CHAPTER 5

"Good practice, everyone. Be sure to be on time tomorrow morning. Alright?"

"Yes, sir!"

Nodding his head, Asher signaled for his teammates to clean up and put all the equipment and balls they used in practice inside the storage room. The volleyball team had just finished their practice and most of them were now very exhausted. It wasn't because of the sport they played but because of their team captain.

Asher was a good and talented player. But when he became the team captain this year, none of them expected that he would be such a strict leader who didn't want to waste even a minute during practice. He took his responsibility as their captain to heart and supported all of them with full effort.

But that was alright. Asher Myein was just like that during practices and their official matches. Outside the court and his responsibilities as team captain, he was the kind of friend who was fun to hang out with. He was the one who gave life to a party and made it livelier.

"You really don't waste any time during practices, huh?"

Turning his head, Asher saw Terrence sit beside him and hand him a bottle of energy drink. Asher accepted the bottle and twisted its cap open. Then he took a huge gulp of the drink before closing it again.

"We need to practice more since the semi-finals will be next week." Asher said and put the bottle on the floor before he proceeded to wipe the sweat from his head. "I want to leave this school as the team captain of this year's competition."

"That sounds like you." Terrence replied with a shrug.

"So what do you want?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you approaching me?"

"What? Am I not allowed to talk to my lover's brother?" Terrence asked.

"Not when we just finished four hours of intense training and our bodies are literally dripping with sweat. It doesn't sound like you at all."

"Heh. So perceptive."

Asher just rolled his eyes before tossing his wet towel onto the bench.

"Aster will stay at my place this coming weekend." Terrence said.

"Oh. So?"

Isn't that interesting? Terrence really bothered to tell him that his twin brother would spend the weekend at his soulmate's place. This wasn't the first time it happened. But every time Terrence asked for his permission to let Aster go with him, it never failed to catch his attention.

Terrence Fleur, one of his teammates, was his twin brother's soulmate. They had known each other for years now since Aster quickly found him a few months after they got their soulmate mark. To say that Terrence was a nice pair for his brother was an understatement. Based on his observations, Terrence was definitely the perfect person for Aster.

Both Aster and Terrence were quiet but menacing people. They loved insulting each other but when someone dared to step between them or try to hurt the other, one should expect to see the doorways of hell below. Aster and Terrence could easily understand each other even without talking much. They developed an unbreakable connection that couldn’t be easily broken.

Maybe the most fortunate thing that happened when Aster found his soulmate was that Asher and Terrence easily built a friendship after getting to know each other. Although Asher couldn't consider Terrence his best friend, he could still trust the guy not to hurt his brother in any way or betray his trust. As long as Aster was happy with him, that was enough for Asher. But of course, he would never say those words right in front of his twin.

"Stop giving me that crap. I'm telling you that Aster will stay at my place this weekend. We have plans to help my cousin's newly opened cafe and it will be convenient for him to stay at my place." Terrence explained.

"Oh." Asher said slowly. "Anything else?"

"Nothing."

"Okay." Asher replied with a shrug. "But you know the rules, Terrence. Follow them and we're not going to have a problem."

An obvious scowl appeared on Terrence's face but Asher ignored it. The rules were simple. First, Terrence would not force his brother in any way. Second, he would not put his mark on Aster without his consent.

These might be simple rules for others. But Asher took them seriously and would never compromise on them.

Contrary to everyone's assumptions, Asher and Aster had different secondary genders. On their sixteenth birthday, Asher was presented as an alpha while Aster was presented as an omega. No wonder Aster was always the obedient one while Asher was the little devil who always caused trouble when they were kids.

But that was fine between the brothers. Nothing changed in their relationship. They just considered their secondary genders as another difference between them. But that difference also added to the reason why Asher became more protective of his brother although he didn't want to show it openly.

Just like him, Terrence was an alpha. And it only took Asher one glance to know exactly what Terrence was capable of. So when he learned that Aster and Terrence were already dating, Asher gave him those rules on the first day of their relationship. He expected his brother's soulmate to follow them all the time.

At first, Terrence was displeased with it. As an alpha, he didn't want to be restricted especially in how he treated his partner. Of course, he would never force himself on Aster or make him do things without his consent. But the way Asher delivered those rules to him felt wrong to Terrence.

If he didn't know any better, Terrence would definitely think that Asher hated him for being Aster's soulmate.

But what Terrence didn't expect was Aster also asking him to follow his twin brother's rules if he still wanted to go out with him in the future.

Despite their everyday fights, Asher and Aster had a bond that couldn't easily be interpreted by anyone. Their mother said it was because they had a special bond that only twins could feel. Even without saying it out loud, Asher and Aster would never let go of this special connection between them.

Aster asked Terrence to get along with his brother all the time. It was because he didn't want them to have a dispute in the future where Aster would be stuck in the middle and have to choose one of them. Terrence tried his luck before and asked this question to his soulmate. But he was a bit disappointed when Aster replied that he would choose his brother over him.

Terrence was forced to understand that before he met his soulmate, Aster already had Asher as his other half. He wouldn't pretend to understand how their relationship worked. All he knew was that Aster treasured his twin brother as much as he cared for him.

"If you have no more questions, then go hit the shower first before meeting up with Aster." Asher said while collecting his things from the bench.

He didn't wait for Terrence to reply before leaving the gym. He went straight to the locker room to take a good shower and change into fresh clothes. He also admitted that the practice and drills they performed today were killers. Asher could now feel his sore muscles as his adrenaline slowly faded.

After taking a shower and changing his clothes, Asher grabbed his bag and said goodbye to his teammates. He and Sera had planned to use their buffet tickets tonight which were given to them by the guard as compensation for yesterday's elevator problems. While walking, he sent a message to Aster with his usual reminders and insults. Of course, his twin brother wouldn't easily back down and replied with a few insults of his own.

Before Asher could send another reply to his brother, he stopped in his tracks when he heard a sweet melody coming from a piano inside the music room. When he peeked his head through the window, Asher saw Sera sitting in front of it while her fingers moved gracefully over the piano keys. Her eyes were closed but her body gently swayed and following the rhythm of her music. Looking closely, Asher saw that she was wearing another scent suppressant patch on her neck.

No wonder he couldn't smell her scent a while ago while walking in the empty corridors.

When Sera hit the last note, she slowly let out a sigh before moving her fingers away from the piano keys. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Asher's focused gaze on her.

But instead of getting flustered or shy about it, Sera even gave him a sweet smile in return.