A few days had passed, and life seemed to have settled down. Well… it sorta settled down. It was hard to ignore all the annoyed glances I'd get and the rude things omegas were saying about me. Marina didn't hold her punches either; she felt it best that I know exactly what I was up against. Not that I really wanted to know all the rude shit people were saying. It wasn't my fault the top two dominant alphas had lost their ever-loving minds over my pheromones.
I turned the corner to my usual spot in the library and came to a stop. The fuck was that? Rosia let out an excited gasp when she peeked past me. "Someone left flowers at our normal table!"
"That's so tacky," Marina grumbled under her breath.
"Do you think someone forgot them?"
"No."
"They're totally for you!" Rosia giggled.
"Me?!" I pointed a finger at myself and stared at the duo in disbelief. "No one in their right mind is leaving me flowers," I grumbled.
"But they're totally where you sit every day," Rosia said as she pointed to the spot where, sure enough, I usually sat.
"You sit there too," I grumbled.
"Rosia sits by me more often than she sits by you," Marina responded.
The horrible part was, when I got close to the table, it was all too obvious who got them for me. "Ugh, they're scented." It wasn't just the flower's scent either. Someone had gone out of their way to make these flowers smell like themselves.
"They kinda smell good- Hey!"
Rosia glared at Marina, who had reached a hand up and flicked Rosia's forehead. "Of course, they smell good. They're the pheromones of a dominant alpha." Rosia was clearly lost, so Marina kept talking. "These dominants," Marina grumbled as she wagged her finger at me. "Are weirdos who smell good to everyone. They're like tainted honey, though. Just because you think they smell good, doesn't mean they think you smell good."
"Oh…"
"These smell like the ocean-"
Marina reached across the table threateningly as if she was going to flick my forehead next. "Those are fighting words."
"You smell like an ocean breeze. He smells like the bottom of the ocean, where all the sludge is. It's funky and briny." I held the bouquet out to Rinley, who accepted it. "Throw it away."
"Yes, my lord," Rinley said as he wandered off with the bouquet.
"And you say I'm cold? Those flowers are expensive."
My eyes drifted over to give Marina a side eye. "He's delusional and needs a wakeup call. I'm a guy and I'm definitely not interested in a fellow man."
"So… you're never going to marry?"
My lip instantly curled in disgust, and my brow furrowed as I turned to give Rosia an annoyed look. "Yep."
"What if you meet someone-"
The glare I shot Rosia made her shrink down into her chair. "I'd rather gouge out my own eyes."
"I feel bad for the poor alpha who does end up falling head over heels for you." I turned my glare to Marina, but she only rolled her eyes.
"Right back at you." I snapped. Two could play her games.
"Oh, hush. Do your homework before I decide to stop helping you."
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Huh… What to do… It had been over a month since I started spending most of my free time with Rosia and Marina. This weekend was weird, though. Marina had been invited to a tea party, and Rosia was studying for our upcoming arithmetic test. I offered to help her, but she said she was becoming too reliant on me. To each their own, I guess… What should I do though…
"Rinley…"
"Yes, my lord?"
"I think I want to go into town and look around." I hadn't really gone into town since I ran into Knox… If I run into him again today, I'm going to kick him in the shin. It was less of a threat and more of a declaration. He deserved it after all the trouble he's gotten me into. Though… I haven't really seen much of him as of late. Maybe he's finally given up. Weird… I thought I would feel happy when he finally did, but… I don't know…
"That sounds like a great idea. Let me grab your coin pouch, and we can leave."
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The town was rather quiet, which I appreciated. Guess everyone was having a quiet weekend. We stopped by a bookstore and a stationery shop so I could stock up on ink and paper. I was having an enjoyable time until I saw an all too tall silhouette approaching me. Shit, couldn't the academy send the guard with me off campus, too? What was I supposed to do in the middle of town?
Rinley defensively stepped between me and Kai before he got too close. Kai held his hands up in surrender, though. "I'm not going to do anything. I… just wanted to apologize for what happened…" Ugh, Kai reminded me too much of my father. He was rather big and bulky with long bangs that partially covered his eyes. However, while my father was more like a big angry grizzly bear, I would akin Kai to a large black dog. Maybe it was the hair color… Kai looked around at the few people milling about, then back over to me. "Would you like to get some tea?"
"No." I didn't want to go anywhere with him.
"Please? I just want to talk, nothing more." He kept obnoxiously holding up his hands as if to show me he wasn't a threat, but we both knew that he could easily change his stance in a moment.
I glared at him and saw that his green colored eyes were incredibly clear. "I'll have tea with you under one condition," I grumbled. Kai perked up, and Rinley shot me a confused glance over his shoulder. "I'll have tea with you as long as you promise to give up. No more flowers, notes, or gifts. I don't want them. All you're doing is causing me problems."
Kai's brow slightly furrowed, and he looked rather disappointed. "If you can make conditions, then I should get to make one-"
"No," He didn't listen to me, though, and instead continued to talk.
"I just want you to accept one gift." Kai pulled from behind his back a small bouquet of flowers. I let out a frustrated sigh as I looked at them. "I don't particularly like knowing they end up in the trash."
"They smell weird," I grumbled. To be fair, the bouquets in the past did smell; these ones admittedly didn't. Guess he didn't have time to rub his stinky pheromones all over them. I glared up at Kai again and felt a twinge of guilt pass by me. He looked incredibly disappointed in me. "Fine! If this means you'll fucking stop, then I'll accept the damn things." I snapped as I reached past Rinley and snatched the flowers from his hand. They seemed to be green hydrangeas, or at least that's what Marina told me. I'll give Kai credit, he's obnoxiously consistent. He either really liked these flowers or thought that I would like them.
Kai's mood almost instantly lightened as he looked down at me holding his dumb ass flowers. "This cafe over here has excellent pastries."
"Don't care," I grumbled as I followed after him. I just wanted my sweet peace from this whole ordeal. Kai could get over himself, and I could have a quiet existence at the academy. Yeah, that would be nice.
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The cafe was, admittedly, pleasant. Even the tea was good. Not sure, I loved the flavor of the pastry though. I didn't want the blasted thing, but Kai went and ordered one without asking. Ugh, his inability to listen is so annoying. "What?" I grumbled into the pastry as I took another bite. He was watching me almost too closely, and it was annoying.
"Huh?"
He's joking, right? "What were you so desperate to talk about?" He dragged me here; the least he could do was explain himself.
"Oh… right… I'm sorry about abducting you in the library. When I got close, I just became overwhelmed. I've… never had an omega make me feel that way before." Ugh, if he didn't stop talking, I was going to puke up the pastry I had finished off. "I know you want me to give up, but," Kai's gaze met mine, and I shivered from the intensity. "I don't think I can. You say I stink, but you clearly don't think I smell that bad."
The pastry was seriously churning around in my stomach and threatening to come out. "You smell like seaweed. It's weird. Like your weird desires. I'm a guy, why would you be interested in-"
"That doesn't matter to me. You're an omega, and that's all I care about." My eye started to twitch, and I had to bite my bottom lip before I exploded and ruined the cafe atmosphere for everyone around us. Never had I heard such atrocious bullshit in my life. Of course, if fucking matters!
"You know what's even more annoying than your pheromones?" I asked in an eerily quiet voice.
"Huh?" Ugh, back at it again with the oblivious response. I should reach across the table and ring his neck.
