MiDnIgHt chapter 1

            Chapter 1          

 MeIrOn ReYnArD 

 Is this what they agreed on? I had a plan, get my degree and live a quiet little life. Now they want me to get married by the end of the academic year. A lot is at stake, the same guilt trip they use every time.

What’s worse is that now I have to live with my fiancé in the same dorm room.

“Is there nothing else you could do? Like say Alphas and Omegas aren’t supposed to be in the same room?” I tried pleading with the hockey coach.

“Look, kid, as much as I don’t want this arrangement, it’s not up to me to decide.”

He sighs, rubbing his temples. He doesn’t give me a second look before he’s out the door. I move around the house, noticing how they took a lot of effort making sure the house wasn’t lacking in anything. There are, however, two bedrooms and only one bathroom in the far corner.

Staring out the balcony, I notice how close it is to the sports faculty, so far from my department. It’s as if they only factored in one person when they were looking for this dorm room. Of course that wasn’t me. How am I supposed to walk across the whole campus to my department?

Before I could register it, the door was pushed open. 
A tall figure stood in the doorway. His hair was short-shaven, his frame filling the space, broad shoulders and a wide smile that disappeared the moment he saw me. His scent immediately filled the room, a sharp, fresh citrus with a hint of sandalwood. His eyes roamed over the small tattoos on my left hand before returning to my face.

“You must be Reynard?”

His voice echoed in the empty room, sharp yet soft at the same time. We had never met, though I’d seen him around campus. He was the goalie for the school’s hockey team.

He stayed at the door, staring at me. He craned his neck to check the door number outside, then looked back at me. He was still panting, probably from running here, his duffel bag hanging from his left arm. I could see the cogs turning in his head. His nostrils flared as he tried to pick up my scent, confusion written clearly on his face. 

I stood at 6 feet with broad shoulders, not the body of a delicate Omega with soft features and a small frame. My build belonged more to a rugby player than an omega.

He stretched out his hand for a handshake. 
A second passed. When I didn’t take it, he rubbed his palm against his grey sweatpants.

“So I guess we’re fiancés now?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. The earlier enthusiasm was gone. I bit down on my tongue, hard enough to ground myself, and refused to let the pain show.

I picked up my duffel bag from the floor. When I turned, he was still staring. My hands tightened on the straps until they almost cut into my skin.

“I’ll take the room on the left. You can have the other one.”

I didn’t wait for a reply. I pushed open the door to the left bedroom, and finally let out the sigh I’d been holding. I unclenched my fist. 

The room was decent. The bed sat next to the window, and an old willow tree outside filled the space with its scent. I kicked off my shoes and dropped onto the mattress, making a mental note not to wear them inside the house. My eyes drifted over the little plastic stars on the ceiling, the last owner must have forgotten them. It was quiet in here, a sharp contrast to the chaos in my head a moment ago. I let my gaze move over every corner, trying to take everything in.

My phone buzzed. A text from my friend asking where I was. 
I’d almost forgotten we were supposed to meet.

I left the dorm room, unsure whether to close the door or leave it open. I was used to living alone in my studio apartment. Living with someone else was new, especially when that someone was my fiancé.

The hallway was quiet except for a few people who stared as I walked by and whispered under their breath.

The café was packed. Weekend and move-in day. I pushed through the crowd until her silver hair, tied in a messy bun, stood out. She was seated in the corner, sipping her drink and typing on her phone. Her strawberry scent reached me before I got close. She’d been my first real friend since high school.

I stopped beside her table, hands in my pockets. 
“Are you stalking him again?”

She set her phone down, looked at me, then flipped me off and went back to scrolling. 
“He’s cute, honestly.”

“Right.”

“Don’t give me that tone. You’re late, by the way. Twenty minutes.”

I pulled out the empty chair and picked up the menu, staring at it like it might give me answers. 
“We were supposed to go over notes. Practicals next week.”

She stopped scrolling. Her eyes fixed on something behind me. The whole café had gone quieter. I turned around.

The school’s hockey team had walked in. People shifted out of their way like it was automatic. This was their usual spot. My eyes moved across the group until they met a pair of green ones. He looked at me for only a second before turning away.

