HIERARCHY IN LOVE

OFF CAMPUS PARTY I

AIDEN

I was on my bed when Liam entered the room.

He just walked in, grabbed my hoodie off the chair, and tossed it at my face.

“Get up.”

I peeled it off slowly. “Why.”

“Because,” he said, already pulling on his own jacket, “we’re going to a party.”

“I have practice tomorrow.”

“You survived dares, presentations, and becoming assistant captain. You can survive one night.”

“I don’t want to.”

“That’s exactly why we’re going.”

I groaned and fell back onto the bed. “Is this at least swim team?”

“Technically off-campus,” he said casually.

That should’ve been my first warning.

“Technically?” I repeated.

“Joint event. Big one. Everyone’s invited.”

I sat up. “Everyone who?”

Liam shrugged. “Other schools. Other departments. It’s just a mix.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of mix?”

He hesitated half a second too long. “You’ll see.”

I should’ve refused.

Instead, twenty minutes later, I was standing outside a house I’d never seen before, music pulsing through the walls.

“This better not be chaos,” I muttered.

Liam grinned. “Relax. You’re an alpha. Act like it.”

The door opened. And the air hit me. Not the usual sharp alpha dominance layered over cheap alcohol.

I froze just inside the doorway. The house was packed.

Not just alphas. Betas. Omegas. Moving freely. Laughing.

My stomach dropped.

“You didn’t say even omegas and betas were invited ,” I said under my breath.

Liam blinked like he was only just realizing it himself. “Oh. Huh. Guess they went full integration.”

In an all-alpha school culture, this was rare. Unofficial.

And I was standing in the middle of it, pretending to be something I wasn’t.

My senses sharpened instantly. Every shift in scent felt amplified . Every brush of someone passing too close sent a flicker of awareness down my spine.

Liam leaned closer. “You good?”

“Fine,” I replied evenly.

Liam reappeared out of nowhere, shoving a red cup into my hand.

“Here,” he said, already half-turned toward the crowd.

“I didn’t ask—”

“Too bad.” He leaned in closer so I could hear him over the music. “Loosen up for once.”

I glanced down at the drink. “What is it?”

“Safe,” he said dismissively. “Probably.”

“Probably?”

But he was already scanning the room, distracted.

“Don’t waste the night, yeah?” he shouted over the bass. “At least make sure you get laid!”

My stomach dropped.

“Liam—”

He was gone. Just like that. Swallowed by bodies and flashing lights, leaving me standing alone in the middle of what suddenly felt like my worst possible setting.

I shifted toward the wall instinctively, putting solid surface behind me. My senses were on high alert now.

I needed space.

The cup was still untouched in my hand when someone stepped into my peripheral vision.

“Rough start?”

I turned.

" I'm Seth by the way. " A faint smile playing on his face.

“You look like you’re calculating escape routes,” he added.

“I’m not,” I replied automatically.

“Mm.” His eyes flicked to the drink in my hand. “You haven’t taken a sip.”

“Maybe I don’t trust random red cups.”

“That’s fair.” He lifted his own glass slightly. “For what it’s worth, I watched it get poured.”

I exhaled slowly, grounding myself. Seth’s scent was there but controlled. He was definitely an omega.

“You from here?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“All-alpha campus, right?”

I stiffened slightly. “Yeah.”

He hummed softly, like that explained something. “Must be… intense.”

“You get used to it.”

“Do you?” His gaze sharpened. “Because you don’t react the way most of them do.”

“I react fine,” I said evenly.

Seth stepped a little closer.

“Overwhelming?” he asked.

“Manageable.”

“If you say so.”

A beat passed.

Then, he tilted his head slightly toward the staircase. “There’s a balcony upstairs. Less chaos. If you want a break.”

It wasn’t flirtatious. The music pulsed again, heavier. The air felt thicker. Seth’s eyes didn’t leave mine.

“So?” he asked softly. “Do you want air?”