"The fact that you don't listen to me and you cut me off! Who the hell would want an alpha like that?! I feel bad for the girl who eventually marries you." For the first time, it seemed like Kai had slightly woken up to reality. Honestly, he looks like I reached across the table and slapped him. "I had tea with you, and I've listened to your insanity for long enough." I picked up the flowers as I rose from the table and pointed them at his face. "A deal's a deal. I accepted these and have had tea, now you leave me alone." I snapped as I stormed past him.
Ugh, am I destined to never come into town?! It always ends as a mess!
"Where are you going, my lord?" Rinley asked as he caught up to me.
There really wasn't a plan as I sped off besides getting some distance between him and me. "To find a moving carriage that I can throw myself under," I grumbled under my breath.
"My lord," Rinley said behind me. "Surely you're joking."
"Who knows at this point?" Just hearing Kai tell me that he essentially had the hots for me made me want to peel my skin off layer by layer. That pastry was dangerously close to coming back out, too. Ugh, I wanted nothing more than to find the nearest trash can and throw these damn flowers away, but… I'm going to keep them as a bargaining chip. He'd better keep his part of the deal, otherwise he's going to rue the day-
I came to a dead halt and blinked a few times. You've got to be fucking kidding me.
"Try to act casual all you want. I can fucking see you." I snapped as my sanity wore dangerously thin.
"Who, me?" I glared daggers at Knox as he tried to blend into the empty alleyway.
"My lord, what are you doing?" Rinley asked as I started to lie down on the ground.
"Rinley, I need you to hail me a carriage. Make sure it crushes my skull. I want my death to be instant, not drawn out. The idea of slowly bleeding to death doesn't seem very pleasant-"
"What are you talking about?" My comment sent Knox into quite the tizzy as he rushed over and pulled me up off the ground.
"I can't take any more insane alphas. I've reached the max amount of bullshit one can consume in one day." I didn't even attempt to stand as I lay lifelessly against Knox's arm.
Knox grabbed my waist with his free hand and forced me upright. I let out a little yelp as I realized we were incredibly close, but my attention drifted to Knox's wrinkled nose. "Who… have you been around?" He asked as he gingerly sniffed the air.
"I agreed to have tea with Kai as long as he agreed to give up-!"
Knox instantly pulled the flowers from my hand and violently threw them at the wall. "Don't believe a word that disgusting bastard says." Knox's voice was grumbly as a growl threatened to escape his throat. I wanted to reach up and grab Knox's flaring nostrils, but resisted the urge.
"I… definitely didn't." I stuck my lip out a little as I stared down at the sad remains of the bouquet. "You ruined my leverage…"
"Those wouldn't have been useful leverage against that pervert." I glanced over at Knox with a furrowed brow.
"That's awfully ripe coming from you. Actually…" I took a step back and rammed my foot as hard as possible into Knox's shin. "Damn, you could have at least acted like that hurt," I grumbled. At least Rinley got a good snicker out of it.
Knox blinked repeatedly and stared at me in disbelief. "Huh?"
I glanced over to Rinley before glaring at Knox's lower half. "Maybe I should have aimed for his goods." I brought my foot back again, but this time Knox quickly side-stepped me.
"What are you doing?!" He asked in a panic.
"Giving you the kick you deserve! Hold still!" I stepped forward to kick Knox again, but the jerk moved. "Stop moving!" I snapped as I kicked his outer thigh.
Knox reached down and snatched up my leg that kept threatening the kingdom's prized jewels before I could give him a swift kick where it mattered. I awkwardly hopped a few times, but Knox lowered my leg enough that I wasn't going to fall over.
"Why are you trying to kick me in the groin?!"
"Because you deserve it!"
"Stop laughing!" Knox snapped at Rinley, who had his hand over his mouth and was struggling to remain civil. "Why do I deserve it?!"
"You know what you did!" I tried to pull my foot free, but I was closer to taking my shoe off than achieving retrieval.
"Clearly, I don't!" Knox looked incredibly confused as he continued to hold my foot hostage.
"It's because you… you…" My face started going rather warm, and I had to look away from Knox. I gulped nervously and bit my bottom lip. Fuck, I can't say that in front of Rinley! It's too damn embarrassing! "Because you're… annoying," I grumbled the last part, but Knox was easily able to make it out.
"Me? Annoying?! I've kept my distance like you asked!" Yeah… he has… He actually listens… unlike someone…
"Give me back my foot!" I dared to glance over at Knox and his baffled face, but I wish I hadn't.
Knox released my foot, and I straightened my clothes. "I don't understand." He muttered.
"Ya know, neither do I." Why did I feel so oddly comfortable around him? It honestly infuriated me. "I've gotta go." I whipped around while keeping my gaze low and headed off towards the academy. I didn't make it very far, though, because Knox caught up and grabbed my wrist.
"You let that disgusting, perverted bastard talk to you, but you won't let me? Why?" My teeth bit down rather hard on my bottom lip as I tried to think up an excuse.
"Because I don't want to talk to you-"
"Liar! If you're going to come up with an excuse, at least make it believable."
"Knox, you're the crown prince and-"
"No, I'm Knox, your friend from childhood. I don't care about my title right now." Was it his goal to make my face catch on fire? I could only come up with so many lies- "Look at me." He demanded. "Look at me and at least lie to my face."
I gulped nervously and slowly turned around. "I don't-"
"No, no, no. Look at me. Right here in the eyes. My shoes don't count."
My gaze drifted upwards, and as I looked into Knox's eyes, I broke. "F… fine! What do you want?! I'll talk okay-"
Before I could finish my sentence, Knox pulled me into a hug. "You infuriating little brat. Was that so hard?" My heart began to race as he held me in a gentle embrace. It didn't gross me out or make me want to peel my skin off. Even scarier, I didn't mind it. The fuck was wrong with me?! Knox pulled away from me, and his pleased eyes stared down at me. "I thought you were going to talk." Knox's finger came up and brushed against my lips.
Apparently, that's what I needed to kickstart my brain because I quickly whipped around. "I don't want to talk here!" Shit! I should have never told him that I wanted to talk! What a fucking mistake.
"I know just the spot!" Knox said as he grabbed my wrist and started guiding me in the opposite direction I wanted to go. No! No, no, no! I want to escape! Escape, I tell you! Release me at once!
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I sat on the park bench while staring down at my shoes. I don't even want to talk! Why did I agree to such a thing! This wasn't comparable at all to Kai, where I just had to listen. Knox actually expected me to talk! The only benefit was that Rinley was quite a ways away with a guard that Knox summoned from practically nowhere. I don't know how he did it. One moment, there was no guard, and the next second, Knox gave a signal, and three guards appeared. I'd think it was magic if the stuff still existed.
Knox cleared his throat and broke the silence that had settled between us. "I'm sorry I didn't intercept that bastard sooner. You wouldn't be in this mess if I had."
I furrowed my brow slightly. I noticed it before, but of course wasn't going to ask. "Why do you keep calling Kai a bastard?" Not that I really cared, but I was curious.
"I guess you deserve to know…" Knox hesitated for a moment before answering me. "That sicko brags to anyone that will listen to him that he's going to be the first to deflower the rare male omega." Knox angrily clicked his tongue and clenched his fist. "I'm not going to let that happen, Arden."
