Page 29 of Toxic

"Yep, sharp eyes. It's really me. So, have you apologized for your rapey behavior?" I asked, crossing my arms and tilting my head.

"It’s none of your business, idiot. Get lost, or this time I won’t let you off so easily—"

"Uuuh, I’m sooo scared!" I mocked.

Don growled louder, "I’m gonna kick your ass!"

But I just shrugged.

"You better chill out and find something productive to do, like touching up your roots. You're going mousy brown—it looks dull on you."

Obviously having enough of my rudeness, Don snarled and lunged at me, but I was ready for it. For some reason, I felt my physical dominance over him. It was hard to grasp because I had never fought seriously with other adult alphas before, besides my brother Storm, nor had I had any sparring practice, yet I found this immense strength in my body. Whenever Soren was nearby, something changed within me, like I was gaining muscle mass, and my own level of aggression, along with the desire to confront other alphas, was… greatly increasing. I had no idea where this primal impulse came from, but it was quite powerful. So when I pushed him, he immediately fell to the ground like a helpless doll.

Then Sean jumped toward him and grabbed his arm.

"Stop, you won’t win against him, don’t you feel it?"

He couldn’t have said anything worse; Don pushed him away, got up, and lunged at me again, but before he could fully stand, I kicked him in the chest, knocking him back onto the sidewalk.

"Stay down unless you want this to end badly for you," I growled.

As he tried to get up, Soren stepped between us and said, "Leave it, Don, this is just childish. Let’s go to class; there’s no point in continuing this shit."

Don looked at him apologetically and muttered in a pleading tone, "But you forgave me, Soren, everything’s okay between us, right?"

Soren didn’t respond; he just turned around and walked toward the entrance of the main building.

"Calm down and chill out here for a while; he’s really pissed at you, Don!" Sean shouted to the blond alpha before quickly walking away. I also headed toward the building, leaving Don sitting on the sidewalk, fuming.

We were the only ones attending this lecture, Soren and I, as Sean and Don had other classes. I noticed Soren sitting in the back row, around where I usually sat. Nervously biting my lower lip, I approached him and whispered softly, "Can I sit next to you?"

Soren gave me a strange look but nodded slightly. With an uncharacteristic surge of joy, I sat down next to him, remaining silent. I didn't know what to say, and I certainly didn't want to comment on the Don's incident.

Soren stayed quiet too, so throughout the lecture, we simply sat next to each other, not exchanging any words but strangely aware of each other's presence. I stole glances at him, feeling a pleasant warmth spreading through my body, almost a shiver of euphoria. I wanted to touch him, even just to brush my hand against his arm or gently graze his fingers, but of course, I didn't, so I just timidly peered at him, seizing moments when he wasn't looking. Yet, I also sensed that his attention was somehow directed toward me in a peculiar way. There were brief points in time when I felt his eyes on me, but he would quickly avert his gaze.

Soon after, there was another lecture, and the situation repeated itself. I approached him and asked if I could sit next to him again. He simply nodded, and once more, we spent the hour-long lecture sitting next to each other in complete silence, exchanging subtle glances.

Then it was time for lunch. Soren headed to the cafeteria, Tim and Mark were already waiting for him in line. They sat at a three-person table, so there was no space for me. However, I occupied the nearest table possible, and as they ate,I occasionally peeked at Soren, and he very discreetly glanced in my direction.

It was very unusual, this silent exchange of energy. And I felt something growing inside of me, the need to be with him again, to touch him one more time.

Soon the need took over my whole body and mind. When they had finished eating and Soren was walking toward the lecture halls where we were going to have classes in about twenty minutes, I approached him and said quietly,

"Soren, would you agree to a… hj?"

I said it without batting an eyelid, and his silver eyes lifted up and bored into my face with a great deal of intensity.

But then, unexpectedly, he replied, "Okay, we can go to the bathroom."

I froze in astonishment that he wasn't angry about my impertinence, and even more so, that he wanted to do it right away! On the other hand, strangely enough, I wasn't surprised—I really wanted to be close to him right now, so maybe he felt the same?

The strange chemistry between us was obviously growing.

Smiling, I nodded enthusiastically. He didn’t respond with a smile, but immediately turned and headed for the restrooms, which were down a side corridor.

As soon as we entered one of the stalls, he closed it and turned toward me.

I didn’t wait. I hugged him, pressing his slender body against mine, nuzzling my face into his neck, again instinctively seeking his neck gland with my mouth. It was a very primal reflex in alphas, even though he was a beta, I still sought this form of contact between us. I kissed that spot on, licked it, and to my amazement, he tilted his head slightly, as if to make room for me, allowing me to touch the area around his gland for a while. Although it was very weakly active in betas, producingonly small amounts of AO-specific pheromones and hormones, it was still visible on his neck as a slightly paler area than the rest of his skin. It was also a very sensitive spot. He sighed softly as I continued to caress him there.

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