Where the hell is Micha? I glanced around the room, but didn't see him. Did he gather his clothes and scurry off to the closet again? I swear, he's so weird sometimes. He's only ever changed in front of me a handful of times when we first moved in together, and ever since then, he sneaks off to the closet. I've seen him naked more times than his parents probably have at this point, and yet he's still squeamish about changing in front of me?!
"Micha-" I opened the closet door, and Micha let out a squeal, diving headfirst into my hanging clothes. The fuck? "Why the hell are you hiding?"
"What are you doing in here?!" He squealed from within the clothes.
"Wondering where you wandered off to," I grumbled as I took a step into the closet.
"I'm changing! Give me a moment." I let out an annoyed huff and wandered over to where he was hiding.
"Micha, we literally just took a bath, and last I checked, we were both naked. So why," I stuck my arms into the clothes, and pushed them away from the shy omega hiding within. Micha flinched and quickly covered his chest as if I were a lecher, and not his literal alpha. "The hell are you hiding from me?"
"I-I" his gaze drifted around a bit as his face turned pink. "You watch, and it makes me nervous." I do?... Yeah… I suppose I have had a tendency in the past to watch him change…
"Last I checked, we bathe together, we make love together, we've even slept naked a few times, and I clean up your naked body after sex. I've already seen all of you. What's the big deal if I sneak a peek while you change?" He wouldn't admit it, but I've seen his golden eyes drift my way while changing. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. If anything, I like knowing that Micha enjoys what he's seeing.
"Y-you don't sneak a peek! You stare at me with hungry eyes!" He thinks I look hungry when I stare? Huh.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I find my omega attractive," I grunted. I had had enough of him acting like it was a crime to look at him. I reached forward and pulled his hands from his chest. Micha let out a bit of a squeak and tried to pull his hands free, but there was no way I was letting go. Not now at least.
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Micha
Waaaah! It was embarrassing enough to have to say that stuff to Ronak, but he didn't need to peel my arms off me just so he could lean down and bite my chest was too much! Between the soft scent of pheromones coming from Ronak's clothes and his suckling, I couldn't help but wrap my now free arms around his head. Ronak wrapped his own arms around my waist, and I couldn't help but rub my thighs together.
"If I'm so hungry, then I'm going to devour you. That will give you something to cry about." I let out a squeal as Ronak continued to tease my chest. His naughty hands slid down my back and into my pants, making my toes curl.
"W-wait!" I nervously squealed.
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Olivia
Didn't they just get out of the bath? I peeked around their room, and sure enough, both the big and little lord were missing. Huh. Maybe they went back into the bath? I shifted the laundry in my arms and headed over to the closet to put it all away.
My hand went to grab the handle when a rather shameful moan of pleasure hit my ears. As if the handle was scalding hot, my hand flinched away from it. I-in the closet? My lord, you scad, are you trying to make love or punch a hole in the wall? The sound of thumping became a bit louder, and I took a step back from the door. Goodness, the little lord is rather loud with his cries of pleasure, isn't he… I swear that's all those two do these days… I'd better get out of here-
"R-Ronak c-can't we… ngh! G-go to the b-bed?"
"No. You want to hide in the closet, then I'll just devour you in the closet!" The little lord let out a particularly loud moan as the thumping intensified.
My face turned pink as I listened to my lords through the door. To be fair, I wasn't intentionally snooping; I only came here to do my job. They were the ones who were so loud. I'm glad that my lord is happy-
My lord let out a rather scary growl, making me flinch. He didn't know I was out here… Did he? Apparently, the little lord didn't find the growl scary because his pleasurable moans didn't do anything, but get louder, like the two of them were trying to compete on who could be the loudest.
I-I've got to get out of here before my lord finds out I heard them. He'll probably rip my ears off or kill me if he knew I was standing here.
May my lord leave you in one piece that's capable of attending classes tomorrow, little lord. Best of luck!
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Micha
I can't believe the end of the term is only a few weeks away! Time has just flown by! It helped that I was slowly adjusting to life with Ronak. We'd do homework together after classes, and go questing on the weekends. It was mostly Ronak following me around while I did yellow quests, but it was fun all the same.
I've been roaming the estate while Ronak's busy with work; it seems like he's been busier because of the end of the term…, but it's not all bad. Olivia showed me to a large library that rarely gets used, and has lots of interesting books to read. It's almost a shame that we leave for the dukedom once the term is over. I've barely gotten used to this massive estate, and now I have to get used to another one… It's a bit weird knowing that I'll be visiting my forever home soon. I-I hope I like the place…
Another thing that has kept me busy is sending letters to my parents. We've been swapping letters about once a week, thanks to Ronak's falcons. They're not as mad at me as they were; things seem to have calmed down… Well… maybe don't ask my father his opinion… He still seems rather upset about the whole situation… My mother, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoys my letters. She asks me all sorts of questions about Ronak. I've had a fun time asking him questions, so I can respond to her. Though sometimes, I don't have to ask. She wanted to know what sorts of food Ronak likes, and I didn't even hesitate to tell her that he's a seafood monster. I swear he'd eat it at every meal if he could. She especially liked the silly picture I drew of a Ronak monster eating fish. She said it made her laugh.
Speaking of Ronak. He felt so bad after what happened during our demonic, ahem, escapades, and the closet incident that he barely touched me for weeks afterwards. To be a little fair, I did have to drink those icky pink potions for about a week because of him, and I got a bruise on the back of my shoulders… I thought for sure he was going to initiate something a few times, but he'd mumble something and quickly roll away. I had to… take matters into my own hands. Gosh, even remembering it makes me blush. I had found a particularly slinky backless sweater that barely covered my butt amongst a clothing delivery Kas sent over, and I was a bit mortified when I saw it. I don't even think Olivia knew where I hid it in the closet, but I desperately pulled it out one day. I-it's all Ronak's fault! He made me do shameless things to get his attention!
A-anyway, I managed to put it on and waited on the bed for him to arrive. N-nothing all that seductive. I was just sitting on my knees with my legs splayed to the sides when Ronak entered the room with some documents. I've never seen him so shocked before. His face turned all red, and as the papers fell from his hands, he slammed the door behind himself. I-I didn't realize wearing an outfit like that would make him go wild… I ugh… might not regret my actions…
"What's on your mind?" Ronak asked as he leaned over the back of his office sofa and poked my cheek. "Thinking about your finals?" Ah, I guess I hadn't been reading my book… I probably should have been thinking about finals instead of the past few months…
"I-it's nothing interesting…" Okay, it was a little interesting, but Ronak didn't need to know. Ugh, why did he have to bring up finals? I was so annoyed with them right now. "I'm a bit annoyed that the herbology final is a group research project, and I wasn't paired with Terra. You should be able to pick your partner!" I want Terra to be my partner! Not just some guy!
