THE CAPTAIN'S CLAIM

DECLAN'S POV

One minute, my teammates and I were standing off to the side bitching about the freshers, the next, a scent slapped me in the face with the wave of a thousand punches. 

Omega, the alpha inside me growled. 

“Hey Dec. What's up? You zoned out.”

“Give me a minute. Need to check something out.” And with that, I left them and walked towards the field where the freshers were gathered. The scent that was calling me came from there, and I was helpless against my better instincts to find it and mark my nose to it. 

The scent was of honeysuckle, vanilla, and a hit of whiskey; all the things I loved. All the things I enjoyed. 

Of course, like every other self-respecting alpha, I knew what this might mean. From when we could form thoughts, it had been hammered into our heads that an alpha’s greatest calling would be to find his omega, claim her and spend the rest of his life pampering her.

Many alphas rejected this, and I’d seen them crumble at the scent of their mated omega. My father was the greatest proof of it. 

He loved to tell myself and my siblings how smitten he’d been the moment he caught my mother’s scent. And we’d always laughed because it felt so exaggerated, but right now I got it.

The scent was covered under a thick layer of what felt antiseptic, and I growled in realization. My omega was using suppressants. 

My omega? Seriously? I wasn’t one quick to delusion, nor was I one to jump into something without thinking it through at first but this scent was driving me crazy and turning me into nothing but my most base self. I was full of alpha right at that moment. 

My eyes caught someone who seemed unassuming, and I watched her walk out of the dorm's door and down towards the field. 

She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, and I knew without a doubt she was the owner of the scent. 

She had on jorts that sat on her hips, a dark blue crop top that exposed the line of abs on her stomach, and pink sneakers that should have looked silly, but complemented her outfit well.

Her hair was silver, and it was packed atop her head in a bun, but it was so messy that strands of it escaped to frame her oval face. Her brown eyes were almond shaped, and her lips were perfectly pouted with a cupid’s bow that i wanted to lick.

Fuck. 

I watched her walk down with no care in the world, and then she suddenly stopped and started to turn her head around while sniffing the air subtly. 

I narrowed my eyes as I watched her because I knew exactly what this was. She was looking for me. I just knew it. 

Soon enough, her eyes found me, and she paused. 

She took a deep breath, and her eyes widened. That confirmed it for me. She was the one scenting like honeysuckle, vanilla and whiskey. Like defiance. 

Because I was used to omegas and betas alike fawning all over me. 

I was Declan Hayes; the sophomore quarterback football star who had come to Blackwood and changed the football game. I had coaches coming in to watch my games, and as a result, had gotten other players on the team drafted. 

I was a handsome man, and I knew this. I wielded my rugged handsomeness like a weapon to get what I wanted, and I never fucked the same woman twice. 

I couldn’t count on both hands how many omegas I rejected on a weekly basis, and I loved my reputation as a player. I wasn’t ready to be tied down by anyone, mated omega or not, but even as I thought it, it left a sour taste in my mouth. 

I swallowed my pride and walked toward the girl who was still standing and watching me with narrowed eyes. 

The more I moved closer to her, the stronger her scent wrapped around my mind and threatened to turn me into a zombie. 

I was especially grateful I had chosen to wear a long sweatshirt, because that was the only thing hiding my hard-on from her gaze.

I was so bricked up to the point of pain. Her scent had done that to me. Fucking hell. 

I got in front of her and just stopped. We locked our eyes, and took each other’s measure in. On one hand, I was glad that she wasn’t jumping all over me. It was a relief from my normal interactions with other omegas. 

But on the other hand, it was so fucking infuriating. I am Declan Hayes after all. Omegas and Betas and sometimes, even the Alphas found me irresistible. Who was she to act all unaffected around me. 

And the acting was what made it worse, because with a cruel smirk at her, I realized I could also smell her slickness. She was wet for me, and it made me so damn glad. It evoked an animal's emotion in me to pin her down till I was rutting her and had her locked to me with my knot. 

She raised a brow at me and turned her back on me.

“Keep your pheromones to yourself, Mr. Alpha.”