Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 — Unscented and Unbothered

The next morning, things were different. Caius entered the lecture hall early, as usual, taking a different seat this time by the window. The sun fell directly over his desk, casting a soft light across his features.

The boy was undoubtedly handsome. His light brown hair fell across his forehead, partially shadowing his face as he stared at the notes ahead of him. Already, whispers drifted from nearby desks; everyone was talking about the new student who had disrespected the school owner's son yesterday.

The door opened, and Miguel walked in. His looked abnormally bright today with an unreadable gaze. Students straightened immediately, their voices dying out. He didn’t look at anyone except the figure sitting calmly by the window. He walked right past every empty seat and stopped beside Caius’s desk, his expression turning different.

“Move.”

The word was quiet and a bit polite, but everyone knew it was Miguel, there was no way he was being polite.

Caius look up at him, then resumed to whatever he was doing. “You can sit somewhere else. Your name isn’t written here.”

A ripple went through the room. Dax grinned from the back, already enjoying the show. Miguel placed a hand on the edge of the desk, leaning forward slightly.

“You’re in my seat.” He stared at Caius menacingly.

Caius hummed, then he muttered with the same tone. “Then maybe you should’ve come earlier.”

The silence that followed was absolute. Even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard. Miguel’s smirk looked dangerously cold but edgy. “You know? You say a lot for a Beta. It makes me want to really show people like you where you belong.”

“Only when someone doesn’t understand simple words,” Caius replied steadily.

Dax shot up from his chair, but Miguel raised a hand without looking away. “Sit down.” Dax froze.

Miguel straightened slowly, pushing off the desk. For a second, it looked like he might do something physical, but instead, his lips curved into an unnerving smile. “You’ve got guts,” he finally said, in the same unsettlingly, calm tone. “Let’s see how long that lasts when I start with you.”

He glared at the whole classroom attention now fixed on them. “What the hell are tou staring out?” He scolded, and everyone minded their business.

He then took a step back, and sat down in the seat directly behind him. Caius adjusted his stuffs and bowed his head down taking a nap.

It was like Miguel’s presence didn’t exist at all.

After class, Caius packed his stuffs in a calm demeanor as always. He could feel eyes on him, but he didn’t need to look around to know who they belonged to. Miguel stood too, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He didn’t say anything as they both headed for the door, one after the other.

In the hallway, Dax was waiting. “You really let him take your spot again?”

Miguel didn’t respond immediately. He watched Caius walk away through the crowd.“Relax,” Miguel said finally, his voice low. “You can’t break what doesn’t bend.”

Dax frowned. “Uhh.. What does that mean?”

Miguel’s sighed muttering, “dumbass.” to Dad, then his smirk returned. “It clearly means I was going to teach him, and he’ll learn. Everyone does.”

By the time evening rolled around, the boys’ hostel was alive with noise. Caius walked through it all silently, ignoring the curious looks that followed him to his room. Inside, his space was just a bed, a perfectly made wardrobe, a reading desk, a small shelf, and a window overlooking the courtyard.

He sat down, unwrapped a simple dinner pack from the cafeteria, and started eating. The muffled conversations drifted from the hallway caught his attention.

“...He really talked back to Miguel, twice."

“No one’s ever done that and gotten away with it.”

“Maybe he’s stupid.”

Caius didn’t react, though he heard every word. For a Beta or whatever he truly was, he had a sense of hearing even an Alpha couldn’t match. He finished eating and began to unpack his remaining things.

Across the courtyard, Miguel stood at his own desk. He was devising a plan to make Caius bow, but it meant going back home for a day. His father was strict and wouldn't let him leave without a valid reason.

Dax called from the hallway, “You coming down to the lounge?”

“In a minute,” Miguel replied, still looking toward the window across the way.

••••

Morning exercises at Juvenile Academy wasn’t optional. Miguel's father had mandated that every student must look healthy, the Alphas, Betas, and even Omegas were expected to learn strength and self-control.

By the time the whistle blew at the Eastern field, the ground was buzzing. Students were practicing with their primal spirits, surrounded by a haze of pheromones.

Caius stood at the edge of the field, calm as ever. He was in his hoodie, his hands in his pockets. While others practiced, he simply watched.

Miguel noticed immediately. From the center of the field, Miguel's own white haze carried a commanding scent that weighed heavy on the trainees nearby. When he returned to normal, sweat gleamed across his skin. His cold eyes swept across the students until they landed on Caius.

The Beta was standing still, without a pheromone haze, looking completely unbothered.

Miguel’s jaw flexed. Every student knew the rules. To refuse training was to reject the system itself. Dax, panting beside him, followed Miguel’s gaze. “He’s really not gonna practice, huh?”

Miguel didn’t respond. Something dark flickered in his eyes.

“Maybe he doesn’t have a scent,” Dax offered. “Maybe he’s—”

“Quiet,” Miguel cut in.

The instructor finally noticed and shouted, “Caius Varyn! Get off my field if you can’t release your pheromones!”

Heads turned. Caius met the instructor’s glare from across the field. “Understood.”

He turned around and began walking off.

Miguel’s fingers curled into fists as Dax muttered beside him, “What the hell is wrong with him?”

"If you leave today, tomorrow you won't get to leave!" the coach screamed at Caius’s back.

Caius pretended not to listen and just kept walking, leaving the entire field and a fuming Miguel behind.