Alpha in the Field

First Day

Chapter 1

First Day

Maya Torres

I held my bag tightly while walking through the crowded campus. It was exhausting! I ignored the football players tossing a ball near the courtyard. Their laughter and shouts echoed off the brick walls, but I focused on my main goal: getting to the sports medicine building.

“Slow down, Maya, you might run someone over,” Stella said playfully as she jogged to catch up.

“I’m fine,” I replied, keeping my pace and watching the path ahead.

“You’re ignoring them,” she said, looking at the players. “And they definitely notice you.”

I gave her a look that should have said, I don’t care, but I just shrugged. “I don’t want attention, Stella. I just want to get through the day without distractions. One normal day is all I ask for.”

Stella laughed and shook her head. “Normal isn’t your thing, you know that, right?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to argue with her; I just wanted to survive my first day and get to class without problems. My stomach knotted as we got closer to the building, and my steps quickened.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I felt someone watching me. It was Adrian Kane, finishing practice. I had heard a lot about him as the bad boy of campus, and I didn’t want to get involved. But I couldn’t help but notice his muscles moving smoothly during the last drills, sweat glistening on his skin. For a moment, he paused and caught sight of me as I walked past the field. He didn’t approach or call out to me, but I felt him looking at me longer than he should have. A flicker of interest crossed his face before he turned back to his team.

I was just overreacting, I told myself.

I couldn’t focus. My bag felt heavy, and my steps were unsure. I tried to convince myself it was nothing, just a look that wasn’t important.

When I entered the Sports Medicine building, I stopped at the counter to get my schedule. The paper felt thin in my hands, which shook slightly as I checked the classes. I wrote down notes, my handwriting messy from nerves and the pen slipping as I moved to my locker.

The combination to my locker felt strange. My fingers fumbled over the numbers. I cursed under my breath and looked at the other students, who seemed confident and familiar with their routines. Their ease made me feel out of place. I shoved my bag into my locker, fumbled again, and finally closed it with a soft click.

“First day jitters?” Stella asked, leaning against the lockers next to me.

“Maybe,” I said, trying to calm my breathing. “I just don’t want to mess anything up.”

“You won’t,” she said, nudging me gently. “You can do this, and remember, no one is judging you except the football players, and they’re not worth it.”

I smiled faintly, grateful she was here.

The hallway became less crowded as more students entered their classrooms. I tried to steady myself while focusing on the lock that wouldn’t turn. Just as I was about to close the door, someone stepped into my space, and I froze.

“Name,” a cold voice demanded. It was low and confident.

I turned, startled, and saw Adrian Kane standing inches away from me. His presence felt overwhelming, and his gaze held me in place.

I blinked, the answer stuck in my throat. “Maya.”

“Maya,” he repeated, testing the name. For a moment, I thought he might say more, but he just stared at me.

I tightened my grip on the strap of my bag. “Do you… need something?”

A small smirk appeared on his lips, but his eyes remained hard. “Just making sure you don’t walk past me like you did outside.”

“I wasn’t—” I stopped and shook my head. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“You should,” he said calmly, but it didn’t sound like advice. I could tell the difference between someone giving advice and someone making a threat.

Stella leaned against the lockers next to me, arms crossed. She watched silently, clearly entertained, and I knew she wouldn’t interrupt.

I tried to step past him, but he moved slightly to block my way.

“You’re on my radar now,” he said, his cold tone sending shivers down my spine and twisting my stomach. “Don’t forget it.”

I let out a slow breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “I don’t even know you.”

“You will,” he said simply.

My pulse hammered as I pushed forward, brushing past his arm before he could stop me again. My legs moved quickly and the sound of my shoes against the floor. I told myself not to look back but then I found myself doing exactly that.

Adrian was still there, standing in front of my locker, his eyes locked on me like he hadn’t moved at all. The way he stared at me made me feel really uneasy as other students began to fill the space around him.

“Kane’s already picked someone out.”

A voice rang out from his team, one of the players leaning against the lockers with another. He muttered those words our and deliberate for me to hear. The other snorted, shaking his head. “She has no idea what she’s walking into.”

Heat rushed to my face, and I turned away quickly, my heart beating so fast as I hurried down the hall with Stella next to me.