4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
G ods, she is incredible.
Theo left out that detail in his messages. Not that he went into much detail at all. Home Room felt like it went on for hours.
Strange looks were aimed my way with the way I was practically vibrating the desks with pent up energy.
When the bell finally rang, I shot up out of the seat like my ass was on fire. The moment I hit the hallway before Designation class, I could smell her.
Her scent assaulted me in the best way possible. I couldn’t stop myself from stumbling as it hit my brain.
I never thought that I would be lucky enough to be blessed with a mate, let alone a scent match.
None of us did.
Omegas are rare enough as it is. Alphas outnumber them a good five to one, which makes sense that they take large sized packs.
Maybe that's what has turned off the last few Omegas that had been shoved in our direction.
None of their scents were right. Sure they were pretty enough but they smelled sour. As had everyone, until her. She smells sweet and soft. It's delicious. I have to swallow down the saliva that pools in my throat.
I can’t fucking drool over a scent. I’m not a dog. Yet the way I’m practically panting over her makes me feel like I am.
Stepping into class felt like I had hit a brick wall of her. My gaze found her straight away. Her rust colored hair framed her face like a picture frame.
While her eyes remained firmly on the front of the classroom, I knew she sensed us walking in. Her body hardened slightly from its slumped position in her chair. Her eyes never strayed from their position. It was adorable. She made such a convincing story that we didn’t affect her, but I know better.
When I finally shook myself out of the shock of seeing her for the first time, I knew one of the empty seats beside her had to be mine. Theo must have been looking out for us considering he decided to take the seat directly behind her.
I didn’t bother to dive further into why she seemed to straighten further as he sat in his seat.
All I could seem to focus on was the dusting of freckles that covered her nose. The way they fought through the makeup that she used to cover her face. It's a dickish move but I long to wipe away what covers her. To see who she is underneath the foundation and mascara. To see her.
I have never felt such raw anger as I have before when I received the message telling me someone has been hurting her.
If I wasn’t so desperate for even a lick of her attention, I would be out there hunting the fucker down right now and delivering her their head on a silver platter. Cutting their hands off so they can never touch her again. Slicing their tongue out of their head so they can never utter a word to her again. Gouging their eyeballs out of their sockets so they can never grace their gaze on her beauty. So they can never see her flourish into the beautiful woman I know she will be. Fuck, the beautiful woman that she already is. I already am certain that I would burn the world down to ashes if she said the word. Hearing the sweet sound of her voice changed something within me.
Kennedy.
It suits her.
It shocked me that I was actually able to gain the courage to speak to her. There’s no handbook on what to say the first time you meet your scent match. ‘Hi’ seemed like the safest option. ‘Mine’ seemed a bit too intense. I can tell that she is skittish and I don’t want to scare her away.
Having her eyes wander my body though? I don’t think I will ever be able to rid myself of just how incredible it felt. My cock stiffens as I wonder what it will feel like when it's her hands running over my skin.
I think of anything and everything I can to dismiss my dirty thoughts, but it's a struggle. Especially when said thoughts are mixed with the deliciousness of her scent. I completely block out the teacher's ramblings for the entire lesson.
Instead, I watch Kennedy as she jots down notes here and there. She listens intently, soaking up all of the information that she can.
She’s perfect.
I can’t help but soak up every detail of her. The curve of her eyelashes. The way her nose slopes. The freckles that are dotted across her nose and cheeks that I feel myself becoming obsessed with. The slight redness to her cheeks when she realizes she holds all of my attention .
She doesn’t grace me with hers, but I don’t mind.
It gives me the time to continue my deep dive of infatuation.
I never put much thought into what my mate would look like. I didn’t bother to dream.
Sure, I wanted an Omega. That piece of the puzzle to complete our pack. But life just seemed to get in the way. Once I had met Jax and Theo, I knew we would be a pack. We weren’t even close to Emerging, yet we just knew.
