The stage was fire.
Spotlights sliced through the arena, sweeping over the screaming audience. The giant LED screen behind the stage blazed with the words:
"SECOND BATTLE ROUND" in gold.
Rika's heart pounded as she stood in the wings, her mic slick in her hands. She could hear the chants already "Team One! Team Two!" The crowd's voices rising like thunder.
Her body vibrated with nerves, heat prickling across her skin. Every rehearsal, every sleepless night, every moment she'd spent forcing herself not to collapse from exhaustion, it all came down to this.
Don't mess up. Don't leak. Don't get distracted.
A shadow fell across her shoulder.
Of course.
Daika.
The Alpha stood just behind her, tall, radiant under the stage lights. She wore their matching battle outfit, a sleek black-and-red performance set that hugged her toned body in all the right ways—and she looked devastating. Confident. Dangerous.
Daika leaned down, her lips brushing close enough to Rika's ear that the crowd's noise couldn't drown her out.
"Nervous?"
Rika's throat tightened. "N-no."
A chuckle. Low, throaty, and smug. "Liar. Your scent's already spiking."
Rika's breath hitched. Her blockers were holding, but Daika's nose was merciless.
Before she could snap back, the MC's voice boomed through the speakers:
"Tonight, two rival teams will face off! Who will dominate this stage? Team One… or Team Two?!"
The crowd roared, glowsticks flashing in a sea of light.
Rika's stomach flipped. This was it. No going back.
Daika stepped forward, tossing her hair back like she owned the world. Just before she disappeared into the blinding lights, she glanced back at Rika, her smirk sharp enough to cut.
"Try to keep up, kitten."
And then the spotlight swallowed her whole.
The cue came. Rika's feet moved on instinct, carrying her onto the stage, into the roar of the crowd, into the blinding heat of the lights, into the battle that could make or break everything.
The beat dropped like a thunderclap.
The floor rumbled beneath Rika's sneakers as the bass vibrated up through her chest. Instantly, the stage transformed into fire—LEDs bursting with scarlet and gold flames, smoke jets hissing as the music swallowed everything.
One, two, three—move!
Her body kicked into the choreography automatically, each motion sharp, drilled into muscle memory from endless rehearsals. She spun, snapped her arm out, dropped low, then shot back up with perfect timing to the pounding rhythm.
The crowd screamed.
Rika's nerves melted away in the rush. The audience's roar, the flashing lights, the sweat on her skin, this was why she was here. This was why she'd fought so hard.
But then Daika stepped forward.
And the whole stage tilted.
Her Alpha presence was magnetic, devouring the spotlight as she took center. Every movement was sharp, sensual, predatory. Her hips rolled with the beat, her smirk daring the crowd to eat her alive.
Rika's breath caught and then Daika looked right at her.
Not at the audience. Not at the cameras. At her.
In the middle of the chorus, Daika slid in close, their bodies brushing as she pulled Rika into the next move. The choreography demanded closeness, but Daika made it something more, her hand lingering on Rika's waist a second too long, her breath hot against her ear.
"Smiling helps, kitten," she murmured between lyrics, so quiet the mic didn't catch it. "Don't look like you're about to faint."
Rika's chest stuttered. She nearly missed her step but forced her body to recover, twirling into place as the lights flashed.
The crowd didn't notice. But Daika did. Her grin widened.
Then came the duo section, the part everyone had been waiting for.
The music dropped low, the beat slowing into a pulsing rhythm. Just the two of them in the spotlight, surrounded by darkness.
Rika's lungs squeezed tight.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
The choreo was already dangerous: close body rolls, synchronized hip thrusts, hands grazing skin. But Daika didn't just perform it, she devoured it.
Her hand slid down Rika's back, fingers ghosting over her hip as they pressed together, chest to chest. Their thighs brushed in rhythm, every grind making the crowd scream louder.
"You're trembling again," Daika whispered mid-step, her lips almost brushing Rika's jaw. "Looks good on you."
Rika's face burned so hot she thought her skin would catch fire. She forced her focus on the beat, counting in her head, clinging to the rhythm like a lifeline.
But Daika wouldn't let her escape.
The Alpha leaned in during a body roll, letting her nose graze Rika's hairline. She inhaled deliberately, so subtle the audience thought it was part of the choreo.
"Mmm. Sweet."
Rika's knees almost buckled. The heat inside her spiked violently, fighting against her blockers, her body betraying her under the spotlight.
"Keep going, kitten," Daika breathed, grinding perfectly in sync as the music built toward the climax. "The audience loves this."
And judging from the deafening roar, she wasn't wrong.
The beat hit its final peak.
Boom.
Boom.
BOOM.
The stage blazed with strobe lights, the music pounding in time with Rika's heart. Every move came sharper, faster, their bodies snapping into perfect formation with the rest of the team. Sweat flew from her hair as she spun, lungs screaming, but adrenaline burned hotter than exhaustion.
Don't mess up. Last chorus. Go!
