CHAPTER: THE NEW PLAYTHING
Milo Bellamy hated being the center of attention.
Unfortunately, that was exactly where he was standing.
At the front of Lecture Hall Three, surrounded by rows of unfamiliar faces, Milo clasped his hands behind his back and tried very hard not to let his ears twitch.
One hundred and twenty students were staring at him.
He smiled.
"Hi!"
His voice carried brightly through the lecture hall.
"My name is Milo Bellamy. I'm twenty, and I'm a biomedical engineering major."
A few students glanced at one another.
Milo continued before he could lose his nerve.
"I'm hoping to eventually specialize in genetic research, specifically hybrid and Beastkin medicine. I've always been fascinated by how different species' genetics interact, especially when it comes to inherited conditions."
His smile widened.
"And if I somehow survive the next four years without destroying myself with caffeine, I'd like to work in a research laboratory."
A few people laughed.
Milo laughed with them.
The tension in his shoulders eased.
"I'm really excited to be here, and... um..."
His eyes wandered across the room.
"I'd like to get along with everyone."
He gave a small wave.
"So, yeah. That's me."
Applause followed.
Milo hurried back toward his seat, cheeks slightly pink.
He didn't notice the pair of amber eyes following him.
Damien Valeren sat near the back of the lecture hall, one arm resting lazily against his chair.
He had been bored for most of the morning.
Actually, bored was an understatement.
He was tired.
Tired of the same people.
The same conversations.
The same carefully rehearsed smiles.
The same students trying to impress him because he was Damien Valeren.
Everyone knew who he was.
Top of his class.
Star athlete.
Alpha.
Wealthy.
Popular.
Approachable.
Kind.
That last one was particularly funny.
Damien had spent years perfecting the version of himself everyone wanted to see.
He smiled when people spoke.
He remembered people's names.
He offered help when someone struggled.
He laughed at jokes he didn't find funny.
He complimented people when they needed reassurance.
And, most importantly, he listened.
People loved being listened to.
They mistook it for kindness.
They mistook his ability to predict what they wanted for empathy.
They never realized that Damien wasn't simply listening.
He was studying them.
Within a few conversations, he could usually determine what someone wanted, what they feared, who they admired, who they disliked, and what they would do if pressured correctly.
It made people incredibly easy to manipulate.
And incredibly boring.
Then there was Milo.
Damien watched him settle into his seat.
Milo immediately whispered something to the student beside him.
The student laughed.
Milo smiled.
A few minutes later, someone else spoke to him.
Milo smiled again.
By the end of the lecture, he had somehow managed to exchange names with six people.
Damien's eyebrow lifted.
Interesting.
Most students spent their first day trying to figure out who mattered.
Milo seemed genuinely interested in everyone.
No calculation.
No hidden agenda.
Just...
Bubbly.
Damien almost smiled.
That's new.
He watched Milo throughout the rest of the day.
In the cafeteria, Milo helped another student carry a stack of books.
In the laboratory orientation, he asked so many questions that the professor eventually laughed and told him he should save some for tomorrow.
During lunch, Milo somehow ended up sitting with people he had met less than an hour earlier.
And every single time someone approached him, his expression brightened.
Damien found himself watching more closely.
There was something strange about the boy.
Not bad.
Just...
Different.
Milo was supposedly a wolf.
Damien had grown up around wolves.
Milo didn't quite act like one.
His body language was softer.
His reactions were more open.
And there were little things Damien couldn't quite place.
The way Milo's ears occasionally moved beneath his hair.
The way he reacted to sudden noises.
The way his attention seemed to lock onto people whenever they entered his space.
Damien filed each observation away.
By the end of the afternoon, he'd made a decision.
Interesting.
For the first time in months, someone at the university had actually caught his attention.
And Damien liked interesting things.
Especially when they were unsuspecting.
By the time classes ended, Milo was exhausted.
He shoved his notebook into his bag and glanced at the clock.
"Oh, no."
He was late.
His train would leave in twenty minutes.
