"Alex, come here, I need to talk to you. Professor Alvarez and I are looking for a third person to help write an article; we need someone to push through some exhausting statistics, so I won’t pretend we don’t need your help."
Of course I know how these collaborations with professors work when it comes to academic articles, the student always gets the least pleasant part of the work, the tedious, exhausting statistical analysis, but of course I nod and agree because if I plan to work at this college someday, I need to gather points and goodwill.
The professor starts explaining the article in detail while I shift from foot to foot, all the students have already left and we are the last two in the empty room.
Professor Martin talks and talks and talks, and I nod and nod, and it feels like it will never end, my irritation rising little by little, but I can’t cut him off mid-sentence.
He finally gives me all the necessary details and promises to send materials, so I am free to go, but at this hour there are no other students in the building. I am completely alone, and Professor Martin heads upstairs to the faculty offices so I can’t even walk through the park with him.
I feel my pulse rising as I step outside. There are some lamps near the building, but once the path dips into the park there are far fewer.
I swallow and hesitate for a moment, wondering if I should call campus security, but I had already called them several times recently in similar situations, after evening classes, when a sudden food allergy attack kept me in the bathroom and made me stay late.
Well, maybe I’ll manage somehow. Clenching my teeth, with trembling hands I adjust the bag on my shoulder and enter the winding paths.
I sense them almost immediately.
They are the whole reason I decided not to use suppressants, so that my sense of smell stays sharp and I can detect alphas from far away.
After about a hundred feet into the park, I’m almost certain they’re on my trail.
Twenty more feet and I reach a fairly dense thicket, my heart pounding wildly.
"Good evening, Mr. Strada," someone calls out, and… the oldest Tanner brother emerges from behind the dense wall of bushes.
The other two follow behind him, smirking.
I step back, my heart jumping to my throat.
I know that even if I try to run, they’ll catch me within a few dozen feet, my fitness is nonexistent and these are young alphas.
"What do you want?" I force out in a shaky voice.
They laugh.
"We knew patience would pay off."
"What do you want?!" I repeat, louder this time.
"A little fun with you, what do you think? You really believe that stupid restraining order counts? Maybe you remember it only applies to Jared, but we have free access to you."
"What do you even want from me, what kind of beef do you have with me, you hurt Jared, now what?!"
"We had big plans for Jared and you got in the way. We had people lined up and you kept ruining it."
"What plans?"
"That doesn’t matter. But who knows, maybe we’ll use you for something similar. You’re not ugly, and if you look past that messy hair and those ridiculous glasses, you’re actually a pretty decent omega." He tilts his head. "And your ass is probably extra tight. I doubt anyone has ever drilled it."
He would be surprised, but my hole has been drilled many, many times, that stupid thought shoots through my head.
Unfortunately, aside from that, I finally register what is about to happen to me.
"Leave me alone! You’re on campus grounds, there are cameras everywhere."
Another burst of laughter.
"We know how to get onto this campus without being caught on them, nobody walks through these paths at this hour…"
