"Oh, fuck off!" she growled, panic thundering in her chest, hands wringing in the air.
He didn't know what he was talking about, but she knew. His fortune-telling voodoo was sensing her Omega, and if he looked hard enough…Her mind flashed, spinning through the possibilities. The school finding out her truth. Her expulsion. The police. A death-sentence because Alphas were sexist mother fuckers who didn't believe in Omegas attending Hakon. Fuck!
"Enough of that shit. What would you feel if I told you to have my fucking kids—Would you agree to that? What if my spawn eats their mother's lungs and claws out of her chest like little demons? Huh? Would you do it? And besides we're both Alphas! That doesn't fucking work at all! You'll just have to face it; your future is wrong!"
"It won't hurt you I swear, they'll just slip out just like any other child—"
"For fuck's sake!" she spat out, a crazed laugh in her throat. "From where? My asshole? I'm not a fucking Omega Seraphim. And you know goddamn well it's impossible. All I'd do is shit them out. I know I agreed to try just to get you off my back, but you know what?" She shook her head, almost hysterical, then spun back on her heels, stomping down the steps. "The deal is off. I'm not that sure what you'd feed me."
"There could be new technology! Our species could just be compatible. A Poseidon has never procreated outside of the top ten planets. Perhaps, you and I are—"
"You're confident because I'm a savage? Please."
"N-no, but it could be the reason why that future exists," Seraphim insisted, eyes wide. He followed her, sticky like a ghost haunting its prey. "I'll pay you millions, no, billions. I'll pay you so much money to just try. And I would do everything to make it pain-free. I'll take care of you, feed you, clothe you. You're not healthy, I know it, I can smell it. I could get rid of your malnutrition—"
"Oh yeah? I'm not going to be your fucking dog!"Her panic was spewing from her lips, but deep inside Rue was cursing the world. Because goddamn a billion-dollar cheque was not something she'd reject on another day. It was too damn bad he was such an untrustworthy egg-laying crazy son of a bitch, and the risks were too damn high.
"You won't be a pet! I'd even take the time to massage your back every night. I'll care for you the way a mate—"He paused mid-speech, chewed on his words with a furious blush. And Rue groaned. "W-We could sign a contract and I'll make it 100% safe—"
"Nope," she raised her hands, her shoes were old, and they squeaked, rubber cracking as she stopped to dig a finger in his chest. The conversation was getting out of hand, and her mind was a mess, her heart thundering in her chest like crazy. "It's your kink, not mine. I'm not obligated to agree. Besides, you're not being fucking honest. The first time you tried, you didn't mind if I died. And you were honest then. Now? You're lying about something." She turned, jogging down the steps. "I'm done. This breeding pet kink, scam conversation is over."
"Rue, please—"
"Don't follow me. We are not friends!" she glared back at him, her outburst ricocheted, and echoed over the stairs. Her palms squeaked over the metal, and it burned. "If you're not a Poseidon, I'd send you to jail. You're only sorry because I'm stronger than you are. Because I can beat you up. Will we have this conversation if I was weak as fuck? No. You'd shove your babies up my fucking ass regardless of what I said. You're only talking shit to me now, because you know I'd punch you in the face if you tried!"
"And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for that. I regret everything that I've done." He whimpered and swallowed thickly as if nervous. He followed her, hands pressed together as if genuinely honest. "Really. I'm here to apologise. I'm sorry Rue—"
"Apology accepted, now just don't talk to me, and stay there." She pointed at his feet and continued, making her way down. "It'll be best for the both of us. Y'know, I won't pull your tail, you won't pull mine. We'd live our separate lives. Forget everything that happened before. Just treat me like air I don't care."
"Rue…Wait—"
She paused, spinning back to look at him, a hand in the air. He stopped. "I swear to God, if you try anything, I'm programmed to self-destruct. Got a new chip implanted just because of you." She tapped her neck, and it did make him freeze. "I'll just die if you lay any damn eggs inside of me, or even try to get too close to me. New tech or not, all you'll get is guts and blood. I'll blow the fuck up. That's how much I don't want you near me." His expression grew pale, body almost watery with his horror. Heavy footfalls echoed across the metal. His pause was loud, the silence sharp in the night. Was he actually growing transparent?
"I-No-no- "There was a pinch of something in his voice, a drop of despair. An eerie waver through almost panicky sobbing breaths. "Wait, don't do that, never do that. W-why did you do that?" Rue squinted at him. Was he actually crying?
"Well, then stop fucking following me!" He paused on the steps, shifting back and forth. And she could hear him, him, the sound of his pacing growing further. She hid her smirk behind her palm. Goddamn, she was surprised he bought it. Perhaps, the technology really did exist. And so, she continued, making her merry way down the steps. "I hope I never see you again."
