Day eight. The scent of alpha was still unnervingly strong. It wasn’t as though last night’s… unspeakable incident… had added to the potency of the mark - he hadn’t touched her skin. River slammed her face back into her pillow. Coming without a single, actual, touch.

For a moment, it had felt completely normal- natural. In the roll of their bodies a deep primal urge was reciprocated. Except, was it? River came and left an omega snail trail to prove it all over his trousers. Elliott didn’t. And River had no idea what that meant. Actually, she did have ideas, she just didn’t like any of them as reasonable options.

If he just wasn’t as attracted to her as she was to him? Mortifying. If he was expecting her to do more than ride him with her face in his shirt? Possibly even more mortifying. If he was taking pity on a virtuous omega? River would rather die than be seen with him again. Or by him.

What on earth were you even supposed to say to someone after you got off on their knee?

She groaned and the pillow didn’t reply.  It judged in silence. For having an orgasm in public or for not being at the library already like she’d planned… was to be decoded. She swivelled her cheeks to peek at the time on her phone: ten. She’d wanted to be at the library and nose-deep in her required reading by nine.

She forced herself upright, bringing the disapproving pillow with her in a limp cuddle, and sighed. There was still time, and she needed to be dressed and out the door for afternoon lectures eventually, she might as well make the most of the extra time.

A speedy shower and a knee-length buttercup-printed dress, cropped cream cardigan, white sandals, and wrinkly tote bag later, River was ready to head out.

The library was an easy, breezy, walk away. Inside it wasn’t too busy, with plenty of tables and cubicles open for use. River slid into one and arranged two enormous tomes in front of her with her water bottle on the side. She checked her phone: more than enough time to get though all the necessary chapters.

“River, darling!”

River jolted in her seat.

“Hi Heather,” she whispered. Others were giving them hard looks over the dividers.

Heather dropped her volume. “Oh, yes, sorry!” She twinkled her fingers at a man who hadn’t looked away quickly enough. “I’m just passing through and I thought I recognised…”

Fifteen minutes later, Heather had bustled away and River slumped in her chair. She really needed to get stuck in-

Pepper popped out from behind a bookcase. “Hey River! I thought I heard your voice. How’d you like Glacier?”

River perked up to answer. It would be rude not to thank her for including her name on the club list…

After ten minutes of gratitudes and polite compliments on Glacier’s music, atmosphere, interior design, Pepper took her leave, walking backwards out of the building with hushed promises of another night out soon.

River waved until she was out of sight.

She still had time. As long as she cracked on without any further distractions-

A head dipped into her cubby with a coy smile: Emerald.

“Hi Em,” River greeted, barely keeping her exasperation from her voice. “I really-”

“You will not believe what that choir master has done now!”

Apparently River’s belief wasn’t conditional to her hearing this new piece of gossip, because Emerald launched into the story without pause for breath. River nodded and hummed her along, hoping that any moment it would end. She had so much reading to catch up on…

Please, she wanted to say, I came here for peace and quiet to read, not to chat!

“Move along, this isn’t a café.” Elliott slid into the cubby beside her, dropping a luxurious leather satchel to the desk. The mere sight of him set River’s senses on edge. Anticipation tickling her all over.

Emerald giggled, only an undercurrent of awkward nerves to the sound. “You’re right, I should get going. See you, River.” She eyed Elliott all over. “Elliott, right?”

Elliott nodded, to his laptop rather than Emerald.

“Bye, Em,” River hinted quietly.

Emerald skipped off, unperturbed. Once she was out of earshot, River murmured her thanks.

“I sent her on her way for my sake, not yours.” Elliott finished arranging the tiny desk space with his things and placed the satchel beneath. “I’m here to study.”

“So am I!”

“Then why couldn’t you get rid of her?”

“That’s rude,” River mumbled.

“Being direct and being rude aren’t the same thing.”

“They are if you’re not big enough that taking offence could have consequences.”

“Talk of consequences coming from an omega is…” He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth for a moment and smirked down at his text-filled screen. “Hilarious.”

Ah, one of River’s least favourite omega stereotypes: that omegas get special treatment everywhere they go and that this offers them some kind of advantage in life.  Omegas can do what they like and no one would bat an eye because they’re just a weak, little omega.

“You of all people should know that the clichés betas believe are bullshit.”

“True.” He watched her for moment, as though weighing up whether to continue. He turned back to the laptop. “The reason you don’t face consequences isn’t your secondary gender. It’s because you refuse to toe anything close to a confrontation.” He let out a sigh filled with mirth, keeping his gaze on the screen. “God forbid you don’t fall at the feet of anyone who approaches you.”

River pouted. “You will never convince me there’s anything wrong with being nice for the sake of being nice.”

He finally broke his staring contest with his laptop to give her an odd look. Curious? Humorous? Disbelieving? “Let’s agree to disagree and get on with our studies, then.”

A flush of heat ran through her. She was going to start her reading, but if she argued it out with him she was proving the point he had so subtly made. She locked her eyes on the text in front of her and began to read.

Ten pages in, she smelt the approach of a submissive beta from behind.

“She’s got a deadline.” Smooth yet icy, Elliott’s words passed over the top of her head. He barely turned in his seat to address the approaching interrupter.

“Oh, sorry!” The voice was JJ’s, a guy in her fine art class. River peeked over her shoulder and JJ mouthed ‘I’ll text you!’

River smiled and nodded and returned to her book.

Every now and then, another person would approach. And every time Elliott would rebuff them with incredible efficiency.

In spite of his firm tone, she could tell they were all still eager to be agreeable with him. No one was offended by his dismissal. No one argued or complained. No one lingered. It must be so easy to be an alpha - everyone wanted to like them, to be in their vicinity. Not like omegas, too dainty and delicate - why take the risk of being near them? River worked so hard to be approachable, easy to like, and Elliott made none at all and betas took to him without any concern. She didn’t begrudge him being introverted, it was just so unfair that she couldn’t get the same treatment.

