CHAPTER 1

"Fuck!"

Today is supposed to be a good day.

The weather has been warm these days. Despite living in a city, the clouds are still drifting in a slow and relaxed manner. Together with the cool breeze of air, it can make someone sigh in satisfaction.

Various people are very busy in the city. The streets are full of life as usual. Some of those people are rushing to reach the trains and buses, while others are walking very fast while talking with someone on their phones. There are also cars lined up on the road, waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

But...

While the outside world had been busy for hours now, a certain young man who just woke up was moving at a fast but messy pace.

Asher Myein was cursing his brother while checking the phone he left charging last night. He received several missed calls from his teammates, a few messages from his brother, and a voice message from their mother. Asher groaned in frustration while rubbing a hand on his face. He first checked the voice message from his mother.

“Asher, I have to travel abroad for the next two days. I’ve already sent yours and Aster's allowance to your bank account. You two should take good care of each other, alright?”

Asher hummed as an answer although his mother could not hear it. Then he opened the drawer to get the clothes he needed to bring today. He pulled out two black shirts, two pairs of shorts, a pair of socks, and one clean towel. After that, he abruptly closed his drawer and grabbed his phone that was charging near the table. While trying to put the clothes inside his duffel bag, Asher called his brother, who answered after three rings.

"You scrub! Why didn't you wake me up?!" Asher scolded in a loud voice.

(What are you talking about? I definitely woke you up! I tried to wake you up for almost thirty minutes, but your lazy ass didn’t want to leave the bed at all.)

"Ugh! I will kill you later, Aster! I only have thirty minutes before my first class starts!"

(Yeah, yeah. See you later, Asher. Don't forget to lock the door once you leave.)

"Wait. Where are Mom's car keys?"

(Stupid. It's my turn to use the car, remember?)

"Aster!"

(Whatever. Don't stink the room with your scent, got it?)

"The hell is wrong with you? Listen here, you—Hello? Aster? Hello?! Ugh! That little shit!"

'Calm down.' his inner wolf whispered to him.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Aster had already ended the call before he could answer him back. Asher groaned in frustration before he put his phone inside his duffel bag and made sure that he had already packed the things he would need for practice later. Asher quickly undressed and hastily threw his clothes into the laundry basket before pulling a clean shirt from his shared closet with Aster. While closing the buttons of his shirt, Asher saw the words imprinted on his skin under his collarbones.

Mi Girasol

It was a Spanish word that meant My Sunflower, written in bold cursive letters. But contrary to its sunny and bright image, the colors that embraced the letters on his skin were blue and purple. It looked mysterious and elegant. Aster and their mom once joked that whoever his significant other was, he or she must be a beautiful royal princess.

'Move faster or you will be late.' his wolf scolded him again.

Clicking his tongue, Asher quickly fixed the last two buttons of his shirt. Then he put a small amount of gel on his palm, rubbed it between his fingertips and used it to style his hair. After making sure that he didn’t look like shit anymore, Asher grabbed his phone, wallet and motor keys.

Since his ugly brother used their mom's car today, he would use his motorcycle to arrive at their university as soon as possible. After double-checking the door lock, Asher didn't bother to use the elevator anymore. Instead, he used the emergency stairs and ran as fast as he could to reach the parking lot. His and Aster's shared apartment was located on the fifteenth floor of the building. Asher just treated his run down the stairs as a morning exercise since he had already missed his morning practice.

Asher quickly found his motorcycle in the parking lot. Its luminescent yellow-green color could be easily spotted even from afar. Taking a deep breath, Asher ran toward it, straddled the motorcycle, turned it on, put on his helmet and started moving forward. He rode a bit faster than usual, although there was a chance that the police would catch him. Still, he had to make sure that he would arrive at their university on time. He remembered they would be having an exam today and Asher couldn't afford to mess it up like last time.

Because of his boldness, Asher released some of his scent but it quickly dispersed into the air. When he passed by a group of high school students, some of them turned their heads to follow the direction of his scent. A smug look appeared on his face when he saw their reactions in the bar-end mirror. Shaking his head, Asher continued his journey until he arrived at the university.

After a few more turns and shortcuts, Asher finally arrived. He first checked the time on his phone. He still had seven minutes before the school bell rang. Parking his motorcycle at the back of the school, Asher quickly locked it before greeting the school guard and dashing toward his classroom. While running, he bumped into his brother and the food Aster was holding scattered on the floor.

"You jerk! Look where you're going!" Aster shouted at him.

"Shout at me later, scrub! I'm going to be late!" Asher replied.

But before Asher left, he grabbed his brother's cinnamon bread and ran down the corridor again. He ignored his brother's shout telling him to pay him back later for the bread he stole. When he saw his classroom, Asher picked up his pace and dashed toward the door.

