Chapter 5

"Ash, how many times do I need to tell you to stop harassing our schoolmates? Do you really want to graduate with flying colors or what?"

"Stop nagging me. I've already known that. There is no need for you to scold me until here."

"If you are just acting like an adult now, then there is no need for us to talk about what happened in the cafeteria."

"Tch. So you are now siding with that omega?"

"I am not favoring any of you. While I am scolding you until my words keep replaying inside your head, I also want to do the same to my junior because he is getting more attached to me than before."

"See? You are also annoyed with that loser!"

"Stop calling our schoolmates like that."

When Asher let out an irritated huff, Sera can only let out a sigh and rolled her neck. They are now both climbing the stairs of their condominium building. The guard downstairs told them that all the elevators are not working today because of a minor electrical problem. As an apology for the inconvenience, they provided them with a buffet tickets to the restaurant near their building.

Both of their units are on the fifteenth floor. They are still on the sixth floor since both of them are walking slowly. To kill the quietness between them, Sera decided to approach Asher about the small ruckus he had made in the cafeteria.

When Sera was called by their club adviser during lunch, she already knew the reason for it. Their music club adviser is a female beta. As a beta, she is expected to handle her students no matter what their secondary genders are. But contrary to her expectation, their club adviser is too soft who cannot even handle their rowdy omega members. Although she is not satisfied with how their club adviser interacts with the club members, Sera choose to remain silent to avoid making any conflicts in their clubs.

Their music club is something that a student will never join unless they are really dedicated to playing their musical instruments or has a huge interest in music. They also do not accept any students who only want to join the club so they can fool around with the members. Only those students who passed the qualifications of their club can join them. And when Sera said qualifications, it means they should pass the standard she established in their club.

Sera is the only alpha member of their club for the past months. Their seniors had already graduated and they assigned her as the new club president before leaving their university. Since then, Sera dedicates herself to help her club members to enhance their talents in music and encouraging them to join more competitions to gain more experiences and confidence while playing on stage.

Her club members respect and admire Sera a lot. It is not only because she is an alpha. They are respecting her because she is such a good leader to them and they can see how much effort she gives just to see them improving in their craft. These people know that they can always rely on Sera whenever they are in trouble.

As for their new recruits this year, they all passed and become a part of their club because they have the qualifications that Sera is looking for in their club. This year, they finally have another two alphas in their club aside from her. Sera decided to train them so once she graduated, their club will still function and continue its good start. Although she is not the type of person who discriminates the others by means of their secondary gender, having an alpha in their club is still a good option. They can easily help in case an emergency happens or an accident between their club members escalates quickly.

Aside from those two alphas, they also have three new omega members in their club. Two males and one female. Sera has no problem with the two alphas since they are easy to handle. Her current problem is the three omegas who keep on clinging themselves to her whether is it intentional or not.

Ever since Sera received the result that she is an alpha, her pheromones started producing her scent that attracts others' attention. Although she can easily control it, a faint smell of her scent is still lingering on her body. This scent is enough for an omega to let them know their differences as well as attract them like a honey trap.

At first, Sera was ecstatic with it because she can use her scent to easily befriend the others. But as time passed, Sera is starting to feel a bit burdened with it. Those omegas who are weak and do not know yet how to control their urges and instincts keep on approaching her. Unlike Asher, Sera is not that rude to ignore or hurt their feelings. She will still entertain them while keeping a safe distance between them.

But there are still rare times when her scent can bring the others to their heat. It happened to her once and Sera felt guilty about it. That omega was supposed to enter her heat on the last week of that month but when she smelled Sera's scent, it triggered her urges and has to endure her heat in advance. To prevent it from happening again, Sera learned how to use scent patches to completely conceal her scent from her body.

"Tch. I told you to be harsh and rude if needed, right?" Asher asked.

"Yeah. But unlike you, I know what patience means." Sera answered him back.

"What? So are you saying I am short-tempered and have no ounce of patience in my body?!"

"You are the one who said that, not me." Sera cheekily said. "But stop distracting me. I am still not done with you yet."

Asher lets out a frustrated groan and looks at Sera with a scowl on his face.

"Do you still want to nag at me?"

"I am not nagging you. I am just reminding you to behave well in school."

"Stop acting like my mom."

"I do not have any ambition to become your mother too."

