Background Noise (continue)
The first time Lucas spoke to him, it wasn’t a conversation.
It was a challenge.
They were in the library, both reaching for the same book—Instinct Management in Secondary Education—which neither of them looked the type to read.
Kelv Mc (Beta)
( Pulled back first.)
Lucas ML (Enigma)
( didn't.)
Lucas ML (Enigma)
( low and even voice )
“Didn’t peg you for the academic type,”
Kelv Mc (Beta)
(glanced at him, unimpressed.) “Didn’t peg you as the talking type.”
Lucas ML (Enigma)
( smirked ) not big, just enough. “You’re sharp.”
Kelv Mc (Beta)
“You’re nosy.”
Lucas ML (Enigma)
“And you’re not like the others,” (letting go of the book but not the moment. )“You don’t flinch.”
Kelv Mc (Beta)
(stared at him) “Should I”
Lucas ML (Enigma)
“Most people do” ( smile disappeared and walked away )
And Kelv hated how long he stood there, pulse ticking in his throat, trying to figure out what that meant.
Kelv didn’t believe in soulbonds.
He thought it was just another way for the system to wrap instinct in romance and call it fate. Something to justify why Alphas could lose control and still be forgiven. Why were Omegas expected to forgive them? Why didn't Betas like him didn’t even get a foot in the door?
But something about Lucas Thorne was short-circuiting all of that.
It wasn’t scent. Enigmas didn’t give off pheromones. And Kelv hadn’t felt that aching tug that bonded pairs described in Health Class. But there was a pressure—a pull, subtle but insistent—like Lucas was speaking on a frequency only Kelv could hear.
And Kelv was starting to listen.
Kelv Mc (Beta)
It got worse the following week.
Lucas transferred into my Advanced Literature class.
Not just that—he sat in the seat directly behind me.
Kelv’s body reacted before his brain did. Shoulders tensed. Fingers tapped at his knee. And when Lucas leaned forward just enough for Kelv to feel the ghost of breath near his ear, his heart tripped into something ugly and unfamiliar.
He refused to turn around.
But Lucas didn’t speak, didn’t move, didn’t try anything else. Just… existed in that eerie, suffocating silence.
By the time class ended, Kelv’s back was damp with sweat and his jaw was sore from how hard he’d been clenching it.
Rynn Mc BFF (DO)
(caught him by the lockers afterward)
Rynn Mc BFF (DO)
“You’re twitchier than usual,” (brushing hair from Kelv’s face.) “Did someone finally say something nice to you? I’ll fight them.”
Kelv Mc (Beta)
( his eyes) “Don’t you have an Alpha to tease?”
Rynn Mc BFF (DO)
“Several,” “But none as emotionally constipated as you. Spill it.”
Kelv didn’t want to. But Rynn was the one person who could pry things out of him with a smile and a mango lollipop.
Kelv Mc (Beta)
He’s behind me now. In Lit.”
Rynn Mc BFF (DO)
(blinked.) “Lucas?”
Rynn Mc BFF (DO)
“Holy heat-cycle. Did he say anything?”
Rynn Mc BFF (DO)
“Did he do anything?”
Kelv Mc (Beta)
(Hesitated )“No.”
But the weight of Lucas’s gaze stayed on him for the rest of the day.
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