The moment he opened the door and stepped inside the classroom, the school bell rang indicating the start of the classes. Asher took a deep breath before walking toward his seat. He put down his duffel bag and let out a long sigh.

"Congratulations for not being late, Mr. Future MVP."

Turning his head, the first thing Asher saw was a familiar pair of beautiful olive eyes.

"Isn't it such a huge privilege to receive your congratulatory words, Ms. Who-Doesn't-Know-What-Career-to-Choose?"

Instead of getting mad at him, the woman tilts her head a little before giving him an innocent smile.

"Does it mean you are acknowledging how talented I am?"

"I am insulting you, stupid."

"Ah, really? Because it sounds like good praise in my ears."

"You must be having a problem with your ears, Seraphine Parr."

"You just have a few insults stored inside your simple-minded brain, Asher Myein."

Asher scoffs before rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever makes you sleep peacefully at night."

Because of his answer, the woman sitting beside him giggles happily. Asher purses his lips before turning his head and staring at her pretty face. He may look bored and bland right now, but his inner self is actually bursting with compliments for her smile.

Watching her smile brings warmth inside his chest. She looks more beautiful with the way her face glows and her eyes light up in delight. Sera definitely knows how beautiful she is but probably has no idea what her smiles can do to his heart.

'Damn it. Stop simping too much for her, Asher!'

"You are really no fun, Ash. Smile a bit, can you? It will surely make your ugly face a little better."

"Ha-ha. Very funny." Asher sarcastically said before his lips form a sneer.

"Why are you irritated so early in the morning? Here. Wipe your sweat with it." Seraphine said before giving him a pack of tissue.

Asher accepts it without a word and starts wiping his sweat. He also uses this chance to steal a few glances at Sera. She is wearing a black fitted tank top and a pair of skinny jeans that emphasize not only the sexy curve of her body but also her pinkish-white skin. Her long hair is tied in a high ponytail which makes it easier for Asher to see her evenly shaped neck.

Then his eyes lower a little to see her collarbones. As expected, they are clean and free from any tattoos similar to his. There are no blotches of color decorating her skin or any signs that a word tattoo will appear under her collarbones too.

"What? Mesmerized by my beauty again?" Sera teases.

Asher's face crumples in irritation before he returns the remaining tissues to Sera.

"Who wants to admire your face? Tch. I was just looking at your patch." Asher said while pointing at her neck. "You're still using those suppressants?"

"Oh, this?" Sera asks before touching the suppressant patch on her neck. "It's only for safety measures."

"Ah?"

"There are three omegas who recently joined our club. They are too attached to me because of my scent."

"Isn't that annoying? If they are not yet ready to be mixed up with others, they shouldn't join any clubs for now."

"Why are you so harsh, Ash? Those kids obviously have dreams and potential."

"But using too many suppressants will hurt your health, you know?"

"Aww. Does it mean you're worried about me? I'm so touched by your concern, Myein."

"You wish. I just don't want to deal with your annoying ass every time you get sick."

Sera stares at Asher with a raised brow before she shakes her head and lets out a snicker. Before he can throw another snarky comment toward the female alpha, their old professor finally enters the class. Sera gives him a smug look while Asher growls in frustration.

Asher and Sera stop talking when their professor gives one student a stack of papers and starts distributing them. Today is the last day of their examination. All of the students have to take their exams so their professors can start computing their grades next week. After this day, they only need to finish their school projects, reports and other requirements for the next month before they can graduate from college.

Asher needs to pass this exam or else all the effort he gave to his club will be wasted. He already messed up his previous exams because he was too focused on his role as the captain of their men's collegiate volleyball team. He only got a passing mark on his previous tests and it almost made him lose his sports club position.

Fortunately, his professors took pity on him and gave him a chance. They gave Asher a second chance by telling him to perfect eighty percent of his exams. If he still cannot do it, Asher might fail to graduate this year and he will not get his award as the MVP of his chosen sport.

When the professor gives his signal, the whole class starts answering their test papers. He forgets everything else and starts recalling the lessons he reviewed last night. Half an hour has already passed, and Asher is still too focused on answering his test papers. His mind is completely filled with numbers and equations until he smells the familiar and addicting scent coming from the female alpha sitting next to him.

Cinnamon and vanilla.

Asher quickly turns his head and sees Sera, who has just removed her scent suppressant. Her scent isn't too noticeable considering their class is full of alphas like them. But Sera's addicting scent is something already imprinted in Asher's mind. It also doesn't help that Sera is only a few inches away from him!

Only a whiff of her scent and she instantly puts him under her spell.

"Mr. Myein, stop turning your head around and start answering your test papers!"

Asher wants to answer his professor back but decides to swallow his words and continue working on his test papers. He closes his eyes and tells himself to focus on his exams. But no matter how much he tries to hypnotize himself, Sera's scent still lingers around his seat and making him a bit excited and agitated.

Damn it! Fuck these hormones!