Chapter Four – Jess #2
Yeah, yeah. Coming from old blood, we’re expected to give up everything we wanted, just because we’re taught that preserving our bloodline was what mattered the most.
My voice came out uncharacteristically quiet when I asked her, “And what if what I want and what my aunt wants are opposite?”
Delilah’s lips thinned as she thought about it.
“Unfortunately, unless you get emancipated, she will remain your guardian, and when it comes to omegas, legally choices can be decided by said guardian. But getting emancipated isn’t something that happens overnight.
It can take months, maybe even a year or more for the case to make its way through court—and then you have to prove that, once guardian-free, you’d be able to take care of yourself. ”
Yeah. I didn’t have that kind of time. Too bad I didn’t find the will earlier, maybe then I could’ve worked to get myself seen as a beta in the eyes of the law.
“That said,” she went on, “there are programs out there designed to help omegas who don’t want to be matched. Companies that are helming the spear of change in this country. In fact, I’m working with Alabaster Security on changing quite a lot. Tonight, however, there isn’t much I can do for you.”
My shoulders slumped.
“For now, tonight, I can only tell you what I tell everyone else: go into it with an open mind and an open heart. A lot of times, when omegas are closed off, they’re just waiting for the right alphas to come strolling along.”
The right alphas. Hmm. Maybe if I was a normal omega with all my senses intact, I’d know when the right pack of alphas came along. Maybe I’d be so drawn to them I wouldn’t care about claiming my inheritance and keeping my aunt from it.
But I wasn’t normal. I was broken, and I couldn’t smell for shit. The biggest indicator of a good match was scent when it came to alphas and omegas.
“Now, let’s get you out there so you can meet some alphas.” Delilah motioned for me to get up.
As I slid off the stool, I asked, “If my aunt calls you again—”
“I’ll tell her you were the model of good behavior tonight.
” She tossed me a wink before she led me through the dressing room, to the set of doors that opened up directly into the ballroom, where the other omegas and alphas already were, at their own tables, getting to know each other, as waitstaff flittered about getting drinks and food.
Delilah led me to what must have been my table for the night, and she set a comforting hand on my shoulder before she walked away. A waiter immediately came around to take my drink order, and I just asked for water, my mind elsewhere.
A pair of alphas took up the chairs on the opposite side of the table from me, eyeing me up and down the entire time. I could tell they were smelling me, and that they liked what they smelled.
I, on the other hand, did not react at all to them.
I didn’t even give them a smile. I set my hands on the table, leaning forward as I gave the two alphas my hardest glare and my iciest smile.
“Listen, before you two say a single word, you should know that you won’t be able to win me over.
Maybe you think I’m easy-pickings because I don’t have a sponsor with me, but let me assure you: I will not be having any conversations tonight in good faith.
I’m only here because I have to be, not because I want to be, so why don’t the two of you just get right back up and go find another omega to talk to? ”
They exchanged looks. Though they didn’t say a single word, I could read what they were thinking based on their expressions.
They thought I’d be a handful. Maybe too much trouble. And, what would you know, they were right.
“If you two don’t get up right now, you’ll just be wasting everyone’s time,” I said, my eyes lowering to the two suits they wore, taking in the details, the color combos. “And based on the fact that you’re wearing suits from three seasons ago, I’d say you’re already late.”
Maybe it was a bitch move to reference the fact that their suits were obviously older—I didn’t know who these two alphas were, which probably meant they had saved up to apply to this thing.
All the more reason for them to go to another table.
If they wanted an omega, they weren’t going to find one in me.
They didn’t say a single word as they got up and left, and I only let out a sigh of relief once they were fully gone. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
This was miserable. It was fun in the beginning, when I purposefully screwed around with no intentions of finding a pack, but now… now there was an added pressure on my shoulders, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it one bit.
“Well, that was a little brutal,” a sly, low voice spoke—an alpha. I could tell even with my eyes closed. “Did those two really deserve that?”
I straightened myself out and opened my eyes to watch a lone alpha take the seat directly across from me.
