Unlikely Mates

4

**Chapter Four: Tension and Denial**

Max sat slouched on a worn leather couch in the campus library’s lounge, trying to focus on the textbook in front of him. He had a research paper due in a few days, and the stack of notes next to him was growing more intimidating by the minute. He should have been deep in his readings, but his mind was somewhere else—somewhere it definitely didn’t belong.

Or more specifically, on someone he didn’t want to be thinking about.

*Bradley Uppercrust.*

Max groaned, closing his textbook a bit too forcefully, earning a glare from a fellow student sitting nearby. He mumbled an apology and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn’t been able to shake Bradley from his thoughts since their last encounter in the hallway. The tension between them had been suffocating, but in a way that left Max feeling... unsettled.

Normally, he could shrug off any alpha’s attempt at dominance. He wasn’t like the other omegas on campus who fluttered around, eager to please the first alpha who showed them any attention. Max had built a life for himself that didn’t depend on being what society expected of him. He was independent. Strong. The idea of relying on an alpha for anything was laughable.

But Bradley made it harder to hold onto that confidence. Max hated how easily Bradley could rile him up, how the alpha’s presence seemed to ignite something inside him that he wasn’t prepared to deal with.

It wasn’t just that Bradley was the typical alpha douchebag either, though that definitely didn’t help. No, it was something more primal, something that stirred deep within Max that he fought tooth and nail to suppress. Max prided himself on being in control, and Bradley threatened that control every time they crossed paths.

The worst part? Bradley didn’t even seem like he was trying. It was like the alpha was merely existing, and that was enough to throw Max’s world into chaos.

Max grabbed his phone, flipping it open to a message from PJ that he hadn’t replied to yet.

**PJ:** “Dude, you coming to the skatepark later? Need some fresh air after all this studying.”

Max’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, his instinct to say yes immediately kicking in. Skating was always a good escape for him. It let him clear his head, burn off the energy that built up from the stress of school—and from Bradley.

**Max:** “Yeah, I’ll be there in like an hour. Need a break anyway.”

He stuffed his phone in his pocket and glanced at the clock. An hour was long enough to finish reviewing one more section of his research paper before heading out. He picked up his pen and forced himself to focus, scribbling down notes on business ethics and corporate social responsibility. But no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, Bradley’s face kept creeping into his mind.

*You think you’re so different, but you’re not.*

Those words had burrowed into his thoughts like a splinter. What did Bradley even mean by that? Max had *never* claimed to be like the other omegas. He *was* different—he’d made it his mission to be different. To prove that he didn’t need an alpha, didn’t need anyone to tell him what he should do or who he should be.

But Bradley had said it with such certainty, like he could see something in Max that even Max couldn’t. And it pissed him off.

“Focus, Max,” he muttered to himself, jotting down a few more notes before finally throwing in the towel.

---

The skatepark was a sanctuary for Max. He could lose himself in the rhythm of his movements, the feeling of the board beneath his feet, the wind in his hair. As soon as he arrived, he spotted PJ sitting on the edge of the half-pipe, waving him over.