A small smile formed in the corners of Ronak's lips as he watched me puff my cheeks up in anger. "Do you want me to talk to the professor?" My cheeks deflated, and I let out a long sigh. He was going to use his fists if he didn't get his way with the professor, wasn't he?
"Noooo, I don't need you fixing all my problems." Even though it's a tempting offer. "I think it will be fine…" Hopefully. Ronak just couldn't find out who I was paired with; otherwise, he would freak out. He becomes so aggressive when other alphas are around me… "Wh-what do you think about the combat training final? It sounds intense…" The new professor informed us that we would be having a friendly competition with the Knight Academy a few days ago, which freaked most everyone out. There were a few cocky alphas who thought it was great, and Ronak, who straight up didn't care. I was definitely in the freaked-out category. I didn't really want to have my butt handed to me by someone at the Knight Academy. It didn't help that our academy had a record of always losing. Magic was cool and had a lot of applications, but most students had to chant to cast spells, and chanting just takes too long when the opponent has a blade. I should know. Ronak makes it a point to use his twin blades at every chance he gets during combat training. Ugh, I guess I've gotten pretty good at running away… Maybe the knight will give up because he can't catch me…
"It's nothing to be worried about. A silly sword isn't going to stop either of us." Ronak patted the top of my head with a cheeky little grin. Oh gosh… I guess I should be more worried about the poor bloke that gets paired with you… I'll have to scrape them up off the ground, won't I? Ugh, talk about making this final sound even worse.
"They must be a little formidable if our academy has never won…" I fiddled with the book in my hands. I'm glad that Ronak felt confident in me, but I don't know if I was feeling all that confident. I don't even stand a chance against Ronak, and I've been trying every underhanded trick in the book.
Ronak's expression turned a bit perturbed as he leaned against his fist. "You've spared with our classmates. A blind person could take them down if they're fast enough."
"That's… a bit harsh… They're not that bad." Ronak's stare intensified, and I pulled my book up slightly to block me from it. "O-okay… they're not that good compared to us, but that's not a fair comparison. Neither of us has to say spell chants."
Ronak rolled his eyes and stood up straight. "Think what you want. I'm going to finish going through winter supply documents, and then we can have dinner."
"Okay." I watched him return to his desk for a moment before turning my attention back to my book. Pft, we feel like a married couple. Ack! Wh-what am I thinking?! W-we're not there… y-yet…
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"I'll teleport home in two hours when we're done. It's going to be fine." I smiled at Ronak, who was fidgeting worse than an anxious cat.
"Why are you trying to get rid of me?" His concern was apparent, not only in his facial expression, but he was making it loud and clear with his emotions, too. Did the idea of leaving me for two hours bother him that much? We spend almost all day together, you'd think he'd get sick of me. N-not that I get sick of him…, but still…
"No, but you'll just make them anxious, and I want to get this project done. The longer it takes, the less time you get to spend with me through the week." I put my hand on my hip and stood my ground. I'll just get the project done quickly, and Ronak will never know. It's going to be fine!
"Please be careful. You remember what happened last time you wandered into the forest, right?" Ronak grabbed my face with his chilly hands and gave it a bit of a squeeze. "Teleport home if anything happens." A shiver ran down my spine as I remembered the nightwalker incident.
"Don't make me think about that! Why would you bring that up?!" I complained as I pushed my face past his hands and pressed it against his chest. "Everything is going to be fine. Don't jinx me." I grumbled. Gah, he's going to make me want to stay! I pulled away from him and stared up into his concerned eyes. "I promise to teleport home if anything scary happens, but you need to go; it's almost time for me to meet them at the library." I glanced past Ronak's forearm to the clock in the center of campus. Gosh, I was going to be late at this rate.
Ronak pulled me in for a quick kiss, which surprised me. He rarely shows so much affection on campus. He'd be a bit more cuddly around commoners we didn't know, but never has he kissed me in public on campus. "Fine, but I'll be keeping an eye on how you're feeling." He took a step back and melted down into his gross pile of goo. Ugh, don't ruin the moment by doing that! Even the gawking omegas are freaked out! Don't you care that people are going to spread weird rumors because of you?! What am I saying? Of course, Ronak doesn't care about rumors… His motto was, they should mind their own #$@&%^! business…
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"Sorry, I'm late, Jasper," I said as I approached my partner for the herbalist final. He was an alpha I literally never spoke to before this assignment. I think his seat was towards the back of the room, while mine was towards the front with Terra. His hair was an ashen brown color and looked incredibly soft. I wanted to ask him what sort of product he used in it, but I thought that would be an awkward question to ask. "Ronak wanted to come… I had to convince him to go home." Jasper's orange eyes looked me head to toe before he let out a little scoff.
"It's not a problem, Micha. I just got here myself." He flashed me a rather polite smile, but I didn't return one of my own. I was still rather shy after the whole Tyrone incident. "I'm surprised he's nice to you. He comes off as quite… aggressive."
I blinked a few times while staring up at him. He wasn't anywhere near as tall as Ronak was, but I still had to look up to see him. He's dang lucky Ronak didn't hear him say that. "I'm his omega… of course, he isn't aggressive towards me…" He was aggressive once upon a time, but now it almost feels weird to think of him that way. The softer side he's shown me is so warm and kind. Nothing like how he behaved before… I really got the impression that Ronak was incredibly lonely before meeting me. I once asked if he had any friends or anyone he was close to, and he clammed up. He gave me the short answer of no, but it sounds a bit more complicated than that. Maybe one day I'll get the truth out of him.
"I see…"
I decided to change the topic to something we actually needed to focus on. It's not like I needed his opinion on Ronak anyway. "A-are we still doing our project on how herbs grown in their natural biome produce better, and stronger results in medicine, and alchemy?"
"Yep. I've had the moratin plants growing in my dorm for the last few weeks, like we agreed. I'm surprised you managed to gather them so quickly. I thought it would have been difficult to find such nice-looking herbs this time of year." I looked out the window, and a shiver ran down my spine. He was right. The weather was starting to turn bitter cold in the capital, and I wouldn't be surprised if it snowed soon. We're going to be lucky if we find any moratin to gather.
"We have a greenhouse at the estate. I just asked the gardeners if I could have some of the young plants for my academy project, and they didn't seem to mind… Anyways, between the four locations-"
"Four?" Jasper interrupted me and tilted his head to the side. "I thought we were only using herbs from three places." Oh, right, I never updated him…
"There's your room, outside, the greenhouse, and Ronak said I could use some herbs from the Elutra fields. I thought about declining his offer, but it will provide us with even more points of data."
