My Freshman Mate

Westbridge Mates #1

by Lexie Slater

He's not asking permission. He's claiming what's his.

I had a plan. A perfect, neurotic, five-year plan. Then on my first day of college, I slammed face-first into the star quarterback. The one they call the "King of Campus."

His blue eyes took one look at me and turned black with possession.

Now my plan is in flames, and this huge, growling alpha is telling me my new schedule involves moving into his apartment, meeting his family, and letting him put his mark on my neck. He says I'm his fated mate. His omega. His forever.

My brain is screaming no, but my body? It’s already surrendered. And when his rival makes a move on me, I’m about to get a front-row seat to the "touch him and die" show.

If you're looking for a short, spicy MM omegaverse instalove romance with a possessive jock alpha, a brilliant omega who's in over his head, fated mates, and a love that's instant and inevitable, you're in the right place. No waiting, no slow burn. Just pure, primal claiming with a guaranteed HEA.

Genres: Omegaverse, M M Romance, Romance, College, Novella, Sports, LGBT

111 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2025

Reviews

[Romantically Inclined Reviews]

leaning towards AI for this (the cover is DEFINITELY AI). major inconsistencies & no online author presence. very weird.

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whelp. I hated that.

[Megan [At The Cottage]]

DNF @ 53%


This was absolute garbage 🗑️ but I am going to be nice and not rate it. Merry fucking Christmas.

[Jane aka Coughy019 (Safety info included) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tropes: fated mates, nerd/jock, alpha/omega
Feels: 2.5/5
Steam*: 2/5
Kinks: knotting
Angst: low
HEA: HEA
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings/representation: bullying/harrassment by a side character
Cheating between MCs: No
Any cheating: No
Other person drama: once they meet, neither of them are with anyone else.

3.25 stars

Braiden is a freshman at college. He's an Omega and he wants to be a doctor. He's a very organized nerd, who has every moment of his life planned out. His first day on campus he runs into Wes, a senior quarterback Alpha. The moment they meet they realize they are fated mates. Wes claims Braiden, moves him into his apartment, and mashes their lives together. Braiden is initially concerned, because he still has ambitions, he doesn't want to lose everything he's dreamed of just because his biology has handed him a mate. But Wes is supportive of him going after his dreams. However Wes has a football rival Nash who threatens them both, so that's a conflict they have to deal with.

This was a nice enough novella. It was a novella, so there wasn't a lot of time for depth. But there was possessiveness, steam, acceptance/support. There were a few annoying typos. And the Nash conflict was resolved a little quickly/ a little trite. And it would have been nice for the author to tell us how they manage after Wes graduates, because he wanted to make it to the NFL and Braiden has many many years left of studying, so it's a little unclear how they're going to have a good home life together.


Some notable moments:

""Your plans," he repeats, gesturing to the laminated schedule on the wall. "Keep them. Go to your classes. Study your ass off. Get into med school. Be a doctor. Nothing has to change." He moves closer, until I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. "Just add me to the equation. Sleep in my bed instead of this one. Come home to me instead of this room. Let me be there while you chase your dreams.""



*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.

**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.

[SheReadsALot · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know what's one of my guilty pleasures? French fries with lots of ketchup. You know it's not good for you but whatever, it's delicious. You know that type of deal. I considered My Freshman Mate to be just like that. The author warns the reader what to expect: crazy possessive behavior, fated mates, opposite attracts, knotting and over the top, caveman like behavior.

This book delivered just that. Did I roll my eyes a few times in the last quarter of the book?
Of course!

It's sexy, silly, A/B/O new adult insta love featuring an 18 year old virgin Omega pre-med freshman named Braiden who collides into his fated mate, senior alpha football jock Wes. It's cliche, it's low angst with a lot of claiming and the classic, "mine".

The author needs to work on continuity like if the alpha wants to hide something and declared it, then we learn the omega knew and the reader isn't let in on the discovery, it defeats the purpose. There were a couple of instances here and there. But overall a decent story that delivers what was promised.

So... basically French fries...with ketchup. 🍟3.75 stars

(I'll be there for the rest of the series)😉

[Steph (semi-hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m nearly certain this was written, at least partly, by AI.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 1 out of 5]

yeah, that was bad. and not worth the time to write sentences explaining why.

