Chapter 10 Ren
TEN
Ren
“So you met Faye?” Laz casually drops her into conversation after we leave Club Knotty.
Leaving without her went against every one of my instincts, especially after seeing how incredible she looked. I don’t like the thought of other alphas being around her without me there. Even her scent blockers didn’t mask her sweet scent completely.
I probably shouldn’t have lied to her about having an essay. Now I have to spend the rest of the night making up a fake project so I have an excuse to spend time with her tomorrow. Even though I do have a real literature essay that I need to finish.
Laz was right about me basically living in the greenhouse. I’ve spent most of my time there, not because I’ve developed a sudden interest in plants, but because I’ve been hoping to see her again.
Finding out she’s one of Sabrina’s new housemates complicates matters. Or make things better, depending on how you look at it. Sabs often comes to the pack house with Delilah and Kady, so we may see Faye more often. It’ll be hard to hide my attraction to Faye in front of the others.
I keep thinking of her face and how freaking cute she looked with the pink heart painted on her button nose. She’s small and dainty, and the longer I stood next to her, the more I wanted to see what she’d look like wearing nothing but her bunny ears.
“Ren?” Laz waves a hand in front of my face. “Are you even listening? It’s usually Damon who doesn’t pay attention.”
“Sorry.” I snap back to Earth. “Yeah, I met her on campus.”
I don’t want to admit that we met in the greenhouse because Laz, despite his careless attitude toward his studies, isn’t stupid.
“What do you think of her?” he asks casually. Almost too casually.
Fuck. He likes her. I know him well enough to know that he’s downplaying it.
Which doesn’t surprise me. How could he not?
There’s nothing to dislike about her. She seems sweet, smart, and she has Sabs’s seal of approval.
Sabs is an excellent judge of characters; she wouldn’t let just anyone into their tight group.
I smelled the Stella balm on Faye’s wrists.
It’s something the girls always wear when they go out together.
As well as being a sign of sisterhood, it’s also a means of protection, allowing them to scent each other out in a crowd.
It gives me some comfort to know that Faye has the Stellas looking out for her, since I can’t.
“She seems nice,” I reply, hiking up a shoulder.
“Food,” Damon grumbles. “Need to eat.”
“How about burgers?” Laz suggests as we saunter by an amazing smelling food truck. “Their animal fries are insane!”
“I’ll eat anything,” I pipe in, hoping that Laz will drop the subject of Faye.
No such luck.
“Faye seems to have fit into Stella House well,” Laz says. “Did she seem a little jumpy to you?”
Yep, he is definitely interested in Faye. He rarely pays any real attention to omegas, preferring to hang out with the guys, his family, or to spend his time drawing. He’s a massive flirt, of course, but to many girls’ dismay, he doesn’t take it seriously.
Dating when you’re in a pack is complicated. We all learned that the last time. My heart sinks just thinking about it. Why would Faye be interested in someone like me if she’s able to attract the interest of a charismatic alpha like Laz?
I’m not an alpha in the traditional sense. I’d rather read than play ball or lift weights. I’ve pretty much made peace with the fact that no omega is ever going to want me. I’m the weak link of our pack, and despite what the others say, I know I’m holding them back from finding their match.
Faye probably only agreed to meet me at the library because Sabs guilt-tripped her into it. Or worse, because she wants to find out more about Laz or Damon. Maybe I imagined it, but I swear, I smelled a hint of her perfume when Damon joined us.
“Who cares about Faye? She’s just another Omega,” Damon growls, ending the conversation as we reach the front of the line and he fishes out his wallet. “What do you want?”
Only Faye doesn’t feel like just another omega. The pull I feel towards her is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. And I already know I’ll struggle to sleep from my excitement to see her tomorrow.
Maybe, for now, just hanging out with her will be enough to satiate my curiosity.
I’d like to learn more about her—who she is, where she grew up, what makes her tick, what sauce she likes with her French fries, what she thinks about behind those beautiful, doe-like eyes.
Hopefully then, I’ll be able to get her out of my head, because right now, she’s all I can think about.