Rika's pulse thundered against her ribs. Daika's breath fanned hot against her temple, her body a cage that left no room to breathe, no room to think.
"Say it," the Alpha whispered again, voice molten, dangerous. "Say you're mine."
Rika's lips parted, but nothing came out. Her throat was locked, her lungs squeezed too tight. The scent spilling from her was undeniable, syrup-sweet, clinging to the air like honey.
Daika groaned low, dragging her nose down Rika's jawline, inhaling like she was savoring every drop. "Fuck, kitten…"
Rika trembled. Her body screamed yes, but her mind screamed no. She clutched the sheets like a lifeline.
And then...
Knock knock knock.
The door burst open before either of them could move.
"Yo, shower's free—oh shit."
Both girls froze.
Kana stood in the doorway, towel slung around her shoulders, hair dripping wet. Her eyes widened at the scene: Daika crouched over Rika on the bed, their faces inches apart, the air thick with the unmistakable sweetness of Rika's leaking pheromones.
For a long second, nobody moved. The silence was deafening.
Then Kana's jaw dropped. "...Are you two?!"
Rika shot upright so fast she nearly smacked her forehead into Daika's chin. "N-NO! We're not....this isn't!"
Daika leaned back slowly, smirk curving her lips like she had all the time in the world. "Wrong timing, huh?" she murmured, eyes never leaving Rika's flushed face.
Kana blinked rapidly, processing, her nose twitching. Her voice pitched higher. "Wait. Is that—? Rika, you're, holy shit, you're leaking?!"
Rika's stomach dropped. Panic seized her chest.
"SHUT UP!" she yelped, scrambling off the bed, fumbling for her blockers.
Kana clapped both hands over her mouth but her eyes said everything, shock, curiosity, and maybe the tiniest bit of glee.
Daika chuckled low, stretching back on the bed like a satisfied predator. "Told you someone would notice sooner or later, kitten."
Rika's heart stopped. Her secret wasn't just between them anymore.
It had just been cracked wide open.
"Rika…" Kana's voice was muffled behind her palms, but her wide eyes said it all. You're an Omega.
Rika's throat closed. Her blockers shook in her trembling hand, the little spray bottle rattling like it might betray her too. "It's....It's not what you think!" she stammered, spraying herself in a frenzy, as if the sharp chemical tang could erase the truth Kana had already inhaled.
But it was too late.
Way, way too late.
Kana lowered her hands, her brows shooting up. "Not what I think?
Girl, the whole hallway's gonna know if you keep leaking like that! How long...."
"Don't," Rika snapped, voice breaking.
"Don't say it out loud."
The plea cracked something in the room. Kana's mouth snapped shut, guilt flickering over her face. But the silence didn't ease the weight crushing Rika's chest. She could feel Daika watching, savoring the scene like it was her personal show.
"Relax," Daika drawled, lounging back on her elbows, as if she weren't the problem. As if she hadn't been this close to devouring Rika whole. "Your little secret's safe… for now."
Rika whipped toward her, panic blazing in her eyes. "Stop it! You're making it worse!"
Daika's smirk only widened. "Am I? Or are you just mad she saw what I already knew?"
"Daika!"
Kana flinched at Rika's sharp tone, glancing between them like she'd accidentally tuned into the hottest drama on live TV. "Uh… should I… leave?"
"Yes!" Rika shouted at the exact same time Daika purred, "No."
The clash of voices made Kana choke back a nervous laugh. She shuffled backward into the hall, towel slipping off her shoulder. "O-okay, I'm just… gonna pretend I didn't see anything…"
She closed the door behind her, but the damage was done.
Rika's breath came in ragged bursts. Her secret wasn't secret anymore...not fully. If Kana talked, if rumors spread…
Her career, her dream....gone.
Her whole body shook, but Daika only tilted her head, studying her with maddening calm.
"You can run from me all you want, kitten," she murmured, sitting up slowly.
"But you can't run from what you are."
Rika pressed back against the wall, blockers clutched so tight they dug into her palm. Her chest heaved, eyes stinging. "Shut up," she whispered.
Daika smiled like she'd already won.
Morning came too fast.
