Chapter 8 – Zale
Chapter Eight
Zale
I n a world where Fated Mates were a myth, a dying legend, it was normal for most people to ‘settle’ for Chosen Mates. Like my parents. With a higher alpha population, there was more competition for omegas–-marriages became more strategic, centering on money, status and power. If they were lucky, there was happiness, but there were always tainted by that lingering hesitation of ‘what if?’.
What if they chose the wrong partner?
What if they met their Fated Mate later?
The Vos’ family were different. They might have wealth and influence like my own parents, but that’s where the similarities ended. At the front door of their grand sprawling home on the outskirts of town.
Samuel Vos had been the one to birth the twins, but that didn’t make him any less intimidating as he poured me a glass of wine. Rachel, the alpha in the pairing, sits at her husband's side as if there was nowhere else she’d rather be. Watching the couple, they seemed to gravitate naturally towards one another. Small touches, secretive smiles.
I wanted something like that, something that felt…real. As if she can hear my thoughts, Millie slides her hand across the back of my chair and slowly snakes it into my hair as we make small talk with her parents in their ornate and lavish dining room.
Tonight, she’s wearing a red wrap dress that makes her look amazing, and with her sitting so close, her sweet now familiar scent envelopes me. Something in the back of my mind whispers that the smell isn’t quite right, but I ignore it. I can’t detect anything wrong, she looks the same as she always does, her perfume is the same. It’s just me, and the awkward tension with Shiloh getting inside my head. Making me nervous.
“Have you given any thought as to what you’ll do when you finish college?” Rachel asks me, with a wide smile. I can see where Millie, and Shiloh get their dark hair and full lips from. Their mother is beautiful, in a very classic way.
I know she’s just making polite conversation, and trying to make an effort with me as their daughter's boyfriend, but my mouth goes dry. I’m glad I made an effort to wear a shirt, and black trousers because at least that was one thing I didn’t have to worry about.
Millie has decided she wants to become a lecturer and stay in academia. She’s been talking about it for weeks now, trying to drop subtle hints about wanting to settle and focus all her efforts into a PhD program here at Oakley. She might be talking about her future plans, but really, she’s pushing me for mine. She wants to know if I’ll be by her side, if I’m committed to this relationship like she is.
What am I doing after college?
Whatever my parents want is the honest answer. I don’t have much choice, not when I was born a Blackwood. Maybe if my omega father had come from a less affluent family or if my alpha father hadn’t been a tycoon, then maybe all they would want for me was to be happy and settle down. Maybe.
“Um, I’m going to work at Blackwood Tech. With my father.” Millie’s nails rove over my scalp, sending a full body shiver through me.
“It sounds like you have a solid plan,” Samuel says gently as he begins to clear the plates away. He’s already explained earlier in the evening that once dinner had been served, they’d instructed their staff to finish for the night. This was an intimate meal for the family to spend some time together and get to know me a little better. The thoughtful omega is where the twins have inherited their green eyes, and when they’re fixed on me, I feel myself relaxing a little.
Shiloh sits at the head of the table, saying nothing as he twirls his fork between his slender fingers before he pushes to his feet. “Let me help, dad.”
Wearing a black oversized turtleneck with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, a pair of black jeans and his hair half tied up, he looks like he might be the twin in academia rather than Millie. I admire the way he doesn’t seem to give a fuck about what others think, including his parents. My parents expect me to be dressed smartly whenever we meet for dinner, even if it’s only at home.
All evening, he’d been polite. Frustratingly polite. Well, polite boarding on stone cold. He’s only made conversation with his parents, including me or Millie only when he couldn’t avoid it.
“Your mother and Millie are going to get some of the family albums out in the sitting room. Perhaps I can help them with that while Zale here helps you clear the plates.” He gives me a knowing look, throwing me a bone so I can try and get the prickly beta on my side.
“Of course. More than happy to help.” Millie detaches herself from me with a small huff of annoyance, but her eyes shine with approval as I clearly win over her parents.
