I was jolted awake from my nap by the silent click of a lock turning.

That was weird. I was sure I had locked the door as soon as I had entered my room. How the . . . ?

I hit the light switch just before the door swung open, instantly springing up to a crouch and ready to jump on the intruder who had dared to pick my lock. "You son of a—"

"Hey!" A familiar voice yelled just before a laughing Micajah came into view, his hands up in the air, "It's just me, brother."

My shoulders sagged. I sighed exasperatedly and pushed the sheets lower, sitting up. "Care to explain how you opened my door?"

"Um, with a key?" Seneca popped up from behind him through the open entryway, closing my door after her. Micajah grinned and moved closer, brandishing said key before pocketing it. Only then did I notice that they were both dressed in casual clothes, ditching their usual PJs in favor of comfortable jeans and tees. Had we made plans or something?

"Um." I looked at him with an eyebrow raised, waiting to see if he would provide an answer himself. He seemed curiously oblivious as he stared back at me blankly, acting as if nothing was out of the normal in this scenario. "Seriously?" I spread my hands, flabbergasted. "I'm gonna have to ask why you have a copy of a key to my room? What the hell?"

"Oh," Micajah shook his head with a chuckle, making himself comfortable in the rolling desk chair. "We figured you'll be losing your key a few times since living in the dorms is going to take some getting used to." When I raised an unimpressed eyebrow at their lack of faith, he laughed even more. "What? No one said anything wrong about being prepared."

Seneca walked around the bed to my side, an amused smile coating her lips. "Isn't it better to be safe than sorry?"

Now that the new bed had arrived, it took up most of the space in my room, limiting the floor space to move by a lot. That didn't matter to me, though. If I wanted to walk around, I could walk around the whole damned city. To sleep, though? This bed was, unfortunately, the only available place for this whole year.

"Right." I let it go because if they wanted to use the key and catch an eyeful of me jerking off or hopefully doing something with my mate in the future, it was their loss. "Wait. So why are you guys here? Are we supposed to go out or something?"

"Yes. About that." Seneca stepped closer and without preamble, ripped the sheets away from my lap in one quick, unceremonious motion, making me cry out in protest, "Hey! What if I wasn't wearing any underwear?"

She gave me a look. "Hurry up. We're going out for dinner."

Oh. That was unexpected.

After returning from my meeting with my mates the previous evening, I had assumed that Seneca, Micajah, and I would go out. But when I had stopped by their room later, my Alpha-friends had been in the middle of a serious-looking 'phone conversation with someone from our pack so I had quietly slipped out. Further, thoughts about how the hell my mate-situation would pan out were keeping me occupied, so I had stayed in my room instead of bothering to go out, munching on some junk food Micajah had stashed in my mini-fridge and happily calling it a night.

I had assumed that dinners would be the "couple-time" Micajah and Seneca needed, so I hadn't been in the mood to go out tonight either. It was only fair that they got some time alone too. No one wanted a best friend who tagged along all the damned time.

"But I think I'll have something from the dorm's diner." I frowned, "You kids go ahead." I waved them off, already starting to lie back down and turning away, "Have a date night or something, but don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"No way." The pillows under my head were rudely ripped away from behind. "What the hell?" I opened my eyes and found a smirking Micajah standing on the other side of my cot, pillows held high above his head as if to hit me if I wasn't about to comply. "You better get out of this bed before I'm done counting to three."

"Fuck off, man." I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face in my arms. "I ain't going nowhere."

"One." I heard the distinctive sound of the click of a camera's shutter. Instantly, I knew it was my phone because those two other dorks had iPhones which gave off a completely different sound. "Hey!" I spun around, but I was too late because Seneca was already bored with taking pictures and was now typing wrong passcodes into it.

Why the fuck had I set the phone to self destruct in the event of multiple failed attempts?

"Two!"

"Stop doing that!" I leaped out of the bed and reached for the phone but Seneca slid out of my reach, still typing wrong passwords into the device.

"It's okay," Micajah patted my shoulder, and Seneca stopped, much to my relief. He shoved me in the direction of the bathroom. "Let the phone be, Sen. I think he's not gonna attempt going back to bed."

Seneca shot me a skeptical look, my phone still held behind her back. "Are you coming?"

"Fine!" I threw my hands up in the air and stalked towards the en-suite, unleashing a string of not so subtle insults at them under my breath.

Fuck my life.

~

Freshly showered and dressed in the clothes Micajah had shoved at me when I had tried to get out in my night pants, I stepped out of the bathroom, a circle of steam coiling behind me as I shut the door.

The sound of muted discussion came to an abrupt halt behind me, making me spin around curiously. Had they been talking about me?

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Micajah and Seneca clutched at their stomachs and threw their heads back, laughing like maniacs all of a sudden.

"What the fuck?"

They slapped their thighs and pointed at me, laughing even more. I turned glanced at the long mirror near the wardrobe, checking to see if there was something on my face.

Did they draw a curling mustache on me when I was sleeping?

Nope, nothing on my face.

"What the . . ?" I stared at the two laughing idiots, bewildered.

