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The alpha dorms always smelled different from afar, but now that he's standing inside one, the musk is strikingly strong.
Zayne tightened his grip on the strap of his bag as he stepped past the tall, iron gates, the faint click of the lock echoing behind him. Even the night air couldn’t dilute the heavy musk of alphas lingering in the corridors. It clung to the walls, seeping into the air, almost challenging any omega reckless enough to cross the threshold.
And here he was, the student council president, the one who’d signed off on the very rules forbidding omegas all over the campus from entering these halls, walking right through them.
It was foolish. Reckless.
He moved swiftly down the corridor, eyes forward, expression carefully carved from stone. The occasional alpha he passed gave him a once-over, some lingering longer than necessary, curiosity sparking in their gazes. He didn’t falter. If anything, he straightened his shoulders and kept his steps steady. He couldn’t afford to look nervous.
He’d only meant to drop the assignment off. Caleb’s assignment. The one they’d spent two nights hunched over in the library, working line by line until Caleb’s sloppy notes became a presentable paper. And of course, the idiot had forgotten it. Left it right there on the table, as though it wasn’t worth thirty percent of his final grade.
Zayne had called him. Twice. No answer.
He didn’t have Sylus’s number, not that he would ever willingly call that fucker.
So now, against all sense and instinct, he found himself in enemy territory, clutching the file like a shield.
He stopped outside the room number the guard had muttered with a smirk. Third floor, left wing.
His knuckles rapped against the wood once.
Silence.
Twice.
Nothing.
By the third knock, irritation warped him. He drew a breath, ready to slam his fist harder, when the door finally creaked open.
Zayne froze.
Not Caleb.
Sylus.
And very shirtless.
His silver hair was tousled like he’d just rolled out of bed, sharp canines flashing as a slow smirk spread across his lips. His gaze dipped, almost lazily, taking in Zayne from head to toe as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
“Well, well,” Sylus drawled, leaning a shoulder against the frame. “Look what the night dragged in.”
Zayne’s face remained unreadable, voice flat. “Is Caleb here?”
“President,” Sylus said, ignoring the question, “you do realize where you’re standing, don’t you? Or did the stress of council finally fry that big brain of yours?”
“I asked,” Zayne repeated evenly, “if Caleb is here.”
Sylus’s grin widened, sharp with amusement. “Didn’t peg you for the rule-breaking type. What’s the council going to say when their golden boy is caught sneaking into the alpha dorms after dark?”
“I’m not here to play games,” Zayne said, tone dry enough to cut. “Move.”
Sylus let out a low chuckle. “Oh, I believe you. Only you would risk your pristine reputation for a noble cause. What is it, hm? Secret rendezvous with your childhood sweetheart?”
Zayne’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “You’re insufferable.”
“Ok but why are you blushing,” Sylus shot back instantly, smirk never faltering.
“I’m not.”
“You are. Cute.” He tilted his head, deliberately blocking the doorway. “Bet you practiced that stoic face in the mirror before coming, didn’t you? Shame it doesn’t hold up when you’re standing in front of me.”
Zayne’s voice sharpened, though still quiet. “If you don’t let me through, I’ll make sure the next council budget request for your boxing club mysteriously gets lost.”
Sylus barked out a laugh. “Gods, I almost want to test you just to see if you’d actually do it.”
Zayne exhaled slowly through his nose, patience thinning. “Where. Is. Caleb?”
“Relax. He’s around,” Sylus said, still clearly enjoying himself. “Probably—”
“Who the hell are you talking to?” came a voice from inside.
Both turned.
And there he was.
Caleb stepped out from the bathroom, dark hair damp, clinging to his forehead, towel slung low around his waist. Droplets of water trailed down his chest. His eyes landed on the figure at the door, and he froze mid-step.
“Zayne?”
For the first time all evening, Zayne faltered. His carefully composed calm cracked for half a second before he forced it back. “You forgot your assignment,” he said evenly, holding up the file.
Caleb blinked, then his entire face twisted into shock and alarm. “What the hell—why are you here?”
“Because you didn’t pick up your phone.”
“You—” Caleb cut himself off, quickly striding over. In one motion he shoved Sylus aside, grabbed Zayne by the wrist, and yanked him inside, slamming the door behind them.
“Are you out of your mind?” Caleb’s voice was sharp, loud. He looked furious.