Shiloh continues to ignore me as we enter the huge kitchen. Ignores me while we put the leftovers in the fridge. Ignores me while we rinse off the plates and stack them in the dishwasher. The silence continues to stretch as we do the same for the cutlery and I hate it.
I watch, leaning against one of the counters while he roots around in the cupboard for a dishwasher tablet, before tossing it in and turning the machine on.
Sighing, I run a hand through my hair. “Look, I want to apologize?—”
Holding up a hand, he cuts me off. “Don’t worry about it. Save your breath.”
Pushing off the counter, I grunt with frustration. “Why have you always gotta be so…”
“Charming? Delightful?” Shiloh tilts his head at me, peering at me from beyond his fake glasses as if he’s daring me to say something. I realized pretty quickly that they weren’t prescription lenses, it was one of the reasons I felt less guilty about taking my time to hand them back.
“Fucking infuriating and you know it.” There’s a hint of something buttery and sweet lingering in the air, spiking as he glares at me and I have the strangest urge to grab his hair and pull him to me. Make him submit. Make him understand that I am the alpha here. What the fuck?
He scoffs, as if I’m the one being difficult. “Let’s just get through this evening and play nice.”
Shaking my head and the odd alpha haze that seems to have crept its way into my brain, I step back. Away from the danger. “Yeah. Fine.”
Shiloh blinks, long, dark eyelashes fluttering as he’s clearly taken aback by my easy concession. “And when the project is done, we won’t even have to email anymore. How does that sound?”
“Like bliss.” I lie, ignoring the way my fingers twitch with the urge to push back the curl that’s fallen in front of his eyes. My instincts are running wild as a strange feeling under my skin spreads through me like a low simmer. Was my rut coming sooner than I thought? Why was I reacting to the beta before me? It must be because Millie’s pheromones are everywhere in this house. That’s the only logical thing I can think of.
He clears his throat, before pushing past me. “Exactly.”
I’m barely alone in the kitchen for five minutes before Millie comes in, glancing over her shoulder. It’s all wrong, the smell…it’s too soft. Too sweet.
“Hey baby,” she croons, wrapping her arms around my waist as she looks up at me. “My parents adore you! Thank you for charming them tonight.”
Offering her a weak smile, I can’t seem to focus. Why was Shiloh always trying to argue with me? Trying to close me out? I just wanted to be…what? Friends? No. But I didn’t want to be his enemy either. Fuck.
“I think you’re pretty great too…” Millie whispers, placing a soft kiss on my lips as her fingers work on undoing my belt buckle.
Dragged away from thoughts of her pain in the ass brother, I freeze. “What are you doing?”
Her fingers slip below my waist band, brushing against my skin. “I wanna show you just how much I appreciate you.”
Freezing, I exhale slowly. “You don’t have to do that.”
She presses her palm against the bulge in my trousers. “But you’re already rock hard.”
Since when? Why was my cock leaking precum in my pants? I hiss as she pinches the tip. “Someone will see!”
“Not if we’re quick.” She pushes me backwards into the pantry, where we’re a little less obvious and partially hidden by some of the shelving.
I’ll be able to see if anyone comes into the kitchen, but that’s not enough to make me comfortable with the situation.
“Mills, this really isn’t a good idea. They’re waiting for us.”
Ignoring me and dropping to her knees, she makes quick work of pulling out my cock. A wet heat wraps itself around the head of my dick before it vanishes between her perfect red lips.
I can’t believe I’m doing this here. Now. It had been a while since we’d been intimate, between football, college and volunteering, it didn’t leave a lot of time for sex. It had never been a priority for us, which was surprising considering how our relationship had started.
Weaving my hands into her curls, I close my eyes, throwing my head back as I try to focus on the blowjob at hand. My mind doesn’t seem to want to play ball as I start wondering what Shiloh picked up in that sex shop, the Velvet Knot. I can’t believe I’d run into him and Bell when I left my session at the community center. I’d almost done one of those comedic double-takes as my brain registered what I was seeing.
