Bailey Copper didn’t notice power when it walked past him.

He noticed deadlines.

With his bag half-zipped, papers sticking out like surrender flags, and one shoe slightly more worn than the other, Bailey jogged across campus with practiced urgency. Being late wasn’t a habit—it was a lifestyle consequence of working two part-time jobs, skipping meals, and trying very hard to pretend life wasn’t heavier than his backpack.

People called him Sunny sometimes. Not because his life was easy, but because he smiled anyway.

A Golden Retriever Omega, Bailey didn’t stand out. He looked… normal. Average height, soft features, warm brown eyes that crinkled when he laughed. The kind of face people forgot five minutes after meeting—until they realized they felt calmer around him. Kinder. Better.

Today, the campus was chaos.

Students clustered in excited knots, phones raised, voices buzzing about him. Bailey caught fragments as he hurried past.

“—Luca Skholl—”
“—the Alpha—”
“—he owns this place—”

Bailey barely processed it. Famous people existed in another universe—one with tailored suits and full refrigerators. He was more concerned about finding a quiet bathroom to wash ink off his hands before class.

He turned a corner too fast.

Solid heat collided with him.

For a split second, gravity claimed him—then didn’t.

Strong arms caught Bailey mid-fall, firm and unyielding, like steel wrapped in warmth. His nose filled with a sharp, clean scent—pine, smoke, winter air—and something deeper that made his chest tighten.

Bailey looked up.

Silver eyes stared back.

The world went very still.

The man holding him was tall, impossibly composed, his presence pressing down like a storm held just behind glass. Perfectly styled hair. Immaculate suit. A face Bailey recognized only distantly—from billboards, screens, whispered admiration.

“Oh—! I’m so sorry!” Bailey blurted out, scrambling upright too fast. His heart raced, tail itching with nervous energy he fought to control. “I wasn’t looking, I mean—I should’ve—sorry—!”

The Alpha said nothing.

Bailey bowed his head reflexively, Omega instincts urging obedience, apology, retreat. He stepped back quickly, nearly tripping again before managing an awkward smile.

“I’ll—uh—go now.”

He turned and fled down the hall, face burning, unaware of the faint golden warmth he left behind.

Behind him, Luca Ulric Skholl remained still.

For the first time in years, the Alpha Wolf felt something pull.

And far down the corridor, Bailey Copper pressed a hand to his chest, confused by the unfamiliar flutter in his heart—like sunshine brushing against ice.