chapter 15

 Kenan P.O.V

 I wasn't mad.

I just didn't get why every guy on campus had to stare when ciro walked past. 

It's not like he was anything special 

Okay, he was something to look at

But he wasn't good looking.

Especially not strutting around shirtless like he was some damn model. Something about it made my skin crawl like an itch I couldn't scratch.

Whatever.

Not my problem.

Lucian was talking my ear off as we headed back to the dorms, but I barely heard a word he had said.

I just kept seeing ciro in my head.

A flushed skin and lazy smiles like he owned the damn world.

Lucian nudged me.

"Are you going to the party they are throwing tonight?"

I grunted something like a yes

I was tired,sore from the game,brain fried but somehow still had the energy to attend.

The party was already packed by the time we got there.

Loud music.Sweaty bodies. The whole place smelled like beer,cheap cologne,and the undercurrent of pheromones.

My senses prickled in annoyance.

I grabbed a drink off some random table,needing something or anything to dull the weird twist in my gut.

I felt him before I saw him.

That same scent,roses and vanilla,but heavier now,even richer. His phermones slammed into me like a punch to the gut.

I turned my head without even meaning to.

And there he was.

Ciro

Laughing,walking in like he didn't have a care in the world.

Jacob stuck to his side they were two peas in a pod.

Ciro's eyes swept the room and landed right on me.

The frown that appeared on his face was enough to annoy my already irritated self.

Somehow,the night spiraled.

The night got busier we were left alone to ourself after everyone left for god knows what. I could not bring myself to leave him alone.

And now I was across a table from him,locked in a stupid drinking contest.

Who even started it?

I didn't care.

I just knew i wasn't about to lose to him

His cheeks were flushed pink.

His eyelids drooping

But he still clutched the shot glass like a warrior going into battle.

"You sure you wanna keep going?"

I taunted,smirking.

He gave a little hiccup and galred at me,grabbing another shot and slamming it back.

I matched him,easy

I wasn't not drunk neither sober . Meanwhile,he looked like could barely sit upright.

A bit pathetic on his path.

Thirteens shot for me.

Ten for him

He slumped forawrd on the table. Still certain he would win.

"You sure you don't want to forfeit ,ciro" I comment,laced with persuasion and provocation.

"Cheater" He mumbled pouting with rosy pink lips.

"How the hell would I be capable of cheating?"

I gestured at the table there was nothing but the alcohol and the two shots glass.

He frowned,swaying slightly.

"I thought…you had low tolerance." he said, blinking slowly and stupid.

I snorted.

"Yeah? Where'd you get that idea?"

"Last time,"he whispered. "You were…drunk.Together."

My brain stuttered.

Last time?

I barely remembered last week.I'd been sick could barely smell his pheromones which was driving me a bit crazy. I only noticed I gotten better when I can sense him even before I see him. 

Everything was a blur . I only remember walking in the kitchen to harass him other than that everything was blank.

I leaned even closer before I even realized it.

Ciro was looking up at me through his lashes,his dazed eyes shining under the dim lights,pupils blown,half-lidded,glass.His redden cheeks,a little lost,but he kept staring at me like I was the only thing in the room.

"Why're you so close?" He slurred,voice soft and slight breathless.

I could smell him.

Sweet and intoxicating.

Like roses blooming in the dark, warmed by the heat formed by the closeness of us and liquor and something else.

Something primal.

It curled in my chest, coiling low and deep.

I didn't answer.

I didn't need to.

His scent was fogging up my thoughts, and I didn't know if it was the alcohol, the pheromones just him but I knew I wanted him.

I wanted to kiss him so badly it made my mouth dry and my skin buzz.

I leaned in, slow, careful.

staring and scanning his face.

He didn't flinch.

Didn't pull away.

His lips parted, the tip of his tongue just barely visible, and he leaned in too.

Just a little

There wasn't much room left between us anyway.

My heart slammed against my ribs, a new found nervousness for the omega .