"I-I LIKE YOU!" was his thunderous response, echoing into the night. She choked, paused in her steps, and almost tripped over her laces.
"The fuck?" she yelled back. "This your last-ditch attempt to get me or something?"
"I'm not lying." This time, his voice was shaky, sweeter with a breathless rush of air. "I-I really like you. I'd like you to give me and my pack a chance." Well, damn…This was going to be awkward. And God she shouldn't have, shouldn't have turned to give him that one look. But curse her curiosity because she turned then to look at him, to try to see the honesty in his eyes. "Just one chance."
And he was gorgeous, laced with moonlight and glittering. He hovered above her, with pupils so dark and yet so warm they seemed to fall with the stars. They quivered, tender, watery and waiting, almost afraid—genuine. It was as if he were serious, as if he'd torn out his heart in this confession that must be just an attempt to swindle.
His beauty took her breath away, and she hated her Omega for allowing the little skip of her heart. She hated how she actually cared when his face fell as she turned without a word continuing down the steps with a laugh that didn't reach her eyes.
"You know I hate you," she replied, snorting once as she made her way down the steps. "So why did you even try?"
Stupid love scammer.
*
There was nothing they could do about her room.
Rue spent the rest of her morning in the office of Louise. Campus security seemed promising, and the bots had roared to life the moment she'd keyed in a request for help. She'd spent a good minute pondering the social suicide of potentially calling the cops on a party. But then decided that it didn't matter as long as they agreed to somehow fix her life.
Sleep deprived, Rue hadn't really thought through her plan of action. And the Beta staff had stormed out of his room, arms crossed and looking as if he was ready to kill her. God, she wanted to kill her too. She was that tired, and the bag was heavy on her shoulders, heavier because she was hungry.
She was always hungry.
"You want us to fix the wall that your roommate built to keep you out of the actual space that you two share?" The Beta had stared at her, given her a look so foul she swore she must have woken him up from bed. "A wall that you only discovered today because some students fell through it? Aren't you be happy that you know now?"
She cleared her throat. "Um—"
"All rooms in Louise are double rooms. There are no single rooms in this building. You are supposed to share with your roommate. It's part of the agreement." The screws and gears that ran up his nose began to spin, and she eyed them sensing anger. The steely planes of the somewhat metallic alien seemed to only grow sharper.
"Okay," she raised both hands—a gesture for peace. "I just wanted to check. So, who am I staying with?"
The Beta harrumphed. "The system states Halcyon, his maj—"
"Okay, okay, I guess he wasn't lying." She bit her lips, trying to think with sleep clouding her senses. Fuck it. "How about this. They're having an illegal party up there in my room against my consent, and I'd like to sleep in peace. Is there anything you can do about it?" This had the Beta grunting, a shrug as he returned to his device, fingers sliding over the keys.
"Which floor?"
"Top."
"Ah, I'm wasting my time." He rolled his eyes, rubbed his forehead as if he'd done something stupid. Then stared at her like she was the biggest idiot in the universe. "Nothing we can do."
"Pardon?"
"Top floor's got clearance for different stuff. Campus rules don't apply there. You should know, you live with them." He swiped and a white panel hovered before her, then tapped at a section in fine print for ants. "You signed your name agreeing to all of their rules." Rue squinted, then sighed.
"And who makes those new rules?"
"Dante from Room 1," he snorted with a laugh. "Listen kid, you're better off just playing nice with the residents of top floor. If they want you to sleep on the floor, just sleep on the floor. If they want to hold parties, let them."
"Huh." It seemed that all of them were top dogs. Seraphim did act like a prince with a stick up his ass, but Kier and Levi? Damn. "Ok, what if I'd like to move?"
"There's no vacancy on campus. Balloting system only starts every year. And it's not guaranteed. The rates will be higher." His fingers flew across the keyboard. "You've got a discount here because of a scholarship specifically tied to Louise. Of course, you can try to rent a place outside which will be a 1000% more expensive. And you've still got to pay for the whole year here. It's part of the contract." He squinted at the screen. "Why move? You're basically living for free here."
"1000 credits a month isn't free—"
"This is how much everyone else pays to stay in Louise for a month." He spun a tablet around and Rue gaped, feeling significantly more awake with five zeroes running across the page. "It's what you get for staying in a prime location in Hakon. Top floor? I've had students try to slip me millions for a chance." He leaned back with a sigh, raised a brow. "So why are you here?"
"Trying to find a place to sleep?"
"Just sleep at the party, they'll stop…Eventually."
Rue was left with nothing but the knowledge that she was fucked.