I blinked a few times as I tried to process what Knox said. Kai… wants to lure me into having sex just so he can brag about it? Ugh! I can't believe I thought about keeping flowers from him! He deserves far worse than a kick in the groin! Ew, and I just had tea with him! "He's far worse than a bastard," I grumbled. He deserved a cruel place in hell, that's what. "I'm… sorry I tried to kick you in the balls." My eyes darted away from Knox as my face went warm.
"Yeah, you little brat! You'd better be sorry! I've done nothing but protect you!" Knox teasingly poked me in the side, and I turned to glare at him.
"Stop calling me little." I snapped.
A big dumb grin spread on Knox's face as he looked down at me. "I'm not trying to be mean, but," His hand came up and hovered over my head for a moment before drifting over to himself. "You're rather short compared to me."
I angrily puckered my lips and looked away from him. "It's not my fucking fault I became an omega."
Knox's laughter drew my attention, but I wasn't going to fall for it. Nope! He's mean and that's that! "Arden, you've always been smaller than me. It has nothing to do with the fact that you're an omega." I whipped around to glare at him, and Knox laughed even more. "You're not an omega. You've turned into a little feral cat." I continued to scowl at Knox, which only made him laugh more. "Being so cute is completely unfair." My eyes widened, and I instantly resumed looking at my feet. Why would he say such a thing?! As if to bother me further, Knox leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Ah, is that what has you in a panic? You keep thinking about how we kissed?"
I let out a primal screech and reached a hand over to push Knox's face away from me. How could he say something where others could hear?! I don't care that he was whispering; someone could have heard him! "NO!" I finally snapped.
Knox's continued chuckling absolutely infuriated me. "Then why's your cute face so red? Hmmm?" I brought my hand back and rammed it as hard as I could into the idiot's shoulder. "Now, now. You don't need a second cast to go with the first one. If that happens, I'll have to take care of you." The actual fuck was he saying?!
"I have Rinley!"
"So you do," Knox grumbled. "I'm surprised he hasn't rushed over here with the amount of pheromones you've put out. You stinky, stinky omega."
"I don't stink!" I flinched as I stared into Knox's eyes and quickly turned away. This jackass was loving every second of teasing me, wasn't he?! Ugh!!
"You're right. You don't stink." Knox let out a sigh and leaned back against the bench. "You smell absolutely tantalizing. Like freshly squeezed orange juice on a warm day. There's also a slight floral hint to your pheromones, though. It's extremely faint, but I think it's honeysuckle."
My stomach, which hadn't been feeling good ever since I ate that dumb pastry, started to gurgle. I knew it wasn't good the moment I bit into it. I should have been rude and not eaten it; that pervert didn't deserve my manners. What a strange feeling. I didn't feel like I was going to vomit, no, I felt warm. Uncomfortably warm.
"Arden?" Knox quickly sat up and leaned over to me. "Arden, what's wrong?"
"My stomach hurts," I whined as I clutched my abdomen.
"Your stomach? Did you eat something when you were around that bastard Kai?"
"Yeah."
Knox grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him, but he was rather blurry-looking. "What was it?"
"It was just a gross raspberry-filled pastry and some tea."
Knox brought both hands up and held onto my face as I tried to slump against the bench. My breathing was starting to become labored as the warmth inside me grew. "Was there anything bitter in the pastry?" I managed to nod my head, and Knox let out a loud tsk sound. "No, you stay back!" Knox shouted over to, I assume, his guards.
"Arden?!" I could hear Rinley's voice, but he sounded a bit distant. Could he not see where I was? "We need to get him back to his dorm!"
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?! You can't see, and I can't enter his campus!" Knox snapped. I could hear Rinley in the distance grumbling under his breath, but I couldn't make out what he said. "I'm taking him to my academy house."
"No!" Rinley exclaimed.
"Oh, so what? You want him to remain here? It's not like taking him back to the academy is a good idea." Gosh, these two are like oil and water. They bicker so much. I decided to ignore their annoying rant and scooted closer to Knox. Oh, he's just as cold as I remember. "Arden! We… we're in public!" I glanced up and, through my blurry vision, saw him blushing. Oh… he looks flustered. "The drug should wear off in a few hours. I'll have him back to the campus by nightfall. Nothing will happen."
Rinley tried to complain, but it was too late. Knox scooped me up into his arms and started running. Ugh, I absolutely don't like it when he runs like this! Not that I could complain, though. I was burning up from the inside out. It wasn't as intense as the last induced heat, but my body seemed to be fighting the sensation. I didn't enjoy it at all. I wanted to curl up into a ball and clutch my stomach; it was so painful.
I wasn't paying too much attention as Knox arrived at a small house. Well, I say small, but it clearly had at least two stories to it. He threw open the door and quickly bolted up the stairs. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay." Knox kept muttering to me. He finally sat me down on a bed, and I felt relieved. While he was pleasantly cold, I didn't appreciate the jostling one bit. "The drug doesn't seem to be affecting you too strongly," Knox said as he felt my forehead.
"Drug?" I managed to mutter.
"Mhm, if I had to guess, that bastard slipped something into the pastry you ate." Knox let out an annoyed growl, which made me flinch. "Sorry! I'm just so mad. I should go invert that bastard's face."
Before Knox could move away from the side of the bed, I reached over and snagged his hand. Ah, he was so cold. I loved it. I started to shove his hand down my shirt, but Knox quickly pulled away.
"Arden, you're not in your right mind. I need to leave." I blinked a few times and let out a disgruntled whine. I didn't want to be left alone. I tugged harder on his wrist, but Knox didn't move. Since he wasn't going to come to me, I went to him. I scooted closer to the edge of the bed and rubbed my cheek on his arm. "Arden, you're killing me." Knox burrowed his head down into the bedding, so I reached over and grabbed his head. Oh, his hair was so soft. Like petting a baby animal.
I don't know how long we sat there, but I was glad that Knox's hair was distracting me from the pain. My body did not like whatever drug had been put inside it, and I was torn between vomiting and writhing around in heat. It was awful.
Knox eventually moved, and the eyes that stared at me looked kinda funny. "Move over." I did as he asked, and Knox lay down beside me. I scooted closer to him, and he instantly wrapped his arms around me. "Nothing more than this. I'll lose control." I wasn't really all that interested in anything else, so that works for me. I was mostly appreciative of how cold he was to lie against. It cut through the heat and even dulled the pain I was in. I finally felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief. "I can't believe you'd go with him somewhere. That was so dangerous." Knox grumbled. "You're supposed to be mine." He quietly mumbled into the top of my head.
His nose pressed against the top of my scalp as he took a long inhale. It tickled, but I didn't feel all that bothered by him touching me. I shifted slightly so I could look up at Knox and gave him a confused look. "I'm not yours."
Knox let out a soft grumble as he looked down at me with his weirdly elongated pupils. "Oh yeah? Well, we could change that." Knox leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine. "Shit, you make me want to lose control."
His lips gently pressed against my nose, but I moved, so instead his lips pressed against mine. Knox pulled away for a second before leaning back in and giving me a proper kiss. He wasn't the only one struggling to hold on. The more he spoke and gently cuddled me, the more the flames burst to life inside me. Why? Why did Knox make me throw all common sense to the wind?
