Elliott existed in everyone’s peripheral. Neither rude nor withdrawn, he somehow managed to perfectly balance attendance with distance. Easy-going but not easily-led. A cardboard cut-out of a perfect person. Now his scent coated River’s neck from jaw to collar bone.

×

The lecture had begun with an overview of the group projects that would be assigned that day.

Luckily, River knew all the people she had been grouped with. Granted, she made an effort to get to know everyone she came into contact with, and it helped a lot in these situations. River was the only non-dominant at the table. As an omega, people expected her to be shy and timid. It kept people at bay, afraid to approach her and make her uncomfortable, or be seen as the arsehole bothering a poor, weak, defenceless omega. But River was no such thing.

Sat around a high table, on stools that River had to climb up, her group chatted with her cheerfully.

“You and the girls are going to that glow-in-the-dark bowling place on Friday, right?”

The girls were the dominants’ girlfriends. A gaggle of girls that made up one of River’s closest friend groups. All betas, but of the submissive variety. Their boyfriends were also all betas, and all dominant.

River nodded and smiled. “They’re going, I’m undecided.”

“River missing a social event?” Ilex teased.

“Are you sick?” Rowan added.

Sky shook his head. “Leave her alone. She’s probably just booked up three months in advance.”

“Six, actually,” River replied primly. “But that’s not the reason I’m on the fence.” She sighed. “It’s in a bit of a… dodgy area.”

The boys’ faces fell into frowns simultaneously. The girls hadn’t told them, then.

“They’re all scent marked, though,” River added hurriedly. “So I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

River was the only member of the friend group without a partner. Without a scent to protect her from creeps on the street. She was already a walking target as an omega, to go into an area that was known to be dangerous seemed really really stupid. But she hated turning down an invitation.

“You’re worried to go without a scent mark on you?” guessed Rowan.

River shrugged sheepishly. “It might seem silly, but-”

“Not at all,” said Sky. “It’s better to be overcautious, especially since you’re, um-” He flushed a little around the ears.

River smiled. “I know.” An omega, delicate and defenceless. She bit back a sigh. She didn’t think she was Wonder Woman or anything, but she liked to think her friends knew her well enough by now to not baby her. Physical strength and size were not in her favour, but she was smart-ish and could make a friend of anyone, and that had seen her into adulthood just fine.

Omegas and alphas were the rarest secondary genders, and she and Alpha Elliott were the only ones in their Art History class. Perhaps, if she had chosen the British Modernism module instead of Italian Renaissance, they both would have each been a drop in a sea of betas. Did it make a noticeable difference to not be the only non-beta in the room? No, but at least she could tell herself she wasn’t alone when one of them made an accidentally ignorant comment. Being a novelty was difficult at first in any environment, and River did her best to use it to unlock even more friendships. Elliott did not take the same strategy. They had never spoken beyond sparse small talk. That was okay… alphas were a little intimidating…

That was exactly one of the ignorant stereotypes that a beta would repeat. River allowed herself some grace - she was an omega, she was allowed to be nervous of alphas. And anyway, she never said such things out loud…

Rowan’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Maybe we should come along, just in case.”

“Oh, please don’t worry,” River assured them, forcing an easy smile. “I wouldn’t want to put you out.” She knew they had plans to watch the football together that night. “Either I go or I don’t, but that’s on me.”

Ilex grumbled quietly and the others looked similarly uneasy.

“This is a bit embarrassing, but I have been looking into alternatives.” She would never have admitted it if they didn’t seem so concerned.

The boys all stared at her, not a single inkling behind their eyes, urging her to continue. Their printouts lay ignored around their half-open laptops.

“You know those seedy perfume ads?” she laughed awkwardly. “They claim to have the same effect as a dominant beta or alpha’s scent. It’s probably a scam, and insanely overpriced, but it did catch my attention.”

There was a silent pause at their table, the rest of the room bubbled with mumbled conversations.

“How overpriced are we talking?” Sky asked.

“Dude!” Ilex rocked back on his stool to give his friend an incredulous look. “Why are you encouraging this?” As though River was spitballing the possibility of taking secondary-gender-altering drugs. It was just the smell, not any physical change, that she wanted. A stinky cloud of protection from the world, just for one night.

“I’m just curious!” Sky’s voice had risen too loud under the scrutiny. River pretended not to see the tables around them taking notice of their conversation. She didn’t want the world finding out she was so pathetically single that she was genuinely considering buying the scent of a stranger to wear. “How much could I get for my sweat?”

