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The day seemed like it just wouldn't end; they had been huffing through their classes like some teenagers who hated the world. But finally, Adira slammed the door open on campus and strode off the front steps.

Jack was running after her, trying to keep up with Adira's long legs.

"wait! No goodbye?" Jack wheezed out behind her.

"It's not like I'm leaving for 3 years." Adira laughed at an out-of-breath Jack and stopped in front of her bike.

"Let's grab a coffee before you go! You need to give me your notes from last week!" He said it with wide eyes and was a bit panicky.

So that's why he wanted to keep her here some more, Adira thought. She laughed and grabbed her bag and rummaged around in it to find the papers from last week. She had already finished her assignments and homework, so she would have to worry about it when she went home. She found them and gave them to Jack, who happily grabbed them from her hands.

"You're an angel." Jack said this and slapped her shoulder.

"Not like any alpha I've ever met! Not secretly some omega traits in you? Hahaha!"

Adira swallowed hard at that. She felt her heart rate spike up, and her eyes darkened.

"just kidding! Just kidding!" Jack said it defensively when he saw the look in Adira's eyes.

"Don't say such stupid things." Adira murmured and swallowed away the heavy feeling. She forced a joking smile on her face as she kicked Jack in the butt and opened her lock on her bike.

"See you in 2 weeks!" she said while driving off and waving at Jack.

"byyee!! And thanks!!! Miss you already!" Jack waved enthusiastically and jumped up and down. Some people gave him strange looks, but Jack didn't give a care in the world. This was just the way he was. Adira looked back and grinned. Before she sped off to her apartment to pack,

When she got home, she got a call from her mother to confirm that she would come that day, and she reassured her that she would not be late for the bus that she had to take to get there. She grabbed her bag and pushed in some clothes and necessities before grabbing her jacket and looking at her watch. 30 minutes to spare. She checked everything, almost forgot her suppressants, and walked back into the bathroom.

It would be hell if she forgot those! She didn't want to think about what would happen if she ever forgot to take them. She had never experienced it, though, and she wanted to keep it that way. She took some painkillers for her headache before she walked to her front door.

Looking back, she checked if everything was in place and turned off the lights in her apartment before she locked her door behind her and pushed the keys in her pockets.

Let's go home!

After an exhausting 5 hours on the bus, Adira finally arrived in the familiar neighborhood. She had been in and out of sleep on the bus ride, and it made her even more exhausted with her head hitting the bus window every time. She had looked into her selfie camera to see if it hadn't left a bruise on her head because she felt like she got a concussion every time it happened.

The rest of the hours, she tried to sit up, not wanting another headbanger from the window.

Now they had finally arrived in front of her parents' house, and she paid the taxi driver, took her stuff from the trunk, and looked up. She saw the cozy white house standing tall between all the similar-styled houses. She didn't know she had missed it that much when a smile appeared on her face, and she noticed an excited figure waving at her from the window.

Her mom, of course.

Adira waved back and grinned while walking up the steps to the front door with her weekend back over her shoulder. Her mom was already there, holding the door open for her with a big smile on her face.

"Adira! You've grown so much!" She engulfed her in a tight hug, and Adira almost dropped her stuff from how tight she squeezed.

"I've missed you too. But really, I haven't grown that much." She answered, kissed her on the cheek, and smiled down at her.

"Well, definitely always taller than me," she joked and slapped her arm.

Adira looked around; everything still looked the same as always. Mom didn't like change, and she had always disliked it when Adira left to go to college and live on her own. She had begged her to go to college here, but she had refused.

"where's dad?" She asked, as she didn't see him when she looked around.

"He's in the kitchen making dinner. Your favorite this time!"

Adira walked behind her mother into the kitchen to greet her dad. He was cooking dinner and was murmuring over the stove, but as he looked up, his eyes widened with glee, and he put his spoon down and rushed to his daughter's side to pull Adira in a big hug.

"Girl! You're back! Wait till your sister sees you." He laughed and pulled away to look Adira up and down.

"Yes, still so pretty, but thin! Have you lost weight? Good thing I cooked a lot," he said with a sigh, patting his seemingly thinner upper arms.

"Stop that, dad," Adira huffed as her eyes darted away shyly.

Her dad would always say that when she visited. Of course, they knew she was an omega, and they were very proud of her. They had never shamed her for being an omega and had embraced her second nature. It was just Adira who couldn't live with it. She wished to have the same mentality as them.

"I've been working a lot; maybe that's why I've lost some weight," she said as she put her bag near the door before sitting down at the dinner table, not thinking much of it. Her dad looked at her and shook his head.

"You don't need to work part-time, baby; you get money from us monthly, right for your expenses?" He said it with a question in his voice. Adira looked up and felt like she had been found out. She worked to be able to afford those scent neutralizers. She couldn't say that, though, and she laughed a little nervously and thought about what to say now.

"You know, I also want to be able to pay for things myself. Not just your money," she said nonchalantly, like she wasn't just telling a blatant lie.

They didn't need to know she hid her second nature, and everyone had been thinking she was an alpha.

They both, luckily, didn't suspect anything and agreed.

"Well, it's your life; you should have more fun instead of working so much. How's the love life going? Any good-looking alpha around who swooned you off your feet?" Dad continued jokingly and winked at her. Adira darted her eyes around and gulped. What was she supposed to say about that?

She needed to get away from here because the questions were getting more and more personal.

"Okay, I'm going to my room to unpack; call me when dinner is ready!" Adira avoided the question and got up. She waved, grabbed his stuff, and ran up the stairs. She heard her dad chuckle and say something to her mom that she couldn't hear any more as she reached her old bedroom.

As she opened the door, she smiled, but it was still the same as always. Her bed is in the corner of the room next to her window. She always loved waking up to the chirping of the birds and the sunlight shining in. The old posters on the wall and the action figures she had collected over the years and hadn't taken with her to college still stood tall and proud on her dresser. The mirror with the crack on the left side from when she was so mad and found out she was an omega also wasn't replaced yet. Her parents didn't know why it was cracked, though. She dumped her bag on the floor, jumped on her bed face first, and sighed.

Adira was happy to be home and just relax and be herself for a while. She had been pretending and acting too much the last few years; she was exhausted from pretending to be that tough and stern alpha. She was way too soft to act like that all the time.

Her second nature was right.

She was way more of a cuddly person, and her personality was also way softer. She loved being taken care of, although she would never admit it. She wanted to feel someone arms wrap around her and kiss her neck softly.

That's what her heart wanted, but she hid that far away.

She could also be the one giving all that affection; she could try, at least!

She was deep in thought as the door to her room slammed open.

"Sister!!"

A high-pitched screech came from the opening. Adira sat up quickly with a yelp. Her sister stood in the doorway with a huge smile plastered on her face before she giddily ran into the room and jumped on top of her.

"I've missed you!" she yelled in her ear as she held her in a tight hug. Adira gasped and tried to pry her off of her.

Her rib cage was being crushed with her arms, and her lungs slowly lost all air.

"c-can't breathe. " She gasped out.

"Oh sorry"

Her sister let her go but still sat on top of her. Adira looked up and smiled, as her little sister was excited to see her. She was there after all this time apart.

"I've missed you too!" She said that and teasingly pushed her over onto the floor before she sat up. She grunted and quickly sa

t up again, wiping her long hair out of her face, and sat on the bed again, but not before punching Adira in return.