There was a connection there. A knowledge that we would be together for the rest of our lives.
Things then began to develop with Jax. I never meant to catch feelings for him. At the time I was just desperate for a family. Needed the company after losing both of my parents. I knew I had found that when Theo and Jax opened their arms and welcomed me into their family. But love? I didn’t even know if I could feel that emotion again.
Not when my mother and father’s deaths had all but destroyed me.
Jax healed a wound inside of me.
Two Alphas being in a relationship together is rare. Normally they are too wrapped up in their Omegas or Beta to develop a relationship like that with each other. They normally can't get past the dominance fight.
That's never been a problem for Jax and I. I don’t know if it is because we have been together before we Emerged as Alphas or if we just have the ability to look past the typical behaviours present in our designation.
But it works .
I allow my gaze to move from Kennedy and find Jax who is sitting on her other side. Like me, Jax looks infatuated. He hasn’t said anything to her yet. I don’t expect him to for a while either.
It takes Jax a bit of time to come out of his shell, especially around Omegas. Or women for that matter.
I think he has been burnt one too many times.
Yet, Kennedy has him intrigued. I can see that fight still in him but it fades every second he has his eyes on her.
She has the three of us completely in her orbit and she doesn't even know it.
Jax finally looks up at me. His eyes blown wide and I can see the emotions written all over his face.
Surprise. Shock. Obsession. Fear. Happiness.
His features give everything away.
He can’t believe she is actually real. That the person who completes our soul is sitting right between us.
I don’t think it will ever truly soak in.
We have a mate.
How many times do I have to say it until I believe it? That I am able to go more than a moment without needing to pinch myself to believe it.
I’m shaken out of my stupor as Kennedy rises from her seat. It takes me a moment to come back to reality as the sound of the bell pierces my ears.
I stand abruptly, scaring Kennedy.
I immediately cower, horrified that I made her jump.
“Shit, Kennedy. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
She shakes her head, allowing a smile to curve her mouth but it's forced. “You're fine. I just didn’t expect you to move so quickly.”
She attempts to chuckle but it fades quickly. A breath escapes her lips as she collects her belongings.
“Um, what class do you have now?” I question, making sure to keep my voice as low as possible.
“Maths, I think,” she replies absently.
“Mind if I walk you?”
Her head snaps up with a frown, “That's the second time I have been offered to be walked to class today. I know my way around the school you know?” Her tone is sharp and I can’t help but chuckle.
“I gathered that. It's my first day though so I don’t really know where I’m going. In all honesty, it's more you walking me to class.” I scratch my head, unable to hide my cringe. My attempt at acting cool has already failed me. That big bad persona I pride myself on has turned to mush in the face of my Omega.
Kennedy sucks in a sharp breath. Her face drops and a look of horror overcomes her features. “Ledger, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think of that. I was so caught up in myself. I will be more than happy to show you around,” she rushes out, quickly grabbing my arm as she drags me behind her. My body heats at the contact and I have to push down my baser instincts to not take her right here and now.
My Alpha is riding me right now.
I know she probably wouldn’t appreciate that though. Yet, the need is strong. Stronger than anything I have ever felt before.
The need to have her in my arms.
To protect her. To give her everything she could possibly desire in this world. I want to spoil her.
To be the reason why she wakes up with a smile on her face everyday. I want to see her belly swollen with her pups. My mate mark on her neck. I want to see her sitting beside me when we are old and grey, wrinkles covering our skin. I want to love her.
God, I haven’t even known her for a full day and I am already obsessing over a future with her.
I never realized just how deep the dive was once you met your match. The thought of falling head over heels for someone on sight seemed ridiculous and dramatic, yet here I am. I knew that this was what I could expect if and when the time came. Jax and Theo’s fathers did everything in their power to prepare us for it. That strong need for the one person that is designed to be yours. That when you finally meet that person, everything you thought you knew goes completely out of the window.
