Elias's dorm room was a small, spartan cell carved into the east wing of Crimsonridge Academy's ancient stone walls. The cold seeped through cracks, but the thick velvet curtains and heavy oak desk offered some comfort. Tonight, the usual sterile scent of cleaning potions was mixed with something… off.
He sat on the edge of his narrow bed, fingers trembling slightly as he peeled the scent blocker patch from behind his ear. It was one of the academy's strictest rules: Omegas had to wear scent blockers in public, to suppress heat and hide their status. No one wanted a repeat of the last scandal.
But sometimes, the blockers failed.
The scent blocker stung as Elias peeled it from behind his ear, the adhesive leaving a red mark on his pale skin. He pressed his fingers against it absentmindedly, feeling the dull pulse beneath. Crimsonridge Academy was freezing this time of year late autumn storms coiled outside the thick windows, rattling glass panes with wind and rain but the chill wasn't what unsettled him.
It was Lucien.
The name alone had become a curse in his mind. He repeated it like a mantra, trying to strip it of the heat it brought. Lucien Vale. Professor Vale. The new Advanced Rhetoric professor who had appeared that morning like a god carved from thunderclouds, stoic, unapproachable, and devastatingly magnetic.
Elias hadn't been the only one to stare.
Earlier that day, when Lucien strode into the lecture hall, every student had gone silent. The room, usually filled with murmured gossip and the occasional half-hearted flirtation, turned reverent. He was tall, absurdly so, dressed in tailored black slacks and a storm-grey coat that skimmed the tops of his boots, collar high, silver-threaded embroidery catching the overhead lights. His hair was obsidian-dark, slicked back from sharp temples, and his eyes… Elias didn't know what color they were. He'd only seen them for a second. One second. But in that second, it felt like the air had been sucked from his lungs.
And Lucien had looked right at him.
Not at the class, not at the front row, but directly at Elias near the back. Just once. Their eyes met, and Elias's heart stopped beating.
Now, in the quiet of his dorm, Elias replayed that moment over and over, as if decoding it would give him peace.
A soft knock at the door made him jump.
"It's me," came Maren's voice. He opened the door and let her in, stepping back as she crossed the threshold with her usual brightness. Her copper curls were tied with a navy ribbon that matched their school's crest.
"You okay?" she asked, handing him a warm mug of spiced tea. "You were kinda pale after class."
"I'm always pale," Elias muttered, but took the mug with a grateful nod.
Maren plopped down on the edge of his bed, kicking off her shoes. "No, like pale pale. And twitchy. Don't tell me it was the new professor? Everyone's talking about him. Even Professor Halden looked nervous."
Elias sipped the tea slowly. "He's... intense."
"That's one way to put it." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Did you see the way he walked in? All 'I own your soul now' vibes. I think half the Omegas in the front row nearly fainted. One of the Alphas said his scent is... weird. Kind of electric. Not normal."
Elias went still.
Maren narrowed her eyes. "Did you smell it?"
He shook his head too quickly. "No. My blocker was working fine."
It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. His scent blocker had worked. Mostly. But when Lucien passed near his desk on his way to the lectern, something pushed through the patch's barrier. A scent dark, wild, and ancient. Nothing like the usual Alpha musk. It was like storm-churned soil and frozen steel. The scent clung to his senses, too elusive to describe, but sharp enough to stir something inside him.
A knock interrupted them again, this one louder.
Elias opened the door a crack. Alec stood there, leaning against the frame like he owned it, his blond hair tousled in that infuriatingly deliberate way.
"Evening," Alec said, grin lazy. "Heard you were having a little episode in class. You alright, Elias?"
Elias didn't respond.
Alec sniffed the air dramatically. "No heat. Huh. Could've sworn something sweet hit the air when Professor Tall-Dark-and-Sinister walked in. Maybe it was just the new carpet."
Maren stood up, arms crossed. "Leave, Alec. We're not in the mood."
Alec winked. "Fine, fine. Just checking on the dorm's favorite ghost." He gave Elias one last look, more curious than cruel this time then sauntered off down the hallway.
When the door clicked shut, Elias exhaled shakily.
"Asshole," Maren said. "I don't care if he's second-rank Alpha, someone needs to punch him."
Elias didn't speak. He was watching the window. A shadow passed by again, too fast to identify, but his chest clenched anyway. Something had followed him since class. He wasn't imagining it.
"He looked at me," Elias whispered. "Just once. It was like he saw everything."
Maren softened. "Hey. He's just a professor. Creepy, yeah. Hot? Definitely. But he's not that different."
Elias didn't answer. He curled his fingers tighter around the mug, knuckles white.
Because deep down, something inside him knew Lucien Vale wasn't just a professor.
He was an Alpha, yes.
But not like the rest.
And Elias... was no ordinary Omega.