"He's okay with that?"
I tilted my head to the side. "Why wouldn't he be?" I get that Ronak wasn't nice in the slightest to other alphas here at the academy, but Jasper's responses were really annoying me. Did he think Ronak was mean to me or something?
"I'm just surprised, is all. Are you ready to go?" He asked as he patted the bag he had slung over his shoulder.
"Yeah. I have my bag." His orange eyes peered at me in confusion. Oh right, he wouldn't know... "I have a storage spell. It's in there." Jasper shifted his bag to the middle of his back and adjusted the straps. "Do you want to walk all the way there… or…" I admit… I've become a tad bit lazy… Teleporting everywhere was just so simple and easy! Why walk and expend precious energy when I could snap my fingers and be there in the blink of an eye? Ronak was just going to steal all my energy later tonight anyway. I didn't want to use it all on physical exercise, and then have to deal with him when tired. That sounded awful! Big meany Ronak banned me from teleporting about the estate, but I still do a little bit. He just doesn't know… or at least I don't think he knows. It's his own fault anyway!
Jasper's confusion pulled me away from thinking about Ronak. "Or…?" What? Did he not know about my teleportation spell? I thought everyone on campus knew about it at this point. Not only did I use it in my combat and monster hunting classes, but I also used it all the time to teleport Ronak and me to and from campus.
I didn't feel like explaining even more stuff to Jasper, so I just reached over and grabbed his arm. He seemed rather startled by my sudden movement, but with a quick snap of my fingers, we arrived at our destination. "Tada!" Ah, despite being cold, I really liked being outside. I was so glad that the estate had a greenhouse I could wander around in. It sorta fulfilled my desire to be outside without being cold in the winter.
"Wha-?!" Jasper was so shocked by the sudden teleportation that he fell to his bottom, and looked around with a dumb look on his face.
I didn't want him to get any ideas, so I took a few steps away and looked around. I admit that I was a bit scared to be back here again, but I knew that if something scary happened, I could quickly go to Ronak's side. "I think I've seen moratin growing around these parts." I peeked back at Jasper, who managed to stand back up and was dusting the dirt off himself. I felt bad about being rude, but the couple of times I was nice to alphas, they'd start acting weird, and Ronak would freak out. It usually ended with him punching someone… I was bonded to Ronak, and yet, they were acting like they were attracted to me. It was so strange.
"That was amazing! I had heard rumors, but I didn't know they were true. You're incredible, Micha!" Jasper took a few steps closer to me, and I quickly took a few steps away from him. He's so lucky Ronak's not here. He'd be dusting the dirt off of himself twice in one day.
"L-let's not waste time. I'd like to get this done; it's cold out here." I pulled my harvesting knife out of storage and started looking around, but it was hard to ignore my shadow. Each time he'd get close, I'd quickly wander in a different direction. What in the world?! Where is this stupid herb so we can get out of here?!
Jasper cleared his throat, and I nervously spared him a side eye. "When I found out you were an omega, I was surprised."
"Most people were." Ugh, I swear I have this conversation all the time. It's getting old. Yep, you were shocked, get over it. Am I ever going to become old news to people?
"I was a bit relieved…" Huh? O-okay, the conversation never goes like this… I gave Jasper another side eye and noticed him kneeling next to a moratin plant. His attention seemed to be on the plant far more than on me. "Last year we had a class together, maybe you never noticed me, but for a while there, you had me freaked out. I thought I had lost my mind, and was attracted to other alphas." His light laughter filled the air, and I quickly wandered over to a moratin plant I spotted.
What sort of reaction did he want from me? I didn't feel guilty at all about hiding the truth, and I sure didn't want to react in a positive way. I especially didn't like hearing that he found me attractive. Ugh, how is Ronak mean all the time?! It's so hard! I'm terrible at being blunt! "I had my reasons to hide the truth."
"Oh, I'm not blaming you. I was just trying to find something to talk about… You're usually with Miss Terra, so we've never exchanged words before this project." Even if I weren't with Terra, I wouldn't talk with you. I didn't want much to do with alphas; they made me nervous. I jolted in fear as I realized that Jasper had gotten close while I was lost in thought. "You don't need to be so anxious. I'm not going to try anything. I have no desire to get my face pummeled." Jasper held up his hands as if surrendering. "I was hoping we could get along. We still have two and a half more years until we graduate, and we might end up in the same class again. I'm not talking about anything close, but at least on a first-name basis."
I stared at him curiously and scooted further away from him. What am I supposed to make of that? First, he basically tells me that he's attracted to me, and now he wants to be friends? Talk about confusing… "I-I don't know if Ronak would approve of me being friendly with other alphas… I'm sure you're fully aware of what happens when he gets upset."
"Right… Well, my offer still stands." He held out his hand that had the moratin he harvested in it. Ugh, was he barely passing this class? He mutilated the poor thing! "Does this moratin work or should we harvest more?"
I pulled it from his hands, and as I looked it over. It was barely usable, if that… "It's okay, but I've harvested nicer quality herbs than this from here…" A twig snapped in the distance, and I froze. Wh-what was that?! N-no… N-not again! My heart began racing as I looked in the direction of the sound. Fear froze me in place for a moment as I imagined the worst-case scenario, and as I nervously took a step back, my foot caught on something, causing me to fall backwards. Ouch! As if Ronak didn't make my bottom hurt bad enough!
"Micha, are you okay?!" Jasper took a step towards me and reached out a hand, but froze when he heard the rustling of branches. His head slowly turned in the direction of the sound, and he flinched slightly.
I felt like I was going to vomit. I had never fully gotten over my fear that the nightwalker instilled in me. Ronak presented me with the part of the pelt that his uncle returned to him, but it mostly lived in my storage. It was incredibly soft and luxurious, but just looking at it gave me the creeps. How could I bring myself to cuddle with something that once tried to kill me, and Ronak?
A loud cavernous growl echoed around the forest, causing Jasper to flinch. Y-you've got to be kidding me… "What the fuck do you think you're doing, touching my damn omega so casually?!" Ronak slowly slid from his gooey travel spell like a beast about to pounce, causing Jasper to flee. I could hardly blame him as he took off to the opposite side of the clearing. Ronak didn't seem to be in a good mood at all, and his pheromones were almost too much for even me.
"Y-you scared me!" I whined as Ronak rushed to my side and pulled me up into his arms. "I-I thought it was another nightwalker!" Ronak pulled me in for a tight hug, but that hardly prevented the tears that were starting to form in the corners of my eyes.
