Chương 3: Knox Arden [2]

[Don't go work in the café for now, Knox. Some thugs came searching every shop for a mascot tiger. They looked suspicious. It was lucky I didn't print out the mascot on the flyers and paste them in the shop. What happened anyway?]

Franz asked through the phone. His voice sounded extremely concerned, so Knox immediately explained what happened.

[What? If you sent him to the hospital, why are you being sought after? Wait. Maybe he's looking for you to thank you? But either way, Knox, we can't be sure about that, so don't come here in the meantime. You should be careful too.]

Knox nodded, "Got it. Thanks, Franz."

It's been a few days since that incident happened. Knox wondered if the man got angry because he was hit by the tiger's head. He crossed the street and waited at the bus stop while scrolling his phone, looking for another part-time job.

His back and shoulders still ache from carrying boxes on his last part-time job. On top of that, he still needs to go to school. He has an exam today, and the professor is a cruel old geezer who won't be lenient to late students. Once you're late on the examination time, then expect an F on your papers.

Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, the bus arrived. It took half an hour to reach the university. On the way, Knox tried to read his notes and memorize some things. But because he was lacking sleep and rest, only a few minutes passed and his head hit the window already.

Instead of jumping back to reading, he laid his head and took a short nap.

"Alright, pass your papers now!"

Knox jolted awake after a kind classmate knocked on his desk. She pointed to his answer sheet and turned her head to the front. Groggily, Knox mumbled a simple 'thank you' and passed his papers while rubbing his eyes with the other hand.

He sighed in relief. If his female seatmate hadn't pitied him, he might have taken the exam in vain. He stood, gathered his books, and prepared to leave, but some guy blocked his path and talked to him.

"Hey, you need to pay for your ticket for the upcoming sports—

Knox cut the guy off, "I'm not participating."

The guy gave Knox an uninterested look, but still insisted, "You still need to pay even if you're not participating."

"Why? I already said I'm not—

"Hey, man. The proceeds of the tickets are for our department's athletes that will participate. The least you can do is support them!"

The guy's voice intensified, catching the attention of the other students in the room. Knox ignored the murmur but his back tingled because the guy who approached him was an alpha. He looked displeased, somehow letting off some unpleasant scent in the room. The guy must be recessive because the other omegas aren't moving away.

However, because Knox is nearby, he still can smell the scent. The alpha guy probably didn't think that he was slightly affected because everyone knew him as a beta.

One man in the crowd shouted, "Hey, dude! Calm down! We're all adults here."

The alpha guy scratched his head and answered, "I'm just trying to collect the fees here, bro. I didn't mean anything. The others have already paid, he's the only one who hasn't."

Another guy walked to them and clung to the alpha guy's shoulders. Then, he murmured lowly, "He's got no money. Didn't you know? His family is in huge debt, any money he has will probably go to the loan sharks instead. Let him go, dude. He's pitiful."

The other guy's voice was low, but because the room was tense and quiet, everyone heard his words. The alpha guy looked at Knox with pity, then shrugged his shoulders and went away.

Knox's hands balled in fist, but he couldn't do anything. What's there to do, when what the guy said is all true? His family is buried in huge debts from loan sharks who hunt him every day. When his beta mother suffered from breast cancer, his omega father borrowed money from loan sharks for her surgery and treatment.

Knox's father, being a recessive omega, was forced by his debtors to sleep with them when he couldn't pay. This led his father to depression and eventually took his own life, while his mother's condition only worsened.

In the end, Knox's mother died only a few weeks after his father's funeral.

It was a sad story for the onlookers, but a burden to his relatives. With a family full of debts, no one wanted to take him in. Knox had to survive by himself, constantly fearing for every day that the debtors would knock on his door and try to take him.

So, as soon as he graduated from high school, he left his hometown, moved to the city, and went to college. Ever since then, he lived a life more frugal than before and even a pet dog eats better than him.

A tap on the back brought Knox back to the present. He looked back and saw the kind seatmate who helped him before.

The girl smiled subtly and said, "Your phone has been ringing since earlier."

Knox blinked. The sound of his phone entered his ears and he frantically searched for it in his pockets. Then, he gave her an apologetic look, bowed slightly, and left.

The number on the screen was unregistered. Then, a 'ding' sounded and Knox pressed open the message icon. He stopped walking after reading the message.

Don't exit to the front gates – the message from the unknown number. There was no explanation but Knox sensed a foreboding. However, when he looked up, he didn't realize that he was just a few steps away from the front gates.

Ignoring the message and thinking it was just a random prank text, he proceeded to walk. Only to stop by the entrance after seeing some men in tight shirts and black pants looking at him, grinning like a maniac.

Knox staggered on his feet, but when they began to walk to him, he wasted no time and ran for his life.

"Hey!"

He slipped from the crowd of students exiting the gate and went back inside the university. Those men followed, so, he went to the other gates, running as fast as he could. He didn't expect his father's debtors to find out about his school.

Knox bit his lower lip in frustration. He couldn't even blame his father because he wasn't someone who used the money for gambling or drugs. He was a good father who loved his wife very much. Their lives were just unlucky.

He dashed to the street without looking back. He hid in one of the building's parking lots, behind an expensive-looking car.

Knox crouched and caught his breath. His heart thumping loudly after hearing footsteps coming closer. Then, all of a sudden, his collar was pulled aggressively. Knox groaned and closed his eyes, waiting for a punch to land.

However, a cool and deep voice entered his ear, saying, "Who the hell are you?"