chapter TEN
Tyler
N umbers don't lie. That's why I prefer them to people.
The team had a stable dynamic before Reese Callahan arrived. Eight guys, all known quantities, producing consistent results. Now we have a new variable that's small in size but somehow changing everything.
Weird.
I've been awake since 3:45 AM, working on problem sets for Advanced Statistical Methods. My brain works best in these quiet hours when everyone else is sleeping. Usually, I'm the only one up at this hour, except sometimes Gray, who seems to run on about three hours of sleep.
But this is the second strange thing in twelve hours. First, the sounds from Eli's room last night. Jackson's voice, then rhythmic thumping against the wall that didn't need much interpretation. Nothing new there: their arrangement has been obvious to anyone paying attention for years.
What was new was the intensity. The raised voices beforehand. The sudden silence after. And Jackson didn't leave immediately like he usually does. He stayed until at least 2 AM, when I finally fell asleep.
When patterns change, it means something's shifted.
And now Eli, sneaking out before practice, checking his phone like he's meeting someone.
I close my laptop. Some things you can only figure out by watching directly.
Three minutes later, I'm following Eli at a distance. Campus is mostly empty, so I have to stay way back to avoid being spotted. Luckily, Eli seems too focused to notice he's being followed.
His destination becomes clear as he approaches the campus coffee cart. The only place that serves food before 6 AM, mostly for med students and athletes. Someone's already waiting there. A small figure with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.
Reese.
I slow down, finding a good spot behind the big oak tree about twenty meters away. Close enough to see but not hear their conversation.
Their body language tells the story. Reese stands with her arms crossed, shoulders tight.
Defensive. Eli keeps his distance, which is unusual since he's normally less careful about personal space than most Alphas.
They're talking quietly, Eli doing most of the talking at first, Reese mostly shaking her head.
I check my phone. 4:37 AM. They'll need to wrap this up by 4:50 to make it to practice on time.
What could be so important that it requires a secret pre-dawn meeting?
Then Eli hands Reese something small. A blister pack of medication which she quickly stuffs in her back pocket. The exchange seems significant, especially how her posture relaxes right after.
I've been watching Reese closely since she arrived.
Not in a creepy way. It's just natural curiosity mixed with family business.
Wu Technologies focuses heavily on designation pharmaceuticals, and my father expects me to join the company after graduation.
Specifically, their Omega Wellness Division, even though I'd rather stick to pure research.
So I notice things about designations that others might miss. Like how Reese keeps precise distance from all Alphas. How she avoids common areas during busy times. How she has no scent signature at all, not even the mild pheromones typical of Betas.
Most telling: how she tracks Jackson's location constantly, giving him more space than anyone else on the team. And Jackson's sensitivity to Omega pheromones is well-known after what happened with Meredith his freshman year.
The pieces fit together pretty simply: Reese Callahan isn't a Beta. She's an Omega on suppressants.
And based on this morning's pill exchange, Eli knows and is helping her hide it.
Their conversation shifts. Eli gestures toward the team house, Reese shakes her head hard. He steps closer and says something that makes her pause, then reluctantly nod.
They both check the time. 4:46 AM. Eli points toward the boathouse, Reese nods. They separate, taking different paths to the same destination.
I wait thirty seconds, then follow at a distance.
My mind works through what this means. If Reese is an Omega, her presence on our team violates University Policy SRU-478.
3. Which was enacted after the 2019 Concordia University scandal where five Alphas bonded with an Omega team manager, resulting in lawsuits and policy changes across college athletics.
Sable Ridge explicitly prohibits bonded athletic teams now, despite their performance advantages, calling the risks "unacceptable to institutional integrity. "
But that doesn't explain why she left Westlake's women's team, which wouldn't have the same bonding risks.
Unless the timing of her departure lines up with Westlake's aggressive enforcement of their "Omega Disclosure Policy" requiring all Omega athletes to register with administration and undergo mandatory heat supervision.
The policy was widely criticized as discriminatory, forcing Omegas to either publicly declare their status or falsify records.
She chose a third option: transfer to a program where she could pass as Beta and avoid both disclosure and whatever stigma she thinks comes with revealing her designation. Smart, but risky.
