IMPRINTING Chapter 1: WHEN I FIRST MET YOUR EYES, a merlin fanfic

SUMMERY: Arthur Pendragon is what the dictionary defines as the perfect Alpha, except for one small detail: he hates Omegas. He does not intend to mate with one. Merlin Emrys is an Omega, different from the others: he hates Alphas. He does not consider even remotely bending his existence to the will of the dominant race.

The imprinting works like "love at first sight". After it happens, nothing becomes more important than being with your partner, looking for him and wanting him almost obsessively.

It is like falling in love, but ten times faster. A belonging to each other, realizing they can turn themselves into everything the other needs: a protector, a brother, a friend or a lover.

No suppressors can work against it: the stronger chemistry between the species defeats the chemical industry. The desire becomes need, which in turn becomes domain.

If he saw Arthur again, he was almost certain, given the hormonal reaction of their bodies when they first met, that the imprinting was soon to follow and then the Bond.

The only thing Merlin didn't want.

In no case...

(there will be 28 chapters in total)

For Lunaris Dies.

Inspired by IMPRINTING by Lunaris Dies.

THE STORY IS NOT MINE!

This is a translation of the Italian story "Imprinting" by Lunaris Dies

you can find the original Italian story on the website ' '

….

I decided to translate it, because I fell in love with this story and its characters. I thought it would be nice for other people to read it, too.

So, I'd like to thank the author, Lunaris Dies, for the permission to translate it and for giving me this opportunity.

tags: omegaverse, alpha arthur, omega merlin, beta gwaine, good morgana. possessive behaviour, jealous arthur, rape/non-con elements, true mates, mpreg.

It was just a normal evening of March. It wrapped him with its fresh air, while he walked fast toward the Excalibur, the oldest pub near Oxford University.

He was strangely late and was still asking himself how the hell did Gwaine manage to convince him to go out with him and his new partner.

Being the third wheel was already an unpleasant situation; but what made him even more restless and disgruntled, was entering into a pub he knew was crammed full of Alphas and their damned testosterone.

Unconsciously, he tighten his light jacket, searching for a bit of warm. He let the first spring fragrant that he could shyly smell in the crisp air hug him. He tried to find a minimum of peace but, at every step toward his destination, he felt that tranquility diminishing. His heart was beating fast in his chest.

He hated Alphas because of thousands of reasons.

….0….

"What have Alphas ever done to you, Merlin? Why are you so angry with them? Even you had been hit as a child or molested by them…." Gwaine had pressed him at the beginning of a violent discussion, happened precisely two months before, when he told Merlin he had started dating a guy named Percival, an Oxford student, none the less.

The raven-haired boy had understood he was an Alpha as soon as he had seen his friend's shiny eyes, lighting up with excitation just by pronouncing his name.

"God forbid if they tried! Oh Jesus Gwaine, did you see yourself? You are already drooling just at the thought of him!" He clenched his firsts until his knuckles became white.

He was pacing from a room to another, occasionally running his hand through the raven hair and rolling his eyes to the sky. Gwaine was chasing him like a shadow

"And then you ask me why I hate them? Because in this loathing society, they are the "upper race", people obey them with just a word, they are the only ones that can aim for a brilliant career in every field they desire; the only ones that can choose a political career and believe to have a thinking brain (as well as a functioning dick). If you are born Alpha in this world, you can have everything. You can long for and be whatever you want. They are the Chosen ones! Snob and arrogant, just because they were born under the right star. They believe the world is their personal fun- fair/harem and with it, the right (as they believe) to look at Humanity from above, spitting with disdain on whoever is not like them."

"Stop it Merl! They aren't all the same! Percival is not as you describe him! You must meet a person before judging him! Even if he is an Alpha or, in your case, especially if he is an Alpha …"-

"Oh God, are you listening to yourself? Christ, Alphas see Betas as poor imbeciles, just because they haven't a brain that (as theirs) works thanks to hormones and are able to live a normal life (that according to Alphas, means boring) and to give birth to other Betas…God forbid an invasion of mediocrity!

Doesn't your new idol feel frustrated, knowing that by being with you, he cannot breed without medicines?"