[Demi Goddess Solis · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the central fated-mates romance is compelling, the story is crippled by a complete disregard for internal logic, making it a frustrating experience that reads like it was neither edited nor fact-checked. A great concept undermined by sloppy execution.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5ish

This was alright. It’s fated mates, insta love with a possessive alpha. He was a little heavy handed in my opinion. I do love possessive characters but idk I wasn’t feeling him too much. Braiden kept saying “you don’t even know me” and Wes kept telling him that it didn’t matter, he knew enough. When really he didn’t know anything and that does matter. I still feel like they didn’t know much each other by the end of the book. Not a fan of a MC who has gotten around but is so happy he gets to be someone’s first and only and no one else gets to touch him. Sucks he can’t say the same about you even though yall are freakin fated mates. There were a bunch of characters introduced once and then never brought up again. Like what happened to them? A lot of emphasis was put on Braiden’s parents and what they would think but we never meet them. Also, I hated that when hard times came around Braiden had the brilliant idea of running away instead of staying and sticking up for his man. I don’t get why he thought running away would fix the situation at all. It’s not like it would just vanish just because he’s gone. Anyway. It was alright.

OM drama but it’s some a hole who has beef with the alpha. It’s not wanted. No separation or third act break up.

[NightOwlz · Rating 1 out of 5]

One content warning reads “This is a safe space for dark fantasies, but always with a loving, consensual (within the A/O dynamic), and joyful outcome for our main couple.”

Then the first encounter reads as dub-con/non-con. I’ve read lots of omega-verse books and even given the A/O dynamic that first spicy scene didn’t come across as consensual at all. Left me feeling very upset/disturbed.

[Ren || Reading What I Want · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHY IS THIS RATED SO LOW? Did we not read the same book?

the writing is SO GOOD. was it a bit insta and OTT? absolutely, but it was sweet and spicy and absolutely perfect for an afternoon read.

these are the novellas i love. i originally gave it 4 stars but i loved it and can't wait for more so i had to up it. this isn't literature, but it's pure fast-paced, delicious omegaverse spice and i ATE IT UP.

[Brittany St Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the idea behind it, but when I got to about 60% things started happening that made no sense. Only one character knew about certain things, but then all of a sudden, the other one did. It was never discussed between them. There were also some other inconsistencies and mistakes that also make me question if this was even written by a human. DNF

[Alonna Irizarry · Rating 2 out of 5]

College romance/ opposites attract/ insta-love/ fated mates/ MM/ omegaverse/ knotting/ touch him and die/ OM drama/ sports romance/ HEA

Trigger warning: assault/ violence/ manipulation/ bullying

This was a good low stakes read. There was a lot of spice and it was pretty fast paced so it wasn’t boring.

[Sandy Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book frustrated me. It should have been a strong short omegaverse read, but the inconsistencies and lack of bothering to make details make sense just kept tearing it down, piece by piece. Made me think it’s AI, or no one bothered to edit to at least attempt to make it make sense. I have NO evidence of anything, but, that’s what came to mind.

Exhibit 1: the antagonist is Westbridge college MC football star Wes’s biggest rival…from another team, Northwood State. Yet the rival, Nash, is running around the Westbridge campus, taking pix of MC Braiden, showing up in the library with two friends to threaten him/assault him, and, for some unknown reason, Nash has Wes’s number and texts him! Like WTF, why would Wes have given this guy his number? Even if he had, why wouldn't Nash now be blocked? Why would Nash even be on a campus he doesn’t attend?

You can’t be football rivals and play each other, and go to the same college. You’d be ON THE SAME TEAM. That was WTF #1

Exhibit 2: Braiden is an omega. In this universe he makes slick. The second time Wes and Braiden are intimate…Wes uses lube on Braiden. WHAT? He didn’t before. He doesn’t after. Again, WTF? What was the lube for? Braiden makes slick!

