Page 17 of Toxic

And to make it even worse, he slept with my ex-boyfriend, David, after I left for college. We fought over it, and yeah, that’s when he broke my fingers. So, I could honestly say, I wasn’t that fazed about his criminal charges. Maybe I was a dickhead—he was my brother after all—but Storm had it coming. Too much aggression and cockiness can lead a person down a dark path, so to speak.

Despite my dad asking me repeatedly to contact him, I ditched the idea and just focused on my studies. I had a shitload of work and wasn’t keen on spreading my attention to other people’s messes.

Also… not much has changed on the Soren front.

During lectures or exercises, Soren and I kept our distance from each other. But I noticed something strange. One evening, when the interior of the lecture hall was reflected in the windowpane, I caught Soren looking at me. And not just once. I saw his frequent glances—recurring, almost insistent!

So stupefying… I decided to observe him more closely during other classes too. I discreetly turned on my phone’s camera but didn’t look in his direction myself. When I rewound the video to the beginning… yep, I caught him. He was definitely staring at me. His face seemed uncertain, like he didn’t even know why he was doing it. Well, I surely couldn’t understand his contradictory behavior; what a mystery.

Since nothing came of it, I just kept ignoring him and focused on my studies.

I also started going to the gym with Archer and Gabe more often, just to burn off all the pent-up energy. I even managed to have a few small convos with them during our workouts, but since I had to dedicate most of my time to studying, we didn’t hang out outside the gym.

Still, even those brief chats helped me get to know Archer better, and I was awed by how strict he was. He truly seemed much older than his birth certificate would suggest—responsible, neat, and organized, working out with a rigid regimen. Gabe, on the other hand, was the complete opposite—erratic and emotionally unstable. According to Archer, Gabe, who was part of a student environmentalist club, was hopelessly in love with its president, who treated him like shit. That was the reason for his constantly jittery mood. I could understandhim to some degree, since my own interest in Soren wasn’t reciprocated, but I never vibed with Gabe well enough to bond over our rejections.

Other than that, nothing major happened in my life—day after day of college life just went by.

***

The next opportunity for my interaction with Soren didn’t come until the end of the month. Another student mixer took place, and finally, Alvin dragged me along. I didn’t even know if Soren and Sean would be there.

Since this party was off-campus, alcohol was available to students over twenty-one. So, I stood in the corner and watched the people swaying on the floor, as always. A couple of omegas approached me, asking if I wanted to dance, but I declined. I wasn’t in the mood. I just sipped my beer, going with the flow, listening to the music.

I noticed Alvin dancing with Sean, so I figured Soren must be around here somewhere too. After a moment, I managed to spot him. He was hanging around with Tim and Mark near the beer keg. He had on a silver-black tank top with a mesh back, showing off his slender waist and shoulder blades. He had numerous silver necklaces and chains around his neck, and his hair was fluffed up into an impressive mohawk, with the longer strands over his nape tightly braided. He looked so sexy that, well—I got hard in my pants.

Pretending I was going for a beer, I approached the keg, and then he noticed me. His face immediately scowled. I poured myself a glass while his stormy gray eyes watched me from under those long lashes.

I could almost physically feel his gaze sliding all over me. Slowly, he turned and drifted toward the center of the dance floor, leaving the group behind. For some reason, I was glued to the sight of him, moving with light, sensual, almost erotic steps, like a professional dancer. His narrow hips flexed gracefully to the rhythm, swaying gently, rising and falling in a slow-motion simulation of sex with the waves of air. The whole time, he kept peering at me from under his impossibly long lashes, piercing me with his sexiness and beauty, making my dick painfully press against my zipper. There was even a moment when he opened his lips as if moaning in orgasmic ecstasy, tilting his head back. My pulse spiked dangerously high.

I’d never seen anyone move in a more arousing way in my entire life, and the show was all for me—I knew it.

A show of things I-could-NOT-have!

But then, just as I was coming to the conclusion that Soren might be up for a dance… Might! Possibly?

"Skye!"

Fuck, not now! Sean almost jumped on me, already pretty tipsy, practically draping himself over my shoulder. He smelled like alcohol, and his eyes were glazed. The mesmerizing show I was enjoying so much came to a brutal end, and I cursed under my breath as Soren stopped dancing, now standing there, staring at Sean and me with crazy intensity—especially at Sean’s hands, which wandered over my stomach and even grazed my crotch.

"Dance with me, Skye, please…" Sean breathed out, pulling me toward the dance floor, all while Soren’s vitriolic gaze burned through us. Before I could protest, Sean had wrapped his arms around my neck and started swaying to the music.

This was bad. I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I didn’t want to touch him, but his grip was strong, his compact body pressed against mine. Sean wasn’t some willowy omega type—he was abeta at 6'2"—so when he clung to me, it was a solid hold. I could feel his hands on my ass, and I was sure Soren could too. Should I care?

My eyes met Soren’s over Sean's head. He still stood there in the middle of the dance floor, glaring at us. It was as if pure, boiling hate poured out of his pupils. God, how he despised me—it was unreal.

Suddenly, Soren turned and approached Don, who was dancing nearby with… Alvin. Yep. My eyes practically bulged at that. Alvin’s hand was on Don’s ass. Interesting. That should be the theme of the night: ‘hands on asses’.

But Soren ignored their intimate embrace. He just put his slender hand on Don’s arm, and Don immediately turned around, leaving Alvin, who looked shocked.

Don instantly wrapped himself around Soren, and they started dancing. Yep, I wasn’t even mad. I knew he didn’t want me. He just played cruelly with me, like tonight, with that strange erotic dance.

There was nothing more behind it, right? It wasn’t like he danced to encourage me to join him, or that it was some breakthrough moment for us that I’d just missed, right? Surely, that couldn’t be the case! Not with Soren.

I’d already given up chasing after him, figured it was a waste of time, and I wasn’t going to reconsider my decision now.

And yet, I couldn’t deny that Soren’s behavior tonight was kind of strange. I hadn’t seen him with Don once in the past few weeks. Not even one time! So, why the change? And those stares he gave me during lectures, and now…? It almost looked like he was jealous. Of me? That would be stupid. He could have me anytime, but he didn’t. So what was his problem?

Soon they stopped dancing and headed toward the exit. I didn’t feel like watching that, so I looked away, and a moment later, they disappeared from the hall.

---