"Stop saying all these nonsense, Merl…you are getting a rise out of me! You are talking as a damned racist!"

"Oh but, wait for it… the best arrives regarding the Omegas, oh yes! We are considered just as broodmares, a well-fed herd of sheep with the smallest brain of the world. Before and after the Bond, our only aspiration in our short life is just to have a giant Alpha cock between our thighs and to give birth to a numerous litter for our master. He has to take care of us and to cuddle us. We have to devote our life and our almost-inexistent brain to him, as poor dogs, living only of their master's love.

Alphas see it this way, Gwaine, nothing more and nothing less. And you are together with one of them…. you are with one of them and hope to be happy!"-

"Fuck Merlin Stop! You speak this way because of what happened to Will. I know you are still hurt but it has been years! And you are fucking your life and denying yourself opportunities because of a dead person! It's in the past now and not all the Alphas are like that asshole of Agravaine!"-

"God Gwaine, he was my cousin, more than that, he was like MY BROTHER! How can you talk like this? …you knew him….how can you expect me to forget? How do you expect that…"

In that moment, Gwaine put an upset and trembling Merlin against his chest and hugged him with an unexpected strength for a Beta. He petted his raven hair and let him cry all his pain, frustration and anger. His slim body was devastated by the sobs and too thin under his big red sweater.

Then, the raven-haired boy ended the hug and flew out of the flat. His head low and his fists closed. He left his devastated friend to look at the door, been slammed with violence.

….

After that episode, it took a week for Merlin to talk to him again. Then, it took an entire month, full of supplications, prayers, offerings of food and other basic provisions from Gwaine's part, for Merlin to listen to him without grimacing or leaving the room as he talked about Percival. About how fantastic he was for an Alpha, how sweet his attitudes were despite Gwaine being a Beta, how intelligent he was, handsome, virile, great, tall, muscular, elegant, charitable, a true knight….

'Listen to him….He is SMITTEN and he doesn't even realize it.' Thought Merlin to himself, while his flat mate, freshly out of the shower, walked around the house half-naked.

He walked with his muscular physique in sight, bathrobes and towels to mop his brown hair, which fell softly on his shoulders. He kept singing the praises of that Alpha of his incessantly and insistently …

Gwaine was such a sight when he was in love!

He did flights of fancy and built castles of pink clouds like a child.

Merlin learned to consider him as a brother. So on one hand, he loved to see him so happy and full of hope but on the other hand, he swore to himself that if that Alpha ever dared to hurt him or to make him suffer, Merlin would kill him with his own hands. He had remained helpless once too much in his life to allow it to happen again…

"Merl, are you listening to me? So, what do you think?" Gwaine interrupted his train of thoughts by placing himself in front of his nose with those vaguely hopeful hazel big eyes.

"How could it be possible not to listen to you, Gwaine? I got it. This Percival is 'everything', but please, please stop. I can't take it anymore… in the last month and a half, all you have done was talking about him, him, him. You're getting monotonous and YOU'RE. BORING. ME" said the dark-haired man, running a hand over his eyes in surrender.

He was lying comfortably on the couch in the living room, the ubiquitous red sweatshirt slightly raised above the navel.

"Then, give me a clear answer Merl! Yes or no?!"

"Yes. Yes, of course…it's a great idea … whatever it is," snorted the dark-haired man, losing himself in his anti-Alpha thoughts.

He hadn't heard a single word of the last of the thousands of speeches about Gwaine's probable future husband.

And that was the fatal mistake….

"Perfect! Emrys, this is how I want you! Then, I will organize to go to the Excalibur next Saturday!"

"Wait a moment. Calm down! What do you have to organize?" asked Merlin, straightening on the sofa cushions.

"Our first outing in three to meet him! Finally, after almost two months! He wants to meet you! Didn't you just say it was a good idea?"

"No, sorry Gwaine, I must have misunderstood … I ….it's too soon and…." said the dark-haired man, looking down and biting his tongue, unable to find an excuse on one's feet.

"Oh no no no no Merlin. You have already accepted! Once a deal is made, you cannot back down," said the other man, toying with his cowlick, happier than ever.

