Bound by Fate

Chapter 3

Kai couldn’t stop shifting in his seat. The chair felt like it was burning beneath him, and no amount of adjusting made the heat go away. His palms were clammy, his breath shallow. His heartbeat was a frantic drumbeat in his chest.

The entire room felt too close.

He felt it again.

The pull.

It had started with that fleeting moment in the hallway yesterday—the one that made him walk away in a hurry, pretending it didn’t mean anything. But now, here, with Leon sitting across from him, the feeling was stronger.

Impossible to ignore.

Leon was watching him too closely, his gaze lingering like he could see right through him. The room was too quiet. Too small.

“Are you okay?” Leon’s voice broke through the haze in Kai’s mind. “You’re... flushed. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Kai’s mouth went dry. This isn’t happening.

He shook his head, trying to focus. “I’m fine.”

But his voice didn’t sound convincing. Leon stared at him for a long moment, brows furrowed. “You sure?”

Before Kai could answer, he stood up suddenly, taking a slow step toward him. He moved like a predator, calm and deliberate. The tension in the air thickened with every inch he closed between them.

Kai’s heart slammed into his throat.

“Look at me, Omega,” Leon murmured, his voice lower than before. There was something... too soft about it.

Kai’s pulse quickened. His breath caught. The pull, the bond—it was stronger now, flooding him, twisting like an invisible chain, pulling him in.

No. This isn’t happening.

“Stop,” Kai said, voice hoarse, but Leon didn’t listen. His steps were measured. His presence suffocating.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Leon insisted. His scent was stronger now, mixing with that damn perfume from earlier. It pressed against Kai’s senses, made his skin burn. “You’re acting like I’m the one doing something wrong here. Why are you so tense around me?”

Kai’s eyes darted to the table, to the notebooks, to anything that wasn’t Leon. He couldn’t look at him. Not now. Not like this.

Because it was getting harder to ignore. Harder to pretend he didn’t feel something under his skin when Leon was this close.

“You’re not... you’re not normal,” Kai muttered, trying to sound like he was in control. “You’re an Alpha, and you don’t—”

“You don’t want to be close to me because I’m an Alpha?” Leon interrupted, his voice cold. The words were sharp, like they had cut through something inside him. He didn’t wait for Kai to answer. “That it? You’re still pissed about what you saw yesterday?”

It was too much.

Kai stood up, finally looking Leon directly in the eyes. “I don’t care about your conquests. I don’t care about the girls you hook up with. I care about getting through this semester and never having to deal with you again.”

Leon’s jaw clenched, and for a second, the smile faded completely. “Is that really all?”

Kai shook his head, his breath shaking. “I don’t need this. I don’t need you.”

Leon took another step forward, and Kai didn’t move. He couldn’t. He felt the pull, undeniable now, locking him in place.

This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.

Leon reached out slowly, almost cautiously, like he was testing a boundary. His hand brushed against Kai’s arm, and the second they made contact, Kai’s entire body jolted.

It was like an electric shock. A surge of warmth rushing through him.

“Damn it,” Leon muttered under his breath, his hand tightening around Kai’s wrist.

Kai felt his world tilt. His mind was buzzing, everything spinning. The touch wasn’t just a touch—it was too much. Too real.

Leon’s eyes were wide, pupils dilated. “What the hell is going on with you?”

“I don’t... I don’t know,” Kai whispered, voice raw, his chest rising and falling quickly. The bond was so strong now. It felt like it was demanding to be acknowledged, pulling him to Leon in ways he couldn’t stop.

“You’re not... are you in heat?” Leon’s voice was low, a sharp edge of concern breaking through the confusion. His grip on Kai’s wrist tightened just a fraction.

“No,” Kai breathed, shaking his head frantically. “I—I’m fine. This isn’t—”

“Then why are you acting like this?” Leon demanded, the anger in his voice shifting to frustration. “Why the hell do you smell like... like this?”

Kai’s breath caught in his throat.

He wanted to run. He needed to run.

But he was rooted to the spot, his body screaming for something he couldn’t explain. His heartbeat hammered in his chest, every instinct telling him to fight or flee, but he couldn’t make his legs move.

No.

This couldn’t be happening. Not like this.

Leon’s grip shifted, his hand sliding down to Kai’s wrist, fingers brushing lightly over the sensitive skin. For a moment, everything stopped.

The bond flared.

Kai gasped, sucking in a breath as heat swarmed through his veins. Every nerve in his body sparked, ignited by the contact. Leon’s scent flooded his senses, and suddenly, the air between them wasn’t just filled with confusion. It was charged, heavy with something primal, something undeniable.

Leon’s breath hitched, and his eyes locked onto Kai’s—wild, searching, knowing.

He knew.

“I... we…” Leon’s voice cracked, his gaze searching Kai’s face like he was seeing him for the first time. “You’re my—”

Before Leon could finish, the door to the study room slammed open, and a voice interrupted.

“Hey! We’re gonna need this space soon—what the hell is going on in here?”

Both of them whipped around, and in the sudden flood of light from the hallway, the bond between them flickered. Both of them stood frozen, the moment broken, but neither of them could escape the tension that still hung thick in the air.

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To be continued…