KRISTOS
Lunch had been interesting, what with trying to avoid Sanders' stealthy questions without the other Betas catching on. While he was discreet, he was hella nosey. I had no problem with Sanders knowing that I could smell Zetas, but the Beta's undying curiosity to figure out all the other details was annoying.
Instead of attending class, I decided that a walk through the campus market would be a much better waste of my time. The Zeta's scent had disappeared, much to my delight because otherwise, I'd have had to make a pit stop in the locker room to relieve the pressure in my pants. Shoving my hands back into my pockets, trying to keep my breathing to a minimum, I headed for the market just off campus to clear my head.
A better idea would have had me returning to the frat house for another scent blocker or you know, to stay put, but I had never been known for my reasoning skills.
Two steps into the market and the scent hit me like a ton of bricks.
A Zeta. In pain.
I frantically glanced around, trying to match the feeling to a face but I couldn't find it - her. The pain was the only thing that registered in my mind. I took a deep breath and let my Alpha take over, leading me to a small whimpering form just behind the corner store.
How had no one seen her? Felt her?
Right, she was a Zeta.
Silent and in agony. What was she even doing out here?
The Zeta glanced up at me through tear-stained lashes, clutching at her stomach, "Please… just make it stop."
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with that information. I was glad that my Alpha hadn't responded to her heat like last time. But there was no precedent for this. One step forward and I froze as she visibly shrunk back against the wall. Drawing on my small knowledge of Zetas, I knew they despised everyone's scent – making them an entirely self-sufficient species. The strange pheromones put them on high alert.
It couldn't help that I was one of the larger Alphas on campus. People had told me that I exuded power and with my pension for bowing my head and hanging with Betas, that said something. I hadn't believed them but I did now.
I crouched down, trying to make myself smaller.
I know her. My eyes ran over her pale, trembling form, her delicate features hidden behind a thick curtain of almond hair. The Zeta was one of the only ones in my major. With my scent blockers, I had never smelled her scent before – which is why it had been so hard to find her. The Zeta was the smartest person I had ever met, despite how shy she presented.
I swallowed, staying crouched. The Zeta wasn't growling at him, which was a good sign. Still, I had no idea why she was out here. Most Zetas slept through their time of the month, no one being the wiser. This one had ventured out into the big world of scents… and for what?
I reached forward again surprised when she didn't shy away this time. The Zeta let me touch her and she shivered, falling apart in my hands. I could smell her relief as she curled up against my chest, her scent filling my nose till I had to fight the urge to scent her.
None of this made any sense.
Zetas had a faint scent, but nothing comparable to Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. They didn't have scent glands. They had very little biological needs the way an Omega needed an Alpha and yet this woman was suffering in a way that eluded to an impossible outcome.
I cradled her in my arms, resting my cheek against her hair. She felt so small and feeble pressed against me, the frail frame making me want to keep her in my embrace forever. Her fingers clutched at my arms, seeking warmth, comfort, anything I could provide her, and as much as I hated the biology hierarchy, I had so many questions. Of all the pairs, Alpha-Zeta mates were unheard of, almost taboo.
"Why are you out here?" I mumbled into her ear, the way she shuddered in my arms igniting my Alpha into protective mode. This wasn't good. My Alpha essence seemed to be overriding my better judgment, demanding that I take this woman as my mate, that I protect her, cherish her, and love her. I guess wanting to 'just help her' had been a pipe dream.
When she finally answered, her voice was small, sobs jumbling her words. "I – scent blockers –" She sniffled, fingers digging into my biceps with a little more strength before she began rubbing her nose against my chest, drinking in my Alpha scent – a purely Omega thing to do.
Zetas hated others' scents. Everyone knew that and yet here was a Zeta rubbing against me, drawing out my desire to bond when health books would tell me that that was impossible.
My cock filled, my balls pulling tight with the need to fill her, to take her, to claim her. I wanted to kiss her, bed her, ravage her through her heat in the best of ways. The pheromones were fucking with my brain, making it hard to think straight but I knew one thing – or at least I thought I did – a Zeta's sense of smell was unmatched, during a heat where everything was heightened, the scents must have been driving her mad.
A protective, guttural roar tumbled from me as I gathered her in my arms, wrapping them even tighter around her back and under her legs. She leaned into the touch, nose still rubbing along my chest until the shift of position placed her lips inches from my scent gland. I nearly stumbled when she pressed them against my neck, licking a slow, experimental stripe across my gland.
If I hadn't been hard before, I was now.
"Goddamnit, woman," I hissed at her, both of us a little too far gone to think clearly. I hoped she had enough energy to point me toward her dorm where I could drop her off and run from the temptation that her existence presented. In this state, I wasn't even sure if her consent would actually be consent or just the desire to be filled like most Omegas wanted.
Stalking in the general direction of the dorms, whimpers falling from her lips as she continued to kiss and lick at my gland told me that this Good Samaritan act I had been putting on was going to fail pretty quickly. Another overwhelming whiff of her spicy scent told me that it already had.