Guilt smashed into me like an ocean wave, and Ronak cradled my head against him. "Sorry… I didn't think about how you'd react…"
"Wh-what are you doing here?" I sniffled as I tried to prevent myself from crying. Ronak started rubbing the side of my head, and the desire to cry faded away as my body realized I was safe.
"You've been feeling nothing but stressed and anxious since I left. Was I supposed to simply ignore that?" Oops… I-I hadn't been trying to regulate my emotions at all…
"E-everything was fine-"
"Why didn't you tell me that you were assigned to work with an alpha?" Ronak snapped, cutting me off. Ugh oh… I peeked up at Ronak and noticed his gaze trained on Jasper like a hunting dog that had spotted its prey. "I should have listened to my gut and talked to your professor. I knew you were lying about something." My stomach churned uncomfortably. H-he knew? B-but I was trying so hard to lie! Am I really that bad at lying?!
"I-I didn't think it was th-that big of a deal…" Okay, I knew it was a big deal to Ronak, but I didn't want to cause a problem, so I didn't say anything.
"Your safety is a big deal to me." It would have been more charming had Ronak actually looked at me, but instead, he was still glaring daggers at Jasper.
"Archduke Abraxos." Jasper bowed from his safe distance, which was smart. "I promise that nothing transpired between the two of us. We were simply harvesting herbs for our project. Nothing more-"
"I didn't fucking ask for your opinion on the matter." I grabbed Ronak's face, forcing him to look down at me. He had quite the scowl on his face, but it softened slightly as his eyes met mine.
"Nothing happened, and even if he tried something, I would immediately teleport away… Do you remember what I told you at the adventuring guild?"
Ronak leaned down and rubbed his forehead against mine. "That you'll flirt with me. I'm still waiting, by the way."
"Th-that's not what I said!" Don't tell me he has selective hearing. "I said if everyone in the room flirts with me, the only one I'd be interested in would be you, dummy! That applies to here at the academy as well." My face was turning pretty pink, but I couldn't believe him trying to twist my words like that!
Ronak let out quite a sigh and even rolled his eyes. "I remember, but I prefer my version. Besides, the academy is nothing like the guild. Alphas are far scarier than annoying betas." He snapped his teeth open and closed next to my neck, and a chill ran down my spine. That's really ripe coming from you.
"I'm already marked, dummy." I pushed his face away from my neck and scowled at him. "S-stop making a scene." My eyes drifted over to Jasper, who was watching us with fearful eyes.
"You haven't seen a scene yet." Ronak let out another loud growl, and Jasper took another step back. "Micha is mine." He snarled, making Jasper nod his head repeatedly.
"He knows that. E-everyone at the academy knows that." I reached up and poked Ronak's neck, making him glare down at me. Whoa, that tickled my finger. I should have poked him way harder.
"Apparently not." Ronak gnashed his teeth angrily and tried to take a step past me.
"Ronak, he didn't do anything. If you punch him… I'll… I'll put that sweater you like oh so much in the fireplace." Eep! That got Ronak's attention. He whipped towards me with a perturbed look in his eye.
"I'll just have another one ordered."
"Th-then I'll put that one in the fireplace as well." That made Ronak's eye twitch.
"You wouldn't dare."
"I-I don't know." My eyes drifted away from him and his intense stare. "Me and my legion of pillows can be rather reckless when agitated…" I rubbed my foot around in the ground, but flinched when Ronak grabbed my shoulders.
"You stole more?"
"I don't know… D-do you have evidence?" Teasing Ronak when he was agitated was a risky move, but I didn't want him ruining all the work I had put into our project. We had been growing the herbs in their special locations for a month now! I can't just restart!
Ronak scowled at me and let out a rather annoyed huff. "Fine." He snapped. "But I'm staying here while you harvest your herbs, and there will be no more unsupervised meetings." He let out a frustrated snarl and glared over at Jasper. "Lucky bastard." He snapped under his breath. Just how much does Ronak like that sweater?! I-I didn't realize it would be such a useful bargaining chip…
"You've gotta stop producing so many pheromones." Ronak gave me a slightly annoyed look, but did as I asked. "A-and stop growling." I reached up to touch his neck again curiously, and the funny sensation slowly disappeared under my fingers. Hehehe, who was a good alpha. "Jasper. Let's get the project done."
Jasper nervously peeked out from behind the tree he was hiding behind. I honestly don't blame him. I'd be hiding from Ronak, too, if he acted that way towards me. "Y-yeah… Sorry for causing problems." Jasper bowed again, but didn't come much closer.
"You didn't cause any problems." I glanced over to Ronak, who was watching me closely. "You were simply helping me off the ground because I had fallen." Ronak looked away with a guilty look, and I pinched his arm that was still around me snugly. "How do you expect me to harvest herbs when you're holding onto me?" Ronak let out a grunt and released me, but stuck to me like glue. I barely took a step, and he followed after me while keeping his gaze on Jasper. "Ugh, it got all squished. I can try using it, but we definitely need more moratin." I picked up the herb that I had dropped on the ground, and it was looking even worse than it did when Jasper gave it to me.
"What sort of shit is that?" Ronak snapped while looking over my shoulder. "That will do nothing but produce a garbage potion."
"Enough out of you. You've caused enough problems." I wiggled the sad herb in Ronak's face, but all he did was snuggle his nose against my head. Ugh, what a brat.
"I think I saw more of the herb growing over here," Jasper mumbled as he took off in the opposite direction from us. Ugh, Ronak, this would have been so much easier had you not appeared…
S-stop trying to act cute! It's not helping me think! Ronak, despite being in trouble, kept rubbing his head against mine. I get that he was pleased to be reunited with me, but I thought he was taking things too far. "You're getting cold." He mumbled into my ear.
"Yeah, it is cold out here. So make yourself useful, and help us look for the herb. The sooner we find it, the sooner we can leave." I wanted out of here. Ronak was being embarrassing, and I didn't want to have him on edge because of Jasper. Ugh, maybe I should have asked the professor for a different partner. Ronak wouldn't have freaked out over me being paired with an omega… At least I don't think he would have…
"What do you think about these? Are they better quality?" We had caught back up to Jasper, who had more moratin in his hands. He approached and held out the herbs, but before I could take them from him, Ronak snatched them out of Jasper's hands and handed them to me.
"Ronak…" I glared up at him as he brought me the new herbs.
"He doesn't need to be so close to you."
"He needs to be able to hand me things. Stop being ridiculous." How did Ronak expect us to finish the project with a ten-foot gap between us? I peeked past Ronak to Jasper, who was keeping a watchful eye on Ronak for any sudden movement. "They're far nicer quality than the first batch. I'll keep them in my storage so they stay fresh for brewing. S-sorry about this one." I reached up to pinch Ronak's ear, but instead he rubbed his head against my palm. Stop trying to play innocent, you brat!