I kept looking anyway.

“Why do they get treated like royalty here?”

“Because they’re the pride of the school this season.”

I placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. Couldn’t our families have done the merger without forcing us into this marriage? It felt like a chain around both our necks. And I was sure I wasn’t what he’d wanted or expected in an Omega. No one ever did.

“Meiron?”

“Hmm.”

I looked up. She was watching me closely, brows slightly furrowed. She studied my face for a moment before picking up her drink again.

“I’ve been calling your name. This isn’t like you. What’s going on?”

That was when I noticed how quiet the surrounding tables had become. People were staring. Someone at the next table scoffed.

“Nothing’s going on. I’m just tired.”

I wanted to tell her the truth, but I couldn’t yet. Everything had moved too fast for me to process.

“I’m not living in the penthouse anymore.”

She let out a short laugh. “Ha. Funny. Anyway, did you bring the short notes? I need them if I’m going to survive practicals.”

She paused while unpacking her tote, then looked at my hands. Slowly, she placed hers over mine.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I have a roommate now.”

My voice came out quieter than I meant it to.

“Where are you staying? And why now? This is our last semester.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and suddenly found the portraits on the wall very interesting. I didn’t want to tell her, but she’d find out eventually.

“Don’t freak out… it’s the sports faculty dorms.”

“What?”

Her voice rose. Heads turned. Her fingers tightened on the edge of the table. Her breathing picked up for a second before she forced it steady.

“It’s not that bad,” I said. “We can’t do anything about it.”

“It’s far from our department. And you know what that place can be like.”

She gestured with her hands, then ran them through her hair, pulling the bun loose. She looked at me again, checking if I was joking. When she realized I wasn’t, she dropped her forehead onto the table with a quiet groan.

My phone buzzed. All my things had been moved to the new place.

“My stuff’s already there,” I told her. “I should go unpack.”

Her expression softened. 
“Go. But we’re still meeting later. We need to revise.”

“Stop being dramatic.”

I stood, forwarded every note and illustration she might need, and walked out. Halfway through the café it hit me properly, I would be sleeping in a new place tonight, and not just tonight, but for the rest of the semester. My stomach turned. The noise of campus faded. A chill ran down my spine. My steps felt heavier.

It wasn’t until I was standing in front of the dorm door that my body caught up with the fact that I’d arrived. My fingers trembled as I pulled out the key. I took a breath, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

Light poured in from the balcony. The boxes were stacked near my door. I carried them in one by one and set everything on the bed. The urge to clean and rearrange hit immediately. The plastic stars on the ceiling still stared down at me. They would be the first thing to go. This room would feel like mine soon enough.

“I’ve got this,” I muttered.

By the time I finished rearranging, my scent had settled into every corner. It wasn’t the penthouse, but it would have to do.

My phone had been ringing for the past half hour. I finally picked it up.

“Meiron Reynard! Are you okay? Did something happen? My poor baby.”

“Mom.”

There was movement on the other end, then a shaky breath. Even through the phone I could feel the warmth in her voice.

“How are you settling into the new room?”

“Can I just go back to the penthouse? I’ll still marry him, I swear. I just want to go back. Can you talk to Dad?”

She was quiet for a moment. When she spoke again her voice was thinner. 
“I know it’s hard. Hang in there. After you graduate he’ll give you the keys again. I promise.”

She only made promises like that when she’d already tried everything.

“Have you eaten anything yet?”

Silence stretched between us. She sighed.

“I’m sending food. It’ll be dropped off at the dorm entrance. I can’t come myself, he won’t let me leave after I wrecked the living room.”

A small smile pulled at my mouth. I could picture her doing it.

“He loves you in his own way,” she said softly.

I didn’t answer that. His way of showing love had always been flawed.

“Bye, Mom. Take care.”

“I love you.”

I ended the call. The room felt emptier than it had a minute ago, even with my scent everywhere and the furniture arranged the way I wanted.

I stood in the center of the floor, phone still in my hand. 
I’d thought about running more than once. Each time I talked myself out of it. Trying to fight this arranged marriage in my final year of university was a battle I didn’t have the energy for.