He disappeared before Merlin could find an excuse to refuse the offered meeting.

At that point, Merlin fell heavily on his back, curling up on himself and trying to drown in the heat of the sweater he was wearing.

HE WAS SCREWED! MISERABLY SCREWED!

….O….

Therefore, that evening found Merlin walking with conviction; thinking that the sooner he would arrive at the pub, the sooner he'd carry out his duty as a good and patient friend and be over with it. Making everyone happy… included himself.

He only prayed that the gods of the testosterone wouldn't do their best to piss him off ...

He was still deep in his thoughts, when a familiar voice called his name. Gwaine, at the Excalibur doorway, was waving to make himself visible. A moment later, he reached him and he fervently embraced his tiny body as if he hadn't seen him for ages.

"You are here, Merl! Fuck, I thought that in the end you had let me down! You are late! Inside, everyone are waiting for you!" said he with a toothy smile, so authentic that Merlin found himself smiling back.

He realized then, that he had done well to come, because his friend really wanted him there and that smile was well worth an evening of tedium

"Jesus Gwaine. Everyone who? And more importantly… did I ever let you down? "

"Indeed, you never did it, Mr. Prissy, but knowing your opinions, I knew you would rather chop your arm off in order to avoid getting to know Percy and his friends (they also want to meet you).

Besides, since you are never late… yes... the doubt that you could not come because...I don't know... you had dropped a ball or you had an ingrown toenail, came to my mind! I admit it.

However, that's enough! You are here, my insane ears-bearer" Ended the other, grabbing Merlin's lobes, barely visible under black hair. It was a bit long but properly combed to hide his bulky ears!

He did not want to give to that lot of oxen a blatant excuse to tease. He grabbed Gwaine's hands, which were still titillating his lobes, and pulled them down, looking grim, while the other was laughing, amused.

He lowered his eyes briefly (the fact that 'everyone was waiting for him' was not very promising), he took a deep breath, scraping together a little of pride, and moved away from his friend to advance toward the old wooden door of the pub.

He muttered to himself

"The show begins and so on and so forth"

….

As soon as he set foot in the old local, he was forced to stop at the doorway and to close his eyes. The intense smell of Alpha pheromones enveloped him like a blanket; it was so strong that it made him slightly weak.

He had never been happier to be under the influence of a double dose of suppressors, his only barriers to mask his smell as a free- of- bond Omega. They prevented bystanders from killing each other to jump on him and mate with him where he stood.

However, it took him a good dose of willpower to move in that place, trying to look natural.

The wonders of chemistry were admirably hidden his smell, causing the elite of wolves to sense him, a tasty lamb, as an ordinary Beta, devoid of any interesting smell.

Thank goodness for that.

Moving forward, he analyzed the place around him. In the dim light, the old wood that covered the walls of the room, full of boys and girls busy talking and sipping dark beers and laughing at nothing, absorbed the dim warm light of the lamps. The fact that no one had turned to look at him and that he was being blissfully ignored, calmed him a little.

The Beta put a hand on Merlin's shoulder, squeezing strongly and quietly asking if he was all right, seeing that he had stopped and looked paler than usual.

"I'm fine, Gwaine" Merlin reassured him with a thin smile; the deep blue eyes were slightly darker.

Gently, his friend went in front of him, looking around in search of his goal. After a moment, it turned out to be a round table. It was made of inlaid, antique, dark wood, oozing history. It was a fine sight in the deep niche in the right corner at the bottom of the local. Above the arch, on the wall, there was a trompe l'oeil with a wonderful arabesque writing, written in ancient characters. It was a bit faded and quoted

'The Knights of the Round Table.'

Gwaine strongly took Merlin's hand and, with equal decision, began to make inroads, hopping between the tables, dragging him, until they reached the Round Table. Around it, six boys sat, busy talking to each other.

"Hey! Here we are! My dears, I'd like you to meet the sweet genius of my roommate, Merlin Emrys!" said Gwaine aloud to attract their attention. Twelve pairs of eyes turned to them.

