Chapter 9 Jagger
NINE
Jagger
PRESENT DAY
It’s been hard to study due to all the extra attention I’ve been attracting around campus.
Luckily, one of my professors agreed to meet me in the music room this evening to tutor me on last week’s lesson.
The other students have been particularly distracting, bombarding me with requests for autographs and an endless string of questions, making it impossible to concentrate, so I’m grateful for the extra tuition.
Nash, although reluctant, agreed to let me attend alone.
It helped that Nash discovered a leaky pipe and jumped at the chance to fix it.
I don’t think I’ve seen him so happy since we moved here.
Although he did insist I wear a disguise.
I opted for a hat, a massive scarf to hide my neck tattoos, fake glasses that distort the shape of my eyes, and a coat that I wouldn’t be seen dead in otherwise.
If anyone looked at me for too long, they might have recognized me, but at dusk, I got away with it.
I have a driver who escorts me places, so I asked him to pull up at the Tea House on the way home to see if Tae needed a ride. I tried texting him a few times but never got an answer.
When we arrived, the cafe showed no signs of life, no golf carts, bikes, or lights on inside to indicate that anyone is around. Maybe they migrated elsewhere after whatever work function they were having.
I pull out my cell phone to check the tracker app. Nash asked us to install it so that we can trace each other’s locations as a safety precaution. I frown at the screen. Tae’s cell is definitely flashing from inside the building.
He’s here somewhere.
The front door is closed, so I stroll around the side of the building, following the dot on the screen. If there are still people inside, it’s strangely quiet.
I almost tripped over my feet when I catch a hint of a scent I haven’t smelled in a long time—a freshly baked apple pie that reminds me of one my grandma used to make.
All reason seems to go out the window as I reach the back door to the Tea House.
The door is unlocked, and the instant I push it open, I’m met with that sweet smell again yet stronger.
Crisp apples, buttery crust, silky vanilla cream…
Her scent hits me like a blast from a warm oven, making me drool and pushing my legs forward.
One step after the other, I blindly stagger into the Tea House. Entering a campus establishment when it’s closed is definitely enough to get me expelled, but right now, I don’t give a shit.
I jump when my shoulder slams into a stack of mixing bowls, knocking them over. I don’t even turn to see if I’ve caused any damage, my body freezing in place when I see… her.
Delilah Goodwin—my scent match—fucking my packmate.
A low growl tears from the back of my throat as I rip the fake glasses off my face, every primal instinct in my body rushing to the surface. An invisible force pulls me to her, and all I can think is mine, mine, mine. All fucking mine.
Tae nearly stumbles over his pants which are pooled around his ankles, quickly withdrawing from her, cum all over his hands. I don’t pay him any attention, my focus on Delilah as she hurriedly pulls her dress down and jumps off the counter, leaving a delectable puddle behind.
“Jag?” Tae pants, hopping around as he yanks up his pants. “What’re you doing here, man?”
My hands curl into fists. “You said you were at a work thing.”
“I… uh…” Tae fumbles with his zipper, his raging hard-on still visible through his pants as he grins guiltily. “I might have lied about that…”
He grabs a paper towel to clean up the mess before washing his hands.
“Clearly.” I suck in a deep inhale through my nose, trying to quell the rage scalding my insides, but it’s useless. All I can think about is how his cock is covered with my omega’s slick. “You’ve been with her.”
“Her name is Delilah,” Tae counters protectively, stepping forward to stand slightly in front of her, creating a barrier between us as she reaches for her discarded cardigan and pulls it back on, hugging it around herself.
He’s the one who should get out of the way. She’s mine, goddammit!
As much as I love Tae like a brother, I’m using all of my self-control not to pummel my clenched fists into that perfect fucking face of his.
He fucked my omega! He felt her lips on his!
Her pussy drenched his cock! Fury boils through my blood at my ingrained urge to claim her.
To make sure no one else can ever scent or touch her again.
My eyes sweep over the kitchen, homing in on her discarded panties on the floor. She notices me looking at them and quickly grabs them, stuffing them into her cardigan pocket before she meets my gaze for the first time since we last saw each other.
Meeting her gaze makes my knees almost buckle. Shock momentarily rattles through me before the memories flood back—her cute smile, the way she arched her back as pleasure rocked through her, the sound of her moans which still haunt my dreams...
