"Damn, it´s hella hot in here!"

The voice echoed through the classroom at the precise moment the math teacher crossed through the door. His sharp voice resonated in the room.

"Jared Rickdorf, please moderate your language."

Several whistled, others made weird noises. Most didn't give it much importance, mainly for two reasons: first, they were finishing the school year and especially that year was their last before moving on to university, and second and perhaps more relevant; the expression came from the mouth of Jared, an ultra-dominant alpha who stood at the top of any power ranking.

Jared, 18 years old, was a young man standing 6'1", with slightly wavy blonde hair, fair skin, honey-colored eyes, and the physical build of an experienced basketball player. He was skilled in every sense; charming and owner of a face too boyish for the position he occupied and the character he had. This was public knowledge at the elite private institute he'd attended since elementary school—there wasn't anyone who didn't know that name, from the faculty, through the student body, to the maintenance staff. However, if there was someone who knew all his facets perfectly, that was Leo Candem.

Leo entered the classroom late, having spent the first two hours of the morning helping teachers and other students prepare for the end-of-year event. This year would be their class graduation, and therefore he'd been involved in the project for some time, though to be more precise, he'd been involved in similar tasks since last year. Sometimes he felt more like part of the school staff than the student body.

As an exemplary student, Leo had held the title of best GPA in the institute since freshman year for five consecutive years; he was also class representative and even this last year they'd incorporated him into a group called "Junior Supervisors," which Leo translated as "Free student manual labor," but since he was on scholarship and all activities would be certified by the principal to enrich his curriculum, he decided to overlook the labor exploitation.

Contrary to what people might think, Leo wasn't an example of political correctness, but nobody cared about his methods, only his results, since he was the only one in the entire school capable of handling Jared. If the latter was at the top of the food chain, then Leo was some kind of supernatural force that contained, surrounded, and regulated him.

Leo crossed the classroom exhausted and dropped into his seat. He looked at his desk—someone had left a book and a note. He swore to himself that if it was another little "favor" they were asking him to do, he'd end up in prison for arson. He was very close to destroying that beautiful institution with his own hands. He decided to ignore the little paper and open his notebook. The teacher continued with the lesson and the young man was behind; the teacher was closing a topic he was just beginning. The hour came to an end, also the elegant footsteps of the ethics teacher announced her entrance. She glanced sideways upon hearing some noise at the back of the classroom, took a deep breath, and fixed her gaze at the front.

Her voice recited in a weary tone:

"Page 162, rhetoric according to..."

A crash interrupted the reading.

Leo let out a sigh. 

Nobody said his name but he didn't want to hear it either. He stood up and turned around. One of the desks had overturned, on the floor was one of their classmates—if he remembered correctly, he was a beta—with an ugly bruise on his leg. Jared was crouched down grabbing the desk by one of its legs. Leo felt all his classmates' gazes fixed on his back.

"Sorry," Jared murmured, flashing a smile—it was his genuine and even sweet way of apologizing when he got caught in what he considered "a prank." The problem was that his sense of humor was extremely cruel. Sometimes Leo wondered if he did it on purpose, or if it was simply one of his dominant alpha characteristics, which usually lacked empathy.

He heard the teacher ask Jared to leave. Leo approached to help his classmate to stand up, while the teacher designated one of the female students to accompany him to the infirmary, while Leo told Jared to accompany him. He shrugged and followed willingly.

Once in the hallway, he heard the alpha's relieved tone.

"Ah, I needed to get out. Wanna go to the courtyard?"

"No," Leo responded curtly. Before adding, obviously annoyed, "You don't need to break someone's leg to leave the classroom."

Jared started laughing.

"I didn't break it, besides that was from the desk falling on him."

"Well, now you can explain that to the principal in the office."

Jared let out an annoyed snort.

"How long? Ethics ends in a bit and next period is free."

Leo stopped dead in his tracks, forcing Jared to do the same.

"Look, they have free period. You have to stay and so do I. Apparently I've become your 'personal babysitter.'"

Jared gave him a wide smile, gesturing for him to relax, adding:

"Come on, change that face. I was just bored."

Leo brought his hand to his face, obviously resigned.

He fixed his blue eyes on that honey-colored gaze. Without warning, he kicked him in the shin, which drew a cry of pain from Jared, who looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"You get bored but I have to study. I can't afford to miss classes." He paused briefly while Jared stood up and looked at him afflicted. "Now, walk!"

Leo quickened his pace while listening to Jared complain under his breath about his insensitivity.

The problem with Jared was that he didn't need to put effort into absolutely anything. 

