Toxic (Eden’s Omegaverse #3)

SKYE

The next day, as usual, the first lecture started. I thought I’d see Soren smoking alone outside the building, but to my surprise, he was there with Sean and Don.

From a distance, I watched Don explaining something to Soren, pleading with him, clasping his hands together like he was begging. Soren glanced sideways, seemingly ignoring him, while Sean stood beside him with his arms crossed, listening to Don’s speech with a slightly ironic expression. Unable to resist, I got closer and stood behind Don, catching a snippet of his words: "…I react badly to a mix of vodka and beer, you know me, don’t get mad…"

Soren glanced at me, and Sean noticed me too. That’s when Don finally realized someone was behind him. He slowly turned around, his face flushing red.

"You!"

"Yep, sharp eyes. It's really me. So, have you apologized for your rapey behavior?" I asked, crossing my arms and tilting my head.

"It’s none of your business, idiot. Get lost, or this time I won’t let you off so easily—"

"Uuuh, I’m sooo scared!" I mocked.

Don growled louder, "I’m gonna kick your ass!"

But I just shrugged.

"You better chill out and find something productive to do, like touching up your roots. You're going mousy brown—it looks dull on you."

Obviously having enough of my rudeness, Don snarled and lunged at me, but I was ready for it. For some reason, I felt my physical dominance over him. It was hard to grasp because I had never fought seriously with other adult alphas before, besides my brother Storm, nor had I had any sparring practice, yet I found this immense strength in my body. Whenever Soren was nearby, something changed within me, like I was gaining muscle mass, and my own level of aggression, along with the desire to confront other alphas, was… greatly increasing. I had no idea where this primal impulse came from, but it was quite powerful. So when I pushed him, he immediately fell to the ground like a helpless doll.

Then Sean jumped toward him and grabbed his arm.

"Stop, you won’t win against him, don’t you feel it?"

He couldn’t have said anything worse; Don pushed him away, got up, and lunged at me again, but before he could fully stand, I kicked him in the chest, knocking him back onto the sidewalk.

"Stay down unless you want this to end badly for you," I growled.

As he tried to get up, Soren stepped between us and said, "Leave it, Don, this is just childish. Let’s go to class; there’s no point in continuing this shit."

Don looked at him apologetically and muttered in a pleading tone, "But you forgave me, Soren, everything’s okay between us, right?"

Soren didn’t respond; he just turned around and walked toward the entrance of the main building.

"Calm down and chill out here for a while; he’s really pissed at you, Don!" Sean shouted to the blond alpha before quickly walking away. I also headed toward the building, leaving Don sitting on the sidewalk, fuming.

We were the only ones attending this lecture, Soren and I, as Sean and Don had other classes. I noticed Soren sitting in the back row, around where I usually sat. Nervously biting my lower lip, I approached him and whispered softly, "Can I sit next to you?"

Soren gave me a strange look but nodded slightly. With an uncharacteristic surge of joy, I sat down next to him, remaining silent. I didn't know what to say, and I certainly didn't want to comment on the Don's incident.

Soren stayed quiet too, so throughout the lecture, we simply sat next to each other, not exchanging any words but strangely aware of each other's presence. I stole glances at him, feeling a pleasant warmth spreading through my body, almost a shiver of euphoria. I wanted to touch him, even just to brush my hand against his arm or gently graze his fingers, but of course, I didn't, so I just timidly peered at him, seizing moments when he wasn't looking. Yet, I also sensed that his attention was somehow directed toward me in a peculiar way. There were brief points in time when I felt his eyes on me, but he would quickly avert his gaze.

Soon after, there was another lecture, and the situation repeated itself. I approached him and asked if I could sit next to him again. He simply nodded, and once more, we spent the hour-long lecture sitting next to each other in complete silence, exchanging subtle glances.

Then it was time for lunch. Soren headed to the cafeteria, Tim and Mark were already waiting for him in line. They sat at a three-person table, so there was no space for me. However, I occupied the nearest table possible, and as they ate, I occasionally peeked at Soren, and he very discreetly glanced in my direction.

It was very unusual, this silent exchange of energy. And I felt something growing inside of me, the need to be with him again, to touch him one more time.

Soon the need took over my whole body and mind. When they had finished eating and Soren was walking toward the lecture halls where we were going to have classes in about twenty minutes, I approached him and said quietly,

"Soren, would you agree to a… hj?"

I said it without batting an eyelid, and his silver eyes lifted up and bored into my face with a great deal of intensity.

But then, unexpectedly, he replied, "Okay, we can go to the bathroom."

