Derby could not stand the way his heart raced as he knelt before them. His perfectly tailored Aquaberry sweater vest felt suffocating against his chest, and the fine wool of his slacks seemed to mock him with every uneasy shift he made. Every part of him was in revolt—his pride, his dignity, his sense of superiority—but none of it could control the overwhelming, inexplicable compulsion that had taken root in his chest.

He had never, never been reduced to this level. To beg, to humiliate himself... for someone like them. Someone beneath him, someone whose presence was little more than an annoyance, a frustrating reminder of everything that should have been out of his reach.

But there he was, on his knees in front of their dorm room, the cold, smooth floor pressing against him as if the universe itself were trying to make him suffer for this weakness. He was better than them. He knew it. He was from wealth, from power, from a legacy of generations that had earned the right to look down on people like them. Yet here he was, groveling for a favor he could never imagine himself needing.

“Why.. why won’t you just accept it?” Derby’s voice was barely above a whisper, a strange desperation creeping into his tone. His usual arrogance had been completely stripped away, leaving only the raw, unspeakable truth behind. “I could have anyone. I could buy anyone. But you..” He paused, his breath shaky as he forced the words out. “You—you drive me mad. You're impossible, maddening, and yet... I can’t—can’t stop thinking about you. I need you.”

He clenched his fists, trying to steady himself, but the words still tumbled out. "I know I’m better than you. I know it, and you know it, too." His gaze flickered up, meeting theirs with a mixture of longing and bitter self-loathing. “But I need you. I can’t stop. Please.. why can’t you accept you’re mine?” His lips curled into a snarl as he lowered his head shamefully.

He was a rabid dog for them.