Alpha's Human Mate

A Good Lie

Upon arriving on campus, Gulf made a dash for his class, relishing the ten minutes he had to spare before it began. Kokliang, however, made a grand entrance fifteen minutes late, slipping into the room with all the stealth of a bull in a china shop. He shot Gulf a glare sharper than a chef's knife, clearly miffed that his so-called saviour had left him to fend for himself against his brother's antics.

"Hey, don't look at me like that, my boy, or I might just fall for you, and then your brother will be frying your cute backside, which we absolutely don't want," Gulf whispered with a cheeky wink, prompting Kokliang to whack him on the shoulder.

"Hey, you two! No violence in my class!" admonished Professor Aunty, her voice laced with authority.

"Sorry, Prof," Kokliang replied sheepishly, waving at her like a guilty puppy.

Once class concluded, Kokliang and Gulf made their way to their next lecture, which fortuitously lay on the other side of the building. Seated in their designated spots, Kokliang leaned over to whisper conspiratorially, "You're so in trouble after class."

"Shush! Don't spoil the surprise. I'm rather looking forward to it," Gulf retorted, brushing Kokliang off before winking and chuckling heartily at him.

Time flew by at an astonishing pace, and while Gulf hardly noticed, the notion of being in trouble—thanks to Kokliang's ominous warning—loomed large in his mind like a storm cloud threatening an ill-fated picnic.

"Yes, what is it you want?" Gulf said, still reclining over the bench with his eyes closed, blissfully ignorant.

"Come to pick a fight again, San?" Gulf asked, noticing San plopping down next to him on the adjacent bench.

"No, I come in peace. God knows you'd beat me to a pulp before I made a move," San replied quietly, inching closer and sniffing the air as if he were a curious puppy.

"I seriously don't understand how you manage to beat me up, considering you're neither a werewolf nor any other supernatural being," San continued, taking another whiff of the atmosphere.

"Are you sniffing me out, or are you just trying to get cosy with me through the art of olfactory attraction?" Gulf asked, opening his eyes and raising an eyebrow with sass.

San responded with a noncommittal grunt.

"Dude, I have a mate and I'm a loyal one at that—not some promiscuous floozy, so I'd suggest you pack up your questionable advances and walk away," Gulf added with a flourish, shooing San like a particularly pesky fly.

San, momentarily at a loss for words, found his tongue. "Dude, do you have any other thoughts in that brain of yours, or is it just occupied with tormenting poor souls like me?"

"Oh snap, San! With that level of sass, you might just get a VIP pass to my friend circle," Gulf declared, adopting a commentator's voice.

"Now, back to your previous question about why I'm not some supernatural creature: that's because my real father raised me tough," Gulf said, smiling fondly at the thought of his father.

"Wait, what?! So Mr Traipipattanapong isn't your biological father?" San queried.

"Duh, he's my stepfather, and I love him dearly like my own," Gulf replied as if stating the absolute obvious.

"How come?" San pressed, genuinely perplexed.

"Seriously, how did you get into this university with a brain the size of a pea?" Gulf shot back, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, let me explain it to you, San. When a man and a woman fancy each other after meeting, they fall in love, get married, and if they have any children, they're expected to accept them as their own," Gulf explained patiently, as if to a particularly slow-witted child.

"Gulf, I surely can't be that stupid," San retorted, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"So where's your biological father now?" San asked again, his curiosity piqued.

"My biological father passed away when I was seven due to a heart attack, leaving my mother and me to navigate the world," Gulf reminisced, a wistful smile creeping across his face.

"I'm sorry to hear that," San said sympathetically.

"What about you?" Gulf asked, but before San could respond, his phone alarm chimed, signalling it was time for his next class.

"See you later, Gulf," San said, rising and heading for the door.

With their classes wrapped for the day, Gulf and Kokliang exited the room. As the professor left, Kokliang smirked at Gulf and clasps a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Gulf, I won't let you escape," he teased.

"You know I never back down from my troubles, even if they involve your brother, who is, let's be honest, a hot piece of meat," Gulf replied, sashaying out of the classroom with all the grace of a catwalk model.

"You're lucky Mew isn't here to pick us up for a couple of days," Kokliang said with a sly grin.

"For how long?" Gulf inquired, as they made their way toward the main entrance.

"Probably a day or two, depending on their work obligations. Why?" Kokliang added, narrowing his eyes at Gulf suspiciously.

"Just asking Kokliang, don't jump the gun here, boy," Gulf said as they both headed over to the car parked not far from the main entrance. Upon reaching the vehicle, Kokliang quickly slid into the front seat while Gulf gravitated towards the back, rolling his eyes and shaking his head slightly before slipping inside.

As Gulf closed the door, he was greeted by none other than Mew, who had been smirking at him this whole time. Without any warning, Mew trapped Gulf inside his arms.

"What the actual hell is going on here?!" Gulf whispered to himself in confusion as Mew chuckled in his deep voice, sending shivers down Gulf's spine.

"Sorry, Gulf, I knew you wouldn't get in the car if you knew I was the one picking you up, so I had to lie... er, we had to lie," Mew coaxed, whispering next to Gulf's ear.

"Well played, all of you, well played," Gulf admitted, conceding defeat and relishing the warmth Mew provided.