I am afraid.

I have been attending Ravenwood Academy for only three weeks now but I am already deeply infatuated with a boy.

I know that is why I came here, to find a quality partner, but I am scared that I will fall flat on my ass when forces outside of our control keep us from being together.

I do not mean to sound like Jayden and I are the Romeo and Juliet of our time, not at all. Our families don't hate each other. His family just might have different expectations for him.

I do know that he told me that his mother is okay with him claiming me. But his grandfather, on the other hand, is not sold on us. He is very traditional, even though his partner was not picked for her wealth. She was mated to him.

Those were the days… *sigh*

Still, I do see how the students here react to him. The longing eyes and curious glances, even my roommate would not be opposed to being his partner.

In many ways, I feel like Jayden is more coveted than Skylar. Especially because he is actually a decent person. He does not think himself entitled just because he is an Alpha from a great pack.

He was raised well, maybe being black plays some part in it, I don't know, but I feel weird addressing a minor part of his identity. It is not my place to comment on his race since I can never know what it is like walking in his shoes. But that really does not matter at all as far as I am concerned.

To me, he is just the boy who is unafraid to challenge preconceived notions and prejudices just to stay with me.

I am sure we would be very happy together, but we are a far cry from the claiming ceremony.

It's Saturday, the second week of September. I decided to stay the weekend here at Ravenwood to keep my roommate company since he was not traveling back to his pack in Texas.

Since Jayden was here too, we decided to make a date out of it and spent last night cozying up together on the sofa of the common area in the first tower of the Ravenwood Academy.

We were not exactly alone there, but there are very few places where we could get privacy except for our rooms, and even then our respective roommates would be there.

Teenagers are nothing if not resourceful, but I am not rushing to be locked away with him completely alone just yet.

Not that I don't want to, I do. But I cannot afford to give myself up to him. It is very much a case of ‘don't give the milk for free or he won't want to buy the cow’ kind of thing.

I hate to feel like this, but the last thing I need is for me to fall pregnant and for people to accuse me of trying to force his hand to claim me. And by people, I mean Headmaster Lockwood, Jayden’s grandfather.

He would sooner pay the million dollar fine than to see his grandson claiming me.

Let me be crystal clear: I do not want the money. If I wanted to be left alone and pregnant, I wouldn't need to come here. I could achieve that on my own.

What I truly want is a partner. A lasting relationship that would allow for us to at least raise the child together.

I am too young to get pregnant anyway, so there's also that. But there are other things that we could do, if you catch my drift… *naughty grin*

But we did not have the time or privacy to do that either. It's too soon anyway, there is no rush.

With that being said, I do want him. I cannot lie, I desire Jayden a great deal. Now that I am approaching my heat season, I need to be extra careful. Vigilant.

Omegas go through a period of high fertility every six months, that is when our bodies emit powerful pheromones that are capable of turning on any male werewolf around us. And by turning on, I do mean sexually stimulating them to satisfy their carnal lust on us.

It is one of the reasons Omegas can only room with another one because only we are immune from others’ heat.

Of course here at Ravenwood Academy all werewolves room with the same breed, but I could not share a room with any other type even if I wanted to. It would be far too dangerous for me.

Fortunately, there is medicine that we can take to minimize the effects of heat, but we cannot suppress it or it could compromise our ability to conceive.

An Omega without the ability to conceive would be as useless to an Alpha as any other male of other wolf breeds.

I am already a poor scholarship student with no powerful family backing me up. If I could not offer a prospective partner the possibility of bearing children, I might as well give up now because nobody will ever claim me. Here or anywhere else. It’s an archaic system, but one that has worked since the first Omega was born in indigenous tribes.

Anyway, we spent a lovely evening together until it was time to call it a night because the lights go out at ten p.m. every night here at Ravenwood.

Now it's Saturday morning and only the holdovers - students who are unable to go home for the weekend - are here with the entire day to themselves.

This eventuality is already predicted by the academy, considering not every student can afford to go home every weekend. We are in the mountains of Colorado and there are students here from everywhere in the country.

On top of that, the foreign exchange students are forced to stay here as well. If you think going to Mississippi is far, imagine England or Brazil.

