Chapter Three – Noelle #2
“Yeah, but…” I stop myself from asking him if he thinks alphas from rich families would really go for someone like me.
That’s the type of alpha you find at the Omega Garden.
I’m just a nobody. Deciding to change the subject, I ask, “Have you guys thought about going to the Omega Garden? Miranda said you guys have started looking for a house of your own.”
She also told me they refuse to go to the Omega Garden, but I don’t tell him that. He doesn’t need to know everything his sister tells me.
“Nah,” Felix is quick to say. “The Omega Garden isn’t really our scene.”
“If it’s not your scene, then how are you guys going to find an omega?” I have to look away after I ask that, mostly because the blush on my cheeks is probably unmistakable. “I mean, aren’t your parents nagging you to find an omega and settle down?”
“Ah, they’ve been nagging us for years.” He waves his parents off, as if everything they say doesn’t matter.
And, I suppose in a way, they don’t. It isn’t like their parents can force them to do anything they don’t want to do, not when it comes to finding a forever mate. “Besides, we’re doing all right.”
“Don’t alphas feel better when they have a mate?”
The look he gives me makes me question everything about my life, and then some. “Isn’t it the same for omegas?”
I can’t look at him after that, so I focus on the food on my plate.
Felix must pick up the hint, because he doesn’t say anything else.
Matteo and Nico make a few more trips to and from the car, and the silence of the kitchen is only broken when Matteo brings another load of food into the kitchen, causing Felix to say, “Have you even said hello to Noelle?”
Matteo, the eldest brother, stands a few inches taller than the others.
At six-foot-five, he’s the very definition of an über alpha, oozing dominance without even trying.
He’s a shade above the rest when it comes to the alpha hierarchy.
Unlike his brothers, his hair is a dirty blond color, and its golden hues become even lighter in the summer, when he spends more time outside.
His eyes are a brilliant shade of green, practically emeralds when they sparkle with light.
His looks could kill, same with his jawline.
He’s got the kind of looks that could knock an omega off her feet without trying.
When Felix says that, he looks at me, then looks at his brother. The über only grunts before he snatches some of the extra bacon and mutters, “You can unpack the rest of the food. I need to… go do something somewhere else.”
Both Felix and I watch as he wanders off, bacon in hand. Even after he’s gone, I can still smell him: bergamot and citrus, the kind of combination that makes all logical thoughts in my head vanish in the blink of an eye. A scent that makes me want to squirm.
He was in such a hurry to leave the kitchen, it makes me wonder if he only wanted to get away from me.
“Is he upset I’m here?” I ask Felix, feeling some kind of way about the possibility.
For some stupid, stupid reason, it hurts me deep inside to think Matteo is unhappy with me.
It tugs at my heart in a way nothing ever has before.
All omegas want to please their alphas—but that’s just it: Matteo isn’t my alpha. He’s just my best friend’s brother. We aren’t mates. There’s no bond between us.
“No,” Felix says. “Well, no he’s not. He’s just… you know him. Just ignore him and he’ll come around.”
I don’t know about that, but it is probably best not to dwell too much on the standoffish über. “Have you heard anything from your parents?”
“A big storm is hitting the northeast. Grounding flights. They don’t know when exactly they’ll be able to get here—but that’s okay.
We can still have fun with the five of us.
” He grins at me, his easygoing demeanor helping to relax me.
“It’ll be okay, Noelle. If you’re worried about the three of us trying anything, don’t.
You’re family to us. We’d never do anything to make you uncomfortable. ”
As he says it, I believe him. He has that way about him. He could charm a man out of the shirt he’s wearing, a gift not every alpha has. Still, while I know he’s only attempting to reassure me and make me feel better about this whole thing, I can’t help but feel a little…
A little what? A little sad that they won’t try anything? That’s just dumb. Dumb of me to want.
That’s the root of it, isn’t it? I’m dumb for wanting my best friend’s brothers, for letting myself crush on them for so long. It’s obvious they don’t feel anything like that about me; if they did, something would happened between us a long time ago. They probably view me as another sister.
How depressing.
My feelings must be written on my face, because Felix leans closer to me, and he lightly touches the small of my back. Just a simple touch, so gentle—and it isn’t as though I can feel his skin on mine thanks to the shirt I wear, but that gentle touch is enough to make my heart skip a beat.
“What’s the matter?” he asks softly, still leaning, still touching my back.
I want to tell him the truth, how confusing everything is, but I can’t, so I don’t.
I simply give him a smile and say, “Nothing. I need to… to shower. Thank you for breakfast. It was really good.” He lets his hand slide off my back when I say it, and I grab my plate and clean up before I hurry away, avoiding eye contact as I go.
This whole week is going to be more difficult than I thought.