Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Cooper
Patrick had been avoiding me ever since the meal at his Mum’s, and I was too chickenshit to ask him if I should have turned down the invitation, or to find out where I’d gone wrong. I’d obviously done something.
He’d replied to texts, but they made my gut clench and left me feeling like he was just trying to be nice while ensuring the conversation wrapped up quickly. And when I’d stopped texting him at all, he hadn’t reached out.
Obviously, I’d known his interest in me wouldn’t last long, but I’d hoped to get a bit more experience in the scene with him before he moved onto someone more his type.
He’d told me repeatedly that he didn’t date, and it was stupid of me to have ever thought I’d be the exception.
When had I ever been exceptional in my life?
Today, though, I was finally done with my wallowing.
Axel had texted to let me know he was on his way, so I was waiting by the curb, bouncing on my heels, I was so excited.
It’s not that I didn’t like hanging out with my brother, but this was the first time in ages that Axel and I had spent any time alone.
His cousin, Pippa, played for the Vixen Vipers.
The national rugby team had been killing it for the last few years, and she’d got us VIP tickets to a game in Cunningham City.
Axel pulled up in his van, and I dived into the passenger seat. “Road trip snacks!” I declared, holding up several packets of sweets.
I connected my phone to the Bluetooth out of habit and put on some music I knew Axel liked as he drove us out of Foxwood Hollow.
Generally a homebody to my core, for once I couldn’t wait to see the back of my little town.
I needed to remember there was a whole world out there, and it didn’t revolve around Patrick Morgan.
We drove straight to Pippa’s apartment near the stadium to drop our stuff off as we were crashing there that night and driving back home again the next day.
Both donning our “King” rugby shirts, we walked towards the stadium where the pavements were lined with fellow fans.
We chatted about the same old boring shit, and I loved it.
I yapped to Axel about a new game I’d bought, and he bemoaned the fact Dylan and Milly had bullied him into hiring a new employee at the pub.
“Oooo! Truck chicken!” I bounced over to the van that was serving boxes of fried chicken and lukewarm beer. I ordered some for both of us, and we took it inside.
Axel claimed we shouldn’t have bothered since the VIP area for friends and family of the players was catered, but I stood by the fact you couldn’t really beat truck fried chicken and munched on my wings happily.
Nobody else had arrived yet, so we kept to the front corner while the staff finished setting up the area.
I was peering down at where the Vipers’ mascot—a very bizarre fox/snake-hybrid creature—appeared to be twerking on the sidelines as seats began to fill when Axel cleared his throat.
“Um… you know when me and Dylan got together, did you feel weird about it?” he asked.
My first reaction was “fucking obviously,” but after I really thought about it, I said, “Maybe a little. Only at first. I already knew he’d had feelings for you, so I guess it wasn’t totally out of the blue. But then I saw you two together, and I got it.”
He nodded, and I kept going. “Dylan’s always been…
a bit like a bird, desperate to flee his nest. Always unsettled, and now you’re together, it’s like he’s finally putting down roots for the first time.
And don’t get me wrong, I liked Lauren a lot.
But it was like you always had to be this stoic alpha for her.
” The type of alpha I assumed we were all supposed to be, but I was wrong, wasn’t I?
“You’ve been… softer these last few months. I think he’s been good for you, too.”
Axel looked a little shell shocked, mouth hanging open like a goldfish.
“Wow. That’s possibly the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thanks, Coop.” He cleared his throat again. “But the thing is, you know how it was weird at first, but now you can see we’re both happy you’re okay with it?” he asked.
He was being strange.
“Yes…?”
“Well, you know I’d feel the same way, right? So long as you were happy?”
My gut didn’t like where this was headed, so I tried to make light of it. “I guess, but you’re an only child, Axel, so it doesn’t really seem worth thinking about, no sibling of yours I’m going to shack up with in the future.”
Axel pinched the bridge of his nose and appeared frustrated with that response.
“What I’m trying—and clearly failing—to say is, if you maybe didn’t like omegas, or if you liked alphas as well, I wouldn’t care at all so long as you were happy, okay?”
It was like having the rug pulled from underneath me. I grabbed my drink and took a large gulp to buy myself some time to respond. My heart was beating faster than a rabbit’s, and I felt cornered.
