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"You just needto take things into your own hands," she said. "There's a bunch of hot guys in our program, right? Ask one of themout."

Kell's face went hot,and he cleared his throat. "No... I don't thinkso."

"Why not?"

"Most of themhave omegas or betas already. And besides, there's no damn time for that. We're all so busy with school. And... I just don't want toask."

"Ithinkthat's probably all it is," Jessie said. "Right?"

"What about you?"he said, taking his chance to dive out of the spotlight. "It's not like you have aboyfriend."

"Yean,”she said, unaffected. She fished out a hard-boiled egg from her soup and ate half of it. "But it's also not like I'm not getting laid. You don't need to be in a relationship tofuck."

Kell didn't reallylike the idea of casual sex like that. He'd rather stay frustrated than just fuck for the sake of it. He wanted it to be with someone special—or no one at all. He had it all imagined out. Candles. Perfume. A big fluffy bed in a fancyhotel.

The chef leanedover the counter and smiled at the two of them. "How's everything tasting?" heasked.

"Great,"Kell stammered, flustered by the chef's handsomesmile.

Hereallyhopedthat it wouldn't end up being with no one atall.

* * *

The Artand Design Academy was renowned for producing some of the finest designers and artists in the world. Kell had always known he'd wanted to study illustration there and had worked his ass off to get accepted. Six figure tuition or not, he’dhadto go to ADA. With the strength of his portfolio he was easily accepted and was without a doubt one of the most skilled artists in his program. In his eyes, there was only one other student who produced work at his level. That other student was Parker Leipold, alpha and residentasshole.

Kell didhis best to get along with everyone. He provided help and advice when asked, he was always friendly, he stayed out of drama. There was no reason for anyone to dislike him, and yet Parker Leipold had always remained a jerk from the first day they'd met in freshman year. It was true that Parker was generally cold toeveryone, but for some reason he seemed to be especially standoffish to Kell. It bugged the hell out of him. What had he done to offend theguy?

Parker came from a rich family,but he wasn't one of those kids at ADA who'd simply bought their way into the school. Parker was insanely talented, to the point where it both awed and intimidated most of the other students. His talent only annoyed Kell, because he made it seem so damn effortless. Kell had worked his ass off developing his skills to get to this level, and here was a guy who seemed to naturally be that good at it. His compositions were incredible and complex, his lighting and color techniques perfect, and when he painted people he had a way of giving them the most incredible life and vitality. Watching Parker work was an exercise in frustration for Kell. He hated that he felt that way, but he couldn't helpit.

Today,the class would turn in their projects for critique, and Kell was excited to get some feedback on his work—but more than that, he was looking forward to the praise. It was his best work, after all. He'd put together a killer series of paintings. He was positive that this time, not even Parker would be able to say anything aboutit.

Students filled the classroom,working on hanging up their work onto the walls for display. Kell popped in his earbuds to listen to music as he removed his paintings from his portfolio case and started to mount them at his display space. He stayed focused on his area, resisting the urge to look around at everyone else's work. He liked to wait until the critique session to look so that he could give everyone the full and proper attention theydeserved.

He placed mountingadhesive onto the back of the second of his paintings and placed it up on the wall and stepped back to examine it. Jessie was next to him, and she also worked quietly with earbuds in. Chris, a beta whose display was next to Jessie's, came up to her and said something, gesturing across the room. Jessie glanced over to where he was pointing, and the two of them walked away together. Kell looked over his shoulder to see where they were going, and to his surprise he saw that the entire class had gathered around one display space, gawking at whatever was there. Curious, he pulled his earbuds from hisears.

"Holy shit,"someone muttered. "That's justinsane."

"Parker does it again,"said someoneelse.

Kell lefthis display and went over to the huddle and peered through. Parker seemed to not even notice that the entire class had gathered around his work. He had a pair of over-ear headphones on and was putting up his third painting. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing muscled forearms that were splattered in dried paint, like he hadn't bothered to wash after finishing his work. He stepped away from the triptych of paintings and tilted his head, examining them. Kell hated that bored expression Parker always seemed to wear, like nothing was a challenge for him, and it annoyed the hell out of him that the guy didn't even seem to care that everyone was checking his paintingsout.

"I've got a lot to learn,"Chris sighed, walkingaway.

Kell didn't wantto look before the critique, but he couldn't help himself. He shuffled forward to get a view of the work, and his jaw dropped.God damn. What he saw up on the wall were absolute masterpieces. They were figure paintings, but done in a sort of impressionist, abstract style, with an energetic brushwork that got Kell's blood pumping. The way the paint danced across the canvas, creating shapes and structures that seemed to explode off into 3D space... He hated to admit it, but it was incredible. Parker wasincredible.

Jessie turned awayand walked back to her display, patting Kell on the shoulder as she passed him. "Parker hits another out of thepark."

Kell gruntedand returned to his paintings. He stared at his trio of pregnant omegas, which now seemed so drab and lifeless in the wake of Parker's work. Dammit. He shouldn't havelooked.

"Alright, alright!"The classroom door opened and Professor Young entered. "We've got to get through everyone's work today, so let's get the critiques started right away. I hope everyone's prepared? Good, Good. Quiet down please. Shh shh shh." The murmur of classroom chatter faded as Professor Young pushed a flattened palm down through the air, like a conductor silencing anorchestra.

Professor Young madehis way over to the nearest project to him, belonging to a girl named Sammie. The class gathered around the painting, and Professor Young examined the work, first at a distance and then up close, his face just a few inches away from its surface. After a quick moment of contemplation, he gave his thoughts. His critique was basically what Kell would've said—she'd done a good job of capturing movement in the work, but her use of color was uninspired and didn't serve the overallpainting.

"Anyone else have comments?"Professor Youngasked.

Parker raised his hand.

"Parker. Go ahead."