Neville nearly jumped out of his skin and off the board but managed to keep his footing through sheer force of will.

He turned to find a tall, well-built stranger standing beside him. Blond hair, blue eyes, sharp jawline.

Classic alpha features, if Neville was being rough about the descriptions.

The man smiled, friendly and non-threatening. "Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I just noticed you were struggling a bit." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Oh. Uhh, thanks." Neville tried to process the sudden presence of a stranger. "It’s my first time trying this."

"I could tell." The alpha’s hand remained on Neville’s shoulder, adjusting his posture slightly. "Bend your knees more. Yeah, like that. And try to keep your core loose—you’re bracing like you’re expecting to fall."

Neville followed the instructions, feeling his balance improve a little.

The stranger was right. He had been too tense.

"Better," the alpha said approvingly. "Now try shifting your weight forward. Slowly."

Neville did, and the board moved, gliding forward in a smooth arc.

A surprised laugh escaped him.

"I’m actually moving!"

"You’re a natural." The alpha grinned. "Just needed someone to point you in the right direction."

Neville was about to respond when something caught his attention. He looked up and saw Grayson approaching, gliding naturally across the track.

His heart did a small, involuntary flip.

"Mr. Maxwell!" Neville waved, grinning broadly. "I figured it out! Look, I can actually balance now!"

Grayson’s hoverboard came to a stop a few feet away. His silver eyes flickered from Neville to the stranger beside him. His glasses gleamed in the dark lighting, preventing anyone from seeing the change in his expression.

"I see you found a teacher," Grayson said with the kind of pleasant note that had sharp edges hiding beneath it.

The alpha beside Neville straightened slightly, removing his hand from Neville’s shoulder.

His nostrils flared subtly, sniffing the scent in the air.

Ah. So he had figured out Neville was an omega.

Grayson thought darkly.

It was impressive, considering that Neville was always tightly hiding and suppressing his pheromones every day.

One could almost mistake Neville as a beta if not for the pheromone patch on his neck or that he was a dominant alpha that could easily sniff the slightest hint of Neville’s pheromones.

Therefore, either this alpha had an unusually sensitive nose like a dominant alpha, or he had been paying very close attention to Neville since earlier.

Neither option was particularly comforting to think about.

"Just offering some tips," the alpha said, matching Grayson’s pleasant tone with his own. "He picked it up quickly."

"Did he?" Grayson stepped off his hoverboard and moved to stand beside Neville.

They were close enough that their shoulders almost touched. The casual dominance of the position was obvious for anyone to see.

The two alphas stared at each other.

Neville glanced between them, feeling distinctly unusually suffocated by the subtle tension of the two alphas.

This was ridiculous.

"I’m going to try the slope," Neville suddenly said.

It was partly because he wanted to get away from that place and partly because he was genuinely curious. He had noticed a gentle incline on the other side of the track, perfect for practicing controlled descent.

Without waiting for anyone’s response, he shifted his weight forward and glided away.

The slope was steeper than it looked from a distance.

Neville approached it cautiously, remembering the stranger’s advice about keeping his knees bent and his core loose. He positioned himself at the top, took a breath, and let the board carry him down.

For about three seconds, it was exhilarating. The wind in his hair, the smooth rush of speed, the perfect sensation of controlled movement.

Then the hoverboard’s power suddenly got cut out.

The anti-grav field vanished, and the hoverboard dropped from beneath Neville’s feet, and momentum hurled him forward with no way to stop.

Neville hit the padded surface, rolling twice before coming to a stop flat on his back.

Pain bloomed along his hip and shoulder—nothing serious, but enough to make him wince.

What the hell?

Hurried footsteps stumped toward his direction. Then Grayson was there, kneeling beside him, hands already moving to check for injuries.

"Where does it hurt? Can you move your legs?"

"I’m fine." Neville sat up slowly, grimacing. "Just bruised, I think. The hoverboard—it just stopped working."

Grayson’s jaw clenched, and he looked at the dead hoverboard with undisguised hostility, as if it had personally offended him. Without a word, he scooped Neville up, lifting him like he weighed nothing, and carried him toward a nearby bench.

"Mr. Maxwell, I can walk—"

"You just fell. Let me check you over first." Grayson said, "Also, call me Grayson when we’re outside."

Neville wanted to argue, but the stern expression of concern in Grayson suggested that it would be pointless. He let himself be seated on the bench, submitting to Grayson’s careful examination of his limbs for breaks or sprains.

While Grayson’s hands moved professionally over his injuries, Neville’s attention was drawn to the stranger alpha who stood nearby. The man was watching them with an unreadable expression.

"Sorry about cutting our lesson short," Neville called out, feeling oddly guilty.

The alpha shook his head, a rueful smile crossing his face.

"Don’t worry about it. Happens to everyone eventually."

His gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment, on the way Grayson hovered protectively, their intimate interaction and his expression soon became a resigned one.

"Take care of yourself," the alpha said. "And good luck with the hoverboard. You’ll get the hang of it in no time."

He raised a hand in farewell and walked away without looking back.

Neville watched him go, feeling strangely relieved.

He hadn’t asked for the alpha’s help, but the man had been really helpful. It was nice of him to help without expecting anything in return.

"Can you walk?" Grayson asked, drawing Neville’s attention back.

Neville flexed his ankle a little, then stood. The pain was already fading to a dull throb.

"Yeah, I’m okay. The bruises will be gone in an hour or so." He said.

Grayson’s brow furrowed. "An hour?"

"I heal fast." Neville shrugged, as if this were perfectly normal.