The auditorium of Arden Engineering College was crowded with new students.
Freshers day orientation was always chaotic.
Some students were nervously checking their schedules.
Others were already trying to make friends.
In the middle of the crowd stood,
Ethan Carter...
smiling as usual while talking to the people around him.
"First day and you're already making friends,"
his best friend Ryan Parker said with a small laugh.
Ethan shrugged casually.
"What can I say? I'm friendly."
Ryan rolled his eyes but smiled.
He had known Ethan long enough to understand him.
Ethan talked easily with everyone.
But somehow, no one ever got too close.
Except Ryan.
"Come on," Ryan said.
"Let's find seats before the seniors start yelling at us."
They walked toward the auditorium entrance, but the crowd suddenly pushed forward.
"Hey—!"
Ethan lost his balance and bumped straight into someone.
Papers slipped from his hands and scattered across the floor.
"Sorry!" Ethan quickly bent down to pick them up.
Another hand reached for the same paper.
Ethan looked up.
And instantly froze.
The boy standing in front of him was clearly older.
Taller.
His expression was calm, almost cold, but his sharp eyes were fixed on Ethan.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
The noise of the crowd faded into the background.
Ethan had never seen him before.
But the intensity of that gaze made his heart skip strangely.
The boy handed him the paper.
"You dropped this."
His voice was deep and steady.
"Th-thanks," Ethan replied quickly, taking the paper.
The boy simply nodded and walked past him.
Ethan turned around slightly, watching him disappear into the crowd.
"That senior looked scary," someone nearby whispered.
Ryan nudged Ethan.
"Earth to Ethan. What happened? You look like you just saw a ghost."
"Nothing," Ethan said quickly.
But Ryan narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"You two were staring at each other for like ten seconds."
"I was not!"
"You definitely were."
Nearby, their classmate Liam Scott leaned over with a grin.
"Oho, first day and Ethan is already having dramatic eye contact with a senior?"
"Shut up," Ethan muttered, embarrassed.
But Ryan noticed something else.
For a brief moment… Ethan looked uneasy.
Meanwhile, across the auditorium—
Adrian Parker had stopped walking.
His friend Victor Hale noticed immediately.
"What's wrong?"
Adrian didn't answer right away.
His gaze shifted toward the crowd behind him.
"Nothing," he said quietly.
But adrian felt something strange.
When he bumped into that first-year student earlier…
For a moment he sensed something faint.
A scent.
It was very weak, almost hidden.
But Adrian was certain of one thing.
That scent didn't belong to an Alpha.
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"You're thinking about something."
Adrian finally looked away.
"Just a strange feeling."
Back in the auditorium seats, Ethan exhaled slowly.
Ryan glanced at him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Ethan replied quickly.
But under the desk, Ethan's fingers tightened slightly around a small bottle hidden in his bag.
A scent blocker.
He had used it that morning like always.
Carefully.
Because Ethan Carter had a secret he had protected his entire life.
In a world divided between Alphas, Betas, and Omegas…
He was an Omega.
And if the wrong person ever found out—
His peaceful college life would disappear instantly.
Ethan closed his bag quietly.
He had hidden his identity for years.
There was no way anyone would notice.
But somewhere inside the auditorium…
A certain third-year senior had already begun to suspect something.