Sean, the Alpha from London, asked Seth out on a date yesterday and later today they are going into town.

Ravenwood vans transport students from here to the nearest city and back, as long as you respect their schedule.

I would not be opposed to a date with Jayden considering he stayed over too. I am sure he'll think of something…

It's weird to stay here on the weekend. I am so used to spending my time off with my mother or friends, this is a new experience for me. Then again, I never attended a boarding school before.

“Good morning, handsome. Did you sleep well?” Jayden greeted me inside the dining hall as I arrived for breakfast. He was already there waiting for me.

“Yeah, I dreamed of you.” I replied, flirtatiously. He smiled at me and pecked my lips.

“Oh Goddess, kill me now.” Skylar grunted, not far from us. He was waiting for his turn to serve himself. Usually, there would be three stations with food for the students but on weekends there is only one.

We ignored his presence and kissed each other like we were the only ones here, even though at least 50 students were here also. It's usually triple that number.

“I cannot wait for our date later.” Sean told Seth, sounding excited. He too was there to greet him with a courteous smile.

“Me too.” Seth smiled at him.

“You do know he can't claim you, right?” Skylar told his brother. rolling his eyes.

“I am not completely opposed to living as far away from you as possible.” He grunted in annoyance at his twin.

Sean busted out laughing and Skylar threatened him with a death glare, not that he was intimidated by him at all.

“Is it weird that I am feeling thankful to be an only child?” I wondered in a sarcastic tone, looking at Jayden.

“No, it isn't.” He replied, staring at Skylar reprehensibly.

Since there were fewer students today, we all sat near each other, not worrying about sections.

Sean was all eyes on Seth, who felt glad that someone finally decided to stand up to his brother. My eyes were googly for Jayden, so I couldn't care less about the silly sibling rivalry - if we can call it that.

After breakfast, we returned to our respective dorm rooms, but not before Jayden asked to see me alone for a minute.

“I would like to take you to Georgia to meet my parents.” He proposed and I gasped in shock.

“So soon? We are still in September!” I was flabbergasted by his surprise invitation.

“We might as well rip the band-aid off now. We can go in two weeks when I go back home.” He insisted, looking deep into my eyes.

I was so caught off guard by his invitation… I guess he truly means business. He is not yanking my chain or pulling some elaborate prank on me - which would be really cruel and time consuming. I am so honored by this but mostly surprised.

“I would be honored to meet them.” I agreed, feeling overwhelmed by Jayden's true intentions towards me.

We kissed for a moment while I felt thoroughly impressed by the young Alpha.

Sometime later, inside my dorm room, Seth was gobsmacked once I told him of Jayden's intentions.

“He invited you to meet his parents?! That is huge!” He was staring at me, sitting on his bed, jaw dropped.

I am dumbfounded by this move from him. I understand it was coming, but not this soon… I am about to break out in hives of nerve wracking anticipation.

“I know, right? I didn't think he would get so serious this soon!” I am really shocked by this, genuinely.

“Me neither, to be honest. But you do deserve it, Jake. I mean that. I can only hope to make as good a match as you did.” He spoke, sounding hopeful.

The truth is Skylar has been so protective of his brother that Seth hasn't had the chance to prospect any partner. The Alpha casts such a large shadow that it is difficult for him to see any sunlight.

“You will, Seth. You are a Stronghold. I am sure people are dying to ask you out on a date just like Sean did.” I encouraged him with a smile. Then he reminded himself of their upcoming date and smiled at the thought.

“That's nice, but Skylar is right. I won't move to another country for a partner. It's a non-starter with my family, nor would I want to be away from them anyway. Not that far.” He said with some dread in his tone.

“Be that as it may, you should enjoy your date. You deserve it!” I grinned at him encouragingly.

We rested for a while considering we had nothing else to do until lunch. We could go outside to the patio, but everyone else already had the same idea. Instead, we caught up on our social media and eventually nap time.

After lunch, we directed ourselves to the gate and gave our names to the security officers controlling the off campus operations. Then we walked towards the parking garage where the academy vans stayed.

Seth was intrigued by his brother's presence alongside us considering he was not on a date. There were some twelve or more students ready to board the van that would take us to town.