Our kissing intensified as Knox forced his large tongue into my mouth. Gosh, was he trying to eat me from the inside out? My hands started to fiddle with his shirt, but his reached up and stopped me. "No. We're not taking things further than this. You're not in your right mind." Despite my disappointed whine, Knox didn't free my hands. He let out a long sigh and stared into my eyes. "If we go further, you're just going to turn back into a feral cat tomorrow, and I'll be disappointed. Don't get my hopes up like this." His… hopes up? Maybe my brain was too addled, but it sounded like he wanted to pursue something more than this. I blinked a few times but became distracted as Knox resumed kissing me. "Fuck…"
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I sat up in bed and looked around while feeling disoriented. Where the hell was I? The room seemed a tiny bit familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on why. My hand scooted over in the bed, and my entire body froze. You would have thought my neck rusted over, the way it slowly turned. I didn't even dare look down at the person beside me.
I stared at Knox for a split second before I let out an ear-piercing screech and scrambled off the bed. The fuck is happening?! That wasn't just some weird ass dream?!
"Arden?!" Knox looked rather disoriented as he popped off the bed and looked around. "What?..." He looked around the room for a second before spotting me lurking at the end of the bed. "What's wrong?" He asked as he cautiously walked over to me.
"Why?! You!! Agh!" I waved my hand around nervously as I pointed in his general direction.
"Do you not remember what happened?" He asked as he squatted down across from me.
My face began to burn a bright red as I remembered desperately sucking on his tongue and the way his hands firmly gripped my body. "Why would you bring me here when I was in that state?!" I squealed. I tried waving my hand above my head as if that would make the lewd memories disappear. Of course, it didn't.
"There weren't many other options. Your butler couldn't see to take you back to the dorm, and there was a possibility Kai would intercept you if left alone. Trust me. He would have done a lot more than kiss you had he gotten his hands on you." I felt like I was going to pass out. He didn't need to say that out loud. "Nothing besides kissing took place…"
I believed him that nothing else occurred because I still had on the outfit that I wore into town. "Just forget it ever happened!" I squealed. Where the hell was a blanket for me to burrow under?! Stop looking at me!
Knox chuckled and passed me the blanket that sat on the end of the bed near him. I almost instantly threw it over me and curled up into a ball. I flinched in fear as Knox lifted me into his arms. I didn't know what he was up to until he sat me down on the bed. "Sorry. I'm afraid I'm not capable of forgetting." I nervously peeked out of the blanket, and Knox laughed. "I didn't realize that you became embarrassed so easily."
"Stop it!" I screeched as I pulled the blanket back down.
"Nope, not going to." The mattress wobbled as Knox lay on the bed beside me. I thought he was going to give me space, but he eventually pulled me and my blanket over to him. "Is this why you've spent almost two months avoiding me? Because I kissed you in the glades?" I let out a defeated cry as Knox managed to pull the blanket down from my face. "Pft, you look so cute, Arden."
"Stop it! I'm not cute, and you need to pretend nothing happened!" He was way too close for my liking, and the infuriating part was, he kept pulling me closer.
"Mmm, no. I don't think I will." His smile was so obnoxiously smug as he made me even more flustered. Freshly fallen rain began to assault my senses, and a calmness washed over me. "Yep, breathe normally. There's no reason to hyperventilate."
"You're crazy!" I sleepily grumbled.
"Heh, yeah, I guess I'm a bit crazy."
"I'm a guy!"
"Mhmm, I'm more than aware." Knox looked extremely amused as he looked at me.
"You're the crown prince!" I snapped.
"Yep, I'm aware of that too. I had to sit through the boring ceremony and everything." He snickered.
"You need a real omega, not me." Despite feeling like I could fall asleep at any moment, I was able to get what had been bothering me out.
Knox frowned for a moment, but his hand wandered down to clutch my hip. "You are a real omega."
"No! I'm a reject." My eyes drifted away, and Knox let out a little sigh.
"Funny how you see it as nothing but a negative thing while I see it as a positive… I was over the moon when I saved you from the training grounds." Knox pulled my chin back over to face him, but he couldn't force my eyes to look at him. His nose nuzzled mine, and he let out a rather pleased grumbling sound.
"You're insane." Nothing he said made sense to me. Why the hell would he be happy about me being an omega?!
"Guess so." Knox snickered, and his lips pressed against mine. I wasn't going to willingly kiss him back, though. Instead, I pinched my lips between my teeth and did my best to pull away. "Back to being a little feral cat, huh? Fine. I'll just break down your walls one at a time."
Knox's hand wandered down somewhere I wasn't expecting, and as his fingers clamped down on my butt, I flinched. "What do you think you're doing!" I snapped, my sleepiness almost instantly dissipating.
Knox laughed and pulled me back down against him. "What? You were all handsy last night. I can't be handsy this morning?"
I inhaled sharply as the warmth in my face traveled to my ears. "That's! I! You!" I stammered. "I… I was in heat! That's not my fault!" I managed to shout.
A sly smile formed on Knox's face as he grabbed my ass with both hands. I let out a shrill shriek as I lurched away from him. Knox must have thought it was hilarious because he sat up and burst into laughter. "Funny how your words say one thing and your pheromones say another." He started crawling towards me across the massive bed, and I struggled to free myself from the blanket I had put over myself. I went to scramble away from him, but it was too late. Knox crawled above me and grabbed hold of my waist.
I thought for sure my skeleton was going to lurch from my body as I flinched in horror. Why the fucking hell was he pressing his hips against my butt?!? "I'm a guy!" I squealed before plunging my head down into the bedding. I couldn't fathom what Knox supposedly saw in me. He must have lost any ounce of sanity he had. The imperial family would lose their shit to know that Knox was going after a male omega like this.
"I already told you that I'm obviously aware of what your main gender is, Arden." Knox let out a rather loud grumbling sound as he leaned down and rubbed his face against the back of my collar. "I told you last night that I was going to make you mine-"
"NO!" I screeched. True panic coursed through me, and I thought my heart was going to stop.
Instead of continuing, Knox pulled away from me. He gave me a moment before he reached over and grabbed my hand. He didn't pull my red face from the bedding or force me to react to him. Instead, he waited. "Sorry… I got a bit too into it… I'd never do anything you don't want me to do. Besides, if I were to mark someone out of wedlock, I think my parents would turn me into a fancy hall runner."
I sat up but couldn't bring myself to look at Knox with my red face. I pulled my hand from his and brought it up to my chest. "Don't ever do that again." I tried to sound irritated, but unfortunately, my voice wavered and I sounded rather scared.
Knox scooted a little closer to me and leaned forward. I think he was trying to get me to look at him, but I just couldn't. "Arden, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have joked around like that…" I made the mistake of looking at Knox. He looked rather upset with himself, but the true horrors lay in the tent erected in his pants. He… got that worked up?! Over… me?!
"I need to go back to my dorm!" I started moving to get off the bed, but Knox followed me. "No, you stay!" I snapped as I threw the blanket I had been bundled up in at him.
As if finally realizing what the problem was, Knox quickly bundled the blanket up over his lap. His face turned a little pink, and he was struggling to look at me as he spoke. "Fuck, sorry! I ugh…" He swallowed hard and peeked over to me. "I'll have an attendant walk you back to campus." I nodded my head repeatedly and rushed over to the door. Get me out of here! Just thinking about Knox and his pants freaked me the hell out! I wanted absolutely nothing to do with that thing.
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Knox
How do I keep fucking up?! This is all your fault! I glared down at my far too stimulated boner that was about to rip through my pants, but I had to look away. I should have known that teasing Arden would get me all worked up! Stupid! I'm so stupid!! Arden's never going to want to be with me if I can't control myself!!