"Maybe we should call it for the day if that's enough to brew a potion. It will give everyone a chance to calm down." That sounded like a good idea. I don't know how much more I can handle watching Ronak act so ridiculously. I-I knew he was the jealous type, but I feel like I'm drowning in an ocean of jealousy right now because of him.
"Yeah, that would be best. We can discuss when we'll get together to brew potions tomorrow during class." I reached out my hand for Jasper to grab so I could teleport us back to campus, but Ronak quickly snatched it up. "Ronak, let go."
Instead of letting go, Ronak pulled me up into his arms like I was a large toddler, and glared over at Jasper. "No touching other alphas. I don't want their stench on you." Huh? It's not like I'm going to rub myself on them!
I held up my hand that I had grabbed him with earlier. "I teleported the two of us here. Does this hand stink-!" Ronak snatched my hand with his free one and rubbed it aggressively on his chest.
"Yeah, it does, and you're only allowed to smell like me." Ronak was making me dizzy with the bubbling jealousy that I was feeling from him.
"I'll just walk. It's no big deal, besides, I could use the fresh air. Bye, Micha." Jasper quickly slung his backpack on and sped off towards campus.
I couldn't take it anymore. I was so annoyed at Ronak, it wasn't even funny. He was being ridiculous! I raised my hand in the air and brought out a large pillow that I hurled directly into his face. "My grade depends on this project, and you're messing it up!" I whined as I rubbed the pillow around on his face.
Ronak managed to snag the pillow and pull it from my hands. He didn't look as angry as I thought he would. If anything, it seemed to have calmed him down a bit. "But you're mine, Micha. I'm not sharing you with anyone. You can't make me." His gaze was so intense. He definitely meant every word he said.
"W-we're just doing a class project! You act like I'm trying to date him or something! Stop acting ridiculous!" My face turned pink, and I had to shield myself from Ronak's intense gaze.
"No, because I'm not acting ridiculous. He admitted to your face that he's attracted to you, and I'm not going to tolerate that. He's too dangerous for you to be around."
"Y-you were listening to us?!" I thought he appeared when we heard rustling, but he was listening in before that?!
"It… wasn't intentional… I had gotten a strange feeling as I headed to the estate, and decided to investigate. Had everything been fine, I would have continued going to the estate, but when those words left his mouth, and I saw the look on his face when you weren't looking, I lost it." Ronak must have dropped my pillow because he brought his free hand up and caressed the side of my face. "I'm not going to risk your safety for some project."
"Y-you're a brat," I grumbled as I melted against his hand. "You are aware he said he was attracted to me, not is."
"There's no difference. Once a bee knows where pollen is, it will return for more. He's using this project as an excuse to get close to you again. He might have been polite to make you think he's nice, but I can guarantee you that once he catches a whiff, he'll try to take advantage of you. I won't tolerate that."
"I think you're overreacting." Ronak let out a bit of a huff and gave me a slight glare.
"I would rather overreact than have you violated by a prick." Ronak pulled me in so I could rest my head on his shoulder. "Please trust me."
"Okay, okay. I'll be cautious of him." Concern kept swelling inside me from Ronak, and I let out a sigh and snuggled against him. "Using your pheromones is cheating." Ugh, he was producing pheromones to make me sleepy. "You know, even if he tried something, I'd do everything in my power to get away."
"Mmm, you did do a very good job shutting him down at every opportunity, but I'm a little too aware of what a desperate alpha will do when there's an adorable omega nearby." Ronak must have been taking me back to the estate with him because the world around us was plunged red.
"You don't say," I grumbled into his neck.
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I couldn't wait for our group project to be over. We had the entire month to work on it, but I was over it. Every time I had to get together to work with Jasper, Ronak would be there like a jealous fly, just hovering between us. I understood why he was so upset, so I tried to ignore it, but Ronak was a bit much. I thought his being there would be enough of a threatening presence, but he'd growl when Jasper got too close, and would rudely interject when he thought Jasper was talking too much. It was a blessing that we were almost done.
Why'd we pick such a complex project anyway? We should have just brewed the potions and been done with it, but instead, we had students sample the different potions and fill out surveys for us. We then took the results and organized the data so it was useful. Since I did most of the harvesting and brewing, Jasper took the data we had gathered and wrote up the paper for the assignment. It was quite the experiment we had taken on, but it was fun. You just had to ignore the growling alpha in the background.
Ronak mentioned to me one day, when we were going home, that I could do stuff like that with Elutra if I wanted to. It was pretty cute how he kept referring to us doing projects like that together. Hehe.
Hmm, the paper Jasper wrote up looks pretty good. I'd just tweak it here and there to really point out the differences between potions… "No Archduke Abraxos? I thought for sure he'd be here with you." I looked up from the document to see Jasper approaching me where I was sitting. The weather had given us a slightly warm day, so I was making the most of it by sitting outside near the dining hall.
"He'll be here soon. He had to chat with the headmaster." Ronak wouldn't tell me what the meeting was about, but it probably had something to do with the number of people he punched this week. How he hasn't gotten kicked out is such a mystery to me…
Jasper sat down next to me on the bench instead of across from me, which I found a bit bothersome. "Oh, is that the rough draft I wrote up?"
"Yeah. I think this paragraph here needs to be altered… Wh-what do you think you're doing?" Jasper had scooted closer to me and had leaned in so he could look at where I was pointing. I wasn't having any part of it, so I awkwardly leaned away.
"I just wanted to see what you were referring to."
"Y-you could have looked when I passed you the paper." I pushed the paper towards him, and he picked it up without even attempting to scoot further away from me.
"I'm still so surprised that someone as nice as you picked someone as rude as him." Was he talking about Ronak? I-I didn't pick him, he picked me… "Weren't there better options?"
"What are you implying?" I narrowed my eyes and nervously looked Jasper over. Why was he bringing this up?
"Had I known you were an omega sooner, I would have pursued you, and you wouldn't be trapped with such an abusive man." A-abusive?! Just what sort of relationship did he think Ronak and I had?
"Ronak is not abusive!" My gaze turned into a glare. I couldn't believe him! How dare he assume something like that?!
"Maybe not right now, but what happens in a few years when he gets bored? Don't tell me you're oblivious to all the people he huts around campus. It won't be long until you're part of their numbers." Jasper leaned towards me and placed his hand on my thigh. It was like cold water was dumped on me. My anger was instantly replaced by disgust, and the desire to flee. D-don't touch me! "How can you be bonded and smell so delightful all the time? Do you know how excruciating it has been to work alongside you with that brute hovering over us?" A shiver ran down my spine as the look in Jasper's eyes creeped me out.
