Chapter 2

I purposely chose to move when Ashton was in class.

But I hadn’t expected him to take the day off.

He was lying on his dorm bed, a fever-reducing patch on his forehead, and Jasper’s scent was overwhelmingly strong on him.

When I was a Beta, I couldn't smell it, but now it was crystal clear.

I frowned, the instinctive repulsion of an Alpha to another Alpha’s pheromones kicking in.

But Ashton seemed to misunderstand.

He struggled to prop himself up. "Rowan, let me explain…"

I packed the last few scattered items into a cardboard box.

"Go on, I’m listening. Explain away."

After a long pause, a timid voice came from behind me.

"Rowan, you have no idea how much I envied you. I used to think you were an Omega, you chose mecha piloting, and your grades were just as good as those Alphas. Plus, you had such an amazing boyfriend… Jasper really loved you.

"Jasper and I, it was truly an accident. My heat came early, and if Jasper hadn’t been kind enough to help me, I would have gone into heat in a public place. The consequences would have been unthinkable…

"Rowan, you’re not an Omega. You don’t know how terrifying that situation is for us Omegas."

I turned, hugging the box, and smiled at Ashton.

"You’re right. I can’t understand why you’d go out without an inhibitor when your heat was approaching."

"Nor can I understand why you, knowing other students around had inhibitors, chose to throw yourself into Jasper’s arms and cling to him instead."

"But none of that matters. Since Jasper likes to go around cheating and marking others, I don't want him anymore."

"You like him, you can have him."

I leaned down, raising an eyebrow at Ashton. "If he’s even willing, that is."