I froze in astonishment that he wasn't angry about my impertinence, and even more so, that he wanted to do it right away! On the other hand, strangely enough, I wasn't surprised—I really wanted to be close to him right now, so maybe he felt the same?

The strange chemistry between us was obviously growing.

Smiling, I nodded enthusiastically. He didn’t respond with a smile, but immediately turned and headed for the restrooms, which were down a side corridor.

As soon as we entered one of the stalls, he closed it and turned toward me.

I didn’t wait. I hugged him, pressing his slender body against mine, nuzzling my face into his neck, again instinctively seeking his neck gland with my mouth. It was a very primal reflex in alphas, even though he was a beta, I still sought this form of contact between us. I kissed that spot on, licked it, and to my amazement, he tilted his head slightly, as if to make room for me, allowing me to touch the area around his gland for a while. Although it was very weakly active in betas, producing only small amounts of AO-specific pheromones and hormones, it was still visible on his neck as a slightly paler area than the rest of his skin. It was also a very sensitive spot. He sighed softly as I continued to caress him there.

His hands were on my back, as I kissed and licked, nibbling the skin under his ear with my lips. Then, I felt him reach down to my crotch. With an efficient motion, he pulled open my zipper, baring my cock. But then I slid my hand down to his fly and moaned to find him hard as a steel rod.

"Can we frot?"

I heard him hold his breath for a moment and then, to my delight, he nodded. When I unzipped his fly, his dick popped out—yep, my closeness affected him as much as his closeness affected me—this realization fueled me even more. I encircled our dicks with my fingers, and he also cupped them from the other side to increase the friction. We both began to move our hips, grinding our shafts against each other in the tight grip of our fingers. It was nice, not so much because of the physical stimulation itself, but because it was Soren, in my arms, in my tight embrace, and that made all the difference. Yes, the same guy who hated me, pushed me away, and yet… the magic formed between us like a rising tide. I could hear his accelerated breathing near my ear, his desperate, soft moans…

While we were close, Soren deftly caught a piece of toilet paper with his other hand, and when we both came—at the same time—he prevented our cum from getting on our clothes.

The orgasm was fucking perfect. We moaned in unison, and at one point, I even felt his lips brush the side of my neck, near my gland, his heart pounding like crazy.

But it all ended way too quickly for me.

To prolong the moment just a bit, I stood still, pressing my lips to his skin. It gave me a strange sense of alpha-typical dominance to make these little nibbles over his gland, basking in the sweet feeling of… immersion in him.

Then I whispered very softly, "You smell so good, so very pleasant, Soren. Dahlia. And mint. And the weird thing is, there's also this little hint of vanilla… almost like pregnant omegas have." And I made a giggling sound.

He didn't say anything, though. After a minute or two, he took a step back, but his head was lowered toward his crotch, so I couldn't see his expression, and we both fastened our zippers.

It was time for business. I took out $10 and handed it to him. Soren hesitated, with a strange look on his face, before putting it in his pocket. He seemed very uncomfortable again.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

He just nodded but didn’t look at me, and we walked out of the stall, both of us washed our hands and then headed in silence to the lecture hall.

During the class, I sat next to him again, unable to resist glancing at him—almost openly this time. I even caught him looking at me on a few occasions, which made him a bit embarrassed. But when we left the lecture hall, I was in for a rather unpleasant surprise.

Don was waiting outside the room, brows furrowed, looking desperate. He immediately walked up to Soren, ignoring the fact that I was standing right there.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked. "There's this little mixer at Stephen's place."

Soren looked at him, then glanced at me, and our eyes met. "I've got a ton of studying to do tonight. There’s a deadline for an assignment in Advanced Software Architecture."

I noticed a slight twitch in Don's jaw; he looked at me nervously. Then he asked, "So, is he your new patron now?"

Soren sighed, and gave him a challenging look. "I don't owe you any explanations, Don. It’s none of your business what I do with other people."

Don glared at me with cold fury in his eyes, then turned and walked away without another word.

We were left alone, Soren and I. I hesitated, not sure if I should bring up Don at all, since Soren's somber expression didn’t exactly invite more questions.

But my thoughts were already drifting to… other things. Unexpectedly, I decided to say it out loud: "If you finish the essay a little sooner, maybe I could come by again?"

Soren glanced at me, looking a little flustered. "I've already finished that assignment. I don’t need to work on it today," he mumbled, appearing slightly self-conscious.

"If you finished it… why didn’t you want to go to that mixer with him?"

Soren clenched his jaw and started walking briskly toward the cafeteria. I followed him, and he muttered, "I don’t have to explain anything to you either."