He was at the top because of his subgender as an ultra-dominant alpha, forming part of 0.1% of the population. His family was composed of a lineage of the same subgender with similar characteristics. They enjoyed an excellent position in society, given by the power and money they possessed. Nothing about his future was at risk when it came to Jared, and therefore he was considered untouchable, except when it came to Leo. The young man had met him in 5th grade, when both still didn't have their subgender defined nor had experienced any kind of awakening. However, Jared had always known how to impose himself. His presence emanated an aura that could be overwhelming and contrasted enormously with his face, which at times seemed almost delicate. Leo, on the contrary, had always stood out for his academic performance. He was impartial, fair, but had a horrible character. His dark hair framed a face with masculine and beautifully proportioned features. He had deep blue almond-shaped eyes framed by curly and thick eyelashes. His hair was straight and he usually wore traditional cuts that gave him a serious appearance. Generally, he knew how to express himself very well when engaging in conversation with adults. With his classmates, he was the devil himself, as they described him. He ignored bonds on most occasions—perhaps that's why Jared and Leo had managed to connect so quickly. Leo, on the other hand, considered that his power resided in the strength of his blows, blows that had helped him tame the beast.

The trip to the office was short. When they arrived, Leo had Jared enter, led him to the desk located in one of the corners away from the rest. There he prepared some notebooks, left a heavy, old book, as well as some sheets with various questions.

Jared's voice reached him from afar as he looked at the book:

"Leo, I already read this one."

He looked at him like a child who suddenly discovers how clever he is.

Leo returned the look, shaking his head—naturally he'd already read the book, because apart from all the qualities he had, he also possessed an extraordinary memory.

"Jared, I care..." looking around, he lowered his voice, "very little, or nothing. Answer the questions and write a synopsis of the book. Then you can go back to class."

The blonde young man ran his hand through his hair with a conflicted expression, however he grabbed the pen and began to write under the satisfied gaze of the dark-haired boy.

A single thought occupied Leo's mind as he left the office:

"Please let there be no more incidents."

Clearly, Leo forgot for a few seconds who he was talking about.

It was 1 PM, and it was the 5th years' turn to go to the cafeteria to get food. Leo was running late again—he'd had to detour and go get something from the lab for chemistry class. When he arrived at the cafeteria, most of his classmates had already finished eating. He went to the counter to see the menu and could barely contain his smile when he read what there was to eat. It was the day they served chicken with potatoes, one of the few decent meals the cafeteria had that they served once every two months.

When the woman in the catering uniform served him an abundant plate, Leo gave her a wide smile, something quite unusual. With his tray carrying such a delicacy, he quickly chose a spot near the windows, where he could observe what was happening in the back gardens and at the same time was away from the center of the cafeteria where people usually gathered.

He was cutting the chicken when the small murmur he'd ignored until that moment turned into an exchange of shouts and metallic noises. Someone came running to his table, a hand grabbed his arm and he had to breathe deeply not to throw a punch. He tried to smile but found it impossible. He looked up to meet the brown eyes of a third-year student.

"Leo, quick... Jared's getting into a fistfight with Adrian."

Leo left his utensils on the plate, standing up quickly. He turned and headed toward the group of people. Adrian was another one of the school's alphas, from a wealthy family with a problematic personality; the problem was that he was an idiot. Apparently he didn't understand that regardless of fighting with Jared once a week, he wasn't going to manage to beat him.

The crowd of people that didn't seem so big turned out to have about 20 people concentrated, who had decided to gather around two people fighting on the floor. Leo looked at his watch—he didn't have time to talk, so he began to push people aside as he approached the center. When he arrived, he discovered Adrian on top of Jared, pressing his neck at the trachea. Jared was pale but Leo immediately recognized that he was having fun. The dark-haired young man grabbed Adrian by the shirt and as if he were a sack of potatoes, removed him from there with a dry pull backward, and then pushed him to one side. In front of him only Jared remained exposed. The blonde looked at Leo's blazing eyes. People had begun to disperse. Adrian tried to attack him again, but Jared quickly blocked him, pushing him aside, although judging by Leo's expression, that hadn't ended with that light exchange. Leo's voice sounded intimidating.

"I told you I'd smash your face if you interrupted my lunch again."

Jared tried to smile at him but nervousness gave him away as he began to bite his lower lip. It was a habit he couldn't shake, mainly because he wasn't aware he did it in such situations.

"Sorry," he murmured quietly.

Leo grabbed him by the arm and helped him stand up quickly. He went looking for Adrian and found himself for the second time that day taking Jared to the office.

The conflict with Adrian was always the same—a young omega from 4th year had gone out on several occasions with him, and since they'd broken up, Jared, among other alphas, made sure to pursue and harass her whenever they could. The problem wasn't that, but rather that on several occasions the young woman had complained that several alphas, including Jared, had used their pheromones, something that was completely prohibited in public. It was in moments like these where alphas seemed like animals to Leo. He was afraid that his subgender would be that and he'd end up being a being dominated by his own primary desires for domination.

-cont. part two-