The dorm buzzed with the usual chaos....hairdryers roaring, makeup bags clattering, voices bouncing off thin walls. But for Rika, every sound was muffled under the heavy fog of dread.
She hadn't slept. Not really. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Daika's smirk, felt her breath ghosting across her lips. Worse, she saw Kana's face, shocked, knowing.
Now Kana wouldn't even look at her.
She moved around the shared space stiffly, shoulders hunched, hands clutching her phone like a lifeline. When their eyes met by accident at the mirror, Kana looked away, biting her lip. The silence screamed louder than words.
And then, of course
"Morning, kittens."
Daika strolled in like she owned the whole building. Hair damp from the shower, towel slung over her shoulders, skin glowing like she'd just stepped out of a drama shoot. Even in sweatpants, she radiated Alpha.
Rika's stomach twisted. She ducked her head, fumbling with her makeup pouch.
Don't look at her.
Don't react.
Just disappear.
But Daika had other plans.
She leaned against the doorframe, eyes sweeping over the room before landing on Rika. That smile returned, the one that curled like smoke, wicked and patient. "Sleep well, Hanazawa?"
Rika's brush slipped, nearly stabbing her eye. "Y-Yes! Fine! Perfect! Totally fine!"
Kana glanced up, and for the first time since last night, she spoke. Quiet, wary. "Daika… don't."
Rika froze. The air went razor sharp.
Daika arched a brow, amused. "Don't what?"
Kana's lips pressed tight. She looked from Daika to Rika, and then back again. Something flickered in her eyes, not just worry, but a spark of defiance.
"Just… leave her alone," Kana said finally.
The room fell silent. Even the blow dryer in the next dorm seemed to hush.
Daika's smirk faded into something deeper, darker. She stepped closer, slow and deliberate, her gaze locked on Kana now. "Careful, sweetheart. You don't want to pick a fight you can't win."
Rika's heart slammed in her chest. She could see it, the way Daika's presence filled the room, the way Kana visibly shrank back. The Alpha energy was suffocating, undeniable.
And yet… Kana didn't back down.
"Maybe not," Kana whispered, fists clenched. "But someone has to."
The room was too small for this.
Rika sat frozen at the vanity, caught between Daika's looming presence and Kana's trembling but stubborn defiance. The air was thick with scent, Daika's Alpha dominance rolling off her like thunderclouds, Rika's own traitorous sweetness leaking through her weak blockers, and Kana's nervous, sharp edge cutting through it all.
Daika took another step forward, closing the distance until Kana had to tilt her head up to meet her eyes. "Someone has to, huh?" Her voice was velvet, but the kind that could strangle. "Tell me, Kana… you think you can protect her from me?"
Kana swallowed hard, but her jaw stayed firm. "If you're just playing with her...yes. I'll try."
Rika's heart stopped.
"K-Kana, please—"
But Daika didn't look at her. Her gaze was locked on Kana, sharp and hungry, like a wolf circling prey.
Then, she laughed. Low, throaty, dangerous. "Cute. Really. You standing there, shaking in your slippers, trying to play knight. But you don't get it."
Daika leaned in so close Kana had to press back against the dresser. Her breath brushed across Kana's cheek, her smile sharp enough to cut. "She's already mine."
Rika's breath hitched so loud she almost clapped a hand over her mouth.
Kana's eyes widened, flickering briefly to Rika....who was crimson, trembling, unable to speak. And in that silence, Daika straightened, satisfied, like she'd just planted a flag in conquered territory.
She turned, catching Rika's gaze in the mirror. "Right, kitten?"
Rika's throat locked. Every cell in her body screamed to deny it, to shake her head, to shout no. But the memory of last night seared through her...the way she hadn't said stop, the way she'd moaned instead.
Her silence betrayed her.
Kana's face fell, the hurt flashing quick before she masked it with a bitter smile. "I see."
She brushed past Daika, avoiding Rika's eyes, and slipped out of the room. The door clicked shut behind her.
And just like that, Rika's chest caved in.
Daika smirked, stepping closer. "Don't look so guilty, kitten. She'll get over it. They always do."
But Rika wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on the door, her heart shattering at the image of Kana's hurt face.
For the first time, Daika's words didn't just scare her.
They made her wonder
Was this… already too much?
The second the door clicked shut, Rika's body snapped out of paralysis.