Exhibit 3: Nash, the villain, again, does not attend Westbridge. He attends Northwood. Why is Nash part of a disciplinary hearing for Westbridge? His father is a major donor to Westbridge, and is on the board, but Nash doesn’t even go there. WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Am I the confused one??? If so please explain it to me in the comments bc I feel a tad deranged.

The actual alpha-omega fated mates connection was strong and fabulous to read, I loved the insta-lust and immediate NEED to claim, and I loved the way Wes was totally supportive of Braiden’s goals. He just said “yes, do everything you planned. Just make me part of the plans.” That was great! And their chemistry was terrific.

But I just could not get over how nothing else made any sense.

Even the end, with Braiden’s RA who barely knows Braiden, texting him about the problem guy in the dorm, made no sense. Why would he text BRAIDEN? Braiden moved out of the dorm and lives with Wes.

I was scratching my head way too much, and that was infuriating because this could have been such a terrific short read. Argh.

HEA, Fated mates, omegaverse, claiming bit, fabulous mine mine MINE, ruined by inconsistencies. Grrrr. Recommended for the romantic tension. Not for anything else.

[Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cringey

This could have been a cute story, but it quickly turned cringey.

There wasn't chemistry between the MCs so much as there was the wrong kind of possession on Wes's part. Honestly, he's an awful alpha. From the get-go; his POV felt more like ownership that he then proceeded to prioritize over actually taking care of his mate. He didn't listen to Braiden at all, and at intervals; their relationship dipped into feeling abusive or controlling rather than loving.

I seriously considered quitting the book during their claiming scene because he physically hurt Braiden, and rather then backing off when his partner expressed pain, Wes just told him that he could do it and kept going. Writing that includes the phrase "tearing pain" multiple times from a bedroom partner isn't sexy. It's rapey.

Throughout the story, there was also zero communication from either partner, and of course that didn't help anything either.

Some of my issues with this book could have been remedied if Wes's character developed as the story progressed, but the plot turned to focus on the side issue (which I also found to be poorly executed) instead. In the final scene, he was in a more loving mood, but nothing that was mentioned hinted at any real improvement in his behavior.

Honestly, that final scene with the antagonist was the most interesting part of the book because the rest was primarily angst and me wanting to thump Wes with a rolling pin so he'd act right. If I didn't reserve one-star ratings for books with horrendously disorganized writing and no proofreading to be found, I would give My Freshman Mate one star.

[KB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I have whiplash from that book. It’s a fast-paced, high-anxiety, low communication story with so much happening in maybe 3(?) days — like months worth of activity. I don’t know for sure. I got lost in the timing there.

Also, apparently the alpha MC has never heard the term anything less than an enthusiastic yes is no because meeting and then claiming within an hour without any communication whatsoever beyond, “Mine,” borders far too close to assault between the MCs. Also, not sharing a threat towards the other MC is the dumbest and most overused plot device ever. Then the “I’m going to leave him to save him” plot device — ugh — has also been beaten to death. Most of the angst in this book would have been managed with open communication but no … we were given this … feh …

There was literally one real conversation between the MCs … that took place well after the claiming.

Oh, and the real whiplash moment is when the omega gets caught leaving then after a heartfelt(?) moment decides to stay and fight and digs up a metric shit ton of ammunition? Seemingly in one night?! WTF?!

This book was way too short to build up any real drama or tension. Things moved too fast. If this took place over more than the first week of the semester, I’d be shocked because there’s no real sense of time passing. There’s no real world building. If this is part of a larger oeuvre from this author set in the same universe, each work should be treated as if it is the reader’s first acquaintance with this universe. There’s none of that here. What makes that worse is this is the first book in the series. Not a great way to be introduced to an author.

[Pixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little darker than I was expecting. It was about fated mates. The alpha in the story, Wes, was very possessive. The omega, Braiden, was fighting the bond initially. Everything about it set him on edge, and he was behaving so out of his norm. It made me question the care of Wes to push so hard on something that clearly made his omega uncomfortable. It worked out in the end, sure, but the start of it made me a bit squirmy. Some of the story didn’t make any sense to me and seemed inconsistent. Not fully sure how I feel about this one.

[Erin]

Honestly, this book is not great. The prose is...prose, and there are continuity errors, and the problem is like...wut. But I wanted a fated mates omegaverse with a possessive alpha and this book abso-fucking-lutely delivered.