I was yet to see the nearby city, but from what I saw in passing when I came here from Boulder, it is just your run of the mill small town.

There is a honky tonk bar, a small mall with no movie theater, a diner, a gas station, shops, and a motel down the road.

The van left us downtown where we said goodbye to the other students and went our separate ways. Sean and Seth walked straight into the mall.

Jayden and I walked together on the streets with no care in the world. He talked about where he came from and what it was like growing up black and queer in Georgia.

Being the son of the Alpha must have added another level of pressure on him, especially coming into this place with the expectations of making a great match.

It is so daunting that he accepted me at face value, without money or a famous last name. But that just proves the quality of his character.

I couldn't have enough of our time together. He asked me about what it was like being an only child and having grown up without a father. He told me how fortunate he was that his parents still loved each other even after twenty years of union. That is not always the case with non-mates.

Not like my grandparents who have been together for more than forty years.

Eventually, we caught up with Skylar monitoring his brother's date from a vantage point. This guy really needs to get a life… *sigh*

I took the chance to buy some supplies I needed and bought a cologne Jayden helped me pick out.

It was such a great date, time just flew by. We had previously arranged to return by dinner time. We figured it was less of a risk to miss the last van of the day and get stuck here overnight.

It's not like there is an Uber available here in this small town…

All of us who had boarded the earlier van made it back to the Academy, Seth and Sean included. I would ask how the date was, but judging by their faces it went fine. The only grumpy cat was Skylar, apparently someone unable to be happy for others' successes.

By the time we walked into the dining hall, my cell phone alarm clock went off. Jayden, who was by my side, looked at me with curiosity.

“That’s the alarm to signify that my heat could strike me at any moment. We cannot be together until it passes, I am so sorry.” I informed him with dread in my tone. It's the downside of being an Omega. Unavoidable, unfortunately.

“I understand, Jake. I wouldn't want to be around you when that happens, I don't want your power of consent to be impaired on our first time.” He acknowledged with a sympathetic gaze at me.

“I'll watch over you, don't worry roomie.” Seth told me with a timid smile, empathizing with my plight. Soon enough it will be his time.

“Thanks.” I muttered, mildly embarrassed to be going through this now of all time.

I kept my distance from Jayden as we had dinner and afterward, we said goodnight with an air kiss, which was all we could do right now. Seth accompanied me once he said goodbye to his date. I told him he could return to keep Sean company later, but he said he wouldn’t desert me.

I need to stock the mini fridge with water bottles and keep my medicine at the ready. There is nothing else for me to do until my heat hits me.

On Sunday, the morning came just like any other. There was no change in my body, so Seth took a good sniff of me to detect any sign of heat.

We went along to the dining hall and met with the other holdovers. Jayden asked me if I had a good night's sleep while Sean asked Seth for another date this afternoon. Considering he had nothing better to do anyway, it is a cool way of passing the time.

For now, I can no longer spend time alone with anyone much less an Alpha who is naturally prone to someone like me. Instead, we would be together but far apart in the common areas. I know the drill.

What I do not know is why Skylar is looking at me funny this morning.

“Is there something on my face?” I questioned him, curious to find out why he was staring at me as we finished our breakfast.

“No, your scent is different this morning. I don’t know what it is, but it is drawing me to you.” He replied and I gasped in shock. Jayden glared daggers at him, not finding this funny. Seth and the other students present were jaw dropped.

“My heat hasn’t even struck me yet!” I exclaimed with a disgusted expression on my face.

“I know! Which only makes it weirder.” He stated, confused by this himself.

“Back off, Skylar! I am not joking!” Jayden sneered at him, not amused.

“It was just a comment, roomie. I am not going to pounce on him like my ancestors used to do with Omegas.” He said in a snarky tone.

“That was not even remotely funny.” Seth reprimanded his brother with a glare.

Skylar’s pupils were dilated, sweat trickled down his forehead, he stared at me with lust in his eyes and I am not exactly sure why. Isn’t he straight? Though that is less important at the moment… his thirst for me was making me thirsty too, literally. I need to leave before he loses control or my heat strikes.