This alpha wore all black. Not a suit. Just a tight-fitting, long-sleeved, button-down shirt that was neatly tucked into his equally black pants.
His hair was just as dark, cut short on the sides but left a little longer on top, where it was a bit spiky.
The only hint of color on him came from his eyes, which were a brilliant, vibrant blue.
A pretty color, sure, I’d be the first to admit.
“If you heard what I said to them, you’re either haughty as hell to think I won’t tear into you, or you’re just morbidly curious as to how I’ll insult you,” I said, acting uninterested, because I was. Totally, one hundred and ten percent uninterested in this alpha.
Odd he was here alone, though. Most alphas formed packs. It was a rare thing to see a lone wolf.
He grinned at me, flashing me a set of perfectly white teeth. It was only when he smiled at me that I noticed his nose was a little crooked, like it’d been broken in the past or something. “Lay it on me,” he said, sounding eager.
I let it fly: “Does Delilah know you’re taking a break so early in the night? I’m sure your fellow waitstaff really need you.”
The alpha glanced down at his attire, and then he spotted a waitress zipping through the tables. It was then he must’ve realized he was dressed exactly like them with his all-black attire. Instead of getting insulted, like most alphas would, he just laughed.
He actually laughed, like he thought I was funny or something. Hmph. Most alphas didn’t take kindly to being insulted in any way. It was actually remarkably easy to get on their bad side if you tried to. Their egos were always ginormous.
“Yeah,” he admitted, “I guess I’m not one for fashion.
But look at you. You’re wearing black, too.
I think you’re the only omega here wearing that color.
” As he said it, he tilted his head to the side, and though I could tell he was trying to do it covertly, he was smelling me.
Since I was not a slave to my sense of smell, I was able to notice how his pupils dilated just a bit when he inhaled.
This alpha must’ve liked what he smelled.
I ground my teeth and glanced down at what I was wearing. “Oh, yeah. All my nicer dresses were dirty, so.” I shrugged.
“I like the blue hair.”
“Damn. Here I thought the blue would make you alphas think I’m unapproachable.”
He chuckled. I hated how nice it sounded. Such a deep, throaty, manly laugh that came right from his wide, muscular chest. Though he was sitting across from me, I could tell he was huge. Probably an über. I’d feel like an insect if I stood side-by-side with him.
“You really don’t want to talk to any alphas tonight, huh?” he asked, head still cocked, eyes still dilated. I’d give him kudos; typically when an alpha got that turned on by scent alone, they tended to get all growly and dominant. This guy must have some world-class restraint.
Didn’t matter to me, though. It didn’t matter either way.
“Why do you care?” I huffed. “My aunt send you here undercover or something?”
“Depends. Who’s your aunt?”
“If you don’t know who I am, then I am out of your league, big guy.”
Again, he chuckled, and again, the damned sound was like music to my ears. I had no idea why the sound of his chuckling made me so… relaxed. “You’re fun. I like fun.”
“Is that why you’re forty years old still looking for an omega?”
He took it in stride. “I’m thirty, for starters.
And secondly, no. I’m here because I promised my mom I would come to one of these things.
She’s been bugging the hell out of me to settle down for a while.
She’s been alone ever since my dad died years back.
I’ve been so busy with work lately that I haven’t had the time for much fun. ”
“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” Maybe that was a step too far, but honestly, this alpha wasn’t the only one who lost a parent. I lost both in the worst way possible. Hell, a piece of me died that same night with them.
“Not at all. I just think you have the wrong idea when you look at me.”
I ground my jaw. “And what do you see when you look at me?”
This time, the smile he gave me was less enthused and more serious.
More of a smirk than anything else—and I hated to admit it, but that smirk was a devilish sort of handsome.
“I see an omega who doesn’t give a shit about what other people think, an omega who is probably used to getting her way.
Maybe a little spoiled. I see an omega whose only goal is to leave this ceremony without a single offer, an omega who’s so confident in herself and her ability to keep others at bay she doesn’t even care to have a sponsor watching out for her. ”
The more he said, the harder he hit the nail on the head, and I could only sit there and stare at him as I listened to what must have been the perfect description of me.