"H-he was right about you… I was a fool for thinking you were different…"
"You're not a fool. I do care about you and want you to live freely. I don't want to trap you like he has." My eye twitched slightly. H-he didn't have the slightest idea of what mine and Ronak's relationship was like. Yeah, it wasn't perfect. We had a bumpy start, and have struggled seeing eye to eye on some things, but he doesn't trap me in any way. If anything, Ronak has opened the door to so many more options for me.
My rising anger was instantly squashed as Jasper ran his hand further up my thigh. An icky feeling coursed through me, and I had to gag as a pungent scent assaulted me. Ew! A-are these his pheromones?! They smell disgusting! Like sour rotting vegetables! I had to double over against the table to catch my breath. They were making my eyes water. "D-don't compare yourself… to someone as l-loving as Ronak!" I stood from my seat and tried to flee, but I ended up catching my foot on the bench and stumbling. As a pair of unfamiliar arms caught me, I gagged even harder. G-get off!
"It's a shame that you're so repulsed right now. We're in quite the secluded area of the campus." One of his hands slid down my torso, and my brain screamed out in disgust. No! Stop it! Despite squirming in his arms, I wasn't able to break free. His hand managed to go exactly where I didn't want it to, and he grabbed me through my pants.
I let out a loud cry and managed to wiggle my arm free. "Let go!" I yelled as I formed a light arrow in my hand. I thrust it down as hard as I could into the side of Jasper's thigh, not caring what sort of pain or damage it would cause him. I simply wanted to be set free.
"What the hell?!" Jasper let out a cry of pain, and I was finally able to break free from his grasp.
"Don't touch me!" I cried as arms grabbed hold of me once again.
"Shh, it's okay." I looked up in shock to see Ronak looking down at me, and I completely crumbled as his pheromones tickled my nose.
I let out a loud wail and collapsed into his arms. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't believe you! I-I was a fool!" Ronak didn't respond to me, which was surprising. I looked up at him and saw him clenching and unclenching his jaw. Even his nostrils were flaring with each breath like an angry bull. My sadness was completely drowned out by Ronak's unbridled rage, which made me hiccup.
A shiver ran through me as Ronak's eyes shifted from his regular crimson to his cat-like demonic eyes that almost shone a brighter shade of crimson. The scariest part was that the whites of his eyes turned completely black. Never had they ever done that before. "You must have a fucking death wish." Ronak's mana swirled around us, and as he spoke, I noticed his fangs grow longer, and the hands that held me grew claws. I-I also noticed that he was wearing the new clothes I picked out for him as he transformed completely into a demon. His old black robes had definitely seen better days, so we opted to get him some new clothes for his demonic form. I didn't want to pick them out, but Ronak insisted, so I did.
I wanted the outfit to have a foreign feel, so I went with a design popular with the nomads from the southern desert. His outfit technically didn't have a shirt, which was honestly just a bonus for me because it showed off his chest. Fine, it was more because he had wings than anything. Those were hard to get a shirt over, trust me, we tried. The shirt was black, and mostly only covered his shoulders and upper arms. It was connected to an elaborate-looking collar of sorts. It was primarily gold, but had beads and jewels adorning it, making it glitter in the sun. The pants he wore were also black and had a rather loose fit, but tapered at his hooves so they didn't trip him up while fighting. They even had a hole for his tail to slip through. Around his waist were plenty of golden chain belts that were probably enchanted. I stole the idea from his regular adventuring outfit because I liked the look on him. To pair everything together, he had chunky golden cuffs around his wrists, and he even let me convince him to put a golden cuff around his single horn. I was pretty surprised when Ronak showed me the three artificial golden claws he had made that clipped onto his fingers. He elected to keep his actual claws short for… activities, i-if I was feeling brave enough for a round two. Gah! I-I can't believe how much he looks like a nomadic god while wearing it all!
The light arrow faded away as my mana dissipated from the spell, leaving Jasper a fancy new hole in his leg. He looked up to see Ronak, and instantly flinched. "What the fuck?! I knew you were some sort of damn demon!"
"You'll think I'm a fucking demon when I drag you down to the pits of hell." I was able to see Ronak's tail swishing back and forth angrily as he picked me up into his arms. Ronak let out a growl so loud that it almost made the air vibrate. Maybe it was because I was so close to him or because he was in his demonic form, but it even made me shiver.
"Ronak… Y-you can't k-kill him…" Ronak turned and hauled me over to the grass, where he sat me down. He patted my head despite not taking his eyes off Jasper, and I nervously grabbed his hand.
"Then I'll just make him wish he was dead instead." I-I don't think that's okay either… Ronak stood and pulled his hand free of mine. Th-there was no stopping him… was there… Jasper made the foolish decision to run while Ronak was 'distracted', and several red arms rose from the ground, grabbing hold of Jasper's ankles.
"Let go of me, you freak! I'll report you to the emperor!" Jasper's screams became hysterical as Ronak slowly approached him. Ronak leaned down, grabbed Jasper's face with one hand, and squeezed.
"My uncle enjoys a good fucking laugh. Go ahead, tell him. I'll make sure you're left capable of talking." Ronak brought his knee up in one swift movement, bashing it into Jasper's side. To no surprise, just like everyone else that got hit by Ronak, Jasper went flying into the air before crashing back down in a heap. Jasper tried to get up and flee, but the red hands of Ronak's summoned undead minions grabbed hold of Jasper, pinning him to the ground.
At this point, the screams had drawn the attention of students and staff in the dining hall. Some stared in horror while others fled the scene. I had to guess that some went to retrieve professors, but I doubt anyone would be brave enough to step in and stop what was happening.
Ronak stepped towards Jasper as he squirmed around on the ground like a bug. The glare he was giving Jasper was one of pure hatred. "This is for you daring to look at my omega with your vile, lustful eyes!" Ronak brought his hoof down on Jasper's hand, and I had to cover my ears because the squelching crunch brought back the desire to vomit. Jasper let out a loud, belligerent scream and thrashed about even more violently in the arms' grasp. "This is for tricking my omega into thinking you were goddamn different from all the other alphas out there!" I had to look away as Ronak walked to the other side of Jasper and crushed his other hand with his hoof.
I didn't even want to think about what it would take to heal those… n-not that I was going to. I felt far too violated by those hands to care about them. The best he could hope for was for me to prevent him from dying. It went against everything in my nature to admit that, but… I-I don't even want to be near such a vile guy. I'm marked and engaged. H-how could he? I drew my legs in closer and wrapped my arms around them.
