Ciro P.O.V
He was standing by the vending machine, jabbing at the keypad like it had personally offended him. His hair was a little messier than usual, and he had his earbuds in, bobbing his head like he was in his own world.
Which made this both easier and harder.
I stood a few feet away, frozen with the box of cookies in my hands like it was a ticking time bomb. My palms were sweating. My brain was screaming:
Just do it.
I cleared my throat loud enough that he could hear me.
He looked up and pulled one earbud out. "Hey," he said, a bit surprised but not in a bad way.
"Hey," I replied, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. "I, uh..." I held out the box a little awkwardly. "I made these for you."
He blinked, then looked at the box. Skeptically, like I'd handed him a container full of worms.
"You made these?" he asked, like the idea of me in a kitchen was impossible.
I thought you were emotionally invested, I wanted to say.
"Well, I did tell you I was baking," I replied.
"So you were baking for me?"
"No, for the project," I said then added, sarcastically, "Of course I was but my hands are getting tired, you know."
His brows lifted, and he accepted the box, opening it like he expected a jack-in-the-box to pop out.
He took one cookie, inspected it dramatically, then bit into it.
He chewed once. Twice. Then made a face.
"Oh wow," he said. "This is... bad."
I blinked. "What?" I asked in disbelief.
My jaw dropped, heat flaring in my face. "Give it back."
"Huh?" He blinked again.
I reached for the box. "If it's that bad, then I'm taking them back. I don't need this kind of slander after baking until 2 a.m."
I was already tired from this morning.
"Wait—no, no!" He clutched the box tighter, spinning out of reach like I was trying to snatch his firstborn. "I was kidding! Ciro, seriously, don't take them."
I stopped. "If it wasn't bad, why didn't you hand it back, then?"
He laughed. "I was joking. It tasted good." He patted my head, and some of his pheromones leaked onto me.
I didn't know if he did it willingly or not, but it made me feel calmer than ever.
"Thank you," I said before turning around to head back to my dorm. I was tired and in need of rest. My last lecture was at four, so I'd take this chance to sleep.
It felt good knowing it tasted good. I didn't waste my time, at least.Feeling proud of my accomplishment, I made my way to the dorm, happy.
I somehow met up with Jacob right outside. He was talking to someone,it looked like his so-called "friend" he'd been seeing for two months now.
I glanced at them and hurriedly made my way inside.
Soren's POV
I stared at the box in my hand and the now distant figure.
Through all the chaos, I finally heard a thunk;the drink I bought finally dropped.
It was a complicated feeling, but I knew it was because of the project.
It truly tasted good.
I walked back to where Lucian was and sat down.
I offered him one, which he declined, saying it was smothered in pheromones.
I looked at it again but couldn't sense any.
"You sure there is? I can't sense it at all."
Lucian laughed. "And you're supposed to be a dominant alpha? You can't sense omega hormones?"
"But I don't sense any though and I'm not joking."
Am I having an identity crisis right now?
Frustrated, I put the cookies aside and opened my drink.
If it's true that I can't sense Ciro's pheromones... then what's happening to me?
Just last week, I could sense that rose mixed with vanilla scent. It made me irritable, sure, but it was normal.
Sighing, I finished eating and made my way to my lecture after lunch, parting ways with Lucian.
I decided I'd schedule a check-up for tomorrow. I booked one with my sister.
After that, I headed to the library.
On the way to meet my new found study partner.
We never got along, but for the past two weeks, things had been peaceful between me and him.
It just so happened he was late today.
Though the time wasn't officially discussed, it was well-known we'd meet at 5:30.
Drawing me out of my thoughts, I heard a thud on the chair across from me.
Just as I was about to speak, Ciro raised his hand to stop me. "Yes, I'm ten minutes late, and I acknowledge that."
He took the words right out of my mouth, and I chuckled.
Looking at his disheveled appearance very unlike his usual neat self I added, "I was just going to say fix your messy hair."
In truth, it looked like a bird's nest.
Ciro stared at me before pulling out his phone. Letting out a yelp, he tried to fix his hair but to no avail, then excused himself.
Muttering as he left, "I blame you, Kenon."
I shook my head in disbelief. "How is that my fault?"
But his back was already turned. His figure had already disappeared.
Usually, I'd have picked up on his pheromones by now especially when he's irritated.
