Chapter 3: The cloud before the storm
753 Words
Two weeks had already passed since that incident.
Lucas sat in his classroom during break time, flipping through his biology guidebook like any other day. His best friend, Ivan, perched himself on Lucas's desk, swinging a cola bottle lazily in one hand.
“I still can’t believe you missed the school trip again this year,” Ivan said between sips. “Jeju Island, bro. JEJU.”
Lucas didn’t even look up. He nudged Ivan off his desk with a slight shove and pulled out a cleaning tissue from his bag. “Get your flashy butt off my desk and wipe that spot. You know the rules.”
Ivan groaned dramatically but obeyed, wiping the desk with exaggerated motions. “You’re such a clean freak, I swear. What’s next? Spraying disinfectant on me?”
“Don’t tempt me,” Lucas replied flatly, flipping to the next page in his book.
“You already missed the first-year trip last year. Now the second-year trip too? What kind of tragic alpha prince are you?”
Lucas sighed, not stopping his page-turning. “I couldn’t help it. I was already on time, but then... my body just gave up. Feverish, dizzy… turns out, it wasn’t a fever. It was a rut.”
Ivan sat properly this time, genuine surprise flashing in his eyes. “Your first rut, huh? Damn, must’ve been rough.”
“Mmm.” Lucas nodded. “If the school nurse hadn’t found me, I would’ve lost it completely. She gave me suppressants just in time. I owe her.”
“Lucky her. She’s the only one who missed out on the Jeju trip too. Apparently, she has plane anxiety or something. Oh—and guess who else didn’t go?”
Lucas paused mid-flip.
Ivan caught himself too late.
He slowly slid away from Lucas, instinctively seeking cover behind a desk. “…I mean, I heard Noah didn’t go either.”
Lucas’s hand froze on the page. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his head tilted.
“…Why?”
Ivan raised his hands defensively. “I-I just heard he was unwell that day, okay? That’s it!”
There was a moment of tense silence.
Lucas finally looked up, and for a moment, Ivan was reminded why Lucas was considered Star Academy’s untouchable ace.
Lucas wasn’t just beautiful. He was unnervingly beautiful.
His porcelain skin, that perfectly sculpted face, those sharp, unreadable eyes—it was the kind of beauty that made even photographers question their career. People called him the modern-day Adonis, the living definition of perfection. Wealth, looks, intelligence, dominance—he had it all.
But the only person who ever made cracks in that flawless image… was Noah.
Lucas turned toward the window, staring at the sky, his thoughts far away.
Ivan, now sitting a safe distance away, muttered to himself, “Even I get chills when you look like that, damn.”
Just then, Lucas reached out and gently caught the sleeve of a female classmate walking by. He didn’t touch her—just held the fabric.
The girl froze like she’d just seen a god. “L-Lucas…?”
Everyone around the class held their breath.
“Did he come today?” Lucas asked quietly.
The girl blinked, then realized who he meant. Everyone knew.
“Noah didn’t come today. Nor yesterday either. I heard he’s unwell. He went to the hospital.”
Lucas let go of her sleeve and returned to his seat, his jaw tightening as he looked back out the window. The clear sky was now shrouded in thick gray clouds.
“…It’s going to rain,” he murmured.
—
At the City Hospital
A small, quiet consultation room. Cold. Sterile.
Noah sat between his mother and father, his head slightly lowered. His fingers fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. His heart was pounding so hard, he could barely hear the doctor’s voice.
But then… he did.
“You’re pregnant.”
The room fell silent.
Noah blinked. Once. Twice.
The words echoed in his mind like a scream underwater. His father tensed beside him. His mother’s hand reached for his but didn’t quite grab it.
The doctor continued gently, “Based on the blood test and your symptoms, it’s confirmed. And… you’re about two weeks along.”
Two weeks.
Noah’s breath caught.
The nurse’s office. That day. Lucas.
His heart slammed against his ribs, and he suddenly felt cold all over.
He was never an alpha.
It was all a lie.
And now… he was carrying his rival’s child.
- Writer