Also - and I think this is important in this kind of narrative - yes, the alpha is possessive and protective, but when our omega is like, "Now I'm going to have to give up my dreams because I met you," our alpha replies, "No, I'll join you, just add me to them." Which really made the relationship.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fear I am very easily entertained sometimes, and this book is just that...entertaining. And dare I say (with no offense to Lexi) this boarders into the "it's so bad it's good" category...like it's not peak literature by most stretches of the imagination and it definitely has it's issues but damn is it fun.

It's a very quick read that includes all the fun part of omegaverse stories without having to work too hard for it. If you decide to check it out - my advice is to not take it to seriously and just enjoy the fun ride.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I'm all for an insta lust / love fated mates you know you know trope, but what I wasn't expecting and I think it just throw me too much was the pretty much bullying from the alpha to his mate, like didn't seem like he cared at all at times then was "oh the best thing to happen to me" at other times.. just made it seem less we are fated I'm going to protect and love you forever and more of a you belong to me deal..

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big Plot Holes

I really wanted to like this story, but it randomly jumps around, contradicts itself, and repeats things unnecessarily. The timeline often doesn't make sense or match up with things the characters have already stated. Luckily, it wasn't a huge time sink to complete.

Also, this is a deeply toxic relationship that is justified by employing omegaverse plot devices, just as a heads-up.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I genuinely enjoyed this book

I really liked this book. I’m an overthinker just like Braiden. I also get super upset when my routines are changed. I could relate to him on a certain level. Wes balances him out really well. He allows Braiden to relax and live in the moment. I do wish there was some more meat to the story and a little less spicy scenes, but for a short read, it was pretty good.

[Calikekeluv♥️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straight to the point.

Braiden is a freshman at a college where he feels he has his whole life planned out. What wasn’t in his plans was him meeting is Mate. Things moved fast and Braiden decided to just stop fighting it. Wes ( Braiden’s mate) had a rivalry with another alpha who was sure to try to take everything away from Wes. Not only did both mates have to fight for Wes career they had to fight for there future too.

[Courtney Gilchrist · Rating 5 out of 5]

That writing was actually good!

I have been reading a lot of new authors lately and either the writing is Wattpad 2014 or is giving AI. This author can actually write and it’s good. The plot solid steady concise. The smut wonderful and just the write amount of cliches I am looking forward to the next book!

[Blake Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written Well

This book is quick, to the point, and has just the right amount of angst to keep it from being boring. There isn't an entire entourage of side characters you are forced to read about. Overall, it's a great book, and I thought the possessive attitude was written very tastefully.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

MM
🌶️🌶️
College
Omegaverse
Virgin
Instalove

Braiden has a 5 year plan to get into medical school. Everything is planned out, color coded and written in ink in his calendar. Then he literally runs into Wes, the quarterback. Immediately, they know they are fated mates. But this isn’t in Braiden’s plan.

Overall it was a good read. Nothing I haven’t seen or heard before though 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Ze Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

short but sweet

This was a unique read in that it was short, but the ending didn’t feel abrupt or unfinished. Delightfully spicy, and if you’re here for a possessive alpha, this is the book for you, in spades. I also enjoyed the little “alpha enemy” side quest. Definitely give this one a read. Onto book 2!

[Deb R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute sexy omega read

This is a really quick reads but has enough drama and depth to make a a great read. Seriously 5⭐️.

There's insta love, rivalry drama, hurt-comfort and opposites attract. What is doesn't have is BS drama over misunderstanding or miscommunication.

Sexy times are also really omega with a twist at the end that makes this a fun coffee morning read

[Danyelle Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

First day run in

First day on campus and 5 year plan derailed. Great start right.

This was a cute read about life's plan, fated mates and fighting for the one you love. I enjoyed reading both of these characters as they navigate the rapid change. One maybe more ready then the other. But end they end they defend what they know is meant to be.

[Tatianna Gainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

😍😍😍😍

It was very riveting read, I loved it from start finished. On most days I love a fast paced book with a hea and them instantly falling for each other. I’m glad their is more, I miss them both already