I’d catastrophised too much over the years, and my body leapt straight to fear that I was about to lose my best friend.
That he’d be disgusted or reject me, but a small part of my brain was trying to fight through and pointed out “he isn’t saying any of that, though.
Is he?” and I clung to that voice like hell.
What had he even said? “I wouldn’t care at all so long as you were happy. ” That was what he’d said.
“You don’t think I’m a freak?” I barely managed to squeak out.
Axel wrapped a big arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. “You’re not a freak, Coop. Lots of people feel that way. Milly’s known since she was twelve that she only likes omegas. Have you really never told anyone?”
My brain immediately conjured up Patrick’s face, but I hadn’t really told him. He’d just seen the coloured band on my wrist.
“Not really. Just… um… I’ve been on the apps before.” I tried not to dwell on those memories too much. “Met a few… err… alphas on there.” I winced.
“Was it… okay? They treated you okay?” Axel asked cautiously.
I shrugged because no, not really, but I didn’t remotely want to get into the details of how, typically, the alphas I’d met had expected me to be into incredibly rough and—if I’m being honest—slightly degrading sex.
“It turned out they were… looking for something different than me. I don’t go on them anymore.
” I almost mentioned Patrick, but it seemed pointless now he’d made it clear he wasn’t that interested anymore.
“Please don’t tell Dylan? I know he’s your boyfriend now, but I’m not ready for him to know yet. ”
“I won’t tell him, I promise. But… for full disclosure, we spoke last week about whether there was anything going on between you and…
well, Patrick.” I almost choked on my own saliva at the mention of his name.
“Dylan said that he really hoped you knew that your family would be supportive and you didn’t have to keep it from them.
But it’s still for you to tell them when you’re ready, so I won’t talk to Dylan about it again.
I just thought you should know that he said that. ”
I bent forward and covered my face with my hands as Axel stroked a hand up and down my back.
I did know that Dylan wouldn’t have an issue with my sexuality.
And I kind of knew that my mom wouldn’t either, but I already felt like I never measured up to being an alpha like she was, and it was just one more thing that made me stick out.
I tried to take deep, calming breaths and could have cried in relief when Axel changed the subject. “Bet you twenty quid that Pippa scores a try.”
I exhaled and peeked at him from between my fingers.
“That’s not fair, I can’t bet against her when she gave us free tickets.” I huffed.
Pippa didn’t score in the first half, but the Vipers were on fire, and it was only a matter of time. At half time, Axel went to the toilet, and I took the opportunity to embarrass myself by texting Patrick.
I came out to Axel
I watched as the message went from delivered to read, and then Patrick reacted with a thumbs-up emoji.
I waited, expecting dots to appear and show he was typing a response, but nothing came up.
My cheeks burned, because literally the only person I could share this with didn’t even care enough to give me more than a thumbs-up emoji.
After the game was over and we’d taken an easy win, everyone was in high spirits as we headed out to a local bar.
I needed a fucking drink.
Determined to kill all my brain cells in an attempt to forget all about Patrick Morgan, I ordered several J?gerbombs for me and Axel, and after downing four in a row, I headed over to the dance floor.
Not that I did it very often, but I liked dancing. It was one of the few times I felt comfortable in my own skin. I loved music, and I could just get lost in it. Axel had joined me for a bit until he went to chat to his cousin over at the bar.
I was drunk, and strangers bumped into me on the dance floor. Hands began to roam over my body, and I didn’t hate it at all until I realised that I kept imagining they were Patrick’s hands. Daddy’s hands.
Emboldened by alcohol and a little stupidity, I took out my phone and looked at that infuriating thumbs up again. What a fucking dick. He should have at least had the guts to tell me he wasn’t interested anymore. He was like thirty-seven or something. He was supposed to be the mature Dom.
I took a video of myself dancing, and predictably, at some point a guy’s hands reached around and tugged up my T-shirt.
He tried to dip his hand into my waistband, but I stopped him because I didn’t actually want to fool around with a random handsy guy in public.
But Patrick didn’t need to know that. I screenshotted the most incriminating part of the video and sent it to Patrick before I could think better of it.
Needing a piss and some quiet to send a voice note, I headed to the bathroom.