"This is for thinking you could lay your disgusting hands on Micha! How dare you violate him! He's mine!" Ronak roared angrily down at Jasper and slammed his foot down into the ground. Several thin spikes shot up from the ground, piercing Jasper's legs like pincushions. They rescinded into the ground, and shot up again, and again turning his legs into literal mincemeat. The ground was becoming soaked with Jasper's blood, and I couldn't sit back and watch anymore. Ronak was taking things too far. This was more than Jasper deserved.
Ronak had completely lost himself to his anger. I tried calling out to him, but he didn't listen. I stood upon my wobbly feet just as Ronak brought his fist back. It was covered in those eerie black flames, and based on the trajectory, he was going to smash his fist into Jasper's face. Anger was crashing into me like a tidal wave, and my vision even seemed to be tinted red from the sheer anger Ronak was experiencing. "Ronak! Stop! That's enough!" Despite the tension inside of me, I jumped forward and created a shield between Ronak and Jasper. Ronak's fist smashed into my shield, causing it to shatter almost instantly, but it was enough to make Ronak pause.
"Why are you protecting this goddamn jackass?! He dared put his hands on you!" Ronak growled at me, and I flinched. H-he hasn't been this rude in a long while.
"Y-you've done enough. Please stop." I stepped forward despite Ronak snarling at me and engulfed him in a hug. "D-don't kill someone over this. I don't want you to face consequences because of me. I'd never be able to forgive myself." His breathing was ragged and irregular as rage coursed through him. Gosh, his heart is beating so loudly that I could hear it without pressing my head against his chest.
I let out a bit of a yelp as Ronak pulled me up into his arms. He nuzzled his head against me, and I couldn't help but wrap my arms around his neck. It would have been rather touching if there hadn't been a crowd and someone bleeding out next to us. "I-I think I should stop the bleeding…"
"No." Ronak snarled. "I hope he dies."
"Rooonak… if he dies, I would feel terribly guilty. D-do you want me to live with that guilt?" The guilt of Ronak killing someone. The guilt of me not stopping him. The guilt of not healing the idiot on the ground. I'd be completely consumed if he let Jasper die.
"You shouldn't feel guilty over trash." He nuzzled his head against my collarbone and inhaled deeply.
"I'm only stopping the bleeding… I-I don't want to touch him more than that…" Assault and slandering were two very different misdemeanors in my book. I could look the other way for someone saying something rude, but assaulting me or anyone else, for that matter, was taking things too far. There was no goodness in my heart that could magically overlook what he tried to do to me.
Ronak let out quite a grumble, but sat me down like I asked him to. Jasper seemed to be unconscious. He probably passed out from the pain. His breathing was concerningly shallow, and the damage done to his hands was far worse than I could have imagined. Ronak completely turned them to bloody pulps… I doubt he'll ever be able to use them properly again without extensive high-level healing… I glanced up at Ronak, who was looking around at the gawkers with a scowl. He didn't even seem bothered by what he did, which was a bit creepy.
I let out a sigh and got to work making sure that he didn't die. His hands were a complete loss. There was no way I was doing anything besides cutting off their blood supply so he wouldn't bleed out. Next came his chest, which had multiple broken ribs and punctured organs. Gosh, I know you were angry, but you didn't need to knee him in the chest that hard. Finally, I turned my attention to his legs. Yikes… He probably has permanent damage down here as well… I did my best to stop the bleeding, but his muscles looked like a butcher had taken a spike mace to them. Completely tenderized.
To my surprise, Jasper gasped and opened his eyes as I finished healing him. Guess my job is done. He lives. I stood and brought a towel from my storage to clean my hands. I didn't like the idea of his disgusting blood being on my hands or under my nails. "Wh-why heal m-me? Y-you're as much of a… d-demon as he i-is. Y-you didn't even s-stop him, and here I th-thought I had feelings f-for you." He wheezed. I healed your lungs. Stop being dramatic. I couldn't help but glare down at him.
Ronak pulled me away from him and let out an angry growl, but it was me who opened my mouth first. "You're the sicko pining after someone who's engaged and marked! Don't try to make me feel guilty when you're the one who assaulted me in broad daylight!" I don't know what possessed me. I was so upset with him that I stomped forward and delivered a swift kick to Jasper's balls. I do have to admit… it felt gratifying… W-was this why Ronak punched people?
Jasper let out a gasp, and he writhed around in pain. I whipped back around towards Ronak, who had quite the grim face, but I knew he was hiding laughter inside. He was silently shaking, which was totally not like him. Stop snickering! Ronak pulled me back into his arms as he let out a rather loud snort and began laughing heartily.
"I want to go home! Forget about the stupid project! I don't care if I fail! Stop laughing!" I snapped as I reached up and grabbed Ronak's cheeks. It didn't stop him laughing in the slightest, though. If anything, he only found my irritation more amusing.
"Hell's fury is naught compared to an angel's wrath." He childishly giggled. It was odd seeing a literal demon laughing like a child, but I was glad that Ronak wasn't mad anymore.
"Come on. I want to wash my hands. They stink." I'm sure one of the many gawkers we had attracted could haul Jasper's body to the infirmary. I sure wasn't going to stick around and help. That absolute jerk! I snapped my fingers with a scowl. Get me out of here.
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"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Ronak?" I couldn't help but stare nervously at the plush red carpet we kneeled upon as the emperor glared down at us. I gulped as I waited for Ronak to respond. I-I knew your actions would come back to bite you, Ronak! I glanced over at Ronak, and he… was poking around the carpet with a bored expression on his face. D-did he not care that the literal emperor called us to the palace to chastise us?!?! "You know, I can look past the thirty-seven cases of assault that were reported in the last month from you punching people, but I feel like publicly mutilating someone is crossing a line." What kind of freaking line are we talking about?! I feel like assaulting anyone is crossing a few lines!!
Ronak's finger paused between the fibers, and he looked up at his uncle without permission. "I'd do it again, and probably finish the job if Micha hadn't stopped me." Ronak! D-did you not care that we were in trouble?! You can't say that! You're basically admitting that you'd commit manslaughter to your uncle's face!!
"And what about you? What do you have to say for yourself? I thought you'd be a bit more civil than that, but you let Ronak take things awfully far before stepping in. I thought you would have stopped him before he…" I peeked up at the emperor to see an attendant handing him a document. "Crushed both hands beneath his feet, and punctured the guy's legs multiple times with hundreds of needles. Oooh, you even kicked him in the groin, I didn't know you had it in you." I nervously buried my face into the red carpet a little further with each accusation the emperor said. Gah! I wasn't thinking! I should have stopped Ronak!
"I-I stooped da bleednn a-a-nd ee int iii!"
"No one can understand you," Ronak grumbled as he pulled me up from the carpet.