"S-Sorry," Micajah hiccuped in between laughs, "I've w-wanted to d-do for—" He laughed even more, "—two days!"

"Yes!" Seneca had tears streaming from her eyes. "It's just—too damn f-funny!"

Two days?

Oh. My two mates.

Of course.

"You should've laughed yesterday, idiots." I opened the door and slipped out, patting my pockets to check if I had my wallet, keys, and phone while I waited for the Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum to sober up and push themselves off their seated positions and exit my room.

Micajah slung and arm around my neck, while Seneca took the other side, taking my arm and draping it over her shoulders. Ugh, I love these two dumbos way too much. "Well, we didn't want to tell you and ruin your first night of dreaming about happily-ever-afters, but there was a rogue spotting last night." Seneca smiled at my alarmed expression. "Don't worry, Skylar took care of it."

What!? And I hadn't been informed?

I was speechless with shock for two whole seconds before the anger set it. "Un-fucking-believable." I shrugged them both off me, taking a few quick steps to put some distance between me and then.

"What!?" Micajah exclaimed, "We just wanted you to have some peace!"

"Just. . . ." I shook my head, not bothering to turn around and look into their eyes, "Just, please. Leave me alone."

~

The chairs across from me scraped against the linoleum as Micajah and Seneca pulled them out, sitting down despite my demand to leave me alone.

"I told you guys to fuck off for a while." I turned my head away to avoid meeting their gaze, surveying the bustling 50's style diner and the busy waiters and waitress zooming across the tiny space instead. In spite of that, I could feel Micajah wince at my harsh tone, and coupled with my coarse language, it must not bring up any pleasant memories for him.

I tried to keep in mind the kind of abuse he had been through all his life and attempted to dial back my anger, but my efforts were fruitless.

"Ezra—"

"Don't you fucking dare!" I snapped, making Seneca's dark grey eyes widen. Rarely had I ever lost my cool in front of her in our life-long friendship. "It's not even been two whole days and you've already decided that I'm not your Beta anymore? Guess what? I'm not fucking leaving!"

"What do you mean—oh!" Her eyes lit up in realization, "What the heck? Who the fudge told you that you're not our Beta anymore?"

"You guys!" I threw back, resisting the urge to throw some plates at their faces, "With your actions!"

"We only wanted you to not worry for one night!" Micajah uncharacteristically slammed his hands down on the table, eyes burning bright with anger. That immediately shut me up. "Stop putting words in our mouth!"

"Fine!" I turned my head away, feeling my shoulders deflate. I knew full-well how unreasonable I was behaving at the moment, and I couldn't even pass the blame on to anyone but myself. "I'm sorry, okay!?"

There was no reply. I let my eyes hesitantly slide over to their direction, finding them looking at me with concern and worry.

Great. I messed up. Again.

"It's okay." Seneca patted the back of my hand lightly before pulling away. "It's okay to be angry, Ezra."

I sighed, swallowing the sudden lump of emotion in my throat. " I don't appreciate being kept out of the loop, guys."

"I don't think that's the issue here." Micajah leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table, "And I think you know it as well."

Silence.

"Yes," I looked down at the admission, unable to meet their eyes because I was sure I'd end up bawling like a baby. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do and I don't want to leave our pack! I was meant to be the Beta, and I can't even imagine filling the role of an Aleph. You guys are supposed to be loving and caring and shit. Me?" I laughed hysterically, pointing to myself. "I'm just the opposite. I suck at that stuff, okay? I just—can't be the Aleph. I . . . can't."

"Ezra." Micajah jumped up from his chair and took the one next to me, shoving me on the shoulder and forcing me to look into his eyes. "Look at me. You'll be fine, alright? Just remember that there's plenty of time for that." He smiled, squeezing my arm. "Nyah's going to be studying here for the next three years. You don't have to move back to her pack until then. Don't worry about anything. You can figure things out one step at a time."

I felt overwhelming emotion all of a sudden. Without warning, I grabbed my brother by his shoulders and hugged the crap out of him. What the fuck was happening to me? Was I turning into a girl? "See?" I exclaimed, trying to compose my voice so he wouldn't hear how badly I was affected. "You know just the right thing to say! I could never do that!" I glanced up at the door, feeling that tell-tale shiver of awareness at the exact moment my eyes collided with jade-green ones. He halted as if surprised, meeting my eyes as I quickly tried to pull myself together, before looking away.

Why couldn't it have been Nyah who had run into me?

Micajah laughed in my ear, loud and happy. To think that the timid boy I had met a year ago had turned into such a wonderful guy I respected . . . "I guess it's a good thing there are two of you, then. You can help each other out."

"Fuck off." I shoved him away, trying to hide my grin. In my peripheral vision, I could see Theon being ushered over to the bar by the hostess. Why was he here alone? "I'm never—uh," I started to say, but couldn't complete my sentence. I lost my train of thought unexpectedly because I couldn't concentrate on anything but the sudden thought that struck me.

Did Theon have no friends here? Roommates? Neighbors? Classmates? No one!?

He hadn't invited anyone over to our table at lunch, either . . .

"What are you . . ." Seneca turned, following my line of vision before I could pry my eyes away from his strong back. "Oh."

