He sat down sighing.

"I miss him already."

Leo started laughing.

North blushed and Leo looked at him with a wide smile.

"I'm not making fun of you—I never thought I'd hear you say something like that. How are things going with Lenny?"

North, enthusiastic about being able to talk about his favorite topic, responded with a smile:

"Good, much better. We're in the stage of convincing my parents, but I think we're on the right track. My parents want to clarify the issue of offspring."

Leo was about to take a bite of his sandwich when he froze.

"Isn't it too early?"

"Not for my parents. If they give me permission, then it'll be under their terms... and those terms include having children."

"Are you going to adopt?"

"That's my idea, but my parents are pressuring us to use a surrogate. I'm against it, and besides... I'm sure it would hurt Lenny."

Leo put down his sandwich.

"North, when did you mature? Whatever it was, share it with Jared."

The young man looked at him with his light eyes, surprised and at the same time amused by the comment.

"Jared is a lost cause."

Leo observed him with pity and smiled—maybe it was time to face that reality. North added:

"Jared is cornered. I have two beta sisters who are much better than me at business. So I count on them as my great allies. Maybe it's time for my parents to give the opportunity to those who really deserve it. They were the ones who got my parents to let me study Sociology."

Leo wanted to ask about Jared but suddenly didn't know how to do it. He opted for the simplest way:

"Speaking of Jared... he's disappeared."

North added, annoyed:

"Don't even remind me. I don't know what shit happened this time, whatever it was, it's serious. Someone from his family called me a bunch of times."

Leo had to ignore the nerves he felt at that moment, disguising it by taking a bite of the sandwich in his hands. Once he finished chewing and swallowing, he asked distractedly:

"And what did they want?"

"To ask if I had been with him that night at some party, if I had introduced him to someone..." he took a sip of his drink. "I don't know, Jared is really the first alpha I know who has an absolute blackout."

Leo looked at him intrigued.

"I thought that was normal in ruts..."

"Yes and no. Most memories are blurry, but generally you have some fragments. Jared is like he was unconscious during the entire rut and wakes up once it's over. He doesn't know how he got home, when he woke up, nothing—he doesn't remember absolutely anything. His parents are planning to send him to a controlled place for the next rut."

"It's not the first time it's happened anyway."

North looked at him seriously.

"This time is different because they're looking for a partner for him, Leo. Right now, if Jared makes a mistake, he can screw over the entire family. Yesterday someone from his Group was hanging around campus."

Leo felt a shiver down his spine.

"And that?"

"I thought the same thing. Yesterday I asked my sister and she told me that certain families, like the Rickdorfs, usually investigate omegas. She told me they did it at the institute after the last incident—that's why there were legal issues between Clara's family and them, because the girl's family is in the high spheres of politics, and when they found out about the investigation, they threatened to report them."

Leo was a bit scared, he had to acknowledge. North added:

"For me, they're looking in the wrong place. No omega who attends this university would do such a thing. Those people are capable of getting you kicked out of this university—what's more, they have enough power to make sure you're not accepted at any other university in the country."

Leo almost choked on his sandwich.

He internally thanked himself for not being so stupid as to stay and watch the world burn.