Letting out a huff, Asher stops climbing the stairs and sits on the first step of the stairs. Checking the sticker on the wall, they are now on the eighth floor. They still need to climb seven more floors to reach their units. Sighing, Sera sits next to Asher and stretched her legs.

"Next time, just tell them to stop approaching you. Or better yet, order them and let your wolf talk some senses on those annoying omegas." Asher advised with a frown.

"And again, I am not that rude to bully my juniors like that." Sera replied with a sigh.

Earlier, their club meeting was finished after their adviser informed them of the different solo and group competitions they can participate in this year. Sera decided to go back to the cafeteria where Ash is still waiting for her. But on her way, one of their newest recruit omega approached her and kept on asking if she can help him practice how he can improve his piano skills. Although Sera had already said yes, the male omega kept on talking to her hoping to catch her attention once. Even if Sera was a bit annoyed with him, she still managed to smile at the omega because he was acting like a happy puppy in front of her.

But while patting his fluffy hair, the smell of burnt vanilla quickly spread in the air and it shows the strong intensity of his irritation at that time.

Asher Myein smells like warm and light mint vanilla on normal days. But once he feels distressed or irritated, his vanilla scent is getting stronger until it turns into a burning scent. And that acrid scent as well as the anger of Ash's inner wolf made the poor omega in front of Sera quiver in fear. If she did not stop Asher on time, her junior will surely fall on the floor while asking for Ash's forgiveness.

"Ash, you are a team captain of our volleyball team. You should know that there are a few omegas all over the campus who still did not know how to control their urges to come near us. You should become more understanding with them."

"Do you think I did not know that?"

"If you know that already, then why do you have to scare him too much earlier?"

Asher opened his mouth to answer her question but he quickly closed it before a word can spill from it. What would he say? That his unrestrained jealousy earlier controlled him? That's bullshit. Asher might as well fall in this staircase rather than admit it in front of Sera.

"What? Why did you do that?" Sera asked again. In order to force him to speak, she gently cupped his face and rub her thumb on his upper cheeks.

"I was only in a bad mood, okay? They interrupt our lunch together and when you came back, an annoying student kept on following you like a lost puppy." Asher grumbled in a soft voice.

"Ash." Sera helplessly called his name.

He clicked his tongue and avoid meeting her gazes. Asher really hates it every time she looks at him with probing eyes. It always makes him surrender in the end and spill the thought running inside his head. But Asher cannot totally hate this kind of interaction between them because he is also taking advantage of this chance to feel her warmth near him.

"Ash, you cannot always do that. Remember when our professors told you to behave all the time and not to cause more trouble in school? If you still want to graduate as the MVP of the year, then you should stop harassing your schoolmates. Okay?" Sera said in a soft voice.

"Stop talking to me like that. It really feels weird to be scolded by you with that tone of voice."

"Oh? Then I should do it all the time every time I scold you. Who knows if this method can finally make you behave properly."

Asher let out a soft growl because this woman beside him keeps on treating him like a naughty child. But instead of getting mad at him, Sera gave him a sweet smile instead. That quickly made him shut up and pursed his lips. Sera is about to remove her hands from his face when Asher stops him.

"Wait. Let us stay like this for a while."

"Asher..."

"Okay?"

Sera stares at Asher for a moment before she surrenders and nods her head. Asher let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes. He put his hands on top of Sera's hands and enjoy the warmth that it provides on his cheeks. Soon, Asher opened his eyes and slowly let go of her hands. Sera did not say anything and gently pull her hands away from his cheeks.

"Satisfied?" Sera asked.

Asher scoffed at her question and rolled his eyes.

"You are just asking the most obvious questions to me all the time." Asher remarked.

"It is now a new habit of mine." Sera answered.

"What a sadistic habit." Asher commented. "You should know that—"

"Asher, did I tell you before that I love staring at your lemon eyes?"

Asher's brain seems like it stops functioning the moment he heard those words. Without waiting for his response, Sera stand up straight and continues climbing the stairs. As for Asher, he remained seated on his spot as he tries to calm himself down. Not only him but also the wolf inside of him cannot control the sudden burst of emotion in his chest.

'She got us again.'

'Well, yeah. Fuck it.'

"Asher, are you just going to sit there all day, or do you still want to play video games with me?" Sera said as she stares at him from above.

Asher did not reply but he coughed several times to hide the bubbling happiness he is feeling. He also lowered the beanie he is wearing to cover his ears. Even without looking at himself in the mirror, he knows that his ears are red as fresh tomatoes right now.