The night was pure misery for Song Liu. The academy didn't believe in soundproofing, apparently, and the heavy footfalls of Alphas marching during late-night drills had vibrated through the floorboards. Plus, even with his powerful blockers, the ambient, controlled scent of so many dominant Alphas nearby made his skin crawl.
But morning brought a new challenge: his roommate.
Song Liu woke to the sound of an alarm—not a polite, tinkling chime, but a sharp, military-grade BEEP-BEEP-BEEP that sliced through the air like a knife. It was 05:30.
"What the hell?" Song Liu groaned, shoving his silk-covered head under a goose-down pillow. "Turn that obnoxious thing off, Wei Ze!"
The incessant beeping stopped immediately. Song Liu felt a shadow fall over his bed. He cracked one eye open to see Wei Ze, already dressed in a perfectly crisp uniform, standing on his side of The Line, looking down at him.
"The daily schedule begins at 05:45," Wei Ze stated in that deep, irritatingly calm voice. "Formation is 06:00 sharp. You should be up."
"I should be up?" Song Liu blinked slowly. "Honey, I don't 'up' until my personal barista brings me a triple-shot, organic oat milk latte at 09:00. This is an Alpha academy, not a bloody peasant boot camp. Now, go away. You're polluting my personal air space."
Wei Ze simply gave a slight, almost imperceptible shrug and walked to the door. "Suit yourself. Tardy students receive three demerits and are assigned sanitation duty for the day." He walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.
Song Liu snorted. Demerits? Sanitation duty? This wasn't some crap public school. His father was the Duke. He rolled over, pulled the silk sheet over his head, and decided to sleep until 08:30.
At 08:45, Song Liu finally emerged, showered, impeccably dressed in his own tailored version of the school uniform (he replaced the standard trousers with bespoke wool slacks and the regulation blazer with a fitted jacket), and smelling faintly of a bespoke floral cologne that was supposed to cut through the Alpha scents.
He glided down to the ground floor, fully expecting his ride to be waiting. After all, the son of the Duke of the North wasn't expected to mix with the hoi polloi.
He strode past the massive bronze doors, sniffing disdainfully at the sight of hundreds of Alphas marching in perfect formation on the sprawling parade ground, and arrived at the designated vehicle pick-up zone.
It was empty.
He pulled out his custom phone and frantically called Liang.
"Young master! I'm so sorry! His Grace strictly forbade any private vehicles on campus grounds for the first week! He said you must 'immerse yourself' in the routine! It's written in the academy rules!" Liang sounded terrified.
"He what?" Song Liu shrieked, earning a few curious, quickly averted glances from passing students. "I can't walk! I'll wrinkle my trousers! I'll get... sweaty! This is an outrage!"
Liang hung up, citing a poor connection.
Furious, Song Liu looked around. The only transportation available seemed to be the Academy Shuttle—a boring, standard armored bus—which was currently loading students across the grounds. He glared at the distance. It was miles to the main academic building.
Grumbling every step of the way, he stalked across the marble plaza. He finally reached the bus just as the driver was pulling the door shut.
"Wait! Open up!" Song Liu demanded, tapping imperiously on the smoked glass.
The driver, a burly, unflappable-looking Alpha, opened the door just enough to poke his head out. "Schedule is strict, kid. You're late for the 08:45 run."
"I am not 'kid'," Song Liu seethed. "I am Song Liu, son of Duke Song. You will open this door, and you will wait for me to get comfortable."
Before the driver could reply, a familiar, deep voice came from the very front of the bus.
"Driver, there's no need. Song Liu here preferred to sleep in and has incurred three demerits for missing morning formation. The academy rules state that latecomers must walk to their first class, regardless of weather or station."
Song Liu's blood ran cold. He recognized that voice. He pushed past the driver and stomped onto the bus, his eyes landing on Wei Ze, who was sitting right in the front, surrounded by three other incredibly high-status-looking Alphas.
"You!" Song Liu hissed, pointing a manicured finger at his roommate. "You're trying to screw me over!"
Wei Ze didn't move a muscle. His icy blue eyes met Song Liu's fiery ones. "I'm merely upholding the integrity of the rules, Song Liu. You chose to remain in bed. Now, please exit the vehicle. You're blocking the door, and we have a schedule to keep."
The bus, full of intimidating, perfectly uniformed Alphas, was dead silent. Every single student was watching the Duke's spoiled Omega son be publicly shamed by his own roommate.
Song Liu felt his cheeks burn a fiery red. He could smell the faintest trace of cold amusement leaking from the Alphas in the bus. He wanted to scream. He wanted to summon his father's private guard. Instead, he just bit his lip, glared daggers at Wei Ze, and stumbled backward off the bus.
The door hissed shut in his face. The Royal Academy Shuttle drove away, leaving the son of the Duke of the North standing alone in the grand, intimidating plaza, miles away from his first class, feeling the intense sting of humiliation for the very first time.
"This is completely unacceptable!" he whispered to himself, adjusting his perfect silk cuffs and starting the long, lonely walk toward the main building. Wei Ze is going to pay for this. I swear it.