"Kana—!"
She bolted up, nearly tripping over the edge of the blanket as she rushed for the hallway. Her heart pounded louder than her footsteps, each beat echoing with Kana's look, the hurt, the betrayal, the silent why didn't you stop her?
She shoved the dorm door open, nearly slamming into the wall. "Kana, wait!"
The girl was halfway down the corridor, arms wrapped tight around herself, head bowed. She didn't stop walking.
Rika chased after her, grabbing her wrist. "Please, just...listen—"
Kana jerked away, spinning to face her. Her eyes were glassy, but her voice was sharp.
"Listen?
To what?
That you don't belong to her?
That everything I just saw was a lie?"
She laughed bitterly, shaking her head.
"Rika, your silence already told me the truth."
Rika's throat closed up. Words tangled in her chest, useless. "I-It's not like that, I—"
"Then what is it like?" Kana snapped, voice breaking. "Because from where I was standing, she doesn't even need to touch you anymore. She just looks at you, and you… you fall apart."
The truth stung harder than Daika's teeth ever could.
Rika's eyes blurred with tears. "Kana… I don't want this. I don't want her to control me. I swear, I..."
"Then stop her!" Kana cried. Her hands balled into fists, trembling. "Stop her before you lose yourself completely!"
The hallway went silent. Only Rika's ragged breathing filled the space.
For a second, it seemed like Kana might say more, but then her gaze flicked over Rika's shoulder, and her expression hardened.
Rika didn't need to turn to know.
The air shifted, thickened, charged with an Alpha's dominance.
Daika.
Her voice slid down Rika's spine like ice. "Go on, kitten. Tell her. Tell her you don't want me."
Rika froze, caught between them—the friend who begged her to resist, and the Alpha who dared her to deny the truth.
Her lips parted, trembling, but no sound came out.
Kana's jaw clenched, her eyes dimming with disappointment. Without another word, she spun and stormed off, her footsteps fading into the dorm.
And Rika…
Rika stood there, trapped.
Daika's shadow stretched long across the floor, wrapping around her.
"So?" Daika whispered, stepping closer.
"What's it gonna be, kitten?"
Rika's breath stuttered in her throat. Kana's footsteps echoed faintly, then vanished, leaving nothing but the suffocating silence of the hallway.
Her chest ached like someone had carved her open. Kana's words replayed, sharp and merciless. Stop her before you lose yourself completely.
But then there was Daika....close enough now that her presence felt like gravity itself. Pulling. Crushing. Consuming.
"Kitten…" Daika's voice was silk wrapped around a blade. She leaned down, her lips brushing the shell of Rika's ear. "Say it. You don't want me. Push me away. Look me in the eye and lie."
Rika's knees trembled. Her body screamed to step back, to run after Kana, to scream "no." But when she opened her mouth… only a broken sound came out.
"N…ngh—"
Daika's smirk curved against her skin.
"That's what I thought."
Her hand slid to Rika's waist, possessive, claiming. The world tilted; Rika's pulse thundered.
But then...something snapped.
Rika's hands shot up, pressing flat against Daika's chest. Not shoving, just holding. Her fingers curled into the fabric of Daika's shirt, trembling, desperate.
"Daika… stop."
The word was so soft it almost wasn't real. But it was there. A crack in the chain.
Daika's eyes sharpened, searching her face. For the first time, her smirk faltered.
"...Say it again."
Rika's breath hitched. Tears spilled hot down her cheeks as she forced the words out louder. "I said stop!"
The hall rang with her voice.
Daika froze. Her grip slackened, just slightly.
Rika shoved her then, small hands against an immovable wall—but it was enough to make Daika stumble half a step back. Enough space for Rika to breathe.
Her whole body shook. Her heart pounded. But her voice, though trembling, carried fire.
"I'm not your toy. I'm not your… kitten. And I'm not going to let you decide who I am anymore."
For a heartbeat, the Alpha said nothing. Her eyes glowed with something dangerous....Anger? Hunger? Amusement?
Then, slowly, Daika's lips curved back into a smile. A darker one.
"…Finally showing your claws."
The tension cracked like lightning, leaving the air heavy and electric.
And deep down, Rika knew this was just the beginning.