I don't know what possessed me to do that, but Arden's warm, soft bum pressing against my hips will be something that lingers in my head for a long time. His yelp of fear, though… would reside next to that memory too. I… was only trying to tease him… Though I guess if I were in his shoes, I'd be rather scared of an alpha hovering over me and threatening to mark me. Damn it! Why can't I get anything right?!
I rose from the bed and headed for the bathroom. I ended up pausing in the doorframe and glaring over at the bed. Had I not been so stupid, we probably could have cuddled longer, and I might have gotten him to talk to me more. The thought of Arden blushing while lying in bed returned to me, and I violently rammed my forehead into the doorframe. "STUPID!" I yelled at myself. "So damn stupid!"
The door to my room opened, and one of my attendants popped their head into the room. "Is everything okay in here, your highness?" I banged my head into the frame once more for good measure before glaring over at Percy. He seemed utterly baffled to see me distraughtly trying to hurt myself.
"No, everything is not fine. It's the opposite of fine because I'm an idiot!" Even though I was trying to hurt myself, I was doing far more damage to the frame than my head. I don't think I even scratched my forehead.
"You are definitely not an idiot, your highness."
I let out a long sigh and rested my head against the dent in the doorframe. "Did Arden make it back to the academy safely?"
"Yes, I walked him to the gates where his attendant was waiting, just like you asked. Though… was it the best decision to bring him here? Something could have happened…" Percy glanced over to the bed, then back at me. He didn't outright say it, but his eyes were rather accusatory.
"I wasn't going to risk him getting assaulted by an alpha; he's too precious to me." The only way Kai or any other alpha would be able to lay a finger on Arden would be over my dead body. No, even then, I'd find a way to prevent them from touching him.
"I don't mean to sound harsh, but you're an alpha too. Getting assaulted by you, even though you're the crown prince, isn't much better of an outcome."
I scoffed as my face went red. "I didn't assault him, if that's what you're thinking! We just…" I scratched the back of my neck and looked away. "Kissed… a little…" It might have been more than a little, but comparing that to assault made me mad. Arden was the one who kissed me first. He… was sorta drugged though… and was experiencing a mild heat… I glanced back over to Percy with concern. "You don't think that counts as assault, do you?!?!"
Percy brought a hand up and rubbed his ear as he leaned away. "Shouting is unnecessary, your highness." He grumbled. "If feelings are mutual, then I doubt he considered it assault." Oh, then that means… Wait… I don't even know how Arden feels… One second, he's kissing me back, and the next, he's trying to kick me in the groin. I was about to start hitting my head into the doorframe again, but Percy's words distracted me. "Why don't you cool off in the shower? You shouldn't be running about while so incredibly indecent." Percy's accusatory look drifted down my body, causing me to flinch. My face turned red, and I quickly bolted into the bathroom and shut the door. You're the one who barged into my room! It's not my fault, Arden is so cute!
I turned and slowly slid down the door until I was sitting. Damn it… I need to set things right with Arden… I'll die of guilt if he thinks I assaulted him last night…
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Arden
I let out a massive sigh as I lay my head down on the table. "You're both dead to me," I grumbled as I glared at Rosia and Marina.
"Why?" Rosia looked genuinely panicked over my declaration, while Marina just rolled her eyes.
"What, were you lonely over the weekend?" Marina teased.
I sat up and let out a frustrated sigh. If only she knew the half of it. "I'll trade being lonely any day over getting drugged." I rubbed my pointer finger back and forth on the table as I brought up what had been bothering me. After Knox calmed down, apparently, he voiced a complaint about Kai to the academy. I was called in to be inspected by a doctor, but there was no residual evidence of me being drugged. Without more concrete evidence than mine and Knox's words against Kai, nothing could really be done. Knox was pissed to say the least. He tried to get the academy to increase the number of guards around me, but according to him, he was laughed out of the room. Gosh, what a mess.
I looked up at my friends, and the duo looked shocked. "What happened?" Rosia asked.
"I foolishly went into town by myself and was fed a drugged pastry by Kai. Apparently, he's more of a creep than any of us thought."
"He didn't like… do anything to you, did he?!" Rosia quietly whispered over to me.
"No, thankfully, he wasn't present when it took effect." I flipped a page of my book and glared at its contents.
"Oh, so that's why there's rumors of you and the crown prince sleeping together are flying around." My eyes went wide, and I stared at Marina in shock.
"What?!" I snapped.
"I thought it was absolute nonsense, but the blush in your cheeks tells a different story." She said with a grin.
"Arden! Did you really?!" Rosia asked with a pretty flushed face of her own.
"NO!" I realized that I shouted for the entire library to hear, so I quickly covered my mouth and glared at Marina. I can't fucking believe her!
"Yeah, I don't actually think you have it in you, but who knows? Crazier things have happened."
"I haven't done anything with anyone!" I snapped at Marina. "The only thing that happened was that Knox let me stay in a room at his academy home. Nothing else!" That was the story I concocted, and I'm sticking to it! There wasn't a hot chance that I was going to tell anyone that Knox and I spent the evening making out and Knox inappropriately ground against me in the morning. I'd rather gouge out my own eyes. "Like I'd do anything with my childhood friend!" My mouth said one thing, but I was worried that my rather warm face was sending a different message.
Marina made a disappointed tsk sound and rolled her eyes. "Calm down. I don't need a play-by-play. I was teasing."
"So you did stay at his place?" Rosia asked.
"Only because he deemed it unsafe for me to return to campus alone." Fuck, I shouldn't have brought it up with these two. I should have known that Marina was going to run me through the ringer.
"So you like him, huh?"
"I- What?!" Where the hell did she get that idea from?! "No! I absolutely do not!"
A smile started to form on Rosia's face, and it grew wider the longer she looked at me. "Are you suuuuure? You're sure blushing a lot for not liking the crown prince."
"I get enough shit from her!" I snapped as I pointed a finger at Marina, who flipped a section of hair over her shoulder like nothing was wrong. "Don't make things worse than they are!"
"Aww, I was just having a bit of fun," Rosia complained as she sank behind her book.
"That's not my definition of fun." I hissed.
"Hmmm, what to do about the rumor…" Marina's finger started to tap the table as she stared off into the distance. "Wouldn't it be quite the shame if everyone found out that Kai was spreading lies because he's butt-hurt over you rejecting his love confession?" I mean… she probably wasn't too far off. I doubt the general public would come up with such a crazy rumor on their own. It had to start from somewhere. "Fine, I guess I like you enough to help." Marina smiled, but it wasn't warm. If anything, I would call her smile bone-chillingly cold. I'm so fucking glad she's on my side. I'd hate to be on her bad side.
Rosia let out a mischievous chuckle and grinned over at Marina. Shit, we're terrible influences on her, aren't we? "Let's do this!" She said excitedly as she high-fived Marina's hand. Mmm, why do I have a bad feeling about this?
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By the time dinner rolled around, campus was alive with chatter. Every class I sat through, there were omegas gossiping and passing notes. I was getting all sorts of side eyes, and it was obvious they were talking about me because the moment I got close, they'd stop talking. The walk to our normal seat in the dining hall was almost excruciating with the number of people gawking at me. I wanted to hide, but I knew that would only make things worse. Marina said I needed to make a point of showing myself and not being embarrassed. If I caved, it would seem like the false rumors were true. Not that either rumor was completely true, but I sure didn't want the entire campus thinking that Knox and I had sex.
"What a mess," I grumbled as I slid into our usual booth.
