Page 136 of Citius

“And you’re okay with that?” I stepped into his path, tilting my chin up to meet his gaze.

The cold, steely gaze of a dominant alpha.

Every hair on my body stood on end. The air turned frigid—its sharp edge scraping against my skin, testing my resolve. Trying to reduce my autonomy into a fragile, ice-coated twig. So easy for him to snap.

A tremor ran through the right side of my neck, instinct urging me to bend to his will, to expose my throat in submission.

That would mean acknowledging Owen as an alpha with influence over me.

Fuck that.

It took every ounce of strength I had to hold my ground. I refused to look away or step back—to so much as flinch—even as his gaze turned into molten quicksilver, stealing the breath from my lungs.

I was right. He had to see that I was right. We had to push the university to investigate the pheromone spikes before someone got hurt.

Broken bones and other injuries were very real possibilities—but if an enraged alpha targeted an omega player, like Landon or Amir, they could be claimed against their will.

We had to do everything in our power to protect the student-athletes.

The elevator arrived with a cheerydingthat only amplified the suffocating pressure.

“My,” Owen murmured, stepping closer. His head dipped as he brushed past me, his voice grazing my ear like a sharp blade. “Aren’t you eager.”

He pressed the garage button and adjusted the already symmetrical knot of his tie.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’ll get what you asked for.”

The door slid shut, severing the tension and leaving me slumped against the wall, gasping for air.

How could I have been so stupid as to challenge a dominant alpha head-on? Just because Cal never directed his dominance at me didn’t mean Owen would follow suit.

As my knees finally steadied enough to hold my weight, the door to 602 swung open. Alijah stepped out, tugging along a somnolent Joaquin, with Wyatt trailing behind, freshly showered and wearing his customary basketball shorts.

“Oh, hi! We’re going out for coffee. Want to—” Alijah’s cheerful voice faltered as his gaze darted past me to the elevator. His face crumpled, almost falling backward into Joaquin’s embrace. “Owen fought with you?”

Joaquin, now alert and dialed in, took a deep breath. His alpha senses deciphered far more clues from Owen’s lingering pheromones than his mate.

“Nah,” he said, raspy voice calm as he rubbed the back of Alijah’s neck. “Doc pissed him off, but he caved at the end.”

“What an asshole,” Wyatt muttered.

His coat strained to contain his tense muscles, and his clenched fists twitched at his sides. Icy blue eyes flicked toward the staircase. I was afraid he was about to chase Owen down and punch him square in the face.

“It—” Was my fault, nothing to worry about, just a near catastrophe because I’d gotten too used to my alpha boyfriend’s mellow brand of dominance?

Wait—did I even have a boyfriend? Not officially. Did I?

God, why was I such a mess?

“It was just a work thing. Nothing major,” I said, forcing an unsteady hand through my hair.

“Really?” Joaquin asked.

“Yeah.” Mustering what I hoped was a reassuring smile for Alijah’s sake, struggling against a face that felt like a mask of wet clay, muscle fibers too heavy and slippery all at once, I said, “Let me grab my coat.”

***

“Um.” Piper stared at the box of paperwork I’d just set on the dining room table, her eyebrow arched skeptically. “Did Beaufeather’s start a side business selling term papers?”

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