"Merlin" said Gwaine, clinging the boy to his side and pointing the bystanders, "these are Leon, Lancelot, Elyan, Percival, Mordred and….Arthur"

The Knights of the Round Table were good-looking boys and all of them smiled back at him friendly, welcoming him with apparent warm.

All but one.

The blond boy named Arthur was not smiling. He was just looking at him. Sorely.

Merlin felt himself blushing under the blue gaze of the other boy. However, he didn't look away.

He looked on as he sat at the Round Table; the moment seemed endless.

Sitting on one of the two empty chairs with Gwaine, he took his time to observe his new acquaintances, one by one. Despite the fact that they were born with the wrong gene, they seemed to be approachable people.

Leon, for example, was tall, with deep green eyes and curly ash-blond hair, that glided softly on his shoulders. He had a genuine smile and a sharp wit.

Elyan, at his side, was a handsome black skinned man with rippling muscles, squeezed in a light gray t-shirt. He was good at listening to his mate, doing just the right observations on everything.

Lancelot, whom everyone called simply Lance, gave the idea to be the classic good guy of next door and that meant he had a charm of its own: quiet, probably given by the perfect mix of olive skin, dark eyes and open sweet smile. If the smell had not clearly qualified him as an Alpha like his companions, he would have passed as an Omega or a Beta at most.

Mordred was the perfect good boy. Obviously younger than the others, he was still not afraid to expose his thesis and intervened successfully in more arguments with logical and intelligent speeches. There was something deep in him that Merlin liked.

Instead Percival...well, he was Percival, and Merlin was not surprised that his flatmate was in love with him! He was beautiful and brilliant, big as a wardrobe with a childish face on which it was easy to read any type of emotions. Tall a head more than the others and absurdly muscular, he shouted spontaneity and masculinity from every pore…without overlooking the fact that he

enclosed (or better crushed) Gwaine's waist, sat next to him, in a possessive way… typical of Alphas.

And then, him.

Arthur Pendragon, captain of the football team at Oxford University and scion of one of the most ancient and noble English families. He represented what was indicated in the dictionary as a perfect specimen of male Alpha: strong, determined, a sculpted physique trapped, that evening, under an anonymous white wool sweater that, however, let you see every muscle, drawn almost perfectly.

Light skin, uncovered forearms crossed in front of his chest, big virile hands, moving naturally. A long neck with a soaring Adam's apple, a perfect face, framed by golden hair that fell softly on his forehead, a strong jaw, full red lips, a hint of blond beard and blue eyes, like the placid waters of a lake.

Everything about him, every damn inch of his body, shouted virility, passion and domination.

….

After half an hour of attendance, Merlin had understood with absolute clarity that somehow he was the leader of the group. He spoke little, listened a lot and smiled at the jokes of others without laughing openly. When he spoke, everyone turned to him and fell silent to hear what he had to say, as if he had an aura of its own that fascinated those around him. With great self-control and self-awareness, he had a natural elegance, shown by his gestures. However, they betrayed a repressed anxiety… as if, under the surface and the blue of his eyes, hide a flood of emotions, held with difficulty.

Yes, those eyes were a curse. Not only because they were as blue as a spring sky, but mostly because they were insightful, and often resting on Merlin.

Arthur stared at him from across the table and with such intensity, that Merlin could feel his gaze on him even while he was not looking.

The dark-haired boy was trying desperately to appear nonchalant, even though he knew/felt that Arthur was watching, studying and X-Raying him.

He felt his presence stronger than he had never felt it near another Alpha and despite his intentions to ignore him, he could not help but throw a few fleeting glances to him. Every time, every single time, Arthur crossed his gaze, firmly planted on him.

Merlin had never been afraid of Alphas, NEVER. Yet this person with blond hair like the summer wheat and red fleshy lips as sin could make him feel a strong uneasiness.

It was not just for his movements and the strength of his Alpha body, but also for the smell. It was so different from the one emanated by his peers. Stronger, musky, intense, haunting, he smelled of wood, rain, ground and shadows.

Then his voice.

Jesus, His voice was deep, warm, baritone, persuasive, dominant. The raven-haired boy was surprised of the definitions that his brain could give birth to, when the subject of his own thought was Arthur.