Millie pulls back to spit messily on my shaft and balls before taking me back into her mouth. Did you know that you could get toys that looked like a mouth? I wonder if he was into that kind of thing. Maybe he preferred something else, after all I wasn’t oblivious to the rumors. Maybe instead of a fleshlight he preferred something a little more filling?
Would an alpha knot knock that smug look off his face? Curb that razor sharp tongue of his as it stretched out his pretty pink hole.
My hips buck, thrusting harder.
Fuck.
Shit.
Was I just picturing her brother? What is wrong with me? I try to step back but Millie’s grabbing my ass, holding me in place as she bobs up and down on my throbbing cock. It feels like I can’t breathe as my mind goes hazy and my palms sweat. Hurry up and come, I will myself. Just get this done with. And then I could get some fresh air and sort out the jumbled mess of thoughts suffocating me.
A soft exhale makes me crack my eyes open, and standing in the kitchen is Shiloh, holding a bottle of wine, skin flushed as his mossy green gaze locks with mine.
Shit. I should move.
Say something.
Put an end to this.
Instead, I fist Millie’s hair and slowly thrust into her mouth, rolling my hips as I take back control of the situation. The only noise is the sound of Millie spitting and dribbling on my cock with every lazy thrust. I’m surprised she can’t hear the way my heart is hammering in my chest. In the back of my head, I know what I’m doing is wrong. Perverted. Fucked up. But I can’t seem to stop myself as my balls tighten.
A wicked smile has the corner of my mouth lifting as we’re trapped in this frozen moment, where he doesn’t leave and I don’t make him. Shiloh doesn’t look away, and the pink on his cheeks spreads down his neck as I come, my orgasm barreling into me as I let out a low grunt that seems to echo over the kitchen tiles, like a pebble skipping across a lake.
Millie gags as she swallows me back down to the root, nose buried in my pubes with a satisfied groan. The thread between us and the hold it has on us snaps, breaking the spell we’re under.
And without so much as another blink of those long lashes, he flees from the room.
Fuck.
I’d fucked up.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
My skin feels clammy as my stomach churns. My cock slips from Millie’s mouth, spent.
“Hey, is everything okay?” Getting to her feet, she straightens her dress and smoothed down her hair. I haven’t moved, haven’t tucked myself away or even blinked. I think I may have also stopped breathing.
“Huh?”
“You seem a little out of it.” She chuckles, the sound sweet and warm. Goddess, what was wrong with me? Why had I done that? This girl was everything good and nice. She was practically the personification of apple pie and ice cream. The one you brought home to the parents. The one you grew old with surrounded by hordes of grandchildren. “Was it that good?”
“Mmm. Yeah.” I nod. I can’t be here. Finally sorting out myself, I slide my hands into my pockets. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“What?” Green eyes blink up at me, filled with confusion. They’re the wrong shade. “But we just got out the baby pictures.”
Sighing, I rock back on my feet. “I’m sure you were just as adorable back then as you are now. I just…I’m not feeling too great.”
“Oh…” And like the perfect omega partner she is, she immediately looks concerned, pressing her hand against my forehead. “You are a little warm. Come say goodbye to my parents and I’ll order you a ride.”
T he whole ride back home I wrestle with my guilt. What the hell was I thinking? Where did those thoughts even come from? What was I going to do? Act like that never happened? Avoid Shiloh? Avoid Millie? What was the right thing here? A churning in my gut makes me groan as I toss my head back in the seat and watch Oakley go by in a blur. It feels like I’ve barely blinked before we’re pulling up outside the house. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I know without looking it’s Mills. But I can’t read it right now.
Letting myself in the front door, I try to creep past the living room where I can hear my housemates, but Hunter spots me.
“Hey man, how was dinner?” he calls with a wave as he looks up from the video game they’re playing. He’s sitting on the floor with a bowl of popcorn between his legs, while Evans lays across the sofa and Blake is reading a book, settled in the armchair. Surprisingly for a Saturday night, there’s no Sadie or any other omega lingering around.
