It didn't take long before the knock came at the door. Ivan opened it at once. Standing there was the same guide who had brought Axel to this room earlier.
Without hesitation, Ivan raised a finger and pointed straight at Axel. "Take him to an omega hostel," he ordered, his tone carrying the weight of ownership, as though this entire academy belonged to him. Maybe it did, his father had built it, after all.
The words struck Axel like a blow. He hadn't expected that, not in the slightest. He didn't even know what he had been expecting, but definitely not this. Shock rippled through him, just as it did through the man at the door.
Panic gripped Axel. The fear that his secret might be exposed twisted inside him, but even with his heart hammering, he didn't back down. "What do you mean, take me to an omega hostel?! I'm not an omega, why would I go there?!" he snapped, his voice cracking like glass under pressure.
The man glanced nervously at Ivan, but his agreement spilled out cautiously, almost as though he was siding with Axel. "Alpha Ivan, we can't have an alpha in an omega hostel..."
The words barely left his mouth before Ivan cut in, his voice edged like steel. "Does he look like an Alpha to you?!"
Axel's voice lashed back before the man could react. "You're not going to judge me just because I look weak and you look strong! You want to test my blood? Do it, and you'll see alpha blood! I told you already, I have a sickness, it eats me up, that's why I look like this!" His voice hardened as he pushed further, knowing he was saying too much, yet unable to stop. "And if you don't want to share the room with me, fine.. ask them to assign me to another room in this hostel. But don't mock me with an omega hostel! I never wanted to share this room with you anyway, so I'd be thrilled to be assigned somewhere else!"
The words tumbled out in a rush, reckless and raw. Every syllable carried too much weight, and Axel knew he was crossing lines that could cost him. Still, the words left his mouth like an unstoppable flood.
Ivan's eyes narrowed, but he didn't answer Axel. He turned instead to the man in the doorway. His voice dropped low, rough, full of dominance that could not be ignored. "What are you waiting for, Mr. Blake?"
The man flinched, shoulders stiffening at the command. "Take your things," he said quickly, turning to Axel.
Axel lifted his chin, acting as though this was exactly what he wanted, as if what Ivan just did meant nothing.
He grabbed his suitcase, the one he hadn't even unpacked yet and yanked it toward the door. His hands tightened on the handle, knuckles pale, his throat raw with words he wouldn't say.
But just before stepping out completely, he turned his head, met Ivan's eyes, and let out a scoff.
Even with panic storming in his chest, even with his secret trembling at the edge of exposure, he refused to leave quietly. Then he stormed out, dragging his suitcase behind him.
The moment they left, Ivan slammed the door from the inside, though the sound was muffled by the heavy wood. He raked both hands through his hair, tugging hard as frustration carved through him.
Heat roared inside his body, wild and consuming. It only dulled when he stalked into the bathroom and turned the shower as cold as it would go.
But even under the punishing spray, the burn refused to leave.
Water crashed over him, running down his skin, but his cock strained harder, throbbing with a need that wouldn't bow to reason.
He clenched his teeth, shut his eyes, and for the first time in his life, gave in. His hand wrapped around himself, stroking hard, each movement edged with fury and shame.
He had never done this before. Never even entertained the thought. But now there was no choice. The hunger in him demanded release.
He tried to drag Axel from his mind, tried to force Chloe into focus instead, the face he had only seen in pictures, the promise of her, the one who was supposed to calm him.
But every time he tried, Axel's image returned. The pale glow of his skin, the delicate defiance in his expression, the lean beauty of his body, each detail drove Ivan harder, made him ache more violently.
His breath hitched as the thought came, dangerous and unbidden. What if Axel hadn't left? What if he had still been there, wet from the shower, skin gleaming, standing defiantly in his path? Would Ivan have lost control? Would he have pinned him down just to silence this torment tearing him apart right now?
The idea was poison. It made his hand move faster, anger mixing with unbearable need. His body throbbed, demanding what he refused to give.
Even so, he told himself he knew why this was happening. He told himself he understood. It wasn't Axel, not really. It was the hunger that had been festering for months, boiling hotter every season. His mate had not come. His body screamed for her, and his wolf howled endlessly, clawing at him for release.
What had just happened with Axel wasn't shocking, not when his self-control had been cracking for so long. He needed his mate, and without her, his body was turning savage.
The hunger was in his blood, running wild, and he knew this wasn't even his rut. This was just the absence of her, the unbearable three years since he was meant to find her, to claim her. That distance was carving him hollow, making his body so sensitive it sparked against anything.
That was all it was. He swore it to himself. His wolf was desperate, lonely, and it was throwing him in directions that made no sense.. like toward Axel.
But it didn't control him. He controlled it. He repeated it, firm and unyielding: he controlled it.
He reminded himself of the spark he had felt earlier when they touched earlier when he needed Axel's phone. He dismissed it instantly. That hadn't been fate, it had only been loneliness, his wolf grasping for anything. Nothing more.
Even if sometimes he could feel Axel's emotions, that was no mystery, he knew as an Alpha a high rank like his, he had those abilities...
But also, he couldn't help to notice that there was a mystery behind Axel. His panic and defiance meant something.
But whatever Axel's mystery was... none of it mattered to him.
All he wanted and all that mattered was his mate.
The thought circled back, relentless. His mate. He needed her. If he didn't find her this season, he would shatter.
His blood demanded it, his wolf demanded it. Even if he couldn't touch her, even if all he could do was see her in person, face to face, even if she was out of reach, just that would be enough to calm this storm before it destroyed him completely.
And if she didn't come… then he wasn't sure if he could take it anymore.