I gave her my fucking soul that weekend—not that she knows it—and now she’s looking at me like she can’t wait to get away.
She shuffles from foot to foot. There’s angst etched into her features, a heaviness in her shoulders that wasn’t previously there the last time I saw her.
She also has a look I recognize all too well because it’s the same one I’ve seen in the mirror every day since I left her: pain.
Even though we never bonded, being ripped away from your scent match causes a physical ache I can’t describe.
Although I left in order to protect her, I’m sure I subjected her to the same pain. Realizing this has guilt compressing my lungs, squeezing my heart and making it hard to breathe.
She’s even more stunning than I remember. Seeing her in that adorable outfit makes me want to cuddle her while simultaneously wanting to tear it off and explore the delicious curves that I know are underneath and taste her sweet slick that’s my personal kryptonite.
I was right. Right about it all. Nothing about my feelings for her were fake or clouded by helping her through heat or whatever lame excuses I’ve been telling myself since I left her.
She’s mine.
My scent match.
Being around her again, there’s no denying it. I inhale sharply, unable to resist. Her sweet apple smell turns tarter and more caramelized, the buttery scent burnt.
“You two know each other?” Her lip curls in revulsion.
The way Tae peers at me, I can tell he wants me to tell her who we are to each other. His mouth contorts, like he’s wrestling to stay silent.
“Yes, we know each other,” I finally answer her question, my eyes never leaving hers.
She folds her arms across her body. “How?”
“Tae is my packmate,” I confess.
Tae’s shoulders sag in relief. Obviously he didn’t want to lie to her.
“So this was all a trick.” Her voice is monotone, utterly devoid of emotion. “Hurting me once wasn’t bad enough, so you had to get your packmate to take me out on a date too? I thought…” Her guard drops for a second, eyes misting over before blinking rapidly. “What I thought doesn’t matter.”
“Wait!” Tae looks between us in confusion. “Do you two know each other?”
“Yes,” I reply as she says, “No.”
“Delilah—”
“No!” She holds up her hand to silence me. “I think I’m done. With both of you.”
She snatches her purse up from the counter then turns to leave. Her scent leaves a trail behind her, providing a stark reminder that she’s not wearing any panties.
I grab her wrist. “Can we just talk?”
She whips around, the feel of her skin sending an electric shock ricocheting through me. My teeth tingle, overcome with the urge to sink them into her soft brown skin to mark her as mine. She feels it too. I can tell from the way her lips part in a breathy gasp. How can she not?
She wrenches her arm back and hisses, “Don’t touch me.”
Shit. I need to calm down before I scare her away.
“Please.” I implore her with my eyes, hoping she can feel my sincerity. “One conversation. That’s all I ask.”
“You don’t get to ask me for anything.” Her coldness is so jarring, I can’t hold back the shiver that darts through me. “Not anymore.”
“What am I missing?” Tae is still oblivious. “Are you gonna tell me what’s going on, Jag?”
“Wow.” Delilah laughs bitterly. “Of course, you haven’t told your packmate about me. Why would you? I’m just some stupid girl you screwed over one weekend.”
I want to beg, but her expression tells me that she won’t listen even if I do. But I can’t give up. Not after seeing her again. Not now that I’ve got confirmation that I didn’t imagine my feelings. She’s my mate.
“Let me explain—”
“I’m leaving.” She turns her back on me, facing Tae. “Thank you for the nice date, but if you’re part of his pack…” She chuffs. “I think it’s best if we don’t see each other anymore.”
“Delilah, wait!” Hearing Tae’s anguished tone makes me feel like an even bigger asshole. As if it’s not bad enough that I’ve broken my own heart, I’m also fucking up Tae’s chances with the most perfect omega in existence. “There must be some kind of misunderstanding.”
“He may have you fooled,” Delilah tells him, “but he won’t be fooling me again.”
Tae’s face crumples in disappointment. “At least let me walk you home?”
“Goodnight, Tae,” she replies, looking right through me as she passes.
The anger I could deal with, but this? The complete nothingness? It feels like she’s wrenched my heart right out of my chest, and my damn palm is still tingling from touching her.
“Del…”
She doesn’t even look back.
When the door closes behind her, I crumple to my knees, wondering how the hell I’m ever going to make this right.