do it.
"Batel shit" Otis mentions, waving his arms.
"I don't have a good gun, loser!
" Rowan replies and I'm confused by the comments he's making to someone else.
They don't know, but I haven't played in a while, and I'm playing a completely different game than they're playing now.
A much more annoying one.
My mind.
I take my phone out of the game and open my gallery.
My finger stops on a picture.
Pink.
I smile involuntarily.
My little dog was standing in the picture with his tongue out, ears up, looking straight at the camera like he was the most important being in the universe.
"You little idiot," I mutter.
I miss her.
I miss my home.
I miss the kitchen where my mom would cook and Pink would sit by the table waiting for something to fall.
I miss the quiet mornings when my mom would say to me:
"Idris, take Pink for a walk before you leave.
"
I used to complain every time too.
Now I would do it without blinking.
I sigh softly.
Otis notices first.
"What is it?"
I raise my phone slightly.
"I was looking at Pink."
Otis immediately approaches.
"Your puppy?"
"Yes."
Rowan looks over my shoulder too.
"She's adorable."
Otis nods seriously.
"10/10. I'd steal her."
"No way," I say.
"Why?"
"Because she'd bite you."
Otis looks offended.
"Nobody bites me."
Rowan laughs.
"Otis, Amy's hamster bit you.
"
"It was a misunderstanding!"
I laugh softly.
I close my phone and put it next to me.
"I miss home," I say without meaning to.
The room quiets down a bit.
Otis stops joking for a few seconds.
Rowan leans back in his chair.
"How long has it been since you last saw me?
"
"Since I got here."
"So... a few days," Rowan says.
I knot.
"Mom still texts me almost every day.
"
Otis smiles.
"Moms like that."
I shrug.
"The last text was a picture of Pink sleeping on my bed.
"
Rowan laughs softly.
"She stole your camera.
"
"Yeah."
Otis picks up his phone.
"Text her."
"What?"
"Text your mom.
"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Otis shrugs.
"Because sitting here looking at pictures of sad dogs is going to get depressing.
"
Rowan nodded.
"Right."
I sigh, but pick up the phone.
I opened the conversation with my mom.
The last text is exactly what I said.
A picture of Pink curled up on my pillow.
I type slowly.
"Hey, Mom. How's Pink?
"
I sent the text.
Not a minute later my phone vibrates.
I smile involuntarily as I open the reply.
"She misses you. She was standing at your door this morning.
"
My heart sinks a little.
Otis notices immediately.
"What did she say?"
I lift the phone slightly.
"Pink's looking for me."
Rowan smiles slightly.
"Dogs are loyal."
"More loyal than people," says Otis dramatically.
"Did someone dump you?" Rowan asks.
"No.
"
"Then shut up."
I laugh again.
Rowan gets out of bed and goes to the bathroom, but after 2 minutes he appears and asks:
"Tomorrow is Saturday, right?
"
"Yeah" I say and he lights up at the girl.
"I can't wait to go to the cabin tomorrow, I mean.
.." He says but stops. He sits down on a chair "even though I'm not obsessed with sex, I really miss doing it when I'm stressed" he says and I roll my eyes.
"Gross" Otis whispers and I smile a little.
Rowan gives him a bored look from the bathroom door.
"I didn't say anything graphic," he mutters.
"I just said I miss it."
"That's exactly the problem," Otis replies.
I lie back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Sometimes I wonder how you guys are siblings.
"
"Genetic," Rowan says wryly.
Otis snorts.
“No, seriously. Rowan is weird.”
“You tried eating glue in second grade,” Rowan reminds him.
“That was just once!”
I laugh softly, shaking my head.
The atmosphere in the room is relaxed now.
Much more normal than in the cafeteria.
My phone vibrates again on the bed.
I glance over.
Mom:
“Pink just stole your sock from the laundry basket. I think she’s trying to clone you.
”
I can’t help but smile.
Otis notices immediately.
“What did the dog do?”
“She stole my sock.”
“Iconic,” he says.
“When we go to the cabin tomorrow, maybe we’ll have good signal.
” Rowan murmurs
Otis sighs dramatically.
“God, I hope so. Last time the signal was so bad that even the messages wouldn’t go through.
”
“That’s exactly why we’re going there,” Rowan says.
“For peace.”
Otis looks at him for a few seconds.
“You don’t go for peace.”
Rowan raises an eyebrow.
“And what do they go for?”
Otis smiles slowly.
“Because half the academy goes there. And for S-E-X.”
Rowan rolls his eyes.
“Idiot.”
I cross my arms under my head.
The cabin.
I’d almost forgotten about that.
Every Saturday the academy lets us organize at their cabin in the woods.
Officially for “relaxation and socializing.”
Unofficially…
so the students don’t go crazy after all that training.
Otis turns to me.
“Have you been to these events before?”
“No.”
“The first time is interesting,” Rowan says.
“In what sense?” I ask.
Rowan shrugs.
“It’s quiet. Lots of woods. Lots of leather, etc.
..”
Otis immediately adds:
“And drama.”
“There’s no drama,” Rowan says.
Otis stares at him.
“We’re in an academy full of Alphas.
There’s always drama.”
I can’t help but laugh a little.
Unfortunately, it’s at that exact moment that my mind decides to remember something.
The cafeteria.
Cedric’s green eyes.
That stupid word.
Mate.
I clench my jaw.
No.
I’m not thinking about that.
Not now.
“Hey.”
I look up.
Rowan studies me closely.
“You disappeared again.”
Otis looks at me too.
“Yeah, you have that face.”
I sigh.
“What face?”
“The face of suspicious thoughts ,” Otis says.
“I don’t have suspicious thoughts.”
Rowan narrows his eyes.
“Sure.”
“Sure.”
A few seconds of silence.
Then Otis says suddenly,
“Anyway, tomorrow’s gonna be interesting.
”
“Why?” I ask.
Otis grins broadly.
“Because everyone’s coming.”
“Everyone who?”
Rowan answers calmly:
“All the groups. The gold ones, even the ones with the gray badge like you.” He pauses.
Then he adds, “Including Loxley.”
My stomach does a little twist.
Otis notices immediately.
“Oh.” He looks between Rowan and me.
Then he smiles softly. “This weekend is going to be a lot of fun.”