Suspect Of Love

Dante couldn’t believe it.

Someone in Japan could actually go toe-to-toe with him, and not just on the court, but with presence, energy, pull. It was jarring.

The first time he saw him, he was standing next to Maya.

At first, Dante felt... hurt.

An odd emotion for someone like him. After all, he was the one who ended things. He’d done it because Maya refused to attend the same high school. It was petty. Childish. He could admit that now. But still, Dante had never stopped loving him.

He’d been around. Slept around. Hookups, yes. But dating? Never. Not since Maya.

And now? Maya was standing beside someone new, someone tall,.but not as tall as him, with quiet eyes and a presence so heavy it made Dante’s skin prickle. Worse, the guy was undeniably good-looking. If he weren’t with Maya, Dante might have shamelessly tried to sleep with him. Hell, who was he kidding—he still might if the guy asked.

But there was something strange about him. Dante had tried to pick up a scent, anything to guess his secondary gender, but there was... nothing. It was like trying to smell through glass. Transparent. Void.

Weird.

He considered asking Maya about him, but with the Winter Cup around the corner, there wasn’t time. And Maya’s new boyfriend, Taiga, was going to be his opponent in the finals. Great.

Then, before the Winter Cup, he saw him again.

Dante had intended to be civil. Maybe even friendly. But it was like his mouth refused to cooperate with his better judgment. Socializing had never been his strong suit, and emotions? Even worse. So, of course, he did what he always did, defaulted to arrogance and sarcasm.

“Yo. What are you doing here? Can you even afford the stuff in this place?”

Taiga’s reaction was immediate. His brows furrowed. His lips curled back just slightly.

He bared his teeth.

That wasn’t a normal reaction. Not from an Alpha. Definitely not from an Omega. It clicked immediately, only an Enigma would dare bare their teeth at another.

So the rumors were true.

“Who the hell do you think you are, broke-shaming people, asshole?” Taiga had shot back.

Dante hadn’t expected that.

It didn’t anger him the way it should have. In fact, it made something in his chest twist, a dull ache he didn’t recognize at first. Was it... shame?

He hated that.

He was supposed to be the dominant one, the predator. He had come to reassert control, to remind Maya who he used to belong to. But instead, here he was, awkward and off-balance.

Still, he smirked. Tried to salvage the moment. “You don’t look it. Can’t blame me.”

Why did he say that?

Why did he always ruin things before they could even start?

Taiga didn’t bother with a response. Just rolled his eyes and walked away like Dante wasn’t even worth the effort.

It stung more than it should have.

As Taiga’s back receded, Dante found himself frozen. He wanted to follow. To say sorry. To fix... something.

He stared at Taiga’s profile for a long moment, then muttered to himself under his breath, "What the fuck is wrong with me?"

Taiga couldn’t believe it either.

There was actually someone more talented than him, someone who made him push harder, think faster, play smarter.

Maya had introduced him reluctantly.

“This is Dante,” he’d said. “We... used to be close.”

Used to be close. That explained the tension in Maya’s voice. The way his scent trembled just slightly. It also explained why Dante had looked at him not with curiosity, but with quiet challenge.

He didn’t say much during that first meeting. Just looked at Taiga and... smirked.

Was it a smile? Maybe. But it felt more like a test.

Taiga didn’t like it.

He also didn’t like how attractive the guy was. Two or three inches taller, solid build, darker complexion. His hair was a deep ocean blue, darker than Maya’s light sky hue, and his eyes matched. Intense. Quietly dangerous.

Taiga would never admit it, but he found him attractive. That was a secret he intended to take to his grave.

Taiga POV:

The second time they crossed paths was in a Nike store. Taiga had been checking out new trainers when he heard it:

“Yo.”

He turned, automatically smiling in response to the voice.

The smile didn’t last.

“What are you doing here? Can you even afford the stuff in this place?”

The arrogance hit him like a slap.

Instantly, the smile vanished. Taiga squared up, glaring.

“And who the hell do you think you are, broke-shaming people, asshole?”

The other boy didn’t flinch. Instead, he smirked again, taunting, dismissive.

“You don’t look it. Can’t blame me.”

That was it.

Not worth the effort.

Taiga turned and walked away, every instinct telling him not to waste another second on someone like him. But as he left, he could feel it, eyes boring into his back. Watching. Thinking.

“Asshole,” Taiga muttered under his breath.