CHAPTER 4

"Ash, how many times do I need to tell you to stop harassing our schoolmates? Do you really want to graduate with flying colors or what?"

"Stop nagging me. I already know that. There's no need for you to scold me even here."

"If you're just acting like an adult now then there's no need for us to talk about what happened in the cafeteria."

"Tch. So you're siding with that omega now?"

"I'm not favoring anyone. While I'm scolding you until my words keep replaying inside your head, I also want to do the same to my junior because he's getting more attached to me than before."

"See? You’re also annoyed with that loser!"

"Stop calling our schoolmates like that."

When Asher let out an irritated huff, Sera could only sigh and roll her neck. They were both climbing the stairs of their condominium building. The guard downstairs had told them that all the elevators weren't working today because of a minor electrical problem. As an apology for the inconvenience, they were given buffet tickets to a restaurant near their building.

Both of their units were on the fifteenth floor. They were still on the sixth floor since both were walking slowly. To break the silence between them, Sera decided to bring up the small ruckus Asher had caused in the cafeteria.

When Sera was called by their club adviser during lunch, she already knew the reason for it. Their music club adviser was a female beta. As a beta, she was expected to handle her students no matter what their secondary genders were. But contrary to her expectations, their adviser was too soft and couldn’t even handle their rowdy omega members. Although she wasn't satisfied with how their adviser interacted with the club members, Sera chose to remain silent to avoid conflicts in their club.

Their music club was something a student would never join unless they were truly dedicated to playing their instruments or had a genuine interest in music. They also didn't accept any students who only wanted to join the club to fool around with the members. Only those who passed the club's qualifications could join.

And when Sera said 'qualifications', it meant they had to meet the standards she had established for the club.

Sera had been the only alpha member of their club for the past few months. Their seniors had already graduated and had appointed her as the new club president before leaving the university. Since then, Sera dedicated herself to helping her club members enhance their musical talents and encouraging them to join more competitions to gain experience and confidence on stage.

Her club members respected and admired Sera deeply. It wasn't just because she was an alpha. They respected her because she was a good leader and they saw how much effort she put in to help them improve. These people knew they could always rely on Sera whenever they were in trouble.

As for their new recruits this year, they all passed and became part of the club because they had the qualifications Sera was looking for. This year, they finally had two more alphas in the club besides her. Sera decided to train them so that once she graduated, the club would continue to function and maintain its strong reputation. Although she wasn't the type to discriminate based on secondary gender, having other alphas in the club was still a good idea. They could also help in case of emergencies or accidents that escalated quickly among members.

Aside from those two alphas, they also had three new omega members, two males and one female. Sera had no problem with the two alphas since they were easy to handle. Her current problem was the three omegas who kept clinging to her whether intentionally or not.

Ever since Sera received the result that she was an alpha, her pheromones had started producing a scent that attracted others' attention. Although she could control it easily, a faint trace of her scent still lingered on her body. That scent was enough for omegas to sense their differences and to attract them like a honey trap.

At first, Sera was ecstatic about it because she could use her scent to befriend others easily. But as time passed, she began to feel burdened by it. Those omegas who were weak and still learning to control their urges and instincts kept approaching her. Unlike Asher, Sera wasn't rude enough to ignore or hurt their feelings. She still entertained them while keeping a safe distance.

But there were rare times when her scent could trigger someone's heat. It had happened once and Sera felt guilty about it. That omega was supposed to enter her heat in the last week of that month. But after smelling Sera's scent, her urges were triggered early. To prevent it from happening again, Sera learned to use scent patches to completely conceal her scent.

"Tch. I told you to be harsh and rude if needed, right?" Asher asked.

"Yeah. But unlike you, I know what patience means," Sera answered back.

"What? Are you saying I'm short-tempered and have no ounce of patience in my body?!"

"You're the one who said that, not me." Sera cheekily replied. "But stop distracting me. I'm still not done with you yet."

Asher let out a frustrated groan and scowled at her.

"Do you still want to nag at me?"

"I'm not nagging you. I'm just reminding you to behave well in school."

"Stop acting like my mom."

"I don't have any ambition to become your mother either."

