Chapter 16 Damon
SIXTEEN
Damon
Our scent match? They can’t be serious. Sure, Faye smells amazing—the type of amazing that means I’d tear off anyone’s limbs who so much as looked at her in the wrong way—but we don’t even know her. And she doesn’t know what she’d be getting into, especially with me.
I’m dangerous.
Walking into the pack house and being confronted by the smell of her slick filling the air, consuming every part of our space, practically knocked me off my feet. Seeing her snuggling into Ren and Cole, rubbing her face into my sweaty gym shirt, was enough to make me almost come in my pants.
I had to use every ounce of my self-control to stop myself from launching across the room and sinking my teeth into her delicate little neck.
Someone like Faye—so attractive, fragile, and vulnerable—isn’t safe around an alpha like me. I’d ruin and destroy her. She deserves better. Someone who isn’t a total fuck up. Someone who won’t hurt her.
Still, physical distance doesn’t stop her from haunting my thoughts. Like the group chat, it feels like my brain is blowing up:
COLE
She’s back at Stella House.
LAZ
Do you think she’d like blueberry or chocolate muffins best?
Chocolate, obviously. I don’t respond, though.
REN
I could send her a bouquet of forget-me-not’s? She’ll appreciate the meaning behind them.
Across the street, an argument breaks out between two rival, first year packs.
“Break it up,” I roar as I flash them my security badge.
I’m off-duty now but carry my badge everywhere.
I work as a campus security guard part-time.
Collectively, the Silverwood Pack has plenty of money, so I don’t have to work, yet I choose to.
I didn’t come from wealth like the others.
Where I grew up, you had to work your ass off to get anywhere in life, so I’ll always want to pay my way.
Plus, my security job counts toward extra credit, and I sleep better at night knowing I’m helping keep omegas on campus safe. Omegas like Faye.
“What’re you gonna do about it, grandad?” one young buck calls back.
I’m only a few years older than them, but it feels like decades. And cocky little fucks like him get my back up. Teaching him a lesson he won’t forget would be the ideal way to release my frustration.
“What am I going to do about it?” I charge at him, grab him by the scruff of his shirt, then throw him to the ground like the piece of trash he is. “I’ll show you what I’m going to do—”
“Damon!” Lucky for the punk buck, Rook, a fellow security guard, steps in. He yanks me back before addressing the cowering alpha on the floor who’s suddenly lost his bravado. “Scram, kid. And next time, behave yourself. Okay?”
Cursing under his breath, the young alpha jumps up and smooths down his shirt, trying to pretend he’s not fazed by me putting him flat on his ass. I don’t bother trying to stifle my growl. If he wants more, then I’ll show him more.
“Easy, pussycat.” Rook grabs my jacket to hold me back. “Let him go. You want to keep your job, don’t you?”
Our boss, Orin, has a zero-violence policy. Much to my dismay, that means we have to use the bare minimum amount of force to maintain safety, and we have to keep our noses clean in order to stay on the team.
I shrug him off roughly. “Get off me.”
“What’s going on?” Rook’s unruly, dark eyebrows lower, transforming his usually relaxed expression as he rubs his beard. “You look like you wanna kill someone. If I hadn’t shown up…”
Rook is part of the Whitlock Pack. He’s a decent guy, who is also majoring in criminal justice. Aside from my pack, he’s my best friend—not that I’ll tell him that. I’d never hear the end of it.
“I’m fine,” I snap. Do I look like I need a babysitter? “I had the situation under control.”
Rook knows better than to argue with me, though both of us know I’m lying. I’ll thank him another time after I’ve cooled off.
“You need to get your shit together, pussycat.” His nickname for me only winds me up more. “Leave the young alphas to me today, okay?”
I push past him. “Outta my way.”
The truth is, Faye has gotten under my skin.
This is why I never wanted to find an omega in the first place.
Not one that I cared about anyway. Ren has always been a romantic, Laz craves an omega to pamper, and Cole’s been looking for someone to complete us.
He thinks that having an omega will solidify our pack.
Cole’s fathers attempt to match us with Belle—the devil incarnate—ended in disaster.
But I’d rather we had a pack omega like Belle than someone like Faye.
Someone I may actually want. I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt her.
I stalk back to the pack house, barking at any young alpha who gets under my feet.
At home, the entire place stinks of her. Or maybe her scent has seeped into my skin. Wherever it’s coming from, I need it gone.
Laz arches an eyebrow. “You finally decided to come back, then.”
He, Cole, and Ren are sitting around on the sofa, almost exactly where I left them, except there’s now a gaping hole where she was. How is it possible that, after only a few hours, this place no longer seems complete without her?
“We need to talk.” Great. Cole’s using his no-bullshit pack leader voice that he reserves for serious situations.
“I’m not in the mood.” I roll my neck.
I roll my eyes at Ren’s dreamy expression. If he was a cartoon character, his eyes would be full of hearts. “Faye’s the one,” he sighs wistfully.
“Just because one omega finally shows you a bit of attention doesn’t mean she’s the one!”
That was low, especially after what happened with Belle and knowing how badly it affected Ren, but I couldn’t stop myself. I’ll add guilt to the heaping pile of emotional shit I feel.
“Ignore him, Ren.” Laz glares at me. “It’s just Damon being Damon.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, huh?”
“Enough,” Cole growls. “We’re not fighting about this.”
“So what do you want me to do? Help you pick out where you want your bond mark? She’s a fucking liability!” I recall how I caught her wandering around alone at night. “You may all think she’s your scent match, but I want nothing to do with it.”
“Tell me you don’t feel it,” Cole challenges me, standing and drawing himself up to full height. “If you can honestly say that you don’t feel the connection too, then I’ll drop it.”
He’s lucky he’s our pack leader, or I’d clock him right now. Although that doesn’t mean I like him much right now, especially because I know he’s right.
“I’m going for a ride.” I grab my motorcycle helmet. “Don’t wait up.”
It’s easy for them to be excited. Finding an omega is one thing, let alone your fucking scent match. This is my worst nightmare. It’s best for everyone if I stay the hell away from her, even if every instinct in my body wants to draw her closer.