"Invite him over." Micajah elbowed me, grinning.

"Uh—no." I rolled my eyes and received my burger from the waitress who chose that exact moment to arrive. She apologized for the delay and hurriedly took down Micajah and Seneca's orders, leaving us alone once again.

"You're dumb." Seneca shook her head and stood up, whistling loudly to catch his attention over the din and the bustle. Unsurprisingly, the screeching sound made the entire diner fall silent, every single pair of eyes in the vicinity except one turning around to look the gorgeous girl. "Yo, Theon! Join us!"

Second time in a day this was happening.

"Seneca!" I whisper-yelled, but it was too late. Theon's back stiffened, and before I could protest, he slowly spun around, face set in an impassive mask that was barely hiding his annoyance and irritation.

"Come on!" Seneca repeated, making him squeeze his eyes shut for a second. With the most reluctant expression I had seen on a human, he grabbed his drink and walked over to our table. Micajah quickly returned to his chair near Seneca—the traitor—freeing the one to my left. Only when Theon sat down did the people in the diner go back to their conversations, making me finally give in to the urge to slam my palm across my forehead.

"Hey. What a coincidence, right?" Micajah grinned, making Theon nod in greeting. "Sure."

And this was the night I had to order a burger.

Why, Goddess, why!?

'I thought you didn't see him as a mate?' My wolf smirked. Yes, smirked. 'What does it matter how you look like scoffing down a burger? It's not like you're attracted to him; right?'

'Of course,' I shot back, 'Look at me push that thing into my mouth whole.'

My wolf started to float into fantasyland at that.

My eyes widened. 'I DID NOT MEAN HIS THING!'

My wolf didn't seem to care. Great. No better way to start a conversation than to pop a boner.

"So which building are you at?" Seneca received her sandwich and milkshake with a smile, passing Micajah's food and drinks over before turning her full attention to Theon once she was done. "This campus is huge. Didn't think we'd run into each other."

"Same as him." Theon nodded his bead at me as he took a sip of his soda. "Monroe."

"Ohhhhh," Micajah smirked, "Funny you know that but don't know that we're there as well."

I was curious to see how he would respond to that thinly veiled double entendre in my brother's words.

Theon was silent for a couple of beats. "It's not what you think. I met him in the elevator yesterday."

"Oh, you don't have to explain yourself." Seneca waved him off, "You're mates. By this time," She snuggled closer to Micajah with a soft smile, "I had this one living with me."

"I love you." Micajah smiled, kissing his mate. Seneca grinned back, her eyes twinkling like stars on a full moon's night. "And I love you."

There it was, the scene that I had successfully avoided for a while. My brother and my non-sister making out.

"Ewwww." I covered my eyes with my hands as my face scrunched up. "People are eating!"

Theon scoffed. "I know you're nowhere close to being one, but the least you could do is act like an adult."

I ignored him, throwing a paper towel at their faces. "Ugh, you guys."

"Shut up." Micajah pulled away, his eyes fluttering open dreamily, still unable to look away from Seneca. She devilishly grinned up at him with a unmistakably salacious tilt to her lips. Instantly, I knew they were mind-linking something dirty to each other.

"Gross!" I mimed barfing, "Just get a room, already!"

"You know what?" Micajah fished his wallet out quickly, shooting me a wink. "I think I'll do just that."

With that, he threw down two twenty dollar bills on the table and stood up, not giving me enough time to recover from my shock before he pulled his mate along and left the diner, the bell above jingling as the doors swung shut behind him.

"Did I just—"

"Yes." Theon sighed, "You did."

My smart-watch buzzed, and I glanced down at the notification to see that it was a text from Seneca.

Had they just set me up!?

Theon shifted, then shook his head and moved to the other side, occupying Seneca's empty chair. He started swiping through his phone once he was settled, but at my absolute silence, he lifted his eyes up and took in my outraged expression with a flat look of his own. "What?"

"Nothing." I cleared my throat, trying to prevent myself from panicking. This isn't a date. This isn't a date. This is NOT a date. "You haven't ordered yet." I gestured to his lone glass of unfinished soda, shrugging to try and look nonchalant.

"Right." He nodded, looking around to catch the eyes of a waitress. Just then, the waitress from before looked at me, so I flagged her down, motioning to Theon once she reached us. "Hello! Hope your date's going well! Sorry about the delay, we're a bit short-staffed at the moment. What can I get you?"

Theon's eyes went round. "This is not a date!" We exclaimed at the same time, startling the harried-looking woman. "Oh! Apologies!" She went slightly red, "It was unintentional. I hope you don't mind."

"It's fine." Theon cut me off just as I opened my mouth to ask what had made her think we were on a dare. "I'd like to have a chicken sandwich and a basic mixed salad, please. No tomatoes."

"Are you kidding?" I blurted out before I could help myself. "I love tomatoes!"

Theon rolled his eyes. "Fine. Scratch the no tomatoes thing. He can pick them out." He went back to swiping at his phone without further comment, but the waitress looked at me for a second longer before leaving with a smirk that said, 'And I'm supposed to believe this isn't a date?'

I gasped. This was a date.

Fuck my life.