Inside, while we were standing in line, I noticed Sean and Alvin sitting by a small table. I was sure Soren would join them, but I was wrong. I got my cup and headed toward a small table for two, thinking I’d be drinking my coffee alone. But Soren walked past Sean and Alvin and… joined me, without a single word!

I cleared my throat. "You didn’t make up with them?"

"I did. But Sean’s still a backstabbing bitch. And I don’t want to talk to Alvin."

No further explanation was needed. So, I guess I could enjoy his company during our coffee time.

As we sat there in silence, I noticed Don also getting in line. Soren's face soured instantly.

"Can’t stand this fucking bastard…" he murmured.

I glanced toward Sean and Alvin and noticed the latter staring at Don with an unusual intensity.

"Alvin's probably hoping Don will fuck him," I muttered, as Don turned around with his tray and hurried over to Sean and Alvin.

"Good luck with that. Don’s dick is smaller than most betas’. It’s practically in omega territory."

I gaped at him, surprised by the venom in his voice.

"Less work during handjobs for you, I guess," I said, trying not to sound too bitter.

"What the fuck? I’ve never given him a handjob or a blowjob," he responded with irritation.

I stared at him for a moment. "You haven’t? So how do you know?"

Soren didn’t answer.

After a moment, I asked in a hushed tone, "So, what were you doing with him in that dark hallway after the party last month? Just kissing and making out?"

Soren visibly shuddered at my question, and glared at me angrily. "I’ve never kissed anyone besides Anton. That’s something I'd only do with someone I love, like I told you before."

I didn’t press for more, but after a few seconds, he spoke again anyway.

"I wanted you to think it was like that. We just went out the side exit for a smoke. Nothing happened."

Wow. So that’s how it really went down. I stared at my coffee cup, trying to figure out how to respond to this revelation. Soren was… complicated, to say the least.

"It’s a bit twisted," I said quietly, finally settling on that comment. He just shrugged.

We soon finished our coffee, and Soren stepped outside to smoke. As he lit up, he raised an eyebrow and nodded toward my pocket.

"So, I guess you don’t actually smoke."

Spreading my arms, I grinned sheepishly. "I don’t. It was just a way to get your attention."

"It’s a bit twisted," he shot back at me, and I made a face in response.

Soren snorted and blew a puff of smoke in my direction until I coughed.

"Hey! Not the same level!" I protested, but he kinda ignored it.

"So many things aren’t what they seem…" he muttered, taking a deep drag, and averting his eyes.

That seemingly casual remark was heavy with meaning—I could feel it.

Then we had another lecture, but in a smaller room where everyone usually sat close together. This time was no different; I ended up sitting right next to Soren, our arms touching, which made it hard for me to focus on the lecture. I noticed he didn’t make any effort to put more space between us, even though he easily could’ve shifted a bit to the left. But he didn’t, so we spent the entire lecture with our arms pressed against each other, and I struggled to listen to the professor’s words.

As the class ended, I quietly asked, "So, can I come over tonight?"

I saw him clench his jaw, but he nodded and said, "Yeah. At 8 pm."

Another wave of exhilaration washed over me as I smiled at him, but I didn’t expect him to smile back; he looked even more confused, almost uncomfortable with his own agreement.

All evening, I couldn’t wait. I went to the gym with Archer and Gabriel, and after we got back, I lay on my bed, fidgeting and tossing around until Alvin looked up and asked what was wrong with me.

I shrugged. "Nothing. So, how’s it going with Don? You hang out a lot lately."

Alvin grimaced. "You bring up the subject again? Oh, well. Don just doesn’t want to give up. He’s stubbornly into Soren. But I saw you both today in the cafeteria—you’re definitely doing me a favor. Don will eventually lose hope if he sees you with Soren."

"We just hung out."

Alvin snorted. "You’re such a lying asshole. I told you about the Kingdom of Promises, and now you suddenly act like a prude. Are you two finally fucking?"

"And what’s that to you? You’re not a pimp, that’s what you said. You won't get your share even if we did fuck."

"Sure, but why make such a big deal out of it? Can’t you just spill?"

"Don’t feel like it."

"C'mon, tell us!"

"Nope."

"C'mon!"

"God, Alvin, you really are like a dog with a bone. Give it a rest; this interrogation is cringe," Archer muttered, and I felt grateful for his intervention.

For some time now, he seemed to be a stabilizing force between me and Alvin. I almost wished he had more of a laid-back slash cool-cat personality because I could really use a buddy like that around. Unfortunately, his rigorous lifestyle kinda put me off.

Alvin huffed. "Are you his spokesperson or something? I’m just saying, the bitch is gonna drain your wallet. Don lost hundreds for nothing!"

"I’m not Don."