3. Ezy
Chapter three
Ezy
E zy Aged 22
The soft notes of the orchestra are grating tonight. I pull at the sleeves of my tux and return my gaze to watching the elite of society; those who have more money than Midas preen and peacock their way around the room. It’s a beautiful room, just like all the others.
I’m bored with the lights and the small conversation that sounds so polite yet cuts deeper than the sharpest knife.
I feel like I’m drowning in this pretentious existence that I never wanted.
“Stop fidgeting!”
I glance at my mother and try really hard to imagine a life without her in it. She pinches the skin on my hand hard enough to leave a bruise. I don’t flinch; I don’t even acknowledge that she’s done it.
“Go and dance with the Fisher omega.”
“Yes, Mother.” It’s the only appropriate answer, and it comes out of me with practised efficiency.
I walk away from her, not to do as she asks because Charis is only fifteen years old, and her scent makes me feel faintly ill, but to escape.
The dim lighting and flickering candlelight is giving me a headache, as does the bombardment of scents. The rich don’t use scent blockers, these people use scent enhancers; it’s all the rage, right now.
I don’t want to do this.
It takes me twenty minutes to do a round of the room. I know everyone by name. All of them know mine.
I don’t want this.
I feel like the tux is slowly tightening, threatening to strangle me to death on this polished floor.
Ezekial, stand up straight. Don’t eat too much, don’t drink too much. Walk with confidence. Act charming. Assert your alpha but don’t pick fights. Be better. Be excellent. Don’t be you.
Don’t be me.
What’s so wrong with me?
My mother’s voice gets louder and louder until I could scream.
I don’t know how I get out onto the street, but my hands are clenched so hard that I’m bleeding. I’m breathing so fast I’m almost doubled over. It hurts, it all hurts.
I don’t know when I made the decision to run, but, suddenly, it’s all I can think about. Anything is better than living another second here.
I peel off the jacket, throwing it and my life away, and hail a cab. My first stop is to get some money, then I’m getting on a plane.
The only thing that matters is getting away from here.
If I don’t, I’m sure I’m going to die.
P resent Day
The most stunning scent is mixing with the smell of the beach, and all I can do is watch as the three savages stalk away with the little golden omega. It’s the same scent as those jasmine plants my grandfather had planted for his omega. The ones that only bloom at night. I haven’t smelled that scent in forever.
I turn my eyes on the blue-haired alpha. He’s got her in his arms again, but the others look feral. Little island kids who grew up without manners or rules. To be fair, I knew plenty of kids in the city like these guys, but none quite so intimidating.
Assholes.
Kelly mops up the blood from his nose and lets out a frustrated sound. His eyes land on me, heavy with accusation. With a growl, he turns away angrily.
I don’t care. How could I explain what happened? There was no way he’d be okay with ‘hey, so I met someone on the Internet, except I know nothing about her, and I went to meet her, but she stood me up, so please forgive me?’
“What the fuck, Ezy?”
“We were exchanging emails.” I shrug my shoulders, gazing in the direction that the guys disappeared with her. “We were going to meet, and she never rocked up, I thought…well, no, my feelings got hurt, so I just blocked her, and I moved on.”
Kelly finally looks back at me, but I don’t see any forgiveness on his face.
“How is it that our scent match is someone we’ve all met and is living here on this island so close to where we are? Hell, we’ve been here before!” Gael shouts and then stops. “And who the fuck are they?”
I consider the trio of alphas again. Shale had blue hair and a vibe that was just fucking crazy. The other two weren’t much better, but the way they touched her, the care, the gentleness. They were so hot.
What? No!
“Shale was the one who hit you, Kelly. Keagan has the long blond hair, and the guy with the tattoos is Beau. She spoke about them a lot,” I murmur. I think she was hoping I would like them.
“She hasn’t been bonded.”
I turn my head to Kelly. “So?”
“So, we still have a chance to win her over. We can try, I don’t know, wooing or something,” Kelly mutters. “We can save her, at least, and get her away from those nut jobs.”
“Yeah, okay.” I scoff, flop down on the sand, and close my eyes. Her scent fills my nose.
I relive the moment I caught the scent while we were fighting to get her back to the beach. The sudden fear had been so intense, it had almost stopped me from moving.
Gael sits beside me. I open my eyes so I can watch him. He turns his head to look at Kelly, who is pacing aggressively in front of us.