"I think it's great." Marina snickered into her cup of sparkling juice.
"Of course you do," I swear Marina thrived on drama. If she had to live a day that didn't include drama, she'd probably shrivel up like a prune and die.
"Did you two see his face?" Rosia asked as she peeked over her shoulder.
"Huh?"
Marina's smile widened as she swirled her drink around like it was some fancy wine. "It was priceless, wasn't it?"
"You're telling me you didn't notice Kai glaring at you?" Rosia asked.
I blinked a few times and glanced at the plate of food that Rinley had set down in front of me. "No… I've been trying to ignore people staring at me." It was all too clear to me that the staring was never going to stop. The best I could probably do was learn to ignore it, but it was easier said than done.
"Dang, well, I wish we had access to an enchanted camera. It would have been priceless." Marina stifled a giggle, but I was too creeped out to feel mutual. Based on how much gossiping was going on, she started a lot more than one little rumor. I'd ask for details, but I was probably better off not knowing.
Our meal, despite all the drama going on around us, was rather casual. We talked about the usual things and were getting ready to head back to our dorms when someone burst into the far door of the dining hall. "The crown prince and Kai are fighting at the training grounds! We need more guards!" The girl called out for the guards to come help, but only a handful left their posts to go investigate. Many alphas started to rise, but the residual guards told them to stay here. The omegas, on the other hand, mostly looked fearful. I doubt they'd want to witness whatever was happening.
A loud murmur passed through the dining hall, and many eyes wandered in my direction. They seemed to be… accusatory. Like it was my fault they were fighting. "Come on, let's get you back to your dorm," Rinley said as he continued ushering our little group out the main doors.
"But-"
"No. You of all people absolutely shouldn't get involved." Rinley said rather firmly. He was right, but that didn't mean I wasn't concerned. I hadn't seen Knox since he pitched a fit with the administration. He better not be doing something dumb…
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Knox
Normally, I'd check back in with the palace after classes, but there wasn't a chance that was going to happen with both Kai and Arden currently residing in the common area. Maybe I didn't need to worry too much because Kai's attention seemed to be on me today. It probably had something to do with the wild rumors flying about. I'm not sure where they came from or who started them, but it was a little concerning how close to the truth they were.
"Sir, are you just going to tolerate him looking at you like that?" I glanced over at Zane, one of my courtiers, and rolled my eyes. Zane was chomping at the bit for a fight like he always was. His personality was as fiery as his hair.
"He's not brave enough to start anything. He's a coward just like someone else." My gaze drifted over to Claren, who was practicing by himself. I'm surprised he even admits that Arden's his brother, the way he's acting. He thought he was protecting his image by avoiding everything, but he was just proving how shitty of a brother he was. I was really hoping the professor would pair me with him today so I could give him a good ass kicking. Someone needed to give him a wakeup call.
"I don't know… He seems to be stomping our way." Zane snickered.
My eyes flicked back forward and I glared at Kai as he approached. "What? Did you come to cry on my shoulder because Arden doesn't want anything to do with you?"
Kai let out a loud snarl and began to growl. The regular alphas around us flinched and started to back off, but Zane and I stood our ground. There wasn't anything scary about him. He acted like being dominant was a special thing, but there were a couple of us around the academy, and compared to the rest, I'd barely describe him as dominant. He was all talk and no action. "Shut your mouth before I shut it for you." He pulled his practice blade from its sheath and pointed it at me.
"Why? Is it upsetting to have a face that not even a guy can love?" I knew I was getting under his skin, but I didn't care. It's not like he could hurt me.
A vein in Kai's head throbbed as Zane laughed. "Damn, that's harsh."
"At least I didn't sleep with the mongrel." Kai's green eyes looked downright venomous, but he was playing the wrong game. The only thing that bothered me was that he called Arden a mongrel.
"Are you jealous that I got to cuddle his soft, warm body all night and you had to go home empty-handed?" I reached a hand up and shifted his blade away from my chest. "You only wish you could experience how great it was."
I flicked the tip of his blade hard enough to make it vibrate down to the handle, and Kai stared at me in shock. Oh, did the big boy feel that in his arms? Is he going to cry now? "You won't be the one laughing when I strip him naked and hand him over to a bunch of induced alphas."
My brow furrowed, and I took a step forward. I knew the guards were going to come after me the moment my blade was drawn, but I wasn't going to let Kai run his mouth like that. "Zane."
"Yes, sir?"
"Go tell the infirmary that we need a gurney on the training field."
"For real?"
"I've never been more realistic in my life." I snarled as my blade slowly slid from the sheath at my side. This bastard was going to rue the day he threatened Arden!
I completely ignored Zane as I whipped my blade up and parried the incoming attack from Kai. He took a few steps back to give himself space, but I was unwilling to give him such a thing. I charged forward and whipped my blade through the air. Kai's blade groaned from the impact, but I backed off so it wouldn't break.
All alphas that were on the field went scattering as my miasma of pissed off pheromones started to swirl around. Kai even choked on them and looked like he could double over at any minute. Wasn't he the one saying that we're on the same level? Heh. He couldn't even dream of achieving the imperial family lineage. "You best not drop your guard because I have no intentions of letting you off easy."
My personal guards tried approaching to stop me, but I sent heavy amounts of pheromones their way. I knew they had strategies to make it past them, but it would at least give me time to beat the snot out of Kai. I wasn't backing down until this jackass got some cosmic justice.
Speaking of Kai, he was doing a shitty job defending himself. He was lucky I wasn't out to kill, otherwise he'd be dead. Our blades kept crossing, but his was on the verge of giving up. All it would take is one little lunge and-
Heh, Kai's face was priceless as my blade easily ripped through his and sent splinters flying everywhere. "Not so brave now, are you?" I snarled. "Would you like to reiterate all the nasty things you said about my omega?"
"Yours?!" Kai spat. "You actually intend to make that vermin yours?!" I stepped closer and pointed my blade at Kai in the same manner that he did to me. What I wasn't expecting was for him to laugh. "Ha! You won't be the crown prince long when people discover how disgusting and impure the crown prince is." Kai's vile face curled into a sick smile. "I doubt you'll want your little omega after I defile him-!"
"You're not laying a hand on him!" Rage coursed through him, and I darted forward. It wasn't my blade that struck him, but my hand. The moment blood splattered across the ground, I knew I was in a shit-ton of trouble. Ah shit, father is going to be pissed.
Kai let out a scream and clutched his face where my claws dug into his nose. That's going to leave a permanent scar, but that's what you get when you mess with something I care about. I flicked as much of the blood as I could from my hand and wiped the rest onto my practice blade so people wouldn't ask too many questions.
I did my best to ignore the writhing baby on the ground and started slowly breathing so I could control my pheromones. I also needed to get my desires under control. I wanted nothing more than to dig my hands down into Kai's soft belly and listen to the pervert scream. No, no. I can't do that. Arden would freak the hell out if he found out. Mmm, he might not be too happy that I mauled this idiot's face either… Shit. I need to do better at controlling myself. Grandfather and father make it seem so easy, but it's not. My alpha instincts were so greedy and hard to ignore. They wanted this bastard gone, and they wanted cute little Arden in my arms now. Ugh, and he thinks being an omega is hard. He doesn't even know the half of it.
It wasn't a practice sword that got pointed at my neck, but a real steel one. "You need to calm down, your highness." My guard snapped.