“Good.” I say, giving a partial even though it feels like my insides are churning away in a blender. Millie’s parents liked me, Millie was pleased with how the evening went and I got my dick sucked. All positives, right? The fact that I came while making weird eye contact with her brother was an issue, but I couldn’t focus on that for too long right now or I might have a full-blown panic attack. “I didn’t think you were staying in.”
Hunter pauses the game and gets to his feet with a stretch and a grunt while Evans picks up his phone and scrolls through it lazily while Blake watches me over the edge of his book.
“Evans is still semi-avoiding Sadie since she sent him a relationship request on SocialBuzz.” With a wide grin, Hunter slaps my arm on his way to the kitchen as Evans flips him off. “I might head over to the house party over on Woodrow later if you wanna join. Blake is being boring since he has a paper due.”
Blake snorts as he closes his book and snatches up the abandoned bowl of popcorn, shoveling a handful in his mouth. “Yeah, goddess forbid I might actually want to graduate in the summer.”
Eyes narrowing he looks me over carefully. “Everything alright?”
Swallowing awkwardly, I nod. “Um, yeah.”
I always seem to forget how perceptive Blake is, always picking up on things that others miss. It’s one of the ways he managed to worm his way into being my best friend. Others look at me and see the Blackwood alpha heir. Good grades, good looks, money, status, on the football team and they assume I have it all. And in theory I do.
Blake was the only one to notice the cracks. The pressure. The constant need to always be ‘Zale Blackwood’, always be charming or polite.
Shiloh is the other exception to my public persona. I may not have bullied him like the others, but I never stopped them either. He gets under my skin in a way I can’t explain, I can never seem to keep my cool around him and everything always falls apart – whether that means we fight, or…make intense eye contact while I come. No. Stop thinking about it.
“Of course he isn’t!” Evans scoffs, slapping one of the couch cushions. “I told you man. These omegas invite us for dinner with their parents and it’s game over. Next thing you know we’re married with babies and business mergers under our belts.”
He’s leaning up on his elbows as he waves his phone around as if to show us proof.“Business mergers?” Hunter comes back carrying a bag of chips, and a four pack of beer. He pulls a tub of dip out of his hoodie pocket while I perch myself on the edge of the sofa, waiting to hear Evans’ theory.
“Oakley is an elite college, there’s a reason parents across the country scramble to send their children here. This institution is the bedrock for so many power couples.” He pulls a face as he looks between us, like we’re stupid or completely ignorant. Rolling his eyes, he sits up and starts using his fingers to count off his points. “Wealth, power, scandal, sex–this college has it all. All the most eligible alphas and omegas walk these halls. It’s like a four-year job interview, and the results decide the rest of your life.”
“What about love?” Blake queries, amusements shining in his eyes.
It’s different for him. Blake’s father is a beta who teaches at a high school, while his beta mother stays at home with his younger sisters and writes children’s books. They don’t pressure him. There are no expectations for him to find an appropriate omega and settle down. He’s here because he’s an incredible athlete and intelligent enough to land a full scholarship.
“Love is so far down the list, my friend.” Evans cracks the top of a beer, shaking his head.
Hunter pauses mid-munch to tilt his head at our friend. “How did I not realize how cynical you are?”
Demolishing half of the beer in one giant gulp, Evans rubs his chest and burps loudly. “My alpha dad has had three marriages. He met my mother here at Oakley when they were students and wife number two was a graduate he met at an alumni mixer in Riverview.”
Curious, I take the beer Hunter is offering and ask, “What about the third?”
Evans shrugs as his phone lights up. “Oh, she was a stripper. But she doesn’t count, she’s a beta.”
I ignore the way Blake’s jaw tightens, getting to my feet. We live in a world where not everyone is equal, and in an institution like Oakley, it was ingrained into culture. There was no escaping it.
I know Shiloh was treated like shit by the others, but was it like that for him outside Oakley University too? Did strangers look down on him for being a beta? What did that mean for his future? Should I have a word with Sadie? Get her to back off? Or would that make everything worse?
Finishing up my beer, I crush the can and give Blake a small nod. “And after that enlightening life lesson from Evans, I’m gonna head to bed.”
Why did I care?
The beta didn’t even like me.