CHAPTER 3

"Oh? This is new. You're not actually hanging out with Sera today."

Even without looking back, Asher already knows who is speaking to him from behind. Asher ignores it and proceeds to eat his lunch with an obvious frown on his face. The food on his plate is obviously his favorite, chicken pasta. But the delicious taste of it has changed seventeen minutes ago.

Now, it feels like he's tasting several strips of coated wax on his tongue.

"Weird. I can smell a hint of Sera's scent on this table. Is she eating lunch with you? But I can't see her bag."

"Stop sniffing her scent, scrub." Asher whispere although they could hear the growl in his voice.

Not only Asher but also the wolf inside him is irritated with his brother. Aster didn't take it to heart. Instead, he rolled his eyes and pulled the vacant seat next to his brother.

"It's not my fault if her scent is still lingering in the air, jerk." Aster said. "And why is her scent still sticking to you?"

"Tch. Why are you here? You're supposed to be with Terrence, right?" Asher asked back and effectively changing the topic.

"Rence was called by his professor to talk about his test scores." Aster simply explained.

"Oh." Asher replied since he wasn't interested in knowing about his brother's soulmate.

Asher and his wolf will never admit it even if a powerful thunder strikes them right this instant. But they are jealous of Aster. A month after his and Aster's sixteenth birthday, Aster quickly found his soulmate. It was Terrence Miller, one of Aster's classmates.

His brother's soulmate mark is located on his left wrist. The cursive word Home is tattooed there and surrounded by splashes of yellow and green. Terrence also has the exact same soulmate mark on his left wrist. Their mom told them that if two soulmate marks are the same, it means they feel the exact same way for each other.

Don't get him wrong.

Asher is happy for his brother because he easily found his other half. He's happy that Aster was lucky enough to find his soulmate that soon. There are people who spend years before they can find their other half. There are also rare cases when a person fails to find their soulmate until the day they die.

But still, Asher sometimes can't help but feel jealous of his brother. After receiving his soulmate mark, Aster found his other half in just a few months. Asher, on the other hand, still doesn't know who his soulmate is. The worst part is, he is still subconsciously hoping that Sera's soulmate mark will magically appear under her collarbone, similar to his.

But of course, that's impossible.

Sera already received her soulmate mark on her sixteenth birthday. Asher just isn't sure where it is since Sera refused to show it to him no matter how much he pleaded. Sera once said she will only show it once she finds her soulmate.

"So... Where is Sera?" Aster asked him again.

Asher clicked his tongue in annoyance. He underestimated his brother's persistence once again. He should've known that Aster only temporarily forgot their original topic.

"Their club adviser suddenly called an emergency meeting and Sera obviously needed to attend it."

"Aww. So my big brother is sulking here because his crush had to leave him behind—What the fuck, Asher?!"

"You deserve it, jerk." Asher said before pushing the plate of pasta away from him.

Asher had just spilled a few drops of water on Aster's shirt to make him stop teasing him. His misery always puts his annoying brother in a good mood. Asher decided it's better to ruin his brother's sick happiness in advance so his mood won't improve again.

"Stop sulking like a puppy abandoned by its master, will you? Your scent is starting to smell sour." Aster said as he swatted his hand in front of his face.

"Shut up. My scent will never smell sour."

"Yeah, yeah. The air is starting to smell like burnt vanilla."

Asher grumbled although he calmed himself to control his pheromones from releasing more of his scent. He suddenly considered using a scent suppressant patch like Sera. But Asher quickly dismissed the idea.

He's too proud of his scent. It would be a pity to hide it from anyone. And besides, Asher doesn't want Sera to worry about him for using a suppressant.

Sera is always like that. After her sixteenth birthday, her mentality suddenly transformed into that of a mature lady trapped inside a teenage girl's body. She keeps scolding him for his bad habits like eating too much at midnight or losing sleep because of video games. But the irony is, Sera does the same things and yet she always has excuses for them.

'Hmph. The nerve of that woman.'

"Alright. I'm willing to listen to you while waiting for Rence." Aster said in a calm voice.

"Huh?"

Right. Aster is still with him.

"You wouldn’t be this stressed if Sera just left you to attend a simple club meeting. So what really happened?"

Asher clicked his tongue again. As much as he hates to admit it, Aster really knows him like the back of his hand. Asher also knows that Aster decided not to bicker with him anymore since he's starting to feel more stressed than before.

"So? Are you going to speak or not?" Aster asked again.