I blinked a few times, trying to clear the tears from my eyes. "I-I stopped the bleeding… H-he didn't die… b-but I-I'd kick him again too." I barely muttered that last part, but the room was so quiet, despite the number of people in it, that I'm pretty sure everyone heard. My face had to be the same color as the carpet as I tried to avoid everyone's judgmental gazes. Why couldn't the hall be empty like last time?! Why did there have to be so many people listening to us?! I wanna go home!
The emperor let out a sigh as Ronak burst into laughter. "Good, you should have kicked him harder. Really prevent trash like that from reproducing." The look in Ronak's eyes as he grabbed me was a bit creepy, but he was finding this whole situation far too funny.
"It's not funny!" I whined as Ronak pulled me into his lap. I tried hiding my face, but Ronak was completely unbothered.
"It's fucking hilarious. I wish I could watch you do it again. I said it once, and I'll say it again. Hell's fury knows naught of an angel's wrath." I peeked at Ronak, who was all smiles as he snuggled me close to him.
"You two are nothing but trouble. When does the term end so I can ship you back to your dukedom?" The emperor grumbled. "Gods, I can't believe I have to deal with you both for another two and a half years. We should change the magic academy to be like the knight's academy, and have it only be for three years." The dignitaries around the room snickered as the emperor bemoaned our future in the capital. I could hardly blame him, though. Thirty-seven assault reports? In one month?? What was Ronak doing when I wasn't around?!
"Oh, stop whining. It would be much easier if people learned to leave us alone, and yet it feels like nobility only knows how to continue breeding idiots."
The emperor let out another heavy sigh. "Ronak, as a consequence of your actions, you have to pay the earl's family for the mutilation of their firstborn son. I'll have an attendant come for the money later. I'm not saying what the boy did was right, but you need to learn to control yourself better in the future. You usually handle things with a bit more… tact."
Ronak's gaze turned from me and instantly sharpened as he looked at his uncle. "If someone is brave enough to touch my omega, then they're flirting with death. Tact or no tact. I'll make sure that anyone dumb enough to approach in the future with ill intentions doesn't survive." Ronak cracked his knuckles, making me flinch. Why does he have to say such creepy things sometimes? Ugh, he's not going to change his behavior in the slightest, is he?
The emperor strummed his fingers on the armrest of his throne as he looked at the two of us. "You know… People would be far less likely to bother Micha if you two got married. Then he'd hold the title of… I guess you wouldn't be an archduchess, would you?" His gaze drifted up to the ceiling for a moment. "I guess that would make you both archdukes… Anyway, I believe I warned you. That there would be problems in the future… People are simply viewing Micha as your plaything right now-" Ronak let out a rather loud growl, and defensively pulled me against him. "Oh, hush, I'm not saying he is. I'm just saying, as an outsider looking in, people are simply trying to see if there are cracks in your relationship. There were plenty of nobles who were upset that you didn't choose their families…"
"Micha is not a plaything. We're engaged." He rubbed my back, which I liked, but he didn't need to be so nervous. I know he didn't view me as a plaything. Ronak wasn't the type to use the word love flippantly.
"Yes, but that was quite the private event. I didn't even know about it until it was hypothesized in a newspaper, and I squeezed the information out of you at our family dinner. You didn't have an engagement party or anything." Was… the emperor upset? He looked upset…
"I hate that sort of shit." Ronak snapped. That's not shocking in the slightest. Ronak hates social events…
"Hate it or not, you're causing some of your own problems."
"I'll announce it at my winter social," Ronak grumbled. What's a winter social?
"Do what you'd like." The emperor rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively.
"We will." Ronak let out a huff of warm air that made me shiver. Ugh, it was rather cold in here.
"Fine, but no more brutally mutilating people. Lay low until the term is finished, and then you can go cause all the problems you want in your dukedom." Th-that's it? How does Ronak always get away with a slap on the wrist? Wasn't he causing major strife amongst the nobility?
Ronak helped me to my feet, and he gave me a soft gaze as he pulled me back close. "Do you want to teleport us home?" I nodded my head and held out my hand. Yeah… I could use a warm bath after the chaos that unfolded today…
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Ronak
It was taking everything inside of me not to overwhelm Micha with my anger. I can't believe my damn uncle. Micha was assaulted, and you have the guts to refer to him as a plaything to his face?! He should damn well know that Micha isn't a plaything! Grah! I just wanted to punch something- "I-I'm going to go take a bath."
I clenched my teeth together as I swallowed my anger and glanced over to Micha, who was looking rather down. "Then I'll join-"
"No. C-could I bathe alone tonight?" Micha's arms were wrapped around himself rather tightly, and I could tell how uncomfortable he was.
I walked over to him and added my arms to his as I gave him a tight squeeze. "No. I refuse to let you be alone right now."
"B-but," Micha sniffled rather hard, and I didn't even have to look to know that tears were streaming down his face. "I-I feel dirty, and I want to wash off any t-traces of him." Disgust coursed through me as my anger began to swell again. Micha had been wearing one of his annoying masks for the past few hours, and I knew it had been slowly cracking the entire evening. Fuck, why did my uncle force us to go to the palace? Couldn't it have waited until Micha calmed down?
"Then I'll personally make sure that you're clean." Micha's small frame shook in my arms as his crying intensified. Someone might as well have stabbed me through the gut. I felt awful. "I shouldn't have let you wait there alone. I should have had you wait at the administration office for me."
"It's not your f-fault!" Micha tilted his head to look up at me, but that only made the knife in my stomach twist around more. His beautiful golden eyes had pink-tinted whites from his crying, and I really didn't like having to see the tears actually spilling out of his eyes. "I-it's that guy's for b-being g-gross."
I let out a bit of a sigh and wiped away a tear with my finger. Mmm, these tears feel fully justified compared to some of the tears Micha spills. "While that bastard deserves a rather warm spot in hell, it is my fault. As your alpha, I should have never left you alone like that. I knew full well that other alphas can smell your pheromones… That's why I've been trying to cover yours up with mine." I know Micha knew what I was talking about. He even asked me the other day if I was intentionally scent-marking him. Of course, I was scent-marking him. Ever since he's become more comfortable around me, he just leaks pheromones like crazy. I think he stopped taking the pheromone inhibitor he was on, but I haven't dared say anything. I… don't want to tell him to stop… because I love the smell of his pheromones, but I also don't want him attracting jackasses. That's why I've been trying my best to cover up his scent with my own. The only nose that should get the joy of smelling Micha is my own.
"Th-they can what?" Micha let out a little hiccup as I scooped him up into my arms.
"Let's go get you into the bath, and I'll explain…" He had every right to know. I probably should have mentioned it before now, but it just seemed like trivial information…
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