"A student grabbed your ass?!"
"You ripped out someone's hair?!"
Arthur flinched as Aunt Kelly and Uncle Kevin roared in unison, their faces twisting into identical masks of absolute horror.
"W-well..." Arthur stammered, raising his hands defensively. "I know I was supposed to tell you if something bad happened, but I handled it myself! Besides, Uncle Kevin is right- it's way easier to pull hair than it is to bite."
Arthur offered a sheepish, dimpled grin, completely oblivious to the lethal glare Aunt Kelly was currently leveling at her husband.
Kevin let out a low groan, rubbing the back of his neck as he leaned over to whisper an explanation to his wife. "Okay, look, let me explain. I tried to teach him how to fight a while back, just in case. He actually picked up a few things. I just told him to do the best with what he had."
"Really? Hair-pulling?" Kelly hissed back.
"Hey, it works. Do you remember that random bald patch I had on my scalp a few months ago? You can thank your dear son for that."
Kelly blinked, shifting her gaze between them. "...Wow. Really?"
"Seriously? Now you're proud of him?" Kevin grunted, rolling his eyes, though a small, involuntary smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Well, he is pretty strong, isn't he?"
"Yeah, yeah," Kevin muttered, turning back to Arthur.
Of course Kevin was proud that Arthur had stood up for himself. But beneath the dark amusement, a protective rage was simmering. What kind of degenerate dared to lay a hand on Arthur? How did a high school student gather the audacity to do something so violating?
Sensing the tension, Kelly took a deep breath and softened her tone. "Arthur, sweetie, I'm not upset with you, okay? But I really need you to tell us when things like this happen. Incidents of this nature have to be handled very, very seriously."
"I know," Arthur said softly, his playful demeanor fading into something more sincere. "But I don't want to bother you guys with every little thing anymore. I'm a grown-up now, after all."
There was no malice or stubborn independence in his voice; he was simply stating it as an undeniable fact. He was an adult. He wanted to carry his own weight and stop forcing Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kelly to constantly worry about him.
Kelly found herself momentarily speechless. Realizing her boy was maturing should have been a comfort, but it only brought a fresh wave of anxiety.
To the rest of the world, especially the Alphas out there, Arthur was vulnerable eye candy. He was entirely unmarked, without an Alpha to protect him, and his usual airheaded optimism made him a prime target.
The couple spent half their lives worrying he didn't take the world seriously enough.
Yet, looking at him now, Kelly could see that Kevin's unorthodox lessons had actually stuck.
"Listen to me, Arthur," Kelly said, her voice thick with emotion as she reached across the table. "We know you're an adult. But you need to understand that your problems are never a bother to us. We want to help you. I am incredibly proud of you for defending yourself, never let anyone treat you poorly. But god, I still want to find that bastard and smack him across the face. How dare he touch my son?"
Kevin's fist hit the table with a sudden, resonant thud, punctuating his wife's words. He was angry. Furious, even.
But beneath the anger, there was a profound sense of relief. What Kevin had feared most was that Arthur would have shrunk back, offering a tearful apology to his attacker.
Because Arthur was that boy once, the gentle soul who had actually apologized to a disgusting Alpha who had groped him in the past. It was that exact incident that made Kevin realize they were raising a literal target for predators.
Kevin knew they couldn't protect him forever. He had tried to drag Arthur out of his comfort zone, enrolling him in professional self-defense classes, but the experiment had crashed and burned. Arthur was either catastrophically bad at it or completely uninterested.
Frustrated but desperate, Kevin had resorted to buying him a collection of discreet tactical gear, a pen heavy enough to stab with, pepper spray disguised as a pack of chewing gum, and various other hidden tools. Since the school enforced a strict no-weapons policy, Arthur couldn't carry anything obvious.
Piecing it together now, Kevin realized Arthur had resorted to hair-pulling because he was entirely unarmed at school.
He's not an idiot after all, Kevin thought with a swell of pride.
"I'm sorry, Uncle," Arthur murmured, misinterpreting Kevin's silence.
Kevin snapped out of his daze, the anger draining from his face as he looked at the younger boy. "Don't be sorry. We're letting it go this time. But if anything else happens, or if you just want to vent, don't keep it to yourself. Your problems are our problems, always."
Arthur nodded, a genuine smile returning to his face as Kelly affectionately ruffled his hair.
As Arthur basked in his aunt's affection, he felt a massive weight lift from his chest. Sharing the incident, even by accident, was a massive relief. Hearing his uncle validate him was the reassurance he hadn't known he needed.
In truth, he had been absolutely terrified in that moment. It was pure, primal instinct that made him turn and grab the student's hair. The boy had been taller, broader, and deeply intimidating.
To this day, Arthur still didn't understand how he had managed to rip out such a substantial chunk of hair, it felt biologically impossible.
But he had done it, and the Alpha had collapsed to the floor, screaming in agony.
Fear had given him a temporary, monstrous strength. If he hadn't been backed into a corner, he never could have done it. Arthur knew he wasn't physically intimidating, which was precisely why he forced himself to act tough now.
He couldn't let anyone see his fear, or they would exploit it. That single act of violence was the foundation of his strict, untouchable reputation at school, the only thing keeping the predatory Alpha students from crossing the line with an Omega teacher.
When he looked at his quiet, obedient classroom now, a small part of him felt victorious. But the aftermath of that day hadn't been easy.
For an entire week following the incident, Arthur had felt physically ill. He had wanted nothing more than to run home, curl up in his aunt's lap, and cry his eyes out. But he had forced himself to swallow the tears.
"Sigh..."
Arthur breathed a silent sigh of relief when Aunt Kelly smoothly pivoted the conversation, complaining about Shawn's tardiness.
"Your friends are so incredibly lazy," Kelly muttered.
"Oh, come on, love," Kevin chimed in, leaning against her. "Don't generalize. Am I lazy too?"
"Yes!" Arthur shouted immediately, unable to resist the golden opportunity.
"Brat," Kevin muttered under his breath, though his eyes danced with amusement as Kelly gave Arthur a knowing, conspiratorial look.
"Ah, right," Kelly said, snapping her fingers as she remembered. "Since Natalia is back today, I'm planning to make all of her favorites for lunch. You're helping me in the kitchen, Arthur, no excuses."
Arthur nodded without hesitation, though a silent list of complaints ran through his mind. He wasn't exactly thrilled about playing sous-chef for the intimidating newcomer, but he rationalized it to himself. At least she might smile a little if the food is good, he thought.
He tried to picture Natalia smiling.
He failed.
Her features were far too sharp, her gaze entirely too piercing to imagine a soft, conventional smile on her face. Her lips were... distinct.
They would look really good wrapped around a smirk, a rogue voice whispered in his mind.
Arthur felt a sudden, violent blush rise to his cheeks. Involuntarily, his imagination conjured an image of Natalia looking down at him, a dark, confident smirk playing on her lips, trapping his gaze entirely.
And there it was again. That strange, fluttering flip-flop in the pit of his stomach.
Arthur buried his face in his hands, his ears burning. Gosh, I am so weird.