The blond boy was a damn Alpha, and Merlin's suppressions should act as a shield and exclude any type of drive related to the hormones floating in the air.

Yet ... yet Arthur was ... attractive? Pleasant? Damn seductive?

'Oh, God, Merlin, get a hold of yourself. He is an Alpha, damn. Not different from the others. He is part of that scum of horny oxen you've always hated. He is the enemy. Remember it!'

After the second round of beers, Merlin had realized that after Arthur's discussion about the British government, he could not take his eyes from the lips of the other and that Arthur seemed almost pleased with this fact.

They looked into each other's eyes.

Again.

And the world around them became muffled and stopped spinning.

It was as if they were talking without saying anything. It was as if Arthur was sending waves of subliminal messages, which invested Merlin without giving him truce, combined with hot pheromones.

His head began to spin. 'But what the hell was going on?'

Their subliminal relationship was interrupted by a whistle of approval that Leon sent to the waitress who had brought the third round of beers and chips. She was a bonded female Omega, as the red mark on her neck showed. However, she was very attractive, wrapped in a pair of tight jeans and a white T-shirt, short hair, full lips, green eyes and the face of a doll.

The girl smiled back at Leon, a bit embarrassed, before she left with the tray.

"Wow" said Leon laughing, slightly tipsy, "if she was free, probably I would have already jumped on her and now she would already be pregnant with my children! Luckily, his Alpha is not around …."

There it is. The dream was over. With alcohol in the body and the inhibitions gone, the true Alpha spirit had not been slow to make its entry on the Round Table.

Elyan looked at Leon askance,

"Come on, Leon. Do you think it's educated to talk about a bonded Omega in that way? It is not respectful!"

"It is not only disrespectful. It's disgusting. You know how I feel about Omegas, Leon … do not do this kind of praise in front of me. Please." Arthur suddenly burst, his lips suddenly bent in a bitter grimace.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

"Why? What do you exactly think about Omegas, Arthur?" said Merlin, planting a curious and inquiring look on his interlocutor, genuinely surprised by the tone used by the other.

Arthur chained his eyes to those of the dark-haired man and with an icy coldness began to explain his thesis

"you see, Merlin, I do not like the dynamics between Alphas and Omegas too much. Of course, Omegas are our natural companions. Nature created them just for us and endowed them with a body and a mind shaped for the needs of Alphas. They are Instinctive beings and naturally attracted to our dominant character.

Yet I abhor the idea of joining for life to a being that, after the tie, would depend completely on me and to whom I should dedicate the rest of my life. One, I should take care of like a puppy, constantly in need of attention and from which I wouldn't be able to be separate; with the sole ambition of starting a family. Wanting him/ her just for me would be an unjust imposition on him or her.

Personally, I hate that Omegas lead us into temptation. Steadily. I think that for an Alpha, it would be better to find mates among their own kind, as my parents did, or between Betas, as rightly did Percival, choosing Gwaine. No hormonal upheavals. No Bonds for life, but only the consensual will to share your time and your own space with the person you love. Without complications, hormones and broods of children.

As a Beta, I think you can understand, Merlin …"

"Of course, Arthur ... thank God I'm not an Omega, otherwise I would feel very offended by this kind of reasoning …" said Merlin, barely containing the anger and clenching his fists under the table.

Percival looked at Gwaine for a moment, who shook his head slightly as a warning, inviting him to shut up.-

"Why, Merlin? What do you find so illogical in my reasoning?" Arthur pressed him, almost amused.

"Well, you know… first, I do not think that 'love' is a concept so far removed from the words complications, hormones and children. Secondly, have you ever thought that MAYBE, not all Omegas have as their life dream being an Alpha's sex slave or prostrating at his feet? Then, oh! You are right! Nature has made them so mischievous and seductive …of course, THEY are the ones tempting you Alphas. You poor little ones have not blame, if you get carried away too much and often bordering on rape. Ah, if only their ill nature would not spur them to bond in glove with you, it would be so much simpler. Less…how to say it… TEDIOUS for you. You know what? Everyone should think like you! If Omegas are so complicated and hormonally unstable and keeping up with them is so challenging, I do not understand why, when you have them on hand, you do not just limit yourselves to fuck them; instead of forcing on them a Bond that maybe, not all of them want. But who cares? How much weight can the will of an Omega ever have in this society? None, of course."