I don’t even know her yet but I want to. More than I have ever wanted anything in my
life. I don’t realize that I haven’t responded to Kennedy until her hand drops away from my arm. She's frowning at the offending limb like she didn’t even know she had a hold of me and had pulled me a few feet towards the door.
I grab her hand before she can move too far away from me .
“It’s okay, Kennedy. You don’t need to apologize.” I smile, doing my best to reassure her. I give her hand a tight squeeze.
Her answering smile is meek but I take it for what it is.
I follow closely beside Kennedy as we walk down the halls. Both Jax and Theo come up behind us, creating an almost barrier around our girl.
Huh, our girl. Weird. I like it.
Kennedy didn’t bother to give her attention to Theo which I could tell irked him. Just like me, he is desperate for whatever sliver she will give us.
Jax nearly creamed himself when she gave him a small smile.
I could tell it wasn’t usual for her. Just from the small interaction with her, I can tell she isn’t social. It wouldn’t surprise me if she doesn't have any friends. It makes my heart hurt for our little mate.
Why doesn't she have any friends?
Are people cruel to her? I’ll fucking kill them if they are. Whoever hurt her the way Theo explained already has a target on their back.
Or has she been the one to isolate herself? If so, why?
She is the most stunning creature I have ever seen in my life. Not a soul compares to her.
After trying to dig for details on her life, it's obvious that she isn’t willing to share. So instead of trying to pry and make her feel uncomfortable, I start rambling about myself. “So, that's how I ended up living with Theo and his family. Sorry that I went a bit dark there,” I laugh, combing some of my hair away from my face that has fallen from my bun as I try to stamp down the feelings that come along with talking about my parent’s death. It probably wasn’t the right thing to be talking about so early on but it just seemed to come spewing out of me.
“No, it's okay. Thank you for trusting me with it,” she smiles up at me. While it's small, it means everything to me. My heart clenches as I look down at her.
All I can manage is a nod.
“I guess all three of you live together then?”
I nod as we turn the next corner, “Yeah, we actually…”
A hand on my arm stops my steady pace beside Kennedy. I stop turning to look at who interrupted me. I’m met with a brunette Omega. Immediately, my senses are violated by the smell of rotting flowers. I have to hold back the bile that threatens to come up my throat.
“Hi, my name is Daisy. Just wanted to introduce myself to the new Alphas of the school. Word has gotten around that you three are looking for an Omega?” If I didn’t think this woman could get any worse, she has. Her shrill voice pierces my ears causing me to flinch.
“Ah, we are good thanks,” I say as I go to turn back towards Kennedy. I think I will need to shove my nose into her hair just to get the smell of Clover - or whatever her name is - out of my nostrils.
“Wait, but my father…” she trails off as her nails dig into my skin.
A growl immediately rises up my throat. I turn to Blossom with a snarl. I take a slow but calculating step towards her. I feel both Theo and Jax come up behind me, giving me back-up even though I don’t need it.
“I said, I’m not fucking interested. Or does your rotten fucking smell also reflect the state of your brain? ”
She shakes her head dramatically. Her eyes are blown wide and laced with fear. Good. Never will another woman stop me from talking to my mate. Never will another take up my time that is rightfully hers.
It doesn’t feel good to speak to a woman like this, but from what I can tell, this Omega isn’t the kind to take no for an answer. I can already tell that she wants to fight me on this, to try and sink her claws into my flesh.
The only nails I want digging into my skin are Kennedy’s while she screams my name.
“Understand?” I snarl. She nods her head quickly again.
Satisfied, I stand up straighter and turn back to Kennedy. Except where I expect to find her, there’s no one there.
Panic immediately rises up in my throat.
“Where the fuck is she?” I ask Theo and Jax who look around.
“She was right here,” Jax says, panic rife in his voice. My head snaps around the hallway trying to find my little red head. It's way too packed though. When I try to breathe in her scent, all I can sense is the mixture of those that push past us.
Fuck. Not even two hours into this and we’ve already lost her.