Elliott existed in everyone’s peripheral. Neither rude nor withdrawn, he somehow managed to perfectly balance attendance with distance. Easy-going but not easily-led. A cardboard cut-out of a perfect person. Now his scent coated River’s neck from jaw to collar bone.

×

The lecture had begun with an overview of the group projects that would be assigned that day.

Luckily, River knew all the people he had been grouped with. Granted, he made an effort to get to know everyone he came into contact with, and it helped a lot in these situations. River was the only non-dominant at the table. As an omega, people expected him to be shy and timid. It kept people at bay, afraid to approach him and make him uncomfortable, or be seen as the arsehole bothering a poor, weak, defenceless omega. But River was no such thing.

Sat around a high table, on stools that River had to climb up, his group chatted with him cheerfully.

“You and the girls are going to that glow-in-the-dark bowling place on Friday, right?”

The girls were the dominants’ girlfriends. A gaggle of girls that made up one of River’s closest friend groups. All betas, but of the submissive variety. Their boyfriends were also all betas, and all dominant.

River nodded and smiled. “They’re going, I’m undecided.”

“River missing a social event?” Ilex teased.

“Are you sick?” Rowan added.

Sky shook his head. “Leave him alone. He’s probably just booked up three months in advance.”

“Six, actually,” River replied primly. “But that’s not the reason I’m on the fence.” He sighed. “It’s in a bit of a… dodgy area.”

The boys’ faces fell into frowns simultaneously. The girls hadn’t told them, then.

“They’re all scent marked, though,” River added hurriedly. “So I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

River was the only member of the friend group without a partner. Without a scent to protect him from creeps on the street. He was already a walking target as an omega, to go into an area that was known to be dangerous seemed really really stupid. But he hated turning down an invitation.

“You’re worried to go without a scent mark on you?” guessed Rowan.

River shrugged sheepishly. “It might seem silly, but-”

“Not at all,” said Sky. “It’s better to be overcautious, especially since you’re, um-” He flushed a little around the ears.

River smiled. “I know.” An omega, delicate and defenceless. He bit back a sigh. He didn’t think he was Super Man or anything, but he liked to think his friends knew him well enough by now to not baby him. Physical strength and size were not in his favour, but he was smart-ish and could make a friend of anyone, and that had seen him into adulthood just fine.

Omegas and alphas were the rarest secondary genders, and he and Alpha Elliott were the only ones in their Art History class. Perhaps, if he had chosen the British Modernism module instead of Italian Renaissance, they both would have each been a drop in a sea of betas. Did it make a noticeable difference to not be the only non-beta in the room? No, but at least he could tell himself he wasn’t alone when one of them made an accidentally ignorant comment. Being a novelty was difficult at first in any environment, and River did his best to use it to unlock even more friendships. Elliott did not take the same strategy. They had never spoken beyond sparse small talk. That was okay… alphas were a little intimidating…

That was exactly one of the ignorant stereotypes that a beta would repeat. River allowed himself some grace - he was an omega, he was allowed to be nervous of alphas. And anyway, he never said such things out loud…

Rowan’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Maybe we should come along, just in case.”

“Oh, please don’t worry,” River assured them, forcing an easy smile. “I wouldn’t want to put you out.” He knew they had plans to watch the football together that night. “Either I go or I don’t, but that’s on me.”

Ilex grumbled quietly and the others looked similarly uneasy.

“This is a bit embarrassing, but I have been looking into alternatives.” He would never have admitted it if they didn’t seem so concerned.

The boys all stared at him, not a single inkling behind their eyes, urging him to continue. Their printouts lay ignored around their half-open laptops.

“You know those seedy perfume ads?” he laughed awkwardly. “They claim to have the same effect as a dominant beta or alpha’s scent. It’s probably a scam, and insanely overpriced, but it did catch my attention.”

There was a silent pause at their table, the rest of the room bubbled with mumbled conversations.

“How overpriced are we talking?” Sky asked.

“Dude!” Ilex rocked back on his stool to give his friend an incredulous look. “Why are you encouraging this?” As though River was spitballing the possibility of taking secondary-gender-altering drugs. It was just the smell, not any physical change, that he wanted. A stinky cloud of protection from the world, just for one night.

“I’m just curious!” Sky’s voice had risen too loud under the scrutiny. River pretended not to see the tables around them taking notice of their conversation. He didn’t want the world finding out he was so pathetically single that he was genuinely considering buying the scent of a stranger to wear. “How much could I get for my sweat?”