"Well, gentlemen, it's late and Merlin and I have to go…" said Gwaine, freeing himself from Percival that, like the others, was watching Merlin with a mixture of astonishment and disbelief, in absolute silence.

"I'm glad to hear you think so Merlin! The roads we take are different, perhaps, but the conclusion of our reasoning is the same: it is not good for an Alpha to bond with an Omega." said Arthur, showing a calm that smelled of storm.

He hold back the anger, while Merlin stood up, putting on his jacket and refusing to give the last word after his outburst.

The already turned dark-haired boy stopped. He turned back and circumnavigated briskly the Round Table. He reached Arthur, who in the meantime had risen, ready to face the battle. He lost none of the movements of the other.

Merlin positioned himself in front of him in open defiance, eye to eye, an inch of air dividing them.

Arthur's smell was unmistakable: male, Alpha, ready to attack.

Despite his Omega instinct praying Merlin to look down and to expose the neck to the enemy, asking forgiveness, Merlin did not back down. On the contrary, in response, he slapped in Arthur's face a mocking smile, raising his hands up in a gesture of apparent surrender.

For a moment, Arthur looked at him confused.

The next moment, Merlin leaned on him to bring up his lips to the blonde-haired person's ear, being careful not to touch it. While he was losing himself in the heat of the other's body, so close to his, he whispered in a voice as languid and seductive as possible

"You're right, my dear Arthur ... is not right for an Omega to Bond with an Alpha ... especially, if that Alpha is you ..."

Pure, sweet, intoxicating poison.

Before realizing the effect that he knew his words would have on his interlocutor, Merlin had already left the pub. The fresh and free of pheromones air on his face and in his hair, was a nice blessing for his mind and his nerves, already trembling under the skin.

Gwaine joined him after a moment, while the Omega was moving away from the pub in strides, as if death was behind him.

"Jesus, Merlin. You have been epic! I had never seen anyone brave enough to respond in kind to Arthur Pendragon. Normally, when he speaks, no one dares to argue!"

"Obviously! He is a Prime Alpha! No one would dream of telling him clearly in the face that HE IS AN ASSHOLE! … By the way, you didn't tell Percival that I'm an Omega, right?"

"No, Merl" shamelessly lied his friend "I did not say anything."

"Good" said Merlin sharply, stopping his advance and planting his eyes as sea in those nutty ones of his friend "And do not ever tell him or I will kill you!"-

...O...

'What the hell happened?'

While returning by foot to the university accommodations, Arthur Pendragon pulled his hands out of the pockets of his jeans and discovered them violently trembling. He clenched them in fists a few times, trying to regain control. That was the night he discovered the meaning of the words "shaking with rage".

He was furious, fucking furious.

He rubbed the palms of his fingers on his stormy eyes, pressing hard to find a minimum of calm and to analyze what happened with a cold mind. It seemed like a quiet evening as usual. Pub. Friends. Beer. His favourite combination.

Then, HE had arrived.

Merlin Emrys.

Since he had met him through Percival, just over two months ago, Gwaine did nothing but talking and praising his roommate. He loved him. It was obvious.

The attachment to this person was impressive and, since he kept talking about him, the whole group wanted to meet this genius, who graduated with honors in medicine, two years ahead of schedule.

Strangely, he was not an Alpha, as confirmed by Gwaine himself on demand by Leon.

No, he wasn't an Alpha, but, by the way Gwaine had skated over his race, the roommate had to be a Beta or, God forbid, an Omega ... No! He could not be an Omega with such grades.

Well, anyway, now he had made himself known. That is for sure.

From the moment he set foot in the room, Arthur had felt him.

His odor had crept subtly into his nostrils and he had begun to look for him.

It was weird. Sweet. A faint note, almost whispered. Different from the sour smell of the common Betas with whom, he had to interact every day.

