HIERARCHY IN LOVE

OFF CAMPUS PARTY II

AIDEN

Seth’s words didn’t register at first.

" That scent isn’t alpha. "

For a split second, my mind went blank. Then heat rushed in to fill the space.

I stepped closer before I could stop myself. “What does that mean?”

Seth blinked. “I didn’t—”

“No,” I cut in, voice sharp. “You said my scent isn’t alpha. What exactly do you mean by that?”

The balcony suddenly felt too small.

“It’s just… different.”

“Different how?” My hands were shaking, so I shoved them into my hoodie pockets.

“Lighter,” he said carefully. “Not as… sharp. There’s something sweet under it.”

My stomach dropped.

Citrus.

I forced a laugh that sounded wrong even to my own ears. “You came to an all-alpha campus and you’re lecturing me on how alphas smell?”

“I’m not lecturing,” Seth said, frowning now. “I just noticed.”

“Noticed what?” I pressed.

He hesitated.

My pulse pounded in my ears.

“You’re overthinking it,” I snapped. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Seth’s expression shifted from curiosity to caution. “Okay. Relax.”

“I am relaxed.”

The night air felt thin.

“This is a risk.”

The thought hadn’t even fully formed before the balcony door slid open behind me.

I felt him before I saw him.

“What’s going on?”

Kaito’s voice was too calm.

I didn’t turn immediately. I was still staring at Seth, adrenaline making my pulse throb in my throat.

“Nothing,” I said quickly.

Seth glanced past me and straightened.

“It’s fine,” he added.

Kaito stepped closer.

The space behind me disappeared.

I finally turned.

He was right there.

“You don’t look fine,” he said.

I bristled. “I am.”

The citrus in the air felt louder now. Or maybe that was my paranoia.

Seth cleared his throat. “We were just talking.”

“About?” Kaito asked, gaze still on me.

My chest tightened.

Before Seth could answer, I cut in. “He thinks he’s a scent expert.”

Kaito’s eyes shifted slightly. “Is that so?”

Seth held his ground, though he looked less amused now. “I just said something smelled off.”

I felt heat spike up my spine.

“Nothing’s off,” I said sharply.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said finally. “Clearly.”

The door shut behind Seth. Just like that, he was gone.

The music inside kept pounding.

I didn’t move.

Didn’t look at Kaito.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“You were about to bite his head off.”

“I said it’s nothing.”

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling hard. “He talks too much. That’s all.”

“He said your scent was off.”

My shoulders went rigid before I could stop it.

“He’s wrong.”

“You got mad fast.”

I turned on him then. “And?”

“You don’t usually get mad.”

I laughed once. Dry. “You don’t know me that well. "

“You didn’t have to come up here,” I muttered.

“I know.”

That made me look at him.

“Then why did you?”

His jaw tightened.

“I saw him walk out with you.”

“And?”

“And I didn’t like it.”

“You don’t get to decide who I talk to.”

“I’m not deciding.”

“Then what are you doing?”

His eyes dropped briefly to my mouth before lifting again.

“You looked cornered.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

My pulse kicked again. Kaito standing this close, made it hard to breath.

I stepped sideways, breaking the line between us.

“I’m fine,” I said again.

The silence stretched again.

Kaito glanced toward the door, then back at me.

“You want to get out of here?”

I frowned. “Why?”

He shrugged, but it wasn’t casual. “Too crowded. Too loud.”

That wasn’t what he meant.

I folded my arms. “You were fine five minutes ago.”

“Five minutes ago you weren’t about to start a fight on a balcony.”

“I wasn’t starting a fight.”

“You were close.”

I stepped toward him before I could stop myself. “He was the one implying things.”

“And you took it personally.”

“I didn’t—”

“You did.”

Kaito studied me for a long second. Then his voice dropped slightly.

“Let’s just leave.”

“I don’t need you escorting me out like I can’t handle myself.”

His brows lifted slightly. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

“Feels like it.”

“I’m asking if you want to go.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then we stay.”

Every second in this place felt dangerous. And the longer I stood here, the harder it was to control the citrus bleeding under my skin. I hated that he’d seen me rattled.

“ Fine,” I said at last.

Kaito didn’t react much.

“Okay.”

I moved toward the door first, pushing it open.

Before stepping inside, I paused and glanced back at him.

“I wasn’t cornered,” I said quietly.

His eyes met mine.

“I know.”

He stepped past me, close enough that our shoulders brushed. My chest tightened at the contact. And together, we walked back into the noise.