After reading in silence, side-by-side, for an hour, River cracked.

“How do you keep turning up everywhere I go?”

Elliott took his time facing her. “I told you already, I have to keep an eye on anyone wearing my scent.” He sighed, sliding to his side on the hard wooden chair as though it were a chaise. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

She slumped back and folded her arms over her chest. “And how many subs have you scent marked?”

“Are you jealous?” The excitement in his eyes made her nervous.

River scoffed. “No! I’m just curious how often you do this scent-and-stalk routine.”

“How many doms have scent marked on you?”

She turned away, burning from brow to collarbone.

“Oh?” Elliott chuckled. “A lot, then.”

River shook her head at her book. Not a single scent but her own had crossed her throat before Elliott’s.

“No alphas, though.”

River jerked her gaze back up to him. How could he tell that?

“Tuesday. You said the scent would fade soon, but it’s only been a week,” he explained with a smirk. “Dominant betas can stretch out a week at most from one scent mark, but you’ve got a little longer before mine even starts fading.”

“How much longer?”

“My record is ten days, full strength.”

“And then?”

“Then another week, at least, of the slow breakdown of my mark.”

Almost three weeks off one rub-down. River was doomed. She folded her cardigan around her tighter.

“Angling for another hoodie?”

River laughed awkwardly. “And take up even more space in the washing machine? I’ve got my own clothes to fit in!” Yesterday’s stolen article was still sitting at the bottom of her laundry basket - soaked.

“Are any of those clothes appropriate for winter?” Elliott asked, a teasing lilt to his tone.

“It’s spring.”

“In a month, sure.”

“It’s getting warmer and brighter every day.”

“I see, so because the temperature has moved from one degree to two degrees, you think you can walk around half-dressed?”

River rolled her eyes. He hadn’t been complaining about how little she was wearing last night. “Everything that needs to be covered is covered.”

He took a long time studying her now, checking all the areas he deemed needing of cover. His eyes lingered between her legs before flicking back up to meet hers. “But is it warm?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

A passing student coughed, “Get a room!” He and his friend hurried away and out the front doors, laughing.

“I- I didn’t mean that in- in a dirty way-”

Elliott tapped her open book. “Back to work.”

×

After her afternoon lecture, River still had an Art Society meeting to attend. She flopped onto one of the benches just inside the doors to the theatre building.

She had no reason to feel so drained. A ten o’clock start was nothing to boast about. She’d spent a couple of hours reading in the library… and avoiding conversation with everyone and their mother. Then Elliott had departed for a reason he didn’t share, and River had walked to class.

In the absence of a logical reason, she decided to blame Elliott. Something about being in his presence and trying to act like she wasn’t humming with suspense at what he would do next exhausted her. It had to be his fault. She thought she’d had him pegged as the quiet, classy alpha in the corner, now she was struggling to put him in a box. He kept himself in his shell for the most part, but he could also be very forward and… flirtatious?

Was it flirting if he didn’t take her seriously? Or was it just teasing? Should she be rejecting the behaviour?

She didn’t want to.

River choked on her own spit and sat up properly to cough herself clear again. That wasn’t a thought she had expected to reach her consciousness. Even admitting to herself that maybe… she liked his looks, his purred words, his steady and careful touches, was painfully embarrassing.

He had scent-marked her on a silly whim that they’d shared. He didn’t want her. He was playing along for the duration of the mark and that was it. Keeping his hands to the barrier of the dress last night had told her exactly that. In a few days the scent would be fading and Elliott would lose interest. Until then... there was nothing wrong with enjoying his playful pretend interest. She was young, and at university, this was the time to have fun!

She hopped back onto her feet, invigorated, and decided to take the longer, scenic walk to the meeting. Maybe she could gather more inspiration for her next painting…

×

“They want us to work for free,” Rowan summarised. His frown was almost fearsome.

The Art Society president corrected him, “They will provide food and drinks and you’re welcome to use photos of the project for your portfolios.”

“I don’t have a portfolio,” Sky complained. He was on the Art History course, so he didn’t need to show any of his own art. A shame, because River felt he had a real eye for anatomical sketching. “And I don’t eat cake.”

The president sighed. “Well, anyone that does want to join in, please let me know.”

“And that was the last item on the agenda,” the society secretary added. “Thanks for coming everyone.”

The group partly-dispersed, with some lingering to sign up for the mural painting project and others hanging back to complain about the audacity of expecting broke uni students to work for free. The mural was for a local café, and would take a whole day to complete. Luckily, River had checked her diary and she was free. It wasn’t planned until after the Easter break due to the cold weather, so it was far enough out that she actually had some availability. She joined the line to sign herself up and got a thorough thanks from the president and secretary.

As she approached the door to leave, Rowan and Sky swooped into her sides.

“You shouldn’t let them take advantage of your good nature like that, River,” Rowan scolded.

Sky grumbled, “Yeah, you can’t be working for coffee and cookies.”

“It’ll be a fun day to make friends!”

The boys groaned in unison and yanked open the doors ahead of her. River trotted through and they caught back up with her immediately.

“You have more than enough friends,” Sky laughed.

“Too many!” Rowan huffed. “You need to de-clutter your diary.”

River grinned. There was no chance of that happening. “Maybe I’ll manage to change your minds by next term.”

“And maybe pigs will fly.” Rowan nodded down the dark street. “More importantly - you going straight home from here?”

“Yep.”

“Then we’ll walk you.”

River beamed up at them. “Thanks.”

“Now stop it with that cute shit, you’re not going to convince us,” Rowan grumbled.

River laughed and let them lead her back to her front door.