"Can't you see I'm trying?" He acted like I was going feral. I simply had heightened emotions. I pushed his sword away from me and let out an annoyed sigh. Oh, that's why he's upset with me. "I'll go back to the palace before anyone sees," I grumbled under my breath.
"That would probably be for the best." The guard said as he poked Kai with his shoe. The idiot was alive, but I think he passed out. He'd better get excited, he's going to get what's coming to him and his gross family.
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Arden
The whispering didn't stop the next day or the day after that. If anything, Knox getting into a massive fight with Kai only made the rumors worse. Apparently, Knox made it out of the fight without a scratch, while Kai wasn't looking so hot. Nothing was broken, but apparently, he had quite the gash across his face. People said it was probably going to leave a scar, but I hadn't seen Kai to pass my own judgment. It was pretty hard to ascertain the truth when some people described a civil fight while others described a bloodbath.
"I'm never going to get better at this," I grumbled into my shitty painting. We were supposed to be painting bowls, but mine just looked like colorful blobs.
Rosia leaned over from her canvas and stifled a giggle. Hey! Yours doesn't look much better! "It's not that bad." She giggled.
"It's horrendous."
"Yeah, it's not that great…" I shot Rosia an annoyed look, but she only giggled more. "I thought you would have gotten better now that you don't have a cast on."
I spun my now free wrist around in a circle and glared over at Rosia. "I'm right-handed. This hand has nothing to do with my skill level!"
"Oh." Rosia snickered again as she returned to her own painting. Ugh, I know she was trying to lighten the mood, but I was growing rather tired of all the negative attention. It was kind of exhausting. The only thing it was doing was increasing the rift that existed between me and the other omegas. "Marina and I were going to walk into town tonight. I'm almost out of ink. Did you want to come?" Rosia called over to me.
"No thanks." Every time I go into town, something bad happens. The last thing I needed was to wrap my friends up in my personal mess.
"Okay." Rosia poked her head around her painting, and she had quite the teasing smile. "I guess I'll eat all the goodies by myself."
"Go ahead." She knew I wasn't a big fan of sweets. I could eat the stuff, but I wasn't as obsessed as some omegas were.
Hmmm… what should I do tonight then?
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When I got done with classes, the weather was absolutely perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, and amazingly delightful in the shade. I exited the library with Rinley and my assigned guard and found myself gawking over at the academy gardens. I know I probably should head back to my dorm, but… I can't stop staring at that big oak tree over there.
"I think I want to enjoy the fresh air a little bit longer before dinner."
Rinley nodded his head and stashed my book into his bag as he followed me over to the big tree. Whoa, it was even bigger up close. I'm sure if we had access to a tree like this as children, Knox would have been climbing up and down this thing like crazy. He would always try to get me to climb with him, but I just wasn't all that good at it. Huh… Maybe there were warning signs that I'd be an omega…
Rinley returned my book to me, and I settled at the base of the large tree. There was a bench not too far away, so Rinley and my guard drifted over there while I read. Damn, if I weren't in a public space, I'd absolutely settle down for a nap here. I looked up from my book to see three alphas walking down an adjacent path. I would have returned my attention to my book and ignored them had one of them not been familiar.
The moment our gazes met, I knew he was going to wander this way. The knight started to rise from his seat, but Rinley motioned for him to stay seated. Huh. I would have thought Rinley would get all uppity about Knox approaching me. Don't tell me they're getting along now. I've had to listen to them bicker too many times for that.
"Pleasure meeting you here." Knox teased as he gently kicked my shoe.
"Are you stalking me or something?" I asked as I slid my bookmark into the book and watched as the other two alphas walked off.
"Mmm, while I do admit I've been keeping an eye on you, I wouldn't describe it as stalking. Besides, I just happened to be on a walk and ran into you." I wasn't sure if I was willing to believe him, but I guess I can't complain. Despite being annoying, he has been at the right place and at the right time, more than once. "Do you care if I join?"
I lazily waved at the tree's massive base and opened my book back up as Knox joined me. "You're going to make more rumors start," I grumbled while staring at the page.
"What's new about that? I swear, people are constantly talking about me." I wasn't sure if he was trying to get on my nerves, but Knox leaned over and put his head on my shoulder. "Since when are you into alchemy?"
"I'm not. I've simply been trying to educate myself on plants. I'm not particularly familiar with half the stuff we use when making flower arrangements, so I've been trying to learn about different plants." I said as I flipped the page.
"Then why not get yourself a book on flora?"
"Oh, I have. I just ended up drifting over to this section because it seemed interesting." Rinley called me a bookworm. Slowly munching through one section after another as different topics pique my interest.
Knox stifled a snicker and rubbed his head on my shoulder. "Should I have a large flower garden built at the palace?"
"Why the hell would you do that?"
"Then you could have hands-on learning about any flowers that make you curious." I turned my head slightly so I could give Knox an annoyed side eye, but the weirdo was grinning happily. He totally meant what he was talking about, didn't he?
"You've lost your ever-loving mind, haven't you?"
"Then I must have lost it a long time ago." Knox didn't even give me a chance to respond because he let out a loud yawn. "Is your heart trying to escape your chest or something? I can hear it over here."
I flinched slightly and leaned away from Knox. "It's your fault!" I snapped. How the hell did he hear that?! I was holding myself together pretty well, or at least I thought I was.
"Then I'll take responsibility." Knox reached over and tugged me down to use his lap as a pillow. I was about to flee, but the scent of incoming rain distracted me. "There, there, my little stress button. Who's a sleepy omega?" Knox grinned ear to ear as he stared down at me.
I did my best to keep my eyelids open, but it was incredibly challenging. His pheromones were so thick that I didn't stand a chance. "You… jerk…" I grumbled as sleep won the battle and my eyelids shut.
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Knox
I felt bad about forcing Arden to go to sleep, but it was a necessity. He's so cute when he's asleep! Damn, he was exceptionally cute the other night. It took everything inside me not to take it past making out. Dang it, I'm going to get another erection if I keep staring at him.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Rinley snapped at me before turning on the guard. "Why aren't you doing your job?!" His irritation was obvious in his eyes, but the guard ignored him. Heh, he doesn't know that the guard assigned to Arden was one of my guards that my parents placed her to keep an eye on me. He isn't going to move unless it's under my command.
"Calm down. I put him to sleep so I could talk to you." I didn't particularly like Arden's butler, but Arden clearly cared for him, so I was trying to tolerate his existence. He was strange, though. Not quite an alpha but also not quite a beta. Maybe that's why Arden was so fond of him…
"Warn me?" Rinley's irritation mellowed out, but he still glared at me in annoyance. "Warn me about what?"
"As you're probably aware, Kai Chaunet has been causing the two of us quite a few problems." My gaze wandered down to Arden, and an intense desire to protect him passed by me. "Well, I've provoked him to the point that he's ready to attack us." He already came after me, so it's not much of a surprise that the first thing that he muttered upon waking up in the infirmary was that he was going to kill us.
"Then why is Arden here?! We should take him back to his dorm-"
"You misunderstand. Kai isn't foolish enough to attack me head-on again. He knows that he can't win if he tries that, and the consequences would be dire. Instead, he's been targeting Arden." Which was idiotic. Instead of himself getting sole consequences, now his entire family is facing consequences. I had no choice but to start digging into their personal finances. I wasn't going to tolerate Arden being attacked, so I chose to attack first. I, however, know how to have some tact.