Zayne blinked. “It’s not that big a—”
“Not that big—?!” Caleb’s eyes blazed. He gestured wildly, towel threatening to slip as he did. “You’re an omega in an all-alpha dorm! At night! Do you have any idea what could’ve—”
“I’m fine,” Zayne cut in, tone flat, gaze steady.
“You won’t be if you keep doing stupid shit like this!” Caleb snapped, chest heaving. “What if I hadn’t been here? What if—gods, Zayne, what if someone else had opened that door?”
The silence that followed was heavy.
Zayne looked down, lips pressed thin, refusing to argue. Because he knew Caleb was right.
Caleb exhaled hard, dragging a hand through his wet hair. He stepped closer, voice softening, though his grip on Zayne’s wrist remained firm. “Don’t… don’t ever do that again, okay? Just call me. Anytime. I don’t care if it’s midnight—I’ll come to you.”
“I did call.”
Caleb blinked, caught off guard. “Oh.”
Zayne finally looked up, deadpan. “You didn’t pick up.”
“…Must’ve left my phone charging,” Caleb muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. Then he fixed Zayne with a stern look again. “Still. You were too careless. You can’t—”
“I get it,” Zayne interrupted, monotone but not unkind.
For a moment, they just stood there.
Caleb sighed, shoulders relaxing. His hand slid from Zayne’s wrist to his shoulder, fingers brushing warm through the fabric. “Seriously, though. Don’t scare me like that again. How did you even get here though? You do realize that omega and alpha dorms are separated for a reason, right?.”
Before Zayne could answer, a pointed cough came from the side.
Both turned.
Sylus was sprawled lazily across a chair kept by the entrance, smirk wide enough to split his face. “Adorable,” he drawled. “Our alpha pup finally baring his fangs for his precious omega. Warms the heart.”
“Shut up,” Caleb shot back instantly, glaring.
Zayne’s ears burned red. He quickly looked away, refusing to give Sylus the satisfaction of seeing his face.
“You...you won't return alone, I’ll walk you back,” Caleb said, turning back to him. “Wait here.”
He disappeared into what might be Caleb's bedroom.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Sylus’s smirk turned sly. “So. How was the view? Man of your dreams dripping wet, nothing but a towel—”
“Shut up,” Zayne said flatly, but his ears betrayed him, still burning.
Sylus’s chuckle was low and knowing. “You’re lucky he’s oblivious. If he ever figures it out…”
“There’s nothing to figure out.”
“Mm. Keep telling yourself that.”
Zayne’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t rise to the bait.
The bedroom door opened again, saving him. Caleb emerged fully dressed this time, carrying an extra scarf. He stepped close, looping it gently around Zayne’s shoulders. “It’s cold out. Keep it on.”
Zayne’s heart thudded painfully, but he said nothing, face carefully stoic.
“Come on,” Caleb said softly, steering him toward the door. He made sure to walk slightly ahead, broad shoulders shielding Zayne, an arm lingering by his side as they stepped into the hall.
The cold air hit them, sharp and biting. Caleb adjusted the scarf higher around Zayne’s neck. “You really gotta start taking some rest from council work, y’know,” he joked lightly, trying to ease the tension. “At this rate, you’ll forget to sleep. Lack of rest is already messing with your brain.”
Zayne shoves an elbow in his side as Caleb snickers.
"Really though. You coming all the way to alpha dorms, just to return that damn paper-",
"-the assignment you lost sleep over", Zayne chimes in.
"Yeah yeah, details. You're so stupid sometimes Zayne." Caleb smiled.
Zayne glanced up at him, lips twitching almost imperceptibly. His eyes lingered a moment too long on the soft line of Caleb’s jaw, the way his violet eyes crinkled when he smiled, the careless tilt of his head as he spoke. Every little detail felt sharper, more vivid than it should.
He swallowed the tightness in his chest, pretending not to notice how warm Caleb’s presence made him feel—like he was the only person in the cold night, the only one who mattered.
He wanted so badly to tell Caleb how much he meant to him. To say the words he kept buried deep—words that made his pulse quicken and his breaths shallow. But the weight of years of friendship, and the unspoken rules of their world held his tongue.
Instead, Zayne simply leaned a little closer into Caleb’s side, letting the warmth seep into his bones. For once, he didn’t care if his heart felt like it might burst.
Because in this moment, with Caleb shielding him from the cold and every set of eyes that might stray too long, he could almost pretend. Pretend that Caleb was his. Pretend that the warmth was more than friendship.
And as Caleb rambled softly about how Zayne needed to stop working himself to death, Zayne thought, selfishly—
He never wanted this to change.