As I near the boathouse, Gray's Range Rover is already in the parking lot. Our captain always arrives first. Bo's truck pulls in as I approach, the big guy yawning as he gets out.
"Morning, brainiac," he calls out, spotting me. "You're earlier than usual."
I shrug. "Couldn't sleep. Too much caffeine yesterday."
"Your brain ever shut off?" He falls into step beside me, morning grogginess doing nothing to diminish how intimidating he is.
"Not really," I admit.
Bo chuckles. "Sometimes I think you're more computer than human, Wu."
If only. Computers don't get curious about things that aren't their business. They don't follow teammates to secret meetings or piece together puzzles about designation deception.
Inside the boathouse, Gray is already setting out equipment mechanically. Eli stands near the oar rack, checking his phone. No sign of Reese yet.
"Where's Callahan?" Gray asks without looking up. "Practice starts in six minutes."
"Probably on her way," Bo answers, stretching his arms above his head. "She's never late."
Right on cue, the door opens and Reese enters. Her face reveals nothing of her early meeting with Eli.
"Morning," she says briskly, setting down her bag. "I was thinking we should focus on the start sequence today. Our first twenty strokes are still off."
Gray finally looks up. "I made notes in your strategy book. We'll discuss it after warm-ups."
"Sounds good," she replies smoothly.
There's tension in her posture that most people would miss, but I notice everything. Slight elevation in breathing rate, minimal pupil dilation, a micro-expression of relief when Gray mentions only strategy notes. She's worried about something in that notebook beyond rowing plans.
The rest of the team arrives quickly. Beckett still half-asleep but managing his usual smile. Zane bouncing with morning energy, already talking about some weekend party. Cameron silent as always, just nodding acknowledgment.
Jackson arrives last, cutting it close like usual. His eyes immediately find Eli, something unspoken passing between them. Then his gaze shifts to Reese, and I catch it. The slight flaring of nostrils, the tension in his jaw. A reaction worth noting.
As we move through warm-ups, I watch the subtle dynamics between the three of them. Eli positioning himself between Jackson and Reese. Jackson keeping rigid distance. Reese glancing between them when she thinks no one's watching.
This isn't a simple situation anymore. It's a complex system with multiple variables affecting each other in ways I can't predict.
We get on the water, and for a moment, all the complications fade. There's just the rhythm, the synchronized pull, the bite of oars in water. Reese's voice drops into that commanding pitch that even I respond to instinctively.
"Power ten in two," she calls. "One, two—drive!"
The boat surges forward, eight bodies working as one. This is what I love about rowing, the clean precision of it. Inputs and outputs. Cause and effect. No messy emotions or designation drama, just physics and physiology working together.
But as we cut through morning mist, my mind keeps calculating. If Reese is an Omega, how long before others figure it out? What happens to team dynamics when they do? What about Gray, our traditionalist captain with his legacy family expectations?
And Eli and Jackson. How does their relationship factor into this? Last night's intensity suggests emotional complications, not just physical release.
Too many unknowns. Not enough data for accurate predictions.
When practice ends, I hang back, watching interactions with new awareness.
Gray returns Reese's notebook, their fingers brushing briefly.
She flips through it immediately, tension visible until she reaches the back pages.
Relief crosses her face—whatever she was afraid Gray would find, he apparently didn't.
Or didn't mention.
Eli approaches her as we rack the boat, their conversation too quiet to hear. Jackson watches from a distance, expression unreadable but body language tense.
Bo notices too. "What's up with Reed today?" he asks me quietly. "More broody than usual."
"Don't know," I reply. "Hard to tell with him."
Bo gives me a look. "You notice everything, Wu. Don't play dumb."
I shrug. "Complex situations take time to figure out."
"If that's your way of saying 'mind your own business,' just say so," he laughs, clapping my shoulder hard enough to make me stumble forward.
"Mind your own business, Strickland," I say dryly.
"Where's the fun in that?" He grins, then gets more serious. "But something's off with the team today. You feel it too, right?"
I nod reluctantly. "Variables realigning."
"English, professor."
"People are acting differently. It's throwing off the usual patterns."