Rowan shook his head. “How would you squeeze enough out to even fill a bottle?”

“Turn my fan off for a night. Wring the sheet out in the morning.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Mate, it’s not even March yet.” Ilex looked almost more concerned than queasy. “How are you always burning up?”

“Probably a side effect from all the protein powder he snorts.”

Sky didn’t deny it. River caught him glancing down at his biceps with a glint of pride in his eyes. He was certainly big for a beta. The boys’ words rolled over him in the trance of his own gigantism.

“Another one? Aren’t his farts bad enough?”

Sky snapped out of his stupour to scold Ilex. “Hey, don’t talk about farts in front of an omega.”

“Sorry, River.”

River waved him off. It was silly, the things that betas thought would offend an omega. Potty language was a common one, along with mentions of violence or suffering. Omegas were supposed to be fragile, even in their ears.

“Let’s see these stink sellers, then.”

River hesitated. They hadn’t gotten much done on their project, and time was running out… They could always meet up for a study session over the weekend…

River pulled herself up onto her knees, teetering on her stool to display her phone screen in the centre of the table, searching for the saved tab of scents for sale. The website looked shady as anything, with a blocky design and clashing colours claiming the best deals to be found anywhere online.

Rowan whistled one long, quiet note.

“Yeah, it’s definitely not in my budget,” River admitted.

“The price-per-spray is probably reasonable when you think of the safety benefits and that…” Ilex offered. “But for a whole bottle? Insane.”

Sky was counting on his fingers while Rowan scrolled the offerings. “It’d still cost you a tenner to cover all the important parts - and that’s for a dominant beta scent, not the alpha deluxe!”

“I’d let you borrow my scent for free if I didn’t have, you know, Willow.”

“Thanks, Ilex.” It was an intimate thing to offer, and she wondered if he only felt able to say the words aloud because he had Willow.

“I’d charge you a pound per day,” Sky teased. “My stench is premium.”

“What a steal!” River laughed. “If only I could find someone else as generous as y-”

The heat of a body had drawn in close to her back, and the scent of an alpha slammed into her. When had he gotten so close? Why had he gotten so close?

Her head turned a degree and was caught between huge hands. The table was still, the boys stupified, River locked in an alpha’s grip. And more potent than the grip was the light layer of natural oils and sweat that coated it. River’s skin took to the scent like a sponge to water, drinking in every touch as the hands rounded her jaw, impossibly gentle for their size, dragged down her throat, cupped her collarbones and pressed warmth into the thin skin of her chest. The touch was both sensual and methodical. An intimate exploration and a meticulous coating.

His throat took the newly opened space beneath her ear, layering his pheromones with a tender nuzzle. It seemed impossible that she could know such a thing… but she felt the restraint of him resisting the urge to rub at her with his jaw harder. Holding back the territorial aggression.

The hands lifted at the shudder of the first breath River had managed to take since inhaling the alpha’s scent. Her wrists were taken from their balance upon the work table and rubbed by thick thumbs, working the claim into her skin thoroughly. It was a small mercy when her armpits weren’t massaged as well. Instead, the hands retreated and so did his bony jaw, no longer prodding into her throat.

She didn’t attempt to crane her neck again, she knew there was only one alpha in the room. And of all the alphas she’d ever met, no matter how briefly, she was most shocked that this one would mark her with his scent. She was shaking, her heart thudding like it wanted to escape. She stared straight ahead, over Rowan’s shoulder.

“First taste is free.” The voice in her ear was low, breath brushing the shell. River shivered. He was curled over her, close enough to touch, but not. Why did it matter? She reeked of him. Why hold back now? “After that, I charge the deluxe prices.” There was humour in his tone, but he could very well have been serious.

River forced herself to turn. She had to say something, or do something, or maybe both. Elliott was hunched over her, eyes the blue of royal crests watching her from above, but only for a moment. Once River had found the courage to spin on her shins and face the alpha whose scent she now sported, the very same alpha dipped back and slipped away between the tables. His expression held nothing, the perfect mask it always was.

The class was over, and only their table had not stood to leave. If anyone else had witnessed the scent marking, they had nothing to say about it. Elliott disappeared out the door amongst the crowd.

River’s knees fell open and she dropped to her seat. The boys packed her things for her and walked her out until she shooed them to their next classes. She had a free hour. And she was fine. She needed a hot drink to calm her nerves. But she was fine. They didn’t need to worry. She was fine.

With uncertain mumblings, they finally left her to get her thoughts together. River staggered away, swallowed up in the fog of an alpha’s scent.