"Why would he go after Arden? That makes no sense." Mmm, talking to Rinley is always so exhausting. He's like a bull with narrow vision. I have to lead him directly to the answers.
"Because I obviously care about Arden, and he's trying to use Arden to make me mad. Anyway, the point is, I want to bring things to an end before Kai takes things too far. Thus, while I don't like it, I'm using Arden as bait to lure out Kai." I made sure Zane would brag about Arden relaxing in the gardens to him. There wasn't a chance he wouldn't come.
"There's got to be a better way. This is dangerous and dumb!" Rinley wasn't taking the news well, and I didn't think he would. Trust me, I don't like it much either, but the longer this gets drawn out, the more opportunities Kai gets to strike. All it would take is one slip-up, and Arden wouldn't be able to escape Kai.
I carefully moved a strand of hair from Arden's face and admired the light freckling that ran across the bridge of his nose. It wasn't super visible, but when the light hits his face, they're more noticeable. "No, this works out perfectly. Guards have already prevented students from entering the gardens, and my personal guards are ready to step in at my signal. Arden will be safe the entire time." I wasn't going to let anyone lay a finger on him. Actually, I'm going to do my best to prevent him from witnessing most of the conflict. "I just need you to stay seated over there. Don't involve yourself or make Arden worry. Oh, and keep your mouth shut. I don't need Arden knowing about our conversation or about what happened."
Rinley fell silent and stared at the two of us for a moment before his gaze dropped to his shoes. "Yes, sir." Oh, so now he remembers his rank. He picks the most annoying times to remember that he's a butler.
"Good, now we just have to wait for Kai to take the bait."
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Arden
"Wake up, sleepy head." My eyes fluttered open as the sensation of someone rubbing my bottom lip jolted me to my senses. I thought I was staring into the sky, but realized it was just Knox's eyes staring down at me. "Did you have a good nap? I sure did." He grinned. Knox did indeed look rather rested.
Light streamed down through the tree branches, backlighting Knox's figure. The way it made his silver hair almost glisten was rather fascinating. My breath caught in my throat as I realized I was gawking at Knox while lying in his lap. I went to quickly sit up, but Knox pushed me back down.
"What are you running away for?" He chuckled. He was looking far too smug as he stared at me, which I didn't appreciate.
"Why'd you force me to go to sleep?"
"You seemed rather stressed, so I figured you could use a mental break. I ended up falling asleep too, but you're such a heavy sleeper. I would have thought you were dead to the world, had you not been breathing." My face burned with embarrassment, and I tried to hide it, but Knox peeled my hands away with a grin. "Stop hiding, there's no need for you to constantly get embarrassed-" Knox's eyes darted up, and he quickly pulled me against him. "What are you doing here?" He snapped.
I couldn't even turn because of how firmly Knox was holding me. I did, however, make out the sound of the guard rising to his feet. "Why, isn't this cute? Our crown prince is cuddling another man." A massive shiver ran from my head to my toes as Kai's cold and bitter voice could be heard behind me.
"Apparently, beating the snot out of you once didn't get it through your head. Man, you should thank me. The scar looks great on your ugly mug." Knox started to growl, and I probably would have found it intimidating had I not become insanely fascinated by his vibrating chest.
"You need to stay back." The guard said in a defensive tone.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" Kai snapped. His growling was hard to hear over Knox's, but it was there, in the background. "Give me Arden! I need to talk to him!" Was he insane?! There wasn't a chance I was going to talk to him. I was perfectly happy here… mushed against Knox's… chest. Okay, maybe perfectly happy was the wrong word choice. Maybe tolerating. Yeah, it's not like I enjoyed it or anything!
Knox patted my back and continued clutching me firmly against him. "It's okay. I'm not going to let him anywhere near you." I already knew that Knox wouldn't let him take me, but hearing him say it made me rather pleased.
"Stop getting in my way!!" Kai snarled. "I had it all planned out! Then you had to ruin everything!!"
"Did you honestly think I was going to catch word of your disgusting plan and not step in? Be honest, you only concocted your disgusting little plan to get back at me, right? Arden was nothing but a pawn to you, so leave him alone." Kai let out a deranged growl, and it sounded like he got closer, but Knox didn't even move an inch. "Are you still jealous that I scored better than you at last year's swordsmanship competition? That's so pathetic." Based on the psychotic growling Kai was making, I'll take that as a yes. Knox clicked his tongue a few times and started to rub my back. "You're scaring Arden. Shut up." Scared is a strong word. I'd say I was feeling nervous.
Many footsteps could be heard as not only Kai but other people rushed towards us. I wasn't sure what had happened because Knox wouldn't let me turn around, but there was a loud thwack and grunt of pain. Kai's growling stopped, and only Knox's light grumbling could be heard. Surely the guard with me wasn't brave enough to hit Kai… I tried to peek, but Knox quickly pulled my head back over to his chest.
"Don't worry about him. Your attention should be fully on me. Otherwise, I might resume what we were doing a few days ago." His grin sent a shiver down my spine. He wouldn't act that shamefully in public… would he? No… No, he got embarrassed by me crawling into his lap in the park. He wouldn't be so lewd as to make out on campus. He's just teasing me, damn it! "Heh, the look on your face is really cute." Knox lightly pinched my cheeks, which only made me blush more. How could he be so embarrassing?!
"Let go of me!" I whined as Knox continued to pinch my cheeks.
"Mmm…" Knox peeked past me and slowly released my face. "Okay."
I glanced behind me and furrowed my brow. Besides Rinley and the guard, Kai was nowhere to be seen. "Where…"
Knox pulled my chin back towards him with a smile. "I told you to focus on me."
"What… just happened?"
"My personal knights took him into custody. I finally found proper evidence of him buying heat-inducing drugs, which led to a paper trail of other things his family shouldn't have been buying. In other words, he and his father are in a lot of hot water with my father at the moment."
Something was bothering me about this whole situation… Knox was almost too calm about it… "You knew…"
"Hmm?" Knox tilted his head to the side, but I could tell how tense his gaze was.
"You knew he was going to try coming after me one last time, didn't you?"
Knox's gaze wandered away from me for a moment before returning. "I figured there was a chance, and I didn't want to risk it." I thought so. Knox was far too calculated for this all to be a random chance occurrence. He liked to play dumb, but I was all too aware of how smart he was. "Jealousy is an ugly beast… Which is why you should avoid making me jealous." Knox teasingly pinched my bottom, which made me yelp.
"Stop it you jerk!" I whined as I slapped his naughty hand.
Knox chuckled and grabbed the hand I slapped him with. "Shall we go get dinner?"
"What?! No! I'm not going with you!" Was he insane?! It was bad enough that I napped here with him. If I enter the dining hall alongside him, everyone is going to go nuts.
"But I'm concerned that some other idiot will try to approach you."
"Then resume sitting four booths away!"
"So mean! I've saved your purity multiple times, and this is the thanks I get?" Knox wilted against the tree like a depressed flower. I brought my fist back and rammed it into his gut, but he didn't even flinch. A leaf might as well have tickled him. He didn't even give me an annoyed look!
"Don't talk about such things!" I hissed. I didn't care if it was true or not! He didn't need to say it out loud so others could hear!!
"Such a mean omega I've fallen for." He whined.
"Fallen for my ass! Now shoo! Go back to the palace!" I nervously waved my hands around as if that would make him vanish from in front of me.
"Meeeeeeeeaaaaaaan!"