Rowan shook his head. “How would you squeeze enough out to even fill a bottle?”

“Turn my fan off for a night. Wring the sheet out in the morning.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Mate, it’s not even March yet.” Ilex looked almost more concerned than queasy. “How are you always burning up?”

“Probably a side effect from all the protein powder he snorts.”

Sky didn’t deny it. River caught him glancing down at his biceps with a glint of pride in his eyes. He was certainly big for a beta. The boys’ words rolled over him in the trance of his own gigantism.

“Another one? Aren’t his farts bad enough?”

Sky snapped out of his stupour to scold Ilex. “Hey, don’t talk about farts in front of an omega.”

“Sorry, River.”

River waved him off. It was silly, the things that betas thought would offend an omega. Potty language was a common one, along with mentions of violence or suffering. Omegas were supposed to be fragile, even in their ears.

“Let’s see these stink sellers, then.”

River hesitated. They hadn’t gotten much done on their project, and time was running out… They could always meet up for a study session over the weekend…

River pulled himself up onto his knees, teetering on his stool to display his phone screen in the centre of the table, searching for the saved tab of scents for sale. The website looked shady as anything, with a blocky design and clashing colours claiming the best deals to be found anywhere online.

Rowan whistled one long, quiet note.

“Yeah, it’s definitely not in my budget,” River admitted.

“The price-per-spray is probably reasonable when you think of the safety benefits and that…” Ilex offered. “But for a whole bottle? Insane.”

Sky was counting on his fingers while Rowan scrolled the offerings. “It’d still cost you a tenner to cover all the important parts - and that’s for a dominant beta scent, not the alpha deluxe!”

“I’d let you borrow my scent for free if I didn’t have, you know, Willow.”

“Thanks, Ilex.” It was an intimate thing to offer, and he wondered if he only felt able to say the words aloud because he had Willow.

“I’d charge you a pound per day,” Sky teased. “My stench is premium.”

“What a steal!” River laughed. “If only I could find someone else as generous as y-”

The heat of a body had drawn in close to his back, and the scent of an alpha slammed into him. When had he gotten so close? Why had he gotten so close?

His head turned a degree and was caught between huge hands. The table was still, the boys stupified, River locked in an alpha’s grip. And more potent than the grip was the light layer of natural oils and sweat that coated it. River’s skin took to the scent like a sponge to water, drinking in every touch as the hands rounded his jaw, impossibly gentle for their size, dragged down his throat, cupped his collarbones and pressed warmth into the thin skin of his chest. The touch was both sensual and methodical. An intimate exploration and a meticulous coating.

The alpha’s throat took the newly opened space beneath River’s ear, layering pheromones with a tender nuzzle. It seemed impossible that he could know such a thing… but he felt the restraint of an alpha resisting the urge to rub his jaw harder. Holding back the territorial aggression.

The hands lifted at the shudder of the first breath River had managed to take since inhaling the alpha’s scent. His wrists were taken from their balance upon the work table and rubbed by thick thumbs, working the claim into his skin thoroughly. It was a small mercy when his armpits weren’t massaged as well. Instead, the hands retreated and so did the bony jaw, no longer prodding into his throat.

He didn’t attempt to crane his neck again, he knew there was only one alpha in the room. And of all the alphas he’d ever met, no matter how briefly, he was most shocked that this one would mark him with his scent. He was shaking, his heart thudding like it wanted to escape. He stared straight ahead, over Rowan’s shoulder.

“First taste is free.” The voice in his ear was low, breath brushing the shell. River shivered. Elliott was curled over him, close enough to touch, but not. Why did it matter? He reeked of him. Why hold back now? “After that, I charge the deluxe prices.” There was humour in his tone, but he could very well have been serious.

River forced himself to turn. He had to say something, or do something, or maybe both. Elliott was hunched over him, eyes the blue of royal crests watching him from above, but only for a moment. Once River had found the courage to spin on his shins and face the alpha whose scent he now sported, the very same alpha dipped back and slipped away between the tables. His expression held nothing, the perfect mask it always was.

The class was over, and only their table had not stood to leave. If anyone else had witnessed the scent marking, they had nothing to say about it. Elliott disappeared out the door amongst the crowd.

River’s knees fell open and he dropped to his seat. The boys packed his things for him and walked him out until he shooed them to their next classes. He had a free hour. And he was fine. He needed a hot drink to calm his nerves. But he was fine. They didn’t need to worry. He was fine.

With uncertain mumblings, they finally left him to get his thoughts together. River staggered away, swallowed up in the fog of an alpha’s scent.