Chapter 11
ELEVEN
HUGO
I stared down into my coffee, wondering if it was really a good idea to add caffeine to my already-frazzled system.
Well, I didn’t actually think it could possibly get worse. My dreams were the most intense they’d ever been. They’d felt so real—I’d gone from being convinced I was tangled up with some combination of Jade, Jewel, and Casey, to suddenly finding myself alone, rutting and sweaty in my lumpy bed.
It had been a miserable experience that had repeated three times before I’d self-administered one of my sedatives so I could get some goddamn rest.
Now I was standing in line at the coffee shop, waiting for my coffee fix.
“Hey, Hugo!”
Casey’s voice made me turn around. He pulled me into another one of his hugs, and I got a face full of his calming peach tea scent.
He pulled back, smiling at me. “Good morning. You look tired.”
“Didn’t sleep well,” I muttered.
Casey chatted away while we got our coffees and headed upstairs.
Jade was perched on Laurel’s desk, glaring at the wall. Laurel and Finch were examining something on the computer. Jade didn’t notice us until we were almost on top of her.
“Mornin’, sunshine,” I told her.
She glared at me and took the coffee Casey was offering her.
My eyes snagged on her neck, where there was a bite mark peeking out from underneath her black choker.
My heart dipped, and the world seemed to sway. “What’s that?” I asked, my voice sounding distant.
Jade’s cheeks turned pink as she saw what I was looking at, and she tugged the choker up to cover it. Laurel looked up in interest, and Jade made a face.
“It’s a bad decision that’s haunting me.”
No one said anything.
She threw her hands in the air. “Ugh. I had a moment of weakness with Jewel, and he bit me, okay?”
That was Jewel’s mark?
My shock morphed into a mix of lust and envy.
“Then I confronted him about it, and he pulled out the ‘my hormones are unbalanced’ card.”
Laurel frowned. “He said that?”
“It’s the closest I’ve gotten to hearing him admit that the Lucas pack fucked him up. Apparently, his body’s been in ‘survival mode,’ and now that he’s safe, it’s going haywire.”
Casey nodded thoughtfully. “That would explain why his scent changed.”
“Oh my god, it totally has! I thought I was going crazy. It’s got all…” Jade flailed her hands in the air. “Omega-y.”
Finch raised an eyebrow. “Is that a technical term?”
Jade gave him a hard look. “Yes, it is. Does that explain why he’s totally obsessed with me right now? Because it’s next-level, even for him. He broke into my room and scent marked all my shit the other night.”
Laurel failed to hide her laugh, and Jade gave her a half-hearted glare.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” I said. “But I doubt anything you do will get him to back off. Sounds like he’s imprinted on you.”
Finch scoffed. “That’s not a real thing.”
I nodded at Jade. “Try telling that to her.”
“I’m sorry, what is ‘imprinting’?” she asked.
I folded my arms and shrugged.
Was it hot in here?
I was feeling very warm as everyone looked at me. As the silence stretched on, I cleared my throat. “It’s something that sometimes happens to betas. An alpha or an omega sees you, and they just know that you’re pack. He’s dog-eared your page, so to speak.”
Jade scoffed. “So, what? It’s like a beta scent match?”
“Hardly.” Finch glared at me. “Scent matching is a scientific fact. It follows defined rules. Imprinting is pseudoscience, at best. It’s one-sided and completely subjective. You may as well say he’s obsessed.”
I shifted on my feet. “Doesn’t really matter, does it? If it feels real to him, what difference does it make?”
Jade jumped to her feet, animated. “That’s not fair! He doesn’t get to decide I’m pack without asking me! That’s such bullshit!”
My stomach dropped, and my skin prickled.
It was definitely hot in here.
I wanted to say it wasn’t his fault, but I also wasn’t sure I’d be able to speak if I tried right now.
“No one is saying that,” Finch said in a calm voice. “I think we can all agree Jewel is not in a rational state of mind right now. Once he’s in a good headspace, he won’t be driven by instinct so much.”
“Okay, so how do we get him there? Casey, you know about balancing alphas and omegas, right?”
Casey blinked. “I mean, I do. But really what he needs is…” His eyes darted to me, and he cleared his throat. “Alpha pheromones.”
Um.
Why was he looking at me?
Why was everyone looking at me?
“What?” I said, a bit gruffer than I meant.
Jade caught my eye. “Come on, Hugo, you’re the only alpha he actually likes being around.”
“That’s not true,” I spluttered. “He spends time with your alphas, Laurel.”
Kaos suddenly dropped from the ceiling like a spider, making everyone jump. “He’s not going to be balanced by us, though.”
“Fucking hell,” Jade hissed, swatting him with a roll of paper. Kaos didn’t seem to notice.
He straightened and pecked Laurel on the cheek, as if it was a perfectly normal thing to drop out of the ceiling.
“Sounds like he needs to be fucked by an alpha,” Kaos continued.
Jade turned her roll of paper to me. “Okay, so, fuck him, then!”
Everyone was looking at me again, and I wished the floor would open and I could drop into the room below, Kaos-style.
My face heated as Laurel dissolved into giggles. “I’m not going to do that!” I finally spluttered, far too late.
“Come on, Hugo! You’re the only alpha he’s allowed near him at all since we rescued him. He’s been pretty clear he doesn’t want any other alpha to touch him.”
“It’s not that easy, Jade,” Finch replied before I could.
For once, I was grateful for his calm analysis.
Jade looked at him, confused. “Why not? It doesn’t have to mean anything. Sometimes you just need to let off some steam, right?”
Finch shook his head. “Alphas don’t do friends with benefits. Casual sex with strangers, yes, but with someone you see all the time? It’s in our nature to get attached.”
…and there goes that gratitude I was feeling for him.
Jade snorted and raised her eyebrows. She turned to me, as if expecting me to dispute it. I made myself busy studying a very interesting corner of Laurel’s desk.
“Is that so?” she said, folding her arms.
“Okay…” Laurel said, pulling herself together. “He’s got his scent-match event next week. Maybe he’ll hit it off with some of the alphas he meets then?”
A low growl erupted from my chest before I could stop it.
Everyone turned to look at me again.
I stood and stormed out of the room before anyone could say anything.