Letting out a huff, Asher stopped climbing the stairs and sat on the first step. Checking the sticker on the wall, they were now on the eighth floor. They still had seven more floors to go. Sighing, Sera sat next to Asher and stretched her legs.

"Next time, just tell them to stop approaching you. Or better yet, order them and let your wolf talk some sense into those annoying omegas." Asher advised with a frown.

"And again, I'm not that rude to bully my juniors like that." Sera replied with a sigh.

Earlier, their club meeting had ended after their adviser informed them of the different solo and group competitions they could join that year. Sera decided to go back to the cafeteria where Ash was waiting for her. But on her way, one of their newest omega recruits approached her and kept asking if she could help him practice his piano skills.

Although Sera had already said yes, the male omega kept talking to her and hoping to catch her attention again. Even if Sera was a bit annoyed, she still managed to smile at him. He was acting like a happy puppy in front of her.

But while she was patting his fluffy hair, the smell of burnt vanilla suddenly spread in the air and showing a strong intensity of irritation.

Asher Myein smelled like warm mint vanilla on normal days. But once he was distressed or irritated, his vanilla scent grew stronger until it turned acrid. That sharp scent combined with the anger of Asher's inner wolf made the poor omega in front of Sera tremble in fear. If she hadn't stopped Asher in time, her junior would have probably fallen to the floor and begging for forgiveness.

"Ash, you're the team captain of our volleyball team. You should know that there are a few omegas around campus who still don't know how to control their urges to come near us. You should be more understanding of them."

"Do you think I don't know that?"

"If you already know then why did you have to scare him so much earlier?"

Asher opened his mouth to answer but quickly closed it before a word came out. What would he say? That his unrestrained jealousy had controlled him earlier? That's ridiculous. He'd rather fall down the stairs than admit that to Sera.

"What? Why did you do that?" Sera asked again.

To force him to speak, she gently cupped his face and rubbed her thumb against his cheek.

"I was just in a bad mood, okay? They interrupted our lunch together and when you came back, an annoying student kept following you like a lost puppy." Asher grumbled softly.

"Ash." Sera called his name helplessly.

He clicked his tongue and avoided her gaze. Asher hated it when she looked at him with those probing eyes. It always made him surrender and spill what was running through his mind. But Asher couldn't completely hate these moments either because he could use them as an excuse to feel her warmth close to him.

"Ash, you can't always do that. Remember when our professors told you to behave and not cause trouble at school? If you still want to graduate as the MVP of the year then stop harassing your schoolmates. Okay?" Sera said softly.

"Stop talking to me like that. It feels weird to be scolded in that tone."

"Oh? Then I should do it all the time whenever I scold you. Who knows? Maybe this method will finally make you behave properly."

Asher let out a soft growl because this woman beside him kept treating him like a naughty child. But instead of getting mad, Sera smiled sweetly at him. That shut him up immediately and he pursed his lips. Sera was about to remove her hands from his face when Asher stopped her.

"Wait. Let's stay like this for a while."

"Asher..."

"Okay?"

Sera stared at him for a moment before sighing and nodding. Asher let out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes. He placed his hands on top of hers, enjoying the warmth on his cheeks. Soon, he opened his eyes and slowly let go of her hands. Sera didn’t say anything as she gently pulled her hands away.

"Satisfied?" Sera asked.

Asher scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You're always asking the most obvious questions." he remarked.

"It's a new habit of mine." Sera replied.

"What a sadistic habit." Asher muttered. "You should know that—"

"Asher, did I tell you before that I love staring at your lemon eyes?"

Asher's brain seemed to stop functioning the moment he heard those words. Without waiting for his response, Sera stood up and continued climbing the stairs. Asher remained seated and trying to calm himself down. Not only him, but even the wolf inside couldn't control the sudden burst of emotion in his chest.

'She got us again.' his inner wolf sighed.

'Well, yeah. Fuck it.'

"Asher, are you just going to sit there all day or do you still want to play video games with me?" Sera called as she looked down at him.

Asher didn't reply but coughed several times to hide the bubbling happiness he was feeling. He lowered the beanie he was wearing to cover his ears. Even without looking in a mirror, he knew his ears were as red as fresh tomatoes.