H.A.R.D.C.O.R.E

004-Roomies

RHODA

Amidst the chaos, he moved toward me, my heartbeat spiking with every step he took.

I didn't move from the spot, just watched as he closed the distance and finally stopped in front of me. He was so close that his Alpha presence wrapped around me like second skin.

I could hardly breathe, but I didn't shake. If I moved even an inch, it could be the end of everything I'd worked for to get here.

Slowly, he lifted his helmet. Red hair spilled out like a river of blood, and his face…. It was exactly the one that had been imprinted on my heart since I was twelve.

No wonder the eyes looked familiar.

This was the boy. Some one from East frost.

“Who are you?" His voice cut through my thoughts, and I swallowed the lump rising in my throat.

I froze completely. I could only stare as his hand reached toward my collar and turned my name tag over to read it. “Rhodes Othello?"

Thank God for Clawdeen — she'd found me a breast binding bra designed to look like a man's hairy chest, and I had it on now.

“Yeah. I'm…Rhodes.”

He studied me a bit too long. Dread crawled up my spine, and I looked down, desperate to hide before he saw through the act — but his hand caught my chin before I could.

“What are you doing?"

His eyes narrowed. “You…"

“MJ. The coach needs you." A friend jogged up beside him, and Mikaeel stepped back, walking off without another word.

The second he was gone, I didn't stop running until I reached the dorm, breathing hard.

My hands were still shaking when I pulled out my phone and texted Clawdeen. “Did you know anything about a guy named Mikaeel Jones?”

The reply came almost instantly.

DEEN: “You know Alpha MJ?”

ME: “He's my freaking roommate, Deen!” My hands shook as I typed the message.

DEEN: ‘Clawdeen sent two shocking stickers.’

ME: “What about him?”

DEEN: Two shocked stickers followed. “MJ is bad news! A walking red flag! I hope you haven't crossed him?”

My throat burned, heat flushed my face, I could hardly think straight as I typed.

ME: I think I made him lose the game or something. I don't know, babes. I don't know anything.

DEEN: She sent two crying stickers. “This is f****d up big time. MJ never lost a game. He's always trending on i********: after all the games.”

ME: “What do I do?”

DEEN: “I don't know. Just get the f**k out of that room first. Ask for a change of room or something.”

The phone slipped from my hand to the bed. This was the first time Clawdeen would have no solution.

I wasn't just doomed. Maybe this would be the end of ballet for me?

I sank to the bed, then the memory of Aunt Celeste's plaque struck my brain. Would I give up now when I was here and almost achieved my aim?

The thought of what Dad would do if he found out about this and I still didn't achieve anything made me shudder.

No.

I come this far not to lose now.

The speaker hung on the wall creaking. “Attention boys. Everyone return to your dorm to freshen up for dinner."

I got up, dismissed the stupid thoughts of giving up, stripped down, and stepped into the bathroom.

The bathroom was split into two sides, one for each of us. Since Mikaeel technically owned half of the room, I figured he probably switches between them at random. I picked the one on the left and laid out my makeup, my disguise, everything I needed.

I peeled off the binder, let the water run over me, and let it wash away some of the tension. It felt relaxing, almost too refreshing. A small part of me kept wondering what came next.

As I washed myself before my first dinner at Megathron, my heart grew heavy again.

This isn't going to end well.

I shut off the shower, reaching for the hair dryer — except it wasn't there. Grumbling, I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped out to check if Mikaeel had left it in the main room.

It wasn't there. But his clothes were dropped across his bed — clothes that hadn't been there before. Had he come in while I was showering?

I shrugged it off and turned towards the second bathroom instead. The moment I opened the door, heat rushed to my face and I nearly lost my footing.

Steam curled around the jacuzzi like fog. For a second, I thought he'd simply left the water running — until I took one step closer.

The fog shifted just enough for a cough to slip through it, and red hair was the first thing I saw, before his face came into view.

Mikaeel!

I spun around before my brain even caught up with what was happening and bolted out of the bathroom without looking back.

♣

I'd barely gotten the binder fitted right when I sat down on my bed, Mikaeel ’s eyes locked on me like I was something to be studied.

Thankfully, the steam in the bathroom had masked my scent earlier. Now at least, I had the Alpha perfume working in my favor.

“So…” Mikaeel said. “You're my new roommate?”

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

He let out a low, dark chuckle, studying me again.. “You know….something about you looks different.”

I held my ground. “W..What, because I'm not tall like the other guys?”

“No.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “It's something else. And it's… a lot.”

I didn't know what to say to that. If he'd actually noticed something why dance around it instead of just saying it outright?

I stood up quickly. “It's dinner time. I should go.”

“Where?”

“The dining hall.”

Mikaeel stood up, glancing at his phone before looking back at me. “Come with me to the cafeteria instead.”

“But the dining hall…”

“That’s for omegas and outcasts.” He grabbed his bag and headed for the door. “A small, soft-looking Alpha like you would get eaten alive in there. Come with me with me or not. Your choice.”

That landed like another blow. Should I blame myself for picking the Alpha scent perfume? I sighed and followed him anyway.

He was the same boy I'd known as a child — the one who'd promised, with all the dramatic certainty of a kid, that he'd protect and marry me one day. Even if some part of him sensed something was off about me now, better I stick to one known devil than a thousand unknown angels. The devil was an angel too. For now. I stick to Mikaeel.

At the cafeteria, I had to fight the urge not to stare at the curve of his shoulders, the way he moved like he owned the space. Call it girlish instincts, I was captivated despite myself.

Back when we first met, I remembered how big boys ganged him up and beat him for looking too frail. Then, we just moved to East frost, our present neighborhood and I'd saved him. I never thought he was Alpha by the way he looked.

Mikaeel led us to a table by the window where a few other boys from the hockey team were already seated. I could tell that from the jacket they had on.

I couldn't breathe properly, kept my head down, and nearly walked straight into his chest before catching myself. Once we were seated and I finally started eating in peace, the boys at the table started.

“You snitched on MJ earlier on purpose, didn't you?” One of them sneered.

I froze mid-bite and looked up. “No… that wasn't on purpose. I don't even…”

“Better be careful, Rhodes,” another one chuckled. “Gays would be all over you with that pretty face of yours.”

My skin crawled at the mention of that.

Mikaeel reached over and smacked the back of my head, light but playful.

I froze completely. “Oui! what was that for?”

“From now on, you stick close to me. Don't leave my sight. Got it?”

I blinked rapidly. “But why?”

“Punishment. For costing me that wager, Rhodes.”

His friends burst out laughing, and I just sat there, feeling like the punchline of a joke I didn't understand.

But something didn't add up. If he was actually furious at me for losing him the match, why did he want me close instead of far away?

Does he already know I'm a girl? Or was this really him being a red flag that Clawdeen said he was?