No one seemed to have noticed. But after all, he was pretty sure that no one else in that pub, apart from him, was a Prime. It was typical of its specie to have a smell tenfold more developed than common Alphas, so he could pick up even the subtlest smells, those that others could not sense.

He had smelled him from twenty yards away, as soon as he crossed the threshold of the Excalibur.

He had seen him stopping a moment and then Gwaine pulling him to their table, as if he was reluctant. When he saw him up close, he was left dumbfounded, his breath caught in his throat.

Who the hell was this creature? Pale as the moon in winter, a thin face with high and sharp cheekbones, full and rosy lips, big, blue eyes as a summer night, which promised just as much heat, set in that perfect oval, framed by a mane of ebony hair, lying softly on his forehead and ears. The thin neck, long and equally candid disappeared into a black sweatshirt, possibly making his skin whiter.

His hands were something unique.

He could be a violinist. The fingers were thin, beautiful, long, tapered and they never stopped. One moment, they supercharged the inlays of the table, then clutching his glass, then flew long and light in the midst of his black hair to fix them, now running on his perfect and full lips.

God, those lips.

He could not stop looking at them... when they tended in an open and somewhat sweet smile, he could distinctly sense every single lapillus of pleasure, flaring up under the skin and going straight to his spine.

He. Couldn't. Stop. Looking. At. Him.

It was absurd.

Moreover, he had to have noticed it too, because in turn he glanced at Arthur with short and curious gazes at first, then increasingly with longer and more intense ones. Then, he looked away embarrassed, while the cheekbones redden so tastefully. Even his body language changed constantly.

At first, his arms were crossed, clearly on the defensive. Then he gradually relaxed. When he realized he was being watched, he closed himself up like a clam.

Before realizing it, all his senses were already pointing at him as a predator fixes its prey. The hairs on his arms and neck were straight; his whole body was tense, ready, his jaw clenched and his eyes darkened with desire.

Merlin was ... interesting? Beautiful? Desirable?

'He is just a Beta, Holy Christ! How can you react like this?'

Yet, he wanted him.

He wanted him physically.

The more he lost himself in his blue eyes, the more his instincts as Alpha awakened. His pheromones were flowing, wrapping around their prey, imprinted themselves on Merlin and demanding him, marking him, forcing him to open up, breaking down his defenses in a pure desire to dominate.

It was absurd that a simple Beta could give him those sensations.

Fuck, even an Omega had never had that effect on him.

Nevertheless, at that time, there was no reason. There was just instinct. Pure, simple desire, imprinted in the blood like fire.

Then, it all happened too fast. A joke of Leon. He, explaining to Merlin his point of view in terms of Omegas and Merlin...reacting.

He reacted. He opposed him. HOW DARED HIM!

As he was like a Green Peace for the rights of Omega.

'I'm a Prime, damn. Even those idiots of Betas should know my rank and understand what their place in the society is. He should have kept quiet even if he did not agree with me. He should have shown me respect. Instead, he dared to argue back?! To resist me?! To provoke me?! Who did he think he was?'

Then the memory of Merlin approaching him froze the blood in his veins.

He could see it again in slow motion, the moment when he leaned toward his ear, exposing the neck under his nose. In another situation, he would have taken it, as a lovely gesture of submission to his superiority.

The proximity of the warm, white skin and the thin and sweet scent, combined with something like lavender, was going to his head.

The tone of his words was like honey on his muscles (ready to snap)…. He was ready to take him, when his brain was able to focus on what the other was saying.

"…is not right for an Omega to bind with an Alpha ... especially, if that Alpha is you …."

Merlin's blue eyes in his for a moment …

"…especially, if that Alpha is you …."

… burned…

"…if that Alpha is you …."

…like fire!

"…is you…"

What the fuck did he mean?

Before you could argue back, the dark-haired boy was already on the threshold of the room, Gwaine behind him. The guys around the table had looked astonished. No one had dared to utter a word, not to cut the palpable tension that permeated the air.

Unable to sustain their looks with the fury in his body, the blonde-haired Alpha exited the pub with no explanation to give to his mates… just his clenching jaw and fists, engraving the skin of his palms with his nails.

When he crossed the threshold of the Excalibur, he swear he could hear some timid laughing behind him.