“We need to talk, Kelly, and strategise, so come sit and stop breathing flames.”
“I really fucking hate that guy.”
“Yeah, but he’s got a decent arm on him,” I add with a snort.
“So, what we’re proposing is simple. We’re stealing the omega from the pack that claimed her?”
“Claimed but not bonded.”
“They look insane,” I say and hate how unsure I am. They don’t look insane, they looked furious.
“Which is why we need to save her.”
I close my eyes, seeing the way Keagan had looked me up and down. His interesting blue eyes had crinkled, and his lush lips had turned up on one side. He had found me wanting. I know it. I didn’t pass his checklist. Of whatever was supposed to be on it. But that change from mocking to deadly was as alarming as it was frightening.
And the whole time our omega had huddled in the tatted up psycho’s arms, hiding, shrinking from us.
Has she been bullied? Is she intimidated by them?
Maybe their kindness is a show. They look barbaric. She could be stuck, like in a cult or a gang.
Maybe she needs our help.
“Okay, so we need to save her,” I repeat, trying to get my head around it. “It’s the least we can do.”
“Let’s head back to the hotel and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we can see if we can find her. It shouldn’t be that hard.”
I roll to my feet, following Kelly as he leads us back to the hotel.
It doesn’t sound right that she needs rescuing, but I’m not sure what else to call it because the very idea of being in a pack with those guys is just not an option. There’s no way she could ever be happy with a pack like them.
N o one will tell us anything about her.
The only thing they will say if we ask about Aspyn is this one word. Daane. I have no idea what it means, but it makes people tremble. It leaves them closing doors and shutters and turning away from us when they see us on the street.
I let out a huff as yet another vendor packs up rather than giving us answers.
Beau leans on the wall opposite us and watches our progress with a shit-eating grin. His eyes are green, and his hair is shaggy but short. He’s wearing a shirt that’s open, showing off his body, which is covered in tattoos.
I try my best to ignore him. But it’s like trying to ignore a circling shark.
“Hey, lover,” he croons, and I jump slightly. “Are you having fun?”
“You can’t hide her forever,” I snarl at him. When he just laughs, I lose my temper and snarl. “What’s your name, anyway?” I ask even though I saw it on a photo in one of the shops that confirmed the information from my emails. Beau, it’s nice, and it suits his lilting accent.
He looks at Kelly and Gael, who are walking down the street, unaware I’m caught by the enemy.
“We can,” he leans in, slides a hand up under my shirt, and brushes his fingers over my warm skin.
I try not to show much it affects me.
“Why are you doing this?”
Beau leans in close and licks his lips, smirking when I drop my eyes to watch.
“I find it hilarious to watch you try so hard. You have no idea what you’re up against.”
“And what am I up against? How about you tell me?” I’m normally the most laid-back guy, but these three alphas are putting me on edge, so my words come out with a dangerous sharpness.
“I would, but it’s more fun to let you figure it out on your own.”
I huff in annoyance and try to turn away. Beau slams a hand against my throat and squeezes. I still, blinking at him, because no one has ever touched me like this. I’m not entirely sure what to do. The last thing I want to do is brawl on the street and upset her before we’ve even met.
But he’s got his hand around my throat, and I don’t like that I want to lift my chin in submission to him. I fight the urge with everything in me.
Beau leans forward and brushes his nose across my cheek. “You are so adorably stupid, Ezy.”
“I-”
“I know why they call you Ezy,” Beau whispers.
“Why?” I can’t help but ask.
“They call you Ezy because you’re so pretty. Things must come Ezy to you.”
I flinch, but it doesn’t stop this alpha’s probing, knowledgeable stare. How does he know that I’ve heard that before? How does he know that actually is part of the reason I call myself Ezy?
“You have spoiled, rich-born alpha written all over you. Here’s some advice. Take your alphas, forget about my omega, and go home. Buy yourself a toy. I’m sure you can forget about her easily enough.” He flicks a disgusted look down my person and raises an eyebrow. “After all, you’ve done it before.”
Beau snickers and looks down at my lips. He leans in again, and I think he’s going to kiss me, and I’m not sure what to think about that. Or ready to admit how much I want him to, but instead, he just whispers one more thing.
“I’ve read every email you sent my girl. All your secrets are mine.”
I stand there long after he’s gone, feeling sick, but I still can’t regret reaching out to Aspyn and becoming friends.