End of Chapter 15

Rue stared at the slip, a digital copy of her results flashing before her. The information was limited according to Professor Ryo because she was quite an enigma. But he'd handed it to her with a big smile. The long line of unidentifiable code was the only evidence of her strength.

To be honest, Rue was quite sure it was simply because the machines were meant for Alphas, not Omegas.

The machine can't tell, the professor had explained, which means you probably are better than most.

And Rue was pretty damn sure she was only playing with fire.

She chewed on her overpriced bread; the crust tasting like static as compared to Seraphim's godly cooking. But it was a better meal as compared to what she'd been feasting on (nothing) for the past few days, courtesy of the fat fresh cheque in her bank.

And she'd get more if she just kissed Levi. Enough to keep the lizard off her mother until she graduated, and for her to move out to a single room outside of campus. Her eyes snapped towards the shadows, and stared at the offending patch as if the mixblood would spawn from the darkness like the devil.

"Hey," Theo called to her, sliding into the seat by her side. His own tray was piled high with food steaming in their little capsules. His brows furrowed; single eye twitched. "You look like shit." He stared at her bag then, slung over the chair—a symbol of her lack of home. "And you're leaving?"

"Not really," Rue sighed, rubbing exhausted eyebags. She took a swig from her cup, frothing bitter coffee that burned her tongue. "I've got a problem."

"You always do," Theo agreed, peeling open the lid, steam flooding the table. "So, you've learnt the truth? I'm tired of keeping it quiet just because it's an order. It feels stupid, and it makes me constipated. I can't shit in peace."

"What truth?" Rue frowned, and turned to him. "You know the party the other day?" She turned, voice dipping into a low whisper. "I thought it was an extra space at the back, only it wasn't. It was my dormitory and half of my room. I don't have a single room, what I do have is a broken closet in Halcyon's room." She threw her hands back. "I'm being bullied."

Theo blinked, hand rubbing across his face. "God, you still don't know… Rue, there are no single rooms."

"You knew?" she stared at him then, betrayed. Theo raised his hand in surrender.

"I believed they were giving you the privacy because you're new! It seemed like what they'd do," he shrugged. "It's a policy in Hakon, a buddy-buddy system. They pair up Alphas for safety, unless of course you have a pack. So, what's the problem?" Theo stared at her, drumming his fingers on the table.

"I—" Rue sighed, fidgeting. Her skin prickled, a wash of judgement inching up her skin. Theo didn't understand her predicament, and now her complaints must sound awful, like the whiny protests from a spoiled brat. "We got off on the wrong foot…I suppose. Urgh." She pressed a palm to her hand. "I don't know, it was a bit of a shock."

"If he wanted you in a closet, surely, he'll leave you alone?" Theo told her, chewing on a mouthful of food. "Besides he hasn't done much to you, has he? Why don't you give it a week or two. And if you really hate him that much, just move out?"

"Right," she clapped her hands together and sighed. "So, the good news is. The job with Professor Ryo went well. My finances look promising. And I don't have to fuck anyone, as planned. So, you're right I could earn enough to find a place for myself."

"Good," Theo nodded, going back to his food. "Sounds great, now can we talk about homework? Because I don't know what the shit's going on with page two, question two."

*

And so, Rue found herself back in the dormitory, bag slung pathetically over her shoulder and creeping through the hall. It was great that there was no naked poseidon standing at the kitchen and cooking up a storm. Nor was there a bubbly helios waiting to spring up to her and ask about her day. So, Rue could, dart back to her door and shove it open without someone to judge her sins.

Her room remained, a hole in the wall. But the space beyond that was an endless expanse of darkness that chilled her to the bone. Rue dropped her things to the ground, squinting in the dark. The space seemed a lot smaller, shrunk down a thousand times as compared to the massive party the other night. But it was creepy as fuck, silent and so dark that she couldn't see a thing.

Rue considered exploring, considered the odds of finding Halcyon prowling in the shadows. A knock on the door had her leaping back, heart thundering in her chest. Her eyes fluttering to the knob which she hastily ripped open.

The Alpha standing at the door smiled.

"Levi!" Rue chirped, smile growing. Her cash cow. He blinked lazily, yawning as he scratched the back of his head. He looked soft then, in simple sweats and a long sleeve that hung loose on his frame. A sleepy look in his eyes that had her stupid heart skipping beats. "What's up?"

"Want to earn some cash?" he asked, straight forward and to the chase. He sniffed as if he didn't want to be there. "Fifteen minutes, top. I'll pay upfront if we're really doing the counting."

"Yeah, of course," she nodded, and he pushed open her door letting her out. "Your room?"

"I guess," he shrugged. "Don't really want Halcyon walking into this. Or anyone else." His lips pressed together, hand sliding over the keypad. "I think they'd kill me, or something. It'll be fucking weird. Jealous fucks. If it's my room, they'd be trespassing in my territory."

"Sure, sure." Rue nodded, not really questioning his words. They must love to be guided. "Where's Kieran?"

"Recon," Levi answered. "They need him to dig up the shit I found up North."

"Uhhh, okay," Rue stared at him confused, but she wasn't one to push. And so she didn't.

She entered his space, now really taking note of their room. It was darker than usual. And she had to squint to really look, barely making out the four-poster bed, and the flutter of drapes over too tall windows.

"Why is it so damn dark in here too?" Her eyes snapped to the door, to Levi moving to close it. The wall hissed. "Keep it fucking open. This feels like a set up in a movie." This had the alien letting lose a bark of laughter.

"Fine," Levi chuckled, raised both hands. "I'm not going to murder you."

"But I might." A figure rose from the bed, wind rippling in the air. And something caught in her throat, as darkness swayed. Rue squinted, stared at the crackle of electricity that surged across the silhouette, hissing as they darted into electric blue eyes. It was clouds that kept the room dark, electricity that gave it its light.

A zeus.

An alien with the ability to control the weather with his emotions. The most powerful of all species, an alien from the planet 1. She didn't know much about zeus, only knew that they were the most dangerous of all. Her breath hitched, stared as he approached her, tall, towering and so damn fucking menacing. His voice was velvety when it spilt from his throat.

"My name is Dante," he hummed, lips lifting into a smile. "And you will kiss me."

A/N: Read ahead on my patreon - https://www.patreon.com/tinyeyecat