Milo hurried through the hallway, barely noticing the students around him.
He pushed through the doors of the main building and headed toward the station.
His bag bounced against his side.
His keys jingled.
His phone nearly slipped from his pocket.
And somewhere along the way, something else fell.
Milo didn't notice.
Damien did.
He had been walking several yards behind him.
He looked down.
A university ID card.
Damien bent over and picked it up.
He glanced at the photograph.
Milo Bellamy.
The information looked ordinary at first.
Then Damien noticed something.
His eyes narrowed.
The species designation didn't match what Milo had told everyone.
Canis familiaris.
Dog.
Not wolf.
Damien stared at the card for several seconds.
Then his lips slowly curved upward.
"Oh."
Now things were interesting.
"Milo."
Milo stopped.
He turned around.
Damien was approaching.
His heart immediately dropped.
Damien held something between two fingers.
Milo's ID.
His ears shot upright.
Then flattened.
His face went pale.
"Oh."
Damien held it out.
"You dropped this."
Milo practically snatched it from his hand.
"Thank you!"
He immediately shoved it into his wallet.
Too quickly.
Way too quickly.
Damien noticed.
Of course he noticed.
Milo swallowed.
"Did you..."
His voice cracked.
Damien tilted his head.
"Did I what?"
Milo stared at him.
His fingers tightened around his wallet.
"You saw it."
Damien remained silent.
Milo's stomach twisted.
He knew.
He knew.
Years of pretending.
Years of carefully controlling his ears, his tail, his scent, his mannerisms.
And one stupid mistake had ruined everything.
"Please."
Damien's expression softened.
"What?"
"Please don't tell anyone."
There was something almost heartbreaking about how quickly Milo's cheerful personality disappeared.
Damien hadn't expected that.
Milo looked terrified.
Not embarrassed.
Not annoyed.
Terrified.
Damien could already imagine the possibilities.
A scholarship revoked.
A research opportunity lost.
Professors reconsidering him.
Students finding out.
His entire carefully constructed future collapsing.
Damien's mind began assembling the pieces.
So that's why.
The pretending.
The careful behavior.
The wolf story.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Damien slipped his hands into his pockets.
"I don't care."
Milo blinked.
"What?"
"I don't care that you're a dog."
Silence.
Milo stared at him.
"You... don't?"
Damien shook his head.
"No."
Milo's shoulders sagged with relief.
"Oh my god."
He laughed.
A genuine, breathless laugh.
"Thank you."
Damien watched him.
Milo smiled so brightly that it almost seemed impossible that the terrified person from a moment ago had been the same boy.
"I mean it. Thank you."
And then—
Milo's tail started wagging.
Damien froze.
It was subtle at first.
A small movement behind him.
Then another.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Milo didn't seem to realize he was doing it.
Damien stared.
Something unfamiliar twisted strangely in his chest.
He had expected fear.
Maybe desperation.
Maybe anger.
He hadn't expected...
That.
Milo's tail wagged faster.
"Seriously," Milo said. "I really appreciate it."
Damien blinked.
He looked away for half a second.
Why is that affecting me?
It shouldn't.
This was useful information.
That was all.
A secret.
A weakness.
Something he could use later.
Damien looked back at Milo.
The omega was smiling at him like Damien had just done him the greatest favor in the world.
And Damien's thoughts became pleasantly dark.
I wonder what I could get him to do.
Not now.
There was no reason to rush.
The best leverage was leverage you saved.
He could wait.
He could learn what Milo wanted.
Who he cared about.
What frightened him.
How badly he wanted that research position.
And when the right opportunity presented itself...
Damien could make his request.
He smiled.
"You're welcome."
Milo smiled back.
"See you tomorrow, Damien."
Damien watched him hurry away.
His tail was still wagging.
Damien stood there for several seconds after Milo disappeared around the corner.
Then he quietly exhaled.
"...Interesting."
For the first time in a long time, Damien wasn't bored.
He slipped his hands into his pockets and began walking home.
A new semester had barely started.
And Damien had already found himself a new plaything.
