Camelia bristled at the implication, and she ignored the way her skin tingled as she glared up at him, straightening up as much as she could to meet his imposing presence. "I don't have a fucking problem,Evan." She bit out the name, hoping that her instinct was right, and the flash of mild shock and interest in his eyes told her that she had hit the nail on the head.
He cocked his head further to the side. "You know my name, but I have no idea who you are. So let's rectify that, shall we?" He straightened up, sticking out his hand as if to shake hers. "Evan Nichols. Nice to meet you."
Camelia eyed the extended limb, her rational mind warring with her instincts that were purring for her to reach out and grab his hand, to feel the warmth of his skin against hers.
She didn'tunderstand. Even before she had gotten on suppressants, she had never had such a visceral reaction to an Alpha...ever. They all had a certain charm that appealed to her Omega hormones and instincts, but in general, unless she was in heat, it was easy enough to ignore them if she really wasn't in the mood...
So why was she having such a hard time standing her ground againstthisAlpha?
He eyed her for another moment when she didn't take his hand, and it dropped back to his side as a slow smile spread across his face and deeper interest sparked in his eyes. He opened his mouth, clearly about to say something else that would likely get under Camelia's skin, but he was interrupted when another voice said, "Ev."
Evan turned towards the voice, and after a moment Camelia followed suit, swallowing hard at the sight of the blonde Alpha walking down the hallway. He wore a long-sleeved gray thermal shirt over his dark wash jeans, entirely at odds with the still-warm weather outside, and something in Evan's expression softened a little at the sight of him. "Yeah?"
The blonde drew level with them, fixing his gaze on Camelia as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Whatever he had been about to say, whatever he had drawn Evan’s attention for, seemed to fade away as he looked at her. He wore a silver chain around his throat that gleamed softly under the fluorescent light, and his blonde hair was mussed as if he had spent the entire morning running his hands through it. Camelia was struck by the sudden urge to step close to him and runherhands through his hair, fixing the disordered strands and getting a closer look at those steel-gray eyes...
Camelia stumbled back a step, her back hitting the wall again at the intensity of her reaction. What the actualfuck?
The blonde cocked his head to the side, glancing at Evan. "Who is this? I've never seen her before."
Camelia would ordinarily bristle at being spoken about and not to, especially when she was standingright there, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn't find any words to protest or stand up for herself.
Evan shook his head, a hint of derision crossing his face. "I was in the middle of trying to find out. Cute little thing seemed very interested in me, but now she's all clammed up, isn't she?" He turned his full attention back on her, and the blonde cocked his head to the side.
"Is that right?"
His voice was low and almost aggressive, and Camelia couldn't stop herself from shivering at the delicious way the sound slid down her spine. "And your name is?" she finally managed, directing her question to the new Alpha.
He shook his head. "Ah, ah. You don't get to ask questions and give no answers in return, sweetheart. Yours first."
Again, that bite of aggression that made Evan shake his head with an amused smile. But it stiffened Camelia's resolve enough that she was able to straighten up, glaring at the blonde as she bit out, "Camelia Meadows. Not that it's any of your fucking business."
He cocked his head to the side, and a slow smile spread across his face as Evan stepped a little closer to him. Together, they were fucking imposing, and Camelia had to fight her instinct to quail under their intense gazes.
"James Devin. Nice to meet you, sweetheart."
Evan chuckled. "If I had known that all she needed was a little persuasion, I would have called you right away, James."
The smile that widened across James' face was almost sinister, and Camelia bit back an aggressive retort as she clutched her backpack a little tighter on her shoulder. "Nice to meet you too. See you around," she bit out. She spun on her heel and stomped away, her emotions and hormones all in a tizzy, and she heard both men chuckle low, seductive laughs as she rounded the corner out of their sight.
And her reaction to those laughs was enough to make her anxious and on edge all fucking over again.
Fortunately, the rest of the day passed without incident, and by the time Camelia reached her last class of the day – Geopolitical history – she was ready to head back to her dorm and her overly-hostile roommate and lock herself away for the rest of the night. Maybe order some food, and not think about the irritating itch between her legs that the encounter with Evan and James had left her to contend with.
The class was on the other side of campus from her course right before, and by the time she snuck into the back of the lecture room, the class was mostly full. She slid into one of the only empty seats left next to a Black girl who was diligently organizing her notebook and pens, and she snuck a glance over as she pulled out a notebook of her own.
"Isn't it just the first day? I thought that we were just going to be reviewing the syllabus, yeah?"
The girl looked her way, her teeth bright as her face split into a cheery grin. "Dr. Graves likes to get started right away. I'd recommend diligent notes; she doesn't upload anything to the portal and doesn't lecture from the text so if you miss a class, you'll lose points on the test."
The girl had a bright energy that immediately made Camelia feel at ease, and she nodded as the professor walked into the room, immediately getting set up at the computer while the rest of the students settled. Camelia leaned close, lowering her voice so as not to draw attention to herself. "Thanks for the tip. I'm Camelia."
The girl's smile widened, and she nodded, her tight curls bouncing a little with the movement. "Aria. Nice to meet you."
The professor started speaking after that, cutting their conversation off short, and as Aria had said, she wasted little time on introductions, instead jumping straight into the lecture. Camelia was a little stunned at how fast the woman spoke and how much she covered in the fifty-minute lecture, but by the end of it she had filled three pages of notes and was debating ordering an old-school recorder so that she could review lectures later without triggering the professor's "no phones" policy.
Aria eyed her notes as everyone started packing up, nodding approvingly as she packed away her various pens in a little pouch. "Nice. You'll do well." She cocked her head to the side, her dark eyes curious as she finished packing her notebook and other things away in her bright pink backpack. "I've never seen you before. Are you a transfer?"
Camelia nodded. "Yeah. Harrison. Transferred here to finish my last year."