"Tch. It was those damn omegas." Asher complained.

"Huh?"

Now it was Aster's turn to be confused.

"Their club adviser called Sera to help control their new recruits. She knows those omegas will listen to Sera because they’re fond of her." Asher explained.

Before their club adviser disturbed them, Asher and Sera were happily eating their lunch. Only a few students were eating in the cafeteria because most were still taking their exams. Every minute Asher spends with Sera is important to him. He never takes their time together for granted.

For him, every minute with Sera is precious.

For now, both of them haven't met their soulmates yet. And Asher can't help but be happy about that. They can easily fall into deep conversations because they effortlessly understand each other.

They can also discuss things other people will never understand. Even Aster gives up whenever he hears them talking about topics they find interesting. It really feels like they are in a different world and the only people there are Sera and him.

And Asher always wishes it would stay that way.

"Oh, I see. You're just jealous." Aster said while nodding his head.

Asher scoffed when he heard those words.

Who is Asher Myein?

If someone asked the students if they knew him, they would say that Asher Myein is a well-known student at their university. Many students admire him because of his handsome face, good grades and exceptional talent in sports. He's also the captain of their volleyball team who brought them to the finals. He runs successful social media accounts followed by thousands of people.

And his jerk of a brother just said he's jealous of those weak omegas? Who in their right mind would believe that? Even if they removed their secondary gender, it's obvious that Asher Myein is still the best among them all. Asher has no reason to be jealous of them.

"I know what you’re thinking right now." Aster said. "But you need to acknowledge the truth, brother. You're jealous of those omegas because they’re stealing your Sera from you."

Fuck.

Asher glares at his brother who is now busy texting someone on his phone. He really hates it when Aster can read him like an open book all the time. He once complained about it to their mother when they were younger but she only laughed saying it's natural since they are twins.

Asher is only ten minutes older than Aster. As twins, there are things that make them similar. One of them is their faces. If you met them for the first time, you'd easily get confused about who is who. But once you take a closer look, you will see the difference between the two brothers.

Asher has sharp eyes that can intimidate anyone when he glares, while Aster has calm eyes that make people mistake him for a quiet person. They share the same face except Aster has softer features especially his cheeks. When people ask why, the younger always answers that it's probably because of his secondary gender.

"Asher, did I tell you before that you're stupid?"

"If you have nothing good to say, just shut your mouth."

"No, listen to me first. You are really stupid." Aster insisted. "If not, why are you feeling jealous when you're just her friend?"

"What?"

"Seraphine is not the one for you."

Oh.

Isn't that a direct blow to his chest coming from Aster? He tries to open his mouth and form a rebuttal but no words come out.

What can he say anyway? His brother is right. They have no other label for their relationship except being childhood friends. They are close but not enough to be lovers.

"Sorry. I let my mouth speak again without thinking."

Seeing the guilty look in Aster's eyes makes him scoff.

"First, you're bold enough to accuse me. And the next second, you will apologize to me with your ugly face. Make up your mind, jerk."

Aster scowled at him but didn't try to hurt Asher with words anymore. He knows that his brother is well aware of the truth. If not, Asher probably would've lost his mind years ago and stupidly confessed his love to someone who isn’t destined to be his.

Mismatched relationships are something not yet welcomed in their society. Being in love with someone who isn't destined to be with you is like a sin in the public eye. People see it as selfish as if you don't care about your true soulmate who is literally your partner in this life. It's also considered cheating and it only makes reputations worse in their society.

But still, it doesn't stop his brother from feeling jealous and overprotective toward the female alpha. When others question his behavior, Asher conceals his feelings under the guise of brotherly affection for his childhood friend. Aster doesn't know that his twin brother is a good actor. But others are easily convinced by his made-up reason.

Before Aster can explain his side more, his inner wolf quivers a little when he feels his brother's wolf growling in anger. Following the direction Asher is looking, Aster sees Sera talking to a male omega. Sera is obviously enjoying her time with the younger omega who is clearly sticking too close to her.

To put a cherry on top of their situation, they both witness Sera placing a hand on the omega's head and ruffling his hair. There is a smile on her lips as she watches the omega being obedient in front of her. It's an obvious blush spreading across his cheeks.

Before Aster can try to calm his brother, Asher quickly stands up and marches toward them. Aster watches the omega shiver in fear and sensing Asher's bubbling anger. Soon, the omega runs away and Aster sees Sera hitting Asher on the arm before letting out a long sigh.