She matched Daika step for step, hips rolling, chest popping, their energy feeding off each other until the crowd shrieked like a storm. Rika barely registered the audience anymore, her whole world was Daika's eyes, glittering with that feral, hungry fire.
Then came the final move.
The choreography demanded Daika slam Rika against her body, dip her low, and hold her there as the lights flared. A powerful, intimate finish.
The second it happened, the audience lost their minds.
Daika's arm locked tight around Rika's waist, dragging her down until her back arched, throat exposed. Their faces hovered a breath apart, lips almost touching, the tension crackling so real the cameras couldn't look away.
Rika's breath stuttered. Shit, too close, too real.....
"Smile," Daika whispered, her voice lost in the crowd's roar.
And then the lights cut out.
The music ended. The crowd exploded.
"TEAM ONE!!!" the MC's voice boomed over the chaos.
Confetti rained down as the group took their final pose. Rika forced herself upright, panting, heart racing so violently she thought it might tear out of her chest.
Beside her, Daika smirked, bowing gracefully. She looked like she'd just devoured the stage—and maybe Rika, too.
The moment they stepped offstage, the noise dimmed to muffled echoes. Trainees swarmed them with congratulations, staff buzzed with excitement, but Rika barely heard any of it. Her body was still trembling, heat simmering under her skin, pheromones threatening to spill through the thin mask of her blockers.
Hold it together. Just hold it together.....
But Daika was already there, sliding up behind her, towel slung lazily over one shoulder. She leaned close, voice pitched low so no one else would hear.
"You almost lost it out there, kitten."
Rika spun, glaring furiously. "Shut up! I—I was fine!"
Daika chuckled, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from Rika's damp cheek. "Mmm. Sure. Totally fine. Trembling like a leaf in my arms, smelling like sugar candy in heat. No one noticed but me, right?"
Rika's breath hitched. Her eyes darted around, no one seemed to be paying attention, but paranoia crawled through her veins.
"You're insane," she hissed, shoving Daika's hand away.
Daika just grinned wider, leaning in until her lips almost touched Rika's ear.
"Maybe. But you're mine, and sooner or later… everyone will see it."
Rika froze, pulse hammering. She wanted to argue, scream, deny it but the warmth pooling in her gut betrayed her, rising hotter and hotter.
And Daika knew it.
Her laugh was low, dangerous, hungry. "Better pray those blockers hold, kitten. Because if they don't…" She trailed her finger down Rika's wrist, slow and taunting. "You'll be mine before the next stage."
The staff finally shooed them out of the wings, herding the trainees toward the waiting area for results. Cameras followed everywhere, capturing the sweaty smiles, the forced laughter, the shaky high-fives.
Rika plastered on her best fake grin.
Don't look nervous. Don't look guilty. Just breathe.
But Daika wasn't making it easy.
Every time Rika thought she'd escaped, the Alpha was there standing too close, brushing against her, smirking like she knew exactly how wrecked Rika still was.
"You're shaking," Daika murmured once, her voice a velvet dagger.
"I'm tired," Rika snapped, tugging her arm away.
Daika only laughed, low and dark. "Sure. Keep telling yourself that."
The worst part? Cameras caught everything. Rika could practically feel the editors rubbing their greedy little hands together, already planning how to spin the "chemistry" between her and Daika into a highlight reel.
By the time they got back to the dorms, Rika's nerves were fried.
She shut the door behind her, pressing her back against it, finally breathing without fear of a lens watching. The silence was bliss.
Until....
The shower started running.
Rika's heart plummeted. No. Not again. Not tonight.
Minutes later, Daika emerged, steam billowing behind her, towel slung low on her hips this time. Drops of water clung to her skin, tracing lines over lean muscle.
Rika's throat went dry.
"Déjàvu?" Daika teased, catching her staring. "Or maybe you just like the view."
Rika yanked her blanket over her head. "I'm sleeping. Go away."
But Daika didn't. Of course she didn't.
The Alpha padded closer, every step deliberate. The mattress dipped as she climbed onto it, caging Rika in with her arms again, exactly like last time.
"You're mine," she whispered, voice dripping with certainty. "No matter how much you hide it. No matter how many blockers you swallow."
Rika's chest heaved beneath the blanket. She wanted to scream, to shove her off, but instead, her body betrayed her again. Her scent spiked, sweet and heady, flooding the small dorm room.
Daika inhaled sharply, groaning low in her throat. "Fuck. You smell even sweeter than before."
Rika whimpered, curling tighter under the blanket. "D-Don't…"
But Daika tugged it down anyway, exposing her flushed face, her trembling lips.
"Say it," Daika demanded softly, eyes burning into hers. "Say you're mine."
Rika's eyes stung with tears. She shook her head, lips trembling. "I can't."
Daika's smirk softened into something far more dangerous than arrogance. Hunger. Possession.
"You will," she murmured, brushing her lips against Rika's temple. "Sooner than you think."