Camelia shivered again, and she dragged her teeth over her lower lip as her instincts tingled.
Alpha.
Alphas were more common than Omegas, it was true, and she always managed to find at least a few in whatever school that she attended. She wasn't surprised to find one here, though she was a little surprised that the other guy had clearly picked a fight that he couldn't win.
"Shut the fuck up," the blonde kid said, shaking his head. He lunged one more time, throwing a punch that the Alpha dodged easily. The brunette threw a punch in turn, but his blow landed true, and the kid was knocked back on his ass with an already-bruising shiner as he let out a low yelp of pain.
"Pick a fight you can win next time, bud." The brunette turned to start walking away, and as Camelia watched, the blonde kid picked himself up and stomped off, a few people peeling away from the edge of the crowd to follow him.
The excitement over, the rest of the crowd quickly dispersed, but Camelia felt rooted in place as she watched the tall Alpha walk away. He carried himself easily, as if he had all the confidence and power in the world, and...well, if Camelia's hunch was right, he did. Alphas were revered and given anything they wanted; it wasn't fair, especially to Betas who worked justas hard to receive the same accolades, but it was, unfortunately, how things were.
Another tall man peeled away from where he was leaning against a tree as the brunette walked by, and Camelia shivered again. A little taller than the brunette, but built just as powerfully and wearing a black shirt and jeans, the blonde was also clearly an Alpha.
And as Camelia watched, the brunette slowed a little for the blonde. The blonde put his hand on the brunette's shoulder, shaking him a little, and the slow smile that spread across the blonde's face wasdevastating. Dark and a little seductive and...with pure joy at the kill.
Camelia knew that the brunette hadn't killed anyone, but that was what the blonde's face said, and she couldn't help the shiver of simultaneous unease and desire that vibrated through her.
She turned on her heel and marched away before she could do something stupid, like go over to the two men and introduce herself, or follow them to see where they were going. They were clearly friends, and the last thing that her dumb Omega ass needed to do during her last year of college at a new school was to draw the attention of not one, buttwoAlphas.
Chapter five
Camelia unpacked as much as she could that night after she got back from her walk around campus, ignoring the arousal that curled low in her belly after seeing the altercation between the Alpha and the poor student who'd thought he could take him. On the surface, of course, she was disgusted; blatant displays of aggression like that were all ego, all pointless violence meant to make other people feel smaller and lesser, whether or not that was actually true.
There was a tiny, deeply instinctual part of her, though...that was horribly aroused by the encounter. The masculinity, the aggression, the pure testosterone that Camelia had practically been able to taste on the air like perfume...It had all done a number on her, and even with her hormones significantly subdued by her suppressants, she still had to masturbate twice before she was finally able to fall asleep on her first night in her dorm room.
By the time Monday rolled around, though, she had her head firmly on her shoulders again and was ready for the school day. The school year. She was excited, and she was going to kickass.
She made a pot of coffee that she poured into a thermos, black, before heading out for her first class, eight AM. Jessica's door was firmly closed and Camelia could hear the sounds of soft snoring coming from inside, and she didn't bother letting the other girl know that she was heading out. Jessica had made it more than clear over the course of the weekend that she had absolutely no interest in getting to know Camelia on a personal level, and Camelia wasn't going to bother with someone who felt such intense dislike for her just on first glance.
It was, unfortunately, a common occurrence for her, and she'd decided that she simply didn't have time for it when there were plenty of people out there who would enjoy her presence and crave her company.
Campus was much more crowded this time as Camelia made her way towards the political sciences building. She managed not to bump into anyone on her way, but it was a close call; the campus was intimate and smaller than Harrison had been, and though there were fewer students enrolled, it almost felt like they were more crowded. Even outside, they were almost sardines in a can, and it was a relief for Camelia to enter the building and get out of the bustling crowd of students trying to get to their dozens of individual destinations.
The first few classes of the day passed without incident; reviews of the syllabus and class policies across the board, and one professor jumped right into a lecture about the complicated history of African politics.
It was all refreshingly dull, and as the day passed and she didn't draw any particular attention from any of her fellow students or professors, Camelia slowly relaxed.See? You andDad had nothing to worry about. This is going to be great. It's just eight months. Eight months will pass in a flash.
Camelia continued her internal pep talk, and she had almost convinced herself that she had been worried for entirely no reason when, around noon, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raising and a slow sense of foreboding imposed.
As she turned around, the same Alpha that she had seen when she'd been on campus before leaned against the wall, talking to a professor. His dark hair was combed neatly and his blue eyes were focused, and Camelia couldn't stop her eyes from raking down his form, just a little. He wore jeans slung low on his narrow hips and a maroon shirt under a black zip up hoodie. It was a casual look, but one that was mouthwatering nonetheless, and Camelia couldn't stop herself from walking a little closer, if only to see if she could hear what he was talking to the professor about.
She only caught a few words here and there as she approached. "...Homework...deadline...extra...Evan..."
Her ears perked up, and she busied herself with her planner as the professor glanced her way. She stopped in the middle of the hallway under the pretense of looking over her schedule for the rest of the day – though she had long since memorized it – and she chewed her lower lip as she dug out a pen and made a note of an assignment that she had due later that week that had already been assigned.
Was Evan his name? It was a nice one, if it was.
Stop it. Camelia's inner voice was aggressive and protective, and she leaned against the wall as she continued to mindlessly doodle in the corner of her planner page.You do not need to be drawing the attention of Alphas. You do not need to be talking to them, you do not need to be walking by them. You need to keep your head down and pay attention to your work and...
"Something that I can help you with?"
His voice was deep and delicious, and Camelia shivered slightly as she slowly lifted her gaze to meet his. The Alpha was even taller than she had thought he was up close, and the slight smile on his lips made Camelia's stomach clench. She hadn’t noticed him approach, and her bodyreactedto his nearness. Her nipples hardened under her bra, and she couldn’t help squeezing her thighs together a little as her clit tingled and swelled a little at his mere presence.
Still, her inner voice chided her, and she swallowed hard as she affected a bored tone. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."
He cocked his head to the side and leaned a little closer, his blue eyes boring into hers, and Camelia was suddenly immensely grateful that she was already leaning against the wall. Her knees went weak, and she frowned at the sudden yearning in her body.
"You seemed quite interested in my conversation with Dr. Jackson, is all," he said, his voice lower. A true smile played on his lips, though the light in his eyes was mocking, as if he could sense how he was affecting her. "I figured I might ask what your problem is."
