MATED TO THE ALPHA NEXT DOOR

Ethan's POV The second I stepped into the dorm, it was like the world stopped breathing. Every eye turned to me. Every whispered word felt like a knife to my skin. "That's him," someone hissed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "The guy who killed his classmate at his last school. Be careful around him. I don't even know why they'd allow a monster like that in here. What the hell? Does the principal hate us that much?" I tightened my grip around the keyring in my hand until the cold metal bit into my palm. I said nothing. I did nothing. I just kept walking, head high, pretending like I didn’t hear a word. Pretending like it didn’t matter. But it did. It f*****g did. The rumor wasn’t true. It was a big, fat, ugly lie. I didn’t kill anyone. He’s not dead. He's in a coma. But if anyone deserved death, it was him. Nobody cared about the years I spent being humiliated, beaten, torn down until I was barely a person anymore. Nobody cared that I begged for help until my throat was raw. But now that he was lying there, silent and broken, suddenly I was the monster. How dare they? I didn't let my face show it. I walked through the corridor like I was invisible, even though the weight of their stares burned holes in my back. Room 214. My new home. Sharing with some senior I hadn’t even met yet. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The air felt... different. Like stepping into another world. No one was there. The room smelled faintly of laundry detergent and something sharper like cologne. I dumped my bags on the floor and collapsed on the nearest bed without even checking which one was mine. I didn’t care. I just needed to stop existing for a while. To let the mattress swallow me whole. The shrill screech of my alarm tore through my sleep, yanking me out of the only peace I'd felt in days. Shit class. I scrambled up, dragging on my jacket, and bolted out the door. But the universe clearly wasn’t done kicking me yet. A group of boys were waiting. They tripped me. Hard. I crashed to the floor, skinning my palms, my backpack sliding away from me. Laughter exploded around me like fireworks. "This is the guy who killed someone? Seriously? What a joke." Another boy laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach. I stared at the dirty floor, rage bubbling up inside me like acid. I wanted to rip their stupid faces apart. I wanted to scream. But I didn’t. I pushed myself up with shaking hands, blinking back the sting in my eyes. "Stop glaring, you weak little s**t," one of them sneered, shoving me hard in the chest. I stumbled backward, heart thudding, sure I was about to hit the ground again. But instead, someone caught me. Strong hands wrapped around my waist, steadying me. I looked up, squinting against the sunlight streaming behind him. I couldn't see his whole face only the sharp angle of his nose, and his crimson eyes, glowing like fire in the light. And the dumbest thing in the world slipped out of my mouth. "So handsome," I whispered, too stunned to stop myself. Before I could process the absolute humiliation of it, he turned, cold and swift, and punched one of the bullies square in the jaw. The rest scattered like cockroaches. "You alright?" he asked, his hands still on me. I could barely breathe. His touch was burning through my clothes. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it might crack my ribs open. What the hell is wrong with me? Why is my heart doing... this? Over a guy? Panicking, I tore away from him and bolted to class, not daring to look back. I couldn't concentrate. The teacher’s voice was just noise, words slipping through my brain like smoke. All I could think about was him. The way he held me like I mattered. The way he looked at me, like I wasn't something broken. Like I wasn't dangerous. I buried my head in my arms. Pathetic. I was so pathetic. Later that night, dragging my exhausted body back to my dorm, the last thing I expected was a punch slamming into my face the second I stepped in. White-hot pain exploded behind my eyes. For a second, the world went black. Then the lights flicked on. And it was him. The boy from earlier. The boy with the crimson eyes. Staring at me, wide-eyed. Looking just as shocked as I felt. "s**t, sorry! I thought someone broke in," he blurted, his fists dropping to his sides. I blinked at him, too stunned to even be mad. It took me a second to find my voice. "I stay here," I croaked out. His eyes widened in disbelief. Realization crashed over his face like a wave. "I'm your roommate?" he asked. There was a strange kind of wonder in his voice. I hesitated, then stuck out my hand, trying to be brave. "Ethan," I said. He smiled and it was blinding. Warm and reckless and real. He shook my hand firmly, like we weren't two broken kids standing in the ruins of their lives. "Kai," he said. Kai. His name fit him somehow. Sharp and dangerous and beautiful. Maybe... maybe this place wouldn’t be hell after all. Days blurred into weeks. And every day, I fell a little harder. Kai was ridiculous. He made the stupidest jokes that had me laughing so hard I cried. He stole my food. He ruffled my hair when he thought I was sad. He... noticed me. God help me, I was falling for him. Hard. Fast. Headfirst with no parachute. But then reality slammed back in. Every time he brought a girl back to our dorm, thinking I was asleep. Every time I heard the soft gasps and the low groans from his side of the room. It was like getting stabbed in the gut. Of course he wasn’t into guys. Of course he wasn’t into me. I didn’t stand a chance. Not in this lifetime. Not in any lifetime. But then... An idea wormed its way into my brain. Dark. Twisted. Desperate. What if... What if I pretended to be someone else? Online? A girl? Someone he could like? No. No way. That’s insane. That’s pathetic. I argued with myself for hours. Told myself to be better than that. And then, at 2AM, I created a fake i********: account. Profile picture: some random pretty girl I found online. Username: LunaDreams. Bio: "Looking for something real." My hands were trembling so bad I almost dropped my phone. I sent Kai a friend request. Seconds felt like centuries. My heart thudded painfully in my chest. And then... He accepted. He messaged first. "Hey, beautiful." I stared at the screen, frozen.