And then I titled my head and pressed my mouth to his.

His lips were soft, warm and a little sticky from the alcohol. He gasped against my mouth, and I felt it, his breath hitching, his lips trembling like he wasn't expecting it but didn't want it to stop either.

I kissed him again, deeper this time, slow and searching. My hand lifted on its own, curling around his jaw, thumb brushing the corner of his mouth. His skin was warm. Too warm.

He made a sound, almost a whimper, and his fingers clutched weakly at the front of my shirt. I took the opportunity, parting his lips with mine and sliding my tongue in, tasting the remnants of alcohol and something that was just Ciro. 

But then—

He bit me.

Hard.

It was most definitely going to leave a bruise.

His teeth sank into my lower lip, sharp and sudden, and I hissed against his mouth, the faint coppery taste spreading across my tongue like fire.

The kiss shattered,wet and gasping.

My lips throbbed.

And he didn't look even remotely sorry.

If anything, he looked… satisfied.

Eyes half-lidded, lips kiss-bitten and parted, chest rising and falling like he'd run a mile.

"That's for taking my first kiss me last week," he whispered, voice rough and low. "I tried to move on… but you stole it again. If I didn't bite you, I swear I might've choked you instead."

My heart kicked in my chest. My breath caught.

I kissed him last week?

What the hell was he talking about?

His lips were still swollen, red and slick. He looked right at me — not drunk, not out of it, just dazed but aware, like the truth had finally settled in his bones.

"You didn't remember, did you?" he said, voice duller now. Less heat. More ache.

He wasn't drunk anymore. Not really. Just… tired. Tired and painfully clear-headed.

Still dazed, my lips burning, my mind chasing the past I didn't even know I left behind.

If I had remembered kissing him that Saturday night, I was sure things would've gone differently.

"Well, you deserved it then," he muttered, arms folding tightly across his chest like he was bracing himself against something bigger.

I wanted to speak. Wanted to say something — anything.

But I couldn't.

I was still trapped in the wreckage of his words.

And before I could sort through it, the door burst open —

Meeka barreled in, face lit up with excitement.

"I found him!" she beamed, eyes bouncing between us, completely unaware of what she just walked in on.

Ciro blinked, confused. "Him?"

"Just come and see," she said, already pulling him away by the arm.

He didn't look back.

And just like that, they were gone.

Leaving me behind.

Alone.

Alone with nothing but the sting on my lips and the echo of his voice in my ears.

This whole week has been nothing but chaos — my pheromones tangled with Ciro's ever-shifting moods.

What used to be irritation has turned into something else entirely.

Something I can't name.

I swear I don't like him.

But his pheromones were becoming irresistible.

I was walking Ciro and Jacob back to their dorm.

They were both drunk out of their minds, and offering to help was the only genuinely kind thing I'd done all week.

But fuck, Ciro wouldn't shut up about some guy he just met.

"He's really handsome," he said, glancing at Jacob with this dreamy little grin.

They walked ahead of me, side by side, like I didn't even exist. I trailed behind them, quiet.

"Do you like him, Ciro?"

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

And there it was — a thump in my chest, sharp and uninvited.

Like I was waiting for his answer.

"No," Ciro said immediately, like the idea offended him. "I was just appreciating that he's handsome."

I let out a sigh 

Loud, a little too loud. I hadn't even realized I was holding it in.

He turned around mid-step to glare at me, still walking somehow, eyes rolling like I'd just insulted his entire bloodline.

"What? I didn't even say anything," I muttered.

Didn't matter.

With Ciro, it never mattered.

Everything I did was apparently a problem.

"Does he go to this university?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah," Ciro replied. "I think he said he's in business."

Great.

He even found that out?

How long was that conversation?

"Business," Jacob repeated with a teasing lilt, nudging him. "You know what they say…"

Ciro nodded, grinning.

"That's where all the handsome alphas are at."

As if.