With swift movements, he handed me the other pizza and enthusiastically announced, “you have to try this! It’s amazing!”

I hesitantly accepted the pizza and took a bite. He was right! It was surprisingly good. I continued to eat the pizza he handed me while he watched me. Just as he quickly devoured his first plate, the pizza he was eating was gone within seconds.

I was sure he wanted to go get more food. Since he was a large alpha, he could probably eat a lot more than what he just ate. It was obvious he was trying to be considerate of me by not leaving me alone for his own desires. At this point, I didn’t know if he just wanted to be my friend, or if he had ulterior motives behind his kindness. He was an alpha, and one thing was no secret. Alphas love sex, and it wouldn’t be hard to take advantage of a small omega like me especially after he gained my trust.

While I was eating, he made another attempt to get me to answer his question, “I would really like to know what about me makes you scared. If it’s something I can change, I will. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable in the dorm.”

He was trying really hard to accommodate me, so I decided I’d give him some kind of answer. “I don’t trust alphas.”

“Why not? Did one hurt you?”

“Y’all are dangerous.”

“We can be, but I promise I won’t do anything to intentionally hurt you.”

I was still avoiding eye contact with him. He seemed like he had good intentions, but I just wasn’t ready to accept him. To continue our conversation, I said, “I’ve never really interacted with alphas before.”

“What about your father or other mother?”

“He was never in my life. He completely took advantage of my mother and left her.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

We fell silent after that. He watched me as I ate, and once I was done, we put our dishes on the conveyor belt to be washed. When we exited the building, Maelstrom took my hand again. Although it was weird, it was oddly comforting to know he was there. Even though I didn’t know him well, it felt as though he would protect me if something were to come at me.

Once back inside the safety of our room, he let go of my hand. He walked over to his bed and climbed in. He then laid on his side and faced me. And then there was me still awkward and uncomfortable. I hadn’t moved from the door yet. I was still anxious about being in such close quarters with Maelstrom away from the eyes of people who could intervene.

“Fly.” He paused as I shly looked over at him. “I’m sorry for this. I hope you forgive me.”

This statement frightened me because it sounded as though he was suggesting he was going to do something awful to me. However, just as my nerves were about to skyrocket, I felt immensely comfortable in his presence. It was a feeling I was not familiar with.

I moved away from the door and approached him. I didn’t know where the courage was coming from, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I walked right up to the side of his bed and looked him dead in the eyes for the first time. They were stunning!

They were also unusual. His right eye was mostly blue but had lots of brown and orange speaks littering the iris. His left eye was mostly hazel, but it had large sports of blue and yellow within the iris. They were fascinating to look at.

Maelstrom smiled at me. “It’s not nice to stare; you know?”

“I can’t help it. They're so different.” I answered him. This time, I easily answered him. It was as if he had brainwashed me into speaking.

“Fair enough. So I know you told me that you are scared of alphas, but what about me scares you?”

Before answering his question, I climbed into his bed and started snuggling him. “You’re so big. If I go into heat and forget my suppressant, you could do anything you wanted to me, and I wouldn’t be able to stop you.”

Maelstrom was struggling against me as I tried to cuddle with him. “I think you should go to your own bed.”

“I don’t want to.” I complained.

He sighed, “you won’t have to worry about forgetting your suppressant. That’s why I asked about your cycle. I can help make sure you take it. There is nothing for you to worry about.”

“Even if I take my suppressant, you could still take advantage of me while I’m in heat. I’ll be uncontrolably horny, and any advanments you make towards me could lead to sex.”

“You also don’t have to worry about that. I’m not going to do that to you. While you’re in heat, I’ll spend more time out of the room so you have more time to take care of your needs without my presence.”

“What if I start masturbating in front of you? I don’t want that.”

“If you do, I’ll leave the room. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing; I’ll just leave. Okay?”

“I don’t know. I don’t trust you. I don’t even know you. When my mom told me about you, I thought you would be another helpless omega, but you’re the complete opposite.” I nuzzled my face into the side of his neck.

I could feel him tense as I licked right under his ear. He quickly pushed me off of his body and got off of his bed. He then made sure to put some distance between the two of us. At first, I was confused as to why he did this, but then it quickly dawned on me.

I could feel the heat in my face as I quickly got off his bed. Maelstrom’s back was facing me as if he was avoiding making eye contact with me. As my feet hit the floor, I came to a sudden realization of what Maelstrom had done and why he had apologized to me.

I wasn’t sure if I was mad or upset, so I did the only thing I could think of. I rushed to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Once behind the security of the door, I broke down into tears.

He purposely took advantage of my status as an omega. Alphas are able to emit pheromones that attract omegas to them. This pheromone didn’t usually work on betas, but it could. I should have realized it the moment I lost my fear for him, but I was just so relaxed in his company. It was nice being so relaxed, and I enjoyed it, but I felt used.

Maelstrom knocked on the door, “I’m sorry. I just wanted you to speak to me and give me the truth. We will be roommates for at least a semester, and I needed to know what I had to do to make you more comfortable in our room. Will you please forgive me?”

I shouted at him, “Leave me alone.”

“Please. I’m sorry.” I could hear the desperation in his voice.

I was still angry at him for using his pheromones against me, “I hate you!”

“Will you please forgive me if I promise to never do that to you again?” He was begging at this point.

“Fuck off!” I screamed at him.

He didn’t beg for my forgiveness after that. I could hear him as he opened the door and left the room. At first, I questioned whether or not he was trying to trick me into coming out of the bathroom. I wasn’t going to risk it. I was still mad and upset at him because there was no excuse to use his pheromones on me like that. It wasn’t fair that he had so much power over me when I had no power over him.

When I calmed down some, I decided to step out of the bathroom. I cautiously opened the door and looked around for Maelstrom. He was nowhere to be seen. I slowly made my way over to my desk where I had left my drawing of Maelstrom. Since I was much calmer, and I didn’t have anything else to do, I decided to fill in his eyes to help distract me

Once I was done with that, I picked up my phone and called my mother.

“Hello.” She picked up the phone.

“Hey, mom.”

“How was move in? Have you met Maelstrom? I hope he’s being good to you.”

“I don’t like him. He’s a stupid jerk.” I hissed.

“Honey, I’m sure you’re overeating. You always do.”

“He used his pheromones against me!” I shouted at her.

“Which ones?” She questioned me.

“The one for attracting a mate.”

“Maybe he just thinks you’re cute, honey. He doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with cute omegas. Besides, you're always a nervous wreck. You know that pheromone has double effects. It can help calm down an omega and can be very useful in stressful situations.”

I sneered at her even though I knew she couldn’t see it. “That’s no reason to use me like that. It wasn't even to calm me down; he did it so I would answer his stupid questions.”

“Why didn’t you just answer his stupid questions in the first place? Then, he wouldn’t have felt the need to use his pheromones on you. You don’t have anything to worry about with Maelstrom. He is a well behaved boy.”

“You don’t even know him.”

 “I’ve never met him, but I know his mother very well, and she would never lie to me. She raised Maelstrom right. Ask Maelstrom about his home life and see what he tells you. You’ll find out that the two of you have more in common than you think.”

“What could we possibly have in common? He’s an alpha, and I am an Omega!”

I could hear a key going into the room door as my mother spoke to me, “Just talk to him honey. He’s just as nervous about this as you are.”

Maelstrom walked into the room, but he never looked at me. I decided now would be a good time to say bye to my mother. “I’m going to hang up now. I love you, mom.”

“I love you too sweetie. Just relax and trust that I didn’t put you with someone bad. I love you.” She hung up on me.