Multiple times, I could sense his scent even when he tried to mask it. Being a dominant alpha meant my senses were heightened.
But today? I couldn't sense anything at all.
Feeling more anxious than ever, I tried to drown myself in the notes I made today.
It didn't help.
I didn't want to Google it either.What if it told me I was dying?
With my mind unoccupied, I looked up at the familiar person walking toward me.
The now put-together Ciro had a tired look on his face. His hoodie sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His hair was no longer a bird's nest but back to normal, though partially wet, signaling how long he took to fix it.
He sat down across from me. He obviously noticed I was staring.
With a scowl now on his face, he said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"So I can't look?" I teased.
Feeling the urge to mess with him, I leaned a little closer.
We made eye contact.
"Why are you coming so close, Kenon?"
To answer your question I don't know.
My pheromones began to seep out without me noticing. A thought flashed in my head: Overpower him.
Trying to snap me out of it, a sudden pain shot through my eye. I flinched back into my chair.
"What the fuck, Ciro!" I said, holding my eye.
"What? Your pheromones were suffocating me!" Ciro muttered.
This bitch poked me in the eye.
It was actually what I needed, because I didn't know what just came over me.
Rubbing my eye, I tried not to curse again. "You really didn't have to jab my eye, you know."
"Yeah, well, you were trying to dominate me with your scent. I panicked," he said, arms crossed, looking smug.
"I wasn't trying to dominate you, I—"
I stopped myself.
Was I?
I slumped back in the chair and stared at the ceiling like it held all the answers.
My skin still tingled from how close he'd been.
I couldn't explain what came over me.
And now, I couldn't even sense his pheromones?
That wasn't normal.
"You're acting weird today," he said suddenly, peeking over from his laptop. "Weirder than usual."
I didn't respond right away.
"You think there's something wrong with me?" I asked without thinking.
Ciro looked up. "Huh?"
I shook my head. "Nothing. Just... do I seem off to you?"
He gave me that same skeptical look from earlier, like he was trying to figure out if I was joking or being serious.
"You're always off," he said dryly. "But I guess you're extra weird today."
I laughed, and his face softened just a bit.
"I apologize. I didn't know what came over me just now."
He gave a small nod.
After all his fussing and complaining, I walked him back to his dorm.
I was exhausted by the time I got to mine.
I decided to skip today's lecture.
I had an appointment anyway, and right now, I wasn't in the mood to sit through another lecture.
It didn't take long. The second I got there, I sat down and stared at the person in front of me.
"What problem brought you to grace me with your presence this morning?" my sister asked, raising a brow, voice heavy with sarcasm.
I sighed. "I can't sense pheromones right now."
She blinked, taken aback. "You can't?"
I nodded. "Only realized it yesterday."
She leaned forward, folding her arms. "I mean... you were never that into omegas, but still that's weird."
"I know," I said. "But I could still sense them. That never changed."
"To a specific omega?"
Of course I could still sense other pheromones other than him.
I paused. "He's the only omega I'm around regularly."
"What's the omega's name?"
I rolled my eyes. I knew she was going to ask that.
I muttered, "Ciro Asel."
She let out a loud laugh. "The small cute boy you used to fight with over a beta?Are you guys friends now?"
I groaned. "We're not friends. We just have a project together."
"A project between alphas and omegas? That's new."
"It's something Uncle implemented this year—pairing us up for some bonding initiative or whatever. He thinks it'll make more compatible couples."
"Ahh, so that's why you two are suddenly joined at the hip." She grinned. "Well, if that's the case, I think you've just gone noseblind to his pheromones. Don't worry,it's a natural occurrence."
"Noseblind?" I repeated.
She shrugged. "Happens sometimes when an alpha spends too much time around one omega. Your brain stops registering the scent as something new or important. Kinda like your body thinks it's... familiar."
"I don't know," I muttered. "Yesterday was weird too. I tried to dominate him. Unknowingly. Like, it just... happened."
She waved a hand, brushing off the concern. "Totally normal. You were probably just confused. Your whole life you've disliked the guy, and now suddenly you guys are around each other"
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing with amusement.
"That's enough to throw your instincts into whiplash. Your body probably doesn't know whether to fight him or mate him."
Mate him?
I visibly became uncomfortable.
That thought has never once crossed my mind in a million light-years.